Showtime's Serial Killer, Dexter, Inspires Some Bloody Interesting Items You Can Own

This past summer, as part of a month long, groundbreaking print and television partnership, a celebrated group of designers transformed a beautiful Grammercy Park townhouse into a luxurious beacon of modernism inspired by the top six original hit series from Showtime.


Above: Showtime's Original series, Dexter, stars Michael C. Hall

This post is focusing on the wonderful DEXTER dining room created by Amy Lau design and DEXTER kitchen by Johnny Grey and the products now available for purchase as a result of that project.



The dining room features a table ready for a sit down dinner for twelve. All the items from the dishes to the lighting are inspired by the macabre tv show and were produced in limited editions.


Above: Amy Lau's sketch of the room for the project



Above: the completed room

Setting the mood are Amy Lau's chairs, elegant but wounded, walls splattered with 'blood' and place settings that might quell hunger rather than provoke it.





The table is surrounded by Steven Antonson’s candlesticks, reminiscent of vertebrae and filled with blood red candles. Wine and water glasses from Thomas Fuchs/Otium designed glassware have luminous 'blood -filled' stems and ominous fingerprints.



Savor the delectable dinner while challenged by Steve Butcher's dismembered flatware, a fascinating and disturbing set.



Nadeige Choplet's handmade ceramic plates celebrate the love of blood via an intricate pattern of blood splatters, veins and capillaries under a delicate porcelain skin; and finally dessert can be enjoyed on Klein Reid's fine porcelain, served with the fine trace of a fingerprint.



All this is presented under the sensual lighting by Grégoire Abrial of Amy Lau Design, a baroque cacophony of wine glasses and pure white; and surrounded by fantastic works as Jane D'Arensbourg's Coronal Section, the glass installation reminiscent of flowing organic cells and brain patterns; and Angelica Bergamini's elixir of life an airy curtain that truly gives life to the light that floods the room.



So, what can you own? All of the following macabre items:

DEXTER! chairs
dexter dining chairs designed by amy lau design



white lacquered wood frame upholstered in white ultraleather
hand-embroidered with blood design
10 side chairs each $ 2500
2 arm chairs signed by michael c hall, each $ 5000
manufacturer: martin albert interiors, inc

DEXTER! fingerprint glasses by Thomas Fuchs



A collection of hand-blown DEXTER inspired stemmed glasses, consisting of white wine, red wine and water goblets.



The glasses appear fairly benign but after closer inspection you will see the blood red glass running through the stem of the glass and then the subtle fingerprints on the bowl of the glass obviously left from the serial killer.


details: dimensions 8 inches tall, material clear mouth blown glass with a drop of red glass into the stem with sandblasted fingerprints, edition of 16, $137.50 each

DEXTER! fingerprint plates by KleinReid



KleinReid's are hand thrown and trimmed porcelain plates with unique tell-tale embossed fingerprints each plate is gloss glazed and high-fired in an special edition of only 17


details: dimensions approx. 9", weight approx. 1.5 lbs, each $250.00

DEXTER! Dinner Plates By Nadeige Choplet
he.ma.to.la.gnia - love of blood:



Above: The starter/dessert plate is a delectable combination of veins and broken capillaries under a layer of porcelain skin.


Above: The main course plate offers a refreshing splash of blood accompanied by the origin of the wound.


Above: The charger plates are a cross section of the human body.

one of a kind place setting chargers, dinner and dessert plates.
details: high-fired ceramic chargers 14.5" diameter $135
dinner plates 11" diameter $75
dessert plates 8" diameter $60
edition of 12, each piece is hand made and coloration, shape and patterning can vary.

DEXTER! dismembered flatware (classic, modern or antique) by steve butcher
Wonderfully disturbing flatware in classic, modern or antique styles, each 'silced and dismembered but still functional. Each piece is hand crafted and each setting has it's own character - numbered and initialed.


Above: antique - $500/place setting


Above: classic - $450/place setting


above: modern - $400/place setting

the details: 5 piece place classic silver plated setting - engraved knife, fork, salad/desert fork, spoon, coffee/desert spoon.

