Meet Dutch Designer Marjet Wessels Boer

Sometimes I think, 'There are so many products on this planet, do we really need anymore? What can I add to that?' In the end, I want to create things that people cannot put aside. –Marjet Wessels Boer

Below are just a few of those products:







And one of her fabulous projects; Doors of Secrets:

I wanted to create an everyday product, like a door, that would appeal to people's imagination. The Door of Secrets contains hidden storage compartments, raising people's interest and curiosity. It makes you wonder what is hidden inside and invites exploration. You can shuffle the elements about, so there is interaction between the actual door and user.
- Marjel Wessels Boer

Click on the above images to enlarge.


Above: Dutch designer Marjet Wessels Boer

Visit her site here.

You'd Better Sit Down For This One: Magali Jeambrun's Unusual Chairs

Magali Jeambrun is clearly more than a furniture maker, she's an artist. Creating original unusual and stunning chairs that combine traditional shapes and silhouettes with contemporary designs, fabrics and materials, she has created pieces used in some of the hottest restaurants and retail establishments around.

Despite being written up in every hot design and interior magazines at some point or another for her chairs or mirrors, her pieces are very hard to find outside of France. IOn addition to her stock pieces, she also sells some one of a kind unique items.

She is described on her own site, www.etc-creations.fr, as such:

Neo-retro is obviously the keyword for Magali’s creations.
Rich in knowledge and artistic sensibility, she can create unexpected synergies between classical styles and modern design. The result is an amazing mix and transformation of the styles and matters that gives this particular characteristic to all Magali Jeambrun’s works of art. Like Cocktail dresses, casual suits or fashion dresses, all these products dress their new environment: some unique jewels for your interior.

The Be Flower Collection (click to enlarge):



details of motifs:



Unique materials, colors and combinations thereof along with etching and stencils make her chairs unmistakable.

The Capiton Collection (Noir, Bleu, Rose & Ivoire):




The Duo Collection (Skai and Croc):



Duo Barstools:

For central kitchen bar chair or standard bar chair, DUO line (papered base / clear Plexiglas back) gives way to bar chairs, available in two base heights 65 or 80 cms, with or without moldings.

Shining united vinyl, colored in black, white, red, tangerine, chocolate, silvered and soft gold for the Duo Skai. Imitation croco vinyl, colored in black, white and brown for the Duo Croco.

The Duo Lux Collection (Broc, Duchess & Cecilia):



The Impressum:

The Laser Butterfly Chair and pouf:


The Junior Collection are her chairs for children's rooms which incorporate plush teddy bears and toys:



All her chair frames are built in Northeast of France using traditional, centuries-old methods and are fully hand made without any mechanical support. The wood used for the chairs comes from the communal forest of Liffol-le-petit and benefits from quality and environmentally sensitive harvesting methods. The trees are cut down by employees of the workshop, sawed up in the communal sawmill and dried on site.

A little bit more about the artist/designer:

Magali Jeambrun was born in 1981 in Besançon and grew up in a family of four children where she was exposed to a variety of artistic activities from an early age.
This quite naturally led her to complete a baccalauréat in Applied Arts.
From that point on, her course was eclectic.

Between various experiences with trompe-l’oeil, faux marble, jewelry, sculpture, set design, hat creation, etc., she obtained a BTS in fashion design at the Lycée La Martiniére Terreaux in Lyon. But her desire to express forms and colors in other fields remained intact. She thus trained as an interior decorator in Strasbourg, then got into the Olivier de Serres school of art and design in Paris where she obtained an arts diploma, specializing in synthetic materials. She naturally gravitated towards customization as a result of her thesis subject: the corset through the ages, revisited using synthetic materials.

She later expanded on this “revisiting” approach, spending an entire year hunting for objects at flea markets which she then transformed, dyed, dressed up, etc. She now has a large collection of unique pieces, each highly original.

You can purchase some of these chairs at the Coliseum Shop

Contact info:
MAGALI JEAMBRUN
5, rue de l'Helvétie
25120 Maîche
FRANCE

Tél. : +33 3 81 64 26 96
Fax : +33 3 81 64 30 28
etcmagali@yahoo.fr

Body Painting With Soul.. er, Sole: Temptu Paints Feet For New York Magazine

When New York Magazine needed to recreate the appearance of shoes on actual feet in the April 21st issue, using just makeup, they went to Temptu. Amazing body art artists John Maurad and Jenai Chin created airbrushing with Temptu Paints for the article titled "You Walk Wrong" in last week's issue, written by Adam Sternbergh.



A traditional men's wing tip, a pair of Christian Louboutin heels (complete with the signature red bottom) and an old-school style of an Adidas Gazelle are so incredibly rendered on these bare feet it's hard to believe it's not the real thing (or photoshop)!!


photos by Tom Schierlitz

About Temptu:

Temptu is the leader in airbrush makeup and cosmetic innovations, dedicated to creating the highest quality products on the market. Temptu products include revolutionary liquid formulas, beauty and special effects makeup palettes, ink tattoo transfer systems, and application technologies.

Temptu is beauty, body art, temporary tattoos, airbrush stencils, and special fx makeup, by air and by hand. This is where beauty meets technology. This is the next generation of premier airbrush makeup.

,br>

Hello Kitty Spreads From Japanese Vogue Disappoint

As promised, I told you'd I'd share the images from the Hello Kitty article in May's Japanese Vogue (Nippon Vogue) as soon as they surfaced. Well, thanks to Sassybella and The Fashion Spot, here they are. But I must confess, I'm incredibly disappointed.. what a letdown.




I guess I was hoping to see something more like what Harper's Bazaar did with the Simpsons. If you didn't see those, catch them here.

The Naked Truth About Marc Jacobs' Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign: Who Posed Nude, Where Can You Buy The Shirts & Who Benefits

There was a lot of buzz about Victoria Beckham baring it all for the Marc Jacobs skin cancer awareness T-shirt this past March. And since then, as well as prior to that, many other celebrities stripped in support of the Cancer Awareness campaign.

There are numerous iterations of the t-shirt that bear the slogans: "Protect the Skin You're In", "Protect Your Largest Organ" and "Save Your Ass" all strategically placed over parts of bodies of many celebs. Some are printed front and back, some on color and some on grey.


Above: Winona Ryder, front and back

Despite the fact that the celebrities, models and Marc Jacobs get most the press, the unsung heroes of this campaign are Robert Duffy, President of Marc Jacobs International, LLC and the late Dr. Jesse Ruben, who inspired the campaign and photographer Brian Bowen Smith who shot these celebrities. Not to mention the New York University Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group, shown below:

Chances are you are not aware of exactly how many female celebrities have since showed some skin in support. I certainly wasn't. I noticed most blog and reports have incorrectly reported the number of celebs who have donated their time and beautiful bodies to this campaign. There seem to be far more than most people know.


Above: Victoria Beckham
First off, I didn't realize that the shirts did not begin with Mrs Beckham, but she was instead later added to the impressive roster of celebrities supporting this cause. The campaign actually began in 2006 with Naomi Campbell, Winona Ryder, Rufus Wainwright, Julianne Moore and Selma Blair. The shirts were sold at the initial fund raiser only and subsequently in marc jacob boutiques.

The windows of Marc Jacob's Bleeker St. store showed banners and tees to herald the event:



These are some of the shirts from the initial fund raiser:

Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington

Dita Von Teese and Hilary Swank

Julianne Moore and Winona Ryder

Robert Duffy & Marc Jacobs and Marc Jacobs

Rufus Wainwright and The men of Marc Jacobs


Since then, more models have joined the cause and several new shirts have been issued- however now only in grey, at marc jacob boutiques (and probably on ebay as well).

Who actually posed in the buff?

I have found the following females, in addition to Mrs. Beckham, shot by Mr. Bowen Smith for the shirts are: Winona Ryder, Helena Christiansen, Eva Mendes, Selma Blair, Heidi Klum, Dita von Teese, Naomi Campbell, Carolyn Murphy, Joss Stone, Julianna Moore, Christy Turlington, Hilary Swank, Alison Lohman .. and yet there are probably more.

The males are: Marc himself, Brandon Boyd, Rufus Wainwright, Jason Thompson as well as many other male models

Initially available in colors and for 20$, they are now harder to find, include the models name on the right arm and retail for $35 at Marc Jacobs boutiques and only 15 now seem to be available (shown below).

Heidi Klum

Alison Lohman

Dita von Teese

Joss Stone

Helena Christensen

Naomi Campbell

Eva Mendes

Robert Duffy

Jason Thompson

Other Males (whose identity I do not know)







About the campaign:

The “Protect The Skin You’re In” campaign began last year when Marc Jacobs and fellow business partner Robert Duffy, President of Marc Jacobs International, LLC, persuaded celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Winona Ryder, Rufus Wainwright, Julianne Moore, and Selma Blair to disregard warnings from agents and managers and pose naked for a series of T-shirts about the dangers of skin cancer. The campaign raised awareness and almost $400,000 for the NYU School of Medicine’s Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group, led by Dr. Iman Osman. Photographer Brian Bowen Smith traveled around the world multiple times for photo shoots for the shirts, a tribute to late NYU physician Dr. Jesse Ruben.

Mr. Duffy, a patient of Dr. Richard Shapiro, spoke about his treatment for melanoma at the NYU Cancer Institute Gala. He said the melanoma campaign will be an annual affair for Marc Jacobs: last year's sold out designs are being reissued along with new T-shirts, featuring the models Helena Christensen, Eva Mendes, Heidi Klum and Alison Lohman in the nude.

Every hour, someone dies of melanoma, but if caught early, the cure rate could be 100 percent. Melanoma is the easiest cancer to detect early because all you need is a trained pair of eyes. The message is don't let embarrassment stop you from stripping down before your physician or someone you love, and use the ABCDE rule--developed by physicians at NYU Medical Center--to determine if a mole could be cancerous: A for asymmetry; B for irregular border; C for color variation; D for diameter larger than a pencil eraser; and E for evolution of existing mole.

For more information about melanoma and other cancers go to www.nyuci.org

All proceeds from the T-shirts will go to support the NYU Cancer Institute.

