the new york times

A fancy new flame designed to fill your home with the scent of the Gray Lady herself is now available for newspaper lovers and candle aficionados alike. The Times of New York candle ($65) was conceived by artist Tobias Wong as both a tribute to The New York Times and a commentary on the current state of print media. It's a woody but interesting-sounding scent, redolent of cedar, musk, spices, and "a powdery note and velvet nuance," which is supposed to smell like old-fashioned printer ink.

It's an interesting concept, and certainly as a piece of art it hits close to home for those of us who hold the printed word sacred, but do you think you'd be interested in giving it a smell?

The New York Times Magazine rounded up some of this year's biggest award season contenders for its Hollywood Issue. They invited Independent Spirit nominees Natalie Portman and James Franco, as well as Matt Damon, Javier Bardem, Jesse Eisenberg, and others, to appear in 14 Actors Acting. The series of black-and-white videos spotlights classic, silver-screen archetypes and moments — with no dialogue. Natalie, whose Black Swan just had an impressive opening weekend, portrays a femme fatale in her short film. Meanwhile, Matt performs a violent tirade, Biutiful star Javier angrily smashes a table full of glasses and plates, and Jesse fires a gun in slow motion. For his part, James put in a slightly humorous turn as a rebellious type who makes out with his own reflection, a departure from the intense role in 127 Hours that's earned him early Oscar buzz.

The New York Times recently sat down with Eddie Ross to chat about flea marketing. Ross is an incessant flea market and antique fair shopper and even gives guided tours of markets around the country, so he's really an expert when it comes to sifting through the goods. He's also made a habit of styling gorgeous tablescapes and vignettes throughout his home using his finds, and he works wonders on vintage décor that may have seen better days. So I couldn't help but pass along his must-have solutions for cleaning up flea market finds, which he shared with The Times. Check them out below!

Old Linens

If you've picked up antique table linens that have yellowed over time, Ross recommends The Laundress All-Purpose Bleach Alternative to safely whiten, brighten, and disinfect them. The solution is nontoxic, nonabrasive, environmentally friendly, and can be used on all colors and fabrics except for wool and silk. You can also use it to clean your kitchens, bathrooms, and hard, nonwooden surfaces and floors throughout your home. Just mix 1/4 cup with water.
Continue reading to see what Ross recommends for silverware and painted furniture!

Earlier, I announced that the New York Times has asked five celebrated interior designers (Vicente Wolf, Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Laura Kirar, and Thom Filicia) to each curate 10 of their favorite photographs from the NYT Store's new photo archives. The collection, called 50 Photographs, is available for purchase online today. I chatted with the illustrious Jonathan Adler on Friday about his selections and his work as a designer. Check out the interview below!

CasaSugar: So I was able to take a sneak peek at your collection of the New York Times photos, and I see you've chosen mostly photographs of glamorous revelers all wearing masks. What is it about the masquerade theme that you're drawn to?
Jonathan Adler: I just think there's nothing more fun than looking at pictures of glamorous in fancy dress having fun and I think masks are sort of . . . they're all about intrigue, and that's what a picture should be about. A picture should be provoking and intriguing and a little bit titillating.

And then . . . so I chose I think nine mask pictures I believe and then I chose one picture that's particularly grim and sort of an American version of a Martin Parr picture of the New Jersey Turnpike just to remind me of where I came from!

CS: Right! I'm from New Jersey, also. So I very much appreciate that!
JA: Holla! It's a great place to be from because it gave me somewhere to want to crawl my way out of.

CS: Exactly! Well, it worked for you, or at least it seems like it!
JA: Yea — it worked! And that picture is a good reminder.

CS: Do you have any other decorative reminders of your youth and your Jersey boy days in your home?
JA: Millions! Yeah. Well I joke about saying it was somewhere to want to crawl my way out of because it had its idyllic moments. But also I think pictures . . . I love to hang photos over the toilets, and I love the idea of faces staring back at you in your moment of privacy. So that's why I think any of these pictures would look fab hung over the ter-let!

