A Modern Take On Nixie Tube Clocks from BDDW, Chronotronix, Puhlmann and Peter J. Jensen

Most Nixie tube clocks ordinarily look a little steam punk and a little scientific a la Thomas Dolby. But I found a few companies that make nixie clocks pretty enough for almost anyone's taste. The neon tubes, when combined with blackened bronze, silver chrome, and stunning woods, become an unusual blend of science and art, making a functional item a pretty piece of home decor.

What is a digital Nixie Tube?

A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information. The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode, and multiple cathodes in the shape of Arabic numerals. Applying power to one cathode surrounds it with an orange glow discharge. The tube is filled with a gas at low pressure, usually mostly neon and often a little mercury and/or argon, in a Penning mixture (Weston 1968), (Bylander 1979,).


above: A typical Nixie tube clock.

How Nixie Tubes work:
Each glass tube typically contains 10 or more individual cathode wires in the shape of numbers or letters. The cathodes are stacked so that different numerals appear at different depths, unlike a planar display in which all numerals are on the same plane relative to the viewer. The anode is a transparent metal mesh wrapped around the front of the display. The tube is filled with the inert gas neon (and other gases) with a small amount of mercury. When an electric potential of 120 to 180 volts DC is applied between the anode and any cathode, the gas near the cathode breaks down and the digit spreads into a glow.

1. The NIXIE desk clock

Above: Silver plated bronze exterior with digital nixie tubes.
The desk clock easures 6"H x 11.5"W x 2.5"D and is available in Blackened bronze, Natural bronze, Silver plated

2. The NIXIE wall clock





Above: Bronze exterior with digital nixie tubes.
The wall clock measures 21.25"H x 9.5"W x 2"D and comes in Blackened bronze or Natural bronze

3. The WOODEN NIXIE Grandfather clock



Above: Wood exterior with digital nixie tubes.
Measures 75"H x 10.75"W x 7"D and is available in American white oak / Dark oak finish, Osage orange / Natural oil finish, Claro walnut / Natural oil finish

Known mostly for their hand crafted wood furniture, BDDW makes stunning tables, chairs, mirrors, lamps and rugs, too. You can inquire about their nixie clocks and see all their beautiful furniture and rug designs as well here.




Another company making Nixie tube clocks that have updated them with wood and chrome finishes is Nixie Clock.net. Since 1997 they've sold Nixie Tube Clocks and living accessories. The company is located in Germany and they run a warehouse in the United States in order to improve their service standard. Having started retailing Nixie Clocks they are now developing their own Nixie Tube Clocks and below are some of their models.

CHRONOTRONIX V400 NIXIE TUBE CLOCK:


Buy it here.

The CHRONOTRONIX V300 NIXIE TUBE CLOCK:

Buy it here.

Unfortunately the CHRONOTRONIX IN-18 NIXIE CLOCK shown below is sold out:



As is this lovely one made by Karlsson:


Check out their inventory and pricing here.
The ones above can also be found here at Chronotronix Nixie Tube Clocks.

The Puhlmann Nixie Clock designed by dutch designer Frank Clewits is another nice modern version:




Above: wallclock with Nixie-tubes, steel, L32,5 x H 16cm, incl. adaptor

Unfortunately, I can not find this clock for sale anywhere. Even the puhlmann shop doesn't seem to have it.

Another site that sells handmade nixie clocks, as well as nixie clock kits, is Peter J. Jensen's tubeclock.com.



And if you are digging the nixies, check out this gallery of homemade nixie tube clocks.

Hot New Headwear: Luxurious & Artist Crash Helmets By Ruby

Les Atelier Ruby helmets are crash helmets for motorcyclists inspired by retro design but crafted with the most modern of technologies and luxurious of materials.

These are not your average motorcycle helmets. Complete with luxurious touches, unusual designs and colors, beautiful packaging and collaborations with artists and stores, designer Parisian Jerome Coste began this company after suffering six head injuries himself.


Above: art director and founder Jerome Coste.

The ultra light helmets made of carbon fiber from the aerospace industry that guarantees maximum strength. Their first collection, the Pavillion, has a rear fin in the back that was inspired by Knight's helmets, chrome trim and a claret colored lining made of Nappa lambskin leather. Each helmet has their signature steel badge and comes carefully packaged in their stunning red box.

The chrome trim:

The claret Nappa lambskin interior:


Their attention to detail is evident in the images below.

The padding:

Airholes to release hot air:

Their chrome and red metal emblem:

The interior buckskin fabric is anit-bacterial:


The signature box:



Below are all the models from the Pavillion Collection.







In addition to these they have a signature collection of limited edition artist designed helmets. Below is the Pale Rider vs. Surfing Zombies by French Graffiti artist, Honet.






And the special editions shown below will be available at Colette:


Les Ateliers Ruby

This Is The Furniture Your Mother Warned You About: Ted Nemeth Designs

If a coffee table could kick your ass, Ted Nemeth's could.

His unique furniture is comprised of fine leathers, reptile skins, carved woods and such unexpected touches like brass knuckles and body jewelry. The craftsmanship and attention to detail is obvious, but unexpected touches like the words "hell bent", "come sin with me", "pay up sucker", "hustler" or even "fuck off" put his pieces into a category unto itself.

His furniture has the edgy expected imagery of Brooklyn, NYC, crowns, maltese crosses, skulls, hearts, pin-up girls, flying eyeballs, dollar signs and tagger type, but combined with his meticulous crafting and luxurious materials, they become gallery like pieces.

When you combine design sensibilities such as a little goth, a little hot rodder, a little graffiti and a little luxe, you get Ted Nemeth's Furniture With A Bad Attitude. All prices are available upon request.




Chest of Drawers (his bestseller):





The Throne:







You can buy the above throne at Vivre for $5,150.00

The Great White Bench:




The Outlaw Chair:




The Hot Rod Coffee table:





The Dragon table:



Wall mirror:




This Outlaw stool was made especially for 66 degrees:






Even Ted's 'about' page on his site is a police report, in perfect keeping with his 'bad boy' products:


In addition to furniture design, Ted creates and sells hand tooled leather messenger bags (with the message tastefully hidden under a flap) bags, eyeglass cases, custom art and more.








Even large wall leather hangings complete with real animal skulls:





See all of this and more at his site here

The Orb™: Prefab Home Offices, Vacation Homes & Corporate Structures

The Orb™ is a new generation of mobile structures created specifically to appeal across three distinct markets: commercial show units, holiday or vacation park homes and adaptable home offices.

Built to a standard far beyond that of comparable structures using marine technology, it is both incredibly durable, lightweight and transportable.

The Orb™ was born of Philip Simpson's desire to have an inspiring and affordable outdoor space for his own family to enjoy. His starting point, as a designer, was to reject the box-like structure and unnatural colours and contours of the classic caravan. He wanted something that would enhance the user's appreciation of the outdoors, from both inside and out. His initial sketches (on backs of envelopes and restaurant napkins), inspired more by gypsy caravans and yachts, won the support of his dream team of architects and designers, and the list of potential customers grew.

Together with architect David Miller, (who designed the award-winning Media Centre at Lords' Cricket Ground while at Future Systems) and a leading structural engineering practice, the idea is fast becoming a reality. One of the UK's top interior design consultancies, Real Studios, has created a range of inspiring interiors to highlight the lifestyle potential of these unique units.

The Orb Home Office:






Each Orb™ is constructed to a standard far beyond that of any other comparable garden office. They are built to last and each model comes with the following high specification -


The Orb Home Office is available in the following standard size: 4m x 3m.
* Architect designed
* GRP construction with integral insulation
* Large double-glazed front window
* Flexible interiors and layout
* Under floor heating
* Easy access rear door
* Integral chassis
* 4 adjustable legs
* Structural 3 year warranty
* Integrated services
* Choice of exterior finishes
* Many optional extras

The Orb Holiday Home:



The Orb has been designed to sleep 7 people comfortably, whether it's young couples who like to spend holidays or weekends with an assortment of friends, or couples with kids who like to holiday with or without extended family.



The Orb's monocoque construction is more durable and long lasting than any other traditionally built structure on the market. The Orb will come with a minimum 5-year structural warranty.



The materials and technology used in the Orb's construction are exactly the same as in marine construction. Boats are designed to be incredibly strong, lightweight and water resistant - so is the Orb! Being light weight it will be easy to move on site. This makes it ideal for coastal locations, where it will withstand extreme weather conditions much better than the traditional park home.

Each Orb™ is constructed to a standard far beyond that of any other comparible mobile structure. They are built to last and each model comes with the following high specification -


The Orb Holiday Home is available in the following standard size: 4m x 12m.
* Architect designed
* GRP construction
* Integral insulation
* Large double-glazed windows
* Choice of interiors and layouts
* Under floor heating
* Integrated services
* Easy access doors
* Integral chassis
* Unique removable wheels
* 8 adjustable legs
* Push and pull points
* Structural 3 year warranty
* Choice of interior & exterior finishes

The Orb for Corporate use:


The Orb's continuous shell makes it an ideal branding proposition. A full graphic wrap that may be updated or changed as required can be applied to create a distinct brand differentiator.




