Nambé

Well, another loss for artisan craftsmanship and the US economy - Nambe has moved to China.

Being from New Mexico, I have always had a sort of local pride about the distinctive quality and beauty that is Nambe. It started out in the 1950s in a little village outside Santa Fe, and now the pieces have made it into world-class museums: from MOMA, Taiwan, Prague to Tokyo. I myself have three bowls and a pair of candlesticks. The fluidity and modernity of the design have always appealed to me.

According to their website, Nambe "is a company recognized worldwide for its award-winning designs and admired for its dedication to both artistic integrity and everyday functionality. Since the early '70s, gifts of Nambé have been given by our governors and statesmen as symbols of New Mexico's heritage. Nambé is still selected by the U.S. Department of State as gifts for foreign dignitaries and heads of state." And now, this beautiful New Mexican company born in the mountains near Los Alamos by Native American artisans has been outsourced to China. HUH???

Two years ago I read a book that really gave me a reality check, "A Year Without Made in China: One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy" by Sara Bongiorni. She, frustrated by the headlines of jobs being shipped to China and lead paint nonsense, decided to have her own boycott of all things made in China for an entire year. This book was an amazing read, and surprisingly funny. Having two small children, it was almost impossible to find shoes for them. She had to order custom made ones from Brazil - still outsourcing, but not to China. Need a toy to give for a child's birthday party? LEGO became her stand-by, but one must read the box carefully because only about 50% are manufactured in Europe - the rest? China. Her vacuum broke. Uh-oh! Impossible to find a new one made anywhere but China. Solution? The vacuum repair man! Oh, yeah! They are still around, and need business, right?!

I am so frustrated by this little piece of news. I do not know how Nambe could let this happen....

Beauty on a Budget?

So, not working for the past few weeks has led me to the realization that I need to be a little more careful where I spend my money. I love getting manicures and pedicures. The $27 for an hour and a half of pleasure and a week and a half of great looking nails is totally worth it to me. That being said, the economy has "fallen off a cliff" according to Warren Buffett, and thus the belt-tightening must start somewhere, right? So I sat down tonight to do some at-home beauty treatments with my Avon nail polish in the hue of "Midnight Plum". The polish was something like $3.50 in the sale catalog so that's more than $20 in my pocket. Quite the deal. Or so I thought.

This was the end result, and I must say that I tried very hard to stay within the confines on my actual nail and avoid my cuticle and finger.

Another angle, and yet further proof that I am horrible at this. It looks like I am trying to paint my nails in the middle of an earthquake.

I think my money and time is best spent paying people who are trained in these sorts of things, because apparently my BA in English didn't qualify me for this deceptively hard beauty treatment.