It's A Sculpture. It's Art. No, It's A Radiator.

Maybe it's because I'm a native Californian, but I've never really given radiators a lot of thought. That is not until I started coming across some of these in my dutiful quest for what's hip. Did you all know that so many unusual radiators were out there?

Hans Wegner Dies at 92; Danish Furniture Designer

Hans Wegner at his home in 1997.

By DAVID COLMAN
reprinted from the NY Times, February 6, 2007 [ABRIDGED VERSION]

Hans Wegner, whose Danish Modern furniture — most famously his chairs — helped change the course of design history in the 1950s and ’60s by sanding modernism’s sharp edges and giving aesthetes a comfortable seat, died on Jan. 26 in Copenhagen. He was 92.

Associated Press

For the entire obituary from the New York Times, click here.

Mr. Wegner (pronounced VEG-ner in English and VAY-ner in Danish) was one of a small group of Danish furniture designers whose elegant but comfortable creations made Danish Modern all the rage among cosmopolitan Americans of the ’50s and ’60s.

Their works, often made in warm blond wood, domesticated the cold chrome shine of the Bauhaus-influenced International style. In the process, they found a way to dovetail the words “Danish” and “modern” for the first time, joining cabinetmaker-guild traditions of high craftsmanship, quality and comfort with modernist principles of simplicity and graphic beauty.

Over the last decade he was able to witness a surge of renewed interest in his work. Mid-century Modern furniture is again in high demand, according to spokesmen for P P Mobler and Carl Hansen. What was a chic look a half-century ago has today joined the pantheon of mainstream style, perhaps a fitting tribute to a man who believed that a chair should be made well enough to last at least 50 years.

Below are just a few of his chairs (click on pic to enlarge)

Anna Nicole Smith, the pneumatic blonde whose life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale -- jeans model, Playboy centerfold, widow of an octogenarian billionaire, reality-show subject, tragic mother -- died on February 8, 2007 after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39.

I'm Not Sleeping Alone Tonight

Mat & Jewski use photographic imagery on many of their clever products.

In honor of those of us who don't have a Valentine to cuddle with this year, here's an alternative to spending the night alone in bed....atop a silk-screened sheet with the image of this handsome hunk. That's right, he's actually printed right on your sheets.

And if he begins to get 'dirty', just throw him in the wash.




This is just one clever product from Mat & Jewski. Below is their Oh La Vache camping tent. A nice way to spend time outdoors without being a blight on nature. Just beware of randy bulls!



And finally, they have a collection of lamps to die for. Below are just a few. Click on the image to enlarge.



So now you know of Mat & Jewski Pretty cool, huh?

DWR's Champagne Chair Finals, Vote For Your Favorite.

Design Within Reach asked for votes for their Most Popular Champagne Chair Award.

The chairs included were selected by the design-savvy, Champagne-loving staff of Design Within Reach.

Below are the finalists from each round of voting, going up against each other for this coveted award.



The designer of the Most Popular Champagne Chair will receive a $500 DWR gift certificate and their winning chair will join the other outstanding chairs on a nationwide Studio tour.

The Champagne polling booth will close on Friday, February 9th at 5pm PT and you can vote only once, so choose wisely.

Cast your vote here.

Mac•a•licious.

Never mix up your ipod with everyone else's in the gym locker room.
Or question which laptop is yours in the student library.

As a big mac enthusiast, I was thrilled to read about Etchamac in the premiere issue of Mac Life, a new magazine.

Customize your mac product with laser etching. Here are just a few examples:








Etchamac will basically etch anything you want onto your mac product-for a price, of course. But it's a great idea to help distinguish your mac from the hundreds of others out there. Or, as a corporate promotion, etch a nano with your logo!

Be it an ipod, mac book or G4 laptop... aluminum, polycarbonate or plastic, seems they can etch on most anything, check them out.

Funky Find Of The Week: The Bruce Balcony Grill

Designed by Henrik Drecker, the Bruce Balcony Grill is such a cool simple idea and space saver. Very euro. Click on the pic to learn more or to purchase.

If Tattoos Were Made of Gold. The Jewelry Of Michael Spirito.

Tired of cutesy hearts for Valentine's day?
How about flaming hearts in 14k or a Heart wrapped in a 14k crown and thorns from Michael Spirito's fabulous collection, Exhibitionist NYC.
Cause that's about as 'sweet' as his jewelry gets.




Meet Michael Spirito of Exhibitionist, NYC. When Michael Spirito took the Accessories award for his fascinating jewelry at the 'Gen Art Design Vision Awards' in June 2002, the fashion community realized there was a revolutionary talent in NYC. The designer's reputation continued to grow with a 'finalist' placing at the 2003 'Rising Star' awards.