A large, visible display window provides a perfect showcase for merchandise or can be left open for public access from either or both ends. The interiors can be bespoke or modular to fit your requirements, designed by our specialist interior design team.



Its unique look and streamlined shape will help your brand stand out amongst a sea of identikit boxes.

Each Orb™ is constructed to a standard far beyond that of any other comparable mobile structure. They are built to last and each model comes with the following high specification -


The Orb is available in the following standard sizes: 4m x 3m, 4m x 6m, 4m x 9m and 4m x 12m.
* Architect designed
* GRP construction
* Integral insulation
* Double-glazed display windows
* Full graphic wrap
* Flexible bespoke interiors
* Under floor heating
* Easy access doors
* Integral chassis
* Removeable axle and wheels
* 4 adjustable legs
* Push pull points
* Structural 3 year warranty
* Integrated services

Read the FAQs about the Orb here.

contact info:
Philip Simpson, Design Director
Orb Properties Ltd
31 Denman Road
London SE15 5NS
Tel: +44 (0)207 703 9242
Fax: +44 (0)207 703 1892
Email: philip@theorb.biz

Veronica Simpson, Media Liaison and PR:
Orb Properties Ltd
31 Denman Road
London SE15 5NS
Tel: +44 (0)207 703 9242
Fax: +44 (0)207 703 1892
Email: mail@theorb.biz

Visit the Orb website here.

© Orb Properties Ltd., Patent Pending 0510520, EU Design Registration 308481

New Fashion Label Current/Elliott: What Denim Dreams Of Being

Current/Elliott is a new fashion label by stylists-turned-designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott, who met in college and became stylists under the name of MAUDE. They began by buying vintage jeans and customizing them for their celebrity clients.



Now, they've recreated their special one-of-a-kind pieces with japanese stretch denim, so that everyone could enjoy their sense of style, comfort and individuality.



Their 2008 Fall denim collection includes everything from a backlash against skinny jeans with their fabulous "boyfriend jeans" to denim smock dresses, shorts, chic denim jackets and hoodies. They manage to combine femininity with comfort, sexiness with style and vintage with contemporary couture.

Getting lots of press (even in the NY Times just yesterday) is the 'boyfriend jean', a wonderful slouchy but still sexy pair of jeans:




Here's a peek at some of my other favorites from their line:

The Shrunken JJ:

The Duckhunter:

The Fontaine Short:

The Tulip Dress:

The Moto Jacket:

The Kangaroo Dress:

The Seam Skirt:

The Navy:

The Mini Pocket:

The Circle vest:


Like all hot new fashion brands, these are not cheap. Expect to shell out about $225 bucks for the 'Boyfriend' jeans and the following items list for the prices in parentheses: The Circle Vest ($172), The Laurel Canyon ($194), The Fontaine Short ($159), The Elephant Bell 1971 ($226), The Artist Smock ($206)

Where can you find these?
Below are links to some of the stores that carry their line.
Ron Herman, Singer 22, shopbob, eluxury, lola boutique
You can also find them at Fred Segal, Barney's and Neiman Marcus.

Look What I Found! Cloned Eye lamps, The Patriot Pin, All in One plates, Cornerframes & The Pick Chair

Cloned Eyeball Lamps:

Lamps based on your eye color. You fill out the form, attach photos of your eyes, and voila! Eyeball lamps based on your own peepers.

(click on the images below to enlarge for detail)






The hand blown glass eyeball lamps made by Glassblower Livio Serena in Murano are based on exact clones of your actual eye color. Order them through 5.5 Designers.

All In One Plates:


The above plates look as though they are three stacked plates but it's actually one plate.

All in One Porcelain plates are trompe-l'oeil of 3 layered plates.
Two plates per pack. Made by Domestic
Material : Porcelain
Dimension : d:26,5cm
Color : white
Buy them here.


The Patriot Pin :


Above: This target is a reconditioned WIBC / ABC Approved AMF Amflite II bowling pin with Osama Bin Laden in the crosshairs. This pin is controlled weight and plastic coated. The wooden core and fresh plastic coating give this target a durable and long life for target practice. Approximately 15" tall and 4 3/4" in diameter.

Made by American Targets is made for actual target practice. But it certainly makes a cool piece of art. Buy it here.

Corner Frames:



These corner frames designed by Yvonne Schroedo for Thorsten van Elten is something I've been waiting for someone to produce. Wrapping around corners, either inwards or outwards, they come in black stained beech or natural maple wood.



Buy them here.


The Pick Chair:


The Pick chair is a lightweight, minimal folding chair that goes from hanging on the wall to completely unfolded and ready for seating. Epitomizing designer Dror Benshetrit’s vision: the emotion of art intertwined with the simple poetics of form following function. The first foldable cantilever chair, the pick chair goes from wall art to functional furniture with a flick of the wrist.

Saw and Tree Pick Chairs:

Materials: chromed aluminum structure; seat and back in open pores painted wood, laser graphic woodcut. Designed by Dror Benshetrit, manufactured by BBB emmebonacina.
Dimensions: wall mounted W38 H171,75 cm, open W38 D47 H48 cm
You can buy the wood ones (saw and tree) from the artist's studio here.
Or from the manufacturer here.

Happy shopping.



If you like the finds on my blog, you'll love my picks over here.

How The Colorblind See The World

I came across this wonderfully imaginative and informative post about colorblindness, so I simply had to reproduce it (without stealing bandwidth, of course) for my readers who may have not seen it.

My own grandfather was colorblind and his wife, my grandmother was an artist. I always wondered how he saw her paintings. Now I know.



In the U.S. 7% of the male population – or about 10.5 million men – and 0.4% of the female population either cannot distinguish red from green, or see red and green differently. Color blindness affects a significant amount of the population, and it is even more prevalent in more isolated populations with a smaller gene pools. It is mostly a genetic condition, though it can be caused by eye, nerve, or brain damage, or due to exposure to certain chemicals.

For those of us who see colors just fine, it is hard to imagine what those with color blindness are seeing. Luckily humans are smart and have created technology like the Color Blind Web Page Filter.

Popular Websites: As Seen by the Color Blind
The Color Blind Web Page Filter, which was used in this post to demonstrate the different types of colorblindness, allows you to view what a site looks like to people with each type of color blindness. Here are a few examples from some popular websites.








Iconic Art: As Seen by the Color Blind
Some would say we all see art in our own unique way… that would be especially true for the color blind. Here are a couple examples of some of the most iconic paintings as seen by the color blind.





Color Blindness Background
Using the filter we’ll take a look at the current most popular palette, July, and how it is seen by those with different types of color blindness.

The normal human retina contains two kinds of light cells: the rod cells (active in low light) and the cone cells (active in normal daylight). Normally, there are three kinds of cones, each containing a different pigment. The cones are activated when the pigments absorb light. The absorption spectra of the cones differ; one is maximally sensitive to short wavelengths, one to medium wavelengths, and the third to long wavelengths (their peak sensitivities are in the blue, yellowish-green, and yellow regions of the spectrum, respectively). The absorption spectra of all three systems cover much of the visible spectrum, so it is not entirely accurate to refer to them as “blue”, “green” and “red” receptors, especially because the “red” receptor actually has its peak sensitivity in the yellow. The sensitivity of normal color vision actually depends on the overlap between the absorption spectra of the three systems: different colors are recognized when the different types of cone are stimulated to different extents. Red light, for example, stimulates the long wavelength cones much more than either of the others, and reducing wavelength causes the other two cone systems to be increasingly stimulated, causing a gradual change in hue. Many of the genes involved in color vision are on the X chromosome, making color blindness more common in males than in females.

Types of Color Blindness
There are three types of inherited or congenital color vision deficiencies: monochromacy, dichromacy, and anomalous trichromacy.

Monochromacy

Monochromacy, also known as “total color blindness”, is the lack of ability to distinguish colors; caused by cone defect or absence. Monochromacy occurs when two or all three of the cone pigments are missing and color and lightness vision is reduced to one dimension.

Dichromacy
Dichromacy is a moderately severe color vision defect in which one of the three basic color mechanisms is absent or not functioning. It is hereditary and sex-linked, affecting predominantly males. Dichromacy occurs when one of the cone pigments is missing and color is reduced to two dimensions.

Protanopia is a severe type of color vision deficiency caused by the complete absence of red retinal photoreceptors. It is a form of dichromatism in which red appears dark. It is hereditary, sex-linked, and present in 1% of all males.

Deuteranopia is a color vision deficiency in which the green retinal photoreceptors are absent, moderately affecting red-green hue discrimination. It is a form of dichromatism in which there are only two cone pigments present. It is likewise hereditary, sex-linked, and present in 1% of all males.

Tritanopia is an exceedingly rare color vision disturbance in which there are only two cone pigments present and a total absence of blue retinal receptors.

