This is a shelf in my office. The little orange faced lady was something my son made when he was in KG – her eyes were made of play dough, though, and fell off. So I drew new ones. That flowered yellow can she sits on is part of a Qatari picnic set I love. Qatari’s use this pattern for their winter tents – these massive palaces of fabric they put up in the remote desert out of town. There is every conceivable variation of color, but the basic pattern is the one here. I LOVE this cheap tinware. It’s made by some company calling itself “Simba” which means “lion” in Kiswahili. The dude on the metal can is Swedish. Swedish people invented safety matches, and when I was in Stockholm I went to the matchbook museum. I was so delighted to see the history of a thing I love so much. This little guy striding ahead is a very, very popular image in Sweden. Hew’s so proud and precious. Then there are my brass buttons in some sterling silver nut dish possibly from my mom. The zebra I found in the street in Qatar, and the Day of the Dead knobs I got in the remainder bin at like, Ross, or something. The little wooden bird is a gift from my friend Karen, who is currently a librarian in a school in Mexico. The baby blue resin pot next to the Coleman’s can I found – but it was white when I found it – in the desert in Qatar, but then I painted it blue. I really, really love the black arrow cut from a car tire that I found in the street here in Dar Es Salaam.

Material: Metal, Plastic, Resin

Origin: Worldwide