T-shirts will be sold nationwide at all Marc Jacobs stores. For store location go to www.marcjacobs.com

Hello Kitty Goes Couture: The Pudgy Cat Models Galliano

Hello Kitty, the popular cat character from Sanrio in Japan, is set for a designer makeover in the June issue of Japanese Vogue, which went on sale yesterday (april 26, 2008).

The fashion spread will show Kitty modeling the latest autumn and winter designs by John Galliano for the Dior brand, posing with the designer and enjoying a shopping spree in Paris.

"Of course this is the first time the historic fashion house of Dior has had a cartoon character model their entire collection," said an official at Conde Nast Japan, publishers of Vogue Nippon www.vogue.co.jp/issues/

But the famous feline already has a following among the fashion crowd, she added.

"Japanese animation and characters have been a strong influence on the fashion world in the last few seasons, but Kitty is special," the official said. "Fashion people all know her name and face and always say they love her. That's why we at Vogue wanted to do something involving her."

The editorial spread will see the cartoon cat enjoying a shopping spree in Paris.

The spread will appear in the June issue of Vogue Nippon, on sale April 26 with Stella Tennant on the cover (wearing Comme des Garcon). Also, as a bonus, the above little Hello Kitty charm will be included in the issue for subscribers.

As soon as I can locate any pictures from the issue, I promise to share them with you.

Fine Jewelry Goes To the Dogs - And Cats: Jari Limited

We know that nowadays people don't seem to be sparing any expense when it comes to spoiling their furry friends. And Jari Limited in the UK, is no exception.

They create exceptional fine jewellery (or jewelry) for cats and dogs. And not just gem studded and embedded collars but necklaces, anklets and yes.. even cuffs! They will create matching sets for pet and owner as well.

Beautiful, made to order collections for both you and your pet using precious metals and precious and semi-precious stones, all ethically sourced.

All of their items are made to order, allowing you to alter the type and colour of precious stones used and choose the quality of the metals used, 9ct, 18ct yellow or white gold, or platinum.

Each piece is hallmarked with the unique Jari stamp and is engraved with the collection and edition number. This also allows you to have your own unique message or security information added to the piece at the same time, if you wish. They are all produced to the highest quality,
in the UK with magnetic safety fastenings.

Even the Jari collar tags are available in all forms of gold.

Jari is not only a creative and original company, it's a socially responsible one.

Above: Kim and Lou of Jari limited

Before you dismiss Jari as a silly expensive indulgence, let me remind you that they only use ethically sourced diamonds, metals and precious stones, the company donates a percentage of their profits to Dogs Trust, they promote photographer Clare-Louise, (who took many of the wonderful pet portraits shown above) and they support artists by having competitions.

Above: The Dogs Trust, previously known as the National Canine Defence League, is the UK's largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 16,000 dogs each year at their 17 rehoming centers across the country.

Want your Furry friend to be a star? Check out their present competition
Jariis scouting the cat baskets and kennels of Great Britian to find the perfect whiskered face to launch its exclusive range of bespoke high fashion jewellery. The winner will receive a 12 month modelling contract worth up to a 4 figure sum plus portraits of their shoots for their modelling portfolio. Closing date is 31st May 2008 competition@jari.co.uk Details here.



Jari Limited, 20 Market Hill, Southam, Warwickshire CV47 0HF 01926 480107 design@jari.co.uk

12 Terrific Finds: Birdhouse Clock to Monotracer

Twelve terrific new finds, shown above.

Clockwise from upper left: Pascal Taraby's Birdhouse Clock, Mlle Lilli's beautiful lamps, Feek furniture's Rocker C, Puma's glow in the dark bicycle, ibride's Sultan dog stool, MagBag metal magazine holder, the Monotracer, Orina's Arista case for macbook air, Bird On A Wire wall hooks, Verv Designs midcentury modern knobs, Hannsmilano Tv Purse, and MeS prima table 3.

Just click on each pic to be taken to the place of purchase.

If you like these, you'll love my lists of art, accessories, and appliances that celebrate design, functionality and art. Items to appreciate and admire.

See more of my If It's Hip,It's Here. list at ThisNext.

Funky Find Of The Week: "Milk Gone Bad" Lamps

Milk Gone Bad:
Two different artistic experiences come together in this project. Anatomic factory’s objects meet Bombo’s illustrations, giving us food for thought on the ambiguity of products that often have a hidden second nature.

“Milk Gone Bad” is a collection of eight lamps somewhere between toys and furnishing complements. Made like milk cartons, each piece is one of a series. The light turns on to show the product’s real contents, a startling imaginary world of mold.







Each Milk Gone Bad lamp above is available for purchase here.

The Best of Milan's 2008 Furniture Fair Coverage: Links and Photos

So many great journalists and bloggers covered the Milan Furniture Fair /the Milan Salone Mobili / Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile/ Milan Design Week or whatever you prefer to call it. It would be redundant and pointless for me to do the same, so here are links to some of the round-ups, slide shows, video diaries, Flickr albums and more.

First of all, what is it?

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, returns - from 16th to 21st this year – at the Milan Fairgrounds at Rho with a huge range of superlative exhibits. This event that is unlike any other, anywhere in the world, is not just the leading event in the home/contract furnishing sector at global level, but also a matchless occasion for an international meeting of minds – not to mention business, image and communication.

As always, there is an infinite variety of goods on offer. The Salone Internazionale del Mobile, together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition is a showcase for excellence covering all types of domestic furnishing, from single pieces to coordinates, and every conceivable style, from classic to design to modern, not to mention trendsetters.

Beside the excellence of the commercial offering, the huge variety of new products, the choreographed display stands and the faultless arrangements that ensure that any visit to the exhibition complex is rendered easier and more user-friendly, I Saloni have put together an unmissable range of collateral events both at the exhibition centre and in the city.

The greatest surprise will be the event set against the backdrop of the of the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale, in which an internationally -renowned artist and an icon of Milan's and Italy's cultural heritage par excellence will take part, as well as one of the most famous works of art in the world.

The event's main site.

Links to great round-ups and images from the Milan

The NY Times Design Notebook slideshow

Architonic's Round Up

The David Report

Inhabitat's Milan Furniture Fair Reports

Inhabitat's Flickr photos

Metrosnapshots blog

Dezeen's Milan 08 (and they have video diaries)

Wallpaper magazine's guide.

Over 2000 images at Designboom's gallery

DesignWS report.



Be sure to see the best pieces from the 2009 Milan Furniture fair here.

Front Design Draws On Their Talents: The Shade Collection

The amazingly talented designers at Front in Stockholm have created Shade, an exhibit of home elements that include a table, a rug, 2 vases, a plate and a cup created with hand drawn sketchy shadows and textures, making them look as though they are 2D drawings, when they are actuallly 3D pieces.

Be sure to click on the images to enlarge them and see them in all their detailed glory.






Unfortunately, these are not available for purchase, but are on exhibit at SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI, Spazio Rossana Orlandi | Via Matteo Bandello 14/16 20123 Milano | Tel: +39 02 46 74 47-1 | Fax: 39 02 48.00.83.87


Above: Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren and Katja Sävström of Sweden's Front Design

Front
Tegelviksgatan 20
116 41 Stockholm

Computer Choppers Does it Again: A 24kt Gold Macbook Air & Superdrive!

If you're into Macs and luxury, chances are you already know about Computer Choppers. They're the guys behind the "wish list favorite" gold-plated macs, ipod and iphones and have now created a 24kt gold-plated Macbook Air complete with bejeweled apple in colored sapphires. They've also created a gold plated super drive to go with it:





and the gold superdrive to go with it!


Their Macbook Pros offer the following plating options:

• Chrome
• Black Nickel
• 24kt Yellow Gold
• White Gold
• Rose Gold
• Platinum

Each plating type comes with 3 distinct finishes:

• Satin (brushed)
• Crystallite (flat)
• Polished

Their nonstandard plating like brass, bronze, copper, silver, champagne gold, and almond gold are still available by request and likely won't be listed till their new website is up and running. These options are also available for the Macbook Air, iPods, iPhones, and iMacs.

So, wanna goes luxe with your PC? or iphone? or ipod?
Then these are the guys to do it for you.
Computer Choppers.

The Art of Art Appreciation: Paintings Of People Looking At Paintings

Above: Karin Jurick's Modigliani

Ever notice how many artists paint people admiring art? So that we observe the observer? There are quite a few, as you'll soon see. So many that I felt it deserved investigation and I found that despite the commonality of the subject, there are vast and numerous differences.

Besides the obvious inherent irony, it's an unusual way of observing two pieces of art. The one created by the artist, the other being the piece of art within the painting. Sometimes the latter is recognizable or quite well known within the art world (e.g. Jurick's Modigliani) and other times, barely discernible or seemingly random.

This subject is explored in multiple mediums; watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastel and more. In addition to the medium in which the piece was done, the art being viewed within the art also varies from paintings to sculpture and from indoors to outdoors.

Two artists who have mastered this particular subject, but in very different manners, are Karin Jurick, and Richard Whincop, an English artist living in Glasgow. With distinctly different painting styles and almost opposing interpretations of the interaction of art and observer, both have managed to create equally beautiful and captivating works of art.

In the majority of Karin's art patron paintings, the observer is held in rapt attention with the piece of art, often oblivious to that around them. They are rarely engaged in conversation and often alone and undisturbed. Some even seem to be art students, studious or inquisitive. Those that have more than one viewer are often visibly discussing the art. The paintings seem intimate, almost private and the viewer becomes voyeur.

Karin, who truly is one of my personal favorite artists of all time, is incredibly prolific and has such an accomplished body of work, I can only show you a small sample below. In addition to her extensive collection of 'art patron' work, she has many subjects and themes that warrant viewing.















See more of Karin Jurick's art patron paintings here.

Karin Jurick's website, which has links to her galleries of representation here.

Yet in Richard Whincop's work, the art is sometimes so dismissed by the patron, it appears as a backdrop for the figure. While some of his figures are actually contemplative and inquisitive, others appear merely bored. Some are even using their cell phones, whispering to one another or are turned away from the work. Despite the disregard for the artwork within the artwork, Whincop still treats both with the greatest respect. We aren't angry at these people for ignoring the art, but instead, so drawn by his ethereal style, we are intrigued as to why, creating an alternative narrative.