Trichromacy
Anomalous trichromacy is a common type of inherited color vision deficiency, occurring when one of the three cone pigments is altered in its spectral sensitivity. This results in an impairment, rather than loss, of trichromacy (normal three-dimensional color vision)

Protanomaly is a mild color vision defect in which an altered spectral sensitivity of red retinal receptors (closer to green receptor response) results in poor red-green hue discrimination. It is hereditary, sex-linked, and present in 1% of all males. It is often passed from mother to child.

Deuteranomaly, caused by a similar shift in the green retinal receptors, is by far the most common type of color vision deficiency, mildly affecting red-green hue discrimination in 5% of all males. It is hereditary and sex-linked.

Tritanomaly is a rare, hereditary color vision deficiency affecting blue-yellow hue discrimination. interview with the Creator of Colblinder

source:

Colourlovers.com

additional sources: Wikipedia: Color Blindness
Color Blind Image Filter

Brimming, Spilling, Deflecting..... William Pye Has A Way With Water

Willam Pye is internationally known for his water sculptures. However most of them are located outside of the United States, so I wanted to share some of them with you.

Large and small, indoor and outdoor, his fountains use the movement of water in natural ways to create unusual looking pieces. His work has been commissioned by airports and embassies, corporations and private collectors. His work graces the most famous of gardens and the interiors of world class museums.

Well-versed in the properties of water- the way it clings to surfaces, the way it reflects, the way it pools, pours and moves are all things that this artist takes into consideration- as you can plainly see in the amazing works below.

Charybdis:




Above: In Charybdis the circular movement of water inside a transparent acrylic cylinder forms an air-core vortex in the centre. The water actually moves up and down within the piece. Steps wrap around the cylinder and allow spectators to view the vortex from above.

Clear Water Cube:


Clear Water Cube and Charybdis are the only two pieces thus far in which William has used acrylic.

Tureen:

Waterglass:

Coanda:

Brimming Bowl:

Downpour:


Argosy:

Meniscus:

Torricelli:


Canyons:

Epidavros:

Sibirica Minor:

Pole and Skip:

Spillway:

Rhonda:

Triple Spout:


Aberglasney:

Thenford Coanda:

Starburst:

Crescent:

Coracle II:


He has various size installations and many more pieces, all available to view on his website where you can learn the 'water vocabulary', concepts of water manipulation, and see his inspiration as well as available works.

William Pye

William Pye Partnership
The Studio
22 Langroyd Road
Tooting
London
SW17 7PL

Ding-a-ling-a-ling. Hello? It's For Ewe. Jean Luc Cornec's Rotary Phone Sheep.

above photo by Frank Rumpenhorst

Reader Mark Shockley sent me some images of this unusual art installation to share with you: Grazing sheep made of old rotary telephones. Although he hadn't known who or where they came from, a little research uncovered the fact that this is was an installation in the Frankfurt Museum of Communications by french artist Jean-Luc Cornec from quite a long time ago. Though the following photos were taken in approx 2004, I believe the installation was first implemented in the early 1990s.


above photo by Alex Hess







Thanks to fellow bloggers for photos and info: swissmiss and BB-Blog, eyeteeth, bookofjoe, and flickr photos for the images.

Other work by Jean Luc Cornec can be seen below.

Words Christmas Tree:

Gummi bear Christmas Tree:

To see more of jean Luc Cornec's work, go here.

Funky Find Of The Week: Jeremy Scott's Longchamp Pliage Credit Card bag

Jeremy Scott has collaborated once again with French luggage brand Longchamp on their famous "Pliage" bag to bring us the new Longchamp X Jeremy Scott 'Pliage' bag, an homage to consumerism.

The original Pliage Bag by Longchamp is shown below.

This time the designer chose the credit card as an inspiration. Once again the bag is available exclusively at Colette and goes for 175 Euros.

Peter Gronquist: Fashion Revolution With Designer Weapons

Bay Area artist Peter Gronquist's solo show of designer weapons called “The Revolution Will Be Fabulous: A Weapons of Mass Designer Show” opened at Gallery 1988 this past May.

The collection of designer weapons includes guns, semi-automatics, chain saws and rocket launchers clad in designer fabrics and adorned with luxury logos by Gucci, Hermes, Prada, D&G, Dior, Coach, Burberry, Fendi, Versace and Louis Vuitton. Also included but not shown are pacman grenades, an LV electric chair and more.

Although as an art form his work is clichéed and 'easy', it certainly is unusual and clearly has its appeal to the public. Prices start at $3,000 for the weapons shown here and several have already been sold.








Artist bio:
Peter Gronquist was born in Portland, Oregon in 1979. He attended the School of Visual Arts, then received his bfa from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001. Peter currently resides in Oakland California.

For more pictures, prices, details and to see what has sold and what is still available go here.

For sales, contact gallery 1988.

Raising The Benchmark On.. Well, Benches.

Once upon a time, the only benches I'd consider owning were the classic slat bench, the Platform bench, by George Nelson for Herman Miller and the leather Mies van der Rohe Bench for Knoll. Both, shown below, are still worthwhile investments, but if you're looking for a new modern bench, there's no shortage of fabulous designs out there.


Here are 10 unusual functional benches available for purchase that would look beautiful indoors or out.

1. The Kantbank

The Kantbank bench by miramondo is like a giant piece of shiny origami, made entirely of polished stainless steel.



Made up of a 2 mm-thick stainless steel sheet measuring 3,000 by 500 mm, the surfaces of all parts are polished.
Buy it here.

2. The Skew Bench

The Skew bench by Desu Design is one of my favorites. Designed to be a sculptural form of intersecting angular planes, the SKEW-001 draws inspiration from geological rock formations and also suggests movement. Made of certified renewable cellulose fiber and resin. It'd be stunning indoors or out.


buy it here.

3. Tree Trunk bench
Jurgen Bey's tree trunk bench for Droog has been out for awhile, but that doesn't make it any less cool.


The bench is a real tree trunk with chair backs made of bronze inserted into it. Buy it here.

4. Furniture to Garden Benches


The Gardening bench by 5.5 Designers is a concrete bench with built in areas for plants. The Furniture to garden collection consists of three bench styles and 2 chair styles as well as an end table.


The water can evacuate thanks to 2 or 4 perforations (depending upon which bench size) that are attached to the legs. Buy it here.

5. The Ordrupgaard bench

Architect Zaha Hadid's for Mobler is a simple organic bench in solid ash.


It was initially designed as part of the interior of the annex she designed for Ordrupgaard Museum in Charlottenlund just outside Copenhagen. The bench entered PP Møbler´s collection in the spring 2006. Buy it here.

6. The Swilken bench

The Indoor/outdoor bench with ReClaimed² hardwood top and concrete or polished aluminum base by Acronym Design is a beauty. Available in various woods.

The inspiration for the form came from the Swilken Bridge on the 18th Green at St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. This bench follows those principals and uses the simplicity of form to showcase the beauty of the wood. Hidden connections keep the bench sleek. Buy it here.

7. Bovine Benches

I've blogged about them before, but can't mention unsual benches without including the headless bovine benches by Julia Lohmann:

Buy them here.

8. The Nea Studio water bench

Designed by Nina Edwards, is actually a concept bench, but I had to include it. It's a concrete energy-efficient water bench is designed for public parks, cafes, outdoor train, ferry, bus stations and other waiting areas in extreme climates.

It is heated from the earth's energy in cold climates through an underground pipe system. It is cooled in hot climates from pipes connecting to fresh water or to the existing urban water system. Read more about it here.

9. the Inner Beauty bench

The Inner Beauty Bench is crafted from laser cut plywood by Studio Bility in Iceland. With intricate interior designs, the top stays smooth and simple. Buy it here.

10. The Water Bench

The Water Web Bench by Drift Design is a polyurea and efs outdoor bench available in three different patterns and six different colors. Water is pumped from within the bench to flow through the crevices cut into the bench and then back into the sofa.


The Water bench is the first product Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn designed together. Pump and algae solvent are included with the bench. Other colors may be available upon request. Buy it here.

Also worth noting:
The Botanist Designer series of metal benches.
The Whippet Bench by Radi design.
The Lightbench by Frellstedt is a traditionally shaped park bench that is illuminated from within in several color options.

If you want to purchase the Classic Nelson Platform bench or The van der Rohe bench, you can find them at any store that carries authentic Herman Miller and Knoll furniture.

Six Sites That Bring Back The Art of The Mixtape

Three (make that six, because I added three) Hot Mixtape Services That Are Remaking the Art Form
source: Read,Write Web




The elegant simplicity, combined with the tech success of its New York founders, has made Muxtape the mindshare leader in the online mixtape market. Users upload up to 12 MP3 files and then publish their collection. The interface is like one big button and it's a lot of fun to explore different peoples' collections of favorites.

All kinds of mashups have been built on top of Muxtape. See, for example, our coverage of Muxtape With Coverflow [Mac] (pictured below), MuxtapeStumbler, MuxSeek Search Engine and MuxScrobbler - a script to synch your Muxtape listening with your Last.fm user profile.


Muxtape


The newest entrant into this field is much easier to use for publishing collections. Favtape creates a Muxtape-like interface for listening to the full-length version of your Pandora or Last.fm favorited songs.

