Ego Lifestyle Signature Luxury Notebooks Get Even Hipper With Several New Styles

I've already written more than one blog post on Ego's Lifestyle Signature line of notebooks/laptops. The ultimate in luxe for the laptop toting crowd, they've added a few more extremely cool products to their already stunning collection. Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so. Ego was the recipient of the Microsoft Fashion PC Award.

The Microsoft Fashion PC award 2008 shows the movement of the merely technical PC industry, towards one in which higher influences of fashion, premium quality materials and user desires are a crucial element. The jury recognized Ego as the embodiment of this movement.

For Ego the fashion PC award not only marks a technical validation for their leading role played in design, development and production of high end luxury consumer electronics, but also a recognition for their role in the forefront of developing the traditional computer market to one that takes users' desires as a starting point.

They presently have four collections, the Ego editions, The Personal editions, the Diamond editions and the Limited editions.

My favorite new one is the latest in their Limited editions designer collection by Dani Bles and Ego for the Jackie Summer Fair resulting in gold, silver and bronze leather covers debossed with three witty sayings: "She's pretty, but not perfect", "She's sexy, but in control." and "She's International and on the run." Danie Bles is fashion director of Jackie Magazine, stylist of Dutch celebs and each year Danie Bles Styling organizes two fashion shows: a summer tour and a winter tour.

The Jackie Magazine collection:



Above: Three from the Jackie Collection; gold, silver and bronze debossed leather with witty sayings.

Above: Jackie's Bronze computer interior

and above is the Jackie signature on the space bar.

And they even come with a shoulder strap to match!


In addition to the new Jackie Magazine collection, Andy Davis has added "fuerte" to the line:

Above: Fuerte by Andy Davis

And in keeping with their unusual materials like fur, patent leather, embossed leathers, high gloss and more, are these new additions since my last post:


Above: Goldfields

above: Goldstripe

Above: Vision

above: Dark Secret

Above: baroque

Above: bluish

Above: Moulin Rouge

Added to their exotic skins collections are bright and beautiful shades of ostrich, shark, eel and ray skins.


Above: Goddess

Above: Blue lagoon

And added to their Diamond collection is this deep purple suede one:


Above: the Dibino Diamond, 18 Carat white gold ornaments, set with 6.9 carat diamonds.

See and learn more about their notebooks and view more pictures here.
or visit their website here.

Montegiro Luxury Turn Tables: A Reason To Keep All That Vinyl

Just because you like your music 'Old School' doesn't mean the equipment has to harken back to the seventies and eighties. With the four technologically advanced, aesthetically pleasing modern designed turntables from montegiro, you can listen to music from decades ago without sacrificing a modern sense of style.

The Legno:




A new generation of turntables for the new generation of vinyl lovers. Organic shapes, rounded edges, natural materials: the legno model exudes a harmonious look that reflects its full, sonorous yet delicate sound. The legno skilfully combines wood and high-grade steel to produce an ideal sound. Available in white or bamboo:




The chassis takes advantage of wood’s stabilising qualities combined with its resonance damping properties. The four adjustable high-grade steel feet are decoupled by embedded o-rings (innovative rubber composite), as is the extremely precise, specially treated synchronous motor, which is driven by an outboard high-end motor controller designed for highest demands.



The integral 10,5’’ tonearm (modified for montegiro) and the Benz cartridge provide – even at the entry level – the typical montegiro sound. The legno builds its power upon the fundamental musicality common to all montegiro turntables. The tight bass provides the perfect foundation for the development of a smooth mid-range and stratospheric highs.

The Vivo:




The cubistic, tinted acrylic chassis is available in several colors. The armboard for the 10,5’’ tonearm (specially optimized by montegiro) is also made from acrylic as is the platter mat atop the high-quality steel platter. Design integrity plus perfect finish in the manufacturer’s best tradition provide for a tremendously aesthetic ensemble.



As with all four montegiro models, the vivo is equipped with a special high-end, decoupled synchronous motor. An external high-end motor generator provides for the correct drive of all models and meets the highest playback demands.

The Mondo:


The rectangular chassis is milled from a single piece of special steel. Powerful bass with ideal weight provides a perfect foundation for the mid-range and well articulated heights.



The armboard, made from acrylic, is embedded into the chassis and integrates itself perfectly. The steel and acrylic topped platter produces an extremely low resonance combination. The steel feet rest upon precious special steel plates embedded with acrylic which are additionally optimized by a montegiro innovation.



The specially treated, freestanding synchronous motor, decoupled within the chassis, is controlled by an external high-end motor generator. It provides the correct drive for all models and helps produce superior dynamics and timing. In addition to a Graham Engineering Phantom B-44 tonearm, the basic configuration includes the montegiro MG1 – a state of the art titanium bodied pickup system.

The Lusso:



The lusso is built upon alternate layers of aluminum and black acrylic, including the upside -down cone for the aluminum platter fitted with an acrylic platter. The lusso is driven by a newly developed, extremely precise high-end synchronous motor suspended within one of the cones. The cones, connected to each other, embrace height-adjustable feet that serve for perfect set-up. Even the carbon tonearm, mounted on a cone, demonstrates attention to detail and style.




