Double-Duty Hooks Provide a Little Extra Storage

Now here's an interesting idea: a combination hook and storage cubby for small items. It's such a good idea that a number of such products have been designed. The one above, the @ entry hook, comes from Chiasso; it's made of die-cast aluminum.




A second option is the shed coat hook from Domesticity, made of powder coated steel and available in orange, grey and white. [via Switched On Set]





And then there's the hooknook from Flip & Tumble, made from 50% recycled polypropylene and available in three colors. [via Cool Mom Picks]

Another such product that got a lot of attention in the design world is the Cubby, but the designers have not yet found a manufacturer. When they do, I'll let you know!

Related post, with another hook/cubby combination:
The Hook Box Hits the U.S.

Other posts in the current "hook" series:
Back to Basics: Organizing with Simple Hooks
Using the Alphabet: Hooks with Letters
Hooks with Moose, Birds, Bats, Cats and Other Critters
A Special Kind of Hook: Leash Holders

A Special Kind of Hook: Leash Holders

Leash holders with dog (or other animal) themes can be used for more than leashes, of course. Use them for those leashes — or for all sorts of other things, from car keys to baseball caps to necklaces.

And there sure are some nice ones out there! The yellow bone leash holder above is sold by Up Country; there's also a red one, with a slightly different design.





More wonderful dog leash hooks with a bone theme are available from My Spoiled Doggie.




And then there's the personalized bone-shaped hook made by Whitehall, made from recycled non-rusting cast aluminum. It's sold all over: Grandin Road, Plow & Hearth and many more sites. It comes in four finishes, although not all sites offer all the finishes.




Of course, a leash holder doesn't have to be bone-shaped. For Love of a Dog has a number of different handmade dog leash holders with porcelain tiles.




This is just one of the delightful leash hooks from these creatures; it's available in three colors.




And then there are the dog-breed hooks. East of India makes this Scotty dog lead holder, found at Isabel's Attic.




Finally, while the leash holders and pegboards from Beyond the Crate are a bit too cutesy for me, I was delighted to see the range of dogs they include. I always look for English mastiffs, after my friend Debbie Wolfe introduced me to the breed.

Related Post:
Reader Question: Pet Stuff Storage (Part 2: Hooks for Leashes)

Other posts in the current "hook" series:
Back to Basics: Organizing with Simple Hooks
Using the Alphabet: Hooks with Letters
Hooks with Moose, Birds, Bats, Cats and Other Critters

Hooks with Moose, Birds, Bats, Cats and Other Critters

Is this cute overload? I'm a sucker for stuff like this: Moose on the Loose, from All Lovely Stuff. You can also find it at The Collection and twentytwentyone.




A number of wonderful (and very cute) hooks come from Domestic; this is the set of two birds (and one heart) designed by Rolito. You can also find them in black or white from La Corbeille, or from Smallable.





Domestic also has lacquered metal hooks by Geneviève Gauckler called Potatoe (yes, with an "e" at the end) — sold individually or in sets of three — and the set called Hang on to Yourself. These can also be found at La Corbeille and Smallable.




Barnvänligt of Sweden sells sleepy owl hooks; the web site currently has them available for purchase in blue and black. [via My Owl Barn]




I'm a gecko fan, so I'm especially delighted with the gecko coat rack from Artori, available from Design My World and Animi Causa.




Among the many hooks from The HookLady you'll find this Victorian bat hook. [via The Cultivated Home]




These enamel cat hooks, on clearance sale at The Animal Rescue Site, come from Noah's Ark, "a company based in Moradabad, India that focuses on fair trade." (You can read more about Noah's Ark at Ten Thousand Villages.)




Let's end with something simple and sweet: the pewter bird hooks from Beehive Kitchenware.

Related Posts with Animal-Themed Hooks:
Hooks: Organize with the Animals
Hooks to Hold Your Hat - Or Coat, or Towel, or Whatever

Other Posts in the current Hook Series:
Back to Basics: Organizing with Simple Hooks
Using the Alphabet: Hooks with Letters

Using the Alphabet: Hooks with Letters

Hooks are such wonderful organizing tools — and I have so many cool ones to share — that I decided to turn this into a series. And today I'm focusing on hooks with individual letters — which could be used to spell out something, to distinguish what each hook is used for, or simply to look cool. The iron letter hooks above come from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.




