The Modern Letter Opener from Hannah Martin London Is Now Available.

Hannah Martin of London, known for their elegant and modern jewelry designs, was set the task of reinventing the traditional letter opener by Wallpaper* Magazine earlier this year, as part of their 'Handmade' Issue.



above: sketches and protoypes of the letter opener

They had so many requests to put this into production, they caved under popular demand and have put the beautiful desk accessory into production in three finishes.

Anthracite Grey (solid brass with a grey powder-coated finish):



Intense Navy (solid brass with a navy blue powder-coated finish):



Silver (solid brass with heavy sterling silver plate):



The beautiful modern letter opener goes on sale Friday (tomorrow) at London's Design Museum in Anthracite Grey or Intense Navy. But it's available to purchase NOW at their online site, HannahMartinLondon.com, along with an exclusive sterling silver plated edition.

As with their jewels, this letter opener is handmade from start to finish in London.

A Look At Those 5 Handcrafted Paper Airplanes Commissioned for Wallpaper* Magazine.

The UK's Baddeley Brothers is an engraving and printing house that was established in London in 1859. Known for their elegant craftsmanship, they manufacture high quality, engraved stationery and envelopes.

An Appetite for Design: Wallpaper's Short List For Best Restaurants

Today is day 2 of Wallpaper's design award nominees. And it's the shortlist for Best Restaurants, so, I hope you're hungry for good design.

1.

Freeman's, New York
Refurbished this year, this Lower East Side restaurant features a taxidermist's dream of a dining room, bedecked like an English hunting lodge. Offering seasonal cocktails and a homespun American menu with European accents (including wild-boar terrine), proprietors Taavo Somer and William Tigertt have created the favourite dining room for Manhattan's foodies.

More pics:


Visit their site here.
2.

Mathias Dahlgren, Stockholm
Located in a new building and with interior design by Briton Ilse Crawford, Mathias Dahlgren's restaurant at the Grand Hôtel Stockholm is divided into two complementary areas – Matsalen for à la carte dining and the more informal Matbaren – by a Studio Job-designed gilded narrative screen featuring kitchen tools, rustic Swedish icons and Viking longboats.

More pics:

Visit their site here.

3.

Negro De Anglona, Madrid
In Madrid's historic Palacio de Anglona, this restaurant boasts a cutting-edge but intimate interior. Designed by Luis Galliusi, the almost entirely monochrome space is offset by heritage-inspired details such as large backlit images of European royal palaces and dramatic, patterned curtains. The Oriental-Mediterranean fusion menu is courtesy of chef Aitor García.

More pics:


Visit their site.
4.

Sakae, Busan
Part of Studio Gaia's transformation of Korea's Busan Paradise Hotel, Japanese restaurant Sakae is designed to resemble the interior of a traditional Japanese gift box. Against a background of honey-hued wood, the walls are clad in red kimono fabric, patterned with blossom-laden branches. The sushi, teppenyaki and speciality boiled eel show a similar lightness of touch.

More pics:


Visit their site.
5.

Scott's, London
Relaunched by Caprice Holdings, historic seafood venue Scott's has been updated by Swedish designer Martin Brudnizki and chef-director Mark Hix. An oval oyster bar and a 3m-long display of crustacea dominate the light-filled front section, while the interior is quintessentially British, with oak panelling, leather banquettes and walls hung with contemporary art.

More pics:


Visit their site.

Christmas Cards Worth Framing: Barbican Estate Christmas Cards by Stefi Orazi & Wallpaper Magazine's Bespoke Christmas Cards

Stefi Orazi's New Christmas Cards

The sharp angular lines found amidst the Modernist architecture of London’s Barbican may not convey the most obvious inspiration for seasonal tidings. But appreciators of all things abstract can now send their Christmas greetings in one of Stefi Orazi’s Special Edition Barbican Estate Christmas cards.




Click here to see more Of Stefi's cards

Earlier this year Wallpaper Magazine was elated with Orazi’s first foray into card design, which again drew inspiration from her Barbican setting. With such a strong affiliation for her local architecture, the London-based graphic designer has swung into the festive spirit, transforming her beloved muse into a geometric winter wonderland.

Fans of Orazi will have to be quick off the mark though, as she is only producing the range in 100 Special Edition packs, each containing eight contemporary illustrated cards and envelopes. However, the designer’s Barbican passion shows no sign of abating as she has recreated her illustrations on a larger scale in collaboration with fashion company Chris Tibor.

visit the artists' site and purchase cards here
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W* Bespoke Christmas Cards

To celebrate the festive season in our usual style-conscious manner we have enlisted the creative talents of some of our most cherished designers from the year gone by. The four chosen designers, who range from intricate illustrators to graphic artists, have crafted their own homage to Christmas in the form of a bespoke card designed exclusively for Wallpaper* that are to be produced as 250 limited edition sets.
Card 1: Körner Union
In 1999, art students Sami Benhadj, Tarik Hayward and Guy Meldem formed Körner Union. Through the sharing of ideas and tools they aimed to promote and enhance the development of their individual production as well as create collective works. Through taking on various artistic experiments, Körner Union have flourished within different mediums of design, from photography to illustration, and have now applied their never bashful humor to the festive season.