It's simple, but it's very cool. There are tie ins to Lyric Wiki, a ringtone search, the ability to listen to more songs that are similar or by the artist and other features. It's powered by the Seeqpod API, which must be one of the most popular APIs on the web lately.

Favtape just launched this week, but we really like it already.


MixWit is a Flash mixtape creator with a very nice interface and the ability to embed your player on a web page. This service can have songs added by URL or through Seeqpod or Skreemr MP3 search.

It's a relatively full featured Flash authoring environment and exemplifies the design possibilities that emerge from a confined space. The cassette tape border around images users upload is really visually appealing. It's all pretty easy to use and it's a whole lot of fun. It's more fun to use as a publisher than either of the services above and it might be more fun for listeners too.

It appears that there are some performance issues, though, as the "menu" command often doesn't work with Mixwit. That should bring up a collection of other mixtapes.
Mixwit

The Changing World of Mixtapes

Different mixtape services serve different purposes. The point though is that this art form is becoming easier than ever before.

Mixtapes used to be something you put a lot of time and effort into, typically making one copy to give to one other person. The loss of that art form is a little sad. These services are something very different, they are very public and considering the free music widely available online - scarcity is no longer an issue.

Are these services legal? That's unclear; they are riding a thin line and legal decisions may be made about services like this in the coming years. Streaming, as opposed to full, direct downloads, is a different animal. The original mixtapes were arguably illegal as well, though, and what a loss the world would have suffered if that medium had been strangled.

Left out of the above article, but also worth noting:

project playlist




Splice is an online music production community for editing, mixing, tagging, and collaborating on original songs. Its Flash-based audio sequencer lets you throw together beats and melodies even if you've never edited music before, then share the results with other users.

Splice allows you to:
MEET- Find musicians from all around the globe.
MIX- Make music with the world's most advanced online sequencer, complete with real-time synths and DSP sound effects.
MASH-UP- Add your sounds to the common library. Get rated. Get remixed.

Splice

Brand new to the arena:

Check it out here.
what is a mixtape? see the wikipedia definition along with legal implications here

Fashion Find of The Week: Anna Ter Haar's Sunglasses for Klavers van Engelen

Dutch designer and artist Anna Ter Haar created these unusual 'dripping' sunglasses for the runway show for the 2008 fall/winter collection of Klavers van Engelen. Definitely worth a peek. Unfortunately they are not mass produced. Yet.






see the fashions of Klavers van Engelen here
see the work of Anna Ter Haar here

Unusual Products From Boudewijn van der Poel of Mutt Design

Dutch designer Boudewijn van der Poel of Mutt Design has quite an imagination. He creates some very unusual looking but functional products. Some are available on online stores, others may be available by contacting him directly.

Making its rounds on design blogs is the Ultimate Guncase 3:





Material: ABS, metal parts.
Dimensions: W 44cm, H 34cm, D 16cm / W 17.2" , H 13.3" , D 6.3"
Price $312.00 USD, buy it here.

Kamerscherm.
A room divider that at first glance simply looks like a sophisticated design, but upon closer inspection, you can see that pistol silhouettes create the pattern.

Price: 1199 euro ($1,901.06 USD)

Duraku. Created for a the Tivoli Audio Pal Case contest, this Pal Case houses the radio in a little dragon!




Price upon request

Bad Eend.
Giant (60cm x 60cm x 100cm) polyester ducky with initial heart tattoos:


not for sale.

He seems to have an obsession with housing things in objects of transportation.
The Pick-up Pick-up is a record player encased in a rubber and mdf pick up truck:


Price: 2780 euro ($4,407.80 USD)

The Drankenkabinet is a little vodka bar housed in a submarine:



Price: 3289 euro ($5,214.84 USD)

And the jewelcase is a jewelry armoire in the shape of an armored truck:


The above item has been sold.

A cute little Garden Warrior is available for 79 euros ($125.25 USD):


There's more to see over at Mutt Design

contact details:
Boudewijn van der Poel
Address:
Frogerstraat 6A
1975 BV IJmuiden
the Netherlands
info@muttdesign.nl
0255-577287

Sorry Barbie, But Compared To Mooqla Dolls, You're Just PWT*

If you don't know Mooqla dolls, you're about to be introduced to a series of exotically featured handmade silicone encased plastic dolls clad in the hippest of fashions. They make even Couture Barbie look like some serious *poor white trash.

With delicate features and an almost pensive, sometimes sullen look, they are simultaneously beautiful and macabre.





Made in Russia by the talented Polina Voloshina, the collection consists of several different 'girls' whose fashions are simply fabulous. The detailing is incomparable and the craftsmanship in both the doll and the clothing is very impressive.





A little American goth, a little Japanese animé, a little French fashion and a lot of Russian craftsmanship and ... voila! Dolls that are stunning, bizarre and yes, expensive.

Meet the girls.
Summer Sonya:




Victoria:



Julia:



Maria:




Eve:





Summer Lora:



Lora:



Summer Maya:



Maya:



Emilie:



Tanya:



Summer Tanya:



Sonya:



Anna:



Summer Anna:



Summer Lisa:




Who's behind these creatures?

above: Moscow artist and creator Polina Voloshina

The doll begins with a drawing by Polina:

then a head is crafted:

a silicone encased plastic body that articulates in nine ways is created:


the doll is then sanded and polished to perfection:

and then clad in stunningly designed fashion ensembles, complete with accessories.

The accessory detailing is really incredible:




Prices start at approximately $350.00 USD for the dolls. Additional outfits start at $79.00 USD.

In France, you can purchase them here.


The newest addition is Bunny:

Or you can buy them from their online store here.

Their logo and corporate identity were designed by the talented art.lebedev studio

Kanera Sinks: Like Having A Little Lake In Your Home

Kanera of Germany makes these undulating stunning enamelled steel sinks for kitchen and bathroom. They have three designs. The Kanera E (single large basin) , The Kanera H (single smaller basin) and the Kanera D (the double basin).




The Kanera E:


The smaller hand wash basin KANERA 1 H for guests:


and the innovative double wash basin KANERA 1 D was just introduced:


I love them all because they look and feel like water as well as functioning beautifully. When the sink is plugged, the water pools like a lake:




Above: Founder Christian Kaldewei

Kanera was founded by Christian Kaldewei and is headquartered in Münster, Germany. The product range was established with the exclusive wash basin KANERA 1 E introduced in fall of 2007.



Kanera offers exclusive enamelled steel wash basins for the high-end segment in the professional hotel and apartment construction industry as well as the high-quality end-customer market. All products are developed and manufactured in Germany.

Kanera website



Kanera GmbH & Co. KG
Hafenweg 16
48155 Münster
Germany

Dutch Outdoor Furniture: One To Sit

One to Sit is a fun, friendly and fabulous modern minimalist collection of outdoor furniture designed by Marc Verhoeven and Chris-Jan van Zutphen. Made of pure handmade Dutch workmanship with easy to maintain compounds with teak elements.



The collection consists of a chair, a pouf, a sofa, a low table, a dining table, a lounger, and garden bed (chaise). Available in various colors or with a 'rust' finish. They can also be upholstered.


Made of a lightweight but very strong material, it's easy to clean and maintain. they suggest you simply use car wax twice a year to keep the pieces free of debris!

Take a look at some pieces from the collection:











Arms are available in teak or metal:



Upholstered cushions are available for the pieces:




Or the pieces themselves can be upholstered in Sunbrella fabrics:


With the Rust finish:


Above: To give One To Sit furniture the 'rusty' look, a special procedure that applies a layer of iron is put on the furniture. Then oxidation takes place. To assure that your clothes don't get stained or that the rust doesn't fleck off, a matte coat finish is then applied.

Contact info:
Eisenhowerweg 21
5466 AB VEGHEL
The Netherlands
T +31 413 351272
F +31 413 343033
info@onetosit.nl

This collection would look great next to another fun dutch outdoor product, the Dutchtub!

To Celebrate Oz's 70th, Designers Re-do Dorothy's Kicks With Proceeds Benefitting Charity

Above: Sergio Rossi, Gwen Stefani and Moschino's sketches of their versions of Dorothy’s ruby slippers


Above: Faded ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, designed by Hollywood costume designer Gilbert Adrian, 1938. His first Arabian-style test pair was deemed too exotic for Dorothy (now in a Private collection.)

The Press Release, May 17, 2008:

Warner Bros. Consumer Products and CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements Embark on a Ruby Crystal-Studded 70th Anniversary Celebration of The Wizard of Oz

"If Dorothy were living in the 21st century, what would she wear?" is the question being answered by The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection, a creative re-interpretation of one of film's most iconic and revered symbols that has captured the hearts and imaginations of people the world over.


Above: Jimmy Choo sketch

In anticipation of the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz in 2009, Warner Bros. Consumer Products in partnership with CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements, have invited the world's top shoe designers to reinterpret Dorothy's iconic Ruby Slippers for modern times. The exclusive collection will be auctioned with the proceeds benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.


