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Friday Five with Michael Iannone

This week Friday Five sticks close to home, spotlighting New Jersey-based furniture maker Michael Iannone, who has been designing and building furniture for over 12 years. (He worked for two years as a luthier crafting custom solid body electric guitars too. Cool!) His company, Iannone Design, is dedicated to the creation of eco-friendly modern furniture. Here are his five favorite things.

1. Bianchi Road Bike
I got back into cycling a few years ago and decided to buy into the whole Italian bike thing. Bianchi is the oldest existing bicycle company in the world. Mine is painted in the company’s trademark celeste color, and outfitted with Campagnolo wheels and components. It’s nice to look at and even nicer to ride.

2. Arizona
My wife and I visited Arizona for the first time a little over a year ago and we can’t wait to go back. We stayed near the Red Rocks of Sedona, explored Native American ruins and an extinct cinder volcano, visited wineries and old west towns, and finished up by hiking down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and camping at Phantom Ranch. If you live in Arizona, I am jealous of you.

3. Our pets
I’m sure it’s cliché, but they are pretty much our children. Pictured is our perpetual kitten, Winnie, who was abandoned outside my old wood shop in Philadelphia the day she was born. Then there’s Moose, our 110 pound Swissy who thinks he’s a tiny lapdog. And finally, our purring machine, Frenchie, who we adopted from a local rescue.

4. Angelo’s Diner
I’ve been going to this Glassboro, NJ greasy spoon for close to 30 years. Best breakfast in town (they cook the scrapple just right), great burgers and soups, cheap, and almost always bustling. In college, I sometimes ate here three times a day — breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Take that, arteries!


Photo source

5. The Philly Phanatic
Being that this is Design Milk, I feel obligated to choose one example of great design. That example is the Philly Phanatic, by far the best mascot in all of sports. I’m not sure how the Phillies will do this season, but I am certain the Phanatic will continue to be awesome.

All photos (except the Philly Phanatic) by Bethany Iannone.

Marni Elyse Katz is a Contributing Editor at Design Milk. She lives in Boston where she contributes regularly to local publications and writes her own interior design blog, StyleCarrot.