Do you read more in the summer? Summer seems tailor-made for reading, with long, lazy days at the lake, sittervising kids at the pool, or just enjoying the breeze on a covered porch. What are you reading this summer? In the studio, we tend to pass books around, so some of us are still catching up on last year’s favorites. (And we’re betting we’re not the only ones! 😉)
Here’s the round-up of what our team is reading this summer. Hope it helps you with your next book selection!
In the heart of summer, natural materials reign: rattan, cane, bamboo, teak, raffia. At Collected, we curate an extensive selection of decor, lighting and furnishings made of these natural materials. We love them for their texture, and their earthy hint of the outdoors.
Today, we want to talk about rattan. What is rattan, exactly? Rattan is one of 600 types of climbing, trailing palms, most commonly found in Australia, Asia and Africa. Like other materials of this kind, it has been used since ancient times to weave into tools, bowls, furnishings and more. In the rise of the colonial era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, it found huge popularity in Europe as colonizers of Asia and Africa returned home.
Today, rattan remains a popular natural material for weaving into home decor, furniture and lighting. The craftsmanship of the weaving lends a sophisticated look while the rattan itself gives depth and texture. (Incidentally, the name of the weaving technique used to turn rattan into these beautiful pieces? Wicker!)
Here are some of current favorite rattan pieces at Collected. And below, some inspiration!
Inspiration
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The season for summer parties is here. Graduations. Father’s Day BBQs. Post-baseball-tournament get togethers. Ladies who brunch. Bridal showers. Baby showers. It’s such a fun time of year!
You’ll probably want to bring a little something for your host. At Collected, we’ve tried to think of everyone so that when you give a gift, it feels special to that person. Here are a few of our favorites for summer parties.
The origins of Valentine’s Day are shrouded in a bit of mystery. It was likely born of a combination of events throughout history, beginning with a bacchanalian Roman festival — complete with matchmaking — that occurred annually between February 13-15 in ancient Rome. Later, in different years but on the same day — February 14 — Roman Emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine. The Catholic Church would eventually recognize them with sainthood, and began celebrating St. Valentine’s Day on February 14 during 5th century. The Normans of the time celebrated a holiday around this same time each year called Galatin’s Day, meaning “lover of women.” It’s possible because the two words sound alike — Galatin, Valentine — that the meaning of the two days also become muddled into one.
Slowly, over time, the holiday took on more romantic overtones. Valentine greetings became common in the Middle Ages, and in 1375 the influential English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romance. Written valentines became more common, with Dukes and even King Henry V sending notes to their loves. Shakespeare romanticized Valentine’s Day in his plays. And so it went on until the American industrial revolution, when printing presses began churning out factory-made cards. Hallmark Cards joined the fun in 1913, and the rest, as they say, is history.
We love giving Valentine’s gifts. To our kids, friends, partners. It never hurts to have a little nudge to show the people in our lives how much they mean to us. We are especially excited for this year’s gift guide, as we have curated a selection of Valentine’s gifts at Collected (for women *and* men!) that can fit any recipient – from delicate pink champagne coupes to hand-carved heart-shaped bowls to gorgeous books to leather journals and everything in between. We hope you find something you like, and are inspired for giving to the ones you love.
Estelle colored glass coupes are always a favorite. And they come with a great story.
Candles are a hot commodity this time of year. Is there anything more zen during cold weather than relaxing by the fireplace with a candle and your beverage of choice? We think not. At Collected, we’ve done our best to curate a thoughtful selection of luxurious candles with long burn times, premium ingredients and impossibly gorgeous scents. We have another criteria, though, that we apply to our candle selection: a backstory. Because in a saturated market like candles, knowing how your candle is made, where the ingredients came from and why the scent was chosen by the creator can make all the difference.
Today we’re profiling a few of our current favorites, but the selection in store and online is even greater, with more candle backstories to come!
Baobob
As much a decorative object as a candle, Baobob has been perfuming the indoors since the 2002. The mouth-blown glass vessels are true works of art, with special editions sometimes even incorporating precious metals or handcrafted leather. Because the company considers itself a perfumer, specialized “noses” scour the globe for essences and raw materials resulting in unparalleled scents. And the hand-poured wax goes through several phases of production to achieve the highest-quality burn. True beauties.
Leave it to the French to create a candle that is effortlessly luxurious and beautiful. The word bastide itself even means “manor house,” a south of France mainstay of luxury and beauty. Bastide was recently acquired by a third generation family of scientists and formulators, serious about bringing captivating scents and Provence’s most natural ingredients to Bastide candles and beauty products. Each product line is overseen by a “Beautisan,” the term coined by Bastide to honor the French artisans who create them. In the case of Bastide candles, a team of these beautisans, including a dedicated “nose,” work together to bring these elegant candles to market. Scent inspiration in Provence is easy to come by, and Bastide candles evoke memories of lavender fields, sun-soaked afternoon walks or a lazy lunch. Each scent has its own wax blend designed to maximize that specific fragrance. And each candle is made from hand-blown bubble wax, resulting in a perfectly imperfect and unique vessel.
Homesick pays homage to the essence of communities and captures the spirit of memory, all with a touch of whimsy. But they are not just slapping a label on a candle that smells good and calling it Chicago. No, for a location candle like Chicago, Homesick speaks to between dozens of residents, visits local favorites, pays attention to the scents of the food and the city itself, and then tests different scents with community members until they feel they have captured the essence of their city. This painstaking process means that if you own a homesick candle, you’ll likely be experiencing core scent memories from the comfort of your own home.
Lumira candles were born from a love of travel and passion for design. Each artisanal Lumira scent is reminiscent of a specific spot on the globe – whether a countryside village, luxurious island resort, or bustling metropolis – again, evoking the important human connection to scent memories. The woman behind Lumira, Almira Armstrong, (three cheers for women-owned businesses!) is also passionate about sustainability, and so the brand is committed to environmentally conscious business practices and giving back to their community.
Still needing some last minute gifts for a client or colleague? The thing we love about this category is that it can span so many different interests and hobbies. And we’ve got a little something for everyone…
We tried to think outside the box for our holiday gift collection for the man in your life. Because they’re not all fans of cocktails and golf, right? (But, some are. We’ve got you.)
Your brother, cousin, uncle, husband probably likes things that smell nice. But maybe they don’t know where to start. Help them out.
We’ll be featuring gift guides over the next few weeks for all the special people in your lives. First up, and just in time for Thanksgiving gatherings, The Host.
Our team is not messing around when it comes to sourcing pillows.
Tiffany, our purchasing lead, makes a yearly summer sojourn to coastal New England. Is she just relaxing in the summer breeze while she is there? Nope. Last summer, she stumbled across one of our new favorite partners for pillows, a small company producing truly unique pieces, made from hand-blocked and mud printed textiles. Their fabrics carry all those coastal summer vibes, but because they produce them in year-round colorways, they are still look just at home during the fall and winter months. And, Collected is the only place in the Midwest you can find these!
We carry these hand-blocked prints with a whole array of new solid pillows in a variety of textures, like velvets, boucles, linens. We love mixing textures, which is just as important as having a variety of colors and patterns. Varied textures bring interest and a cozy, collected feel to a space. For example, using a larger linen or boucle pillow as the base on a bed or sofa, then layering in smaller pillows with pattern is a foolproof layering strategy. Velvet works too! And we are fans of mixing patterns as well, but when we do, we always incorporate either two different patterns (i.e., a stripe and a floral) or those with different pattern scales, for example, a larger floral print paired with a smaller, quieter pattern.
Hope these tips from our pillow experts are helpful as we enter the season of frequent decor changes!
