Swank City » Home & Garden

Acorn Cakelet Pan

Editor — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:00:32 +0000

You probably didn’t know that the Swank office is shared with a couple of squirrels ~~(and a few nuts)~~. So they were keen to approve this charming little cake pan from last year that turns out 18 exquisitely detailed miniature cakes, breads or muffins shaped like acorns. It’s made for Williams-Sonoma by Nordic Ware. Their pans are always very well made; great baking and easy clean-up.

The best part is that you really don’t have to decorate the mini-cakes after they’re out. Murdock and Jack will be pleased.

Acorn Cakelet Pan ($30)

Green Valley Christmas Tree & Wreath Delivery

jacob.wilkens — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:00:16 +0000

Some years we’ve managed to go out and cut down our own tree, other years we put up the fake one. No matter what, it always seems more festive when our tree is real. Time and weather aren’t always on our side though. Meet Green Valley Christmas tree farm. They’ll actually deliver you a perfect Christmas tree within 24 hours of it being harvested. Fancy that! If you celebrate Christmas and decide to put up a tree this year, or are already planning next years party, why not have the best Fraser Fir around.

They have more than just tree’s to choose from though. Aside from their wide selection of White Pines, Noble and Fraser Firs – they also do holiday wreaths and pre-scheduled delivery. Should you be looking for decorating tips, let’s not forget we’ve already given you a suggestion for at least one ornament…

Green Valley Christmas Trees and Wreaths ($35 and up)

Dyson Air Multiplier

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:00:57 +0000

Where is my Jetpack? Where is my dinner in pill form? I thought this was supposed to be the future?! Well, James Dyson (think: vacuum cleaners) isn’t going to be satisfied until we’re living in the Jetson’s house being served by robots. A few months back Dyson released a “bladeless” fan which we thought was pretty cool; no spinning fan blades at all. Video of how it works after the link. We’ll just keep waiting on that nuclear powered levitating house though.

Dyson Air Multiplier ($299)

We took a little creative license with this one. Our copy was inspired by a favorite tee of ours from Threadless.
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Lauren Alane Hand Made Birds

jacob.wilkens — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:30:54 +0000

Aren’t these the cutest and most adorable little birds you’ve ever seen? We fell in love with Lauren’s little guys month’s ago, but can’t seem to get our hands on any. Her Etsy store is constantly sold out. They’re hand made by needle and thread out of felt for just about every occasion or holiday. As usual, more information, pictures and prices after the link

To get a better idea of what you’re looking at we’ve included some additional pictures. Each little birdie stands about two inches tall (some can be larger).

Lauren Alane Handmade Goods ($10 and up)
More pictures of her birds at Flickr
Lauren’s blog

Do you have one of these already?

F - - K Ornament

jacob.wilkens — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:40:38 +0000

Nothing says Christmas quite like this. We always get a kick out of sneaking an ornament on the tree that shouldn’t be there, or using inappropriate wrapping paper for our uncle’s birthday gift. Add something extra-special to your tree this year and say Merry Christmas the way only you can.

Also fun for kids under four: Ask them to say Fire Truck during dinner. We’re a riot at family holidays.

F - - K Ornament ($12)

CanvasPop

jacob.wilkens — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:10:43 +0000

All of us at Swank City are what you would call “camera happy.” And there’s something about hanging your own work that just makes you smile. CanvasPop wants you to do the same thing – with any photo. They’re the world’s only large format printing company to work with images of any resolution. So whether it was taken from your phone, off of Facebook, or created in Photoshop – CanvasPop allows you to make gorgeous canvas prints of pretty much any image. And don’t worry if you’re not a digital master-mind…

Once you’ve picked your image, you can choose from a number of cool filters to enhance the look. A team of designers is also available should you need assistance. It makes a really neat gift for that hard-to-buy for person on your list. *hint* *hint*

CanvasPop ($30 and up)
17 Million Free & Public Domain photos at Flickr

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Draw on the walls with Idea Paint

jacob.wilkens — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:25:43 +0000

Do you have kids that scribble on the walls? No? Do you find yourself wanting to scribble on the walls, or maybe you just want more room to jot down your 13-step plan for total world domination… (maybe that’s just me?). When you’re ideas are confined to a small space, your ideas are going to stay small as well. So why not give yourself an entire wall to express those ideas? Born out of frustration when running out of room, a couple of guys came up with the idea of painting entire walls with the same material as a dry erase board. Brilliant! At only $4 a square foot, why not just do an entire room? Read on for a quick how-to video and to see it in action.

Installation seems pretty straight forward

It’s a two-part coating that is mixed right before application and works like any standard roller-applied paint. It only requires one coat of paint and comes with the roller you need. Not bad. The only downside we can see is that when you’re finished you have to allow seven days to cure before using. For us, it’s definitely a sacrifice we’re willing to make.

There are different colors and options for Home, School and Work – this link is just for home.

IdeaPaint Dry Erase Paint

Mini Mustache Magnet

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:30:11 +0000

Here is a wooden miniature mustache hand painted dark brown with a small super-strong magnet on the backside. Use this magnificent magnet to hold family photos to your refrigerator while giving your favorite folks a ’stash in the process. Ha! What a way to gussy up those picture perfect smiles.

Mini Mustache Magnet

Amazing Letterpress Poster

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:45:30 +0000

Being the designers and pixel pushers that we are, we have to appreciate how it all used to be done. Letterpress is one of those beautiful printing techniques that we instantly recognize when we see it. Usually found on upscale wedding invitations, fine editions of books or, in this case, a meticulously created work of art. Artist Cameron Moll handcrafted, character by character, this 16″ x 24″ poster over the course of roughly 100 hours. We instantly fell in love with it and already have a spot on the wall and a frame picked out. Videos of the printing process after the link.

Signed Letterpress Poster, 16″x24″ ($100)

Papaya Art Stationary & Card Stock

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:05:40 +0000

Papaya started in 2003 as a mother and daughter team with only 20 blank greeting cards on a dining room table. Fueled by the need to create beautiful artwork on anything they could think of, they were off and running and never looked back. Today their team has grown and their product list has grown, but everyone is still family. Water bottles, calendars, journals – maybe even a shower curtain – everything is branded with the creativity and thoughtfulness that is uniquely Papaya. We definitely know where our cards will be from this season.

Papaya Art