One of the biggest trends lately has been a return to the classic crafts. For the past few years knitting has had a huge resurgence. The last year has seen the canning trend take off around the nation. Beekman 1802 a farm and mercantile which focuses on all things handmade, artisanal, and seasonal has announced the B.1802 Rural Artist Collective. The new project celebrates the skills of craftsfolk producing beautiful handmade items. One of their first collaborations is with Master Blacksmith Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy has traveled to West Africa to study with blacksmiths and learn traditional methods. He is one of the few working blacksmiths remaining in America and he even travels to West Virginia a few times a year to mine his own ore. He has created a few pieces for the Beekman 1802 Mercantile. The first is the B.1802 Iron Block. The block is designed to be a multi-purpose object. It can be a vase, a candleholder, paperweight and more. The very sturdy piece comes in two sizes 1/2 stone (7lb) for $95 and 1 full stone (14lb) for $125. The collective is also selling a delicately detailed hand-forged B. 1802 Fruit Spoon which was created using authentic 18th century spoon mold and has the look of an antique.

I don't generally think of furniture as something to get you in the holiday spirit but this new antler armchair by Nendo for Cappellini has a Christmasy feel. Not only is the backrest formed by ash olive tree-stained wood in the form of a pair of antlers but the seat itself is a holiday friendly dark green. This designer chair measures 25.3"w x 15"-28.5"h x 25.5"d and it sells for $3,329 at UnicaHome which says that the new chair has a delivery time of 12-16 weeks. Guess this one's not making home for Christmas this year.

Bowls made of drilled river rock, vines turned into sculpture and lighting salvaged from old factories around the world are just some of the unique treasures found at Artefact Design & Salvage in Sonoma, California. The showroom features antique architectural pieces, objects crafted from salvage, large-scale organic forms and all sorts of products that can't be found anywhere else. The products are collected around the world and include a growing line of furniture and objects designed by founder Dave Allen.

Allen's journey in salvage collection began in 1997 when he left his corporate job and started off on a new life specializing in architectural antiques. Over time he built his business from a series of yard sales to an international operation that sends him around the world scavenging for both salvaged items and new products from Borneo, Java, Bali and other parts of Malaysia and the Philippines. His blog on the Artefact Design & Salvage website is an informative and frequently amusing adventure. Check out the gallery below for a few of his treasures.

About a year-and-a-half ago I highlighted a great PBS show, Moment of Luxury With Bill Stubbs. The show is back for Season 2, and episodes began airing on October 1. (I regret not getting this information out there sooner...catch up with Season 1 online; if we're lucky, Season 2 episodes will appear soon!)

Stubbs, recognized by Architectural Digest on its list of top 100 designers, makes the experience of "luxury" -- excellence, comfort, and high quality -- accessible to Americans on any budget by offering tips on how to bring good, yet affordable, living into their homes and lives through home design, food, culture, and art.

"Our message that luxury does not have to be a fabulous home or an expensive piece of jewelry ... it can be a lush garden, an embroidered pillow, or a simple cup of tea ... has resonated with viewers," says Stubbs. "We are delighted to be back for a second season to continue our search for those places, people, and things that inspire me the most and to offer our viewers the tools to apply these secrets for affordable luxurious living."

This season, Stubbs finds luxury close to home in the United States and Canada. Filmed in high definition, the series brings Stubbs' design philosophy to life in 13 half-hour episodes. Take a look at some highlights of the series after the jump.

Nominations have been received and vetted for the best-of-breed in lighting, furniture, antiques resource, dishware and glassware. The Luxist Readers' Choice Decor Awards will be awarded based on your voting.

Each of finalists for the Readers' Choice for the Best in Lighting is a leader in the industry. One is credited with founding modern interior lighting designs, while another creates sculptural masterpieces. A third produces lighting that radiates beauty from every angle while the crystal chandeliers of another have been sought out by royalty. Last, but not least, there's one which melds exquisitely cut crystal with its masterful designs.

The Readers' Choice for the Best in Furniture nominees offer a range of original artistry from simple and pure to the exotic; from traditional to the ultra-modern. Their creations are collected by connoisseurs and museums alike.

