4/30/08

Photo Shoot

Guess what I'm wearing for my photo shoot with the LA Times? Yep, if you've been following for a few months now you'll know I wouldn't dare wear anything other than my designer jeans that I SWORE I wouldn't wear to work in...that I've been wearing practically everyday for a month...to work in.

I tried my hardest to look presentable. My husband actually looked surprised when I came out out of the bathroom because it's been so long since he's seen me put on makeup and curl my hair and let's face it, really just take a shower.

Anyhow, I have to run. They should be here any minute and I have to practice sucking in my stomach for the photos....

Ok, I forgot to mention, the LA Times Home Section will have a small piece on Mod Mom Furniture for the Mother's Day edition which I believes comes out on the Thursday before Mother's Day. :)

4/27/08

Cool Mom Picks The Bertie Box!



Liz and Kristen, the smart and funny writers from Cool Mom Picks, picked the Bertie Box for today's Pick. They both bought the Gracie Toy Box last year so it makes me really proud to know they think enough of their own Mod Mom Furniture pieces to tout another one!

Thanks Liz and Kristen!

Go to the post by clicking the link here.


4/24/08

The Sam Toy Box on Dwell Magazine's Online Products of the Day

YEAH!! Dwell Magazine rocks!

I love that magazine! I hope the article made my dog (Sam) and one of my favorite kids, Sam Gottlieb, proud.

Click belowfor the link:

http://www.dwell.com/products/day

4/23/08

The Bertie Box's Cousins







I've been thinking about cousins to the Bertie Box. Other abstract modern, shapes that work well as lids that I can make into bodies of animals, insects, what not.

Scott was drawing a few the other night -- he has the drawing talent in the family -- and we came up with a few ideas.

Anyone care to comment on these ideas or have any that you'd love to see made into a toy box?
I'd love to know what you think!
  • Owl
  • Spider
  • Frog

4/22/08

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

More later...I'm in the middle of cutting down trees. (bad joke, I know.)

Seriously, I'm cutting the new Purebond plywood all day! Now that's how you spend an Earth Day!!!

4/21/08

The Monday List

I'm in a very list-y kinda mood today. Ya know how Mondays are, right? My post will be in list form today in honor of said mood. Ok, maybe it's really because my items are unrelated. There. You caught me.

  1. Grace had her first T-Ball game on Saturday so I posted a little video for our relatives that don't get to see the live action. Check out Grace's mad skills on the pitcher's mound by clicking here. Seriously, it's hilariously cute.
  2. Velvet Cushion posted about Mod Mom Furniture over the weekend. YEAH! :)
  3. Ok, I'm all out of list items and I now have to go build. Maybe I'll think of more random things later and post about them.

4/17/08

Same Products, New Wood!

I....was...in....heaven....today!!!!

Seriously, it was a GREAT day! First Scott, Little G, and I made our way to Phillips Plywood to check out some of Columbia Forest Products' Purebond plywood. Get this. It's formaldehyde-free!! They use a soy-based adhesive that contains little to no formaldehyde, therefore it's environmentally safe. So I'm jumping on that bandwagon and quick! Nothing better than furniture that's super eco-friendly!

Anyhow, back to heaven. So we got a tour of Phillips Plywood and I even got a parting gift! I got to take home a couple of sheets of plywood for free! I'm working on a Bertie Box (see below) made from this new plywood and am thrilled with how it looks, works, and feels. You'll hear lots more about Mod Mom Furniture and Purebond in the coming months.



Did mention I got to see all kinds of plywood today? And Grace got a Phillips Plywood hat? It's almost as good as Disneyland!! If they sold cotton candy there, it would easily compare to The Happiest Place on Earth...for me, that is.

4/14/08

We're Back from Baby Celebration LA

WHEW! So we're back and in one piece. The show was great -- well attended and super organized. I only made a fool of myself a couple of times, I believe. :)

I have to send out BIG thanks to my family and friends. There is no way I could have gotten it all done (and so well) without you! Much love to all of you! I have to figure out a way to say thanks that equals all the love and support you've given me. So I doubt I can give you a crappy bottle of Charles Shaw wine. But I might try!!!

Here are some photos from the show...










4/8/08

Design Public Has A Q&A with Mod Mom Furniture



It's Mod Mom Furniture Day on Design Public! Yeah!!


And I have to say, the folks that run Design Public could not be nicer or more supportive! They've been wonderful -- really top notch!


