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Cranedesignforbetterliving wants to promote a local, independent shop in your area, so tell us about your favorite shop and you could be eligible to win a $75 gift certificate. To win a $75 gift certificate to a local and independently owned shop favorite in a location close to you, please enter our raffle at the end of this blog post.…

Monsters are usually those scary, hairy creatures we fear are hiding under our beds, but New York-based artist Matthew Langille, April’s “Breathe Easy” artist, begs to differ. His friendly and colorful monsters are playful-looking creatures and he has fun drawing them on just about anything — bathroom walls in Berlin (hunh?), disposable playhouses and now, on Crane’s drop shape humidifiers. I…

In the second of our “Breath Easy” one-of-a-kind design campaign for Crane’s drop humidifiers, we welcome artist and illustrator, Abigail Friedman McLean, as the Sharpie marker artist for the March edition.Crane’s Drop humidifiers are beautiful shapes and we wondered what it would be like to make them even more distinctive objects for the home or office. “Breathe Easy” is our…

Crane’s drop humidifiers are beautiful shapes and we wondered what it would be like to make them even more distinctive objects for the home or office. “Breathe Easy” is our one-of-a-kind design campaign that takes our drop humidifiers and pairs them with the talent of visual artists from around the country. We thought that Sharpie markers were the perfect medium…

There are times when I just want other people to make the decision for me and there are times when, darn it, I want to choose my own color of Electric Fireplace Heater from Crane-USA. And, by golly, this is one of those times. Fellow Giveaway Entrants, this is your moment in the sun. You get to choose the color…

People love the color red. It’s the color of the holidays, ribbons on packages and Santa’s suit. The devil also has a propensity for wearing red, but I would say most people prefer the benevolent Santa, don’t they? While some prefer his alter ego. [gallery columns="1" link="none" size="medium" ids="50884"] It’s pretty clear that very few of you would rather have…

The cornucopia. The autumnal bounty. The harvest.  Fall is the season of abundance as the fields are heavy with ripened late-season vegetables at the peak of flavor. It is also the time when pumpkins, squash and gourds are ready for harvesting. Wikipedia defines pumpkins as a “gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds)”. Let’s ignore the fact that Wikipedia has just…

Last week I attended the ABC Kids Expo, a child-focused design exposition, in Louisville, Kentucky. There were a few stand-out designs one of which included the s noticed an interesting change in the materials they now use to make it. I spoke with Ashley Cao, Marketing Coordinator for Plan Toys at the ABC Kids Expo. Me:  I’ve been a fan of…

When I was a kid, I dreamed of having a pony, a dollhouse, a constant flow of recognizable name-brand cookies and, yes, a playhouse. I didn’t get any of these things. Little did I realize that the internet is a treasure-trove of playhouse designs. Just Google “playhouses” and you will be amazed at what is out there. The cottage I…