apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This stuff looks pretty swell, but you mention the idea of not amassing a bunch of stuff, but just getting what you need, right? That's kind of hard to do when so much of what's on here really is more stuff! And much of it very, very, very cool in one way or other.

For me, the fact that I get to see these pictures of that stuff kind makes me feel like I don't necessarily have to have it as long as I can look at it.

Lehman's is great! I've shopped there many times. Being from the south a pea sheller this size is a great idea. Some of the other dated items are just awesome. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

I also like www.restorationhardware.com as well.

I've been buying from Lehman's for years. Some items are a bit pricey, but they stock items not easily gotten aywhere else. Excellent service, and a phone answered by an actual human actually interested in solving your problem or answering your question. Good Folks.

The apple peeler sucks. I remember having one in my house when I was growing up. We used to have apple trees. When it was canning/applesauce time and I would complain, my mother would pull this out saying it would make the process go faster. It never did- apple falling off or taking off too much flesh etc. On the flip side there was this thing (to replace a mixer) probably from this catalog too that would do a great job of beating eggs and even whipped cream. Of course takes a lot of elbow grease but it did the job.

We have a food mill (for canning tomatoes) an apple peeler (for apple butter & pies) and the wall mounted can opener (because it's more fun than electric--the kids beg to be the "opener")

I especially like that a lot of the products are made in usa or in developed countries where humans make a living wage.

But can you believe the $799 grain mill from denmark?

I have an apple peeler/corer from a Pampered Chef party I was roped into going to. I love it and 10 years later the damn thing still works great!

My mother has an old apple peeler that we always used when making pies when I was growing up. It seemed ancient (I think she picked it up at a barn sale) and but it worked (and still works) very well.

I've been in Lehman's, during a trip to Amish country in Ohio. If anyone's restoring a Hoosier cabinet, they have parts.

Now you're making me all nostalgic for the meat grinder that my Dad used to mount to the kitchen countertop to make ground beef...

I Love Upstate, I still have one of those, my dad gave it to me as a gift because we used it to link our own sausages when I was a kid. Making your own ground beef sounds pretty hard core though.

Does not consuming electricity automatically means green? In tools that do not use electricity AND use human muscles, it's the human who is consuming the energy. The question would be who uses less?

I've been buying from Lehman's for years. The hand cranking coffee grinder is great - not just for coffee but for nuts and spices as well. The apple peeler is fantastic for making pies.

But you know, even though you don't use electricity with these items, you have to consider the energy that goes into making them - how much water and electricity go into the production of each piece of the apple peeler? And what types of pollution are given off in the process? Where do the metals come from? How are the people treated in that place? Do they have rights? Do they have access to such products? Is their air and water safe to breathe and drink? And how many miles has each piece of the apple peeler traveled to get to Lehmans to be put together? And the company that does the shipment, how does it treat its workers? The list could go on and on. Of course, it's like this for every single product you buy, but the idea is that single purpose items with limited uses may not be worth the social, economic, and environmental effects caused by their production. So, maybe you shouldn't buy them...
On the other hand, I still buy from Lehmans because dang those are some sweet items (I hope to get the non-electric dehydrator next).

cmei**, sure the human uses energy to crank the stuff, but at least your waste is biodegradable. also, you consuming food and subsequently operating the mechanical device is more sustainable than using coal to derive electricity to power the electrical device, which creates pollutants in the process. all in all, using the mechanical device is probably more efficient than the electrical device if it's fashioned to not use too much of your energy, since you are probably not using more than you would have had you been at rest. you could calculate the absolute energy expended, yes, but the human body is such an amazing thing in its variable energy efficiency that your answer might not be of much validity when you consider the total system time (a day, for instance). and thus, i believe these devices are probably greener.

i've heard your logic before.