Alba Matters: Artist Enhanced Clocks For Furni

Devin Barrette and Mike Giles began Furni began as a “custom” furniture operation in 2005. Making short run hand-crafted furnishings, they've become best known for their modern clocks.

One of the most fun things they do is ask artists to decorate their clocks and then auction them off or sell them. In this case, the alba matters show artists to decorate the "ALBA", their smaller square clock.


Several artists decorated the ALBA clock in their own style and each sells for $150.00 USD. About half of them have already been sold, but several are still available for purchase. Before I show you all of the clocks in the show, here's a little ALBA background:

The ALBA:

The standard ALBA clock has:
• a hand made solid wood casing
• 5/8” beech wood construction w/rounded corners
• natural wood or rich “dark brown mahogany” wood stain
• white acrylic face w/faux speaker pattern
• old-school red LED clock w/alarm functions
• comes complete with wall transformer
• dimensions: 6” x 6” x 2.5”

Now, alba matters: the ALBA by various artists: (click on each image to enlarge)











Shop the available artist decorated ALBA clocks here.


Furni
215- 5445 De Gaspe
Montreal,Quebec
H2T 3B3
CANADA


Dig Clocks? check these out:

Modern Nixie Clocks

Modern Cuckoo Clocks

Architect Zaha Hadid Kicks Up Her Heels, Or Lack Thereof- Again.

Architect Zaha Hadid has collaborated with Lacoste for a new line of shoes for men and women. Not her first foray into shoes, she collaborated with Melissa of Brazil to bring us her version of molded plastic shoes in September of 2008.

Her shoes for French iconic brand Lacoste are leather, unisex and have Hadid's recognizable twisting structure. The women's are available in purple or black and the men's in black or navy.




In addition, a special limited edition (850 pairs) of boots for women, shown below, will be available at select boutiques like Colette in France, beginning July 20th.




press release:
Lacoste presents a collection of shoes by architect Zaha Hadid. Born from a digital interpretation of the iconic logo of the brand, the shoes are crafted from Italian calf leather and printed in relief realized by heated metal plates. “Wrapped around the foot, these shoes adapt in an ergonomic way to the shapes of the body" explains Zaha Hadid.



ZAHA HADID FOR LACOSTE


The Zaha Hadid for Lacoste footwear collaboration began with a digitized interpretation of the iconic crocodile logo. Hadid’s research team then used this as a basis to explore a series of surfaces with repeated patterns. ‘The design expression behind the collaboration with Lacoste footwear allows the evolution of dynamic fluid grids,’ explains Hadid. ‘When wrapped around the shape of a foot, these expand and contract to negotiate and adapt to the body ergonomically. In doing so a landscape emerges, undulating and radiating as it merges seamlessly with the body.’



To achieve this tactile landscape effect, Zaha’s team designed a series of metal plates depicting the desired wave pattern. These plates were subsequently utilised to apply a combination of heat embossing and debossing techniques to the calf leather, thus rendering the topography in relief. The effect is visible on the uppers, curving around the top of the toe, and on the exterior fascia of each shoe. A similar pattern is replicated on the sole of the shoe, crafted of moulded rubber, which is designed to reflect points at which the foot naturally exerts pressure. The heel itself is the minimum depth possible in footwear construction, emphasizing the slender and streamlined profile of the design.




The shoes also feature the unique Zaha Hadid for Lacoste logo, visibly wrapped around the side of the heel and on the in-sock. The sleek and sophisticated black box which packages the product also bears an embossed version of the same logo. The shoes are unisex in design; the women’s are available in black and purple, whilst the men’s come in black and navy. A limited-edition boot version of the Zaha Hadid for LACOSTE shoe will be available exclusively at such high-end boutiques as Colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and 10 Corso Como in Milan in July 2009 as a preview. The main shoe line will be appearing in stores worldwide from September 2009. This exclusive collaboration will be highlighted in store by a suite of bespoke material designed to compliment and enhance the themes and colours of the project.

the above images are courtesy of Lacoste.

This is not the first time Zaha Hadid has designed shoes, in her signature style, she created a collection for the Brazil brand of plastic shoes, Melissa:



above images courtesy of dezeen.

