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| Sami Xia |
Hualien is on the eastern coast of Taiwan, a beautiful area of beaches covered in flat, round stones, a short distance from Taroka National Park, its waterfalls and thermal pools tinted a stunning blue due to calcium carbonate leached from limestone in the ground.
I've been there, years ago. Not much of a connection but, arriving at McCormick Place Monday and confronting the 360-degree visual overload of the Inspired Home Show, it was enough to point me in the direction of Hualian Ceramics, not immediately noticing the difference between "Hualien" and "Hualian." I wondered what is new in the world of china.
"Matte glaze is a popular trend," said Sami Xia, a customer manager at Hunan Hualian China Industry Co.
It took a moment to get my mind around "matte glaze" — it seemed a contradiction in terms, like "dull shiny" — and in that spirit of clarity we should probably address the 2024 show's new name.
If the "Inspired Home Show" drew a blank, that's because prior to the 2022 show, it was the International Home + Housewares Show. Of course I had to know how that happened. It's like changing the name of the Chicago Auto Show to the Impressive Wheels Show.
"The Inspired Home Show name connects not only buyer to seller but also product to lifestyle, and the housewares industry to the consumer mindset," explained Debbie Teschke, a senior manager in public relations and communications at the International Housewares Association.
OK then. As an admirer of tangible objects — they have such solidity compared to the evanescent, flapping luna moths of words — I like to go to the show, whatever it's called, to revel in bowls and cups, mops and sponges.
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| Matt Hall of Matt Halls — no possessive — Toilet Table greets Lise Schleicher of Basket Works. |
Well that sports betting scandal you foresaw seems to have occurred
ReplyDeleteMaybe, and maybe not. Othtani will not come out of this smelling like a Rose. It will all be swept under the tatami floor mat by MLB. The interpreter will take the fall, and maybe go to prison for a while, and then be released and collect the big payoff. In other words...he's the patsy. Wow. Haven't used that one since Oswald.
DeleteOOPS...my bad...it's Shohei Ohtani, whose nickname is "Shotime"...
DeleteCan't say that the notion didn't go through my mind that Ohtani might be the one gambling, with the interpreter just a bagman. But what an incredible high-risk, low-payoff behavior. And he just got married! Say it ain't so.
Deletejohn
Matt Halls (no apostrophe) invention is biased toward right handed people. It is even more awkward than an old school desk because you have to reach (ahem) behind. Though it appears to be attachable to either side, it doesn't look like something you could easily adjust /reposition every time you used the toilet. Our household would need two.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it can be installed on either side of the toilet. But a far more important question is, just who needs anything that stupid?
DeleteActually, it can be installed on either side of the toilet.
DeleteAnd Clark St, trust me when I tell you there is in fact a market for that. There can be a need to have water, medication, etc easily at hand and there are bathrooms that are not set up in a way to allow for that.
Mom would never want to leave this event, never mind that she has every kitchen gadget known to the free world. Including Temu! 😂
ReplyDeleteWell, that color is hideous. And the whole concept of "color of the year" feeds into First World Conspicuous Consumption. That said from someone living in a, by most standards, tinyish home for 30 years now, now housing "My Dead Relatives Museum". It has a lot of closets and cabinets but if something new comes in, it's a reorg. or something goes. But, it's stuff with some meaning-most of the kitchen came from relatives including a nice set of cast iron pans and big soup pot my Dad used a lot. The toilet table LOL...my Dad's was the clothes hamper where the Daily News Sports page landed every morning.
ReplyDeleteThat Toilet Table looks awfully small to be useful, and as Jill A said it’s awkwardly placed. There’s also the consideration that I don’t want to spend more time cleaning anything toilet-related than I already do and you know the arm of the thing would need to be regularly scrubbed.
ReplyDeleteThe website shows it being used to hold a mug, a phone, a razor, some Legos. I suppose somebody could make a case for the first two, but I don’t want to think about it.
If you spend more than 90 seconds at the toilet, you should probably see a doctor
ReplyDelete