Plushdepartment Gives PC's A Modern Makeover With PURE* Computers

Plushdepartment (there is no space between the words) is an Amsterdam company that was formed based on the idea that computers are fantastic machines that enhance our capability to communicate, work, play, keep us informed, enable us to have control over the information, data and media we use like no other machine before... only they didn't look aesthetically pleasing.

They asked themselves "Where were the computers that enhance our living space? Where were the computers that have shape and colour and feel?"

The folks at Plushdepartment started the search for beautiful, colorful, designed computers and found none. So, PURE* Computers was born.




They combined the power of computers with living, organic and beautiful materials. They added color, style and pattern and line to what used to be a boring square box. Inside the PURE*lineup they put balanced high end components. Each selected part is chosen for its excellence in its field. Some parts even had to be developed, like the PSU, which is designed by the electrical engineer of ichbinleise.de.

The ceramic glazed PC housing comes in 10 different colors including natural, terracotta, sky blue, lime and some, like the white and black, come in either a matte finish or a glossy finish. An accompanying 5.1 amplifier is available as well.



They also have this metallic bronze option:


They also have a Gold PC with matching Gold Amplifier:
PURE*GOLD PC Amplifier 5.1



In addition to the solid matte, glossy and metallic colors, they have PURE *Art designs especially created for them by various artisans, like these two fabulous examples:

Delft Blue Series:




Above: The Delft Blue series will be available in a limited amount and with numbered certificate from Royal Delft, Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles anno 1653.

And this fun one by Dutch Graffiti artist Zender:




Above: Zender is a well known Dutch artist working for exibitions, events and graphic design. You can find more of his work here.

Designer Piet Boon will be making one for them in concrete and expect one from designer Edward van Vliet in January.

What's inside:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo; this CPU is very powerful yet very energy efficient.
Motherboard: Kontron; a industrial quality high tech board of superb quality.
Grafik card: ATI 4650 chip with 512MB DDR RAM/ DVI/VGA/HDMI
Hard disk: 1000 Gigabyte with very fast SATA II interface.
Memory: 2 x 2048MB highend Dual Channel RAM 800MHz dual channel.
Sound: 7.1ch HDA / AC-97
Network: 2 x Gigabit LAN connections plus 1 x wifi connection.
USB / Firewire: 8x USB 2.0, 4x RS232C, 2x IEEE1394 (Firewire).

All this makes the PURE*computers very powerfull and reliable and enables you to work fast, enjoy emerging graphics, store thousands of files, MP3's, data, photos or movies and you can easily connect to other computers.

PURE* computers contain the same technology that you find in the ikbenstil.nl computers. Ikbenstil uses the best available cooling technology to create extremely silent high end computers. At the same time those computers are very stable, energy efficient and fast. Because of this technology it is possible to use Plushdepartment computers in every living or working space.



The Plushdepartment Store
Dukdalfweg 30
1041BE Amsterdam
The Netherlands
E-mail: info@plushdepartment.com
Telephone +31-20-3301345

The Pantone Party Continues With More & New Products!

I did a huge post on all things Pantone (the universal color matching system also known as PMS) a ways back and since then there have been some new additions to the market. For those Pantone-loving peeps, here they are!



SeaVees, Purveyors of California Casual, has announced an exclusive collaboration with Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color. True to their inspiration, each SeaVees style is named to honor an influential date in 1960's California-cool history.



With the creation of the 09/63, SeaVees celebrates the founding of Pantone, and the release of the first PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM in September 1963. For the first time in their 45 year history, Pantone has allowed an external design team into their hallowed archives. SeaVees has selected seven vintage colors from the original Pantone color guide.