Wrought Iron Haven is another source for iron letter hooks, in a somewhat different style.




And Penelope Tom has alphabet letter hooks in "shabby vintage style" made from white-painted metal.




Anthropolgie's alphabet hooks provide a totally different look.




Whitehall makes the Cloister Monogram Hook, which you can find at Aspenberry and Greentagged. The filigree monogram hooks at Ballard Designs appear to be the same thing, although they aren't identified as such. Greentagged notes that "being environmental conscious is not a new concept at Whitehall Products. Since 1941, the products have been handcrafted from recycled materials - primarily aluminum." They come in three different finishes.




And finally, there are the lettres from Pêpin Le Malin. [via BabyGadget]

Other posts in the series:
Back to Basics: Organizing with Simple Hooks

Back to Basics: Organizing with Simple Hooks

As much as I love some of the clever hook designs I see, I also appreciate the simpler, elegant designs. The Dots from Muuto, designed by Tveit & Tornøe, are ones I've mentioned before. But I only mentioned the natural ash version; they now come in six other colors. The natural, black, and yellow versions are the easiest to find if you're in the U.S.; you can get them at Design Within Reach and Scandinavian Grace. For a fuller range of colors, you could go to Designdelicatessen.




This hook from Sentou is called Manto; the designers are Charlotte Arnal and Francis Fèvre of Design by O. You can also find Manto for sale at Pepdéco, Made in Design, Smallable and Kdesign.




Another option is the Ohook from Helgo. Ohooks come in five colors, and are sold in single-color and mixed-colors sets. Two of the places you can find them are Kiitos in Australia — you can see more photos on the Kiitos blog — and Hay in Denmark.




Finally, let's admire the Kula hooks from Normann Copenhagen — "handmade felt hooks from Iceland" by textile designer Bryndís Bolladóttir. You can also find these at The Future Perfect, Made in Design and Sit On Design.

Related Post:
Basic Organizing Tools: Peg Racks

How Some (Fake) Grass Can Help You Organize

Organizing products with a grass-like look have sprung up all over the place! The one above, called (not surprisingly) Grass, is the countertop drying rack from Boon. Boon recommends it for baby accessories, and assures us it's BpA-free, PVC-free, and Phthalate-free. There's also a larger version of Grass, called Lawn.





Umbra makes its Grassy Organizer in green and in white. You see it being used to hold toothbrushes and toothpaste, and to hold pens and other desk items. Vat19.com no longer carries this product, but it has a nice write-up explaining why it thinks the Grassy Organizer is awesome.




Pratonzolo is a pencil holder — or desk organizer, since it could hold more than just pens and pencils — designed for by Matteo Mocchi of BBMDS and Max Battaglia of Givingshape for Stylemylife. It's "a little piece of fake grass" made of "natural bristles and wood."




Finally, there's the Kikkerland Grass Charging Station in white or black; you can also get a mini charging station.

A European Tour of First Aid Boxes

One resolution you might want to make: create (or replenish) your first aid kit. If you want ideas of what to put in the kit, I'll send you to fellow organizer Geralin Thomas. But if you want interesting boxes to use, I've got you covered.

Back in 2009, I wrote about first aid boxes and began with a box by 100drine. That version was in French, and was called la boîte à pharmacie. Now we have an English version of the same box, available from Sentou, Made in Design and Mon Joli Shop.




And here's another reprise. Back in 2009, I included a similar box, but the picture on that one wasn't full-length, and therefore didn't show the woman's lovely legs. This one is from Amadeus, and it's certainly eye-catching. It's out of stock at Jardindéco.com and Ogardeno.com, where I first found it, but you can still get it at Sylvester Oxford and Keladeco.com.




I don't know who makes this wooden pharmacie box, but you can find it at Dibor; there's also a white version. You can also find the unpainted version at The General Toy Store.




Yves Blayo at Incidence has designed a number of first aid boxes: see here, here, here and here. You can find them a number of other places, too; the photo above come from The Holding Company.




Present Time, headquartered in the Netherlands, makes this simple first aid box in two sizes; there's the smaller and the larger one. You can also find it at DIGS.