His Latest Collection, "Shockra" (a fun play on the spiritual word Chakra) is reminiscent of John Hardy on Acid:



His Memento Mori collection will make any psuedo punk or macabre maven giggle with glee.




His other collections like Royal Pearl, Strong Sterling, Crown Jewels, etc use what I like to refer to as "tattimagery", all the icons people love in tattoos; hearts, swords, thorns, skulls, wings, but all done in a tasteful way with wonderful craftsmanship and materials.

But, to be fair, in addition to his stable of trendy imagery from brains skewered by swords and hearts on fire, he has a line of one of a kind signature jewelry that is absolutely stunning in both the design and craftsmanship.

here's a taste of that:



Michael's line is now sold internationally - from NYC to Los Angeles, Tokyo and most recently Moscow. Exhibitionist continues to grow while retaining a decidedly independent philosophy. "We don't conform to trends, we'd rather stick to our own interests & develop a market" says Spirito.

Really Michael? Well, I think your stuff is completely trendy, but I love it!

When A Blank Page Inspires. Moleskine Notebook Art.

click above image to enlarge

Most of you are probably familiar with Moleskine notebooks.

A favorite amongst creatives, Moleskine makes not only wonderful notebooks, organizers and journals but has a great site and often hosts wonderful exhibits. The following images are just a sampling of some of the pieces from a London Exhibit called Detour. These include renderings by Mary Ellen Mark and Ross Lovegrove.

DETOUR
THE MOLESKINE
CITY NOTEBOOK
EXPERIENCE

70 Moleskines by international artists, designers, architects, illustrators, and writers

4 exhibitions inside 4 London venues: Conran, Waterstones, Stanfords, Artwords

The notebooks' authors kindly participated to the Detour exhibition supporting lettera 27.

lettera 27 is a nonprofit foundation encouraging the right to literacy, education, and access to knowledge and information.

For the Love of Dogs & Art: The Wurstminster Dog Show

Feb 3: Online gallery launches Wurstminster Dog Show.


The Wurst Gallery launches their biggest show to date, with over 100 artists from all over the world each representing a different dog breed in their own unique way - from a five-foot plush doll to postcard-sized paintings. A portion of the proceeds of the art sales from this event will benefit Dove Lewis Animal Hospital in Portland, OR. Artists featured in the show hail from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Norway, Sweden and throughout the United States.



A one-night exhibit of the Wurstminster Dog Show will take place on Saturday, February 3rd at the newly opened Ace Hotel in Portland. Following the opening event, the work will be displayed and for sale online at thewurstgallery.com.

There's some really wonderful art here. And each piece is one of a kind, all will be on sale after the show this weekend. Here's a few pics taken from some people who attended the show.


this is a wonderful piece by Scott Rench whose work I love. (update: I ended up buying this piece)


























The Wurstminster Dog Show
Over 100 international artists representing over 100 dog breeds.

Benefit for Dove Lewis Animal Hospital
https://dovelewis.org

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007
6pm-10pm
The Cleaners @ Ace Hotel
http://acehotel.com
403 SW 10th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

