I have a soft spot for good, clean packaging design – and designers get bonus points for something with a vintage look. I suppose that’s not uncommon these days, but when I saw the feature on Portland General Store {and the companion women’s shop} on The Dieline I was seriously short of breath.

The packaging is reminiscent of the “good ol’ days” – simple and to the point. There’s no need for flashy designs or excessive color, and the lack of both of these things delicately emphasizes the equally minimal product.

Creator Lisa Brodar is a one woman assembly line, creating not only the product itself but also the packaging and presentation. The Dieline quotes Lisa saying: “I’ve always been interested in health and well-being, and that spilled over into the choices I made when I started Portland General Store, which focuses on high quality, organic, and vegan products using as few chemicals as possible. I also have a background in marketing, web development, and advertising, and a BFA in Illustration, all of which have been valuable assets to the growth of Portland General Store (all design, product development, and packaging are done by me). I’ve incorporated a vintage pharmaceutical look to my products that is reminiscent of the past when there might have only been one general store in town to get all of one’s goods.”

I’m eyeing up the men’s shop for both myself and my gentleman. Scents like “wood” and “tobacco” sound like they’ll send me on an olfactory journey through my childhood; a combination of my Pappy, the log cabin in his backyard, and the room at the back of the house filled with tools and sawdust. Thankfully Brodar’s prices are reasonable so I can order a few things guilt free!

As someone with a moderate case of OCD I’m fawning over bluelounge’s new StudioDesk. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to sit at a desk with a desktop surface that slides to hide/reveal all your cables and cords. Pure bliss.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s white and would thus match everything else I own. WANT.

{Via Swissmiss}

Anyway, where I’m desperately trying to go with this is here: I want to buy my cat a designer litter box. No fucking lie. I mean, I’m not actually going to buy a designer litter box {right now} but I’m going to think about it. A lot. And I’m going to think specifically about the ModKat because, hot damn is that one beautiful shitter. For reference:

The cat enters the box From The Top! WTF! I love it! It’s plain and simple and even has a reusable liner to make cleaning it a total breeze.

In my imaginary world where people do things like send me things because I blog about their products {a girl can dream} I’m crossing my fingers for a white one to show up on my doorstep. In the real world, Didz and I are going to start saving our pennies. We must have it.