Below are just a few pieces of Richard Whincop's work, links to more follow the paintings.











Richard Whincop's works at the Oisin gallery

Richard Whincop at the Art Exposure online gallery

Richard Whincop's works at the Tracey McNee Fine Art Gallery

In addition to the two accomplished painters shown above, below are just a few of the many talented artists from the Daily Painters Gallery who are painting this particular subject.

Presented in alphabetical order.

Linda Apple:




Gerard Boersma:




Robin Cheers:




Kay Crain:



One of my personal favorites, the prolific Edward B. Gordon:





LC Neill:



Windy Lampson:


Kim Roberti:





Anthony Stewart:




To see the complete works of the talented artists above, go to dailypainters.com and you can search by name to find their own websites and galleries.


Above: even the cover of New Yorker magazine had a similar piece.

My apologies to the many talented artists who have undoubtedly painted this subject that I have inadvertently left out. I can only post so many!

USHOW update!!!!

Hi readers,
I know all you iphonophiles were very excited about ushow, the video recorder app for the iphone. And you may have scrambled to sign up for their beta registration last sunday only to find that they weren't quite ready for you.

Well, I've heard it from the horse's mouth, the poor guy (Joe Shapiro) who's been working overtime to get it to you, that they are in fact taking registration now. But beware, you must have your iphone serial number to sign up:



So, yes, you can sign up now here.

Shaming Bad Design With Visual Enforcement Kits From The Design Police

I was tickled to come across Design Police's visual enforcement kits!
Downloadable sheets of stickers that 'call out' all those horrendous design errors like bad rags, breaks, rivers, widows. too many typefaces and more.

The five different sets are shown below (click to enlarge).

Wireless Speakers That Go From 0-60 As Fast As You Can Say "Ferrari"

David Weiner Ventures has licensed the latest Ferrai branded luxury product; home audio speakers called ART.Engine. The wireless speakers house 18 drivers and four 200 watt digital built-in amps and are available in 4 color schemes (made to match ferrari colors, of course). You can transfer music wirelessly to them from your computer or 802.11 wifi enabled devices.





Only 1000 units of these have been made. And at $20,000 a piece, I'm guessing the customer is probably a Ferrari owner, not renter.

Learn a lot more about them or, god forbid, buy them here.

Feel Like A Twit When It Comes To Twitter? Here's Some Help & Hints

Don't be overwhelmed by Twitter. It's easy, it's fun and it's free. But...... what is it?

People all over are twittering. WTF is twitter anyway? Most heavy duty techies and electronic device users know this, but still new to most of the world is this quickly rising phenomenon called "twittering", the verb that describes the use of the application called Twitter.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that has changed the way many people communicate. Twitter allows users to send “updates” (or “tweets”; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website via short message service (e.g. on a cell phone), instant messaging, from their computer at home or work, or through a third-party application.

Some see this as a way to simply report their 'status' to friends, some use it to post interesting links, some use it as a savvy marketing tool and still there are countless ways to utilize this real time quick messaging application.

It's very easy to do. You just sign up (free registration), pick a user name (your site will be www.twitter.com/your name here), and you can 'design' your twitter home page by uploading an image or choosing web colors.

Then what?
Well, you can search for other twitterers by using the search box or browse other twitter users and choose to 'follow' their tweets if you wish. You can make your tweets private or public and even send messages direct to other twitterers, as opposed to publicly posting yours.

Once you've signed up on twitter, how do you best utilize this program? Well, as you can imagine, with the millions of tech people and web app creators out there, there's no shortage of twitter applications, add-ons and advice.

Here are a few a newbie might find helpful:

Twhirl
-probably the most popular, it's a desktop twitter client, based on the Adobe AIR platform. Some of twhirl’s features:

• runs on both Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX
• connects to multiple Twitter accounts
• notifications on new tweets
• shorten long URLs (using snurl or is.gd)
• cross-post updates to Pownce and Jaiku
• post images to TwitPic
• search tweets (using TweetScan or terraminds)
• timeline filtering
• localized to English, German, Italian and Spanish
• color schemes
• automatically check for new versions

There are a lot of things twhirl can do to improve your twitter experience, and it offers various configuration options to adapt to your personal needs.

FINDING THINGS:

Tweetscan
-a real-time search engine for Twitter posts.

TwitterSearch
-allows you to search through twitter posts.

Intwition
-tracks links on twitter so you can see what people are linking to with their tweets

Twitter Buzz
-shows you what people using Twitter are linking to.

Twitearth
-track live twits all over the world

Twittervision
-A real-time geographic visualization of posts to Twitter.

Twitterfixer
-how to track the tweets you've been missing

Hashtags
Basically, Twitter users participate by following the username Hashtags. Once you do this, you can “tag” your tweets by including a hash mark (#) and the topic within the message. So if you wanted to tag that your post is about Macworld, you’d include “#macworld” in the tweet. Hashtags then aggregates all relevant tweets on each tag in one central location.


AUTOMATED THINGS:

Tweetlater:
Keep your Twitter stream ticking over with new tweets even when you're not in front of your computer. Or, use it as your personal reminder system. PLUS... Send automated thank you notes to new followers, and automatically follow new followers, if you choose to do so.

Autotwit
-a useful web service that let you preset twitter messages that you want to send at a later time. AutoTwit doesn’t require any separate registration; you can use the same Twitter username and password.

TWITPITCH: The Twitpitch is the invention of Stowe Boyd, a business strategy and information technology consultant.

PUBLISHING THINGS:

Twemes:
-twitter memes - global tags for twitter

Twitterrific
-an application that lets you both read and publish posts or "tweets" to the Twitter community website. The application's user interface is clean, concise and designed to take up a minimum of real estate on your Mac's desktop.

Twitt This
-helps you send webpage urls and description to Twitter.

Twitterfeed
-here’s how to get your blog (or any other RSS or Atom feed) twittering:

Twitter Badges
-Javascript badges to show twitter messages on your website.

Twitterfox:
-a small toast-style Firefox plug-in for Twitter. It looks nice and clearly suits some peoples' use patterns.

Twitbin
-Send and receive messages to all your fellow twitterholics, right from your firefox browser.TwitBin is an extension for firefox that brings the power of twitter right in your browser.

Twitter Tools
-a plugin that creates a complete integration between your WordPress blog and your Twitter account.

FOR MOBILE DEVICES:

iTWEET
- a twitter app for the iphone

Pockettweets
- another iphone twitter app

Twinkle for the iphone-
There's no product page. You'll need to install via your jailbreak'd iPhone's Installer App.

ADDING PICS OR IMAGES:

Twitpic
- share photos on twitter, How do I use TwitPic?
You can post pictures to TwitPic from your phone, our API, or through the site itself.
There are also popular twitter clients that have built-in support for TwitPic.

Twitxr
-With twitxr you can share a moment, a picture, a thought, instantly with your mobile phone

FUN:

Twittergram
A TwitterGram has a title and a small MP3 file. The title explains the gram, it must be no longer than 75 characters, to allow room for the URL of the MP3, which is about 50 characters. The MP3 file may be no larger than 200K, although they won't reject MP3s that are just a bit bigger than 200K, we're not saying how much bigger. Also, you may not post more than one TwitterGram every ten minutes. This limit is not strictly enforced, but it will be, at some point, to help keep down TwitterGramSpam.

How it works. Enter your phone number and your Twitter username and password. Click Submit. Then call BlogTalkRadio at 646-716-6000, follow the easy instructions. Record your message. When you're done hang up. Check with Twitter, your audio message will probably already be there!

Twitterholic
-a site that ranks the top 100 Twits based on friends or followers.

TwitterMaps
- a mashup that allows you to send posts about your current location. According to the FAQ, just include the correct command and your current location will be viewable on the Twittermap

TwitterVision
-uses Google Maps to display what Twitter users are up to and where they’re Twitting from.

Tweetclouds
a tool that creates a tag cloud of the tweets of individual users, so you can see which words you or your friends are using the most in your tweets.

Swotter is reading a book via Twitter to the world. You can listen to Swotter via the web, via Instant Messenger, or via SMS messenger on your mobile phone.

Need "visual" help understanding Twitter?

Twittertube has videos to help walk you through twittering:

1. Twitter in Plain English: Perhaps the most linked-to and watched video on what is Twitter.

2. How To Use Twitter: Another video on instructions for using Twitter.

3. Twitter Tutorial: A tutorial for Twitter newbies.

4. Share YouTube videos on Twitter: A video showing how to share a video from YouTube.com to your Twitter account using MessageDance.

5. How to Configure Google Talk With Twitter: Since you can use Twitter with Jabber client, this videos show how to configure Google Talk to be used with Twitter.

6. Group Messaging with Twitter: This video shows how to use a project named Twitter Groups at JazzyChad website for group messaging.

7. Find Twitter Friends With Google: Locate your friends using advanced Google search. The video might be obsolete now with Twitter’s own search engine but Google still can give more relevant results.

8. Twitter for Lotus Notes: The video shows how to use Twitter with Lotus Notes.

9. Connect Utterz with Twitter: The video shows how to add connections in your Utterz account to Twitter.

10. Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts: This video demonstrates how to easily use and manage multiple Twitter accounts for different activities.

11. Twitter with Fring: Video showing how to update your Twitter status using Fring.

12. Twitter on iPhone: A video demonstration of Twitter iPhone application.

13. Using Twitter Within FireFox: This video shows how to use FireFox add-ons Twitbin and Twitterbar to post messages to your Twitter account.

Of course, in the time it's taken me to write this, there have probably been 20 more cool twitter apps created, but for now, this list will have to do.

Here is an article titled "How We Tweet: The Definitive List of the Top Twitter Clients"by Josh Catone that gives some pertinent info and data.

Dekast: New Customizable Modular Shelving

Visit the site here.

Another "Beautiful Game": Table Football By Gro Design And Tim Modelmakers

"11: The beautiful game" is a collaboration of two companies: GRO design and TIM modelmakers. The Beautiful Game, a game of table football, introduced it at Milan Design Week, 16^th - 21^st April, Via Forcella 8, Milan, Italy.

www.11thegame.com


Above: The first "beautiful game" was a limited edition football table of stunning design with a Good versus Evil theme, sold through 20ltd and I blogged about it with lots of pics here.

