Design Public

Fresh off the Q&A boat: an interview with Jesse Johnson, the Co-Founder and CEO of Q Collection Junior. We couldn’t be more excited about the addition of their eco-friendly baby furniture to our site. Their products are made from locally sourced materials, with non-toxic, low VOC water based paints and stains, and formaldehyde-free glues (not to mention design savvy and beautiful). Enjoy!

Please tell us a bit about the path that led you into founding Q Collection. What was the turning point that lead to Q Collection Junior?

Back in 1999, Anthony and I (the co-founders) were looking around for home furnishings for my apartment in lower Manhattan. Anthony was an interior designer and I was immersed in the world of environmental management. We asked ourselves if we could find items that had the quality and design Anthony was used to working with while also having the sustainable features I sought. We failed to find anything already in existence. If we wanted truly green things, we had to give up on quality and design. If we wanted quality and design, we had to give up on sustainability. That planted the seed. What about all the folks, like us, who want both - high quality and fresh design with the healthiest, most environmentally friendly materials?

We made some prototypes and opened a temporary showroom in 2003. There was far less understanding and awareness around (more…)

Looking to coordinate your bedding and your Fatboy? The long wait is over! The new Fatboy’s by Dwell are live on the site!

This is Dwell’s first licensing deal, and we hold the worldwide exclusive for a limited time.

Check out the complete collection here.

Lucky Jade=Lucky Babe! It is the “It Blanket” of the year; according to InStyle magazine, Courtney Cox has one, so you know your baby has to have one too. C’mon, spoil your little one at a very early age; Lucky Jade Baby Blankets are designed by Leslie Pitts, a former fashion designer.

Lucky Jade Baby Blankets are spun from only the finest cashmere yarn (more…)

Chris Ford writes Modern Day Dad, a resource for stay-at-home dads. He includes the dad stuff I’ve found that’s cool, that works for the baby (or doesn’t work), as well as his own personal experiences.

There are two facts that, when you are preparing for a new baby, become painfully apparent. The most obvious is that this is something brand new. Not just new as in “Um, why did I trade my life that I’m perfectly happy with for a new one that I know absolutely nothing about?”, but also new as in a fresh start. It’s like you’re given this project completely from the beginning, and it’s up to you to make it as cool as possible.

(more…)

Elizabeth Thielke writes Busy Mom (go figure). “40 years old, married to Busy Dad for 15 years. 3 kids: Busy Girl (10) Busy Boy (9) and The Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby (3).”

I may or may not have a talent for home design and decorating, I’m really not sure. When faced with a room that needs that special something like oh, say, paint, I tend to freeze up and not know what I want and, therefore, don’t end up doing anything. I think it stems from growing up in a home with all white walls and linens; my father wouldn’t tolerate anything else. Fortunately, I live in an old house that is detailed enough to be interesting on its own and I don’t have to do a lot to it downstairs. Upstairs? Not quite as interesting. It needs a little more effort.

(more…)

Kyra and her husband Robertson founded Twenty2, a Brooklyn-based design shop producing a variety of textiles and wallcoverings. Their latest creation is Wallbands, a line of easy-to-apply, pre-pasted, washable wall patterns.

Kids really seem to dig our Wallbands. When we showed our 5-year-old nephew Brooks some early samples of our Wallbands collection, he immediately said, “I want to see all of them” and proceeded to spread them out on the floor and choose his favorites.

(more…)

Beth Adams writes Crazy Us, a blog about her family and life in Utah. She and her husband Dave have two beautiful and creative kids whose escapades give her plenty of material.

When I was about eight months pregnant with my second son, Eli, l panicked and realized that I had a lot of decorating to do, or at least in the “nesting” frenzy I was in, I thought I had a lot of decorating to do. Kyle was almost two and we had recently moved into a new house. It was one of those suburban cookie cutter homes in the Washington DC area filled with big, bare white walls to cover.

(more…)

Mrs. Kennedy writes Fussy. And to her, “writing well is the best revenge.”

White towels are a bad idea if you live with a four-year-old boy. Or a forty-five year old man, or yourself, who inhabits a body that houses a soul that never learned to bleach anything without burning a hole right through it.

We recently moved into a condo that gave my son and us, his parents, our own separate bedrooms for the first time in our family life. Decorating decisions were made and at least one of them spawned from the demon seed of Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse! Disney Colors is a line of interior paint I found at Home Depot on one of fifteen or so disorienting trips to the big boxes to agonize over carpet samples and bathroom fixtures. I was drawn, zombie-like, to the colorful rack of paint chips near the cash register, their unearthly colors a strangely compelling antidote to hours of contemplating the mind-numbing nuances of beige and chrome. I quickly collected a fat handful of sample cards and stuffed them into my bag, wondering who was going to have more fun playing with them, me or my son.

(more…)

IMPORTANT AMENDMENT!

I wrote my Top Ten Baby Gifts List before we had the Zid Zid Cushions up on the site. For frivolous fun, there are the Zid Zid Animal Shaped Cushions - I think I am most drawn to the elephant and the giraffe. Then again, the crocodile reminds me of my preppy 1980’s youth, and you have to love a pink zebra…basically, you can’t go wrong. Plus, for less than fifty bucks, you have not broken the bank yet you’ve given the gift that stands out in the sea of generic* baby gifts everyone else is sending.

If you are more generous with your baby gift budget than I am, go for the Zid Zid Mini Poofs. These are artsy little squishy cushion seats for tots. The designs look like they belong at MoMA, the color combos are totally unexpected, yet they still meet the universal standards for “cute.” Seriously, whether new mommy is a modern design aficionado, a Pottery Barn junkie, or into Kountry Krafts, you can’t lose.

O.K., seriously, as far as the modern Kids and modern Baby categories go, I think these might be my new very very very favorite! I mean, I am 33 years old and childless, yet I really want the giraffe cushion and am desperately trying to figure out how to make it work in my place. Check out the Zid Zid site to find learn more about the adventurous spirits of the founders, the inspirations provided by Moroccan artisans and the names and talents of all the pillow animals.

Lizabeth Sorensen writes the “Daily Stroll”, a daily article profiling new designers and boutiques delivering style, humor and exclusive promotions on hot products for mama and baby. Her website is also supported by a blog and forum in which mothers from all over the world share their experiences and favorite products.

We are thinking of putting our house on the market. I should be afraid of the comments from potential buyers trampling through our home making remarks about each detail, but I am not.

(more…)