We like it naturally...

Taking nature and eco friendliness into account has become self-evident for most well-respected designers. Many labels use recycled materials (e.g. our very own Ball Chair ;) ), refuse to work with illegal wood and try to minimize their overall ecological footprint. This eco friendly trend also shows in the collection of the brands.

Many design brands have a lot of items that are made of natural materials in their 2013 Spring/Summer collection. XLBoom  recently launched its Pure Collection with the Pure Eco Trays and the Pure Trays Natural. They are of course all available at Smart Living Objects:)

Click on the picture to enlarge

Click on the picture to enlarge

But we're not the only ones :)  Muuto thought of two very original objects : 

The Dots - Coat Hooks

Mini Stacked Shelf System

As mentioned before in one of our our blog posts, Danish brand Bloomingville also has a beautiful collection of small furniture and accessories and combines its typical soberness with natural beauty, thereby emphasizing a pure and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Smart Living Objects really approves of this trend and hopes it will stick longer than the year 2013. Fingers crossed!

By the way, don't forget to participate in our Easter search! If you find the eggs that are hidden on the website and you place an order, you will get a very nice surprise! Click here for more information 

See you next week!

Smart Belgian Chocolate Objects

Easter, also known as 'the Hunt for Eggs', is approaching. On March 31st we will all be searching Easter eggs again. The type of egg differs per country and we're gonna stick (literally) to the ones they use in Belgium, the home country of Smart Living Objects.

Now guess what kind of eggs we use for Easter. Right! The chocolate ones:

Belgian chocolate eggs

Belgian chocolate not only has a purpose for Easter, even though it is very typical. Chocolate is also creatively used in fashion and design. Now bPost - the Belgian National Postal Office - even created stamps that taste like chocolate:

Stamps with a chocolate taste

But Unique Chocolate promotes our National Pride in an even more original way. How about an iPhone or a Retro Camera in handmade Belgian chocolate? Speaking of an original Easter Gift :)

Hunting for chocolate Easter eggs/gifts is FUN. Whether that's indoors or outdoors. That is why Smart Living Objects organizes a Easter Egg Hunt on its website.

We hid 3 Easter eggs in our online store. Every egg is on a different picture. As soon as you’ve found them, you need to fill out where you found them on the website. You can do that in the comment section as soon as you’ve placed an order. If the answer is right, you will receive a nice surprise! Read more about the details of this promotion.

Good luck and happy Easter!

A Smart Table for every summery occasion

Spring is in the air and soon summer will follow. High time to prepare yourself for garden parties, sultry cocktail evenings and tasty picnics. Here at Smart Living Objects we can help you get organized with your summery activities.

1. Garden parties

Garden parties shouldn't be too traditional. Vitra has nice and quite futuristic garden tables in its collection:

If you want to throw your garden party in a somewhat different way, the Tribe Table en Tribe Chairs might be the answer: 

Click on the picture to enlarge

Click on the picture to enlarge

2. Sultry cocktail evenings

When temperatures reach 25 degrees or more, nothing cools you down better than a nice (virgin) cocktail. To keep the bottles cold, XLBoom has come up with an inventive piece of furniture: the Slice with Lid: 

Click on the picture to enlarge

Just fill it with ice, put in the bottles, lay back and enjoy your drinks :)

Click on the picture to enlarge

3. Tasty picnics

Yearning. That's what we are doing. Yearning for good weather and picnics. There's almost nothing better than having lunch on a freshly mowed lawn with people that you care about. But one needs tools :) Trays always come in handy and tables as well of course. Our favourite one for picnics is the Table Small, available in black and white. Easy to carry around as you can easily take it apart:

Click on the picture to enlarge

Click on the picture to enlarge

4. One solution for all of the above

The saying goes: A picture is worth a thousand words. 
Then what about a MOVIE? Enjoy!

This  table is available in a medium and large version. The small foot is always included, so you're always able to build 2 tables.

Any questions/opninions about our products? Don't hesitate to leave a comment!

See you next time!

Getting to know Maxime Szyf

As of last week you can buy 2 new frames at Smart Living Objects: the Luna Frame and the Touter Frame. This latter one is a creation of Belgian designer Maxime Szyf, who has previously earned his stripes working for Samsonite, Verhaert and Delvaux.

Click on the picture to enlarge

We're very happy about the cooperation with Maxime and we're very satisfied with the result. So we considered it was time for you to get to know him a bit better. Hence: an interview!  

Maxime! We all know you are a very talented and therefore busy designer. But what do you like to do in your free time?

Maxime Szyf: I'm a huge music fan. I've never been able to play a musical instrument, which kind of frustrates me, but I used to be a DJ, so that make up for it a bit. I'm constantly listening to new kinds of contemporary music. A hobby that I like to combine when traveling for work. Other hobbies include: running, squash, mountainbiking, snowboarding and surfing. And kite surfing will be my new challenge of the year.

What is your favourite restaurant and why?
Maxime Szyf: I'm a big fan of the oriental kitchen and when it comes to that Antwerp - my home town - has a lot to offer. Roji Sushi is a wonderful Japanese restaurant in the old city centre. For my wife's birthday we went to Pure C in Cadzand, which was amazing. I could see the sea, smell it, and taste it on my plate. When it comes to a fast yet healthy and tasty lunch I prefer Lunchbox near the city theatre.

What design are you most proud of?

Maxime Szyf: What child do you love most? It's impossible for me to answer that. But I prefer projects where there's a strong interaction with the people you're working for and where results speak for themselves.

And every new project is a new challenge to set your sights higher.

Which product of the XLBoom collection do you like and why?

Maxime Szyf: I really like the Cork Bowl by Alain Monnens. Very beautifully designed in cork, a lasting, warm and natural material. And the size is impressive without overdoing it.

What advice would you like to give to young designers?

Maxime Szyf: Go abroad. Learn languages. Get familiar with the environment of your users. Keep drawing with pencil and paper. Take a notebook with you, inspiration can happen everywhere. Think of everything: production, design, price, innovation, functionality, your users, fun...otherwise you're an artist. And last but not least: think positive!

Speaking of which, go enjoy the sun! Cause that's what we're going to do now too :)

See you next time!