If you’re prego and quite the fussy one when it comes to how to design your home now that a baby is due to arrive, you may really enjoy my column this week at GKFA. I found eight fresh finds that any mother will love. Fresh for the home with a few fashion finds, too. View the article here.

Below you can link to more Fresh Finds, written by me, Holly Becker. They’re all featured on the hip online woman’s magazine, GKFA, where I have a bi-weekly column and where I regularly contribute travel + design related articles, like my travel story about Hannover, Germany and my review of the hot new parenting magazine Cookie .

Spring Fever: Warning – This could lead to jealous friends and a lot of eye-rolling. May cause spring fever. Proceed with caution.

Working Girl: Hey there working girl. Tired of spending long hours in the office? No matter what you do from 9 to 5, dreaming of sunny shores, mojitos and cabana boys will not make you the rising star in the workplace. Our fresh finds will brighten dull desks and add a little organization to your day, which will naturally increase productivity, scoring major points with your boss.

Green Design: It’s not just the grass that’s getting greener these days. In the world of design, going green means developing cutting-edge, cost efficient and environmentally aware products that are more hip than hippie.

Wedding: One hot date led to another and… You’re engaged! Time to start planning, obsessing, and alienating relatives?! Guaranteed to make your wedding ooze with style and charm, consider these fresh finds the dollop of whipped cream needed to top off your perfect day.

Moms and Babies: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes mommy wearing the hottest flair jeans, pushing an ultra-hip stroller, and of course, everyone a-buzz over the new baby. Forget shabby, we’re talking mommy chic!

(image from jennifer deLonge)

While browsing Loop, did you happen to come across the German ceramist Annette Bugansky? Her porcelain knitted texture vessels are a-m-a-z-i-n-g. For each individual piece, Annette and her mother knit a form and she places it over the vessel prior to casting it in porcelain. Imagine the time spent, the patience, the passion involved in such meticulous design. Before becoming a ceramicist, Annette trained and worked in fashion and costume design, working as a cutter for Jean Muir as well as the BBC costume department. She then went on to study Art and Ceramic Design and then, launched her ceramics business. She is a materials-based designer, forming sensual tactile ceramics, much of which are inspired by her background and love for fashion and costuming.

I enjoy learning about artists who start out in life doing one thing and midstream, decide to explore other creative avenues, don’t you? It’s something so many of us dream of, but do not always have the courage or self-esteem to actually go for. We fear the unknown, or think that failure is somehow lurking if we were to change our direction. To me, the greatest failure is not to try at all. Think about that if you are considering a new path in your life.

Are you one that took the leap and made changes in your career path? Care to share? I have so many readers that write in about how they’d like to learn interior design or become a textile designer or artist and they’re looking for a little encouragement. If you’d like to give them a boost of confidence based on your own experience, please comment below.

(images from loop)

decor8 reader and ceramicist Linda Bloomfield wrote to me today about her lovely hand-thrown porcelain tableware, some available with tea cosies and mug cosies crafted by her talented colleague, Ruth Cross. I have to say, these mug cosies are a lot more chic than those paper holders you get at most American coffee houses! Linda’s porcelin tea sets are available from Loop, the ever-fabulous London knitter’s heaven that we all know and love, and you can grab your Ruth Cross cosies there, too. Linda told me that her creations will soon be available in Japan, but they’re still looking for US locations. If you are a store owner and enjoy Linda’s work, please feel free to contact her to inquire about offering them in your own store. To locate shops that sell her beautiful wares, click here, otherwise you can order online at Loop.

If you’re in London, you can also visit Linda at Cabbages and Frocks, too. She is quite in demand lately and certainly for good reason, her tableware is so pretty. From dimpled teapots to spouts that almost look like little kissy fish lips, you’ll love the personality she brings to porcelin.

Psst: Did you see this hand-made chair cosy from Ruth? Wow. Go Ruth! That is the coolest idea ever.

Here we go loopty-loo! Another note to Londoners, pop on over to Loop located at 41 Cross Street, Islington, where you can even take a class and learn everything from knitting housewares to how to dress a rabbit (so cute!). The rest of us unfortunate souls unable to view the shop in person, we’ll have to be satisified with simply utilizing their new online shop instead.

(images from loop)

Congratulations to Ms. Jill Garzik, student member of the New England ASID chapter who received the 2005 ASID Student Design Award at Interiors ’06 in Nashville this past March. Click here for details about Jill and to see her drawings.

According to Garzik, believing in herself was the key to receiving this honor. As did many colleges this year, the New England School of Art and Design, where Garzik is a senior, incorporated the competition?to design a spa for multiple sclerosis patients that employs universal design, as well as sustainable products?into its curriculum, requiring students to complete the project per the ASID guidelines. The school would then enter two projects from each class in the competition. When the school didn?t choose her project to be submitted, Garzik decided to enter the competition on her own.

(image and partial text from ASID)

Dwelling Designs has the swankiest furniture for the home, and you know what I’m talking about, the kind of furniture that you love but have a hard time affording without the help of Mr. Visa or Ms. Mastercard. With their current Sample Sale, you may be able to pull out some spare cash in your piggy bank because they’ve slashed prices on some delicious pieces that I’m particularly fond of, like this super chic Asia sideboard. Available in teak, limed honey oak, ebony and expresso, I’m going with the teak. In addition to the obvious aesthetic appeal, because it’s a hardwood vs. a softwood, teak is durable if properly cared for. I really like the grain and that it is relatively light in color, yet still brings a great deal of warmth to a space. The Circle cocktail table is another favorite of mine, and at $350, you can’t go wrong. I also find the curves of this coveted cocoon chair is one that you’ll want to take home with you, especially since it was marked down to $495. Try finding something this unique in your local home store for that price.

If you’re in Minneapolis and you’d like to visit the Dwelling Designs showroom, it’s located over at 5041 France Avenue South.

(images from dwelling designs)