CS: Your work has a major element of humor in it from your playful color choices to your jars that read "uppers" and "downers," and this collection is definitely no exception.
JA: You know, I think design should be gorgeous but a little bit cheeky, and so I think these are perfect pictures. They are formally beautiful pictures that are beautifully printed . . . sort of everything about them is gorgeous but there is definitely an element of levity.

Find out why Jonathan Adler says he feels misunderstood as a designer when you read more!

The New York Times is releasing its extensive archive of photographs from the last century, some never before seen by the public, on its microsite, The New York Times Store, making them available for purchase for your home. To celebrate, The NYT has asked five noted interior designers, including Vicente Wolf, Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Laura Kirar, and Thom Filicia, to each curate a collection of 10 of their favorite photographs. Ranging from scenes of contemporary life (swimmers on a lake in 1997) to historic images (a pair holding hands at Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral in 1968), the designers' selections are a telling reflection of each of their aesthetics and are available for purchase online today.

The designers have chosen special mats and frames for each image to complement their collections. Each exhibition-quality photograph can be printed in a range of sizes, from 11 by 14 inches to 20 by two inches, framed or unframed. Prices begin at $199.

I chatted with Jonathan Adler about his curated photography collection — stay tuned for that interview later today!

I'd bet most fans of Jersey Shore aren't taking it too seriously, but Cathy Horn, who interviewed Snooki, her father, and a pop culture expert for yesterday's New York Times Snooki profile, has a serious problem with at least one of the stars. The piece, which opens with the line: "Flake, cow, loser, slut, idiot, airhead, trash, penguin, creep, moron, midget, freak, Oompa-Loompa, nobody," is filled with contempt for the tanned 22-year-old.

Her physical appearance is ridiculed: "She is busty and short-waisted with small legs; sort of like a turnip turned on its tip," as is her intellect: "Trying to hold a conversation with Snooki is a little like getting down on your hands and knees with a child." But even the nicer points are thinly veiled, and rather harsh, backhanded compliments. Check out five fake compliments that stood out to me:

1. She's like Elizabeth Taylor: "The reason she makes me think of Elizabeth Taylor — quite apart from the unbridgeable divide of talent and beauty — is that photographs of Ms. Taylor in the 1960s, many of which recently ran in Vanity Fair, confirm a short, busty woman with high hair, big jewelry, garish taste in clothes and a complete indifference to the cyclonic effect that all that produced."
2. She's delicious . . . artlessness: "As much as Professor Thompson is a fan of the show, 'I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with her.' . . . He thinks she has a 'delicious artlessness.'"

Get the rest after the jump.

A recent article in the New York Times brought up an interesting subject: how much dishwasher detergent should we use? Every time my detergent runs low — which is often — I wonder how little can I get away with. As it turns out, "Washing machines and dishwashers are made to use far less water now than older models and, therefore, need less soap. And detergents have also become increasingly concentrated." So, the answer is less is more. What a relief! If you're a numbers girl (or boy) like me, you may need digits: the Times' expert dishwasher repairman says that 1/8 to 1/2 of what's usually recommended should be enough. Try this at home! It should save us all a pretty penny.

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Apartmentalizing:

Earlier this month, The New York Times launched a new (and free) iPhone app that directs the wealth of info from their real estate webpage straight to your mobile device. This seems perfect for the apartment hunter on the go since you can browse listings by zipcode, price, size, etc, and view them on a map with directions from your location.  You can also upload your own notes and photos to keep tabs in real time on what you've seen and liked (or hated!). Want to hear more about the app?

The New York Times recently featured the 178-square-foot Brooklyn studio of Zach Motl, a junior designer for design firm Robert Couturier & Associates, who also worked for Miles Redd. The amount of stylish, sophisticated furnishings packed into Motl's one-room apartment is nearly impossible, but somehow it looks polished. One of the things that helps his digs look less cluttered is his Ikea Sultan Alsarp Box Spring ($220 and up). The clever design has a slatted base that can be lifted, allowing you to use the space underneath for storage. Of course, if you're smart, you'll have a bed frame and maybe even bed risers, too, so you can store things underneath your bed as well. If only I'd known about this when I lived in a studio! I wonder if it's comfortable?