Featuring work by the following artists:
A.J. Purdy, Aaron Draplin, Aaron Meshon, Aaron Renier, Aaron Stewart, Adam Bayer, Adam Haynes, Allan Sanders, Amanda Visell, Amy Earles, Amy Ruppel, APAK, Arbito, Aya Yamasaki and Jason Brown (Overture), Beci Orpin, Benjamin Marra, Betsy Walton, Bill Barminski, Bjorn Lie, Blair Kelly, Brad Simon, Brandon Reese, Bubi Au Yeung, Bwana Spoons, Camilla Engman, Casey Burns, Charley Harper, Charles Whiteside, Chris Hutchinson, Cody Hudson, Cupco, Damion Triplett, Dan Anderson, Dan Funderburgh, Daniel A. St. George II, Derek Aylward, Derek Ballard, Driscoll Reid, Eamo Donnelly, Eleanor Grosch, Elisabeth Doherty, Emil Kozak, Emily Ryan, Erik Railton, Evan B. Harris, Eyeformation, Fawn Gehweiler, Feanne, Florencio Zavala, Frances Castle, Geoffrey Lorenzen, Gideon Baws, Gina Triplett and Matt Curtius, Grady Mcferrin, Greg "Pnut" Galinsky, Guy Burwell, Hannah Stouffer, Heiko Mueller, Holly Stevenson, Husk Mit Navn, Jason Vivona, Jen Leong, Jennifer Muskopf, Jeremyville, Jess Hutch, Jesse Ledoux, Jessica Barnes, Jessica Lynch, Jill Bliss, Johnny Yanok, Jon Klassen, Juliana Pedemonte (Colorblok), Julianna Bright, Junichi Tsuneoka, Kangaroo Alliance, Kate Bingaman, Kate Sutton, Kelly Haigh, Keri Smith, Kevin Scalzo, Kirsten Ulve, Klaus Haapaniemi, Koichiro Takagi, Le Merde, Leo Hillier, Linzie Hunter, Little Friends of Print Making, Luke Ramsey, Lyn Nance-Sasser, Martin Ontiveros, Matt Cassity, Matt Clark, Matt Furie, Mauro Gatti, Max Miceli, Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch, Meg Hunt, Mia Hansen, Michael Leon, Michael Paulus, Michael Wertz, Mike Burnett, Mikey Walsh, Miki Amano, Mister Pinks, Mizna Wada, Molly Anderson, Mona Superhero, Nate Beaty, Nick Deakin, Nick Weidenfeld, Noah Butkus, Nora Krug, Paul Clark, Rachel Blumberg, Ray Fenwick, Rick Froberg, Rob Flowers, Roman Klonek, Romantic Walrus, Ryan Alexander Tanner, Ryan Berkley, Ryan Sanchez, Ryan Waller, Saelee Oh, Sarajo Frieden, Scott Barry, Scott Rench, Shawn Wolfe, Snaggs, S.britt, Stephanie Davidson, Supermundane, Susie Ghahremani, Swigg, TADO, Teresa and David, Todd Hoffman, Todd St. John (Hunter Gatherer), Travis Lampe, Trish Grantham, Vincent Mathy, Wes Younie, Will Rhoten

About The Wurst Gallery:
Portland-based online art gallery, The Wurst, has been producing conceptual group art shows since 2003. The Wurst Gallery's shows have garnered coverage in Readymade Magazine, Relax Magazine (Japan), Form (Germany) and Craft Magazine.

So Cool, It's Enough To Make You Sick.

Designer airsickness bags. Well, not really.

Created for display purposes and released in limited edition, these fabulous custom screened barf bags (or airsickness bags if you have sensitive ears) were created by redst collective and released in limited edition for sale at The Future Perfect in Brooklyn , Le Bon Marche and Terminal 5.

A Louis Vuitton Aston Martin? Not so fast...

No, I don't mean the car is not so fast, I mean don't get too excited about this news. Yet.

Three of my favorite blogs,Luxist, High Snobiety and NOTCOT reported today the exciting news that LVMH (the parent company of Louis Vuitton) had purchased Ford's Aston Martin Company.

This, of course, sent visions of LV leather-clad Aston Martins touring around in our heads.



But according to Motor Trend, the reports are a bit premature. Can't blame these bloggers, they report the latest news and as of yesterday, that was the latest. However, the sale is now in question according to the latest from Motor Trend.

Read on:

Motor Trend: Aston Martin sold, but maybe not to LVMH

Posted Feb 2nd 2007 7:25PM by Alex Nunez

Motor Trend is disputing yesterday's published reports that Brit luxury/sports car manufacturer Aston Martin will be sold to Louis Vuitton. According to MT, which cites "well-placed" UK sources, Aston's bags are packed and ready to leave Ford, but they do not have that iconic "LV" logo on them. Apparently the buyer is a group of high-finance types we've never heard of. They're set to pony up around $1 billion for the storied automaker.

The sale is said to include the factory, and Ford is still expected to retain a stake in the company. Motor Trend can't resist needling Autobild and the blogosphere for (supposedly) getting the buyer wrong. (Marketwatch, the major outlet that ran the story yesterday, gets a pass.) Somewhat ironically, MT uses its own blog to get its version of the Aston saga out to the public.

UPDATE: MT has updated their post to reference the Marketwatch story that many outlets (including Autoblog) picked up on and reported.

[Source: Motor Trend]

But it does look as if an Aston sale is pending. The buyer will be a private investment firm with no names familiar to anybody outside the high-finance banking community. Rumored price is just a tad less than $1 billion.

LVMH did take a look at Aston late last year, but passed. One problem with a non-automotive buyer is that there’s a lot of cost and potential liability associated with purchasing a small automaker based in England. The Aston deal will include the factory, good news for the buyer, but that also includes the workers, which may not be.

As mentioned in the LVMH rumor, Ford should retain some interest in the sport-luxury brand, if for no other reason than to provide parts and components that could be shared with Jaguar and Land Rover.

The bottom line is the rumors of Ford selling Aston look solid. It’s the buyer that Autobild (picked up by Marketwatch and our friends in auto blogosphere) has wrong. Stay tuned for the latest on the Aston Martin sale drama from Motor Trend as the story develops.