Pouring Money Down The Drain Can Be A Good Thing. Luxury Vanity Wastes For The Bathroom.

Murano House has turned that simple stainless feature, the drain, into a piece of art.

Murano House has launched its debut product: Venetian bejewelled marble and stone vanity wastes (aka sink and shower drains)

Titled as: 'Murano Scolpisce il Tappo,' this designer vanity waste range is jewellery in the bathroom for those who wish to indulge in understated and contemporary elegance.

The jewelled vanity wastes reflect the company’s branded strategy: luxury appeal, high-end quality and its unflinching integrity in its approach to design. The elegant glass and stone drains for sinks, showers, bathtubs (both overflow and fillers) really add a posh splash to the bathroom.

Polished stone, glass, terrazzo, marble and 24k gold finishes:



Watch faces that function as drains:


Bath overflows and bath fillers :


A bit about Murano House reprinted from their site:

Be seduced by Murano House defining the essence of bathroom beauty with handmade Venetian bathroom wastes for the sink, bath and shower.

Murano House’s myriad of colours and innovative creative sense incorporates precious stones including: Emeralds, Rubies, Topaz, Amber and Amethyst. The jewels are set in glass onto refined mountings in gilded silver gold and platinum.

The nimble hands of the glass master whose craft has been passed down through father and son generations fuses the glass together and moulds the glass giving the sculpture its form and shape.

This exclusive designer range of vanity wastes will stand alone as an independent objet d'art in any bathroom scheme. Additionally, when immersed in water, the vanity wastes sparkle brightly as lustrous and luminous jewels.

These exclusive Venetian jewelled vanity wastes will adorn any high-end specification including hotels, bars and restaurants as well as those discerning and indulgent clients from the domestic interior market.

Bespoke commissions are available, particularly; if there is a colour scheme you are working to. Bespoke pieces are priced on application. Also note that each vanity waste is individually crafted and therefore, colour variations can be expected.

Now your sink can have a beautiful drain as well as fixtures.
The also make drains for showers. Amazingly beautiful collection. And, well... another thing to spend your money on.

learn more about Murano House bejewelled venetian fixtures by clicking here.

CHANEL's New Pavilion in Venice by Zaha Hadid

above: Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel and architect Zaha Hadid. Her firm conceived of and designed his new Chanel Pavilion in Venice.

You can read an interview with Wallpaper Magazine and Karl Lagerfeld on his reasons for choosing Zaha Hadid here.

Exhibition Pavilion for Chanel: Zaha Hadid Architects_June 2007
Below are computer renderings of the building now under construction and expected to open in January 2008.





The following description was reprinted from the Zaha Hadid Architecture site.

The form of the Chanel Pavilion is a celebration of the iconic work of Chanel, unmistakable for its smooth layering of exquisite details that together create an elegant, cohesive whole. The resulting structure is very much tied to that original inspiration—elegant, functional, and versatile both in its overall structure and detail.



The architectural structure of the Pavilion is a series of continuous arch-shaped elements, with a courtyard in its central space. The glazed ceiling adjusts to allow for control of the interior temperature in response to the particular climate conditions of each venue city.



Natural light descending from seven elements on the ceiling, meets artificial light pushed up from gap between the walls and raised floor to emphasize the “arched” structure, and assists in the creation of a new artificial landscape for art installations. Six of these elements are roof lights for artworks; another large opening dramatically floods the entrance in daylight to blur the relationship between interior and exterior. In addition to the lighting and colour effects, the spatial rhythm created by the seams of each segment gives strong perspective views throughout the interior.



The size of the Pavilion will be 29m x 45m, a total of 700sqm. The overall height is 6m, with the floor raised 1.00m above the existing ground surface. In light of the extensive shipping between cities, each structural segment will be a maximum of 2,25m wide.

The 65sqm central courtyard has large transparent openings to the sky above and is designed to host events as well as provide an area for reflection after visiting the exhibition. The courtyard serves as an intermediate space between the exhibition and a public area of the Pavilion. A 25sqm cloakroom is also provided.

With a direct visual connection to the courtyard, the 128sqm terrace continues this dialogue between the Pavilion’s exterior and interior. During an event, the two spaces could be linked to become one large event zone.

Reflective materials allow the exterior skin to be illuminated with varying colours which can be tailored to the differing programmes of special events in each city.

The dichotomy between the powerful sculptural mass of the Chanel Pavilion’s structure and the lightness of its envelope create a bold and enigmatic element. The Pavilion’s exterior develops into a rich variety of interior spaces that maximize the potential to reuse and rethink space due to the innate flexibility of its plan.

