The Tramp Stamp Goes Upscale With CHANEL Temporary Tattoos

With the body art craze continuing to grow, it's no surprise that a luxury brand would capitalize on the trend. And it seems that french brand CHANEL is the first to market luxury temporary rub-on tattoos, LES TROMPE-L'OEIL DE CHANEL.




In the Chanel Spring-Summer 2010 Fashion Show in Paris, the models were not only sporting fashionable fabrics, but a series of temporary tattoos designed and applied by Peter Philips, the Global Creative Director for CHANEL makeup.

Chanel CD Peter Philips applying the body art:





They are now selling the fifty-five exclusive temporary tattoos, originally hand-drawn by Peter Philips. Artful images of CHANEL symbols and icons, including Oriental cherry blossoms, bejeweled Swallows, Chanel's double CC logo, strands of pearls, link chains and toggle clasps have been turned into rub-on body art. They add visual trompe l'oeil jewelry to the body in the form of classic ornamentation.



necklaces and leg art:


bracelets:



Yes, you can buy them.


Created as a special limited edition, the set of 55 of the applicable body art is now available for purchase from Chanel boutiques ($75), online stores and at Selfridges. They only take 30 seconds to apply and last a few days.
Buy them here.

images courtesy of Chanel,the Daily Mail, LA Story and Luxuo

The Porta Hedge Allows You To Study Nature Incognito & Eco-consciously

The Porta Hedge is a mobile artificial hedge created by Justin Shull. The exterior repurposes discarded artificial Christmas trees and on the inside, it can accommodate people, offering them an opportunity to study what's around them, such as birds and plants, all while enshrouded and incognito from nature.



above: exterior, Mixed media, including artificial Christmas trees, birdsong audio, video surveillance cameras, 21′x8′x6′


above and below: interior Mobile Observation Lab


As described by the designer:
Like all hedges, the Porta Hedge is a physical barrier that provides a certain amount of privacy in the guise of greenery. Built within the ‘green’ paradigm, the Porta Hedge features several eco-conscious design features including solar power, a small physical footprint (2 tires and a swivel jack), recycled Christmas trees on the exterior, living plants and wood finishing on the interior, and the relaxing sound of birdsong audio on the interior and exterior.



BRANCHES: The exterior of the Porta Hedge is constructed from thousands of recycled artificial Christmas tree branches donated by 7,000 EVERGREENS Instead of going to the landfill, these artificial tree branches become part of a new mobile landscape.



AUDIO: The Porta Hedge also features exterior audio of prerecorded, arranged birdsong. Robins, Cardinals, Chickadees, Blue Jays and Mourning Doves are just a few of the birds that one hears crooning softly from the Porta Hedge.

WILDLIFE HABITAT: A study is currently under way on the Summer '09 Tour to determine if the combination of artificial branches and precorded birdsong audio will attract other bird and animal species to use the Porta Hedge as a home.

SOLAR:

The roof of the Porta Hedge is the perfect location for photovoltaic solar panels. Generate additional electricity either for the interior of the Porta Hedge, for your home, or for any structure nearby.

What About the Trailer?
With minimal impact upon the landscape, and mobility for the lifetime of the hedge, the Porta Hedge and its related Porta Projects are a novel approach to landscape design.


Like many other contemporary products, all Porta Projects are designed to be modular and easily relocated when necessary. With only 5 points touching the ground, Porta Projects have minimal impact upon the land they are situated on.

INTERIOR:





The Porta Hedge's interior Mobile Observation Lab features surveillance cameras/monitors, a rooftop observation hatch and peep holes with accompanying chalkboards to observe and respond to one's surroundings. For the comfort of the inside observer, amenities include a small bathroom, live plants, and an internet uplink.

Rooftop hatch and live plants:

bathroom:


Since July 2009, the Porta Hedge has been travelling the country in search of suitable sites, for field testing, and to meet the public. To learn more about it and see other projects of Justin Shull, visit his site here.

all information and images courtesy of Justin Shull

Add A Splash Of Fun To Your Bathroom With Disegno Ceramica Sink Basins & Shower Trays

The Splash Collection by Disegno Ceramica for the bath. A collection of organically shaped sink basins and shower trays available in all white or with a splash of one of three colors; yellow, orange, or green.

The collection is composed of a shower base, a wall hanging wash basin and a wash basin set on a base.






Splash non slip shower bases:

Something Green For You Today: Cleaning Cloths Made From Corn Cobs & Peach Pits

Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd share something really cool and 'green' with you today.

When it comes to green cleaning products, it seems there are new ones hitting the market daily. But these fabulous Japanese scrubbing cloths by PLUS ONE, made of all-natural abrasives (peach pits and corn cobs) have been awarded the 2009 Wallpaper design award for best cleaning product and NY York Magazine names them a best bet.


above left photo by Hannah Whitaker for NY mag, above right photo from Wallpaper magazine

They last for months, have need no detergent, and fit in tight little hard to clean spots.



Green Depot sells them two to a pack; the yellow for metalware like pots and pans, kettles, sinks and grills (they even work to peel the skin off of veggies!) and the pink one for more delicate surfaces like glass, wood, and teflon coated or non stick pans.


buy them here.


all images and info of the Japanese scrubbing cloths are courtesy of the company and its President, PLUS One and Taka Aoki (shown above)

Ramon Coronado Repurposes Shopping Carts In His Mercado Negro Furniture

RAMÓN CORONADO, a self described "cross-media visual designer" is a recent Graphic Design graduate from Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. He has an array of unusual designs and concepts to his credit, but I found this particular one both inspired and inspirational.



In the designer's own words:
Mercado Negro is a Spanish word for Black Market. This 12 week project deals with reclaiming an ordinary, everyday object and transforming it into something with a completely different purpose.



I also wanted to create a project that commented on the shortage of parks and recreational functions in Los Angeles.

Moving to Los Angeles four years ago from the small population of Cathedral City was a major eye opener. Los Angeles felt like an entirely new world separate from everything that I had known or experienced before. With little knowledge of LA and it's neighborhoods, I ended up living across the street from MacArthur Park, a dangerous lower income area, overpopulated with homeless, and trash, but with a heavy Hispanic influence. Spending a year in this area exposed me to the lack of recreational areas for kids in Los Angeles.

The irony being that I lived across from MacArthur park, but because of it’s dangerous reputation, no children would ever go there to play and often resorted to playing on the streets running in and out of traffic. This area is filled with trash on the sidewalks, people sleeping everywhere, and an abundance of shopping carts.

Shopping carts exist everywhere and anywhere throughout the city of LA and include themselves as part of LA's landscape. A shopping cart says a lot about a city. Seeing one on every block adds attention to the poverty and that there is no control of private property.

I took it upon myself to take a shopping cart and make a statement with it. I reclaimed LA's iconic shopping cart and created furniture for kids to enjoy in these urban Los Angeles areas. The project is a criticism of the scarcity of recreational functions for kids growing up in a dense city like Los Angeles.





Ramon at work on the project:

See more of Ramon's inspired work at his site here.