London Calling In Hollywood: Hip New Luxury Hotel

Situated in the Hollywood Hills along the famous Sunset Strip, overlooking fabulous views of the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills skylines, The London West Hollywood is convenient to all that the city has to offer - from couture shopping and sizzling nightlife, to cultural attractions and theme parks, to major movie and recording studios.




Distinctively designed and highly habitable, with service that is intuitive and unobtrusive, the former Bel Age hotel has been 're-articulated' by a stunning team of innovative international talent. The London West Hollywood, like its Manhattan sister, The London NYC, redefines the notion of hotel luxury with comfort, access, and modern glamour.

Interiors by David Collins Studio. An aesthetic innovator and tastemaker who masterfully combines space and style, London-based designer David Collins Studio is creating interiors that are wholly original and effortlessly livable, while remaining as sensitive to traveler's tastes as they are to their LA surroundings. With its fluid shapes, exceptional materials, and intelligent proportions, Collins' design is a celebration of splendor and utility.






Dining by Gordon Ramsay. The London West Hollywood welcomes the West Coast debut of celebrated chef Gordon Ramsay, who will recreate the Hollywood culinary scene within the hotel's new dining and lounge venues. Ramsay will premiere fine dining inspired by the exquisite cuisine and unparalleled services of his successful London and Manhattan establishments, but accented with a distinct West Coast American vitality. Guests will also enjoy Ramsay's exemplary menu in the intimacy of their suite with a special in-suite dining menu. Chef Ramsay and his staff will also be in charge of all dining for Meetings and Private Events.




Bath environments by Waterworks. Blending a classic sense of creativity with timeless craftsmanship, Waterworks has developed made-to-order fixtures, bath linens, and robes. Inspired by Collins' harmonious architecture and The London's commitment to comfort, Waterworks and Collins are bringing bliss to the bath-and to the entire guest experience.

Concierge by Quintessentially. This truly global concierge service provides unrivaled access to every facet of a destination. From food to fashion, art to opera, cinema, nightlife and sport, Quintessentially's youthful, energetic team treats each request as a must-do mission, each London guest as the ultimate LA insider.

The Spa at The London West Hollywood, debuting Fall 2008
Fitness center and spa to open soon.

They are now offering introductory rates!


Address + Contact:
1020 N. San Vicente Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: 310-854-1111.

Visit their website here

In Honor of 4/20: Luxury Hookahs, Waterpipes, Narghiles & Bongs

The Original Narghile:



Above: The "Narghile" Made of solid polished pewter, burner of hi-tech ceramic, pipe of aeronautical polyamide treated with teflon and comes with two mouthpieces made of synthetic mother-of-pearl, tongs and a beautiful carrying case. Designer Nedda El-Asmar for Airdiem.

The Limited edition 18k Gold Plated Narghile, The Pure:



Above: The "pure", completely plated in 18k yellow gold, burner of hi-tech ceramic, pipe of aeronautical polyamide treated with teflon and comes with two mouthpieces made of synthetic mother-of-pearl, tongs and a beautiful carrying case. Designed by Nedda El-Asmar.

"Narghile Wearing a Chechia (Fez)" has been added to the collection, designed by Hilton McConnico:



Above: The Fez Wearing Hookah, body made of metal and resin, comes with two mouthpieces of synthetic mother-of-pearl, tongs and carrying case.

Bejeweled Narghile:


Contact Airdiem


Meduse Design makes a craft collection of stunning hand blown Bohemian Crystal water pipes. The collection consists of the Brute, The Brute Grande, The Noble, The Mirage and the Mirage Grande, all shown below.

The Brute and the Brute Grande:


The Mirage and the Mirage Grande:



The Noble (available as mono, duo and trio):


Medusedesign

what is a water pipe?
Water pipes are made in many different sizes and design. On top of each pipe you'll find a bowl in which you can place your favourite smoking blend. When lit, the smoke is drawn through water before reaching your mouth and lungs. The water has an important filter effect. A large part of carcinogens like tar are filtered by the water. In addition, the water cools the hot smoke and the protecting mucous membrane of the lungs will be less harmed.

Water pipes find their origin in the Ottoman Empire: once a world power with a high level of civilisation. Water pipes where called `Narquile' then. Turkey is all that remained of this impressive empire. Water pipes are still very popular in the Middle East. Water pipes in these regions are used to smoke special kinds of tobacco, like honey and apple tobacco. Smoking and sharing a water pipe amongst friends can be seen as a sign of friendship and trust.

what is a bong?
A bong is a sealed chamber half-full with water. A pipe with a bowl on the end goes into the chamber under water level. Another pipe with a mouthpiece on the end enters the chamber and stays above water level. You put tobacco in the bowl, light it and suck on the mouthpiece. This will lower the air pressure in the chamber, causing air to travel from the bowl, through the water, into the chamber and into your lungs. As the smoke enters the chamber through the water the smoke cools down and a large part of carcinogens like tar are filtered by the water. When you remove your thumb from the hole, the smoke shoots straight up into your lungs, so beware!

It is thought that the bong is older then the original water pipe and is actually the predecessor of its Ottoman family member. The theory states that thousands of years ago Asian explorers took their smoking systems with them on their long travels and left their bongs at Ottoman trading places.

above text courtesy of grasscity.com

Also worth noting:


Above: Eric Doeringer's Elaborate Bongs (an art project).

The Silver Palm Leaf pipe in chrome or silver.
Flat as a credit card and graphic packaging and design:


Buy it here.

Now there's an updated post and new luxury hookahs, bongs and more to be found here

Jonas Samson's Light Emitting Wallpaper

Above: Light-emitting wallpaper

With Jonas Samson's high-tech light-emitting wallpaper it's possible to use a two-dimensional flat surface as light source instead of a 3D object. As long as the wallpaper is turned off, it is indistinguishable as a source of light. Instead, it is just what it appears to be: wallpaper.






Year: 2007
Material: Light emitting wallpaper
Size: 240 cm x 360 cm



See all of his design work here.

contact info:
Balistraat 43
3531 PT Utrecht
The Netherlands
info@jonassamson.com
+31 (0)619084445

"Jim, I'm a Blogger, Not A Trekkie"

Or: "He's Dead, Jim."
(If you don't know that reference or the one in the title, you'd better skip this post)

I've noticed that this fun compilation of one of Doctor McCoy (aka Bones) most famous catch phrases from the original Star Trek TV series,"He's Dead, Jim" is making the internet rounds. This, of course, led me to look for a compilation of his other most famous catchphrase... "Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a (insert profession or object here)".

Lest you think I made an error...the quote is NOT "Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor not a..." as has often been misquoted, because Bones never swore on the actual show.

Given that I'm a blogger, it's clear I'm not hiding my ubergoober-ness from anyone anymore. So, I guess it's safe for me to come out of the campy sci-fi closet. By now you've figured out that I'm a star trek fan. NO, not a trekkie or trekker, (however, admittedly I did attend one star trek convention years ago ...but only as the date of a journalist for E!) just a fan of the original series.

Below is a video montage of scenes from the original gene roddenberry star trek series (which, by the way...only ran for three years) in which the ship's doctor, Bones, makes his daily declaration to Captain Kirk about the demise of either a unknown ensign crew member or alien.



And, for the rest of those fans, fanatics, trekkers, trekkies, I happily found a compilation of his other most often uttered phrase, but it dosn't include all of them- it's kind of a mini version. But it does include my personal favorite from the episode guest starring Julie Newmar in which he claims' I'm a Doctor, Not An Escalator":


via videosift.com

Wikipedia info for you:
Leonard H. McCoy (nicknamed "Bones"), played by DeForest Kelley, is the Doctor character in the original Star Trek series, and the first six Star Trek films. The character does not appear in the two pilots for the series, "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; the ship's doctors in those episodes are Philip Boyce (John Hoyt) and Mark Piper (Paul Fix), respectively.

If anyone find a more complete compilation of the "I'm A Doctor, Not A..." phrases, let me know...

Acrylic Headboards & More From Swedish Designer Myrica Berggvist

Above: furniture and product designer Myrica Berggvist with some of her creations


Myrica grew up in a home filled with furniture by Scandinavian designers such as Carl Malmsten, Alvar Aalto and Josef Frank and that, together with her five years in Rome’s classical, conservative architecture and Italy’s decadent dolce vita, has a strong influence on her designs.

Sheerhome has bought together a new and innovative collection of acrylic headboards by Swedish designer Myrica Berggvist:










Above the led illuminated Sir Elton headboard is available from Sheerhome or from Huset

In addition to headboards Myrica makes napkin rings, lamps and bowls with the same acrylic laser cutting:



Visit Myrica Berggvist's own site: Myrica Design

PS: If you are a fan of Swedish designer Alvar Aalto, this past post may interest you:

All About Aalto

New App For iPhone: Ushow Video Recorder!

With the growing popularity of the Flip Ultra video recorder (which I blogged about as one of my picks for christmas gifts this past year), I wondered when iphone was going to have an easy-to-use video recorder. Well, I can stop wondering.

uShow is a video recording and video sharing application for the iPhone. Still in development, the application did have a closed beta testing quite a ways back, so it should be available soon.

It sounds as though you can share your video creations easily on social networks such as YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Friendster, Metacafe, and Photobucket. In addition, you'll be able to e-mail the video or save it directly to your iPhone.

The site is clearly new and still has many sections 'under construction' and told to 'check back soon', but there is a sign up list for all you iPhone-ophiles to join the beta registration as of this sunday night (4/20).

Click on the images below to enlarge:




Don't forget, sign up here on april 20th!
Note: They obviously have a good sense of humor since their sign up page for the beta registration on 4/20 has Cheech and Chong on it. If you don't get the correlation between 4/20 and Cheech and Chong, that's your loss.

Designer TVs: Armani & Samsung Unveil Premium 46" LCD TV

Below is the actual press release:

16 APRIL 2007, MILAN – On the occasion of the opening day of the Milan International Furniture Fair Samsung Electronics and Giorgio Armani unveil the new Armani/Samsung premium LCD television. Designed for a discriminating consumer, who is seeking a prestige television that combines sophisticated design and leading flat screen technology.