DEXTER! finn candlesticks by Stephen Antonson



The white resin candlesticks with red candles were inspired by human anatomy, specifically vertebrae. The scale is such that one’s fingers, or in this case case Dexter’s digits, fit perfectly into the candlesticks’ curves. details: materials resin candlesticks with red candles, edition of 12. The candlesticks come in three sizes; small - $125, medium - $250, and large - $375

DEXTER! Coronal Section installations by Jane D’Arensbourg
Even the various "Coronal Section" glass sculptures are available. This installation was inspired by cross sections of the brain. also vein patterns in the body. Jane has a fascination with blood and veins, as Dexter does. Her fascination is in nature, and pattern.




details: 12 ft x 10 ft. approx, 12 inches x 7 inches each individual piece., material: glass, edition of 23, each piece $750, whole installation of 23 pieces $17,000.00 approx.


The above items shown can be purchased here.

The Kitchen:

THE KITCHEN(above) by Johnny Grey

Harnessing the softer side of our serial killer, Johnny Grey draws his inspiration from Dexter’s South Florida lifestyle rather than his murderous profession. The artful kitchen reflects Miami’s tropical locale and famed Art Deco architecture. Finally a space where Dexter can focus on slicing and dicing veggies — and only veggies.



Part of a team renowned for its edgy kitchen design, Grey and Chuck Wheelock (design director for the U.K.-based firm, Johnny Grey Studios) have a worldwide client roster that includes rock star Sting and Apple founder Steve Jobs.

So many talented people were involved in the project, it's only fair to share with you more of their work, so below are links to most (not all) of the artists who created items for the Showtime Metropolitan Dexter dining room and kitchen:

Amy Lau Design by Gregoire Abrial
Light installation
www.amylaudesign.com
www.gregoire-abrial.net

Stephen Antonson
Consoles and mirrors
www.stephenantonson.com

Marcus Tremonto
Wall art sconces
www.treluce.com

Jane D'Arensbourg
Glass sculpture wall hanging
www.janedarensbourg.com

Aranda/Lasch for Johnson Trading Gallery
Cabinet
www.johnsontradinggallery.com

Gregoire Abrial
Taped floor installation
www.gregoire-abrial.net

Dustin Yellin
Resin art skull sculptures
www.dustinyellin.com

Amy Lau Design
Chairs
www.amylaudesign.com
Embroidered by Leah Picker
212.982.6000
Upholstered by Martin Albert Interiors
www.martinalbert.com

Otium Nyc by Thomas Fuchs
Glassware
www.otium-nyc.com

Steve Butcher
Flatware
www.spring3d.net

KleinReid
Commemorative plates
www.kleinreid.com

Nadeige Choplet
Chargers, dinner and dessert plates
www.choplet.com

Stephen Antonson
Candlesticks
www.stephenantonson.com

Also available for Dexter fans are these items designed by SCAD (the Savannah College of Art & Design) for the premiere and are available through their online store:

Above: Throw pillow, $75.00



Above: The Five Finger Discount Mug, $15.00


Above: Body Part earrings, $60.00


Above: paper Dexter monster coasters, $10.00
shop SCAD



The following items are available at the Showtime Dexter Online store:


Above: glass printed Dexter coasters in commemorative box.


Above: Shephard Fairey's Dexter Poster
Buy a shepard fairey signed version of the poster here.

UPDATE: New Dexter action figures, including a special one for this year's 2009 Comic-Con have just been released:

buy this limited exclusive edition here.


buy the Dexter Action figure here.


Above: The Dexter Bobblehead Doll, buy it here.



shop the Showtime Dexter online store.


The official Dexter site.

After Months of Promotion, The Sony Ericsson New Xperia X1 Is Here

PRNewswire/ — Sony Ericsson North America announced the arrival of the highly anticipated Xperia(TM) X1 to the U.S. marketplace. The Xperia(TM) X1 delivers a range of multimedia and communication experiences that have long been coveted and in demand by consumers

The Xperia X1 will be available unlocked through Sony Electronics and its authorized retailers beginning on "Black Friday," November 28. This premium device will be sold unlocked for the MSRP of $799.99, giving consumers the freedom to choose their own mobile operator and data plan. You can pre-order it now from the link at the end of this post.



The Xperia X1's unique panel user interface is at the heart of the device's ability to create and adapt consumers' personal choices. With up to 9 panels, it's easy to find and enjoy the information and entertainment content they want. Sony Ericsson is busy working with third-party developers to create a wealth of new applications and new panels that will soon be available for download.

By incorporating the Windows Mobile(R) 6.1 Professional operating system, the Xperia X1 frees consumers from their home and office, allowing them connectivity to their content wherever they are.



