Violin Table Lamp

Here's something a music lover would find gorgeous!

This is one of AbsoluteHome's current Featured Products -- a violin table lamp priced at $46.40.

The authorized dealer is Trend Lighting. Trend Lighting specialises in creating attractive, unique products. They cover many styles too, from urban contemporary to classic traditional. High quality workmanship and innovation is always a superlative combination.

This is a warm light fixture that would illuminate any home, and make it that much more inviting and cozy.

* Height: 12 1/2" (31.75 cm)
* Width: 4" (10.16 cm)
* Lamping: 1 - 15 watt candle
* Finish: antique brass

AbsoluteHome is a huge website, that proudly states being the online source for everything in the home. They offer a large selection of luxury brands, totaling over 500,000 products in various categories such as Kitchen, Bath, Lighting, Appliances, etc.

Fender: Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty Fenders

I've always liked Fender. I'm not the biggest Hello Kitty fan on the planet, but this famous kitty logo has been around for ages and has come a long way, and it looks neat. I was delighted when I first knew about these guitars and bass guitars (currently the bass is the Badtz-Maru brand) a couple of years back.

The Hello Kitty Fenders come in pink or black. Those two colours always make a cool and rocking combination. These are some of the specs of the Hello Kitty Stratocaster --

* script Hello Kitty logo artwork on back of pink body
* collage Hello Kitty logo artwork on back of black body
* white knob on pink guitar
* black knob on black guitar
* pink dot position inlays on pink guitar (a tiny but sassy detail)

The site also has a "Fender Players Club", where you can learn the basics of guitar playing. There's a lesson on playing the riffs from "Just a Girl" by No Doubt, and "What's My Age Again?" by Blink-182 for bass players.

Sidenote: Now I know Gwen Stefani is a fashion icon and all, but I really miss her during the No Doubt days, and if you or anyone you know thinks that Blink-182 is what real punk is about, please listen to The Ramones and The Sex Pistols, to get started ;).

The website also has wallpapers -- including a gorgeous closeup of the back of the Hello Kitty black guitar.

Guitar Collectibles

Flying V Style Black

Baby Axe manufactures miniature guitar collectibles. The range includes the Stratocaster (by Fender) and the Rickenbacker. The guitars are associated with the world's most famous musical artistes, including Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, John Lennon, and Noel Gallagher.

The Baby Axe guitars look extremely realistic. I didn't even know they were miniature collectibles at first. The guitars are approximately 10 inches (25.4 cm), and come in a simulated aluminium case box. The guitars are made from the finest quality material -- such as high-quality fibre -- which makes them feel a bit heavier than they might look.

In the 1960s, the Flying V style (featured in the above picture) became a statement of individualism and creativity. More recently, it has been used by Lenny Kravitz.

There's also a cool Harley Davidson Fender. Each retails for about £23.

These are droolworthy gifts for music lovers, or people who are into rock music.

You might want to include a note though, that the guitars *are* miniature instruments, and cannot be physically played.

The Sound of Music

For the music lover, these are hand-crafted, traditional Peruvian panpipes. These panpipes called zampoña, are the flute of the Andes and dates back to the Inca empire. Read more about this beautiful instrument at: NOVICA - Wind Instruments.


NOVICA is in association with The National Geographic Society. The global aspect of NOVICA is very inspiring, as the website unites you with more than 2000 extraordinary master artists around the world. There's a wealth of information. You can read about their lives, explore their unique cultures, and select from more than 20000 handcrafted works of art available online.

The regions are separated into the following categories: The Andes, Bali and Java, Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, and West Africa. The ceramics, glassware, and folk art are fascinating. There's a whole gifts ideas section - earrings (beautiful!), sculptures, bracelets, rugs, tapestries and vases can be purchased. There are also items with a more contemporary feel which would complement a setting that's a bit more urban.

The musical instruments section has the greatest wow-factor to me, because of the sheer vastness of instruments I'd otherwise have known very little about. I thought that I'd never be able to get up close to any of these (apart from them being glass-cased in museums, or extremely well-kept by collectors).