I was reading the Bubb Report this morning and came across these tissue boxes by Lotta Jansdotter and I thought, "If only Kleenex could get with it and give us something like this vs. all those mod boxes that don't match one single part of my house!" - I mean, I guess it's a little old fashioned to match the tissue box to the decor of your home (recall the crochet cozies in your grandmother's bathroom - I sure do), I keep mine in the drawer anyway because they're so ugly, but if you want to match and leave them out then I like these from Lotta.

My preference is the long flat box in plain white, vs. the round, box, oval and now "fruit wedge" shape that's taking over tissue aisles across the country. Heck, if you have time on your hands, you could use rubber stamps to stamp a plain white tissue box yourself. When it comes to toilet paper, paper towels, and kleenex (and their boxes) I like things high quality yet simplistic in their design. And while world peace should be a concern, and it is, I do spend a little too much time thinking about every little thing that I purchase being both functional and pretty. I just love toilet paper that has those deep white on white almost letterpressed impressions on them. Do you know what I mean? You may not, as I don't come across it here too often but in Germany they have toilet paper that is so beautiful with these gorgeous patterns deeply impressed into each sheet, I was so impressed. I figure if I have to look at these functional items on a daily basis then why can't they at least look nice and not tacky. I know... I know you're thinking I'm crazy right about now.

But back to Lotta because I'm sure she won't want to read this post and see that the entire topic is around toilet paper and tissue boxes. :) Well it looks like she's been bitten by the good old scrapbooking bug because now she is carrying some scrapbooks in her online shop which is a great option for her fans. I love the baby pillow and the mini tray in her collection, both shown above. Especially the tray -- a personal favorite.

By the way, have you ever watched this '07 studio tour of her Brooklyn office? I missed it somehow and stumbled upon it a moment ago. I guess I never thought about where she does all of her photography, print work, packaging, etc. but in this video, produced by Etsy, she gives us a tour of an apartment that she converted into, what seems to be, solely her studio space. It's so inspiring to watch this power woman in action. Psst: If you are in Brooklyn in August, September or October visit Lotta's studio space to take a printmaking class with her. I'd love to take a printmaking class with someone who has so much experience, especially in their 'zone' you know, a classroom in college is fine too but to be in the artist's space seems a lot more intimate and energizing to me personally. More information about that here.

Okay your turn to dish. Do you care about paper towel patterns, tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls and the like? Or do you think all this focus on product packaging for such mundane things is a bit over rated?

(images: lotta jansdotter)