Indie Squid Kid

Yeah, I know, I’m a few days late, but Happy New Year!!! I probably say this every year, but I have a feeling that 2010 will be the Year of the Cephalopod. (Well, I don’t say that about 2010 every year, but you know what I mean.)

My week offline, while a pleasant change of pace, has resulted in a large backlog (well, larger than normal) of material for the blog. So, let’s start with a trio of octopuses I spotted at the Antropologie store at my local mall.

These De Vincennes Dinner Plates are Antropologie exclusives by artist Nathalie Late. They are $24 each and are also available at the Anthropologie website.

Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities by John M. Carrera.

When I was a kid I was always fascinated by the illustrations in the dictionary. I used to make up stories, often about a zoo that put all their animals in alphabetical order and you traveled through it in a series of similarly organized vehicles. Anyway, this book contains over 1,500 engravings from 19th century editions of the Webster’s dictionary. And yes, they are arranged alphabetically.

List price $35.00. Also available at Amazon.com.

Lastly, we have The ABC of Animals Activity Book by the North American Bear Company. It contains a cute little plush animal for each letter of the alphabet. O is, of course, for Octopus, and well…that’s all that matters isn’t it?

List price $75.00. Also available at Amazon.com.

This cool hand-thrown ceramic mug was a gift, so I don’t know who made it or where it came from. The octopus that encircles the mug is reminiscent of designs found on certain pieces of Minoan pottery from the Bronze Age.

ICAD: T minus 4 days and counting!

toothpaste for baby molluscs?, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.

From this past weekend’s trip to Babies R’ Us—J/A/S/Ö/N brand infant toothpaste.

It’s Canadian! It’s strawberry flavor! It has an (extremely inaccurate) octopus!

IT LITERALLY HAS MY NAME ON IT.

Also, despite the fact that she is hawking bubblegum-flavored toothpaste, Hello Kitty cosplaying a snail is perhaps one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

via Ask Doctor Vector

Ammonite washbasin from HighTech Design Products

This is the Luft Squid*Brush by Sëmk Products Ltd.–the most adorable kitchen implement you will ever meet. The front of the package tells us that the delightfully cock-eyed cephalopod is not just “a good brushing helper,” but also “perfect for brushing.” Which I guess is just about everything you could hope for in a brush.

The cuteness continues, unabated, on the back of the package…

I picked this up at Urban Outfitters about a year ago, but i don’t know if it is still available. One day I may find the rest of the Sëmk line of cephalopod kitchenware: Squid*Mixer (giving you a nice cake), Octo*juicer (feed the fruit, please), and Octo*timer (it times your work).

squid clock, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.

So now that I’ve finally got this little site up and running, I’m having trouble deciding what to do next. I have such a plethora of cephalopod-y curios that I find myself a little paralyzed in the face of abundant options.

This situation is not unlike what my wife experiences when a restaurant has more than one vegetarian entrée on the menu. And speaking of shameless plugs, be sure to check out The Suburban Herbivore, her blog about vegetarian living, cooking, and supporting local farming.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand…

Here is one of the coolest pieces in my collection–the squid clock.

It is an approximately 20 inch long (from tip of the mantle to end of the longest tentacle) red plastic shell, and it originally came from Taiwan, if I recall correctly. The only indication of a manufacturer is the word “A-RUX” on the clock face, but so far, I’ve been unable to track down any information on this brand (if that is indeed what it is).

I first saw this clock (or one very similar) on Ebay several years ago. I lost that original auction (to someone named “squidgirl,” so I know it went to a good home), but I was subsequently contacted by the seller who said that they were going back to Taiwan soon and would pick up another clock for me. Now, I know Ebay advises not to buy anything directly from a seller outside of the controlled environment of an auction, but in this case, I’m very glad I took a chance.