2016 – The Goods

Uncommon Knowledge: Where Was Hollywood Before Hollywood?

April 11, 2016

Although the movie industry has gone global in the 21^st century, Hollywood remains synonymous with movie making. But that wasn’t always the case. For almost a decade between 1912 and 1920, idyllic Ithaca, NY was the cinematic capital of the US. Movie moguls of the silent era Theodore and Leopold Wharton came to the Finger Lakes community (initially to shoot scenes for a Western), fell in love with the area’s many charms, and set up a studio near the Cayuga Lake shore. This brought superstars of the day like Oliver Hardy, Lionel Barrymore (great uncle of Drew), and Harry Houdini to town, and also attracted other filmmakers to Tompkins County. With the advent of “talkies,” the industry soon shifted to the West Coast, and Ithaca today is known for the intellectual enclave of Cornell University and for its bounty of farm-to-table culture. But for a few years around the First World War, the town hosted the early heyday of movie magic.

DIY Cinema Lightbox | $15-60

Design

Taco Serving Kit and Storage Box: Elevate Your Fiesta

April 11, 2016

Taco Night. So much to love… except for all the prep involved in setting the table – finding all the bowls you need to store your cheese, lettuce, beans, salsa, red onions, and guac…Not to mention the actual taco assembly – figuring out how to fill and eat it (whether you’re in the hard taco or soft taco camp) without everything spilling out…And then, at the very end, cleaning everything up and playing cabinet-Tetris to put all your bowls and dishes back into storage. What a workout. Taco Night would be so much better with a little bit of assistance.

Maker Stories

Inside the Artist’s Studio (& Classroom!) with Jim Loewer

April 9, 2016

Inside the Artist's Studio with Jim Loewer | UncommonGoods

Jim Loewer at work in his Philadelphia studio, photos by Emily Dryden and Rachel Orlow

Every time I visit an artist’s studio, I get a completely unique experience. That’s usually because each artist’s space is filled with decor that expresses their personality, pieces handmade in their own style, and the specific tools that help tell the story of how those pieces were made. In the case of our most recent Studio Tour, the experience was special in a new way. I, along with our tabletop buying team and two photographers, actually had a hands-on creative experience led by long-time UncommonGoods artist glassblower and teacher, Jim Loewer.

Jim welcomed us into his Philadelphia studio, offered us drinks and snacks, gave us the safety rundown, and then let us each get behind the flame and actually work with molten glass as he took us through his pendant making workshop. I left Jim’s studio feeling so inspired and accomplished, knowing that I had made something beautiful under the guidance of a talented professional artist, and the whole way back to Brooklyn, I had a feeling of awe that I think might only come from knowing I just changed the physical state of glass from a solid to a liquid and back again using a shooting 3,000 degree flame.

During the visit, Jim not only walked us through the glass making process and helped us avoid singeing our arm hairs with that 3,000 degree flame, he also told us about finding a great studio space, balancing teaching and creating new work, and choosing interacting with others over being a “troll.”

Gift Guides

Creative Mother’s Day Gifts for Every Mode of Mom

April 8, 2016

Moms come in many modes. While they all love basking in adoration on Mother’s Day (May 8 this year), their gift preferences are unique, reflecting their individual interests and personalities. Below is our 2016 offering of creative ideas for the many types of wondrous Moms and Grandmas.

Now all you have to do is make mom a cute card and breakfast in bed!

The Uncommon Life

Instagram Challenge: WANDERLUST

April 7, 2016

The next Instagram Challenge theme is Wanderlust. For some of us, Instagram might fuel our foodie fire, or it might challenge us to master an unshakable crow pose. But for those who have a chronic itch to experience the world, Instagram presents a whole new can of worms. While your go-to #TravelTuesday accounts might temporarily alleviate your wanderlust, we know that the only real solution is to get up and go. Now that the weather is heating up, it’s time to get moving!

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: What’s the Origin of “Off the Cuff?”

April 6, 2016

You’ve probably heard the phrase “off the cuff” as shorthand for something spontaneous and unrehearsed. And you might also know that it stems from the pre-twentieth-century practice of performers jotting lines on their shirt cuffs that provided discreet white spaces for perfunctory notes. Curiously, the handy phrase may have been in colloquial use for decades before it appeared in print in 1936. That same year, Charlie Chaplin’s classic film Modern Times (1936) featured a scene where Chaplin’s Tramp writes lyrics on his shirt cuffs, only to have them go flying off once he hits the stage, leaving him to improvise to hilarious effect. The earliest known appearance of “off the cuff” in ink was in a Los Angeles Times article bearing the headline “Directors Turn Back Time, Again ‘Shoot Off the Cuff’” which includes the observation that “Chaplin starts a story with an idea, works out each scene as it comes along.” This nod to Chaplin’s famously improvisational style can hardly be a coincidence in light of his popular film performance of the same year, marking the popular adoption of a phrase that was once, well, off the cuff.

Latitude Longitude Cufflinks | $195

Maker Stories

This Just In-spiration: Meet Carla Garro

April 4, 2016

Carla wearing her Circle of Life Earrings at the beach

Our makers never fail to motivate us, encourage our creativity, and fill us with inspiration. So, when a new design enters our assortment, we’re always excited to learn more about the people behind the product.

What gets an artist going and keeps them creating is certainly worth sharing, and every great connection starts with a simple introduction. Meet Carla Garro, the artist behind our new sterling silver sea glass jewelry collection: Her Circle of Life Necklace and matching Earrings, Sea Glass Bangle Bracelet, and 3 Stone Sea Glass Bezel Necklace.

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: What’s the Matter With Glass?

April 4, 2016

If you got just one thing from your elementary school science class, it’s the fact that matter comes in three states—solid, liquid, and gas. And maybe you retained the fact that all matter will change states under the right conditions. Water, for example, takes three forms in your kitchen alone: liquid water, ice, and water vapor (steam). Nothing uncommon so far. Class dismissed.

But wait—what about glass? Solid, right? Windowpanes, drinking glasses, and tiny unicorns are all solid stuff that doesn’t go with the flow. But you may have heard that glass is actually a “super-cooled liquid.” A solid theory? Not quite. Glass is, in fact, an intermediate state of matter that your chemistry teacher probably glossed over—an amorphous solid. Informally, the term “super-cooled liquid” could describe the variable states of any kind of matter (like saying that ice is “super-cooled” water). But glass is special, stuck somewhere between liquid and solid. To us, it appears solid in every way, but on the molecular level, it’s not as clearly organized as crystals like table salt or diamond. Kind of like those people who appear to have it all together, but really, they’re in dire need of the Marie Kondo treatment.

Multicolor Ombre Stemless Wine Glass Set | $85

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