The Readers' Choice for the Best in Glassware for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from France, Sweden and the United States. Each represents the finest of quality and artistry while offering the most exquisite of designs.

Nominees for Readers' Choice for Best in Dishware include companies that have been producing china for centuries. Two have roots in the Limoges region of France, the cradle of the French porcelain industry. One nominee is quintessentially English while two produce American classics. Dishware created by each of these nominees are owned by the who's who of world leaders from the King of Saudi Arabia and the Queen of England to the President of the United States.

Readers' Choice nominees for Best Antiques Resource include the most prestigious art and antiques fairs in the world. These fairs, which are international in scope, are annual destinations for serious connoisseurs, collectors and museum curators who are in search of the best. Each of these fairs have rigorous vetting processes in which the quality, condition and authenticity of each piece is carefully investigated.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed for each of these categories. Readers' Choice Awards for Decor will be announced on October 31st.

Niermann Weeks, headquartered in Millersville, Md., is a nominee for a Luxist Award in the best of lighting category.

This family-owned and operated company was founded in 1978 by Joe Niermann and his wife, Eleanor McKay, both with extensive backgrounds in historic preservation. Niermann is the company's principal designer, while McKay is the company's chief executive officer. Their daughters are both involved with the business with Claire serving as vice president of operations and Eleanor in the role of vice president of merchandising.

Joe Niermann's design style is to extrapolate the traditional form within its historic constraints. The result is spectacular lighting that is a pure exercise in geometry.

Niermann Weeks' lighting is jewelry for the interior. Each piece radiates beauty from every angle and in every light.

More than 40% of the company's business is custom-designed to meet the special needs of professional architect and designer clients. Niermann Weeks features more than 600 standard designs with 500 finishes, available through to-the-trade designer showrooms in the United States and Canada.

Chandeliers range in size from a stately 20 feet tall chandelier suitable for display in the lobby of a hotel down to a more intimate 11 inch tall piece for a small boudoir or powder room. Prices vary from $1,500 for a standard design for a simple sconce to $36,000 for a larger piece. Customization increases the price. Each of its products are hand-crafted at the Niermann Weeks factory outside Annapolis, Md.

Niermann Weeks' chandeliers, sconces, lantern, lamps, and ceiling fixtures can be viewed on www.niermannweeks.com (including retail prices). Its products are available at major design centers in the United States, Canada, and London; on internet portals such as www.shopAD.net, and at many retail locations.

William Switzer & Associates, the Vancouver-based furniture house, has been nominated for a Luxist Award for best furniture.

In business for nearly 60 years, William Switzer Collection offers a selection of over 900 products in styles ranging from Louis XV, to Venetian Rococo, Art Deco and 20th century French Moderne designs. The company also offers the Lucien Rollin Collection, which features designs from the internationally acclaimed designer in the French Moderne style.

Quality reproductions are produced from the originals in the William Switzer collection, maintaining the integrity of the original design while adapting to today's contemporary lifestyle. Much of the woodwork, including hand carving elaborate details and marquetry, is done at the family's European workshops. Finishing, including staining, gilding, chinoiserie painting and upholstery, is completed by hand on an individual basis in the company's Vancouver workshop.

The William Switzer Collection and The Lucien Rollin Collection are represented in William Switzer's own showrooms in Dania (Florida), Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver, and in trade showrooms in 13 other cities throughout the US and around the globe.

Bodner Chandeliers, nominated for a Luxist Award in lighting, are creations that one might expect from a true artist.

Award winning lighting artist and designer, Jessica Kay Bodner's creations include sculpted suspended "Beehive" forms (as seen above), wrought of spiraling steel, casts stellar light projecting shadows that spin abstract lines onto the surrounding surfaces, creating a double dimension of drawing.

The Ventura, Ca.-based artist is also known for her series of suspended galaxy forms. Orbs of light appear like stars or distant planets that float on spiraling tube steel, stellar light that has no beginning and no end emanates from these celestial forms.

Other commissioned works include large woven metal baskets, wrought iron forms reminiscent of archaeological subjects, illuminated flora and fauna sculptures forged in steel and large scale paintings and installations. Her work has been commissioned for public and private projects in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Europe and the Virgin Islands.

