I love this stuff ... I bought the big orange finial at the top the week it came out. I also have the turned white candlesticks from last season but am kicking myself for missing out on the white wavy lamp that had the same look. (They run out of stuff fast, which is totally annoying.)

I also bought the white ornaments above but am using them as accents instead. I originally bought them to use as drapery tiebacks but then decided I don't like the tied-back look, and just have my drapes hanging straight.

Um ... these are cast resin, folks ... not turned wood! They're very nice, but the surface texture and definition of the contours are very different from wood; they actually look more like ceramic than wood.

The post said "the LOOK of turned wood" so I assumed Aaron just meant the style ...

and yes, they're resin, but the ornaments are nice and light like some antique wood ones I have. The finial, though is SUPER heavy. A nice weighty piece for $19!

What is turned wood, and why do you not just edit the errors rather than leaving them on screen?

Thank you,

Is it just me, or do these things look like sex toys?

They don't look like wood OR ceramic. They look like cheap plastic crap from China. Which they are.

cheap plastic from china looks good :)

The 'error' was intentional-meaning the poster was trying to show that they are done in the *style* of turned wood (which looks just like this-you spin a block of wood on a lathe to achieve the different curves). Same idea as adding or subtracting when glassblowing or on a ceramic wheel. I think it's kind of clever using a technique without the 'expected' material that it's usually done with. Haven't seen the quality of these in person, though.

i have seen them, and honestly, they look fine.

especially if you're looking for just a simple, affordable accent piece. i mean, are they destined to be valuable collector's items? no. but they're cute and fun and a great way to get a trendy look without spending a lot of money. and the best part is that when the turned wood look is out, you won't feel guilty getting rid of a $20 candlestick or whatever.

what's especially interesting about this stuff is that in my mind i associate turned wood with a more "country" look, so the supermodern shiny slick turned pieces is an interesting juxtaposition.

The philosophy that is destroying our country: we don't need quality or craftsmanship anymore -- just something readily available to satiate our appetite for a momentary trend, but cheap enough so that we don't feel guilty about getting rid of it, i.e. throwing it in the landfill.

It looks like cheap tacky crap.

It's really destroying our country!

*rolls eyes*

I was shopping in WE last night with a client and we both noticed these finials and liked them. And they are substantial (read: heavy). I love the shapes and for a bit of gloss I think they're great.

Yeah ... and they're not plastic-y at all. They just look super-slick laquered.

Everyone has different personal taste, but I love how people who are being all bitchy about "this stuff is garbage!" rarely use their actual names ... just some lame snarky byline.

;-)

Well, they could be lime green. Then they would be cheaper and tackier.

Re: snarky bylines vs. using actual names -- for me, what's important in this forum is expressing an idea, not making a target of myself, ... or promoting myself and my products...

The point isn't so much that "this stuff is garbage!" It's that addictive principles of America's out-of-control consumerism, which churn out huge amounts of items that rapidly *become* garbage, are a shallow substitute for meaningful living. It's not just personal taste, it's a plea not to live in an unconscious state of mind.

ridge & the opoponax, i'm on the same page with you both.

So by your point, soapbox, we should all live in empty houses because god forbid something goes out of style and we might want to change it out.

Incidentally, I don't throw anything older in the trash (unless it's broken) ... I give it all to charities, in fact I just did a major purge a year ago and got rid of over 50% of my possessions ... all of which a housing non-profit was more than happy to take for their spaces. But anyway, actually, instead of throwing stuff out after it goes out of style, I always do what I can to rework it to fit the changing look of my place ... if for no other reason than I can't afford to keep redesigning.

And as for your complaint about being on here to promote ourselves or whatever ... what, because people are showing off their designs? Or because some of us have links to our websites? It's a community, Mr. Citizen... people exchange ideas and resources. And if it was such a crazy idea to link ourselves to our posts, then why does the option exist?

Incidentally, I meant to elaborate but I got distracted by a business call ...

I didn't purge the stuff because I was tired of the look and wanted to redecorate. I gave it to someone else, because I decided I didn't need so many "things" in my life anymore. I wanted to use what little stuff I kept to make its own statement.

So don't assume we're all wasteful consumers just because we can appreciate a cute little design here and there.