The Armani/Samsung LCD Television is the second product (following the Giorgio Armani - Samsung mobile phone) designed by Giorgio Armani under a strategic marketing alliance announced by the two companies in September, 2007. The alliance foresees the development of a range of prestige portable and home consumer electronics products matching Giorgio Armani’s iconic design aesthetic with Samsung’s cutting-edge technology and leadership in consumer electronics.

Unique design elements include a stylish remote control and a special 4-mode lighted power switch that customizes the display of the two companies’ logos on the front of the television. At rest, the remote mirrors the simple elegance of the television itself. When handled, the unit immediately comes alive with radiant backlights to present a full range of convenient features. The television also comes with a smaller, pebble-shaped remote for basic functions that rests at the corner of the stand.

The unit is further accentuated by glass in the front and shows simple but solid natural lines that convey pure emotional expression. Both models, 46-inch and 52-inch, are to incorporate many of the features and cutting-edge technologically, such as 100Hz Full HD and HDMI connectors, that have made Samsung Televisions world renowned for their outstanding picture quality and high-end functionality.

The design of the Armani/Samsung LCD Television has been inspired by Giorgio Armani's new 2008/09 Armani/Casa home furnishings collection, which includes the Brahms tea table in pleated effect glossy black lacquered wood which has been specifically designed to host the new television.

Giorgio Armani said, "There was once a time when one would want to hide a television as it never failed to disturb the ambience of a living room. Now, through the incredible advance in technology, flat screen televisions can easily be incorporated into the design solution for a home."

Bookeun Yoon, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Division of Samsung Electronics said, “There are more and more consumers today who are increasingly style conscious in their selection of home electronics products. They are looking for products that unite the best contemporary design with technological performance and functionality. This partnership therefore affords us the chance to offer those consumers unique products matching Giorgio Armani's sophisticated, iconic style with Samsung's leading technology."

The 46-inch Armani/Samsung Television, will be launched initially in Europe, Korea and Russia in mid summer . The 52-inch model will be launched in late-summer in the same market.

Samsung site.

Armani Casa

Kudoke : Hand Made German Skeletonized Luxury Watches

There's a new luxury watch player in town. Introduced at Basel Miami were one-of-a-kind hand made mechanical watches from German watch manufacturer KUDOKE. They specialize in skeletonizing and hand engraving and create only a limited number of each watch, making them very valuable and desirable. They have watches for women, men, and unisex styles.

The KUDOKE Mysticum:

Case:
Stainless steel, yellow or white gold
Diameter 42 mm
Strap elements screwed
Screwed base
Sapphire crystal on top
Case back: hardened mineral crystal (electively sapphire crystal)

Dial:
Hand engraved and skeletonized

Movement
Diameter 36,6 mm
Height 4,5 mm

Hands
Handmade Kudoke steel, tempered blue

Strap & Buckle
Louisiana crocodile or genuine leather strap (electively available in
other kinds of leather & colours)
Sewed by hand
Buckle made of stainless steel

Images are some of their other models, see the site for details.

Their unisex model:


Men's Gold:


Men's Silver:




To see their complete line and learn about the craftsmanship, models, history and more, visit
their site.

Louis Vuitton's First Corporate Advertising Film. Ever.

From LVMH press release:
Louis Vuitton has produced the first corporate advertising film in the history of the brand, expressing its unique identity and values. The captivating film evokes travel as a discovery of the world and a process of self-discovery. The campaign broke on February 15, 2008.

Images and music combine to create an atmosphere of escape as the camera encounters landscapes and faces as if in a dream, accompanied by the captivating Gypsy guitar of composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who won Oscars for his scores of Babel and Brokeback Mountain.



Questions appear on the screen, asking viewers: "Where will life take you?", "What is a journey?", "Does the person create the journey, or does the journey create the person?"...


Above: Louis Vuitton's first corporate advertising film © Louis Vuitton

The new TV ad follows the Louis Vuitton's "Core Values" corporate campaign featuring Mikhail Gorbatchev, Catherine Deneuve, André Agassi and Steffi Graf. This Louis Vuitton's first corporate advertising presents travel as a personal journey, without recognizable stars or products, references to the brand or even recognizable places. The effect is a total and immediate immersion.

This first-ever on-screen corporate campaign by a luxury house has been translated into thirteen languages. It will be shown worldwide in selected movie theaters and on cable and satellite TV channels throughout 2008.

Film Director: Bruno Aveillan
Soundtrack: Gustavo Santaolalla
Creative Director: Christian Reuilly (Ogilvy&Mather)

Ten Good Reasons To Go To Next Month's ICFF

With hundreds of established and upcoming designers and products, this years show should be quite impressive. Below is a sneak peek at a very, very tiny selection of what you will find there.

Just 10 of the cool products to be shown at this years ICFF show:

Above: The Milk desk from Holmris Office, designed by Holmris Hansen

Above: The Bettylou lamp from mark mckenna

Above: Marcel Wanders new outdoor furniture, the Chubby, from Slide Design of Italy

Above: The Zephyr Rug by Kelly Wearstler for The Rug Company

Above: Central Saint Martins Wallpaper by eco for Graham & Brown

Above: the Gli Specchi di Dioniso mirror by Ettore Sottsass for GlasItalia


Above: The Arne Tub for Rapsel Spa

Above: The Wandregal one piece shelving from Atelier Alinea

Above: the Fibo mirror from Prealpi


Above: the beautiful silk tibetan and new zealand wool rugs of Amy Helfand

This years IFCC (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) will be May 15-20 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

2008 Bombay Sapphire Prize Gallery Of Over 30 Finalists

UPDATE:
Live from Milan: the winners of the Bombay Sapphire Prize have been announced, with designers Annie Cattrell and Yuichi Higashionna sharing the £25,000 prize money. Today’s movie on Dezeen features interviews with judges Karim Rashid and Dan Klein who explain the winning pieces and why they won.




It's that time of year again.
The time when Bombay Sapphire announces the shortlisted finalists for their every growing Glass Competition, this year shown at The Milan Furniture fair.

What Is It?
Begun in 2001, The Bombay Sapphire Prize is now the largest worldwide glass design competition.

All entries submitted must have used glass as the primary material in a physical structure or object. Acceptable entries included products, artwork, buildings or part of a building and must exist as a tangible object or structure. Film and documentation were accepted only as part of an architectural submission. Glass must be essential to both the concept and the desired expression. Winner gets £20,000 and best newcomer, £5,000.

Who picked the finalists?
Judges included Ron Arad, Tom Dixon, Nicole Fahri, Thomas Featherwick, Lesley Jackson, Dan Klein, Karim Rashid, and Nadja Swarovski.

Below is the gallery of over 30 finalists directly from Bombay Sapphire, to see the shortlisted 25, check over at Dezeen. And be sure to see their video diary of the competition here.

















The winner has yet to be announced.

Fabulous Fun For Fornasetti Fanatics: New Rugs, Wallpaper & More

Chances are you are at least familiar with Fornasetti's Julia plates (above). The numerous black and white (sometimes with gold) illustrated porcelain dishes that sport imagery of "julia" (who is actually modeled after a woman named Lina Cavalieri), suns and moons and other Fornasetti themes.

This year two more fabulous collaborative collections (wallpaper and rugs) have been released, along with more ceramic items and Fornasetti furniture. Read on to learn more about these other Fornasetti items, history and frankly, more Fornasetti than you ever needed to know.

Who was Piero Fornasetti?

Above: Piero Fornasetti with some plate of “Tema e Variazioni” series behind him.

According to Piero Fornasetti a single idea provided the opportunity to develop others ideas. He gave free play to his imagination to the point that most of his work is based on endless variations of several themes.

Amongst these, the most recurrent are the sun, playing cards, harlequins, hands, self-portraits and so on. Actually the most famous is the one that Fornasetti himself called "Theme and Variations", published in a tiny, precious book and representing the enigmatic face of a woman. He found it glancing through a French magazine of the 19th century: her name was Lina Cavalieri. Perhaps he chose this face for its archetypal, classic female features. Like a Greek statue and enigmatic like the Mona Lisa she was perfect to be moulded into the idea Fornasetti had in his mind.

This Mona Lisa is caught winking, transformed with a Charlie Chaplin style mustache, inserted in to a pub sign, a television, the facade of a building, a ring, or multiplied in a bunch of grapes, she becomes the face of a clock, tattooed, cut in to pieces, distorted, framed in a triangle or simply seen wearing glasses.



With great modesty, all this work was reproduced on a series of everyday objects like plates, ashtrays, umbrellas stands and trays.

At the beginning there were only six white plates decorated with black and white designs representing a female face. Then this series has spontaneously increased during the years until it reached 350 different variations on the theme of classical beauty.

Piero Fornasetti, born in 1913, was a Milan painter, a sculptor, an interior decorator, an engraver of art books, a creator of more that 11,000 items, a deviser of sceneries and customs, an organizer of international exhibitions and events. As far as the variety of decorations is concerned, Fornasetti’s production of objects and furniture is one of the largest of the 20th century.

The lesson deriving from his oeuvre is the rigour with a strong imagination and an elegant and mystical sense of humour. Fornasetti’s son, Barnaba, is perpetuating the workshop tradition, continuing the production and reviving the most popular pieces, creating new ones, renewing hand crafted production, in collaboration with industries which manufacture under license.

A collection of new products was born like this: from fashion accessories such as ties, scarves, waistcoats, umbrellas, to hold house articles such as china, furniture, lamps, fabrics, linen, radiators, tiles and many other items spreading joy into our everyday life so full of minimalist and “expiatory purism”.

Believing strongly in design – the practice of sketching and copying – as the legacy of the Italian artistic tradition, his unique style shows a strong sense of irony. He worked independently of the avant-garde and his production of exquisitely made objects, textiles and furniture, some of which are in the V&A Museum, is one of the largest of the 20th century.


Above: Fornasetti's version of a Venetian blind reproducing the “Procuratie Nuove” the building that lines one side of Piazza San Marco.

Below are some of the new Fornasetti products available on the market:


Above: Calendar plate "2008"



Classic Fornasetti Tableware is available at Barney's, and etabletop,who offers the largest collection of existing Julia plates, no longer being produced. Moss also offers some Julia plates, many special editions made for Moss only.

