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When Solids And Stripes Collide: Corian® Loves Missoni





"CORIAN® loves MISSONI" was a collaboration of the the design versatility of DuPontCorian® solid surfaces and the style of Missoni. Kitchen, bath, living and dining areas were designed by Missoni with the use of DuPont's Corian.

Missoni, an Italian fashion and homewares house has long been known for its beautiful textiles, often recognizable by colorful stripes, zig zags and flame stitching. Corian is a material that is commonly associated with durable solid countertops. Combing these 'stripes' with this 'solid' yielded design that is both beautiful and durable.

DuPont™ Corian® solid surface - an exclusive product of DuPont - is an advanced composite material delivering superior levels of functionality and aesthetical performance for flat and curved surfacing applications in residential, public and commercial environments, indoor and outdoor.


The results were fabulous as you will see.



Below are pictures from the exhibit at the 2008 Milan Design Week:
















Above: Rosita Missoni and her son, Luca

Rosita and her husband Ottavio Missoni were at the helm of Missoni SpA for 50 years, together creating a unique, inimitable style that’s admired all over the world. In 1997 she handed the reigns over to her sons Vittorio and Luca and, for fashion, her daughter Angela, and has since devoted herself exclusively to the MissoniHome collections.

Copyright © 2008 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™ and all products denoted with ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.

Another Artist With The Same POV: BCXSY's Golden Glory



above: detail from BCXSY's Golden Glory project

This is the third post about a group of artists to make a point about mass consumerism by gold-plating mundane objects.



How long is an eternity?
How does one quantify the unquantifiable?
What is the span of one day compared with endless time and space?

BCXSY is pleased to present FOREVER! - a collection of uniquely individual and materially rich products that explores how the function, aesthetics, and emotions of design can help to define the indefinable.

In an era of mass production and haste, BCXSY slows down and takes a closer look at what it means to last FOREVER!

Above is how artists Cohen and Yamamoto describe their work titled Forever!

"Golden Glory" Materials: mass-produced plastic toys and everyday objects - hand gilded with 23.75k gold-leaf, acrylic-glass plate.








As described by the artists:
"The exclusive one-offs that comprise GOLDEN GLORY explore the necessity of cherishing meaningful objects. Through the laborious art of hand-gilding, common plastic novelties and generic trinkets transcend the realm of the mass produced and meaningless and become truly remarkable modern day keepsakes."
Consisting of several subsets, Golden Glory is only a small part of the Forever! project. But it's the part that echoes other art works and limited produced pieces, specifically those of Tobias Wong and Big Game.


Above: Tobias Wong's gold McDonald's coffee stirrer from his "Indulgences" collection.


Above: Big Game's New Rich Gold Bic Pen Cap

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pointing this out to imply that their work is not entirely original or worth exploring, on the contrary. I just think it's interesting how many artists have gilded mundane and mass produced objects as either a way to mock or reflect society or- as in this case- to illustrate the transformation of a common object to a treasured one. When considered, what makes an item 'treasured' has really been defined by that which society considers valuable, in this case the luxe of gold. Hence, the artists are all basically saying the same thing.

Tobias Wong's Little Indulgences and Big Game's New Rich projects both gilded mass produced items. Read and see all about them here.


about BCXSY

(photograph: Sheri Avraham)

BCXSY is a cooperative between designers Boaz Cohen and Sayaka Yamamoto. BCXSY has several other wonderful projects and pieces worth seeing, be sure to check them out here.

The iDiamond Ear: diamond-studded earphones

Music to your ears. And eyes.



Designed by Thomas Heyerdahl of Heyerdahl jewelry of Oslo, Norway, these earphones, limited to 1,000 pairs, are crafted from 18k white and 18k rose gold and are set with 1.65 carats of F color, VVS pavé diamonds and feature laser engraved details. The Q edition of the headphones (limited to 100 pairs) are D-E color.


above left: Designer Thomas Heyerdahl proudly presents the new "iDiamond ear" earphones.

