Author Archive

Go for the Gold » Brass Takes the Cake

Oji Masanori Brass Paperweights


Although brass is not a traditional medalling metal – and although paperweights belong to the class of less-than-necessary desktop equipment – we’re awarding gold to these exceptional objects by Japanese designer Oji Masanori. The solid brass polyhedra will oxidize over time, building up a gorgeous patina. They come in three different shapes, each with a satisfying heft and unfussy integrity. These paperweights are clearly made for more than holding down a stack of bills: they’re meant to be admired and held in the hand and set down on the top page of your finished novel, for example, by the window on a breezy day. Buy the set from one of our favorite shops for all things home, Toronto-based Mjölk.

Continue reading...

Papercuts » New Year, New Notes!

Inspiration Pad by TM

“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” advises Emily Dickinson. She may not have had these particular notebooks in mind, but we think they’re the perfect way for any writer to set a slanting course…

Continue reading...

Gift Guide » Buy the Best for Your Bookworm!

Established & Sons Landmark Table LampCampomaggi Leather Messenger BagTarget's Fish Bowl Bookends
Knock Knock Personal Library KitCustom Embossed Monogram SealMontblanc Fountain Pens
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David MitchelliBride Junior Polar Bear BookshelfOut of Print Tees The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

For some of us, the holiday season is about one thing and one thing only. Ok, two things. Ok, a bunch of things—all nicely wrapped and book-related. Because there is nothing more satisfying than winter reading, whether it’s the classic you know almost by heart, the novel everybody else already read six months ago, or the thriller you’ll never admit you couldn’t put down.

Continue reading...

Welcome Home » Pining for Powder-Coated Steel


For ages now we’ve been singing the praises of powder-coated steel to anyone who would listen, and we love what Copenhagen-based designer Peter Johansen has been doing with this lightweight and flexible material…

Continue reading...

Bookworm » It’s Never Too Late…


It’s never too late to have a happy childhood, as our dad likes to say—and indeed, having discovered Joëlle Jolivet’s lusciously illustrated children’s books, we’re about ready for a second helping. We’ve been aware of Jolivet’s work for some time now: while browsing our favorite librairies…

Continue reading...

Welcome Home » It’s Not That You Need It: Kiosk Store


We’ll be the first to admit it. Blogging at Lo’s List, it’s sometimes easy to get carried away in the pursuit of the top ten next best things. It’s easy to get caught on the twin, sophisticated prongs of design & marketing. Luckily, just when we need it, a site like Kiosk Store will pop up on our radar and rebuke the faster-better-brighter habits of our industry.

Continue reading...

Second Look » Bruna’s Maigret


Dutch author and illustrator Dick Bruna is probably best known as the creator of MiffyNijntje in Dutch — the cute but inscrutable rabbit dressed like a toddler and pictured, in bold lines and primary colors, at the zoo, in the snow, at the seaside, etc…

Continue reading...

Welcome Home » Unto This Last

Your Lo’s List London correspondents have recently moved into new, unfurnished digs in Islington and, as you can imagine, we’ve had flat-pack on our minds for weeks. But while it’s all well and good to put together beds and shelves with nothing more than Allen keys and some frustrating pegs, some pieces of furniture demand more care in their selection. With all the hours we spend at our computers each day, the choice of a perfect writing desk was always going to be a difficult one. What a relief, then, that a weekend trip to the Columbia Road flower market and Brick Lane led us right to the door of Unto This Last…

Continue reading...

Bookworm » Boys’ Adventure

With the summer reading season in full swing and just when we had tired of this year’s Swedish crime wave, we were delighted when a friend sent us the new boxed set of the Penguin Books’ Boys’ Adventures series…

Continue reading...

Do-Goodism » Adopt-a-Sloth

Despite all our efforts here at Lo’s List to bring you the best of art, design and commerce on the internet, there should be little doubt of what the world-wide-web, regretably, is really for: the sharing of sneezing pandas, short-sighted manatees and, now, these adorable, tottering baby sloths. Shot at the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, this video features our Folivoran friends doing what they do best: sleeping, yawning, falling over, eating, sleeping, hanging from stuff while asleep, eating stuff while apparently asleep, scratching their butts and sleeping. No other creature that we know of has evolved quite this degree of somnambulatory excellence.

Continue reading...

World Cup Fever » African Arenas

All photos from African Arenas © Thomas Hoeffgen

At this stage of the tournament, with so many favored teams crashing out (see yesterday’s Brazil v. Holland shock) and with the hopes of entire continents dashed by the sporting fates (poor Ghana! perfidious Suárez!) it may be time for a reminder that the World Cup is, after all, about football. At the heart of the carefully managed fanfare of this four-yearly feast is a simple game, played with no more than a ball and a set of posts. A new book by photographer Thomas Hoeffgen, African Arenas, captures just that pared-down beauty of the game…

Continue reading...

World Cup Fever » Gola Mondo!


The World Cup gets plenty loud (thank you, vuvuzelas) without the usual crop of blaring, testosterone-driven, slow-motion mashups that clog the half-time advertising slots, so we at Lo’s List were delighted to discover PepperMelon’s new ad for The Observer and The Guardian. The cleverly designed characters skittering around on their tiny legs, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, capture all of the gentle, obnoxious joy that we feel every four years when the Beautiful Game takes over our lives.

Continue reading...