The Muse

I mean that with all the love in the world…seriously!

An awesome find, introduced to me by Judy and Nora of the Loukin Company! Kiosk is a tiny, second-floor shop (right next door to Melissa's Cupcakes on Spring St.) and features a variety of oddities that the owner has collected from around the world, says Judy.

Further research on their site told me that the items are gathered together as a collection and only up for 4-6 months, exhibition style. "We feature the things that generally go unnoticed," according to the Kiosk Web site. The current showing is "Portugal," but they also provide an ongoing collection of objects from previous exhibitions.

"We opened the shop to provide an alternative to over-design. We consider the items we show to be humble, straightforward and beautiful in their simplicity and directness. Often they are traditional goods that have developed over generations or anonymous design found in general or hardware stores."

I think the only thing I love more than that mission is the apology they offer in that "We are not able to predict our stock as it is decided by each trip."

Here's some of my favorites from the shop, and make sure you go pick out your own. Share them with us on Facebook.

Well thank goodness for appropriate signage.

Awesomely depressed I did not pick this poster up ($15)

Nora on the hunt.

Judy models this bread toaster ($9).

I love the "American lottery" concept of this Swedish paper and metal wire ring, often sold at soccer matches ($17). The card reads that "In Sweden, this type of lottery is called 'American lottery' -- sounds strange but the concept is enviously simple. Each ticket is perforated in the middle so you can easily tear off one side and give it to the loser/winner. When you have sold out of hope (tickets), the seller breaks open the seal of the metal ring and puts the stubs from the ring in a container for mixing and selecting."

I'd like to buy this Obama Stamp ($26) and instead of signing my name to something, I'd just place one of these on the dotted line.

These small notebooks are under $10 ($14 for the set) and hail from Mexico City. The card reads: "Ideally speaking, why bother keeping notes at all? In an ideal world we would remember everything we come across and idealistically not need to write a thing down." These are part of their ongoing items.

~AnnMarie Marano, web editor