Continuing from Yesterday...

Here is the IKEA swing I mentioned in yesterday's post. How neat is this?



Too bad this never made it to the North American market. I don't think they sell it anymore.

What Happened to Design at My Favorite Retailers?

I'm not sure if there's a lull in the mass merchandisers' design departments, but I've noticed a return to mediocrity at places that usually had at least a few items that were more cutting-edge or at least trendy. Each summer I could count on cool stuff from Target, Old Navy and even IKEA. This year, nada.

Target made these really cool torches about 6 or so years ago. They're about 8" tall. I wish I would have bought more.



Last year, Target offered Isaac Mizrahi beach stuff and I bought a really cool graphic beach towel but nothing this year. Target used to have really nice, unusual (but not trendy, unfortunately) lawn furniture like what we bought in 1996:



And what my mom has (the floral set):



Nothing fancy, just different and colorful. They didn't have those chairs with God-awful round, heavy swivel bases. Now they have migrated to Smith and Hawken. While I don't dislike S&H products, they may as well be made by Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware or the hot-bed of mediocrity, Pottery Barn. Nothing creative, trendy, whimsical or cutting-edge there!

At least five years ago, Old Navy came up with a cool "Old Navy Girl" line. Great graphics and many products with the ONG logo: A diary, bookmarks, stationery, stickers, beach towel and beach ball, etc. They also used to have a full line of shoes and sandals. I haven't seen shoes at Old Navy in at least two years. I could at least always count on them having the cutest impulse buys at the checkout but even that is sorely lacking. No wonder they (and sister company, The Gap) have taken a nose-dive.

Lastly, IKEA has really let me down since they've finally opened up a store in metro Detroit. I thought we'd get a grand selection of seasonal products. No cool summer products and those that they have seem to be overpriced! A few years back I saw a German IKEA summer catalog online that had some really awesome products. One was a metal-framed porch swing with a white nylon canopy that was very neat. I'll look for that photo and add it later. They also had a white nylon, four cornered (vs five) summer umbrella. It reminded me of the umbrellas they sell at DWR for over $1K. IKEA was the first place I saw canvas covered, four metal poster gazebos. Now they're everywhere.

RETAILERS: PLEASE BRING BACK GOOD DESIGN!

Owls in Our Backyard? Now There's Proof!

Since we've been working late in the yard, Greg noticed some larger-then-normal birds flying about. Turns out they are owls. We were so shocked. Our neighbors said they counted five last year and are happy to see them return.

Even they are prone to "red-eye"!