bug life

Glancing at style court this morning, I found something that completely captivated my imagination. I remember having vaguely heard about Chinese cricket boxes in the past (although, for some reason, I took them to be homes for crickets that people captured in order to temporarily enjoy their chirping, it may be that these crickets were used for "cricket fighting," which I am definitely less charmed by!). The idea (of someone capturing a cricket to temporarily enjoy its song) reminded me so much of probably my earliest childhood memory: collecting fireflies in mason jars with my mother (while The Incredible Hulk was on t.v. in the other room) in order to briefly enjoy their glow...





In Designing Women: Interiors By Leading Style-Makers, Suzanne Rheinstein has apparently re-purposed a collection of antique Chinese cricket boxes as votive holders, which I think look absolutely amazing.

I've always been drawn to shadow-play and sources of light which seem to seep through a pattern - such as punched tin:









For some reason, those antique cricket boxes are just speaking right to that love!