Kitchen and bath designer Joe Currie wrote to me recently, saying he had decided to stop being an employee at another design firm and establish his own, called Capitol Design. What struck me most about the photos he attached was the sheer variety in style. So many designers say they don’t have a signature look, that they create a custom look for each individual client. W

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Pure Black knife series is designed by Stebastian Holmbäck and Ulrik Nordentoft of HolmbäckNordentoft for Danish producer Stelton.

We set ourselves the challenge of interpreting the most basic of human tools – and how can you make something entirely different from an already pretty well proven concept?

So the approach was as simple as; what would WE like to have and use when cooking (which my partner Ulrik and I both enjoy) and thus we ended up with this very masculine black look with an extremely simple and subtle design.

Later on in the process I realized, thinking about the sustainability issue, that the black coating over time would wear off. And

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Great Plant PicksAdiantum venustum (Himalyan maidenhair fern)My restraint shocked me. After three shows, I have only three new plants. A trio, threesome, triumvirate, triplets, triad, Trinity. In other words, a miracle. Not in 15 years of going to the Yard, Garden & Patio Show, Portland Home & Garden Show and the Northwest Flower & Garden Show have I exhibited such control. If I was counting which I’m Kym PokornyArachnoides simplicor ‘Variegata’ (East Indian holly fern):not — the yearly total would be more like 30. Is it maturity? Doubtfully. Full Post…

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Woo-hoo! February’s over. Much as we love Valentine’s Day we’re happy to see it go. In many parts of the country, including mine, it’s the last full winter month.

Welcome March and the spring equinox, to be quickly followed by April’s cherry blossoms and Save a Sample!, the design industry’s recycling drive. The New York based drive is expanding its reach this year into Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC. Design firms will be able to donate unneeded materials to schools all across the country giving students access to much needed professional resources.

“We’ve always wanted to expand Save A Sample!’s reach to benefit a larger number of design firms and design students,” says Suzanne Swift, Save A Sample!’s creator. “W

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