Chanel's Mane Event. The Winter 2010-2011 Haute Couture Show.

The newest haute couture collection from CHANEL premiered July 6 at the Grand Palais in Paris. The collection was filled with rich brocades, luxurious sequins, ruched boots, new longer length dresses, some seriously puffy sleeves, tousled hair and lions. Yes, Lions.

One of Karl Lagerfeld's most sumptuous and elegant collections to date, the Chanel show and collection were punctuated with multiple appearances of the King of the Jungle.



The set in Paris, designed by Stéfan Lubrina, had an enormous statue (reported to weigh 8 tons) of a Lion through whose giant paws the models strutted Karl Lagerfeld's latest looks. You can view a video of the construction of the set here.




The set was based on this marble statue:


Lion heads adorned the invitation, the press kit, some of the jewelry, some of the gowns and even were embedded into some of the fabrics.

The invitation:

Karl Lagerfeld shooting the press kit:


A Chanel gown with sequined lions:


Chanel dresses with Lion head accents:


and on the jewelry:


Even the groom in the the finale donned a giant lion head:




A video of the fashion show:


To see the entire Chanel Winter 2010.2100 collection go to the Chanel site.

The Bubble Blo, New Inflatable Jacuzzi Tub from Blofield.

Blofield, whose high styled inflatable Chesterfield Sofa has been the recipient of the Red Dot Design award and whose pieces I profiled in my Inflatable Goes Formal post has just introduced the Bubble Blo, an inflatable hot spa.



It comes with an included power pack to provide warm water and bubbles, and like all their products is inflatable via their air-design, comes with its own bag and is easy to transport. It will be available with customized wrapping in every design, color or print imaginable.



above three images courtesy of NOTCOT.

The Blofield Bubble Blo will be officially launched during the Maison et Object show in September but is already taking pre-orders via their site.
Blofield Air Design Furniture

By no means the first to create an inflatable spa tub, companies Palm Springs Outdoor and MSpa both make portable outdoor inflatable spa tubs:

Buy the above spas at the links below.

Classic Barcelona Chair Gets Revised As The Barceloneta For Outdoor Use By Serralunga.

This drool-worthy outdoor version of the classic Barcelona chair, called the Barceloneta, was designed by Raffaella Mangiarotti of Deep Design for the Italian company Serralunga and manufactured by the Biella Company of Italy.

The durable, but stylish, outdoor version of the modern classic chair is available in four colors; Black, Ivory, Brown (moka) and Red.

Barceloneta in Ivory:


 Barceloneta in Red:


 Barceloneta in Moka:


 Barceloneta in Black:


The classic modern chair, of which I have always been a fan, but have yet ponied up the dough to purchase, was originally designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The tufted leather lounger with it's criss-crossed chrome steel base remains a popular and respected design icon today.

With this new outdoor version, the chair is durable, lightweight and although still pricey, thousands less than the original chair after which it was fashioned.



 Colors shown above are not actually available, but were prototypes.


The Barceloneta is a respectable interpretation of the classic, made with printed polyurethane that has UV protection and sits on an aluminum base. It is conveniently stackable and comes in 4 different colors.



dimensions: 31 x 31 x 29 inches

expected to be available mid-July the Chairs cost £633.00 inc. VAT and can be purchased here.

About the Original Barcelona® Chair:

Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, produced by Knoll®

 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair and Stool (1929), originally created to furnish his German Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, have come to epitomize modern design. Mies van der Rohe designed the chair to serve as seating for the king and queen of Spain, while the stool was intended to accommodate their attendants. Still produced to his original specifications, this Barcelona is of quality fit for royalty. The cushions – welting and buttons included – come from a single Spinneybeck® Volo cowhide and are supported by cowhide belting straps, dyed to match the color of the chair. To create the deep, precise tufting, individual panels of leather are cut, hand welted and hand tufted. The chromed-steel frame is hand buffed to mirror-like perfection. The Barcelona Chair was honored with the Museum of Modern Art Award in 1977. (via)

The Barcelona Chair is a registered trademark of Knoll®, Inc., manufactured by Knoll; according to the original and exacting specifications of the designer. Made in U.S.A.

