bluehouse Weblog

The Baltimore Sun is doing a story on the current state of eco-design, and upon being interviewed for this story, it was decided that someone would come and photograph the environmentally friendly furniture I have in my house. The photographer, who was otherwise a delightful woman, had the bright (and unexpected) idea that I should appear in these shots.

It may strike you as odd that the owner of Baltimore’s hottest new store would shy away from the spotlight but, demure flower that I am, I really hate having my picture taken. I can’t smile on command, and whenever a camera is pointed at me, I feel like there is something crouched on my head messing up my hair. So after spending what seemed like hours posing me this way and that on the furniture, the photographer decided that it would be better for all concerned if she took my photo with (I kid you not) a vase in front of my head. Even more interestingly, in the proofs I saw, it looks very natural there, as if it is a part of my body.

This might to my advantage when I need to get away from it all . . . I can dress one of our mouth-blown Vybika vases as me, and it can take my place while I sneak off to Alaska. I only hesitate because I might return to discover that people think the vase is more attractive and winsome than I am.

You can decide for yourself.

In honor of its Baltimore debut, come down to bluehouse and take 30% off of our entire supply of mouth-blown Vybika vases, in all of its colors and shapes. Offer good for a limited time only.

I first met Nick Powell in London in February of 2005. Wheezing with pneumonia, I sat with him in the lobby of my hotel, downstairs from the room in which I had just spent a feverish night of hallucinations. (That this was supposedly the most haunted hotel room in that ancient city might have contributed to my experiences in more ways than one.) Nick is not one to let silence grip a conversation, and I found myself coughing enthusiastic agreement with his ideas about the ecological and social responsibility of every business. At that time, bluehouse was still almost a year from opening, but his own company, Arbor Vetum, was taking Britain and much of Western Europe by storm.

The result of that fateful meeting is sitting in our showroom today. bluehouse is now the exclusive American dealer in Arbor Vetum’s lines of recycled teak indoor and outdoor furnishings. You have to see them for yourself appreciate just how exquisite these pieces are. Each is painstakingly hand-carved from FSC- and SmartWood-certified teak (the only furniture in the world to be honored with both environmentally friendly certifications).

Nick visited us this past week from the U.K. and was, I’m happy to report, delighted with the way bluehouse has come together. During our conversations, I learned more about my new friend and his company’s impressive commitments to making the world a better place. Modest soul that he is, he doesn’t go out of his way to publicize the extent to which Arbor Vetum has helped raise hundreds of people in India out of poverty and drastically improve the standard of living of the towns surrounding their factories there (the teak is masterfully reclaimed from abandoned Indian buildings). We also discussed the broadening of their resources to include recycled aluminum (or “aluminium,” as he calls it), recycled steel from old streetcar tracks, and some other innovative materials. These will make their way into new lines of furniture, some of which are more modern in appearance, and when they do, we’ll be thrilled to make them available to you at bluehouse.

For now, we’re thrilled to offer the original lines, of Eclipse, Overbury, and St. Lucia. If you want some elegantly casual pieces for your deck, sunroom, or living room, get the heck over to bluehouse and see what has got the patrons of a certain flower show in Chelsea all atwitter.

O! What a piece of work is our espresso machine! Its sleek lines, its gleaming steel, its dual steam wands jutting out proudly like the tusks of some mighty woolly mammoth, a mighty woolly mammoth that for some reason had tusks that shot steam and could be easily adjusted to a wide variety of different angles to facilitate the frothing of milk! What wondrous drink possibilities lie within its oft-plumbed depths! Single shots, double shots, regular shots, decaf shots, short shots, long shots, all sure shots! In truth, while we, the staff, are the soul of the Bluehouse cafe, it is the espresso machine that is its heart.

Bluehouse is only about three months old at the moment, but our espresso machine, older, wiser and more experienced than us all, is our window to the past. This ageless machine has a resume that would shame any senator, CEO or Methuselan vampire. Its timely entry into the Peloponnesian War tilted the balance of power in the Mediterranean region. It is considered by many Shakespearean scholars to be the inspiration for the “dark lady” imagery that appears in many of his most passionate sonnets. It shares a songwriting credit with George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell on Parliament’s 1977 funk classic “Flashlight.” We implore you, beloved customer, to explore with us the wide world of ambrosial delights provided by the Espresso Genius II. From behind our counter, it calls to you. Do not deny the Espresso Genius II.