National Treasures: Garza Marfa

It's turning into a Marfa-themed week around here. I posted Tuesday about the whimsical, wonderful hotel/campground El Cosmico and, while doing a bit more poking around about this Texas town, came across the glorious furniture of Garza Marfa. 

Designed by husband-and-wife team Jamey Garza and Constance Holt-Garza, the line's leather furniture has a wonderful modern-meets-Western vibe to it. I'm particularly charmed by their saddle leather cot which, when decorated with some of their vibrant, folksy pillows, looks like the perfect thing for an afternoon of lounging. Here are a few more of my favorite Garza Marfa pieces, and you can view their whole collection here.

National Treasures: Seasonal Charts by Young America Creative

How pretty are these seasonal charts from the California-based design team Young American Creatives? I first laid eyes on the foil-pressed fruits and vegetables poster (below), which features a month-by-month list of the fruits and vegetables at their peak harvest time. They also make seasonal charts for wildflowers and seafood, framed or unframed, all of which make great gifts for folks who love food or gardening. Shop the collection and read more about YAC here. 

National Treasures: Cool Culinaria

So excited to share this week's entry in the National Treasures section, Cool Culinaria. Founded in 2012 with the aim of bringing the vintage art of dining back into focus, Cool Culinaria seeks out menus from restaurants, bars, cafes, diners, drive-ins, nightclubs, and hotels and restores them, turning them into beautiful pieces of art. The collection includes menus from all over the world with dates ranging from the 19th Century to the 1970s, though they have a particularly wide range of menus from U.S. cities famous for dining, including New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and Las Vegas.

My favorite part of the site are the "Private Collections," where they've created prints from menu collections from the Culinary Institute of America and personal collectors like Harley Spiller, who was given a Guinness World Record for his collection of Chinese restaurant menus. Prints are created on textured art paper using archival ink and printed in New York, and their coasters, mugs, and other paraphernalia are also made in the U.S.A. One of the best parts about the site is that they include the story behind the restaurants each menu are from, so be sure to save a few hours for browsing. 

National Treasures: Maple Landmark Woodcraft

I'm always on the hunt for unique toys for my son, and I recently came across the work of Maple Landmark Woodcraft, based in Middlebury, Vermont. The family-run company of about 40 folks makes all their products in-house, and there are a wonderful range of gifts for kids. Among my favorite are the beautifully engraved alphabet blocks (above), created from locally sourced, sustainably harvested maple hardwood. I also adore their list of "fantasy play" toys (swords! magic wands!) and old-fashioned hobby and rocking horses. Here's a look at more of their work, and you can shop the entire catalogue on their website.