The total fluidity of the Chanel Pavilion’s curvilinear geometries is an obvious continuation of Hadid’s 30-years of exploration and research into systems of continuous transformations and smooth transitions. With this repertoire of morphology, Zaha Hadid is able to translate the ephemeral typology of a pavilion into the sensual forms required for this celebration of Chanel’s cultural importance.

Click here to see a video rendering of the Pavilion from the NY Times.

Now be sure to see the mobile art exhibit and Zaha Hadid's finished structure here.

Product Pick of The Week: The Corner Lamp

I'm actually really surprised I haven't seen this before, it's so smart and yet so obvious.

And I really like that it's still elegant and simple and clean as opposed to becoming a 'silly' lamp.

by Design House Stockholm Corner Lamp
pergament plastic lamp shade & steel pole

height = 66"

$225.00

$15 shipping charge added at fulfillment
Available for purchase by clicking here.

Headhoods; Hot Hilarious Hoodies

If you're a blog reader, chances are you've seen these written about and showcased on many a design blog or community shopping site. But, because it's my job to bring you what's hip, I'd be remiss if I didn't do a post about this rapidly growing trend, Head Hoods.



Now printing or silkscreening on American Apparel Tees and Hoodies is nothing new nor ingenius, but this simple idea has taken off like wildfire.

Taking famous faces like Elvis and Audrey or icons like Skulls and Kings, headhoods has printed these on the "hood' of the hoodies to give the illusion from profile that the head is that of someone else. At $60.00 a piece (custom ones cost more and take longer to produce) they arrive via priority mail in 2-3 days.




So, time to get your hood on...

Get your headhood here.

Meet Amy J. Rowan aka Art School Girl

Who is Amy J. Rowan? Well, she's the imaginative force behind Art School Girl.

I stumbled upon Amy's work while browsing an online card store and was immediately drawn to not only the charming indie look of her vintage-fabric-on-cardstock cards, but the fact that she took the odd tradition of adding "in bed" to one's chinese cookie fortune and turned them into actual cards (see below):



So, I 'googled' her and found her site, filled with objects of fun and whimsy.

Below are two examples of her hand-crafted one of a kind stationery on her self-proclaimed favorite brown cardstock:




You can order a sampler of her items (as shown below):



She makes everything from hand sewn bookmarks.....:



Journals and notebooks made with recyclables she's cleverly named reNEWed:




Taken from her own "about us" page:
Art School Girl's origins can be traced back to owner, Amy Rowan's days as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was there that she constructed what would be the first of several stationery lines—a simple blank journal made from recycled books. Fueled by a passion for paper and a love for specialty printing processes, Art School Girl specializes in one-of-a-kind hand made paper goods. Expertly crafted from recycled materials and often sewn or printed by hand, each piece is artisan quality.

She even sells 'art, some creations of vintage imagery on old index cards:




See all her fun products here.

HP Toyrama: Make Your Own Animated Movies with Pete Fowler's Characters

HP and Artist/toy designer, Pete Fowler have teamed up for a great interactive co-op project that allows you to create your own animated movie with Pete Fowler's Monsterism characters and HP's technology.

Called Toyrama, you can create your own animated movies, pick music, scenes, create dialogue and then submit your film.



The Press Release reads as follows:

Singapore, Aug 2, 2007 – Embarking on magical adventures is not just for Shrek-like ogres and furry animals from Over the Hedge anymore as HP kicks off a unique contest that invites digital animators across Asia Pacific to create, design and direct short, animated skits using high-performance workstations and graphics tools.



Christened the HP Toyrama Contest, this online competition developed by Arc Worldwide Singapore challenges the best digital content creators in the region to create innovative and rich multimedia stop-motion animation starring five toy characters named Sancho, Farm Girl, Ranger, Jogger and Green from Monsterism Island, designed by cult toy designer, Pete Fowler. The contest has two categories – the Open segment, for enthusiasts, amateurs or students with a passion for animation; as well as the Professional segment, for the more proficient animators.

They even have a "professional category" (see below):



Below is a nice example of the "How To" (created by my friends over at NOTCOT), just click on it to enlarge:



So, check out Toyrama and have some fun.

More For Pete Fowler Fans

For all you Pete Fowler Fans, he's also just created a KIA spot in the uk:
Pete Fowler creates new animation for Kia advert



Illustrator and designer Pete Fowler, best known for his work with the Super Furry Animals and his Monsterism.net Website, has animated an advert for Kia's new Picanto range.

The advert is directed by Pete Candeland of Passion pictures, the man responsible for four of the Gorillaz music videos, which similarly made use of the work of cult illustrator Jamie Hewlett, creator of Tank Girl.

