Cool Hunting

Bringing art and style into the everyday doesn't have to be out of reach or precious. Companies like Ikea and Target are helping drive that point home.

Third Drawer Down, an Australian company, makes limited edition dish towels, aprons, napkins and runners using silkscreens and embroidery. Abigail Compton has taken work by artists/designers including Royal Art Lodge from Canada, Tobias Rottger from Germany, Frederique Daubal from France, Margaret Morgan from the U.S., Zara Wood from the U.K., And Andrew Nicholls from Australia (Allegory 2005, shown above) and put them on kitchen products that get used every day.

After the jump: Win a towel! More photos and ordering information.

Helen Johnson, A Mercurial Map of the South, 2004, Screenprint on Linen

Holly Story, Good Morning, 2000, Screenprint and Embroidery on Linen

Available from Third Drawer Down online, towel prices start around $23. Also available from The Future Perfect in Brooklyn.

Third Drawer Down has given us 10 towels to give away. Send us a photo of your dirty dishes by Friday, 24 March 2006. Those most in need will get their photos published in a follow up story and a new dish towel to help clean the mess up. Mail your photos along with your name and email address in the body of the message to thirddrawerdown [at ] coolhunting [dot] com.