Notable installations and commissions by Bodner can be seen at the Landmarc Restaurant at the Time Warner Center in New York, N.Y., the Tohona Native American Museum at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tuscon, Az. and the Gansevooert South Hotel (as seen above) in South Beach, Miami.

Bodner can be purchased through Bloominglites. The company also offers customized work.

The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show is a nominee in the Luxist Awards' best antiques resource category.

Since 1989, The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show has been recognized the world over as a premier showcase for exceptional quality works of art from antiquity to the present day. The show features some of the world's top dealers and consistently attracts large crowds.

A superb variety of high-quality items are for sale at the fair, including furniture, paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, clocks, watches, arms, armour, rare books, manuscripts, jewelry, objets de vertu, Fabergé, silver, antiquities and ethnographic art. Many of the pieces are of museum quality. Prices start from as little as a few hundred dollars but rise into the millions.

All works are for sale under the strictest vetting conditions. In fact, at its launch the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show was the first fair in the United States to introduce vetting; a stringent set of guidelines designed to maintain the highest standards of quality and authenticity in the works of art on view and for sale. The great value of vetting at art and antiques fairs lies in the safeguards and reassurance it offers to buyers. The vetting committees for the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show combine both academic and commercial expertise in their membership, including museum personnel as well as other eminent specialists.

In 2009, the show, which is organized each year by Haughton International Fairs, will be held from October 16th until the 22nd with 65 exhibitors from around the world, each showcasing some of their best pieces. The fair will be held at the Park Avenue Armory, which is located on Park Avenue at 67th Street in New York City.

Roche-Bobois is a nominee for a Luxist Award for best in furniture.

The company's roots is a tale of two families. In 1950 Jacques Roche bought the old Alexandre Dumas theater on rue de Lyon and built two stores. His sons, Philippe and Francois, joined him and together established the company's developmental strategy. They began to distribute the very best contemporary furniture, which was heavily inspired by Bauhaus designers such as Pierre Paulin and Marc Berthier. At the same time, the Chouchan family were selling furniture in Paris on Boulevard Sebastopol at "Au Beau Bois" (which later became Bobois).

In 1960, Philippe Roche and Patrick and Jean-Claude Chouchan met at a Scandinavian furniture expo in Copenhagen. They soon designed their first catalog which launches the national franchise. They combine their resources and names and Roche-Bobois is launched.

Today, Roche-Bobois is a global leader in design and distribution of home furnishings, while retaining the unique position of molding its furniture designs. Each piece created is the result of close collaboration between designers, manufacturers and Roche-Bobois. It has three categories of furniture: Les Contemporians (avant-garde pieces), Les Voyages (a fusion of ethnic influences), and Les Provinciales (which rethinks traditional French furniture). Roche-Bobois is prolific as it introduces a new exclusive collection every six months.

Roche-Bobois is among the most internationally renowned and exclusive brands in home furnishings. Its products are sold in nearly 30 different countries. The company is expanding its reach rapidly, too. In fact, a new Roche-Bobois store opens every month somewhere in the world.

The Maastricht Fair, also called the TEFAF (which stands for The European Fine Art Fair), has been nominated for a Luxist Award for the best antiques resource category.

Commonly called "Maastricht", the fair, which is held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, this is where some of the most distinguished dealers, academics, art critics and collectors in the world gather once a year.

Maastricht was once two separate international fairs until they were merged to form the The European Fine Art Fair. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to view and buy genuine masterpieces from Bruegel to Bacon in addition to some of the world's finest antiques and antiquities.

Perhaps no where else will you find such rigorous investigation of their quality, condition and authenticity. Indeed, there are no fewer than 25 different vetting committees, consisting of 150 international experts, specialized in the fields that are presented at the fair. Each object is examined for its quality, authenticity and condition. Works of art that don't meet the high standards of the The European Fine Art Fair are removed from the stands and locked away until after the fair. In addition, the Art Loss Register, the world's largest database of stolen art, checks the objects against their lists of reported art theft, thus enabling collectors to acquire works of art at the Fair with the highest level of confidence.

