WE CAN’T ALL BE world famous.
In fact, when it comes to celebrity, the best that most of us can hope for is a little respect in the small circles we travel in. Practically speaking, that means the only evidence of the high esteem in which we’re held is our snapshot stuck on a friend’s fridge.
But now comes a cheap-and-classy way to kick it up a notch. All you need are scissors, a snapshot of yourself and the rococo tape shown here. Snip, snip and suddenly, you’re museum-worthy. Not bad for a $12.50 investment in this “Do frame tape” from the Netherlands.
But that’s only the beginning of the uses for this simple but elegant roll of printed packing tape.
Your kid crayons on the wall? Instead of a lecture and Lysol, corral the mishap with four quick strips of instant picture frame and suddenly naughty boy’s scribbles are treasured art.
Even a stain on the carpet elevates to ultra-chic when framed with this roll of the sticky stuff. Same goes for water damage on the ceiling, a cracked mirror, baby’s first tooth, that hard-won divorce decree.
This particular roll of the infinitely useful product was acquired on a visit to the shop at Miami Beach’s Wolfsonian-Florida International University Museum (wolfsonian.org). It’s the creation of Barcelona native Marti Guixe, a member of Droog, the inventive Dutch design collective.
Guixe describes himself as an “ex-designer” who “hates objects.” That said, he keeps coming up with covetable new ones (guixe.com) that are sold at hiply curated shops around the globe. Among his projects are the Camper shoe stores where he devised the packaging that says, “If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.”
In a profligate world, it’s hard to argue with that advice, even though it comes from someone whose tantalizing products make it nearly impossible to follow.
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Read Ellen’s shopping adviser column every Thursday in the Tribune’s At Play section and join the conversation at chicagotribune.com/ellen. shopellen@tribune.com