These special Adam and Eve plates below are available at Unica home:

Buy them here.

WALLPAPER (new):

Cole & Son's Fornasetti Wallpaper or Wall coverings:

Back to Creation with a good looking Italian and a collection of wallpapers - Adam and Eve, created by Piero Fornasetti in 1954 and Hydrangea from Fornasetti’s garden or even the Garden of Eden, an exquisite original drawing discovered in the Fornasetti archives and adapted as large scale wallpaper by Karen Beauchamp, Creative Director of Coles.

These Fornasetti wallpapers are hand screen printed by Cole & Son. With Fornasetti, nothing is ever quite as it seems - the classically inspired figures of Adam and Eve are seen through a screen of colour in which twelve fretwork circles provide an intriguing ‘trompe l’oeil’ view of the figures. The effect is typical of Fornasetti’s bizarre and humorous style, inspired by his skillful drawings from nature and classical sources.

The figure of Adam finely drawn by Fornasetti is in black on white and gold against a wine red ground, a colour he favoured, while Eve, the serpent coiled at her feet, is in black, white and gold on an ink black ground.

Hydrangea is in two colourways – black and white on an opulent gold ground or black and gold on a pure cerulean sky blue. All wallpapers bear the distinctive Fornasetti signature.

The wallpapers play on a theme of Creation – an allegory perhaps for design and craftsmanship uniting two historic companies. The figures of Adam and Eve are an impressive 1.6 metres high with 3 metres of plain background between each image to position as wished. The repeat of Hydrangea is 1.5 metres.

RUGS (just launched!):





Above: The rugs by Roubini Works of Art created for Fornasetti, reflect his unique style. The great illusionist is aptly represented with his whimsical perception of life’s objects, architecture, nature and variations on a theme. Piero Fornasetti applied his decorative vocabulary to an astonishing array of commonly found objects to which Roubini has added a line on magnificent rugs, hand knotted in wool and silk and available in standard as well as custom sizes.
See the whole Roubini collection of Fornasetti rugs here.

FURNITURE:

The Tête-à-Tête Collection was a collaboration between Nigel Coates and Barnaba Fornasetti created in 2002:



The collection includes vases, glasses, lamps and chairs.





Above is the first collaboration with Fornasetti and a furniture designer since the one with Gio Ponti which yielded the item below in addition to several others:



Above: a product of a collaboration between two of the most creative minds of the twentieth century, the trumeau series remains in our mind as the finest outlet for fornasetti's creative mind. designed by gio ponti, the trumeau has been changed ever so slightly and decorated completely differently over the years, resulting in an incredible overview of fornasetti production and charm. This decor is known as 'architecture'; available in white or ivory ($27,o63.00)
31.9" x 15.4" x 86.2" Buy it here.


SGABELLO BAR / BAR STOOL
Size: Ø cm 38x79h
Available in the motifs: "Bocca" "Tergonomico" "Egocentrismo" Occhio" "Sole".
Available from the Fornasetti Atelier.

Butterfly tables:



Above: Recently introduced in milan and designed by barnaba fornasetti, the 'butterflies' tables feature a flight of butterflies entirely painted by hand in the atelier in milan. available in white or black versions.
Buy them here.


The Latest News Chair:


Buy it here.



Above: CHEST desk “Grand Coromandel”
Size: cm 100x56x91h
This re-invention by Barnaba Fornasetti has the same shape of the classic Fornasetti curved chest of drawers but it has been visibly elaborated in order to obtain a desk with two doors and writing table. Inside there are several counter tops to contain CDs, papers, desk materials and a drawers with a counter top for a notebook. This lacquered wood chest desk is decorated with the motif "Grand Coromandel" in gold leaf on a treated pouring-like background which is sponge painted by hand. It is available in all the decors of the Fornasetti chest of drawers: "Achitettura", "Palladiana", "Pompeiana", "Fiori nella notte" and "Leopardo".
Available from the Fornasetti Atelier.

Sun and moon tables:

Buy them here.

Ceramics & Porcelain:


Thanks to the collaboration with Bitossi Ceramiche today it has been possible to realize this project. The collection is composed of 4 vases realized in different colours and produced, like the first collection edited in 2005 (which is sold out), in a limited edition of 299 pieces.



The above products (and more decor items) can be bought here.


Above: set of 6 drinking glasses, available here.
Trays and Screen:



The above items (and more) are available here.

Ceramic tiles:

buy them here.

Textiles:

Buy them here.

Jewelry:

Buy the jewelry here.

Media
Fornasetti Moves from Detour Design is a was to transform your flat screen into is a a moving series of Fornasetti's images:



However, last time I checked, the site and the company seem to be out of business.

Interested in acquiring some vintage Fornasetti products? These are for sale.

Book:

Above: FORNASETTI Conversation with Philippe Starck© 2005 Assouline publishing, New York. Available also in French. buy it here.

SHOW-ROOM FORNASETTI
Via Manzoni, 45 - Milano 20121
Tel:+39 02 6592341 - Fax: +39 02 6592244
E-Mail: showroom@fornasetti.com
Fornasetti's Official Site.

Another Marc Jacobs Collaboration: X Vans

Marc Jacobs is fast becoming the King of Collaborations and although he's been creating Vans since 2006, I haven't liked most of them until these two pairs from his Vans X collection.







The line art of a traditional perforated leather saddle shoe and that of a classic tennis shoe printed on a plain natural canvas pair of Vans turn these casual slip on shoes into witty pieces of art.

Want them? buy them here
And while you're at it, read a nice article on the history of Vans at Sneaker Freaker here.

Flavor Paper Wallcoverings: Scratch n' Sniff, City Park, Fishnet & Nouveau Riche

New Orleans' Flavor Paper has lots of great wallpaper designs. Most unusual are their actual Scratch and Sniff wallpapers, Jon Sherman's Fishnet, and Dan Funderburgh's new urban looking toile called City Park and his tongue in cheek Nouveau Riche.

The Fruit Cocktail Collection of scratch & sniff wallpapers was released at Wonderland for NY Design Week 2007. They can print it without scent if preferred, but then why would you want it? “The Fruit Cocktail Collection” by Michael Angelo for Flavor Paper features designs called Cherry Forever, Tutti Frutti, and B-a-n-a-n-a-s. Cherry Forever is included in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Designed by Michael Angelo
Screens: 4 to 6
Colors Achieved: 5
Pattern Repeat: 12 inches
Side-to-side Match:
Eighth Drop
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$300-450

Cherry Forever

Designed by Michael Angelo
Screens: 2 to 5
Colors Achieved: 3 to 4
Pattern Repeat: 10 inches
Side-to-side Match:
Straight Across
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$200-400

Tutti Frutti

Designed by Michael Angelo
Screens: 6 to 8
Colors Achieved: 7
Pattern Repeat: 18 inches
Side-to-side Match:
Eighth Drop
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$400-550

In addition to those, Dan Funderburgh created City Park, another take on the traditional toile or damask looking wallpaper. From afar, it looks like something that might be in the ladies room of a fancy hotel, but upon close inspection one can see the parking meters, rats and fire hydrants:

City Park


Designed by Dan Funderburgh
Screens: 1
Colors Achieved: 2
Pattern Repeat: 20 Inches
Side-to-side Match:
Straight Across
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$150

Nouveau Riche


Designed by Dan Funderburgh
Screens: 1
Colors Achieved: 2
Pattern Repeat: 54 inches
Side-to-side Match:
straight across
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$150

Fishnet


Designed by Jon Sherman
Screens: 1
Colors Achieved: 2
Pattern Repeat: 19 inches
Side-to-side Match:
Straight Across
27”×15’ roll retail price:
$150


The above is only a small sampling of what they have to offer. Be sure to see all of their selections of hand printed and vintage wallpapers on their site.

ArtBox Project: Lamps by over 20 artists & 200 designs to choose from

Above: Pug by Machiko Stehrenbrger

NOTE* it seems that since this post was written the artbox project has closed down. The site does not seem to exist any longer (as pointed out by a reader), however, if you 'search' artbox lamps, you will find that some of them are now carried at specific art galleries or are available on ebay.

The ArtBox project is a fun and functional way to have one of several designer, illustrator, or artist's piece of work as a light or a sensor activated nite lite. The ArtBox lamps can be wall mounted or freestanding.

Above: One of the Karim Rashid options available

What is it?
An ArtBox Lamp is based on the principle of a simple light box as used by photographers to view slides or negatives. When looking at the back lit artwork, the viewer is actually seeing an oversized slide. The simplicity of two 8 by 8 inches Plexiglas panels, connected by nylon bolts allows us to concentrate on and to emphasize the artist’s creation.

It is the individuality of the art, which makes each piece unique. An empty canvas becomes an art piece. For every ArtBox product sold, the artist receives a royalty payment, so by ordering an ArtBox product, you are essentially supporting the Arts. The ArtBox Project line is continually evolving as they add to their stable of artists and designers.

Below are 12 different options by various artists which include every style from photography and graphic design to modern art and illustration. They have several on the site that are far too cutesy for me, but would be suitable for little children or nurseries.




As you can see, the light looks fun as a table lamp:

and can be wall mounted as well:

technical details:
8” by 8” square, 3 inches deep, with plug and switch.
A gift box and a 15 watt light bulb is included.
$45 USD each


ARTBOX SENSOR NITELITE

details:
Size: 4"x 4".
Complete with lightbulb. No switch, but a lightsensor which switches the light on automatically at night.. Plug rotates to accomodate sideways mounted outlets (many kitchens have them). Packaged in a gift box.
$20. USD each

Below is the list of contributing designers whose images are available on your artbox light or nite lite. Please note the following links to the artists' pages no longer work.
OTHER DESIGNERS:

ANDRZEJ BIALUSKI

ANN ELLIS
BOB KESSEL
CATHERINE MARCHE

CHRIS SMITH

CAMILA VALDEAVELLANO

DEE ADAMS

FHIONA GALLOWAY
GORDON FRASER

JAIME PRADES

KARIM RASHID

LAURA PAZOS

MICHIKO STEHRENBERGER

NEIL JEFFERY

PENNY JOHNSON
POWELL BURNS
SUNIA BONEHAM

SARI AHOKAINEN

TILLIE

TRACY MCGUINESS KELLY

TRUE

VACIDE ERDA ZIMIC

In addition to the ArtBox light and nite lite, the site carries some other artist-made items as well. A collection (shown below) of San Francisco designer Pablo Pardo's products is available on the site:



Felt Art Clocks
designed by Andrzej Bialuski:


Click here to see more available art clock designs by Andrzej Bialuski

and Karim Rashid:



details:
Packaged in a semitransparent gift box.
Powered by AA battery.
Electronic quartz movement.
Includes wall hanger. Size: 9.75 x 9.75 inches
$47.00 USD (many more designs to choose from)

YAYO table lamp (several design options):

details:
maximum 60 watts lightbulb
height 20 inches (51 cm)
width 5.5 inches (14 cm)
each lamp is $39.00.
design: Andrzej Bialuski.

