Ampersand Pillow

Awesome & it’s made from eco-felt (100% recycled plastic bottles!) & it would be a great typophile gift!

Awesome & it’s made from eco-felt (100% recycled plastic bottles!) & it would be a great typophile gift!

AphroChic is a new lifestyle brand by San Francisco-based, Philadelphia-raised designer/blogger Jeanine Hays. Her mantra and motto is “Modern Soulful Style,” and that’s exactly what her new collection portrays. The launch event for the collection was October 10th at Philadelphia Design Within Reach during DesignPhiladelphia. It featured Jeanine’s collection as well as a panel of bloggers speaking about blogging, modern design, and Philadelphia. The bloggers included Jeanine and her sister/artist Angela, Andrea Pippins of Fly, Kristen Lubbe of Apartment Therapy, and Melinda Lewis of Get Togetha. Also speaking was Jonathan Auty, Regional Sales Director, East for DWR. There was some great discussion on why Philadelphia deserves to be seen as a lively city full of art and design, how blogging has changed media and product exposure for independent designers, and what modern design really is. It was a great event.
What I like most about Jeanine’s collection is that it’s personal, but also appealing to the masses. She has captured a niche in decorating that is completely missing — modern African-American design that feels universal. She’s mashed up culture, modernism, sustainability, girliness, soul, San Francisco, and Philadelphia into one amazing collection that works.
Check out some photos from the event and her collection.

NOTHING dESIGN group pairs design with function, and without the pieces ending up feeling over-designed. For example, the simple sticky hanger above — with a strong adhesive backing, it can hold quite a bit!

Jonathan Adler has launched a new fun, interactive designer where you can customize your own accessories. It’s kind of addicting.

One of the coolest collections has dropped at Urban Outfitters — Alexander Girard. The collection includes pillows, bedding, wall decor, and more.

Just love these blurry photo pillows from Stone + Mann.

Look at Zilovic’s fluffy puzzles! I’d love a whole wall of these…

Mayura Kona is founder and designer of One Thread Fair Trade, a fair trade company that specializes in unique, hand-crafted decorative throw pillows.
We work to train villages of women in South India to make the cushions and, through the work, the women — who were mostly victim to poverty and domestic violence — are now able to provide for their families, educate their children, and really transform the role of the women in rural society. Each cushion comes with a hand-signed tag with the name of the woman that tailored the product and what she believes in. You can look up each woman on our website, to read about her life story. This way, the customer can directly feel the impact they are making through their purchase.

Oh! I am a sucker for topography of any kind, but this topography pillow is extra awesome because of the texture.