The rough estimate for the total value of the objects presented at Maastricht exceeds $1 billion, which doesn't even include the magnificent contemporary jewelry section. All works of art shown by exhibitors at the fair are for sale (apart from stand furniture). The fair is 30,500 square meters, which is roughly the size of six football (or soccer) fields. Typically, there are 240 art and antiques dealers from 15 countries who exhibit at the fair; approximately 82% of the participants are non-Dutch.

Orrefors, the Swedish glassmaker, is a nominee for a Luxist Award for best glassware.

Its beginnings date back to 1726, when Lars Johan Silversparre received permission to build a furnace and a smithy at "the beautiful river that flows into Lake Orrenas". The iron works was given the name Orrefors, which means "the Orre waterfall".

The company's international breakthrough came at the Paris Exhibition of 1925. From the Hotel de Ville, the Town Hall of Paris, the Swedish pavilion borrowed a magnificent glass goblet designed by Simon Gate that had been presented as a gift to the City of Paris from the City of Stockholm in 1922. The goblet became a sensation, and the prestigious Grand Prix award was given to Orrefors and its designers. The glassblowers and engravers received gold medals

Since then, Orrefors has won thousands of design and glassmaking awards. Its pieces have been collected by individuals and museums and showcased in exhibits and public installations the world over, from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Wedgwood is a nominee for a Luxist Award for best dishware.

Quintessentially English, Wedgwood has a long tradition of innovation, quality and craftsmanship and its designs are widely acknowledged as timeless, elegant, classic and understated.

The Wedgwood Company was founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood, who is considered to be the "Father of English Potters". In 1765, Wedgwood developed a unique cream-colored earthenware that so pleased England's Queen Charlotte that she gave her permission for his gracious innovation to be dubbed "Queen's Ware". He put fine earthenware within the reach of all and his success was immediate worldwide.

The most famous of all Josiah Wedgwood's innovations, however, was Jasperware, which was unglazed vitreous fine stoneware, that could be stained blue, green, lilac, yellow or black to provide a suitable background for white classic-inspired reliefs or portraits. To this day, Jasperware is still recognized around the world as the Wedgwood signature collection.

In recent years, the company has established exciting design partnerships with fashion designers, Jasper Conran, Vera Wang and artist Robert Dawson to develop contemporary and stylish ranges that appeal to the younger consumer.

In 1986, the Wedgwood group became and division of WWRD Holding Limited, which also owns such world class brands as Waterford Crystal, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert.

Even the most stately of grand buildings can use a little pepping up. Our sister blog ShelterPop recently took a tour of the Empire State Building to check out its newly renovated lobby, part of a $550 million dollar building-wide renovation project. The old lobby projected a certain shabby grace but the building's common spaces had had lost their Art Deco grandeur. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners took on the project which included a couple of years of hardcore research. They were able to uncover and recreate a beautiful celestial mural on the lobby ceiling. The new mural shows a 1920s spin on a celestial sky with sunbursts and stars that resemble the industrial gears, cogs and wheels of the Machine Age. The original mural is still tucked away beneath the new ceiling in case it can be restored with some future technology someday. ShelterPop has pictures of the creation of the new mural and of the final results.

Collector, channeler and entrepreneur, JZ Knight has had an interesting life. Knight first came to national attention in the 1970s for channeling a being called Ramtha, a Lemurian warrior who lived around 35,000 years ago. But in addition to founding the the School of Enlightenment, writing books and spreading Ramtha's teachings, Knight is also an antiques collector and owner of JZ Rose, a home furnishings store in Washington state. Some of her collection will go onsale at Bonham & Butterfields in Los Angeles on September 27. The collection features eclectic and unique examples of period furniture, decorative arts, carpets and paintings from the 17th through 20th centuries. Highlights include a set of five Louis XV carved walnut fauteuils, stamped N. Heurtaut, 18th century (est. $18,000-25,000); a painted canvas eight panel floor screen (est. $8,000-12,000); a George III brass inlaid mahogany secretary, late 18th century (est. $6,000-8,000) and a superb Chinese mother of pearl inlaid rosewood center table, late 19th/early 20th century (est. $3,000-5,000). Knight also has an impressive collection of Lalique including the René Lalique frosted glass table clock shown above, estimated at $12,000-$18,000.