Above: Amy Smilovic for Tibi sketch

Contemporary works of art from the likes of fashion masterminds A. Testoni, Abaete, Alberta Ferretti Betsey Johnson, Botkier, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Lisa Pliner, Manolo Blahnik, Moschino, Oscar de la Renta, Roger Vivier, Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman, Tibi, and Tuleh will compose The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection.


Above: A. Testoni sketch

"The Wizard of Oz is a quintessential and endearing story that has touched countless people all over the world during the last 70 years," said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We are proud to be the stewards of this timeless classic and are excited to share with fans the beautiful and fun modern interpretations of Dorothy's Ruby Slipper with this exciting new collection."


Above: Betsey Johnson sketch

Nadja Swarovski adds, "We're thrilled to turn fashion's spotlight on the most iconic pair of shoes, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. As Hollywood's premier crystal purveyor, Swarovski feels privileged to be a sparkling element of the original pair and now, we are looking forward to new creative interpretations of the Ruby Slipper for the 21st century by these talented designers."


Above: Botkier sketch

The designers have been granted creative license and access to unlimited CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements to re-imagine Dorothy's design with their own modern vision of the sparkling Ruby Slipper. The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection will be on display for one week and officially unveiled at Saks Fifth Avenue - in the famed Fifth Avenue windows and 10022-SHOE - the designer shoe salon that's so big it has its own zip code. An in-store gala event on the evening of September 4 will launch Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The event will benefit philanthropic partner Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and kick-off support for the Foundation's annual Kids for Kids Family Carnival.

Steve Sadove, Chairman and CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue said, "We are so pleased to be hosting such a creative and innovative tribute to the American classic film The Wizard of Oz. The Ruby Slippers play an integral role in the film and Saks Fifth Avenue is honored to be the destination for the most celebrated designers and their contemporary take on these iconic shoes."

The Collection will also be showcased at an incredible installation surrounding the famed fountain area at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's Bryant Park tents beginning September 5th.

"It's only appropriate to bring such a cultural icon to center stage at this season's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week," said IMG Fashion Senior Vice President Fern Mallis. "The Wizard of Oz is a true classic, it will never go out of style and who doesn't want a pair of Ruby Slippers?"


Above: Gwen Stefani, L.A.M.B. sketch

After Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week wraps the Ruby Slipper Collection will make an appearance at Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's Kids for Kids Family Carnival in New York City's Park Avenue Armory Building on September 20. "We are absolutely delighted to be a part of this re-imagining of the Ruby Slippers--these iconic fashion images that also represent the power of positive thinking," says Pamela W. Barnes, CEO and President of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. "We are certain that the Ruby Slipper Collection will inspire the hearts and imaginations of the next generation as we work together to combat HIV/AIDS around the world."

Additional stops for the Collection include Miami Art Week to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach December 4-8th. Multiple public viewings are planned throughout 2009.

Following a year of being highlighted at special events around the country, the complete and original The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection will be auctioned at a gala event in fall 2009 with the proceeds benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

About The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved and iconic motion pictures of all time filled with timeless sentiments and values cherished by multiple generations. Originally released in 1939, more than one billion consumers have experienced the classic story of Dorothy and friends in the Land of Oz


Above: A still from Warner Brother's Wizard Of Oz, 1939

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements

CRYSTALLIZED(TM) is the brand name for all loose crystal elements by Swarovski, the world's leading producer of precision-cut crystal. Over the past decades CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements have become an essential ingredient in international fashion and design. The unique brand tag "Made with CRYSTALLIZED(TM) - Swarovski Elements" serves as quality proof of the customers' products to enhance the value and provide consumers assurance that they are buying the finest quality in crystal. For more information please visit WWW.CRYSTALLIZED.COM.

About Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue, one of the world's pre-eminent specialty retailers, is renowned for its superlative American and international designer apparel collections, its expertly edited assortment of handbags, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics and gifts, and the first-rate fashion expertise and exemplary client service of its Associates. Today, Saks operates 54 full-line stores in 25 states, three licensed stores in Mexico City, Dubai and Riyadh, 49 Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH stores and saks.com, the company's online store.

About Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation


The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS. Its innovative research programs, collaborative training initiatives, advocacy efforts, and rapidly expanding international prevention and treatment programs are bringing dramatic changes to the lives of children worldwide. To learn more about the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and its programs, visit www.pedaids.org.

THE WIZARD OF OZ and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (C) Turner Entertainment Co. (s08)Edelman Holly Fussell, 212-704-8132 Holly.Fussell@edelman.com Matt Lifson, 323-202-1047 matthew.lifson@edelman.com or Warner Bros. Consumer Products Kerstine Johnson, 818-954-3821 kerstine.johnson@wbconsultant.com

Eero Aarnio's Copacabana Guitar for Lottonen

Designed by Eero Aarnio, The Copacabana Guitar is made in collaboration with Lottonen Guitars and is handmade by in Finland by Juha Lottonen. It's limited to 100 handmade guitars, and each is signed and numbered.



The Copa's truss rod cover and the control plates are exactly the same fiberglass as used in original Eero Aarnio´s Ballchair and Pastilchair (shown below).




The woods used in Copacabana Guitar are harvested from eco-friendly heat-modified Finnish woods.



Above: The CopaBucker pick up has a the second coil that is 1 – 1,5 kOhm more powerful. This is why the sound does not run away through the backstage and out the door when the pick up is split in half. Designed by Rami Hakala, Pickup Engineer of Mikki House.

Technical specs:


Body: Finnish Aspen
Neck: Finnish Alder, Bolted Steel Truss Rod
Fingerboard: Harvested East Indian Rosewood (12" Radius )
Tuners: Chrome Plated
Frets: VanGent
Pickup: Chrome Plated CopaBucker. Custom humbucker with coil-tap capability made by Mikki House.
Controls: One Volume, One Tone
Tailpiece/Bridge: Chrome Plated
Colors: Original Copacabana Red, Yellow, Orange, Green and Black. White is also available.
Finish: High Gloss Polyurethane
Other Features: Mother of Pearl Dots, Bone Nut, Tank Knobs, Endpin Jack
Dimensions:
Neck: Width At Nut 42.85 mm
Scale Length: 24 3/4"
Overall Length: 970 mm
Weight:
2,8 kg


Above: Eero Aarnio (left) with Antti J. Kallio, chairman of the Plectra Guitar Association, at the Copacabana guitar launch at Design Hotel KlausK, in Helsinki, May 2006.

You can contact them via telephone (Tel. +358 (0)50 359 2000) or visit the website here.

Nine New Fun Finds

Looking for something unusual as a gift? or for yourself? Here are nine new fun finds from top left clockwise:
• Screech Owl Designs cards of birds on modern chairs
• Set of melamine plates by Jon Nagle from SCAD
• Wood veneered metal magnetic boards
• Dog head mirror on TranSglass® by Tord Boontje and Emma Woffenden
• Emilio Pucci pens By Omas
• Croco wood pine outdoor bench
• The Water Web Bench by Drift Design
• The Goodnight Glider modern rocking chair for nurseries
And, in the center:
• Joris Laarman's cool wirepod for Artenica, a multi outlet that's too pretty to hide

Just click on the image above for more details and place of purchase.

Yamaha: The Key For You

At this past Milan design week, designer Yves Plattard and Yamaha displayed a unique concept called “key between you” that aimed to create a more intimate environment for performances by bringing the musician and the audience together.



They created a series of seven instrument prototypes designed to do just that and they are really spectacular looking and conceptually unique. Below are each of the instruments preceded by the designer and the designer's message taken from the catalog from the exhibit.














































www.yamaha.com

Cool Designs To Keep You Warm: Heated Towel Racks & Modern Radiators

Above: The fantasy radiator by Brandoni

I've written about the plethora of unusual looking radiators and heated towel racks before..... however a bunch of new ones have emerged on the market, several introduced at recent design shows. It amazes me how the designs continue to get even more unusual and yet still remain functional.

There are so many wonderful examples of all types of different looking water heated radiators, electric radiators, wall mounted radiators, freestanding radiators, even towel racks, that I could only share with you some of my favorites. And here they are:


Above: The radiator model “Oblò – oval” by Brandoni Radiators, has won the “Comfort & Design 2008” Award raffled from the International Fair in Milan.

In addition to their award winning radiator shown above, Brandoni has many beautiful and unusual designs from their new 2008 and last year's 2007 collections. See just some of my personal favorites below.


My Image:

Fantasy:

Pan:

Slalom:

Londra:

Fashion:


Brandoni is only one of the several companies who've turned radiators into works of art and sculpture.

From Deltacalor Design

Bambù:


From Tubes Radiatori

Rimorchietto:

Albatros:

Matitione:

Pallottoliere:

Add-On (heated towel rack) by Satyendra Pakhalé:


Squares (heated towel rack, available in square or rectangular):


From Irsap

Medusa by Luigi Molinis:

The Cubo:

The Petra:

The Keyos:

Curval by Marcello Maniscalchi, Jessica Chon:


The Aeon Collection

Honeycomb:

Millenium:

Abacus:

Abacus (illuminated):

Ecstacy:

Marbella (stone, concrete or granite):

Totem:


And all of these unusual radiators from Ridea of Italy

SHINE: A black bright circle, in contrast with brilliant Swarovski crystals, which spell out the word "shine". A luminous stripe and a cut out that serves as a towel rack:



CROK: crocodile textured leather set within a stainless steel frame:



FLOWER POWER:



ROSE: A contrasting handle on an etched panel

LEAVES:


CHEESE:

CHEESE B:

HOLES:

GARDEN: Three disks joined together with silver floral accents.



