the swedes are coming

i'm probably one of 14 billion people in utah commenting today on the arrival of the Giant Scandinavian Machine, since i'm one of 14 billion people who went to the gand opening yesterday. i am not, however, one of the people who were camped out in the parking lot 2 days before the place opened. ridiculous.

i had kind of forgotten how fascinated i am by ikea. i had this notion that they just make cheap college dorm furniture that falls apart in a week, until i spent like three hours admiring their designs. a lot of them would i really like even without the ridiculously cheap price, which is something that also amazes me. i kept looking at different pieces saying, 'even if i tried to copy this myself, just paying for wood, paint, etc., i couldn't beat this price.' they are like the pinnacle in the evolution of mass production. i don't know if you can achieve much better of a balance between aesthetic/quality and cost-effectiveness. they are a brilliant example to everyone else in the world that you don't have to churn out crap to make a profit. and also that good design still sells, as long as you've hired some norwegian folks.

here are a few little trinkets that tickled my fancy:table where the chairs fit all nice around the corners

fancy lamps

bed frame made all out of bent wood. crappy picture.