As Sony Ericsson's most advanced phone to date, the Xperia X1 brings together a large, 3-inch wide VGA display touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard all wrapped into a sleek silver metal- finished arc slider handset. The Xperia X1 supports fast 3G networks, enabling audio and video streaming, high-speed internet surfing, multimedia messaging and email on the go. In addition to delivering 3G mobile broadband speeds, the Xperia X1 supports WiFi to meet the needs of consumers' always connected lifestyles.

In the tradition of Sony Ericsson, the Xperia X1 offers consumers the ultimate multimedia experience with a 3.2 megapixel camera, video streaming, video playback and video recording, and the ability to enjoy all their digital music.



Beginning last September, they promoted the Xperia with a competition centered around a series of online webisodes featuring a character named Johnny X. Although the competition and a chance to win a phone is over now, you can still watch the episodes. Go here to watch them.




Sony Ericsson Xperia(TM) X1 - At a Glance


Camera
• Auto focus
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Photo light
• Video recording


Above: Although originally rendered in black, the phone is silver

Multimedia
• Bluetooth(TM) stereo (A2DP)4
• Media player
• Music tones
• Windows Media(R) Player Mobile
• 3D games
• FM radio
• Java(TM)
• Video streaming
• Video viewing


Internet7
• Internet Explorer(R) Mobile
• RSS feeds
• Opera(TM) 9.5



Communication and Messaging
• Polyphonic ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Vibrating alert
• Video calling3,8
• Email
• Picture messaging (MMS)9
• Predictive text input
• Text messaging (SMS)9


Design
• XPERIA(TM) panels
• Optical joystick navigation
• Navigation key
• Picture wallpaper
• Touch navigation



Organizer
• Alarm clock
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Document editors
• Document readers
• Flight mode
• Handwriting recognition
• Notes
• Phone book
• Tasks
• Touchscreen

Connectivity
• aGPS
• Bluetooth(TM)4 technology
• Modem
• Synchronization
• USB support
• WLAN

Windows Mobile(R) Operating System
• Microsoft(R) Outlook(R) Mobile: email, contacts, calendar, tasks
• Microsoft(R) Office Mobile: Word Mobile, Excel(R) Mobile, PowerPoint(R) Mobile
• Windows Live(TM)
• Microsoft(R) ActiveSync(R)
• Voice control
• Utility Applications: file explorer, calculator, pictures & video, notes



Above: Although originally rendered in black, the phone is silver


• Size: 110 x 53 x 16.7 mm (approx.)
• Weight: 145 grams (approx.)http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
• Available colors: Silver
• Main screen: 65,536 color TFT
• Resolution: 800 X 480 pixels
• Size: 3 inches (approx.)
• Phone memory5: up to 400 MB
• microSD(TM) memory card support

Networks:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850/1900/2100 MHz

Pre-order it here now.

Design Within Reach Is Out Of Reach In This Economy.

One of the most impressive collections of modern furniture, a great looking and well functioning e-commerce website, a well-written 'design notes' newsletter and blog, beautifully designed stores, and some of the nicest looking, impressive catalogs ever produced can't help even Design Within Reach's online and in-store sales in this economy.



Even with their newest addition of DWR "limited", a purchase or an auction on one different unique new or vintage item each day, one of my favorite design stores is suffering. I came across this unfortunate, but not unexpected, news today.

E-commerce sales fall almost 30% at Design Within Reach

The economy continues to hammer revenue at Design Within Reach Inc.



Web sales were down for the third straight quarter, falling 29.7% to $5.2 million in Q3 2008 from $7.4 million in the prior year quarter. The Internet accounted for about 12.3% of sales in Q3 2008 vs. 15.2% in Q3 2007.

Store, or studio, sales also declined, by 10% or $3.3 million, from $32.1 million in Q3 2007 to $28.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Overall sales were down 13.7%, or $6.7 million, for the third quarter ended Sept. 27, 2008, to $42.3 million from $49 million in the same quarter of 2007.

Design Within Reach is a multi-channel retailer of modern design furnishings and accessories. The company, No. 263 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, depends on affluent consumers for its business and the company cites the stagnant housing market and the mortgage crisis as key reasons for sagging sales.

Design Within Reach reported an overall loss for Q3 2008 of $5.6 million compared with net income of $2.4 million in the prior year quarter.

Through the first nine months of fiscal 2008, web sales decreased about $4 million, or 18.3%, from $21.8 million in the first three quarters of 2007 to $17.8 million. Net sales through nine months of fiscal 2008 declined 3.8%, or $5.5 million, from $141.9 million in the first nine months of 2007 to $136.5 million.
Source: Internet Retailer

Positioned to appeal to affluent customers, their prices simply are not competitive enough. I even affectionately used to call them DOOR (Design Out Of Reach) and often find an item that I like there and then scour the net for a better price. And although they have sales, the discounts and reductions are never very large and I've never known them to give promotional or discount codes.