And from Jaga the company that brought you the highly publicized 'heatwave' radiator by Joris Laarman for Droog,


the Know You Wood series:





From Bisque

The Xtreme:

The Zanzibar:


The La Scala:


The Outline:


The DNA:


From MHS radiators
The Boreas:

The Hose:

The Nuage (illuminated):


Although not my style, the following radiators get bonus points for being unique:
From Radiating Style, comes the slab cindier and metal radiators:

And for music lovers:
The Piano, The Harp and the Pan Flute radiators from Carisa:



Here are 2 other posts I've written on fabulous radiators, be sure to check them out:

Caleidos Newest Rockin' radiators.
It's Sculpture. It's Art. No, It's A Radiator.

Scandinavian Luxe: LYX Furniture Designer Michael Malmborg

If you know any of Michael Malmborg's work, chances are you know the Wing Lounge Chair, shown below, given it's extensive coverage on design blogs and furniture design sites (as well as being featured in a Nikon Coolpix commercial starring Ashton Kutcher):

WING Lounge Chair:

A reincarnation of the classic wing chair, created for the future. This recliner is made for serious cocooning and is the closest you can get to weightlessness. The upholstery in the Wing Chair is made by open cell visco elastic memory foam, developed by NASA and used in all spacecrafts.

The foam adapts to our body shape and temperature leaving you in cosmic comfort. WING Lounge Chair is the first and only chair ever to be certified by The Space Foundation – tested and recognized by NASA. WING is also the biggest single piece of bendwood ever used to create a chair.



But what you may not know is that Michael is the founder of LYX, a luxury Scandinavian furniture and lighting store, and has several other unusual pieces of furniture worth noting.

Moduluxe Sofa:


A fully flexible design that allows you to design the perfect sofa, using a number of modules. And not only can you combine different types of upholstery like soft Swedish leather and fine Danish fabric. You can also select a base for the sofa that matches your style

Tripps coffee table:


The thick wooden or hi-gloss painted top engraved and supported by mirror polished aluminum.

Zig zag chair:


This serpent inspired lounge chair almost forces the spectator to examine it closely. And despite it’s abstract look, it’s quite comfortable. The strong aluminum alloy frame and a thick layer of supporting foam, it perfectly balances the weight of anyone who dares.

Roy Maccassar Dining Table:


The solid Roy table is extendable from 6 to 10 seats with ample of space for animated get together’s (390 cm / 12.5 ft). The unique extension mechanism is seamless using the latest magnet technology.

The Pris Chair:

The Pris chairs are made with thick mirror polished aluminum frame and very generous upholstery. They are also available with or without armrests and with a low or high back.

Bongo lounge table:


The thick acrylic board, with naturally frosted edges from the water cutting, creates a magic effect. Especially at night or in a dark room when the table acts like a luminary as the edges catches light and reflections in the dark.

The Cell coffee table:

A combination of soft, rounded lines and hard, mirror polished stainless steel gives Cell a techno-organic look. The fine wood, together with its solid form and handmade quality, creates quiet elegance and luxury.

Lightspeaker Lamp:

It is shaped like a loudspeaker, but instead of emitting sound it emits light. The "bass & treble reflectors" in the polished white acrylic box are really light reflectors with mirror topped bulbs. And the volume control is really a dimmer.

The LightAir ion purifier:

The LightAir is probably the world’s most efficient air purifier without even looking like one! It pleases the eye and restores the body - the unique technology combined with award winning design delivers 99.94% clean air. The simple transparent form feels at home in any environment. No expensive filters need to be replaced – just clean the collector when necessary.


Above: LYX founder Michael Malmborg

About LYX:

LYX is the Swedish word for luxury. Rooted in the Scandinavian designs of the 60s and 70s – their furniture and lighting embody pure, simple and clean lines. LYX exists for customers that are special, both in taste and in their willingness to spend a little bit more on a unique piece of furniture.

Their pieces are handmade, of high quality and not in high volume, which adds a bit more to their worth and cost. The pieces are inspired by the traditional Scandinavian design, but makes a stronger and more luxurious statement.

LYX has been published in +100 international media since the premiere in November 2003.

Visit LYX here.

Julian Wolkenstein's Unusual Photography

Photographer Julian Wolkenstein has shot a lot of images you are probably familiar with. Having photographed large ad campaigns for food, cars, airlines and more, you've come across his commercial photography for everything from Sony and Vodaphone to Snickers in many international publications.

While he's an adept portraitist, landscape and commercial photographer (his work is really beautiful), it's his non-commissioned work that I find so interesting because it is both simultaneously beautiful and bizarre.

Take a look:

People as pets:




Horses with hair:




Yawning people portraits:




See all his work here.

Omas Planet Pens Are Out Of This World! Marte Limited, Gaia & Apollo 11

These three amazingly detailed limited edition luxury writing instruments from Italian pen maker, Omas, are from their Discovery series. Although the series has 5 different products, it's these three pens that represent space exploration that I find really interesting.

The Marte Limited edition (Mars excursions):


The artistic representation in rose gold of the surface of Mars has the faithful map of the red planet. We rediscover Olympus Mons (the highest point), Hellas Planitia (the lowest point), the Herschel, Huygens, Schiapparelli, Cassini, Gale and Lowell craters, the Walles Marineris, the incredible system of canyons, which in reality, is more than 4000 km long and up to 10000 m deep.


Above: The dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) of the polar caps is a succession of small, brilliant diamonds equal to 2k.

Four rubies indicate the landing points in chronological order : Mars 3 (URSS) which landed on December, 2nd 1971 in the Terra Sirenum, of the Viking 1, the American probe which landed on July, 20th 1976 in the Chryse Planitia and of the Viking 2, another American probe which landed on September, 3rd of the same year in the Utopia Planitia.



Lastly the representation of Mars Pathfinder (USA) which landed on July, 4th 1997 in the Chryse Planitia, an area with immense channels, a consequence of great catastrophes which were excavated in a few weeks by gigantic volumes of water. Martian time is engraved onto the final ring of the nib holder on which we also find the expected dates for the next trips: 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 inside the simulation of the “Schiapparelli Tracciato”.



The clip, shiny on the front and engraved on its sides, is a detail of Tycho Brahe’s Mural Quadrant, the astronomer to whom we owe the foundations of the modern day laws of planetary motion as he was able to detect, thanks to this system and with great precision, the position of a heavenly body.



Finally the nib, also in rose gold, upon which appears a half-bust of the Greek god, an emblematic signature of the fascinating adventure.
Price: $43,000.00 USD

The Gaïa: "Trip to the centre of the Earth":



The depths of the Earth, like the sky, have since the most remote ancient times, inspired in Man wonder, curiosity and deep interest which has led fantastic visions of the underground world. This refined fountain pen represents the interpretation of a symbolic and fantastic trip to the centre of the Earth.




The Limited Edition “Gaïa”, Omas has exclusively used precious materials, like the yellow and white gold 18K and the Omas "Gaïa Grey” vegetable resin; the Crystal Rock, the Onyx, the Hematite, the Emerald and the Diamond, brillant cut, contribute to enrich and to embellish the body and the cap of the fountain pen.



On the bicolour nib, in gold 18K, a precious and refined engraving completes the fountain pen. The Limited Edition "Gaïa" is available in 30 piston fountain pens.
Price: $37,000.00 USD

The Apollo 11:

An artistic interpretation in white 18K gold commemorating the landing on the Moon: this event represented a crucial moment in the History of Humanity and has been commemorated on occasion of the 30th Anniversary.




The pen is made of dark blue vegetable resin, mixed with silver dust, evocative of the starry sky. The body and the cap represent two different themes: Men on the Moon, on the cap, robots collecting Moon samples, on the barrel.


The rhodium plated 18K nib is engraved with the mission coats of arms: the Eagle named “Columbia and Eagle”. A genuine work of art made in 69 numbered pieces by French goldsmiths. Piston filling system.
Price: $35,000.00USD



How can you purchase one? Go here to see a list of worldwide dealers and distributors.
contact info:

Omas S.r.l. - Via del Fonditore 10 - 40138 Bologna Italy Tel ++39 051 6027911 Fax ++39 051 6027980 Email info@omas.com P.Iva 00305800377

Funky Find Of The Week: The Wirepod from Joris Laarman for Artecnica

Trade that ugly power strip in for this pretty way to plug in.

WirePod
Designed by Joris Laarman
Artecnica Inc.

©2008 Artecnica Inc.
Multi-outlet power pod
Four grounded outlets with incorporated extension cord and surge suppressor
Thermoplastic rubber
UL, PSE, and CE listed for indoor use
12.5 ft / 3.8 m power cord
18.9 in x 28.9 in x 1.9 in / 48.0 cm x 73.4 cm x 1.8 cm (rolled up)
12.5 ft
3.8 m

learn more here.

