Hermes, Gucci, Louis Vuitton & More Designers Create Christmas Trees For Charity

above: Louis Vuitton 2009 Christmas Tree


The 14th annual “Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs” (Designer Christmas Trees) Charity Auction by the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Foundation was held on December 8, 2009 in Paris, France.



24 Christmas trees designed by some of the top couturiers, architects and designers- all in the name of a good cause. The opening night of the fourteenth exhibition of the Designers’ Christmas Trees took place in the museum of the City of Architecture and Patrimony in Paris, where more than 1000 guests and some of the artists themselves, including Mireille Darc, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Nathalie Rykiel, came to admire the works of art, which were all auctioned off- with all profits going to the Carla-Bruni Sarkozy foundation for Sol en Si, hospitalized children affected with AIDS.


above: Carla Bruni-Sorkozy, model and France's First Lady

Trees by designers such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Ora Ito, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stella McCartney, Thierry Mugler, Marité & François Girbaud, Sonia Rykiel, India Mahdavi, Christian Ghion, Isabel Marant, Jakob+Macfarlane, Louis-Marie de Castelbajac, DSquared, Olivia Puttman, Mireille Darc, Paco Rabanne and architect Christian Beicher were among the 24 and I have pics of all of their trees for you.

Christian Biecher Christmas Tree:

Christian Ghion Christmas tree:

DSquared Christmas Tree:

detail:

Gucci Christmas Tree:

detail:

Hermes Christmas Tree:


detail:

India Mahdavi Christmas Tree:

Isabel Marant:

Jakob+Macfarlane Christmas Tree:

Jean-Paul Gaultier Christmas Tree:

Louis-Marie de Castelbajac Christmas Tree:


Louis Vuitton Christmas Tree:

detail:

Marité & François Girbaud Christmas Tree:

detail:

Mireille Darc Christmas Tree:

detail:

Olivia Puttnam Christmas Tree:

detail:

Ora Ito Christmas Tree:

detail:

Paco Rabanne christmas Tree:

Sonia Rykiel Christmas Tree:

close-up:

Stella McCartney Christmas Tree:

detail:

Thierry Mugler Christmas Tree:

detail:

all images courtesy of Getty, ©DR, Lidia Bardina and Wire images




All proceeds from the annual auction go to Paris' Sol en Si charity, dedicated to helping children affected by AIDS.

A Mountain of Gold, Literally. Ginza Tanaka Creates Solid Gold Mt. Fuji

Made of 3 kg (6.6 lbs) of gold, the 6 cm (2.3 inch) high reproduction of Japan's sacred dormant volcano was made by jewelers Tanaka Kikinzoku of Ginza Tanaka and put on display on Tuesday, the day before it goes on sale in Tokyo.



And despite the steep price tag, which comes as Japan's economy tries to stave off another slide into recession, the upmarket jeweler believes there will be buyers.

"We tried to make something that can be enjoyed as an art work as well as a valuable asset with this golden Mount Fuji. It is also a subject that has a special meaning to Japanese people," Naoto Mizuki, general manager of the Ginza-based company told Reuters.




Mount Fuji (above) at 3,776 meters (12,388 ft) is Japan's highest mountain. It is believed to be sacred and is seen as a symbol of good luck, especially for the New Year period.

Mizuki said he believed the gold mountain would also hold a special appeal for investors looking to put their money into safe-haven commodities after plunges on the stock market and in real estate.



"The price of gold is rising dramatically, and the economic crisis forces capital to move from paper assets, which are losing their charm, to material assets," Mizuki said.

Gold prices hit a record high of $1,226.10 per ounce earlier this month.

Mizuki said the design costs of the replica were kept down to about 15 percent of total costs -- a marginal amount compared to the usual 50 percent designers' fees -- to increase the product's investment appeal.

Tanaka Kikinzoku has two Mount Fuji's in stock and more will be made as orders are received.


above: Ayako Kikuchi, a public relations officer of precious metals and jewelry shop Ginza Tanaka shows off the company's gold handiwork of Mount Fuji during its press preview in a Tokyo hotel on December 15, 2009.

Ginza Tanaka will sell the 22-centimetre wide and 6-centimetre-high 3-kilogram gold Mount Fuji model from December 16 this year with the price of 11.73 million yen ($132 000 USD) with the gold price currently at 3,400 yen per gram. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

images via Ginza Tanaka and Akihabara news
info via Reuters and brought to my attention via Bornrich

Pure Gold Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Ginza Tanaka jewelers make many wild things in all gold from bathing suits to pagodas. And last month launched a sold gold Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in in celebration of the release of the “Snow White Diamond Collection” in Blu-ray this month.



The pure gold “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” figurines took for 15 artisans, around 1.6 kg. pure gold and 6 months to sculpt this precious piece which already ranks as first of its kind in the World. Worth 30 million yen, it is not for sale, but is to be displayed in Ginza Tanaka headquarters and has been scheduled to travel to Nagoya, Sendai and Fukuoka branches of Tanaka until December 25 of this year.

The Most Smokin' Range Hood Ventilators, The Elica Collection.

above: Legend ceiling mounted range hood

The Elica collection of ceiling and wall mountable range hoods from Italy are so beautiful and innovative that even if you're not in the market for one, they are worth sharing.

They go beyond their technological function of sucking smoke out of your kitchen and become pretty pendant lights and even sculptural elements for any modern kitchen. With a large selection of styles, materials and colors, the Elica Collection is a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively.

The entire Elica collection is shown below, with models listed in alphabetical order:


Helix:


Isolabella:



Karma:


Legend:


Menhir:


Ola:

Ola (wall mount):

Ola (suspended):

Om and Mini Om:

Mini Om (color):

Om Special Edition:


Oxygene:

Solaris:

Space:


Star:



Twin:

Victoria:



Vogue:

Vogue (Black leather and steel):

Vogue (all steel):

Wave:


Goldstream:

Blackstream:

Whitestream:



Product Design: Elica Team,
coordinator Fabrizio Crisà
Via Dante 288
60044 Fabriano AN Italy
T +39 0732 6101
F +39 0732 610249
info@elica.com
www.elica.com
www.elicacollection.com

If you never saw the Mirabilia Range Hoods from Falmac...

see them here.