Vismara’s Revolving Towers

Yes, I do have to admit to being anally retrentive when it comes around to keeping order in my stuff. After all, I am the person who has all of his books, films and CDs sorted alphabetically (and I mean each and every one of them), I used to write and rewrite notes on A5 cards until I got them right, I love designing calendars and forms with Indesign, and I like things aligned and neat-looking, no matter what they are. I have been known to unconsciously straighten out other people’s framed posters and photographs (it is beyond me how someone can slap a great photo of, say, Duke Ellington on the wall, only to have it hang crookedly next to another great photo) and I even have my pens stand at attention in a pen holder which holds each pen or pencil separately. Jeez, doesn’t everyone?

I’m not even going to get into Freud’s definition of this state of being; I will just adhere to the more modern metaphorical usage describing someone overly worried about small details. And, in that sense, Vismara’s “Revolving Tower” (site uses frames; see links at the end of this post) is an anally retentive’s wet dream. Continue Reading →

Rosendahl CD-25 Chrome

I think that it is a good idea to have a smaller CD-holder close to your stereo so that you don’t have to act the long-distance runner every time you want to put on a new CD, jogging back and forth between remote CD shelf units and your hardware.

The problem is that many of the smaller CD-holders start acting up when you try to load them up with anything but single jewelcases. If you have a whole lot of digipacks that do not adhere to standard jewelcase measurements or double-CDs in those fat, ugly and impractical jewelcases, you end up having to pile up the CDs next to the stero – not really the solution you were looking for. Continue Reading →

CD Sleeves

As a collector it doesn’t take all that long to reach the point at which your marriage is in danger and your social life falls apart, and all of that just because you are running out of space or, to say it differently, because your spouse has to retreat to the kitchen or your guests are caught out in the hallway. In short, your place is full of music, top to bottom, left to right … and inbetween.

The first solution seems to be the easiest for people not in the know. Invariably they’ll tell you that you don’t need 5000 or however many CDs you have, simply because in their minds, you can’t really have listened to all of them and will never be able to. Of course, we know better and being real collectors, we have serious problems parting with anything we have, even the crummy jazz reissue from some defunct budget label, the old scratched up one-hit-wonder recording we played all too often and now can’t stand anymore, the original CD release of some 80s band that has since been reissued three times (of course we have all three issues, just to compare), or the 60s hits collection which we actually have covered by three other 60s hits collections. So, another solution is needed. Continue Reading →

IKEA Benno gives more head

When I have a look at my site statistics (and to be quite honest, I rarely do that), I notice that my short description of using the IKEA Ivar system to store my CDs is by far the most popular post. Of course, people often reach this site trying to find assembly instructions, which I don’t offer, or a “free IVAR system”(?), which I certainly don’t have either, but a whole bunch of those accidental tourists actually decided to subscribe to the site’s RSS feed, so why not pull in the other half of the earth’s population as well, the one that goes for the other outrageously cheap IKEA system, the Benno CD/DVD/Video unit (and no, I did not forget the “Billy” fans … they’ll be served next week)?

I am a fan of cool designs, expensive storage systems and classy shelf units, but my budget is eaten up by what I actually put on the shelves or into the units, so until I win a million in the lottery, IKEA it is for me, and many others like me. Continue Reading →

Sigmarail by LOWKON

Although Lowkon sounds more like a Chinese or Asian company, they are in fact object designers hailing from southern Germany. Their design concept is one of simplicity and minimalism, as embodied in the often-heard slogan “form follows function” (and pushed to the forefront of design with the advent of the “Bauhaus” school of design in the early 20th century). Before entering the market with Sigmarail, Lowkon was primarily known for its successful commercial, industrial and fashion photography. Sigmarail is their first and, as far as I know, only product. Continue Reading →

IKEA Ivar

As soon as this site went online, I was flooded with e-mails (please do use the comment function on the site if you have questions on a featured item or related issues). Enquiring minds wanted to know what I myself use to store my collection and what I could recommend. Well, despite my posts to the contrary, I use the ultimate budget system, a simple IKEA shelf system called “Ivar”, slightly “tweaked” to fit my needs. Before you read on: Ivar is not one of those Ikea products that you need an IQ of 200 and infinite patience for to put together. You don’t even need any tools besides a screwdriver, and the skills required to put it together tend towards zilch. Fact is, it doesn’t get much easier than Ivar (and I have lots of IKEA experience with other, err, less successful products in that regard). Continue Reading →

The Record Album Frame

When searching the Internet for LP frames to finally get some of your favorite covers up on the wall, chances are that, depending on your search terms, Rock Art Picture Show’s Record Album Frame will pop up right at the top of your search results, simply because it has been around for ages. I don’t really know when they started producing those, and their (abominably ugly) site doesn’t say, but they have a history. The site doesn’t hold back on the hype, either: Continue Reading →

Groove

If you have rather large collections like I do, it’s always nice to have a smaller selection close to your stereo if the collection, which is often the case, is stored in a rather elaborate shelf or container system wherever it fits – and that’s usually not right next to your stereo equipment.

So, what I was looking for was a small shelf, frame or other container that looks nice (or halfway decent) and is versatile. I narrowed my selection down to several Scandinavian products, one of which was a wall-mounted CD rack called “Groove”. Continue Reading →