Card 2: Ahonen & Lamberg
After a stint studying graphic design in both Helsinki and Paris, Anna Ahonen & Katariina Lamberg decided to pool their creative talents and set up shop. Since opening the Ahonen & Lamberg design studio in the autumn of 2006, the Finnish design duo have been trying their hand at art direction, graphic design, and illustration ever since.

Card 3: Parra
Parra is something of an underground star in his hometown of Amsterdam, where his club posters and flyers are treasured by a generation of design fanatics. Almost entirely self-taught, Parra employs a minimal color palette, beautifully hand drawn typography and esoteric characters, all of which hark back to the screen posters of the 1960s and 1970s. Only taking on a few commercial design jobs each year, the designer prefers to devote his attentions on the posters through which he has found success.

Card 4: Supermundane
London-based designer Supermundane isn’t unfamiliar with collaboration, having previously worked with the likes of Orange, New York Times and actress-turned-songstress Juliet Lewis. In fact, it was his work with SleazeNation and Good For Nothing magazines that first took his pared down, hand-produced aesthetic to a wider audience. Although Supermundane has become known as an illustrator, typographer and art director, it is his graphic art, which depicts a Utopian world of organic shapes and beasts displaying hope, melancholy and beauty that has inspired the design for his W* Bespoke Christmas Card.


SOURCE: Wallpaper magazine

A Brainy Design Magazine: Monocle

Winnipeg-born entrepreneur Tyler Brûlé, the man behind the influential and stylish Wallpaper magazine, launched a new magazine in London 2 and a half months ago.

Monocle aims to meet the demand for serious news, with a mix of articles about culture and style and an international outlook.


Tyler Brûlé says the magazine aims to meet the demand for serious news. Tyler Brûlé says the magazine aims to meet the demand for serious news.(CBC)

The first issue, weighing in at 200 pages, featured a look at Japan's defence forces, a Q&A with the chief executive of Lego and a cultural report about Afghan music.

Brûlé sees the magazine, and its accompanying website, as a product for serious readers, who are tired of celebrity-driven, dumbed-down news.

"I think what people will get when they read Monocle is a truly global title which doesn't live along national boundaries and I think so much media is regionalized today," Brûlé said in an interview with CBC Television.

International Appeal

The more indepth, serious approach should appeal to people dealing with multiple cultures, he said.

"If we actually look at travel patterns — you know despite all of the environmental pressures people are travelling more than ever before — and people are living in multiple cities, whether it's for business, whether it's for lifestyle purposes, and I think we want to be a media brand to reflect that."

Monocle came out in London and Europe on Feb 13th, 2007 and was available in Canada, mostly in airport news agents, selling there for $12.

"I think this magazine will speak to Canadians as much as it will speak to Australians and Japanese," Brûlé said, adding that it's not just for the jetset.

"This is also for someone who might live up in Scotland or someone who lives in Manitoba who just wants quality coverage as well."

Brûlé, who started Wallpaper in 1996 and sold it the following year for $1.63 million, is well aware of the risk of starting a new magazine, but his forecasts are optimistic.

He expects Monocle will be selling 200,000 copies within six months.

MONOCLE:



The Concept:
We believe it's time for a new, global, European-based media brand. With a keen focus, strong reporting, sharp wit and a more classic approach to design, we've dubbed our venture Monocle. At the core there's a monthly magazine delivering the most original coverage in global affairs, business, culture and design. Alongside, there's a web-based broadcast component covering the same areas through a variety of bulletins, mini-documentaries and talk formats. Focused on informing and entertaining an international audience of disillusioned readers, listeners and viewers, it is our intention to create a community of the most interested and interesting people in the world.

Edited out of London, Monocle is staffed by a team pulled from the world's leading news outlets, magazines and broadcasters. Conceived by Wallpaper* founder and International Herald Tribune columnist Tyler Brûlé, the launch team calls on some of his old alumni and new talent from The Independent, the BBC, branches of Condé Nast and a host of other news outlets. Versed in politics, popular culture, business affairs, media, architecture and design, the editorial team will cover the world from its London hub and dedicated bureau in Tokyo, Zürich and New York. Monocle will be driven by offering original, never-before-seen content to an audience of well-heeled, intelligent opinion leaders around the world.