Interested in joining the project?
Are you an artist who'd like to see your work on these items?
Then please contact Andrzej Bialuski by phone or e-mail.
TEL 718 482 8710
FAX 718 482 8739

Gulassa & Co. : Industrial, Yet Elegant Furniture, Light Fixtures & More

Do you live in a loft? An arts and crafts bungalow? A japanese minimalist home or a modern cement abode? Want to find unusual furnishings, lights, custom hardware or fireplaces that have both an industrial but elegant feel? That combine organic materials with a stately style? Then you need to know Gulassa & Company.



They create everything from tables, seats and lights to hardware, sinks, gates and handrails that are beautifully crafted and originally designed since 1989.

Gulassa & Company are wood workers, metal workers, glass artists, upholsterers, architectural and graphic designers. By collaborating with clients, architects, contractors, and designers, Gulassa & Company is able to successfully resolve the most complex design issues.



They have two complete lines of metal and wood furniture, product design and development services, and consultation on small-scale high-end commercial and residential interiors.

here are some of their lights:




some of their tables and benches:



just a few of their accessories:


And a few of their stools:



They make stunning custom furniture and architectural elements as well, like the following pieces:


some custom hardware:

And custom buffet and table:

some amazing handrails:


They have so much more, you'll have to go check them out yourself.

contact info:
ph. 206.283.1810
Gulassa and Co., Inc. sells to the trade through their showrooms and can be contacted here.
info@gulassaco.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My intention is to combine the simplicity of form with the unique physical properties of materials to create pieces that transform a space by adding character and harmony." --David Gulassa

David Gulassa
1960 - 2001
In memory of David Gulassa, artist, designer, fabricator, and community leader, this fund has been created to support projects which honor, develop or are inspired by David's works and vision.

Send your tax deductable donations to:
The Gulassa Fund c/o The Seattle Foundation
425 Pike Street, Suite 510
Seattle, WA 98101-2334
(206) 622-2294
www.seattlefoundation.org

Post Apocolyptic Couture: Designer Gas Masks

Above: High Fashion Protection as interpreted by Diddo Velema.

Contrary to what other blogs and sites are saying, these were not made for Gucci, LV, etc, but instead as art pieces.

As described by the artist:

We are in a state of perpetual war – with ourselves and with the eco-system that sustains us. Perpetual war breeds perpetual fear. In the present context, this fear stems from our extreme desire for authenticity and manifests itself in our collectively insatiable culture of consumption.

Deep down, we are afraid we may never be satisfied. An expanding archive of branded myths and icons feeds this fear. Designer Gas Masks is an attempt to visualize this state of mind. Because it is only by first acknowledging and then challenging fear that we will all be able to breathe a little easier.

The masks are currently made for gallery purposes only.

Louis Vuitton Gas Mask:

Gucci Gas Mask:

Swarovski Crystal Gas Mask:

See the artist's site here.

UPDATE:
Although slightly changed from their first showing, Diddo now sells art prints on high gloss Fuji Pro DP2 Pearl paper that measure 30”x30” (76x76 cm) of each of his fabulous haute couture masks:




Buy the art prints here.

Funky Find Of The Week: Gold Plated Keyboard

The ZIP-ANG keyboard features 86 gold-plated keys.
Hand made to order, it's only compatible with Windows operating systems up to Vista.



It is 19 mm thin QWERTY type, uses USB and PS/2 interfaces and costs $214.00 USD

Buy it here.

Lladro Does It Again: New ReDeco and ReCyclos

Last year, I wrote about how Lladro hipped up their previously grandma-like porcelain figures with the introduction of Bodo Sperlein's Re:Cyclos Magical collection. A stunning nature inspired porcelain bisque collection from chandeliers to jewelry and wall hooks to votives.


As described by Lladro:

Re-Cyclos was a creative proposal of new and evocative works made from Lladró’s classic figurines. Lladró Re-Cyclos Magical by Bodo Sperlein came into being when the porcelain brand invited prestigious designers from all over the world to reinterpret its creations. Well acquainted with the workings of porcelain, Sperlein decided to focus on Nature using delicate elements of Lladró to create new and surprising jewelry accessories, and lighting and décor objects.

This year. they've done it again with British design team Committee.


Above: The British design team Committee is made up of Harry Richardson and Clare Page, born in Northampton and London respectively and trained at the Liverpool Art School. Both claim that they explore the everyday with “pragmatism and imagination”.

The following pieces were unveiled at this year's Maison Objet show.


Above: One of the themes chosen by this creative team is the love of a couple, whose evolution is depicted by a truly characteristic element in the creations of this porcelain brand: handmade flowers, made petal by petal. Therefore, the designers’ proposal consists of three couples made of white porcelain covered progressively by flowers, signifying the growth of their feelings. This trilogy comes to a close with a spectacular creation, covered with the greatest number of flowers ever created in the history of Lladró: over a thousand flowers covering the characters’ bodies.



Above: They also presented boxes designed from the original molds used to make Lladró porcelain figurines. This time, the designers pay tribute to the beauty concealed by these moulds and play with the reliefs of the concave shapes. The results are innovative objects capturing the creative spirit of Lladró works.

Also introduced this year at Paris' Maison et Objet were some new additions to the Re:cyclos line by Bodo Sperlein. The Ascot collection of tableware and accessories and the new Magic Forest chandelier.



The Ascot collection as described by Bodo Sperlein:

The Ascot collection is a versatile group of table top accessories, which bring a touch of originality and style to any table. Horses’ legs, heads and hoofs are used in a clever and inventive way to invite us to touch and admire each piece. Subtle and elegant natural grey horse fur tones and effects are hand painted on handles, lids and elements of each product. The collection is a celebration of the highly skilled Lladro porcelain craftsmen.

Lladró Re-Cyclos Magical also launches a new version of the Niagara chandelier,
a spectacular hanging lamp with hundreds of white porcelain butterflies hanging from optical fiber cables. This creation received an excellent response in both of its formats (1.10m and 2m), now available in a smaller size (60cm). The collection will grow with the incorporation of the chandelier Magic Forest with dozens of delicate porcelain leaves.


Above left is the new Magic Forest Chandelier and on the right, the original Niagara Chandelier.



These aren't the only efforts Lladro has made at reinvigorating their image and appealing to a much broader and trendier audience. As art director for the Re:deco collection, Spanish designer Jaime Hayon brought Lladro to the attention of design bloggers and magazines everywhere.


Above: Hayon at work

Some of Hayon's pieces for Lladro took their original molds and kept the reminder of the form as matte or glossy porcelain while adding platinum glazed touches (and in some cases gold or monochromatic) to them, transforming them from traditional even old-fashioned figurines to modern objects.




And others reinterpreted traditional pieces by turning them into lamps and mirrors.





Spanish designer Jaime Hayon is hot hot hot, with his blogged about latest designs for Camper, the beautiful AQHayon bathroom collection, his swarovski studded lamps and more can be seen on his site.

Top Social Networks- February 2008 Rankings

With all the talk out there about how important it is to use social networks (often referred to as web 2.o or social media) to promote not only yourself, but also products, companies, brand image and more...you may be wondering which ones will bring you the most potential traffic and audience.

Where to start?

Well, below are the most visited social networks as of february 2008, as calculated by Compete.

(click on the chart to enlarge)



UPDATED - 3/13

* Myspace was down slightly from February 2007 in terms of total US visits. However, the networking giant still holds a commanding traffic lead over all other Social sites.
* Facebook visits fell slightly from January 2008 to February 2008, but over the year the site has grown by over 75%. In terms of US visitors, it is now about one half the size of Myspace, but receives about 1/3rd as many visits.
* Niche markets are still attractive in terms of Social networking: Cafemom (a social network geared towards mothers), Linkedin (a networking site for professionals) and Fubar (“the first online bar”) all grew by 5X or more from February 2007 through February 2008. Fubar, in fact, exploded into the top 20 networks from relative obscurity one year ago.
* Innovative business models also had success in 2007: Communication platform Twitter, and white label social network Ning, both found a dramatically larger audience in the past year.

source

Marcel Wanders For Holland Electro: WOW

Holland Electro (HE) invited dutch designer Marcel Wanders to create a line of home appliances for them. And boy did he ever!

With the following stunning and functional products, he outdid himself.



Theatre
A wooden side table in which a dvd and speakers are built into the left side and the subwoofer is hidden in the right side. And it comes with four beautifully decorated satellite speakers. 5.1 stereo sound.



Pandora
A small wooden side table in which a woofer is integrated. Accompanied with two wireless speakers, it generates 2.1 stereo sound for music on your laptop or mp3 player.



Egg
The beautifully designed wireless speakers that accompany the Pandora and Theatre



Domino Speaker System
Two beautiful and very thin speakers that can be used with a wireless transmitter (as in the case of the Mathilda and the Merlin) or standard audio cables.




The Mathilda and the Merlin
two antennas that magically send music to your speakers. Merlin has a USB connector and Mathilda has 3.5 plug that uses 3 AAA batteries. Both can be used with the Domino speaker system



The Carrie
A 1 gig USB flash drive



And lastly, the Wave TV. A microwave oven that integrates a TFT screen in the door so you can watch tv while cooking. It even has a built in DVD player!



