a few years ago i wanted a ceiling-to-floor swarovski curtain (or two) in black crystal to glitzy up my pad. i tried to get them to send me one ‘as a sample’ but they weren’t born yesterday so i had to make do with the few stones they sent. i thought i’d gotten over it (only after deciding that swarovski = passe) but then i saw their active crystals range with philips.

the name is not very inspiring but i’m wooed a little by the products and even more so by the idea - to beautify high tech products. choose from USB keys disguised as necklaces or locks, and headphones that remove the need for earrings to dolly up your ears.

If you’ve ever sworn yourself blind after reading in the Metro about some blighter getting a Hockney for the price of a couple of curries then do something about it and register now for RCA Secret 2007.

RCA Secret is the annual show where 2,500 original postcard-sized artworks go on sale for £40 and the money raised keeps starving young artists in supplies and whatnot.

The secret bit is you don’t know who has done what, so you’ll only find out after purchase whether you’ve bought an established artist or one of the RCA’s undergraduates. Unless you like kicking yourself it’s best not to try and guess which one will make you a fast buck at Sotheby’s and just buy what you like.

if they weren’t one of the most trustworthy b(r)ands in music i wouldn’t have believed it. radiohead’s new album comes out on 10 october and how much you pay for it is up to you. it won’t be in the shops, you can only buy it from them either as a download or as a box set and here’s where they get smart.

the box set has a fixed price (being made to meet the exact demand, not a costly approximation) and the download costs you whatever you’re prepared to pay. i chose to enter £3.83, my favourite numbers, to see if they meant it. they did, and only added a very reasonable 45p transaction fee.

if only i could get more things this way…

what is going on? everything i want/need recently seems to come from finland. marimekko have always occupied a soft corner of my heart (sometimes i think i’m only moving house so i can buy their new fabrics) but now the finns are taking over.

first it was minna parikka’s shoes, all pony-girl fiestiness in shiny patent or vibrant suede colours. then it was IVANAhelsinki and their kinky, kooky clothing. the collection ‘loghouse lover’ has me pining for a winter of snowdrifts.

book me on a husky safari for christmas, santa’s only got one shopping destination in mind.

mmm etsy, won’t you marry me? you and your crafty ways have got me all a-fluster. oh how i love to amble through your various ways of searching for handmade things to buy. from decoupage furniture to knitted earrings you’re a feast of frippery and frolick.

i can vist the ‘geolocator’ to see who’s selling where, travel the ‘time machine’ to see what’s the latest-greatest-most up-to-datest. if i’m feeling blue i can ’shop by color’ (i forgive you your american english) or hold my breath before stepping into the ‘treasury’ for all things hand-picked by members. or i can while away time window shopping on a ‘favorite connections’ seeing who loves what and where it all leads.

repeat after me: etsy, etsy, etsy!

cyclist, and quite possibly a crazy man to boot. on a trip to barcelona this year i brought back a small gift for him from one of my favourite shops, vinçon.

maybe i should have pointed him in the direction of their sales picture as he doesn’t seem to know what it’s for.