The Magaine's Sections Are as follows:

AFFAIRS
A global mix of reportage, essays and interviews with the forces shaping geopolitics.

BUSINESS
Devoted to identifying opportunities and inspiring the reader.

CULTURE
With a tight group of opinionated columnists, reviewers and interviewers, it delivers the best in film, television, music, media and art.



DESIGN
Bypassing hype, design is dedicated to unearthing emerging and established talent.

EDITS
Bite-sized and thought provoking, Edits are vital life improvements curated in a fast-paced well-researched collection.

Below is a glimpse of upcoming articles:


Subscription details:

* An annual subscription of 10 Issues of Monocle for £75
* As a subscriber, you will also have exclusive access to information on monocle.com Written and reported by our international team of correspondents, it will offer mini-documentaries, bulletins and our 25/25 guide series detailing the best places to eat, shop and sleep in the world’s leading business cities and resorts. Examples of this will be available to all visitors for an intial period, but will soon become subscriber-only.


Wanna Subscribe? click here.

Desktopography's Nature Desktop Exhibition

Desktopography has posted their third annual natural wallpaper exibition. This 2007 collection of 40 beautifully designed nature-themed desktop wallpapers by selected designers are all available as free downloads for your Mac or PC in the appropriate resolutions.

Desktopography has been doing this since 2005 and the selections continue to grow. The 2005 and 2006 selections are also still available for download. They are a non-profit, fun project site to share with friends and family.

Here are a few examples of their lovely new desktop wallpapers:







So? what are you waiting for, go get 'em! Right here.

Now That's A Cover, Girl. Wallpaper* limited edition Moving Cover

above: Wallpaper Magazine's limited edition lenticular cover (detail)

Now some of you may not know the word "lenticular' but you know what it is. It's multiple images printed on a special type of material that allows the image to 'move' when you tilt it. Some people call them Flickers, some call them Motion cards, but whatever you call it, it's the coolest magazine cover I have ever seen. Because I'm a suscriber, this was a pleasant surprise in my mailbox. But you won't find it on the newsstands, you'll have to order one of these from Wallpaper* if they have any left.

Wallpaper* March 2007 limited edition cover
text from the magazine:

Hussein Chalayan designs fashion about fashion which often looks nothing like most other fashion. And he experiments, in the most radical way, with form and material. All of which has given him a reputation as a somewhat difficult designer.

His collection for spring/summer 2007, though, brings together all of Chalayan’s passions and preoccupations – fashion as social fabric, formal experimentation – and makes them magical and mechanical, a steam-punk fantasy, shifting history and architecture.



The show was called 111 (the accumulated annum, as it happens, of show sponsor and collaborator, Swarovski), and was an elegantly executed and perfectly pulled off flip through 111 years of fashion’s back pages. Chalayan is now a designer of the cleverest but lightest and prettiest little dresses around. But while the main procession was more than a pleasure, the real jaw droppers were the five outfits that closed the show.



The first, a prim, high-necked Victorian corset dress which automatically opened itself, hitched up its hems, nipped and tucked and emerged slim, modern and flapperish. The dress above starts its pupation full and Forties, then balloons, deflates, flips, rises and comes to rest as a retro-futurist Paco Rabanne tribute shift. Meanwhile the hat morphs and moulds it self into bold new shapes. There followed amazing twitching and trickery, necklines unplunged and the show-stopping outfit retreated into a hat, leaving only a puff of crystal dust and a boldy bare-naked model. (There was something unsettlingly sexy about the styling and unveiling by hidden hands).

But if this was history as a magic show, it was also a look into the future and the further integration of gearing and wardrobe, wiring and evening wear. This is what we wore worn in ways we are only starting to imagine.



The March limited edition cover features Hussein Chalayan’s mechanical dress in spectacular lenticular action. To purchase a copy, call 44.1733 385170, while stocks last. The cover is also available to subscribers, so to ensure you do not miss out on future limited edition covers, subscribe by clicking here.

The 2007 Wallpaper Design Awards

If you're not familiar with the beautifully produced and informative magazine about global art and culture, Wallpaper, you ought to be. Below are their picks for the best in design for the year 2007. It's a wonderful and useful compilation of everything from best hotels to speakers.

Read On:

The International Judges' Awards

It was a tough choice but here they are: the ultimate in global design, architecture and style, as selected by this year's elite panel of international judges, designer Naota Fukasawa, hotelier Ian Schrager, designer Ron Arad, fashion designers Viktor and Rolf, actress Jane Birkin, and MD of Charme Matteo do Montezemolo.

