You might remember my quest to find my favorite business cards in pursuit of logo and branding ideas for myself. Well it happened and I’m here to show you the results.

I ordered samples of the all-new Luxe Business cards courtesy of MOO, and I could not be more pleased. MOO recently launched the new line of premium business cards, which is basically their version of a letterpress card.

The cards are printed on Mohawk Superfine paper, which happens to be triple the thickness and weight of most cards on the market. I love the slight texture on the surface of the card and the color matching is precise.

As with any MOO product, you can choose from one of their fun designs or upload your own. I uploaded my business card design that goes with my blog and the customization process was super easy. You can even choose a band of color that shows on the edges of the card and gives it that extra something. There are four choices and I chose black to match my design.

They came packaged in a white box with magnetic closures wrapped with a purple ribbon. You can’t beat the look and the quality is second-to-none. I have the feeling these will be my go-to cards from now on. Can you tell how much I love them?

What do you think?

Element75 artwork by Sara Jensen Design.

Well, isn’t this Half Pint Garden just the cutest little thing?

UK-based designer Samuel Wilkinson launched his Hoof tables at the Stockholm Furniture Fair this week. The tables are named Hoof because of the design of the feet, which resemble hooves (or also sharpened pencils).

Samuel explains, “I have always loved painted wooden chairs that have the end of the legs left as natural wood so that the paint doesn’t chip off from being either kicked or knocked when cleaning. The leg ends of the table are sharpened at the foot – like a horse’s hoof is trimmed before it is shod. This detail is emerged from continuous exploration and development of production techniques.”

The new table is presented in five colors: grey, black, natural, white-pigmented oil and light blue.

Located between the Rocky Mountain foothills and the Great Plains, the Colorado-based Syncline House was built with landscape views in mind. Arch11 built a unique modern house where there weren’t only site limitations with building in a fold, or in geological terms, a syncline, but height restrictions from the city.

The exterior of the house blends with the surrounding landscape with the use of stone, wood, and concrete materials, as well as rooftop gardens. While the house was built for the surrounding views, the interior does not disappoint. The stone is carried over into the house on the cantilevered stair wall and wood panels cover the ceilings. Large panes of glass throughout allow for lots of natural light and mountain views from all sides. On the lower level, one corner of the house completely opens up with retractable glass doors.

Combining modern design with renewable energy systems, the house was able to achieve LEED gold certification.

Marginal Notes 2012 is a collection of prototypes by the Stockholm-based design firm Note Design Studio. The collection is in collaboration with Lerch Träinredningar and was presented this week, which is Stockholm Design Week. The group of designers examined the sketches that had been made in the margins of their notebooks and upon a second look realized they needed to be made.

The sketches appeared to form a common theme that they refer to as “Base Camp,” a collection of designs that are based on the “simplistic materials and shapes of scientific field expedition tools adapted to stand wear and tear.” The pieces were transformed from the ideas of screens, filters, and cages meant to keep things in and to let things pass through, while others were more connected to exploration.

Some of the original sketches were created and formed this collection with varied colors, shapes, and materials – definitely some of the best stuff we’re seeing right now.

Peep
Box-shaped storage furniture that allows more light to pass through due to the transparent walls.

Keep
Simple wooden cube boxes that let you decide how much you want to show or to keep inside. The Keep boxes complement the Peeps above perfectly.

Tuck
The Tuck is a pouf based on a photo of a man wearing a tuque (pronounced “tuck”), which is a beanie hat. The edges are folded up, just like a beanie, and function as a pocket for magazines and such.

Settler
These benches were inspired by the iconic shape of a log, perfect for a short rest. A fallen tree cut up into pieces that are useful and a thing of pride for a settler building his first cabin.

Sifter
A coatrack based on a giant sifter from an excavation site that features a basket to catch your keys falling out of your pockets or a place to hold things like your hats and gloves.

Nour
A lamp based on multicolored origami polyhedrons and features multiple layers of paper and pattern.

The Catch
A swing-arm lamp inspired by a firefly being caught in a butterfly net. It can be swiveled around from the central pivot-point to direct light wherever needed.

Karte Design Fabrik is back with six new card collections, two of which have tickled our fancy — the Herringbone and Stripetown collections. We previously featured Karte Design Fabriks’ Scandinavian-inspired holiday collection and I love these new collections even more. Liz Mckeown has given these classic patterns a new updated and modern twist. All cards are designed and made in Berlin, Germany and come with a thick, flecked brown envelope.

Believe it or not, that’s a chair pictured up there.

