In the most utilitarian sense, words are used to communicate. But sometimes, finding the right words to express an idea or a feeling is more than utilitarian – it’s an art form. Other times, it’s not the meaning of words that makes them artful, it’s their appearance, whether it’s handwritten calligraphy in a letter or computer fonts on a billboard. These three items found on Main Street, Vineyard Haven, celebrate words and turn what could just be practical (a card, a pen, a magazine) into something that is without question something more.
A box with punch
These colorful boxes are made from recycled Vietnamese magazine pages, but they’re much heavier and sturdier than you might expect. The California company Roost, which designs them, works with Vietnamese craftspeople who use their own traditional bamboo-weaving technique for weaving bowls and vases to make the boxes. The layers are sealed with a resin to make them watertight, and the interiors of the boxes are lined with whole pages for an aesthetic treat when they’re opened. The bold mix of color makes the “confetti paper collection” funky, but clean lines give it a sleek, sophisticated
look. Available in three nesting sizes, $25.95 to $45.95. (Frames and mirrors are also available.)
On-Island exclusively at Mix, 65 Main Street, Vineyard Haven, 508-693-8240.
Peace, love, and cards
These are not your average Vineyard note cards. Vineyard Haven artist Dick Iacovello’s grainy and color-saturated “MV Art” cards are more art than photo, and the images are more obscure than the Edgartown lighthouse or an Oak Bluffs gingerbread house. He’s captured pumpkins at Edgartown’s Morning Glory Farm, a woman reading outside Vineyard Haven’s former Get a Life Café, first-place tomatoes at the Ag Fair, sculptures at the Field Gallery in West Tisbury, the Capawock movie theater in Vineyard Haven. Iacovello also makes cards featuring his psychedelic poster designs from the 1960s, including an Andy Warhol series. All cards are $10.
Exclusively at Madame Falgoux Aromatherapies, 54 Main Street, Vineyard Haven, 508-693-0090.
The pen is mighty
Sometimes the right pen just makes you want to write. This is one of those times. Italian glass pens and inks by Francesco Rubinato are an elegant mix of form and function, and fit comfortably in the hand. There are no mechanisms or parts at work – only physics. Tiny ridges pull the ink to the tip of the pen and release it in a fine, even stream as you write. Inks come in colors such as black, blue, red, violet, green, orange, gold, silver, and invisible. Glass pens run $40 to $45, while ink prices vary with the exchange rate, from $11 to $20.
On-Island exclusively at Jenni Bick Bookbinding, 53B Main Street, Vineyard Haven, 508-696-7253.