Read all about Melissa shoes here.

Not the only Architect to get into the shoe game, United Nude is an unusual brand of shoes by architect Rem D. Koolhaas and partner, Galahad JD Clark. learn about them here.


above: the Ultra Mobius, another shoe designed by an architect.

Save Your Logo & Help Save Animals & Plants!

The principle of Save Your Logo is simple:

Save Your Logo creates an opportunity for companies represented by a plant or animal in their logo to contribute to the conservation of that species. Preserving the planet and its biodiversity is essential in the survival of the human species.

Save Your Logo is an innovative global initiative in the field of biodiversity that involves public and private funding, with supports like the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the International Union for Nature Conservation and the Endowment Fund for Biodiversity.



above: Lacoste is the first major brand to join this program.

How it works:

The funds from the private sector will be invested in the Endowment Fund for Biodiversity and will then be distributed to organizations that specialize in biodiversity and local conservation projects.

The selection and follow up on these grants will be managed by a steering committee of representatives from the World Bank, the IUCN, the GEF and the Endowment Fund for Biodiversity.

Part of the private sector funding will be used to finance the creation of an Emergency Fund for the conservation of for lesser known species that are found on the IUCN Red List.

All these efforts will be overseen by independent auditors and the court of auditors.

To learn more about the tax laws and implications of the program, go here.

This public-private partnership will engage new partners from the corporate sector in the conservation community and complement existing conservation efforts. A robust education outreach campaign will engage the general public to participate in this effort.

The status of all conservation projects will be updated on a daily basis on the website.


Save Your Logo will create the first global observatory for biodiversity using a multimedia platform to communicate about it programs, creating a community of people interested in plant and animal biodiversity and the health of the planet.


If your company or one you know of has a plant or animal in their logo, turn them onto this!

Designers Type Dirty: 450 Typographical Tart Cards

A different form of 'sexting', if you will, is this fabulous project between Wallpaper magazine, St. Bride Library and Type in the "Sex Issue" of wallpaper magazine.




They asked over 400 designers to create their version of Tart Cards (the biz cards that London prostitutes use to advertise their wares) by finding the 'sex' in typefaces. The 450 cards designed vary in cleverness, style and of course, fonts. Some use the font as a graphic or a sexual image, others use the name of the font as a double entendre or a pun. In any case, they are fun to look at, but will be NSFW in some industries and definitely not for those under 18 years of age.

Here are a few of my personal favorites:














and although I'm not a fan of the design, I had to include this one for obvious reasons:


Along with a selection in Wallpaper Magazine's Sex Issue, all 450 cards can be viewed on their site here.


Wallpaper Magazine's Sex Issue: Type Tart Cards

About the project:
Tart cards are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged. Even if a police crackdown, the internet and the increasing use of mobile phones suggest their days are numbered, tart cards are still so pervasive they are now regarded as items of accidental art and have something of a cult following. Once on the periphery of design, tart cards have influenced the work of many mainstream artists such as Royal Academician Tom Phillips and Sex Pistols designer Ray and Nils Stevenson. In conjunction with St Bride Library and Type, Wallpaper asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every type and create their own graphic numbers. The cards will also be on show at KK Outlet*, London, from 22 June. The over 400 cards will include designs by Erik Kessels, Anthony Burrill, Neville Brody, NB:Studio, Spin, Value and Service, Fernando Gutiérrez, Ian Wright and Noma Bar.

Below is the invite to the show:


In among this plethora of brilliant, witty graphic designs we would like to highlight the serious issue that lies at the heart of the world of tart cards – the plight of trafficked women in the sex industry. It is a subject touched eloquently on by Mike Dempsey of Studio Dempsey, who is a volunteer at the Helen Bamber Foundation which helps rebuild lives broken by human rights violations. While our exhibition is an ode to the graphic qualities of the tart card phenomena, Dempsey's design is a pertinent reminder of the sinister world that lies beneath every card.
--Wallpaper Magazine

*KKOutlet is a shop, gallery and communications agency. It specializes in making, presenting and selling innovative communication solutions. It is the London office of Amsterdam communications agency, KesselsKramer. The exhibition runs from 22- 29 June 2009

See all 450 cards here.