Check out the Q&A on Hatch: The Design Public Blog


4/7/08

Staph Break

I'm taking a quick break from building a table and two chairs to set the record straight. If you come to the show on Saturday or Sunday and you see me, you won't get a staph infection. Apparently, my staph infection turned out to be a non-lethal spider bite. YEAH!! So good news all around...except for what I learned before the nurse herded me into my doctor's visit room.

I learned that stepping on a scale in a doctor's office is bad for your health. And even if you close your eyes, chances are the nurse will YELL the unmentionable number into the air even though you're standing there, on the scale, WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED.

So I sit here drinking Diet Coke, eating a protein only snack, knowing that later tonight, when we meet friends at a mexican restaurant, if I want to eat, I have to smuggle in low-carb tortillas. And sip Scott's margarita like those carbs don't count cuz it's not my glass.

But hey, NO staph infection here!!!! YEAH!!

4/6/08

Glitch versus Good

It just hit me today that the big show (which I won't mention again because you'll want to to deck me) is coming up on Saturday. I really feel like I'm following my production schedule fairly well but you just never know about how it'll all play out.

For instance, I hadn't planned on having a staph infection. Yep, a staph infection bump right there on my left thigh. Little G had one a month ago so I figured I got lucky somehow, and didn't contract one even though I had to put the antibiotic cream on her wound daily. So I think I'll have to fit in a doctor's visit. Something tells me they won't like it if I bring part of a toy box to the waiting room and start sanding. Glitch number one.

Glitch number two is that I forgot I have no marketing/ customer service department or at least they're nowhere to be found. Except in the garage building furniture. So I dragged my butt out of the workshop and made myself design marketing stuff for the show which always takes longer than you'd like. I do have to commend Kinko's for a BRILLIANT service where you design the piece (I did mine in Illustrator) and upload it online. Apparently, it's ready today. My staph infection and I will go pick it up later!

Thankfully my family (my parents and sister, brother-in-law and their gorgeous son, Chase) is coming into town on Tuesday!! I'm so excited to see them, not to mention there have been many offers of help to cook, help me build furniture, make me Bloody Mary's, and just being their loving, caring selves. They know how big the "show" is and will help keep me sane and laughing this week.

OK, my marketing department is now telling me I have to stop writing and start designing another piece for the show. Damn pushy people, they are!

4/3/08

That's it....we're moving to Italy



While putting off my workout this morning, I stumbled upon this post on an Italian Design Blog called DesignerBlog. It sure is a good thing I took Spanish in high school!! After staring at the text trying desperately for it to magically translate, I got the bright idea to use an online translation program. Here's babelfish's translation of the post ( but if anyone knows Italian and knows differently, let me know. Maybe it actually says something like this woman is crazy and her toy boxes are shite)....

Kiersten is a mother who under the name of of Mod Mom Furniture constructs furnitures of design for children, in its garage. Its containers for giocattoli are prati to us color and amusing how much to you the games that contain. Bertie Box becomes a game companion, with the shape of the orange chick that hops via from its puzzle. The container in plywood and birch, supplied of wheels, becomes therefore to the capacity of the player a physical place imagination every. The small Bertie Box will fly to the Baby Celebration the Show the 12 opens them, for the joy of large and piccini. The furnitures of Mod Mom from today are also in sale on Designpublic.com

Click the DesignerBlog link above for the post!

Featured on Crafty Site of The Day



Check out this cool downloadable gadget featuring a crafty site of the day! Beth was kind enough to feature me today. :) In order to get the gadget, you have to download it. Click the link below for instructions...

http://www.eucalyptushandmade.com/gadget.aspx

4/2/08

Baby Celebration LA Tickets!



As you know (because I've mentioned it five million times), I'm going to be a vendor at the Baby Celebration LA show in April. If you live in LA or are going to be in LA on April 12th and 13th and would like two-for-one tickets (only pay $10 for two adults), please let me know!

Please shoot me an email to kiersten@modmomfurniture.com or simply post a comment on this post with your email address. I will contact you via email to get your address and get the tickets in the mail to you!

Here are the details:

Normal Ticket price: $10 per adult (age 13+), Kids under age 13 free
Parking: $12.00
LA Convention Center, South Hall, Hall K
Saturday April 12th, 10am-6pm
Sunday, April 13th, 11am-6pm