Trend War Survivor: Bullets & Shotgun Shells

I am completely obsessed with following trends.  It's an odd characteristic considering that my wardrobe is about as dull as it gets (hello jeans and a black t-shirt) and I would have had the same hairstyle since I was 20 if my hairdresser didn't force her scissors and color upon me.  But, nonetheless, I love me some trend-spotting. I treat the act of predicting next season's color as though it were a sport and I'm always on the lookout for the animal du jour (you know the hipsters always have an animal, they're just now getting over bears, fyi).  What I find most fascinating about trends is their evolution:  from the '04 hipster adoration of sweet little deer to the '06 demand for taxidermy; the leap from skulls etched on everything, to the less predictable pirate craze.  Most recently I've noticed a trend that has risen from the ashes of another well on it's way out:  bullets and shells have evolved from the gun trend that has been set on, ahem, overkill, for a while.

Long-time friend Alex Reh, sorry, Alexander, left all of us Austinites for Industrial Design School in the Big Apple several years ago.  Apparently all those tuition fees were good for something because our native Texan walked out the doors of Pratt with this quaint shotgun shell chair in his portfolio.

Each Chair is made from 388 once-fired shotgun shells (I'm pretty sure he does this himself when he comes home to his ranch in Texas).  The Steel frame is gun-blued by hand, honestly, this finish almost rivals gold in my book, almost.

The buyer may choose from any of the bullet options above to work seamlessly with their decor.  All this customization can't be cheap and Alex promises me that I can't afford one.  And I thought we were friends.

I've been in love with his chair for a while and have been trying to coordinate an interview but apparently he's working on new things and wanted to wait until they were done.  I was Patient-Pam for a few months but then I started seeing bullets and gun shells pop up everywhere and I knew I needed to do this post before the trend passed me by.

Sorry, Alex, I promise a follow up on your new goods whenever you're ready.  

So, last week I was at a party during SXSW and caught the cute lady on the left wearing a bullet bolo tie, she was kind enough to let me snap a picture and mentioned that she found it on Etsy.  I managed to track down the artist, awelldressedbullet

At THE VERY SAME PARTY, I also spotted another gal with a bullet necklace, I forgot to snap her picture but I did grab her card.  Turns out, she's the artist behind Unearthen, a lovely jewelry site with lots and LOTS of bullets.

I knew that the bullet thing was about to go all trend crazy and I had to move forward without Alex's blessing.  I scoured the internet and found all of these bullet goodies:

Bullet Bracelet by Astali.  Man I love things in clusters.

Left: 22 Shell Necklace by etsy user oliveselkie; Right: Bullet, Padlock & Pearl Necklace by Etsy user sebastianjaramillo

Etsy continued to turn up the bullet charm with these finds as well:

Clockwise from top Left: Brass Bullet Belt Buckle by badassbeltbuckles; Mini Shotgun Shell belt buckle, also by badassbeltbuckles; Bottom Row: Shotgun Wedding Lights by awelldressedbullet

And, finally, rounding up the fashion portion of our program are these 2 t-shirts:

Lipstick Bullet, Left and Safety in Numbers, Right

Before you get all scared that this has become a fashion blog (remember I opened with a chair!) let me show you the few home goods I managed to dig up:

Clockwise from Top Left: Bullet Cocktail Shaker available at Amazon; Shotgun Canister at (wait for it) GREAT BIG STUFF (I'm so sifting through everything on this site after I write this post); Bullet Ice Cube Tray and the Bullets it produces along the bottom row.

This Bullet Vase by Robert Langhorn was easily the prettiest home decor item that I found, consider it the Y2K9 version of the gun vase

If you're looking for something slightly less charming to cover your house with, might I suggest this:

Bullet Tape!  Who doesn't want Bullet Tape?  It's just so practical.

Speaking of practical:

Bullet ipod touch skin available here.  Does anyone even own the ipod touch?

And finally, if you hated todays post and want to send me a nasty letter, don't send an email, do it the old fashioned way, using these:

Bullet Pens

Letters of praise are accepted as well, however, we encourage you to use the comments section for anything of a positive nature for speedy response.

Back in Business

Last night I suffered the most horrible trauma that one can imagine:  my internet went out!  My survival was touch and go for a while but luckily I pulled through.  Now I'm back in business and can continue my never-ending quest to find animal furniture.  I'm sure you all imagine that after our week long coverage of all-things-animal, I would have become desensitized to the seductive ways of horse-shaped lamps and alligator sofas, but that would be a false-hood.  I still have fantasies of filling every square foot of my house with animal-themed goods.  I'm certain that I could find a nook or two to squeeze on of these Distant Origin Photo chairs into: 

Admittedly, that hand on the seat cushion is pretty lame.  I don't really see how it relates to the rest of this dreamy wingback.  I also have an aversion to anything with a hand on it, as it is, unfortunately, my last name and I am concerned that a hand-motif will look like cheesy branding.  

Words can not describe how much a adore the horses on the back panel of this chair.  I would either a. shove it backwards into a corner for all to adore, or b. purchase 6 of these to have around my dining room table, again, so guests could admire the back.  Like the first chair, I'm a little disappointed by the way each photograph interacts with the others.  I feel like they need to be all-horse or all-deer... I would happily pass on the pile of ties in the seat.

That ferocious kitty is beaming sweet nothings directly to my soul, he most certainly wants to come home with me.  I believe the angry scowl on his face is the result of his own confusion and frustration at being paired with a sexy deer and ugly dots.  Come on people, let's all-cat this chair up!

Ok, so, no animals here, but I think this set manages to be the most cohesive of the bunch.  Yes, nature chair, you may come home with me.

Wait!  THIS chair is the most cohesive, and there are cows.  Mama like.

So what do you say, which chair would you take home?

Don't Mind the Elevator Music

Sorry, we're still experiencing internet difficulties, so let's play Vote For Erin's New Barstools. You do like bossing me around, don't you? Ok, choice #1 is smoked lucite with nauga-gator seats:

Choice #2 is Thayer Coggin brass and chrome:

They're both about the same price, but the Thayer Coggin chairs will have to be either painted (?) or reupholstered in white or black vinyl.

Oh, and I've got about TWO HOURS to decide, but I know you awesome readers can help me out... GO!