If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Black and White (and Bitchin').

10 cool monochromatic Items.
Click on each image for more information or to purchase.

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

First Official Pic of 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

reprinted from today's Carscoop:
Stop the press! The first official teaser picture of the highly anticipated 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi just fell into our hands this morning catching us totally by surprise. We’re still waiting for the official release to get all the juicy details but for now we can tell you that the 2008 Impreza STi which will debut next month at the Tokyo Show, will be equipped with a 300 Hp turbocharged boxer engine. Despite the fact that this is just a teaser image shot from above, the bulgy fenders and the hood scoop leave no doubt that the STi will be quite more aggressive than its highly critiqued WRX spouse.

Below are images of the Subaru Impreza WRX from the year 2000 up to 2006 (with some years having more than one model) so you can see the design evolution.

These images are from Japan's Subaru site and they include S202, S203, S204 and the STi versions. Also, the models may have slight variations from Northern America Models:

click here for a link to the Subaru Japan site which is the first to have posted the shot at the top of this post.

Dance, Wallpaper, Dance!
Animated Wallpapers By Sara Burns

With this crazy trend of wallpapers, wall decals, wall stickers, and wall murals, how do you one up the present products in the market?

Make actual moving wallpaper.
Okay, so it's more like moving light, but the effect is a wall covering that is animated.
Personally, I think it's very cool for a commercial space, but in a residence... I'm afraid I might get motion sickness.

But you decide for yourself.
Below are more images of designer Sara Burns' kinetic wall art:

Any space can be instantly transformed with animated wallpaper—kinetic patterns of light and colour. Sara Burns creates her stunning and distinctive wallpapers using interactive projections and LED video displays and also harnesses new and emerging technologies to devise innovative lighting designs for domestic and commercial spaces.

Designer:

Sara Burns

see all of sara's work here.

Address:
Ambient Space Design
Unit 8, Estilo, 5/7 Wenlock Road
N1 7SL London
United Kingdom

Candles That Will Light Up Faces As Well As Rooms: Ablaze Candles

Update: Sadly, this company is no longer in business.

Original post:
Want to make someone smile? Give them one of these unusual candles.

We've seen candle 'lanterns' and candle holders made of wax. We've seen modern candles, candle jars and votives out the wazoo.

But Ablaze candles are different. Unlit, they are nothing short of wax scupltures and lit, the give more than light, they give ambiance.

These candles look good enough to eat, which is no surprise given that a Culinary Chef began the company. You can read more about that at the bottom of this post.

Their site, although not beautifully designed, is incredibly functional and allows you to see all of their creations, lit and unlit as well as enlarged.

Given the price of scented candles these days, these pieces of art are very reasonable and with many shapes, sizes and categories, you can be sure to find a gift for anyone.

They have every theme imaginable from wildlife animals to seashells. And every style from centerpieces to small cubes to outdoor columns. Too many to show you them all, so here are just a few of my favorites:

Below is taken directly from their site:

Unlike the mass production methods used by other candle makers, our beautiful candles are made in a completely distinctive, artisan-style tradition. We do not purchase the standard molds everyone else uses to make the same old shapes you’ve seen over and over. Instead, we create our own molds that impart a beautiful sculpted design to every candle we make. Into these molds we pour a special wax to create a beautiful, hard shell with the look and shine of polished marble. We provide a crystal votive holder and votive candle that rest on a clear protective disc embedded inside the bottom of the candle. When you light our decorative candles, the entire wax sculpture glows brilliantly.

Our Decorative Candles Last a Lifetime

The flame from the votive candle remains centered inside the sculpted outer wax shell and will not melt it. Once the votive candle is consumed, another votive candle, scented or unscented, can be used as a replacement. This ingenious candle design, one candle burning inside another, creates a glowing luminary that will last a lifetime. Dust build-up can be easily removed by washing this unique candle right in the kitchen sink with warm soapy water. Rinse all the soap off and buff dry with a soft towel. Not only will you remove accumulated dust from these unique specialty candles, you will also restore the natural luster that makes our decorative candles so attractive.

Note: Scented votive candles usually last 15 hours and are popular because you can change the fragrance more often, unlike the 150 hours of one fragrance you get from large scented jar candles.
Advantages of Luminary Candles

* People "light" these candles!
* You can burn the fragrance of your choice in Luminary Candles.
* The candle is truly permanent, it will last a lifetime.
* You can wash a luminary candle like you would fine china. They are impervious to water.
* Some Luminary Candles can be used with floating candles. (Straight sided candles only)
* They look great all the time (no irregular wax pool and wick debris) and compliment furniture and interior decor better.
* They glow better.