The palette, chosen from the only authentic guide known to exist, epitomizes the cool, casual style of California in 1963. The series production has been restricted to 1,963 pairs. Each par costs 140.00 USD and will ship in February of 2009. www.seavees.com



Limited edition collection of cuff links and key rings by Sonia Spencer



Inspired by the PANTONE FASHION + HOMES system, Sonia Spencer introduces a striking new collection of contemporary cufflinks and key rings for the modern man and woman. All the items are made from stainless steel for everlasting wear and feature coloured enamel in seasonal PANTONE colors. Each piece comes in a high gloss beautiful black signature box with white leather interior and a PANTONE leaflet showing the colours in that seasonal collection.

Rectangular Chip-shaped Cufflinks:

above: PANTONE cufflinks designed to resemble the iconic PANTONE chip are made from stainless steel for everlasting wear and feature coloured enamel in seasonal PANTONE colors.
The round ones feature a clever design with one color way combination on one side and one on the other, PANTONE reversible cufflinks give two great looks in one beautiful cufflink set. Made from stainless steel and enamel featuring seasonal PANTONE colors

Chip-shaped Keyring:

Above: PANTONE key rings designed to resemble the iconic PANTONE chips are made from stainless steel for everlasting wear and feature coloured enamel in seasonal PANTONE colors.
Buy the above shown Sonia Spencer collection here.

NEW PANTONE Color Splash Drives


Each Color Splash drive is a one-of-kind design. The coloring process produces a random design that is unique to each drive. Drives are a metallic black with a design in one of six colors. These durable, aluminum thumb drives allow you to store your digital photos, music files, business documents, and more on an ultra-small Hi-speed USB flash drive. Please note, these drives can not be personalized. Buy them here

W2 (the people who make the pantone mugs) have some new additions as well:






Above: Beautiful generous messenger bag, available in above colors shown, lots of useful interior pockets and bright colored interior lining. Sling it over your shoulder, great for carrying laptops. (Unfortunately they only ship this product within the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, CH The USA and Canada)


Above: Witty set of 4 espresso cups in differing tones of brown to suit your coffee strength and tastes. Comes in glossy brown packaging, it will make the best present for the design-conscious coffee lover.


Above: New 4 pack espresso cups, in lovely colours.
PAPRIKA 179 C , MUSTARD 130 C, GRAPE 520 C, TURQUOISE 3272 C.


Above is sold as a set and includes Pantone® references for the mugs are as follows: Red 186C, Spearmint 3395C, Royal Blue 286C, Lime Green 388C, Pale Blue 549C, Lilac 2583C, Olive Green 5757C, Black 4C, Orange 021C, Process YellowC.


Above: New for spring 2008, an additional set of 10 colored mugs to compliment the original primary ones. Pantone references for the mugs are as follows: PAPRIKA 179 C, BABY BLUE 292 C, LAGOON BLUE 3025 C, DUCK EGG BLUE 337 C, PEA GREEN 363 C, GRAY (cool gray) 10 C, CHOCOLATE 732 C, MUSTARD 130 C, GRAPE 520 C, TURQUOISE 3272 C.

All the above products can be bought online here.

The item below, the "Rubitone", a Rubik's cube made with pantone colors is only a concept, but I'm sure if it were produced, it would sell.



Be sure to see Pantone Eyewear, carpeting, clothes, toys, shoes, art and more here. And tons of Pantone items for the kitchen here.

Hello Kitty & MAC Collaborate To Bring Us The Kouture & Colour Collections

MAC Cosmetics has teamed up with Sanrio Global Consumer Products to create a Hello Kitty color cosmetics collection. The line will arrive on MAC's website February 10, in North American stores on Feb. 12 and into overseas stores in March.

Mac has had some success with collaborations of this sort before. Consider the Barbie Mac Collection and the FAFI collection.

“MAC has been mining pop culture since the brand was founded,” said John Demsey, group president of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. “This is a sexy and innocent fashion line, and a true MAC moment. In these times, everyone can use a little fun — and a little Kitty.”

“The partnership was a no-brainer,” said James Gager, senior vice president and creative director of MAC Worldwide. “We cater to people who love to play with makeup.”

“We are thrilled to partner with a brand that shares the vision of offering an innovative, authentic and transforming experience to our loyal fan base,” said Janet Hsu, president of Sanrio. Sanrio’s worldwide retail sales of licensed products for 2007 is estimated at $5 billion.

