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

Giant LEGO Snowglobe Features 14 London Landmarks For Christmas.

For the past few years, the first LEGO Certified Professional in the UK, Duncan Titmarsh of Bright Bricks, has created large LEGO sculptures for Christmas and displayed them in various public venues in the UK. Last year, it was a giant LEGO Advent Calendar in London's Covent Garden’s West Piazza and in 2011, the World's Larget LEGO Christmas Tree (35 feet tall) displayed at St. Pancras station.

This year, London’s Covent Garden’s West Piazza celebrates the launch of the world’s first LEGO Snow Globe. It features an inflatable snowglobe in which LEGO sculptures of 14 London landmarks including Shakespeare's Globe Theater, the London Eye, The Battersea Power Station and Big Ben are placed. The snowglobe, which can be walked into via an archway, took six people over 75 days to build, used 120,000 LEGO bricks and stands over 3 meters tall.

some close-ups:

The Snow Globe and its festive scene of London will be open to the public free of charge from November 14th to December 22nd.

Duncan speaks about his LEGO Snowglobe:

Images courtesy of Bright Bricks and London Mums Magazine

15 Seconds To Make You Laugh In Any Language

It's not easy to walk on ice when you're bundled up as this sweet little girl in Russia, on her first outing in the snow, shows us.

Beautifully Designed CHOMP Food Chain Puzzle Books by Mirim Seo and Kelly Holohan.

Chomp puzzle books are designed to teach kids about basic food chains. Crafted of wood and paper, each beautiful puzzle book introduces a different level of a food chain in its environment; Forest, Ocean, Arctic, Jungle, and Desert. All food chains include, producers, consumers, and decomposers and each plays a role in the chain. When completed, the puzzle shows the eating process.

Beautifully designed and packaged, the set of books was a design project by student Mirim Seo for Temple University's Tyler School of Art under the tutelage and with art direction by Professor Kelly Holohan.

Ocean:

Jungle:

Arctic:

Forest:

At this time Chomp is not available for purchase, which is really disappointing, but hopefully the puzzle books will be paired with the right backer to bring this project to life. May I suggest Kickstarter?

The San Francisco BatKid Story Should Move Your Money As Well as Your Heart.

If you haven't yet heard the amazing story of the city of San Francisco pulling together to make the dream of 5 year old cancer-stricken Miles Scott come true, you simply must read about it here. The Make-A-Wish Foundation transformed the "City By The Bay" into Gotham City, providing the 5 year old leukemia patient with a Batmobile, a nemesis and a damsel in distress. In addition to a specially printed newspaper front page and the cheering support of hundreds of locals, he even received a key to the city.

If the #SFBatKid story is warming your heart (and if it's not, there's something wrong with you), here's your chance to do something about it. Donate to Make-A-Wish Foundation here so you can help make someone else's dream come true.

You can view live updates here and follow him on twitter at @SFBatKid

Christmas Nutcrackers For Nerds. Robot Nutcrackers by Matthias Zschaler for Suck UK.

Designed by Matthias Zschaler for Suck UK is a fun twist on the traditional Christmas Nutcracker. Two Robot nutcrackers, one large and one small, are made of beechwood and painted in bright retro colors.

Using the 'wind up key' to break the nut, any nut, placed in their belly they are both fun and functional and make great gifts for the holiday season.

Large Blue Robot Nutcracker:

The large Blue Robot Nutcracker measures: Width 125mm x Height 330mm x Depth 60mm
price: $40

Small Red Robot Nutcracker:

The small Red Robot Nutcracker measures: Width 140mm x Height 220mm x Depth 50mm
price: $30

Buy them here

A Sweet Treat For Your Feet. Karl Lagerfeld X Melissa Ice Cream Heels.

Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld teamed up with Brazilian shoe company Melissa for four new styles, one of which is this whimsical ice cream cone-heeled shoe named the Incense. Available in three color combinations, the black or white pump is embellished with a glittery ice cream cone in two colors.

above: Karl's initial sketch of the shoe

“This is one of the most exciting collaborations that our company has ever started” says Paulo Pedó, Marketing Director of Melissa. “Karl Lagerfeld, the most iconic designer of the 21st century, has widened his kingdom by joining the world of Melissa. Lagerfeld’s great talent, synonymous with couture, will be translated into a shoe line, expanding our consumer base and making his brand more accessible for all”, complements Pedó.

Black With Rasberry:

White with Pistachio:

White with Rasberry:

Very satisfied with the collaboration, Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of the KARL LAGERFELD brand, says “Melissa has been great in translating Karl’s inspirations and designs in genuinely fun and fashionable products that many women will be very happy to wear”. We are thrilled about the launch of the Karl Lagerfeld brand in Brazil through his collaboration with Melissa. He will produce mini-collections for four consecutive seasons.