If you’re a fan of craft artist Vincent Thomas Leman’s “abstract traditional” style — the heart of the practical yet whimsical Dust Furniture — you won’t want to miss the Etsy outlet for handcrafted “prototypes, web exclusives, extras and sometimes, mistakes…”

Right now, the online shop is showing four gracefully curved tables, three funky clocks, and this fascinating two-part cabinet called “Crook and Cranny”:

This cabinet is comprised of two sections, a taller bookcase portion with shelves for storage or display, and a smaller cabinet section with a door and one interior shelf. The pieces interact with each other in an interesting way, with the taller section resting on the shorter section. The two parts are permanently secured together.

For a look at the fun-loving furniture pieces in regular production, and a list of boutiques and galleries where they’re available, visit www.dustfurniture.com.

This whimsical Girl with Ladybug Necklace vase goes very very very high on my shopping list (the one I keep for when I win a lottery) and already decorates the house of my imagination…

Just look at her, flaunting a pair of fishy earrings and a wild ‘do’ of whatever bright flowers you’ve got in bloom… Terra cotta, about twelve inches high (before you fill the vase), it’s made by one of my favourite indie ceramics artists, Natalya Sots.

Natalya’s wildly distinctive colourful ceramics are found at arts-and-craft festivals in the Chicago area, online at Etsy), and in her fascinating Flickr photostream where you can also catch a glimpse of her works in progress.

When I first discovered Natalya Sots’ lush ceramics work — and specifically Mad Hatter Tea Pot (sadly long ago sold to someone else) — I literally yelled out loud with delight. So I promptly dashed off a mash note to Natalya, asking for permission to share her exciting work with you.

She was good enough to say yes, and to give me permission to show you her photos of a few choice pieces — a sampling of some of the most wonderfully whimsical ceramics creations you’d ever hope to see…

But first, here’s what you need to know about the artist: Natalya Sots, a native of Kazakhstan, moved to the United States in 2002 and has been dazzling OOAK fans with her wildly distinctive colourful ceramics at Chicago-area art festivals (and at her online Etsy shop) ever since.

A day-brightener?
Trust me, this could brighten your whole week!

Don’t miss Natalya Sots on Flickr, for more of that wonderful mad imagination and her photos of works-in-progress.

Cabinet below and shelf unit above, Vincent Leman‘s “Stacked Cabinet No.4: The Acrobats” is one of the Dust Furniture series at Artful Home. Done up in Baltic birch plywood and painted in tasteful tones, it would work as brilliantly in a traditional decor as in an eclectic or modern setting.

The designer was really thinking when he came up with this furniture piece: it has adjustable feet, in case your floor is not entirely level. (Just imagine having a bit of a wobble on a curvy cabinet like this, and maybe a glass of wine or two inside you!) Bonus: you could count on the top of the shelf staying free of clutter!

And of course I am reminded of those funky jewellery boxes and mini-cabinets by Masterpiece Cabinets… and now I’m wondering, who else is playing off the straight-and-narrow with their cabinetwork these days? Have you seen more wonky wonders, in your travels?

If you can’t laugh in the bathroom, where can you?

Ideally, of course, we want to sprinkle the whimsy about the whole house, to put the stamp of personality on each and every room.

But if that’s a bold move you’re not quite ready to make, and especially if you’re in a temporary home and/or your tastes are in a state of evolution, the bathroom can be a comfy place to cut loose.

Even the most princess-like of dainty powder rooms can work better with a light-hearted touch…

Bathroom Cabinet Inside-Out, anyone?

Okay, if the look you’re going for is more of a Victorian bordello or Cleopatra’s bath, or a baroque bathroom fantasy, perhaps it’s not the right cabinet for your particular posh loo…

But check that simple yet witty graphic illustration of the contents of the storage space, the clean lines and uncluttered construction, that bold colour — yes, it’s a cabinet that’s got a lot going for it!

I’m suddenly thinking about the new mudroom that we’re aiming to add on here (contractors and weather permitting) this spring. By all means, go for the bathroom if the style suits, but just think how many other places could be jazzed up with this neat-o Authentics design — or a DIY variation, if you’re the crafty clever type. Summer cottage? Kids’ room? Laundry centre? Home office?

You’d think that the Museum of Modern Art’s online shop (MOMA) would be all tasteful leather desk accessories and reprints of Old Masters, right?

Not so!

Clockwise from top left:

• Curved glasses in a rainbow of colours. Maybe not the best thing for your restorative orange juice on New Year’s Day morning, but a cheery sight in the winter kitchen.
• The essential wall clock for peeking around corners at fridge-raiding roommates and mischievous children — the Spy Clock is a convex glass mirror with sleek metal hands that tell you how long you’ve been obsessing about what other people are doing in the house, instead of minding your own business.
• How could a Color Spectrum umbrella not perk up a dreary wet day?
• So, Broadway’s on strike, and you can’t afford a weekend in New York anyway, even if the shows are flowing? No worries — MUJI’s New York in a Bag has it covered, with all the important architecural icons made in miniature of sustainable wood.
• And finally — my personal favourite — a cuddly Pig Finger Puppet that can double as a fridge magnet if you feel the need to pretend that you don’t really play with soft toys… (Six bucks for a flying pig! Who could resist?)