The Armadillo and Lodge Chair by designer Baltasar Portillo of El Salvador “sit” exactly where furniture and sculpture intersect. Resembling a bridge, each chair fills space and performs a function without disturbing your view. You could say they enhance your view.

These chairs available available for purchase at Outdoorz Gallery.

You’re probably familiar with Josh Owen’s cast iron menorah for Areaware, which we believe is on its way to iconic status. Owen, who is currently based in Rochester New York and teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology, turns out some pretty amazing clean-lined designs. Most recently he debuted the WC Line for Kontextur, a series comprising a plunger, toilet brush, and waste bin that elevates the mundane. As you can see from this week’s Friday Five, Owen revels in the functional and simple.

1. On feet: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Sneakers
This shoe evolved from a similar precursor created in 1917 by the Converse Rubber Shoe Company, which was started by Marquis Mills Converse in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts. The design we see today was developed with modifications made by basketball player Charles Taylor shortly after the introduction of the original. I have worn these shoes since I was four-years-old, and while I have tried others, I always return to the comfort of these. I wear them for nearly every occasion, except during Rochester winters, when I mix in Canadian-designed Sorel boots. If I can’t go barefoot, I wear Chuck Taylors. No false-promises with air inserts or foam arches to destroy nature’s design, just a thin slab for protection below with a skin to bind above — more or less what we’ve been using for thousands of years. The design keeps us connected to the ground. These shoes are relatively inexpensive and hopefully will be around for a long time, disregarding the whims of trends. There is a quietness and an almost invisible quality about the design, thanks to its place in the pantheon of ubiquitous, time-tested products.

2. In pocket: Lacie iamaKey USB Flash Drive
Designed by 5.5 Designers, this flash drive is a contemporary icon. As long as we continue to need our analog keys in their current range of forms, we will continue to have the problem of carrying them with us. Many designed items use this condition as an opportunity — a keyring flashlight, a keyring bottle opener. They’re all based on the notion that if we must have our keys with us then why not add another, unrelated tool to add bulge to our pockets? This digital key does more than riff off of a related tool’s form — it equates access to data with access to a physical space. This binds an emotional connection to a banal one. I will not lose my data because I will not lose my keys. I find this item the exact right fit for the right moment in an evolving landscape of interrelated needs; a useful and appropriate tool.

3. In hand: Muji Ballpoint Pen & Mechanical Pencil
I have been using this item for many years as a staple and I am rarely found without one on hand. With a simple twisting action, this modest-looking, milky-white polypropylene instrument deploys a black-ink ballpoint pen or a push-pencil with HB 0.3mm graphite. The ability to switch rapidly between the two mark-making types is important for me, as I prefer to sketch in pencil, but find I also need a pen on a regular basis for making more permanent marks. The ink cartridge is replaceable as is the graphite and the eraser, making this a sustainably oriented object. The translucent nature of the plastic allows one to see the level of ink and graphite sticks left. The combination of intelligent and sympathetic features is what I look for in a well considered utensil.

4. On wrist: Uniform Wares 200 Series Watch
When mobile phones arrived on the scene, I stopped wearing a watch. It seemed to me to be redundant to carry more than one item on one’s person which displayed the time. I now wear a watch so that I do not have to take my smart phone out of my pocket. This is because I do not wish to create the impression that I am checking messages on my phone, when I would have merely been using it as a time piece. Gazing at a watch to judge the time seems to me to be far more civil in the context of today’s behaviors. The Uniform Wares 200 series watch is, in my opinion, the best minimalist watch on the market. It has clear and precise markings which reference industrial equipment made for performance, not for making a fashion statement. Fine details like the bold (but not too bold) display graphics, arrow-tip distinction on the hour-hand, and the date display make it overtly functional and without unnecessary ornament. Also, I find the overall size of the item exactly right for seeing the time. As for variations in finish, I prefer the polished stainless case. This avoids any scratches which might appear in a brushed or painted treatment. I outfit the watch with one of UW’s durable rubber straps. I find them more long-lasting and resistant than the leather version offered.

5. On head: Wool Watchman’s Cap
I’ve worn this kind of hat on and off for most of my life. It is a knitted, brimless, wool cap that can be rolled to be worn for warmth on the top of the head or unraveled to protect the tops of the ears in particularly cold situations. It was designed to provide warmth in winter but since I’ve been wearing my hair very short, I have found it to be quite comfortable in a variety of weather conditions, due to the unique qualities of wool which wicks away moisture in warm conditions and retains heat in cooler ones. A version of this item seems to be visible in almost all cold-weather cultures. I buy mine in an army-navy surplus shop.

Josh Owen portrait by Elizabeth Lamark.