Bunny Love and Happy Birthday Tilghman

This is probably a little bit out there, but with the upcoming Easter holiday and all the bunnies around, I thought I'd introduce you to Leaping Bunny.

The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) is comprised of numerous organizations across the globe to help consumers make more informed decisions when purchasing household products, like cosmetics. The whole "cruelty free" piece can be rather misleading. Does a company use someone else to "do their dirty work" or are they committed to truly being cruelty free?

The CCIC has the most comprehensive pledge I've seen and their website has opened the door for me to all kinds of great products, be it great skincare lines, makeup, or cleaning products. Another bonus? Most of these are environmentally friendly in other ways, making use of natural materials and minimizing their carbon footprint.

Some examples? (click on the logos to go directly to their website)

The Good Home Co.

Click HERE for a complete shopping guide. No lecture or horror stories -- just please don't be a Kelly (yes, that's a Real Housewives of NYC reference) and blindly believe that human consumption and animal suffering are always mutually exclusive.

And I would be remiss if I did not wish a Happy Birthday to my baby boy, Tilghman (aka Tillie). Apologies for the terrible camera phone picture, but it so perfectly captures him and his naughtiness. Tilghman turns 6 today and we are blessed to have had him join our family nearly 4 years ago.

Yes, that is a toilet paper roll he stole from the downstair's bath trashbin. Oh but he's a cutie.

-Emmie

This Week's Top 5 Favorite 1stdibs Items: Big, Sturdy Chairs!

We feature a lot of lithe, thin, small-scale furniture here on the Swank Lighting blog, mostly due to the nature of some of our favorite styles, like Mid-Century Modern and Hollywood Regency. But what if you're looking for a big and sturdy furniture piece? Of all the furniture types out there, we love when a chair is big and over-sized. Perfect for curling up with a good book or a good movie on the television, chairs are supposed to be substantial and comfortable. We've chosen five huge chairs from this week's newest 1stdibs listings. Let us know what you think!

1) Roma Chair by Marco Zanini
Well, we're not sure about the comfort of this giant chair, but it certainly is large. In case it isn't totally obvious, this chair's origin is Italian and from the minds of the design collective The Memphis Design Group.
Price: $7,500
Dealer: Moss

2) Sponge Chair by Peter Traag
We LOVE this chair. It's such a fun, modern take on the leather side chair, don't you think? Though it does look to have a pretty firm structure, we also think that it could be pretty comfy, and it certainly is over-sized!
Price: $9,100
Dealer: Moss

3) Marvelous Early 19th C. Settee
Okay you caught us! This is called a settee, or technically more of a love seat, but we think it still exhibits a lot of chair qualities! It also has that antique, vintage thing going for it.
Price: $8,850
Dealer: Berns Fry Ltd.

4) Pair of low armchairs by Pierre Guarriche
This pair of Mid-Century Modern arm chairs from France are curvy, bulbous and full of cushions. They're not that huge individually, but as a pair they are something to be afraid of. We just think these would be so comfortable to sit in!
Price: $7,500
Dealer: Pascal Boyer Gallery

5) Vronka Armchair by Sergio Rodrigues
This is another chair that's not the most huge piece of furniture ever, but does have a good scale to it, and all the natural wood details give it a nice heft.
Price: contact dealer
Dealer: Espasso

Don't forget to check out the rest of this week's listings from 1stdibs, where you can find more fabulous, one-of-a-kind show-stopping pieces, as well as a number of other great pieces!