Whenever I start to feel even remotely content with my own creative capabilities, I like to browse at The Artful Home, just to indulge in a semi-masochistic spate of envy and avarice.

Today’s objet of shameless desire is the mixed media table lamp known as “Alexandra,” created by Carin Kinzig and Susan Kinzig.

First off, there’s the shimmering opalescence of the blown glass base… but really, it’s the graceful confidence of the asymmetrical shade that really gets to me…

This lamp is just like that woman (that woman!) who can toss on a Victorian piano shawl and a scrap of cargo netting over her yoga gear, and knock ‘em dead at a posh gallery opening. Only, you know, with a 60-watt bulb…

Feeling just a little surreal — perhaps it’s the effects of the Post-Tropical Storm Formerly Known as Hurricane Noel that blasted us here in Atlantic Canada last night. Whatever the cause, however, a dose of surrealism cries out for an homage to the art of Salvador Dali.

Take The Persistence of Memory, for example, that MoMa-owned painting better known as “Melting Clocks.”

Ariver of Design offers a lovely selection of clocks inspired by one of Dali’s most famous paintings, like this gold-trimmed languid (Antartidee) Salvador Shelf clock faced with a sky of fluffy clouds.

It’s made of marble resin, a “collector quality material which provides a porcelain-like textured finish and allows for precise results in hand detailing.” The clock is handmade in Italy, with a German-made quartz movement.

For something a bit smaller, the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Peteresburg, Florida, offers a hand-painted melting clock ornament of molded poly-resin fibre.

At 4″ x 2½”, it’s perfect for a Christmas tree or package decoration, or just to dangle where you want to show a bit of “Dalinean flair” on a smaller scale.

The ornament is inspired by the sequel painting, Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, which is in the museum’s collection.

Oh, and do check out the Spirit of Dali Melting Clock Sculptures in papier mache by Moné Musel.

Whimsical and functional, both!

This one is my favourite — perhaps it’s just as well that that particular sculpture been sold already, to help me resist the temptation for a surrealistic splurge!

For a drop-dead-gorgeous family room, there’s any number of ways a spendy type could drop a few thousand without pausing for coffee… You could splash out on a flat-screen TV, for example, and pretend it’s modern wall art.

Or… you could tuck that traditional chunky-style TV set away in an amazing beech and mahogany cabinet that looks like a miniature building.

This is my original cupboard, inspired by a conversation with a friend who liked the look of dolls houses but wasn’t interested in the interior layout and all the scale furniture to go with it, and who often commented on how ugly the television set was, considering its prominent position in the room.

Patrick Owen (the craftsman behind Furniture Follies) says he’s looking at ideas for incorporating other materials — mosaic, for example, or marble and natural stone patterns — into the highly original cabinets.

I love the use of stained glass in the terrace of row houses that are his Kitchen Cabinets, and the chimney-pot detail on the Honfleur Cupboard.

Ah, these cabinets are going to turn up in my dreams!

I just keep finding myself drawn back to Essey of Denmark’s Illusion side table. The surreal design brings a vision of a decor that blends the minimalism aesthetic with a whimsical touch of Disney-esque fantasy.

Think, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice or Fantasia or that classic Cinderella, flights of visual fancy where the most ordinary objects take on a life of their own…

A single sheet of acrylic (clear or solid white) is crafted into a 18 x 12-inch side table that seems almost magical — the design gives the impression of a table cloth on a round table, but there is no table beneath those graceful folds — an illusion, in fact.

Each of these fascinating handmade tables is unique, just as no tablecloth will drape in exactly the same way every time you put it on a table.

Now there’s no excuse for feeling that life might be drab, dull, routine, or lacking in creativity — not when a Jar of Whimsies could be yours! One Good Bumblebee kindly scours the world for vintage trinkets and whimsical treasures, and packs them into delightful surprise-pack jars.

…a crafter’s new best friend, a treasure lover’s dream come true, and a collector’s jack pot!

The 30-ounce plastic jars (3.75″ x 6.25″) are packed with over 100 whimsy-filled items to make the crafter’s heart beat fast, such as:

• vintage cotton spun mushrooms
• ribbon
• gold foil leaves
• miniature toys
• vintage costume jewelry
• wooden spools
• vintage lace
• clothespins
• typewriter keys
• jingle bells
• vintage marbles
• glass vials
• millinery supplies
• vintage beads
• sugared fruits
• antique skeleton keys
• vintage game pieces
• watch parts
• glass glitter, imported from Germany
• foil dresdens
• vintage swizzle sticks
• charms
• and so much more…

Each individual Jar of Whimsies is different, so when you get one its actual contents will come as a delightful surprise!

They look gorgeous placed on a mantle or among a stack of books on a shelf. Or you can pour everything out and have the time of your life digging through your loot. You won’t find junk in these jars. We fill each one with things we hope will inspire you and ultimately remind you to find happiness in life’s littlest treasures.

I can’t possible do anything productive for at least the next hour!

The spring Tracy Porter catalogue just arrived, and I’m drowning most delightfully in its pages and pictures — in colour and tecture and sparkle and whimsy and touchable detail…

Bohemian Chic design from the heart of Wisconsin!