Sonically, the lusso carries you into a perfect world of sound:
Between precise, crystalline highs, and weighty bass is a generous, softly melting midrange that helps produce an ideal, musically balanced turntable. Both the base version of the lusso with three cones and the top-of-the-line model with four cones and two tonearms provide the perfect symbiosis of technique and design. The basic configuration consists of a 10’’ carbon arm from Da Vinci (model Nobile), and the MG1 from the montegiro family, a state-of-the-art pickup-system from titanium. The top-of-the-line model with four cones includes a 9" SME, model 5009 tonearm. Other armboards are available upon request.

Montegiro

Contact info:
Dattenberg GmbH
Zum Ludwigstal 10-12 · 45527 Hattingen | Germany
Tel.: 0 23 24/ 93 32-0 · Fax: 0 23 24/ 93 32-33

Fun & Functional Letter Furniture From Set 26

SET 26 LETTER FURNITURE
The 26 letters of the alphabet, along with the plus sign and the dot are designed as aesthetically pleasing and functional furnishings. Individual letters (available in your choice of 6 colors) become storage objects/furniture in any room. Trays and drawers keep things tidy and give the owner an at-a-glance overview. SET 26 letter furniture won the red dot design award 2004 "best of the best" for best-of-breed design quality. Great for residential or commercial uses.








Use their online generator to play with options:

Visit the site here.
In the US, click here for more information.

So Much More Than Just A Fashion Label That People Mispronounce: agnés b.

Living in the US where only 5 ultra chic agnes b. boutique locations (there are 3 in NY) exist, I had no idea of the breadth of interests and variety of products which fall under the brand name of notoriously reclusive French fashion designer Agnés B. Originally named Agnés Trouble, she later become Agnés Bourgois when she married the now deceased publisher Christian Bourgois.


Above: the rarely photographed french designer herself

With a bit more knowledge of her, the surname Trouble seems the ultimate in irony. The woman appears to be anything but. Okay, there was the lawsuit she brought against The Wet Seal in 2001 for copyright infringement, which she won. But hey... nobody's perfect.


above photo source: artwebtelly.com

I knew little of her. Simply as the designer and name behind the socially responsible, uber hip, expensive clothing line with the tasty lowercase label, "agnes b." By the way, for you non-fashionistas, that's pronounced 'on-yes bay', not 'aggness bee'.


It wasn't until I did a little research that I realized how vast and varied her company and success are. Her enormous support of the arts, and her equally large disdain for advertising, both came as a surprise. The woman is talented, charitable and undoubtedly very, very busy.



Describing herself as a product of the May 1968 student and worker's revolts in France, she said: "I still believe in that May '68 slogan 'Advertising is stupid and it makes you stupid'".

But, she does publicize her efforts to better the planet. See below:


She opened her first store in the early seventies in Paris. She was reportedly a young rebellious and socially-aware campaigner who brought that very spirit to her fashion brand. The company does NO traditional paid advertising. And yet she has 198 boutiques world-wide and 1 Paris atelier.



She is the sole designer for her collections for women, men, children, sport b., and Voyage (travel bags and purses). She has a full line of shoes, accessories, sunglasses, logo t-shirts, suits, sweaters and more for men, women, children and infants.








as well as a cosmetics line:




As if that weren't impressive enough, she's a movie producer and has produced several films and documentaries under her production company, Lovestreams Productions,




A huge supporter of the arts, film and music, she's also a photographer. The photos below of graffiti artist Craig Costello (aka KR) Krink ink work were taken by Agnés and used in her store displays and featured in their Lookbook.




She also publishes a modern art magazine named Point D'ironie:


Around 6 times per year, agnès b.and Hans-Ulrich Obrist give carte blanche to an artist to appropriate the space of the paper. An 8-page tabloid format, identical for each artist. 100,000 to 300,000 copies are available free of charge around the world (in bookshops, museums, galleries, schools, cafés, etc.), as well as in all of the agnès b. locations (France, Europe, USA, Asia). Learn more here.

She's an art gallery and bookshop owner:

see the Galerie Du Jour here.

Creates and sells fancy chocolates and truffles:




see the chocolates here.

Has a floral and florist company that designs breathtaking flower arrangements as well as floral decor for weddings:





Visit the floral site here.

She operates a chain of restaurant and cafés named Le Pain Grille to share her love of french food, with three locations in the UK alone and several other in her stores worldwide:



They also do private banquets and even sell branded tableware on their site and in their cafes, some of which is shown below:


Buy the tableware here.



above photo courtesy of PARIS (AFP)
In addition to belonging to several humanitarian organizations, sponsoring musicians and artists, she is also a major partner and sponsor for Tara Expeditions. An organization of scientists and sailors who travel via sailboat (named the "tara") to study the effects of global warming on pack ice, more specifically climate variations and impact in Arctic waters, ice and environment.
Learn more about Tara Expeditions and their latest documentary here.


The above beautiful silver gelatin print of elusive agnés b., taken in 2006 by photographer Steve Pyke, is available for purchase from the Flowers east gallery in London here.

Read a 2006 interview with the designer from the UK's Observer here.

agn�és b. remains a family-owned company that has continued to grow and employs over 1,450 people world-wide.

Now, how is it possible I just thought it was a fancy clothing label?