Above: their Design Notes Blog

That said, they still are a heaven for those interested in modern design and interior decor and one of the only companies whose catalogs I can never bring myself to throw away. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I love the look and functionality of their online store, their catalogs, their newsletter and blog.

They are one of the few companies who knows how to 'brand' themselves. They have a cohesive look and style across all their communications, create promotional material which reflects the quality of their products and consistently remind customers of their products and offerings without being intrusive or annoying. Their newsletter and blog are optional e-mail sign ups and their site is easy to maneuver and is searchable numerous and convenient ways. Proof that sales are not directly tied to 'branding'. After all, one cannot account for all unforeseen impacting factors.

I think that with the opening of so many stores across the country in the past few years unfortunately coinciding with the numerous foreclosures and mortgage crises, they simply overextended themselves and are now paying the price.

Maybe now, their sales will be a little more 'accessible'. Here's hoping... because I certainly don't want them to go away.


www.dwr.com

I Am Loving Wordle: A Fun & Easy Text Cloud Generator

I am loving Wordle.

Wordle is a free online app for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.



Simple, easy, applicable options include available color palettes, your choice of all upper or lower case- or a combination, choosing whether or not the words are vertical, horizontal or half and half and more. You can edit as you'd like or use the 'randomizer' for variations.

Think about using them for presentations or report covers, screen savers and more. Inventive, malleable and creative, Wordle does have some limitations (read more about the FAQs on the site).

And for those creative types those who like a little more control and wish to determine their own hex colors and weighted words, he now has Wordle Advanced.

Here are a few examples I just generated in less than 5 minutes, using the paragraph from the beginning of this post and the 'randomizer' tool:












Wordle was created by Jonathan Feinberg (shown above)
In his own words he also credits all these helpful folks.

Go play with Wordle now.

Artists Dalek, Emil Kozak & Motomichi & More Do Zune

above: Emil Kozaks' artwork available is now on your customizable Zune player

Zune, Microsoft Corp.'s end-to-end music and entertainment service has added 46 new designs from leading artists to its customization Web site, Zune Originals, for the holiday season.

Wanna customize a Zune player for yourself or as a gift this holiday season? The new Zune Originals designs include a Zodiac Series featuring exclusive artwork of Eastern and Western astrology from Catalina Estrada and Iosefatu Sua as well as other great designs from several artists and a tattoo inspired series. An expanded line of regular Zune players, popular Zune accessories and Zune Marketplace gift cards are also available for purchase here.



In the Zune Originals online design studio, consumers can customize a Zune by choosing artwork and adding personal text that is laser-etched on the Zune player they choose. Zune has just added 12 new eye-catching designs from artists such as these:

Dalek - A graffiti artist who works extensively in both fine arts and the skateboard industry:



Motomichi - A graphic designer known for his widely exhibited animation and live video mixing:



Daniel Jackson, the artist and DJ from Surface to Air, the creative art collective made up of artists from Paris, Barcelona and New York, produces cutting-edge designs for everything from clothing to jewelry to skate decks:


Other featured Zune Originals artists include Kenzo Minami, Alex Trochut, Alvaro Arteaga, Emil Kozak(whose work is shown at the beginning of this post), Ippei Gyoubu, Kate Moross, Maya Hayuk, Siggi Eggertsson and Robin Nishio. Playlists from each artist that reflect his or her personal taste in music will also be available for download in the Zune Marketplace.

Go check them out here.

About Zune
Zune is Microsoft's music and entertainment brand that provides an integrated digital entertainment experience. The Zune platform includes a line of portable digital media players, elegant software, the Zune Marketplace online store, the Zune Social online music community created to help people discover music, and the ZuneOriginals.net customization Web site. Zune is part of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division and supports the company's software-based services vision to help drive innovation in the digital entertainment space.

About Zune Originals
Zune Originals is the premium Zune purchasing experience. It's an online design studio where consumers can customize Zune players by choosing the color and size of their device and selecting exclusive artwork and text that can be laser-etched onto the back of the device. Artwork in the Zune Originals collection is available in three series: Artist Series, Zodiac Series and Tattoo Series that feature designs from world-famous artists. Visit the Zune Originals design studio here.