Thursday, June 28, 2007

Score!

I really appreciate nice packaging on products. I'm a fan of good design. But the down side is that my clients tend to hang on to nice packaging indefinitely because "it will be a good container for something someday." I'm OK with keeping packaging if we can actually put it to use for something specific and soon. For the most part I don't practice this in my own home, except for this one instance (that I can think of)...

It is a very rare occasion that I seriously consider asking a client for something they are getting rid of. Many months ago I spotted a Crown Royal bag in the depths of a client's closet. I had been keeping an eye out for one to give my mother-in-law for Christmas because she is an avid Scrabbler and was using a Ziploc for her tiles, which means you have to draw tiles while holding the bag behind your back. Crown Royal bags make excellent storage for Scrabble tiles. They are the perfect size and shape, the feel of the wood tiles in the flannel is very pleasant and the drawstring functions well.

Well, we never got to the closet until last week. I had forgotten about the Crown Royal bag because my quest for it was over--fortunately, I happened to find a flannel Sephora bag to give my mother-in-law for Christmas. But it was still good timing--I just got Rett a new Scrabble set for his birthday--the kind that rotates and has indentations for the tiles which make it more cat-resistant. Anyway, the synthetic bag or plastic pouch that comes with a Scrabble set these days barely functions and has an unpleasant tactile quality. So, I scored the bag for our new Scrabble set.Yes, it's visually quite tacky but perfect in every other way.

Friday, June 15, 2007

More Cable Control

Geralin Thomas sent me this link which shows a pegboard-based under-desk cord and gadget management system. Now if it just attached to the underside of the desk with a hinge so it could be folded up, out of view...