While the 34-year-old Hello Kitty character is usually assumed to be a cat, she is actually a girl, according to Sanrio. And a girl without a mouth, so she “speaks from the heart,” the company said. “She may not have a mouth, but she’s going to sell a lot of lipstick,” cracked Demsey, noting that a waiting list for the items will go live on Jan. 7 at maccosmetics.com.

“To me, MAC Hello Kitty embodies the ultimate beauty icon,” said Jennifer Balbier, senior vice president of product development for MAC Worldwide. “She’s sweet and sexy, slightly edgy, and appeals to a wide range of customers. We wanted to reflect that through a sweet side, but also something slightly mischievous when it came to the colors. I started out by creating a palette of pinks, since they fit and always trend well in the spring. And this look is so much about the eyes that we did two eye shadow quads.” The Lucky Tom quad has violet blue, brown, gold and pink-coral shades, while the Too Dolly palette has mint, blue-silver, pale pink and magenta shades.

“We incorporated glitter eyeliners because she loves anything that twinkles, and we took the coral and hot pink theme and did pretty, poppy [colored] blush,” added Balbier.

While this collection is intended to have a sophisticated presentation, MAC hopes to appeal to younger fans with two shades of lip conditioners.


above photo: John Aquino | Hello Kitty items from MAC Cosmetics.

The Hello Kitty offerings fall into two collections: the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and the more high-end Hello Kitty Kouture.

The bulk of the items are in the former category: six shades of lipstick with names like Fashion Mews and Strayin’, each $14; six Lipglass shades, each $14; and two tinted lip conditioners, $14.50 each; two eye shadow palettes, which each contain four shades and retail for $38; two shades of pigment are $19.50 each, and two Reflects Glitter stock keeping units — one blue, one pink — are $17.50 each. Four Glitter Eye Liners, each $16.50, two shades of Beauty Powder, each $22; three shades of nail polish, each $11; a black mascara, $12, and false lashes, $12, round out the color offerings. Shades range from pinks and turquoises to lavenders and greens.

Hello Kitty Kouture is intended to be the high end of the collection. Two shades of Dazzleglass, each $28, each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow. Sheer Mystery Powder, $90 and available in three shades, is packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background.

“We wanted to have affordable luxury and a high-low aspect, so it made sense to do the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and Hello Kitty Kouture,” said Demsey.

The Hello Kitty Colour items, a Petite Makeup Bag, $22, and a medium Makeup Bag, $35, will be in about 581 department and specialty stores in North America including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, as well as MAC’s 138 freestanding stores in North America and at maccosmetics.com. Internationally, the items will be in 1,307 stores in 69 countries, including 296 MAC freestanding stores outside North America. Hello Kitty Kouture will be available at MAC stores and maccosmetics.com only. At the maximum, the collection will be available for eight weeks.

A plush doll, $42; purse mirror, $22, and three-brush collection, $49.50, will be available at MAC stores, Nordstrom and maccosmetics.com only. A mirrored key clip, $16; beaded bracelet, $34, will be sold in MAC retail stores and at maccosmetics.com only, and a tote, $45 and soft vanity kit, $55, will be exclusive to mac cosmetics.com

While none of the executives would discuss sales projections, industry sources estimated that the limited edition MAC Hello Kitty collection could do upwards of $12 million in North American retail sales. That projection is slightly larger than that of the hit Barbie collection.

In-store visuals, shot by Nick Knight, show the polar opposite aspects of the collection. One is an image of a blonde model holding a black vinyl Hello Kitty doll, which will be part of the accessory line. The other visual is what Gager terms “more of a dominatrix creature.” The point, said Gager, is to show that makeup can be transformative. Makeup was done by Val Garland, with hair by Sam McKnight.

And Demsey promises the surprises aren't over yet. “There will be more products to come in the next three months with this partnership,” he said.

Via WWD