Best new hotel
Home, Buenos Aires
Located in Buenos Aires’s hip Palermo Viejo neighbourhood, Home was designed by architects Rodrigo Cunill and Juana Grichener. The exterior may be austere, but the rest of the hotel is warm, light and airy thanks to a 300 sq m garden and heated swimming pool. All 17 rooms have their own distinct style with a retro theme, mixing vintage European wallpapers, Chilean wool rugs and custom-made native watambu wood beds with CD and book libraries, MP3 players and Wi-Fi. Room rate: from $115
www.homebuenosaires.com

View best new hotel nominees

Best new public building
Morgan Library & Museum extension, by Renzo Piano
Working in collaboration with New York architect firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop masterfully inserted contemporary structures into a historic context. The expansion, which includes a new underground space and three glass-and-steel pavilions set around a central court, also adds an auditorium, a striking new entrance and an exquisite reading room, doubling the library’s floor space.

View best new public building nominees

Best new fashion collection
Prada
While Miuccia Prada might seem an obvious choice, being a fashionista favourite and having a keen interest in art and architecture, her autumn/winter collections were especially strong. Shown against a Rem Koolhaas backdrop, the theme was urban guerrilla. These were tough, sensible yet flattering clothes, ideal for the boardroom dweller, streetwise reveller and permanent traveller. A tempting mix of glamorous sophistication and urban grit.
www.prada.com

View best new fashion collection nominees

Best new grooming product
Serge Lutens cosmetics
Serge Lutens is a master when it comes to giving make-up a timeless elegance. He defined Shiseido’s image in the 1980s and 1990s, and he has now launched his own line of cosmetics, combining old-fashioned glamour with contemporary design and hi-tech formulas. The weighty black lacquer cases are a nod to old Hollywood movie star chic, but, for a modern twist, Lutens has replaced traditional curves with clean, linear contours.
www.salons-shiseido.com

View best new grooming product nominees

Best new private house
Baron House by John Pawson
John Pawson’s design for creative guru Fabien Baron’s house draws on the local Swedish vernacular, but uses cement blocks and timber detailing to create a contemporary sense of abstraction. This country home is in total harmony with its surroundings, its visible lines synchronised with the landscape. The house is divided into two lofty, light-bathed volumes, separated by a courtyard with views in every direction.
www.johnpawson.com

View best new private house nominees

Best domestic appliance
Ceramic speakers, by Broberg Ridderstråle
Mats Broberg and Johan Ridderstråle, graduates of Stockholm’s Konstfack University, moved away from the traditional black, box-shaped speaker and created a set of white ceramic speakers, using the symbol of sound as their inspiration. ‘It’s the universal icon of noise,’ says Ridderstråle of the truncated cone shape, which sits at the perfect angle to produce optimum sound.
www.brda.se

View best domestic appliance nominees

Best furniture designer of the year
Hella Jongerius
Dutch designer Hella Jongerius and Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra may seem like an odd pairing; one is known for a naive, idiosyncratic approach, the other for slick, hi-tech furniture. But the collaboration speaks volumes about Jongerius’s talent and Vitra’s commercial nous because everyone wants design with a quirky, homespun feel, and Jongerius provides it in spades with pieces such as this ‘Worker’ chair. From vases for Ikea to a solo exhibition at Galerie Kreo in Paris, her design covers a wide spectrum.
www.jongeriuslab.com

View best furniture designer of the year nominees

Best city
Istanbul
Having carved out a niche as an art city, with its new modern art gallery and Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul’s latest incarnation is as a shopping paradise and chic nightspot. A host of new stores and bars have opened in Nisantasi, not to mention design specialist Addresistanbul. But perhaps most impressive has been the emergence of a daring design scene. Derin Design and Gaia & Gino are already stars, while Autoban points to Istanbul’s exciting design future. The city is rapidly turning into an elegant party capital.

View best city nominees

Best new restaurant
Müzede Changa, Istanbul
Six years after opening the ever-popular Changa, restaurateurs Tarik Bayazit and Savas Ertunc have opened an equally slick sequel, Müzede Changa. Architect Aysen Savas dreamt up the ‘glass cube’ that houses the restaurant; the 1960s- and 1970s-inspired interiors were designed by the award-winning Autoban design team; and chef Peter Gordon has given traditional Turkish fare a modern twist.
www.changa-istanbul.com

View best new restaurant nominees

Most life-enhancing item
Google earth
The earth is getting smaller. And so there is something so perfectly right about Google Earth, the rapid zoom from space to your own back yard and off again, sweeping across oceans and continents to land wherever you wish (security concerns allowing), to see streets and beaches and the places where other people live, work and play. Thrilling and disquieting in equal measure, there is an idealistic charge to the Google Earth project.
earth.google.com

View most life-enhancing item nominees