Ablaze™ Candles Make Unique Gifts
Perhaps you are looking for a unique gift idea to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, wedding, holiday, or those special occasions such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Maybe you are looking for that special something which will add a perfect decorative accent to your home or office. Quite possibly you just love candles in all shapes and sizes. Whatever the reason, we are confident that our specialty candles will delight and amaze your loved ones, serve as a beautiful focal point in your home decor, and become a valued and distinctively unique addition to your candle collection. We invite you to enter our web site and light any of our 230 uniquely handcrafted candles, sit back, and enjoy their spellbinding glow!

And here's a little trivia about them:

Did you know the founder of Ablaze™ Candles is a chef? In 1984, Dominic Palazzolo, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, established Culinart, Inc., a company specializing in the production of culinary artwork for professional chefs and restaurants all over the world. Chef Palazzolo created a wide variety of elaborate sculptures made from wax combined with food ingredients like chocolate. These beautiful creations appeared on buffet tables and in food presentations at the finest hotels, restaurants and resorts in America.

Encouraged by the food industry's growing demand for his culinary artwork, Chef Palazzolo applied his skills and imagination to the creation of glowing wax sculptures that could be displayed on buffet tables. With the idea of incorporating the natural light of a flame into his sculptures, Chef Palazzolo labored two years to perfect the burning qualities of his wax luminaries. The result was the creation of a candle that far surpassed ordinary candles in beauty, quality and burning performance. Those who saw his creations were not only amazed by their extraordinary detail and luminosity, they wanted his glowing sculptures for their homes. Deciding to make his candles available to the public, Chef Palazzolo named his luminary art, "Ablaze™ Candles," obtainable only on the Internet.

Chef Dominic Palazzolo is a member of the American Culinary Federation and has lectured nationally at seminars specializing in the fine art of tallow sculpting. His innovative sculptures have graced the buffet tables of hotels, restaurants, resorts, and cruise lines around the world. If you are interested in seeing the culinary artistry available from Culinart, Inc., just click here.

Visit Ablaze Candles and buy them here. (the site no longer exists)

Product Pick Of The Week: The HomeHero, A Good Looking Fire Extinguisher

Finally, a nice looking fire extinguisher!
This was the consumer product winner in the 2007 IDEA awards.
Fire Extinguisher Product Details
* Clean design allows for prominent, unobstructed placement in kitchen - decreasing emergency response time
* Highly visible safety pin for easy identification and immediate response
* Ergonomic grip area for more intuitive and secure operation
* Use of HomeHero™ Fire Extinguisher and HomeHero™ Smoke/CO Alarms (sold separately) create an invisible protection system providing immediate alerts with clear, verbal instructions
* Rubber foot protects countertops
* Bracket included for wall-mounting
* Expected life of 12 years
* For use on fires involving flammable liquids and/or electrical equipment
* Streamlined form and glossy white surface allows for easy cleaning
* Bilingual instructions included
* 6-year warranty

Sold only at Home Depot.

How Do You Improve Jacobsen's Egg Chair? Cover It In Helen Amy Murray's Leathers

Above: Arne Jacobsen's classic Egg chair given new life with the "Peony" leather fabric.

Above: detail of "Peony" design

Helen Amy Murray is internationally recognized for hand-crafted, luxury creations inspired by nature and form, to create 3D surfaces within textiles.

above: 'Bird and Blossom', one of her newest designs

Helen won the Oxo-Peugeot Prize in 2004 for her innovative designs. She develops bespoke commissions using luxury materials for applications ranging from interior products, upholstery, wall coverings and art.

Below are some of her previous projects, done for personal and commissioned clients.
She certainly knows how to bring life back into an old wing chair or tub chair! Take a look at these stunning pieces:

Above: Wing chairs enhanced with the Bloom Pattern

Above: detail of "bloom" on wing chairs

Above: an otherwise boring tub chair is reinvigorated with "Bloom"

Above: Detail of "bloom" on a tub chair

Above: A traditional Edwardian armchair upholstered in "Rose"

Here are some of her wonderful patterns, both her newest collection and some of her classics.
These, along with more, were unveiled at the 100% Futures section of the 100% Design show:

Above: Succulent

Above: Chrysanthemum

Above: Oriental Flower

Above: Tropical

Above: Lattice

Above: Feathers

Above: Fishscales

Above: The designer, Helen Amy Murray. As lovely as her work.

Helen Amy Murray

E-mail the artist here.

Vitamins For Your Home

Vitamin Living designs some terrific new products.

You're probably familiar with their 'urban gnomes'(immediately below),
but did you know that Vitamin makes many other cool products as well?

Above: Vitamin's hip china urban gnomes, also available through their site.

Shown Above:
Tab A (a vase and ashtray in one), Tab B (a planter and ashtray in one) and two their new salt and pepper shaker designs are shown above. "Hoody" where the salt and pepper come through etched butterflies in stainless steel tops and Pebbles, where the salt and pepper come through the etched designs.