What time is it?

By now you should all know what this means.

Heads up

I've got a couple really cool things to share with you tomorrow, but I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up.  They're doing another sale today.

I know.  I know.  Two sale alert posts in one week is a little much, but these things tend to go fast and they are great bargains compared to the others that you'll find online.

They've also got a new repro of the spike clock that I've never seen before.  The regular versions have stained/painted wood spikes, which I assume are oak or another cheap wood.  This new one is somewhat more expensive, but is constructed of solid walnut, which looks to give it a really nice color and grain.  It's definitely worth a look.

Check them out here.

Get 'em while they're hot

There's a replica Nelson clock sale over at the Foundry?!

As always, I'm in!

At this rate, I'll soon have the whole collection.

If you'd like to pick up your own Nelson clock replica on the cheap, hit this LINK and sign up.  These things don't last long!

What do you think, should I pick up the ball clock in yellow, orange, or walnut?

Source: The Foundry

Around the Office: A Little Fishy

Sometimes you find stuff in the oddest places.

A good while back I came across this kitschy, retro cutting board while making a sandwich in the office kitchen.

I knew I'd seen that design somewhere, but just couldn't recall the source and it nagged at me for months.

Source: Vitra

"As a truly multi-talentent designer, George Nelson was also successful as a graphic designer.  His Zoo Timers - strongly colourful personalities from the animal kingdom - contrast sharply with his sculptural wall clocks from the 1950s thanks to their graphic touch. The Zoo Timers offer children a playful and enjoyable approach to telling the time."

That is until I came upon this thumbnail and description on the Vitra website.

A Japanese cutting board knockoff of a George Nelson "Zoo Timer" clock?  How strange and unexpected.

"Things without all remedy should be without regard. What's done is done."

Ahhhh.  Cold medicine, antibiotics, and a full night of sleep were just what I needed.  Never underestimate the power of a Saturday lay-in to cure what ails you.

Unfortunately that lay-in meant that I missed what was probably the greatest estate sale weekend of the last few months.  One sale alone had a Broyhill Brasilia bedroom set, Brasilia dining set, and an American of Martinsville bedroom set.  That's practically a whole house-full of my favorite mid-mod furniture right there.

Ok, so I may have made a mistake.  Surely I could have dealt with one more day of ickyness and sleep deprivation if it meant a chance to get in on the action.  Oh well.

Also, congrats to the St. Louis Cardinals on their World Series win!

It's here! It's here!

It's finally here!

Dana over at Mid2Mod and I both ordered replica Howard Miller by George Nelson spindle clocks (Model No. 2239) from The Foundry way back on October 10th.  The site touted its speedy 2-day shipping, but it would appear that there was a slight miscommunication.  12 long days later, I came home to a big, brown box on my doorstep.

There are a number of manufacturers of knock-off Nelson clocks, but this one turned out to be a Verichron.  The total purchase price was $51.  However, I received a $10 discount off after calling up regarding the shipping delay.  You know what they say, "The squeaky wheel always gets the grease."

Now, I must preface this review by stating that, for the price, I was satisfied with my purchase.  The clock looks great and is as consistent with the original as could be expected.  The only differences that I could ascertain were that the color of the hands is off (white hour hand and orange minute hand vs. black and white, respectively) and it is slightly smaller (18.5" vs. 22").  This is also likely the cheapest Nelson replica you'll find, and, naturally, when you go cheap, the quality isn't going to be all that.  However, I just want to be sure that my readers are aware of several additional issues with this model before committing their purchase.

The first, and most obvious, issue is the "George Nelson" label on the face.  I'm not a big fan of such things and the pictures showed the clock sans label on the website, so that was a bit of a bummer.  I'd remove it, but there is some sort of lacquer or film over the face and I wouldn't want to mess it up.

Next is the face itself.  The website stated that it would be "brass metal", but I'm somewhat skeptical.  It doesn't feel cool to the touch and has a hollow, plasticky sound when tapped.  I'm pretty sure it's either a paper thin layer of metal over plastic or just entirely plastic.

The "metal" also doesn't wrap all the way to the back of the clock and only covers about one-third of the side.  A bit of ugly, glossy grey plastic (I wish that they would have at least used matte black) extends about an inch beyond the cover and, when viewed from the side, sticks out like a sore thumb.  I presume that this was done to save on material costs.  However, it seriously detracts from the aesthetics of the clock.

Lastly, the little contrasting bands on the spindles aren't a different shade of wood or even painted on.  They're strips of colored electrical tape!  In my case, the tape came loose in transport and needed to be redone.  They at least put the seams around back, but you can see some serous cost-cutting was done here.

Despite all of the issues, I must say that it is an attractive clock once hung.  If you squint and look at it just right, you might even mistake it for a real Nelson.  With the price of higher-quality reproductions running into the hundreds, I can certainly overlook the differences until I can get my hands on an original.

Source: georgenelson.org

Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright.

Whenever anyone visits my home, two pieces always seem to elicit a lot of questions/interest.  The first is the Sputnik chandelier, and the other is this sunburst clock.

This little beauty comes courtesy of Target and is "inspired" by the designs of George Nelson (although  target.com gives him zero credit).  The "spikes" are slightly less elongated, the color scheme is a bit off, and there is that irritating logo on the face, but other than those few small differences, it remains pretty faithful to the original design.  If I ever feel up to it, I might get out the spray paint and gussy it up a little.

I've seen a few original Nelson spike clocks pop up on Craigslist recently and reproductions are available through Vitra, but they all cost hundreds of dollars.  That ain't gonna happen.  While I understand the draw of originality and designer names, I'm just looking for the maximum style + value per dollar.

With coupons, my total came to $35.63.  The next cheapest knockoff I could find was $178 and Design Within Reach wants an absurd  $327.25 for a Vitra repro!  Sure, nobody will ever mistake this clock for a Nelson, but with a savings of $291.62, I think I can live with that.