Balvi, located in Barcelona, also makes a number of first aid boxes. Yes, this one does look a lot like the Present Time box, except for the colors. Two places to buy it are C'tendance and Jardindéco.com.




Finally, if you prefer homeopathic remedies, there's a box for you, too. It comes from Derrière La Porte and is sold by Maginéa.com.

Related Post:
First Aid Boxes with Flair

Small Space Organizing: Making the Most of the Walls

Have limited storage space? Using the walls is always something to consider, and these wallpockets from Amerpersand are one interesting way to make use of that space. They're manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, from recycled cardboard. They're for sale at three places in Cincinnati, and retail outlets beyond Cincinnati are planned.




Then there's #topos, from the German company Pulpo. I found this through Shoebox Dwelling, which writes: "The series of powder coated metal sheets can be attached to the wall to create a storage area as big or small as your space requires. All modules have slots into which metal triangular pockets are inserted. And if you need to store something more substantial than paperclips and trinkets, a bigger tray can be placed instead of the triangles, creating a shelf."

I've contacted Pulpo, which informs me there's no shop in the U.S. selling this product — but you can buy it directly from Pulpo. If you let the company know what you want, they'll get you a freight quote.




And if you're crafty at all, you might enjoy making an embroidery hoop wall pocket, using the pattern from Sew Daily. If you want to get really inspired, take a look at the very cool wall pockets shown on Spotted Stones and A Fabric Affair.

Related Posts:
3 Unusual Ways to Use the Walls
Zid Zid Kids - Wall Panels
Cache-pyjama Hippo - Fun Storage from France
Wall Pockets: Not Just Plastic Anymore
Your Mail Needs a Home (see option 4)
Small Space Organizing: Using the Walls
Return of the Wall Organizers

New Year's "Be On Time" Resolution Help: Cool Alarm Clocks

Poster from Oh, Dear Molly, via moderncat

Get a better alarm clock. By now, we all use the alarm clock on our phones to wake us up. But I’ve got a backup, as well. It’s a $15 Sony alarm clock, and it sits across the room. When it goes off, I have to get up to shut it. You know what that means? It means I’m up. — Peter Shankman, Eight Ideas for the Next Seven Days

Well, I'm writing this on Dec. 26, and we're now down to only six more days in 2011. But if you'd like to follow Peter's suggestion — and you don't want to rely on the cats — I've got some alarm clocks you might consider, other than Peter's Sony.




Punkt takes Peter's point a bit further, saying, "Why have your cell phone lying on your bedside table, when you can be woken up by a superb design object like the AC 01?" And it certainly is a great-looking clock, available in black, white and red. Some of the many places you can buy it are Design Public, A+R Store and The Lollipop Shoppe.




If you want the limited edition Punkt. for Japan clock — only 500 were made — I'm still seeing one here. "100% of the profits from the sale of the special edition clock will go to rebuild family homes and play areas in Maeami, a fishing village in the Tōhoku region which was swept away by the tsunami. The project is supported by ‘Architecture for Humanity,’ a non-profit design services firm founded in 1999." [via Switched On Set]




Newgate has a bunch of alarm clocks to choose from; this one is called the Regulator, and it comes in four different colors. [via Retro To Go]




Another traditional alarm clock is this Big Ben clock sold by L.L.Bean. Customers rave about how quiet it is.




There's also a smaller, folding Big Ben clock, which can serve as a travel alarm.




This wooden block alarm clock, from the Japanese company Lemnos, is a MoMA exclusive.




Tiffany sells a number of alarm clocks, but this travel alarm is the only one using the Tiffany blue. [via Furniture Fashion]




And finally, while it doesn't have the elegant design (and easy-to-read clock face) of the other alarm clocks shown here, I couldn't resist showing you the Lego Star Wars Yoda Minifigure Clock.

Related Posts:
7 Alarm Clocks for A Gentler Wake-Up Call
Clocks With Character
Two Alarm Clocks With Fancy Scheduling Features
Alarm Clocks: Amusing, Beautiful, Practical - and Furry
5 Alarm Clocks to Get You Up and Running
Waking Up On Time: Five Alarm Clocks