Each carefully crafted pair is set with 204 diamonds, adding up to a total of 1,65 carats. “iDiamond ear” will be produced in a limited edition series of 1000 numbered pairs for exclusivity.


Suggested retail price:EUR 4,950 / USD 7,200 + VAT / TAX

Heyerdahl is the same company which created the world’s most expensive iPod called the iDiamond, which was auctioned for a charitable cause in London. The iDiamond was created as one unique and single piece of jewelry (shown below).

Restoration Rocks: Fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Become Jewelry




The Guggenheim Museum announces the release of Restoration Rocks, a special edition jewelry line -- made with Gunite remnants of the Frank Lloyd Wright building - and distributed exclusively at the Guggenheim Museum's retail store and on its website.


Above: Five-Piece Necklace,RJ03$395.00

Designed and fabricated by California-based jewelry artist, Cara Tilker, the collection features nine different designs including earrings, pendants, bracelets, a ring, and cuff links.


Above: Two-Piece Necklace, RJ14$350.00

Each piece incorporates actual historic fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark Guggenheim Museum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2009. Lightweight concrete and Gunite remnants, set aside during the 2007 restoration process* from the building's walls, are presented in resin and sterling silver settings.


Above: Hoop Earrings, RJ32$175.00


Above: Bezel Earrings, RJ27$195.00

Tilker makes each jewelry piece through a labor-intensive process. Resin is poured into a handmade silicone rubber mold, then individual building fragments are placed in the resin, covered with a second layer of resin and allowed to set. After the resin pieces are released from the mold, they are hand-shaped and sanded, and finally set in sterling silver settings.


Above: Cuff Links, RJ04$300.00

Above: Large Cuff Bracelet, RJ21$350.00
Small Cuff Bracelet , RJ18$325.00

A minimal amount of Gunite--a mixture of cement and sand aggregate, and the jewelry's featured component--was removed from the building as was deemed necessary for its restoration, and saved. The material, which comes from the interior and exterior of the building, was removed in order to gain access to reinforce points of the exterior wall to preserve its structural integrity. Material was also removed from damaged sections of the exterior in order to replace it with more stable material.


Above: RingOne size, adjustable, RJ34$250.00

Restoration Rocks is a component of the planned 2009 50th Anniversary celebration. The building is judged by many to be one of the architectural wonders of the world.


Above: Pendant Necklace, RJ08$275.00

The Restoration Rocks jewelry will be limited in quantity with retail prices starting at $125.00. Several select designs from the line will be also available in 14-karat gold, by commission. The prices on those, however, are significantly higher than the ones shown above.



*about the restoration:


As the original landmark building of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum—designed by America's supreme architect, Frank Lloyd Wright—approaches its fiftieth anniversary in 2009, aspects of its facade and rotunda structure require restoration. This exhibition explores in depth the restoration team's work, which has included a systematic evaluation and documentation of the building, an unprecedented analysis of the rotunda structure, laboratory and field investigation of repair materials, and detailed environmental analysis to propose adequate repair methods.
Photographs, drawings, and videos document the components of the current restoration, including reinforcement of the upper ramp walls, installation of a corrosion protection system, replacement of skylights and windows, repair of the cracking curved exterior walls, and application of a new exterior coating. The exhibition surveys all these efforts to restore the exterior to its original splendor and to maintain the building's unique environment for both the art and the visitor.
—Monica Ramirez-Montagut

shop for the jewelry here.

So Many Links, So Little Time: Tools To Get Back To Those "Must Reads"



If you're at all like me, you have literally thousands of items bookmarked and not enough hours in the day to read all the info that's lurking out there in cyberspace. Your RSS feeds are overwhelming, google alerts never cease and you keep swearing that you'll get to that article before your mailbox alerts you that it's at full capacity.