The Crystal digital photo frame is a nice looking modern digital photo frame that is also part of the collection:

learn more about them here.
Download a pdf of all Marcel's products for HE here.

Marcel Wanders Fan?
Then you must see these:

• Marcel Wanders' Biscayne Bay, Miami Luxury Apartments
• Marcel Wanders' Regal Christmas Designs For Bijenkorf
• Marcel Wanders Carpets and Tiles for Colorline

Matryoshka Madness: Russian Nesting Dolls In Every Form

Above: A set emulating blow-up dolls from the 250 Matryoshka exhibit in Belgium


I know, I know, you've seen the popular trend of these Russian Nesting Dolls on lots of blogs, but before you think you've seen them all, take a look. I defy you to find a larger collection than my own examples of Matryoshka Madness (especially since this post has been updated with part 2!)

Above: A traditional set of Russian Nesting Dolls

Russian nesting dolls have been an art form for centuries. No matter how you spell them, be it matryoshkas, matrioshka, matryoshkus or matreshkas, they seem to be making a big comeback in many forms. From the modern nod to technology by Russian design studio Art Lebedev to the $1200.00 custom series for a family of five, painted from a photo by illustrator Trisha Krauss.



above: Bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte take shape of Matryoshkas to make the right sequence in white, available from Art Lebedev


Above: Trisha Krauss will create a custom set based on a photo, available at Auto

In 2003, The Wurst Gallery had a fabulous exhibit of these nesting dolls painted by various contemporary and low brow artists, most (but not all) of which have since been sold. Here are the artists and their work from that show:






Above: The complete set by artist Trish Grantham



Another artist painted Matryoshka exhibit is the 2006 one from MAF (the Music Art Forum) in which 50 artists painted Matryoshka's which were auctioned off for charity.
here are a few of my favorites from that exhibit:










See all 50 sets here.

Several other contemporary artists have their own interpretations of the traditional Russian nesting dolls.

Take a look at some more of the Matryoshka Madness:

The Redspective online store often carries unique, one of kind, artist made nesting dolls but they sell out quickly. Now in stock are the following three sets:

Above: set by artist Roland Bruckner, 250,000 euros

Above: set by the Incubus Project, 250,000 euros

Above: set by artist Chin Chin, 250,000 euros


Above: One of my personal favorites by artist Marco Cibola


Above: the minimalist Pantone Matryoshkas by Yar Rassadin




Above: Three hand-painted sets by Russian artist Irina Troitskaya:

Artist Bryan Rawlings made a set of erotic life sized nesting dolls for Julian Murphy that are now the property of the Erotic Art Museum in Hollywood, California, where they are part of the permanent collection:


Above: Bryan Rawling's Erotic Matryoshka Sculptures

Even Swedish superstore Ikea sells a version; JUTANÄS by Maria Vinka

Above: Inspired by the Russian nesting dolls she collected as a child, Vinka wanted to create a modern, multi-ethnic version. Instead of identical nesting Russian dolls, she made a doll for each continent. A native Lapp, Vinka made the doll for Europe a Lapp as well. The dolls are made in Russia according to traditional methods, and each one is handpainted with a unique facial expression. Available at IKEA.

Russian Nesting Doll imagery is popping up everywhere on home decor from pillows by Thomas Paul to coin purses at Fred Flare.

Pillows:


Thomas Paul Pillows shown above from 2Modern


above pillows (which may no longer be available) from Urban Outfitters

Cards:


The above Matroyshka cards are available at Poketo.


plates and coin purses from Fred Flare

clothing:

Matryoshka shirts available here.

jewelry:

Both the Sterling silver 3D charm and 14k yellow gold charm available here.

bedding:

Bedspread from Urban Outfitters

Even the Pupa cosmetics of Italy has a line called Puposka which is collection of make-up kits perfumes,and containers in white, red or blue that are Russian nesting dolls:



Pupa Cosmetics

Need Matryoshkas that stick?

Buy the above vinyl wall stickers here.
or Buy the little stickers here.

And here are just a few of the wonderful Matryoshka items available on etsy (I'm sorry I can't show them all):

coasters: Chrome ID tag for zippers or keychains:

Car trash/litter bag: Matryoshka handbag:

Russian Doll adjustable ring: Decoupaged ring:

Matryoshka cupcake toppers: Baby Bib and Burp Cloth:


Lindt even makes Chocolate Matryoshkas:

But even better are Viktoria Richards Red Collection: three variations of chocolate nesting dolls.

Individually foil wrapped:

A single 4 inch solid chocolate doll:

and miniature boxed chocolate Martyoshkas:

buy them here.

Wanna make some yourself?

You can be creative with blank dolls found here:


Or, if you feel you're not that creative, for only $39.00, you can easily DIY these traditional looking Russian Nesting Dolls (if you can paint within the lines), that comes with paint and brush:


Available here

Now, if you're looking for traditional Russian nesting dolls in the form of animals, pop culture icons like the Simpsons nesting dolls or South Park nesting dolls (yes, they make them), celebrity nesting dolls like Elvis or Madonna, the following stores carry all these and more:

handofman.com
moscowstore.com
russianartstore.com
russianesprit.com
And some relevant links for you:
How Matryoshkas are made.
Reference books:


Buy Russian Doll Books, Movies, Calendars, Blank Sets and more here

Check out Matroyoshka Madness Part 2, with electronic gadgets and more.

Painting Pachyderms: Elephants As Artists. And Other Animals That Paint.

Imagine a gallery where the works hung on the walls aren't that of Picasso, Matisse and Gauguin, but instead by Pigcasso, Tillamook and Kooba. (True, Picasso was often referred to as an 'animal', but in this case, I'm talking about an actual animal).

The following video is pretty unbelievable (but is real and unaltered). If you can, watch it through to the end to see the finished painting.



Don't believe it? It's true.

Here's are 2 examples of finished pieces by the same elephant, Hong, in the video above, that recently sold for $500.00 a piece:



A bit more about the artist, Hong:

LOCATION: Chiang Mai, THAILAND
CAMP: Maetaman Elephant Camp
ART TEACHER: Khun Tossapol Petcharattanakool
ELEPHANT: Hong
SEX: Female
AGE: 8
MAHOUT: Mr. Noi Rakchang

HONG'S BIO: At six years old, Hong has a very curious nature. She loves to investigate everything and once managed to use her trunk to open the door of a truck. This kind of curiosity made Hong a natural candidate for artistic instruction. Two years ago, Hong began painting with her mahout, Noi Rakchang, and has steadily developed her skills. After learning how to paint flowers, she moved on to more advanced paintings. She now has two specialties. One is an elephant holding flowers with her trunk, and the other is the Thai flag. An elephant with so much control and dexterity is capable of amazing work. Just for clarification, with these realistic figural works, the elephant is still the only one making the marks on the paper but the paintings are learned series of brushstrokes not Hong painting a still life on her own.

If you want to see a gallery of elephant paintings and even purchase one, go here.

By the way, elephants aren't the only animals whose paintings are hung in galleries. There are several other four legged painters.


Above: A jack russell terrier named Tillie, with an impressive gallery of work, a schedule of showings and even a gift shop. (photos by Brooke Jacobs) See her whole site here


Above: Sammy, a foxhound mix, uses a paintbrush attached to a rubber bone to paint a canvas on June 12, 2007, at a gallery at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. Mary Stadelbacher, owner of Shore Service Dogs, has a collection of abstract paintings daubed by her three service dogs in training. (Photo: AP Photo/Matthew S. Gunby)


Above: Pinto, an accomplished painter for a Yucatan miniature pig, gets his snout into an original work of art on Feb. 23, 2006, at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. Using a selection of non-toxic primary colors, Pinto mixes them in innovative ways (hooves, snout, objects and sometimes food items) to create his one-of-a-kind masterpieces. (Photo: AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)


Above: Koopa, a Gulf Coast box turtle, creates a summer-themed custom ordered painting for a buyer in Australia at the home of his owner, Kira Varszegi in Hartford, Conn., on Aug. 24, 2004. Koopa's paintings sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars, and his pieces hang in 35 of the 50 states. (Photo: AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Louis Vuitton & Murakami Go Camo: Monogramouflage

Blogs are abuzz about the Murakami Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. But not so much about Murakami's own works, but more about the collaboration with Louis Vuitton's Marc Jacobs which yeilded Monogramouflage, a camo version of LV's famous monogram pattern, in both a light and dark version:



On April 3rd, Vuitton celebrated Takashi Murakami's "© Murakami" exhibition, a retrospective of the 46 year old artists' work, with a "Brooklyn Ball" at the Brooklyn Museum featuring a special performance by Kanye West, and the unveiling of the new camouflage print.



Currently the canvases (like the ones pictured below) are available in a limited edition of one hundred at the Brooklyn Museum in New York (but you can find several for sale on ebay at the moment) during an exhibition of Murakami’s work. Bags and other items featuring the new print will be available in June in the museum's hosted "pop up" store to coincide with the exhibit.

Below are images from the opening night and of the Monogramouflage canvases, which measure 16" x 16" each, are sold in a limited edition and are framed, boxed and come with letters of authenticity.










And some other images of the exhibit:

Above: "DOB in the Strange Forest" by Takashi Murakami, a 1999 FRP Resin, fiber glass and acrylic installation work, will be on display as part of the exhibition "Murakami" at the Brooklyn Museum in New York through July 13.


Above: "Second Mission Project ko2" by Takashi Murakami, a 1999 installation work consisting of oil paint, acrylic, synthetic resins, fiberglass and iron


Above left: "DOB Camouflage". Above right: "The Castle of Tin Tin" by Takashi Murakami, a 1998 acrylic on canvas work mounted on board

To see a Flickr set of some of the large installations from the exhibit, go here.

NOTCOT has some nice coverage of the 'counterfeit' aspect of the exhibit, Louis Vuitton's tongue in cheek way of fighting fakes, including some great pics of the 'faux' street vendors and more.

©Murakami'' continues through July 13 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway. Information: +1-718-638-5000; http://www.brooklynmuseum.org. The corporate sponsor is DLA Piper. The show travels next to the Museum fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

You can read a review of the show by Linda Yablonsky here.

Futiro Designer VoIP Handsets Sound As Good As They Look

Above: Futiro's Luna, Terra and Solo