INTAKE...

I've been taking things in, rather than expressing them lately; hence the current sparseness here. I could fill up the space with any old content every day when I don't have much to say, but I think you'd tire of it fairly soon and I don't want to clog the blog, as it were.

I've been inspired by a lot that I've been reading online recently and I'm really excited by the thought that (let's call it) The Current Global Situation (in lieu of using the R word) could be helping people reassess how they live and bringing new ideas and creative projects to life. I'm especially excited that the Internet might even be helping us to communicate and define new common ideals instead of going straight back to a world of mindless consumption. Sounds a little rose tinted? Maybe. I suppose if you get your information from the Internet, as opposed to the one track feed of mainstream media, you can always find something that fits in with whatever you want to believe. But I can't help but pick up on the amount of buzz I'm hearing on this subject, and it wasn't something I set out to look for at all.

Scout - Holiday just posted about Merci and I can't wait to go there the next time I'm in Paris. It's such a good idea - and a win/win for the people behind it. I can't imagine a huge concept store where the stock is donated by the makers, and the profits go to charity really flying in Paris even a year ago. There's more information about it here.

Pia linked to this post by the editor of Dumbo Feather. Instead of hunkering down, I propose we band together, support each other, buy local, and most of all, use the adversity as a challenge to come up with new ideas and ways to use resources more efficiently.

Also, I've been loving Jason Martin's clear and thoughtful guest posts on designsponge this week, in particular Who Is Your Home? (Worth reading even if you know exactly who your home is.)