There are certain companies that make me crazy with how awesome their stuff is — Schoolhouse Electric is definitely one of those companies. It’s like Restoration Hardware, except real and everything is made in America. With the launch of its new website (which goes live today), Schoolhouse is releasing a few special items not previously seen. My favorite items is this classic 1960s wall clock which is made in partnership with IBM and offered today for the first time.

More info from Schoolhouse:

Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. partnered with IBM to exclusively produce their iconic 1960s standard issue wall clock. Over the last 100 years IBM has evolved from producing time clocks to pioneering data processing. This classic clock celebrates IBM’s product heritage and centennial along with Schoolhouse’s recent product expansion into iconic American home and office products.

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When I was in Houston a few months ago one of the places my friend Kate took me to was the fantastic shop Installations Antiques. The store (which is located in an old commercial bakery) is a great mix of American and European antiques, with an emphasis on Belgian goods. One thing I really like about the things on offer at Installations are the modifications that owners Becki and Jur van der Oord (hence the concentration on Belgian antiques) make to some of the found objects — like making a light out of a aluminum aircraft wing. It sounds like a stretch, but Becki and Jur really have excellent taste and it shows. The shop is beautifully merchandised — probably the best merchandised independent store I have ever been to. I bet the folks from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware visit often, so they can knock it off.

Peruse the shop in the photos below, or better yet stop by next time you are in Houston. Might be best to take a truck, at least I wish I did.

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I must confess that, for whatever reason, I haven’t been to Chicago in years. I was meaning to go for a music festival or two last summer, but never made it. Everyone I know from the capital of the Middlewest raves about the city — all livable and everything. It is a different beast than New York though, that is for sure. The argument for me to visit got a little more compelling last week when I discovered Agent Gallery. I actually found them through some of their auctions on eBay and eventually wound up digging through the company’s online shop. It has some nice industrial lighting for sale, and some other interesting objects and furniture. I’m not a lighting expert so some of that stuff could be crap, but it looks good to me. The prices also aren’t necessarily cheap, but they aren’t New York prices either.

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I’m a sucker for that whole industrial salvage furniture look. The guys from Billykirk have it going on in their design studio. Tons of crazy old tools and machines salvaged mostly from factories in Los Angeles. If I lived out in LA I would be all over Sonrisa, Retro Office and especially a recent discovery, Cleveland Art. I know what you are thinking, why the hell is it named Cleveland Art when it is based in LA?

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There was a show on HGTV a while back about people that preferred small spaces over massive homes. It is something that has really resonated with me over the years. A few months ago I posted something about Tiny portable homes that people seemed to like. Well, apparently the folks in Traverse City, Michigan (that’s the pinky of the mitten for those of you that aren’t great with middle-west geography) also know a thing or two about small spaces. Materialicious turned me onto a company called Cottage in a Day, who worked with architect Michael Fitzhugh to design a group of fantastic looking modular cottage homes. According to the company, once all the components arrive,  setup can be done in a few hours. Hence the name Cottage in a Day. I would love to get a nice piece of Sullivan County (New York) and plant one of these great looking homes. More images after the jump.

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