Buy the original Barcelona chair and stool here.

About Serralunga:


Serralunga is a design company in Biella, Italy which specializes in outdoor furniture. Though the company's roots go back to before the Industrial Revolution, they have always experimented with the latest materials and manufacturing technology. In the 1980's the company started working with the rotating molding system, a cutting edge manufacturing process which had recently been invented in the United States. Serralunga was the first Italian design company to employ this new technology in the production of outdoor equipment such as plant pots.

Today Serralunga manufactures a range of products for outdoor landscaping applications, including pots, lamps, tables and chairs. Each item is lightweight, strong, and designed for durability in all weather conditions. And whilst most pieces are designed primarily for outdoor use, they are versatile enough to be effective indoors too, where they will create a strong focal point for any environment. However they are used, Serralunga designs can never fail to infuse a given space with an unmistakably Italian elegance.

Award-Winning Animated Short Film "Love & Theft"

This seven minute animated short film has been the recipient of numerous awards for both music and animation. With script, direction and animation by Andreas Hykade and artwork by Natalia Eck. (Full credits at the end of this post)

Write Design: Clever Pencil Sets From Paper Pastries

above: the Chef's Pencil Set has basic cooking definitions printed on No.2 pencils

Paper Pastries is a Los Angeles-based greeting card and stationery company run by Margaret Haas. The site and her accompanying etsy store offer custom invitations, announcements, and calligraphy.

Amongst her clever and cute stationery items, she also offers five fun and original pencil sets which make great and affordable gifts.

Know It All Pencil Set:


Set of 6 pencils: 

PI is 3.14159265358979323846 Gray pencil with red writing 

H20 BOILING POINT 100C 212F Pastel Blue pencil with orange writing 

I BEFORE E EXCEPT AFTER C Yellow pencil with green writing 

1920 WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE Red pencil with dark blue writing 

Primary Colors-Red, Yellow, Blue 

LARGEST MAMMAL- Blue Whale
No. 2 pencils
Comes in a 5 x 8 muslin bag. 
"Know-it-all pencil set" is stamped in brown on bag.

New York Pencil Set


The greatest pencil set on earth for the greatest city on earth, 
representing all boroughs:
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 
 BROOKLYN 
 BRONX 
 MANHATTAN 
 QUEENS 
 STATEN ISLAND
Set of 6 pencils, comes in a 5 x 8 muslin bag. 
"New York pencil set" and the skyline is stamped in black on bag.
No. 2 pencils


Chef's Pencil Set:

If you ever need a quick reminder of what that term means, just check your pencil! 
Perfect for the chef, or aspiring cook in your life.
AL DENTE- SLIGHTLY CHEWY 
 SAUTE- COOK QUICKLY IN OIL 
WHIP- BEAT RAPIDLY TO EXPAND 
 KNEAD- TO WORK DOUGH 
ZEST- GRATE COLOR OFF CITRUS 
 MINCE- CHOP FINELY
Comes in a 5 x 8 muslin bag. 
"Chef's pencil set" is stamped in green on bag.
no. 2 pencils

Make a Point Pencil Set:


Inspired by leather bound book collections.
Set of 6 pencils, 2 of each:
Noteworthy- gold writing on burgundy pencil

Get the lead out- gold writing on blue pencil

Do the write thing- gold writing on a brown pencil.
No. 2 pencils
Comes in a 5 x 8 muslin bag. 
"Make A Point pencil set" is stamped in blue on bag.

Enamored Pencil Set:


Perfect to give away to family, friends & sweethearts- and still keep one for yourself.
Set of 6 pencils, 2 of each:
Xoxoxox- red writing on light pink pencil 

You're just my type- white writing on a red pencil 

Blue without you- red writing on a light blue pencil
No. 2 pencils
Comes in a 5 x 8 muslin bag. 
"Enamored pencil set" is stamped in red on bag.


Paper Pastries, Confections For Your Correspondence

Each set is $10.00 and you can purchase them here along with other items by Paper Pastries.