03 October 2011

From Bologna, new stuff from Sicis

Sicis defines manufactured mosaics and they turned out in Bologna in a really big way. Sicis (see-chis) revolutionized glass mosaics and seeing them play around with glass and stone combinations is nothing short of inspiring.





















What do you think? Could a Sicis mosaic work its way into you home? Check out the rest of their collections here.

02 October 2011

The starlings are back, it must be autumn

As a transplant to the tropics, I can't always tell when the seasons change. However, this sight always lets me know its autumn.


Those birds on that wire are Common European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and they're an invasive species introduced to North America in 1890 and 1891 when between 60 and one hundred birds were released in Central Park in New York. A society led by a man named Eugene Schieffelin wanted to introduce to North America all of the birds mentioned by Shakespeare. It's from those 60 to 100 birds that all 200,000,000 starlings that call North America home are descended.


Even though their a non-native species, they've figured out how to migrate to warmer climates in the winter. That amazes me to no end. In addition to their ability to figure out migration patterns, starlings are pretty amazing creatures despite the fact that they're an invasive species.

  • Both males and females can mimic human speech. (Some people keep starlings as pets). Some starlings also imitate the song of many other birds like the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Meadowlark, Northern Bobwhite and House Sparrow, along with Blue Jays, Red-Tailed Hawks and Cedar Waxwings. Vocalizations inside the nestbox during nest building can be lengthy and quite varied.
  • An estimated 1/3 to 1/2 of returning females nest in the same box or area in consecutive years. That is why it's even more important not to let them nest in the first place.
  • A starling couple can build a nest in 1-3 days. Both sexes incubate.
  • A migrating flock can number 100,000 birds. They roost communally in flocks that may contain as many as a million birds. Watch this amazing video of a swarming flock of starlings that appear to be feeding.
  • Each year, starlings cause an estimated $800 million in damages to agricultural crops (Pimental et al, 2000)
  • About 15-33% of first broods are parasitized (via egg dumping) by other starlings.
  • Starlings have an unusual bill that springs open to grip prey or pry plants apart.
  • Starlings only molt once a year (after breeding) but the spots that show up in the winter wear off by the spring, making them look glossy black.
  • In Starlings, the length of the intestinal tract actually varies depending on the season. It is shorter in the summertime (when birds are mainly eating protein-rich) insect foods and larger in wintertime when they are mainly eating seeds, which are rich in carboyhydrates. (Source: Analysis of Vetebrate Structure, Hildebrand and Goslow)


I grew up learning to hate them as a scavenger and a pest but if I step away from that, they're a beautiful bird and any invasive that can figure out a migration pattern and alter the length of its alimentary canal can't be all bad. Right?

Big love for London


It's hard to believe that I took that photo of my foot a week ago. That was a marker in the sidewalk in the small park behind St. Paul's Cathedral and the inscription actually read "Here stood Paul's cross." I had just walked out of the Cathedral with my friends Bob Borson and Stacey Bewkes. Borson noticed the marker first and a great photo op was born.

Endless thanks to Modenus and the sponsors of Blog Tour 2011 for getting our rag tag band of North American design and architecture bloggers to London for the Design Festival. Here are some London highlights.





London is an amazing city. It's beautiful, clean and huge. As much as it embraces the 21st Century, it's still present to its history. Some of the greatest minds humanity's ever produced called that city home and their fingerprints are everywhere.

The group with whom I shared that great city last week are a special lot. The are Susan Serra, Tamara Matthews-Stephenson, Carmen Natschke, Veronika Miller, Mollie Magill, Jonathan Legate, Elise Jones, Michelle Jennings-Wiebe, Meredith Heron, Mae Hacking, Andie Day, Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo, Leslie Carothers, Michelle Carangi, Bob Borson, Tim Bogan and Stacey Bewkes. All of us knew each other before the trip but most of us had never met. It's a curious state of affairs brought on by the social web and it was a real treat to meet up with a bunch of people with whom I have more than a few things in common. All of our Blog Tour posts are being aggregated on the Blog Tour website and our photos ought to start showing up there this week too.

Blog Tour wasn't a one-time thing. In March of 2012, a group of UK design bloggers are coming to New York for the AD (Architectural Digest Home Design Show). I can't wait to be there to reconnect with my UK friends. Then in April, Blog Tour's taking a mix of North American and UK bloggers to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. After that who knows? I'm holding out for Mumbai and Beijing but wherever it ends up, Blog Tour is here to stay and it was an honor to be part of the its maiden voyage.

01 October 2011

A Toronto Tweet Up presented by Caroma and Modenus



via


Greenbuild 2011 runs from 4 through 7 October and it's taking place in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I'll be in Toronto representing Modenus.com and we're working with Caroma to host a Tweet Up at Caroma's booth on Wednesday morning at 10:30. Here's the link to the press release that went out last week.


So come meet me for a cup of coffee on Wednesday morning and while you're at the booth, you can learn all about high-efficiency bath products. You can also register to win an iPad2 and a host of other electronic gadgets.

In the interest of disclosure, my travel costs are being covered by Modenus, a website with which I have more than a passing interest. I'm a regular contributor to that site and I say it's the web's best resource for interior design inspiration and product information.


The Caroma brand was launched in 1941 and has been an innovation leader ever since. Caroma products are distributed worldwide and you can learn more about Caroma on their website. Caroma products are beautiful and in looking over a Caroma bath, you'd never know that their fixtures and fittings are highly water efficient and sustainably produced.

Caroma's booth number is 2111N in the north building and if you're at the show or in Toronto this week, I look forward to meeting you on Wednesday.

No baloney, Bologna is heaven


I'm still reeling over the sights, the sounds and that tastes I experienced in Bologna two weeks ago. Endless thanks go to Ceramic Tiles of Italy, the Italian Trade Commission and Novita Public Relations for making my trip possible. Here are some highlights of Bologna and the immediate area surrounding it in Emilia-Romagna. For a city that never appeared on my radar before, I cannot wait to go back. Everything about it is magical.




Italy is an enchanting place. For all of its problems, nowhere else on earth manages to combine the ancient and the modern so seamlessly and nowhere else on earth knows how to concentrate on what's really important the way Italy does. Who cares what the IMF thinks, there's great gelato around the corner and the crimini mushrooms are in season. No other place I've ever been wallows in family, friendship and hospitality with the passion Italy does.

The world needs places like Italy as a reminder that having constant internet access and 400 TV channels doesn't really mean a whole lot. What matters is your family, your friends and your neighbors. Thanks for the reminder Bologna.