This is the first time Fowler's characters have been animated using computer graphics. The challenge for Candeland and his CG team was representing the 2D characters in 3D while keeping Fowler's trademark style. In order to do this, Candeland and Fowler decided to keep certain objects, together with the backgrounds, as flat graphic elements. The 3D characters were then built in Lightwave and animated in Messiah before compositing the background elements in After Effects.

The Kia advert is being screened in TV ad breaks now.

To see more of Pete Fowler's work, click here.

Funky Find Of The Week: The Diamond Studded Saucepan

Pot à la Fissler and Harrods:
timeless luxury for $205,245.86 USD!! (£100,000)

Fissler, the leader on the German market for premium cookware, is setting new standards of luxury with a unique product: a pot adorned with gold and diamonds from Fissler will be presented to the exclusive clientele of the London department store Harrods from the 10th of September until the 20th of October. This true gem will be exclusively produced to order and will cost £100,000 (Or $205,245.86 USD).

Technically, the diamond pot is based on a saucepan of 28 cm in diameter from the successful premium series 'original profi collection®' by Fissler. The handles on the lid and sides as well as the name logo are made from almost one kilogram of solid gold (750/yellow gold) and are studded with more than 200 diamonds (TWSI) of varying sizes.

The breathtaking one-off originals will be crafted lovingly by hand in Idar-Oberstein/Germany. This town in Rhineland Palatinate is well-known as the home of Fissler, the international leaders and experts in cookware, and has, for centuries, enjoyed a global reputation in the design of precious stones and jewellery for the most exclusive clientele all around the world.

The product will be presented in accordance with its unusual characteristics: the diamond pot will be showcased at Harrods on a special presentation pedestal made of rootwood. The diamond pot will come complete with a high-class jewellery box made of rootwood. A document and the appropriate quality certificate guarantee additional exclusive quality for the buyer.

With the diamond pot, Fissler will be presenting what is probably the most precious pot in the world. An application for inclusion in the book of Guinness World Records has already been submitted.

Limited Edition Marc Jacob Exclusives At Colette

- Following the success of Little Marc - his line of clothes for children - Marc Jacobs has created the Little Marc Box - the perfect gift to mark the arrival of any newborn - pyjamas in pink or claret with a Be@rbrick Medicom Toy. This limited-edition toy (only 1000 made) is availalbe in turquoise or bronze an is only available in a pre-release exclusive chez colette from August 27.



- Exclusive to Colette and available in the eshop from August 22 (official release date September 5), the documentary "Louis Vuitton & Marc Jacobs" reveals the Louis Vuitton's backstage and its artistic director Marc Jacobs.

The DVD contains more than an hour of special extras (including New York party, a Marc Jacobs press conference in Tokyo, the large model Bracque bag and a visit to the factory). A documentary directed by Loïc Prigent, based on an idea by Dominique Miceli, 2007- 82min, Arte Video

UPDATED: Is San Diego The Next Soho? 3 Hip Places To Stay In Different Price Ranges

I used to think of San Diego as a typical tourist destination filled with overweight, conservative tourists and families full of unsophisticated people clamoring to go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, The racetrack at Del Mar or Legoland.

A HumVee Even Treehuggers Will Love (or Chew On This Hummer by Heidi Hesse).

I stumbled upon this on the web and simply had to share it with you.

Hummers (Hum Vees) are very controversial (want proof? check out Fuck You And Your Hummer Too site here)

But who wouldn't love this HumVee? An art project By Heidi Hesse for Tuscon's Museum of Modern Art in 2004.

A brief description of the exhibit: Exporting Liberty


Heidi Hesse was born in Germany, grew up in South Africa and emigrated to the Unites States in 1982. Recently, Hesse began to investigate and contemplate the meaning and possibility of U. S. citizenship. She, as many an earnest emigre pursuing the American Dream has done before her, began to read the documents and stories associated with the founding of the United States of America. Through her investigations, Hesse began to identify a significant gap between the rhetoric of liberty embedded in our documents and our practice of ’ exporting liberty’ throughout the world.

Exporting Liberty is an examination of citizenship and its attendant responsibility. It is both a celebration of freedom and a critique of excess, an homage to democracy, and a warning that the comfort borne of privilege can breed a dangerous apathy...

Welcome to America. Would you like to supersize that?





Sugar Coated, 2004, [Exporting Liberty] By Heidi Hesse
This life-sized gum-ball covered HumVee comments on pop culture and reminds us of soldiers handing candy to children in far-flung countries at war with us.