Sandwiches

When we made the first Turtle dining table a few years ago we knew, eventually, we'd add an all wood version in solid American black walnut. We love the shape of the steel-base of the original Turtle and we knew it would work in walnut too. And, if we do say so ourselves, we were right: the thing is beautiful. For this wood version, we've straightened the kink out of the top, making it a straight-up rectangle with radiused corners and slightly rounded edges. We're so happy with it that we're scheming a dinner-party/photo-shoot with this handsome table as the guest of honor. We just need to decide on the right spot (the Tillmans have a couple ideas . . . ), set the date, and arrange a trade with our favorite photographer (dinner and some Roadrunner chairs, perhaps?) and it's on.

Again from La Jolla, just up the coast from San Diego, more gorgeousness: the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Designed by Louis Kahn, it's the sort of place that makes people want to become architects and the sort of place that makes architects want to find another line of work. Inspiring for obvious reasons and soul-crushing because, really, what's the point of designing another piece of lame-ass blahness when there's such awesomeness out there? An incredible commission and an incredible site, to be sure, and on the day we were there the kind of January weather that makes you wonder why the fuck you don't live in San Diego. The great man designed other great buildings of course, not least of which is the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, a place we're hoping to revisit on a field trip soon.

We showed these in walnut a couple weeks back and now, here, in oiled MDF: our Roadrunner stools, in bar-, counter- and chair-height. They've got the same shape as their walnut brothers—and the same shape as their chair cousins—with a canted seat pan and overall athletic build, plus stainless steel footrests for a sturdy and stylish perch. We just made a whole batch of them so now we just need to wrangle up a Tillman to get these into the official sales pipeline on the site. The barstool will be priced about the same as the Roadrunner chair in MDF and the price will drop slightly for the other two. Gorgeous and affordable—we hope to sell millions, but we'll settle for a few at a time. More new products coming soon.

As if anyone needs another reason to go to San Diego (beyond the overall loveliness and good times), here's one: the Geisel Library on the campus of UCSD. Hell, we could have thrown up pictures of a handful of other structures from what is a smart and crushingly handsome place on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. This other-worldly building, named for Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss to you and me and every child in the English-speaking world) and designed in the late '60s by William Pereira, will knock out your breath if you happen on it unprepared as we did on a typically perfect day in late January. Another set of field trip photos coming soon.

Yes, it's hard to believe. Or maybe not. But it should be: a chair this lovely and comfortable and wickedly durable, made entirely in Denver, Colorado by real live human beings for under 200 bucks. Make that $180, give or take (the number crunchers aren't done crunching the numbers . . . ). We know: if you were sitting in this chair, kicking back in comfort and style, and we told you that irresistible price, you might wet yourself from excitement. Which would be fine with the chair—it could take much worse. More info soon, in the shop section of the site (along with all those other new goodies we've been cranking out plus many more in the works). This bit—the making-new-products bit—is the best part of this gig. Seriously, we can barely contain ourselves so of course we don't blame you for getting a little worked up.

For all our high-contrast, black-and-white, interior-designer friends (one in particular—you know who you are): this Armadillo in black-stained maple. We stained it, then rounded over and otherwise broke the outer edges to show the white of the maple underneath. Makes for a nicely graphic piece, or so we think. It's not totally dialed yet but we think we know how to fix it for good. In colors too, real soon.

Of course having the MaxFund in the neighborhood is a not-sucky attribute all by itself, but this painting on the west wall of the adjacent MaxFund Wellness Center is worthy of a Sandwich post. Executed with a very fine hand and depicting a very fine dog in a very fine dog wheelchair. On the corner of 10th and Inca, on our bike route to one of our principal lunch spots in the shop neighborhood.

It's a little bit Turtle and a little bit Armadillo, so what else are we gonna call it? Turtadillo just seems right. This one, a coffee table in forming plywood, is a rocking good time. Bomber, of course, and handsome too—with the blue of the branding print from the forming supply yard facing out on the legs and down on the surface. And yes, since you asked, that is blue Tool Dip on the legs, for style as much as non-skid and anti-marking. In Denver it'd do just fine outdoors—perhaps that would be true for anywhere. But as fresh as it is, with all that charm and personality, you'll want to bring it in and keep it close. Look for it in the shop section of the site (with a steel-base, glass-top version too) real soon.