Raise Your Glass To chilli chilly's Artist Series Drinking Glasses With Matching Coasters

Chilli Chilly has a fun series of 13 different limited edition artist designed drinking glasses and coaster sets. They come packaged in a unique design of a canister and each glass has a matching coaster. Chilli Chilly also sells the coasters alone as sets of four.

Genevieve Gauckler:

Boris Telegen, aka Delta:

Will Sweeney:

Kozydan:

Kimiyoshi Futori:

Pars:

Supermundane:

Rinzen:

Kam Tang:

Delaware:

Chisato Shinya:

Phunk Studio:

Saiman Chow:


- Limited Edition Artist Series Glass and Coaster Sets
- Set comes packages in specially designed cardboard canister:
- Glass is 6.5” high and holds 12 ounces
- Coaster is 4” in diameter
- Dishwasher Safe

The coasters are also sold in sets of four and can be found at Molla Space along with the glasses.

Buy the coasters or glasses here.

The four below (pars, Supermundane, Kam Tang and Rinzen) are also available at delight.com

Buy them here.

To see all of the 14 designer glasses and learn more, checkout Chillichilly here.

Yes, there is a hip place to stay in Kentucky: The 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville

21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY is the first of its kind — a 91-room hotel dedicated to world class luxuries, Southern-style hospitality and contemporary art from living artists, exhibited throughout its galleries and public space.




Above: some of the art in the hotel and restaurant



Among the many upscale offerings: iPods with a wide variety of music for guests' listening pleasure, award winning design and décor, poster art, 42" HDTV flat screen televisions, WiFi, 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets imported from Italy crowning the exquisite bedding, silver mint julep cups, gourmet coffee makers, mini-bar refrigerators, Malin + Goetz bath amenities, and nightly turn down and Concierge services.






The hotel also offers a full exercise facility with a steam room, sauna and spa services. And, of course, penguins.

The hotel features a 9,000 square foot contemporary art museum funded and managed by the International Contemporary Art Foundation. This stunning collection of cutting-edge art inspired the naming of this property and influenced the creation of the museum and hotel. For the finest in libations and culinary creations, Proof On Main, managed by ACE Unlimited, is among the nation's top best new restaurants.



Proof on Main offers a winning combination of inventive yet accessible food and beverage paired with warm, professional service to downtown Louisville, KY. Housed in five historic buildings, Proof on Main is part of the new 21c Museum Hotel.


Above: Proof on main can also accommodate meetings and events

Opened in March 2006 and developed by Louisville philanthropists and art collectors, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Proof was honored to be named as one of “Best New Restaurants 2006,” by Esquire. Proof on Main, 702 W. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202



21c Museum Hotel was developed by Louisville investors and contemporary art collectors, Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown. They have provided many years of leadership and financial support for programs and projects that have promoted the cultural and intellectual promise of Louisville and its citizens.


Above: the 21c Museum gift shop.

Visit the 21c Museum here.
Visit the hotel for more info here.

Tag, You're It! Graffiti Is Appearing Everywhere And On Everything.

Graffiti: Etymology: Italian, plural of graffito [scribbling; graffito, a scratch]: usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.
(source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)


above: Graffiti by tagger 'sweet'

Graffiti, once synonymous with vandalism, reached an art form several decades ago. It was way back in 1972 that Hugo Martinez founded the UGA- United Graffiti Artists. It didn't take long to permeate the skater and surfer scene, where it lay for a long time. But in recent years it's crept from edgy to mainstream.

As an art form, Graffiti has reached such a level of status that it is frequently referred to as 'street art' or 'urban art' as opposed to vandalism, tagging and graffiti. And many artists have traded in walls for canvases. Even selling prints and gicleés on ebay and in surf and skateboard shops. Right now, street artist Banksy is setting the art world afire fetching prices on par with paintings by Renaissance masters.


Above: Artist José Parla at work.

Above: Banksy's Tesco Flag

Above: Banksy's Flower Chucker on canvas.

The combination of street graffiti and luxury was a huge hit when Marc Jacobs thought to combine Stephen Sprouse graffiti with Louis Vuitton bags in 2001. The collection sold like hotcakes and is still in great demand today.



Above: the Stephen Sprouse Collection for Louis Vuitton.

Several designers have taken the urban art form and made into actual furniture. Industrial designer and former tagger, Luis Alicandu from Caracas, Venezuela, now living in London, has designed and created the following pieces. Unfortunately they are not mass produced and are not available for purchase.







To learn more about Luis Alicandu a.k.a. CacoUno (his Graffiti tag nickname), or to help him produce these great pieces, go here.

Another furniture line inspired by graffiti is one from the design duo Jimmie and Martin of Jimmie Martin Ltd. By adding graffiti and unusual paint finishes to traditional furniture, they've created a unique niche for the aesthetically trendy. I will be doing a major post on Jimmie Martin in the near future so you can see all of their great work.

Here are some pieces from their Graffiti series:




Jimmie Martin Ltd

Verona and Romeo and Juliet have been inspired by Anna James's visits to Juliet's house in Verona, Italy. She is totally captivated by the graffiti covering the walls at the archway entrance, all of it being declarations of love by visiting lovers, of all ages, from all over the world. The colours, and the messages create completely unique images.



Anna devised a process to replicate the walls on furniture, by taking a series of digital images, which she then transposed onto her carefully prepared period pieces. Because messages are constantly being added to the walls, Anna's design for her Verona furniture is unique to a particular moment in time, and gives each piece it's own individual artwork and identity.


Love Anna James

Angel Ortiz was a New York street artist whose collaboration with other well-known 1980s artist such as Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, brought him recognition. The pieces below were assembled with a venturesome commitment to emerging artists. L.A. II. In 2006, these great looking pieces by tagger Angel Ortiz were sold at an art auction:


Above: Angel Ortiz, L.A. II, Birch armoire with two doors and three drawers decorated with graffiti designs in black and silver marker. Signed and tagged throughout. 72" x 32" x 17" Sold for $3,000.00


Above: Angel Ortiz, L.A. II, Birch plywood six-drawer dresser decorated with graffiti designs in black and silver marker. Signed and tagged throughout. 30" x 48" x 16 1/2" Sold for $2,640.00
Angel Ortiz


Above: Angel Ortiz, L.A. II, Glass vase decorated with silver paint pen. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the artist. Signed and tagged throughout. 13 3/4" x 12", sold for $600.00

Is Graffiti the next plaid?

Now it's not only left the walls and subway trains to jump to canvases and rebel galleries, but graffiti has found it's way onto everything from apparel to housewares. There are graffiti lamps, belts, pillows, bath towels, jewelry, and much, much more. In several instances it's even offered as a pattern choice. Solids, stripes or graffiti?

Even athletic shoe company, New Balance, had just released Graffiti kicks in two color variations, joining Converse who already offers a Graffiti hi-top. And street artists, Stash and Sket One are designing custom area rugs.


Above: limited edition wool rugs by tagger Stash.

Above: limited edition wool rugs by tagger Sket.

More than one company has produced dinnerware in graffiti styles and now, with Furniture Graphics, you can have a graffiti sideboard to store it in.


Above: Cabinets by brothers Niclas Collen and Jesper Zacco of Furniture Graphics.

25-year-old, Toronto-based graffitist Matthieu Missiaen even makes custom 'graffiti' shoes under the label Ndeur:


You can buy Ndeur's custom fabulous shoes here on etsy
Ndeur's site

There are so many more items on the market and below are some examples. Just click on each image to be taken to a place for more information and a link to purchase.

There are graffiti coloring books, how to books, typefaces or fonts, wall stickers, the Graffiti Creator, an online graffiti text generator, laptop skins, even Dell computer collaborated with artist Mike Ming to design 2 limited edition laptops.


See the Mike Ming edition Dell laptops here.

Dell is not the only large company to collaborate with street and graffiti artists to sell products. Adidas had a great project named End 2 End where they hired 7 street artists to decorate shoes.

See the End 2 End sneaks here.

Coming soon from Boost Mobile is a collaboration with artists MINT and SERF (from the East Coast) and MAINFRAME (from the West Coast) to produce the desktop speakers seen below.


You can pre-order the speakers here.

Beverage Company AriZona has release a graffiti-themed energy drink named All City NRG in appropriately graffiti-decorated cans:

Originating in Brooklyn, AriZona pays tribute to all cities with a colorful energy drink featured in 3 limited edition subway series cans. This bold NON-CARBONATED drink combines pomegranate flavor, green tea and a high energy performance blend. Buy it here.

Alison Nelson's Chocolate Bar of NY makes Graffiti chocolate bars, each decorated by a different graffiti artist with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The All Stars Project:


Also available in a gift box as a set of ten:

Buy the chocolate bars here.

Graffiti Taxonomy is an ongoing project by Evan Roth which presents isolated letters from various graffiti tags, reproduced in similar scales and at close proximity. The intent of these studies is to show the diversity of styles as expressed in a single character.



