Astier de Villatte

Ceramics, candles, hand printed agendas and more from one of our favorite Parisian brands

It took a recent visit to one of our favorite Paris shops to realize that despite using their products all the time we’ve never written about them. Astier de Villatte is a 15 year old lifestyle powerhouse founded by Benoît Astier de Villatte and Ivan Pericoli. Their unique take on ceramics, paper goods, perfumes, candles, furniture, silverware, glassware and more are created in a Bastille …

The Present

Give yourself a gift by supporting this annual clock's Kickstarter campaign

With a beautiful color wheel-inspired design that mimics the seasons, filmmaker-cum-designer (and longtime friend of CH) Scott Thrift’s annual clock “The Present” re-imagines a clock to remind us to take a moment to find that ever-elusive state of “being in the now.” Scott tells the backstory of this meditative concept best himself in his Kickstarter campaign video. Check it out and donate to help bring …

Photobooth

A photographer brings old-world portraiture to San Francisco

From his airy studio in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission district, photographer Michael Shindler is quietly putting a little “soul-stealing” back into the act of picture taking. Asking his subjects to sit still for a one-off tintype portrait, Shindler began Photobooth—a studio, shop and gallery space—in late August 2011 as a way of putting tangible value back into the typically digital medium. Shindler captures …