So, what to do?
Read, Write, Web has a nice list of apps that help you 'get back' to those articles of interest. Here they are with links and pertinent info:

6 Great Tools to Save Links for Later

1. ReadBag

ReadBag is a quick and easy bookmarklet to save links for later. ReadBag requires a Google Account to use the service, though OpenID might have been a better choice. The UI is simple and clean with all the features available from the homepage. You can archive bookmarks after you're done reading them, star them, add a note, or simply delete them. ReadBag includes a host of goodies such importing options, a Firefox extension, Google Reader integration, Google Gears support, RSS for your bookmarks, and a mobile interface for both regular phones and the iPhone. Unfortunately, ReadBag doesn't support tagging.

2. Instapaper

Instapaper is a really simple "bookmark it for later" service. With only a simple bookmarklet to bookmark items, Instapaper doesn't offer nearly as much as its competitors. You can edit the title and url of your bookmarks, grab an RSS feed, and add a note to your links. There is one great feature that's available when you click the 'text' link at the end of each bookmark. Instapaper allows you to read your bookmark right from the site with no hassles. All in all, the service is very straightforward with a clean UI and zero distractions.

3. LaterLoop

A new tool from the maker of social bookmarking service Mento, LaterLoop offers the best features out of the group. There's a neat extension for Firefox that features keyboard shortcuts, mobile support, import and sharing options with Del.icio.us, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and more. Offline support is integrated with Scrapbook Firefox extension instead of Google Gears. You can also read a text only version of your links. However, the UI for text only reminds me of the horrible reformatting job that Google does for mobile phones. Overall, LaterLoop sports a clean and uncluttered UI just like the rest of the pack.

4. LinkRiver

We've reviewed LinkRiver as a great service to find more news on a slow day. Well, when the pace picks up and you find yourself not having enough time, LinkRiver offers a handy bookmarklet to save items for later. If you're a user of the site, you can also bookmark content for later directly from your profile.

5. FriendFeed: Read Later

Fans of the FriendFeed aggregation service will love using the Read Later Greasemonkey script. This script allows you to save entries in FriendFeed for later. It's a very useful tool for reading FriendFeed quickly and coming back to the articles that might get buried under the constant stream of activity. Once installed, you'll begin seeing 'Later' appended to the end of each item. There's also a convenient tab that the script adds to FriendFeed for browsing through your saves.

6. Star it in Google Reader

If you're using Google Reader to go through the never-ending process of reading feeds, Google's 'Star' feature can be a great way to save items for later. To quickly process your feeds, change your display to 'List View' in Google Reader. Then star only the headlines that jump out at you. 'Mark all as read' and repeat until all your feeds have been processed. Now you won't have so many feeds to read and a lot more time to weed through only what might be interesting whenever you have time.

So, you may not get to it today, but at least you can get back to it when you have the (sigh) time.

Hamilton Wins The Monaco Grand Prix, Was It The Diamond Helmet?



First of all, the race is over and 23 year old Brit Hamilton Lewis has won. And Finnish born Heikki Kovalainen, who had to start last after stalling before the formation lap, was fourth on the grid, so it obviously wasn't the diamond helmet. What diamond helmet, you may ask?

Buy It Before It Flies Away! Only 2 Left of Emi Ozawa's Mahogany Bird Tables.



"Bird Tables" by Emi Ozawa

Only 23 limited editions of these handcrafted tables were made.These mahogany "Bird Tables" by artist Emi Ozawa can raise and lower their wings. A sculpture or a functional table, the whimsy of the design and quality of the craftsmanship make it a lovely edition to any home, in any room.

If you like it, I suggest you snap it up: Only two tables remain in this limited edition of twenty-three as of today.

Price: $2,100

"Bird Table" Wood Tables
By: Emi Ozawa
Kinetic mahogany table finished with oil.
Limited edition of twenty three (only 2 left as of June 1st, 2008)
Dimensions: 21"H x 24"W x 21"D
Height is 31" when the wings are upright.

Buy it here.

Wild West : Gretsch Guitars Go Americana




Gretsch Guitars has just released this fabulous collection of four acoustic guitars called the Americana series. Each G4530 guitar features a 24" scale steel reinforced neck; real wood construction; and comes in a totally cool retro designed box.




The fabulous packaging:

above: the front and back of the box

Each of the four is $150.00 and available for purchase here.

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