Marketplace: Cuckoo Clocks

When I was little, my parents took us (me and my sister) pretty much all around the world. I don’t really know how they did it, but I do wish I remembered more of the details of these trips. Our family photo albums are pretty amazing to look at, that’s forsure. Even though I was a toddler when we travelled, I know that one of the reasons that I love to travel so much now is because many of our family dinner conversations revolved around travel. Why am I sharing all of this now? Well, on one of our trips to Germany, my parents bought a grandfather clock. It’s been in their house since forever and I have always really liked it (even though when I was 7 years old it almost crushed me because I pulled on the weights the wrong way – oops). Anyway, between my childhood trips to Germany and my adult trips to Switzerland, I have seen some pretty traditional clocks – both of the grandfather and cuckoo varieties.

When Cuckoo Palace sent me news of their cuckoo clock collection, I could help but chuckle. They’re such funny little clocks, aren’t they? The chalet cuckoo clocks and the carved cuckoo clocks are very traditional and many people in southern Germany, I learned, own them. I can definitely appreciate the detail that goes into each piece, can’t you? I guess in recent years, the cuckoo clock has been getting some makeovers. You can now buy traditional brown clocks in a variety of colours, including white.

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Black Forest pendulum clock by Trenkle Uhren, $48 USD

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carved cuckoo clock by Anton Schneider, $227 USD

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cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $323 USD

In addition to the colour change, some newer cuckoo clocks look drastically different. Their function and general clock workings remain the same, but they look so completely modern.

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modern cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $447 USD

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modern cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $604 USD

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modern cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $873 USD

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cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $356 USD

The intricate carving of this cuckoo clock is really amazing, isn’t it? I think it combines both traditional and modern elements.

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carved wood cuckoo clock by Rombach & Haas, $439 USD

As you will have noticed, these German cuckoo clocks can get pricey. I spotted some that are over $1000, but many hover around the $300 ranger. Some play music and all of the clocks are authentic made in the Black Forest. Has anything caught your eye? International readers may be interested to know that Cuckoo Palace offers flat-rate worldwide shipping, so you don’t have to go all the way to Germany to buy one!

Many thanks to Cuckoo Palace and Christina B. for supporting this post.

 

The Friday Five: La Maison d’Anna G

When Paris-based Anna G. is not working on her beautifully curated blog, she is tending to her online shop, La Maison d’Anna G. The collection of pretty white objects obviously caught my attention!

Photophore Alba n4, Finnsdottir Design, 20€

Torchon Plume tea towel, By Nord, 18€

Horloge clock couture, House Doctor, 85€

Guirlande Lumineuse, House Doctor, 45€

Coussin Pinwheel cushion, Hay, 109€

Images courtesy of La Maison d’Anna G.

 

Design: TOMA

I had the opportunity to meet Montreal-based designer, and leader of the TOMA design studio, Anne Thomas in person at last month’s Come Up to My Room event in Toronto. She was there showing off the prototype for one of TOMA‘s latest designs, the Inside Out closet. White, functional, and very cool.

So while we wait for the closet to appear in retail spaces in Canada and abroad, we can be on the lookout for some of TOMA‘s other well-designed products, including this newly released shadow clock which are printed and die-cut out of synthetic paper.

Photos by Maude Chavin via TOMA. You may purchase TOMA objects in these stores.

Wake up to this Alarm Clock

Well, it’s Monday again. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I always find it hard to get up on a Monday morning after a couple of days of relaxation. It’s especially difficult during Spring Forward – Daylight Savings Time! We lost an hour of sleep this past weekend. Sigh. Putting this alarm clock to work may help with difficult mornings. I just love the simplicity of this very functional gadget.

Nojs alarm clock, $12.99, IKEA

Photo courtesy of IKEA.