Above: The 'S' is reproduced from photographs of tags taken in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He is currently seeking any leads for funding or from publications that would allow me to complete each letter of the alphabet from tags found throughout New York City. Please send any leads to Evan at fi5e@ni9e.com.


You can buy prints of his Graffiti Taxonomy here.

My Lord! You can even buy a religious Graffiti sticker:

Get the Graffiti Jesus sticker or magnet here.

And yes, the trend has even hit the baby demographic.


Above left: personalized baby sleepsuit from Stardust.
Above right: graffiti rockin' blocks available on etsy

There are graffiti inspired blocks, custom personalized onesies and even custom graffiti hats and clothes for toddlers. Timberland even makes Nubuck graffiti boots for toddlers!

Buy them here (and they are on sale now).

And for your canine companions, you can get Graffiti collars and leads!:

Buy them here.

And jackets:

Buy them here.



Above: You can download a fun coloring book of unadorned graffiti settings (drawn as line art) of dumpsters, subway trains, mailboxes and more to practice your street art upon from Fake Corporation of America.



Above: bombings by Sweet Uno

A brief history of Graffiti:

In America around the late 1960s, graffiti was used as a form of expression by political activists, and also by gangs such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia, and Savage Nomads to mark territory. Towards the end of the 1960s, the signatures (called 'tags')of Philadelphia graffiti writers Top Cat, Cool Earl and Cornbread started to appear.

Around 1970-71, the center of graffiti innovation moved to New York City where writers following in the wake of TAKI 183 and Tracy 168 would add their street number to their nickname, "bomb" a train with their work, and let the subway take it—and their fame, if it was impressive, or simply pervasive, enough—"all city". Bubble lettering held sway initially among writers from the Bronx, though the elaborate Brooklyn style Tracy 168 dubbed "wildstyle" would come to define the art.[8][10] The early trendsetters were joined in the 70s by artists like Dondi, Futura 2000, Daze, Blade, Lee, Zephyr, Rammellzee, Crash, Kel, NOC 167 and Lady Pink.

By 1971 tags began to take on their signature calligraphic appearance because, due to the huge number of artists, each graffiti artist needed a way to distinguish themselves. Aside from the growing complexity and creativity, tags also began to grow in size and scale – for example, many artists had begun to increase letter size and line thickness, as well as outlining their tags. This gave birth to the so-called 'masterpiece' or 'piece' in 1972. Super Kool 223 is credited as being the first to do these pieces. (source: Wikipedia).

Links about graffiti:
Graffiti as defined by Wikipedia Tons of info, resources and links
History Of Graffiti (UCL, London's Global University)
Graffiti Art & Crime (UC Berkeley)
Time Magazines archive of Graffiti articles
The National Alliance Of Gang Investigator's Associations (how they define gang graffiti).
Graffiti News- a blog for graffiti writers
Fatcap - a worldwide graffiti blog
Graffiti Research Lab
Art Crimes: Best Graffiti Sites list
Graff Inc (Graffiti supplies, stores and pictures)
Tags Are Known (Giant archive of photos of graffiti and links)
Known Gallery
Arkitip
12oz prophet (online graffiti community)
Graff City (supplies)
Worldwide Writers Graffiti site (online community and more)


Above: "Cereal Killers' wall by Stet One.

Links To Some Interesting Street & Urban Artists' Sites:
Alexone
Boris Hoppek
Beautiful Decay
Sket One
Shepard Fairey's Obey Giant
Bansky
Faille
José Parla
Jersey Joe
Krink
Art Crimes' Featured Artists (graffiti.org)
The Savager
Pure Graffiti
Guerilla One
Stash's Recon store
Superfreshdesign
Siloette
Wooster Collective's Graffiti Archives
Zephyr Graffiti


Above: the Santa Ana Police Department uses the above poster to help parents to determine whether or not their child is a tagger. Hilarious.
TAGGER LANGUAGE: (as defined by NAGIA)

Battle: A contest between crews, judged on hits.
Bomb: Multicolored tag in large bubble letters.
Buff: To remove graffiti
Crew: Group of individuals that tag together.
Caps: (Fat/skinny) Spray can nozzles used to vary the style and width of paint.
Fade: To blend colors.
Fresh: Really good graffiti.
Get Up: To put up a large amount of graffiti tags.
Graf: Graffiti
Heavens: Hard to reach high areas such as freeway signs and the tops/upper floors of buildings.
Hit/Hit Up: To tag.
Landmarks: A prime location where graffiti won't quickly be erased.
Mob: A whole crew doing graffiti on a wall at the same time.
Piece Book: A tagger's sketch book.
Rack: To steal from off the store rack.
Streak: Short for mean streak, solid paint stick that looks like chalk and is used on dark surfaces.
Tag Banging: To use violence to defend a tag.
Toy: A new, inexperienced writer.
Throw Up: One layer of spray paint filling in bubble letters that are outlined in another color.
Wild style: A complicated piece constructed with interlocking letters.
Yard/Train Yard: Gathering place.
Zine: Short for magazines.

Wish you could be a tagger but you're too old? Too conservative? Too safe? Well, here are ways to get the thrill without the criminal record. See more graffiti inspired items you can buy on my Tag, you're it! Graffiti inspired items list at ThisNext.

Visionaire Issue #54 SPORT: Polo Shirts As Art

The latest issue of Visionaire is out and this time issue #54: SPORT is a collaboration with Lacoste. It consists of their famous polo shirts featuring printed imagery by several artists that are sold in 4 various sets of three, each consisting of a size Large, a Medium and a Small polo shirt along with the book. All 12 shirts along with the accompanying books is available as a set as well.





Using the most advanced printing technologies, Visionaire produces full-coverage, full-color, photographically-printed Lacoste polo shirts featuring artwork by photographers Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin with M/M (Paris), Phil Poynter; artists Thomas Demand, Thomas Ruff, T.J. Wilcox; designer Karl Lagerfeld; filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar; musicians David Byrne, Michael Stipe; and painter Richard Phillips.





SPORT is produced as four different sets, each containing three printed Lacoste polo shirts embedded within its pages: one large, one medium, and one small, as well as a book featuring all twelve images.

Each set sold separately:

Set 1 includes
Nick Knight (Large)
Karl Lagerfeld (Medium)
Michael Stipe (Small)
$250.00

Set 2 includes
Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh
Matadin with M/M (Paris) (Large)
Thomas Demand (Medium)
David Byrne (Small)
$250.00

Set 3 includes
Peter Lindbergh (Large)
Thomas Ruff (Medium)
Pedro Almodovar (Small)
$250.00

Set 4 includes
Richard Phillips (Large)
TJ Wilcox (Medium)
Phil Poynter (Small)
$250.00

Above: All 4 Sets, Price $1000.0o


This issue is a collaboration with Lacoste, currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Visionaire

Make That New iPhone Even Hipper! Ways to Pimp The 3G iPhone

Okay, so it's not news that Apple's eagerly anticipated 3G iPhone (or iPhone 2.0) goes on sale tomorrow. Many thousands of people will be anxiously awaiting their new gadget and signing up for phone plans as though they've never before had a phone.

So, how do you make yours more hip than everyone else's? Customize that sucker! And here are a few ways to do it and links to all the places:

Make it a fun color at Colorware:


Colorware

Or buy from Continetal Mobile's Vivid Color Collection:


Continental Mobile's Vivid Collection

Make it 18k yellow, white or rose gold:



Continental 18k gold iphones

Or yellow or rose gold plated from Gold Genie:


Goldgenie

Or 24k gold plated iphones:

Goldstriker

more 24k plated iphones:



icandy phones

Paul Knight of Knight Creations has a special technology that coats the iPhone casing with a layer of TiN and TiAlN (Titanium-Nitrogen, and Titanium-Aluminum-Nitrogen) through a process known as "plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition."

What you get is an anodized iPhone casing (matte black to match the black plastic cover) and an Apple logo finished in the TiN or TiAlN. The TiN coating gives the Apple logo a shiny Gold presence, while the TiAlN coating gives the logo an understated, stealthy look.

Knight Creations

Even Platinum iphones can be had:

also at Goldstriker

Epilog Laser sells an engraving device that allows you to engrave your iphone:


Etchstar will custom laser engrave your iphone for you:


etchstar
As will ETCHamac
Appletattoo will gold plate, crystallize or laser etch your iphone.

And of course, blinged out iPhones, with real diamonds or with Swarovski crystals will separate your iPhone from the crowd.

Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson's custom diamond iPhone with princess cut stones has a total diamond weight of between 16.50 – 17.75 carats:


He also has one with brilliant cut (round) stones only weighing 6.42 carats:

Peter Aloisson

Bling King Alexander Amosu's diamond iphone:

Amosu

Bling My Thing has many custom Swarovski Crystal iphones to choose from:


Bling My Thing

Can't afford gold plating or special custom colors? Then try one of the many protective 'skins' on the market.

istyles has several inexpensive ones:

istyles

And Gelaskins offers amazing artist designed removable skins for the iphone (yes, for the new one) that comes with matching wallpaper.


And even one by