Ever had a hard time communicating with your housekeeper? Originally published by Margaret Storm and Elsie Ginnett in 1964, Home Maid Spanish provides handy colloquial translations such as: La iglesia Catolica mas cerca esta en____, meaning "the nearest Catholic Church is located at ____". There is also, Sabe Usted cambiar el dinero americano, or "Do you know how to make change in American money?" And, my personal favorite is De al nino sopa, legumbre, fruta, huevo y jugo de naranja, which means "Give the Baby soup, vegetable, fruit, egg and orange juice". There is also information regarding how many cookies to give the children when they get home from school, and detailed instructions on the art of defrosting. I found this book at a friend's house, who I think has actually used the book with her cleaning lady. The crazy thing is that this book was originally published at a time when many women were still not a significant contributors to the workplace, which led me to wonder what they were doing while their maids/slaves (slave-maids? maid-slaves?) were hard at work. Only one thing came to mind: highly-addictive pain-killers/anti-depressants. This book is still in print and is available at Books for Comfort.

 

source: me 

Drew Olbrich is the winner. Placed on his desk, he appropriately calls it "Thing in a jar." It is composed of rubber cement, Super Sculpy sculpturing compound, acryllic paint and Coca-Cola. The intention is to weird-out co-workers and ultimately make his cubicle the talk of the IT Department. I say it is well worth the time invested. See more of how he concocted this brilliance on his website.

 

Kevin Staniec is the Executive Creative Director for ISM: A Community Project (501c3 Non Profit), and spends a great deal of his time promoting the work of others from around the world. Currently, ISM is in the process of setting up their own permanent gallery in Long Beach, CA, which should be finalized sometime in the very near future. Today, Staniec's own revamped website went live and will showcase his many personal projects including prose, poetry, screenwriting and photography. For more information visit www.kevinstaniec.com.

source: kevinstaniec.com 

This set was created by TWR Designs and is a neat twist on an old item. By old item, I am referring to the "chair." Half industrial and half 80's office furniture, we are into this. Available at Etsy.com.

 

 

source: contemporist.com 

The Italian Orbini company, famous for their various leather accessories, just unveiled a new style for the iPod Touch: The Corsa. Hand-sewn, this new cover comes in various colors including a "stained- wood" option. One of the coolest parts of this case is the belt-clip which doubles as a stand. These are handcrafted in Florence, Italy and they are a steal at $99US. For more information and to purchase, visit the Orbini website.

 

source: orbina.com 

Here is a neat design concept from Boex 3D Creative Solutions. They have constructed a bench out of 1600 individually sprung pink pencils. The commission was to incorporate an ordinary office product into a piece of furniture. This piece is not only eye-catching, but functional. Each pencil is removable and ready for use. See more at boex.co.uk.

 

source: notcot.org