task new york

Metal tray

Bird candles
(this guy comes in a set of four)

Coffee spoons

Owl salt-and-pepper shakers

Last week the New York Times home section proclaimed that "authenticity" in home design is getting old. Authenticity, that is, in things like handmade pillow covers, distressed photo frames, unique-looking art prints, and all things owl. In other words, the Etsy look is over.

I'll give it to the Times on the owl front. Those birds are everywhere. (I'm still a fan, though; shunning them at this point would be like dropping your favorite band once they got too popular.) But I think it's unfair to dismiss the impulse toward hominess and uniqueness. I'd rather define "authenticity" as buying goods directly from artists and craftspeople (on Etsy and other sites), and appreciating beautiful objects while recognizing their place? The images above are from Task New York, a home and design store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I love what the store's founder, Ann Seally, writes on the site about the importance of well-loved objects: "They reflect and shape our identity. They influence our moods and inform our interactions with the world around us. Objects are the tools that bring meaning to our daily rituals, and living with objects we love can make us happy." 

Sparkly pillows