A New Perspective on Hanging Plants. Introducing Boskke Sky Planters.

Boskke has evolved indoor gardening with the advent of their Sky Planter. Their unique upside down stoneware and plastic planters allow you to sprinkle greenery in any room without sacrificing floor or table space.

Highlights From The Met's Alexander McQueen Fashion Retrospective, Savage Beauty.

From May 4 through August 7th, The Metropolitan Museum of Art featured an impressive exhibit of the innovative fashions of the late Alexander McQueen. The exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute, celebrated the talented and sorely missed Alexander McQueen’s extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity.

The exhibit was extensive including, in addition to the 100 ensembles and 70 accessories, it included videos, runway photos, and a comprehensive website.
I have featured some details of the more unusual and striking pieces in the exhibit, but encourage you to visit the website to see more if you were unable to attend in person.





























Drawn primarily from the Alexander McQueen Archive in London, with some pieces from the Givenchy Archive in Paris as well as private collections, signature designs including the “bumster” trouser, the kimono jacket, and the three-point “origami” frock coat are on view. McQueen’s fashions often referenced the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s, but his technical ingenuity always imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at the vanguard.

The exhibition was organized by Andrew Bolton, curator, with the support of Harold Koda, curator in charge, both of The Costume Institute. Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett, the production designers for Alexander McQueen’s fashion shows, served as the exhibition’s creative director and production designer, respectively. All head treatments and masks are designed by Guido.

See more here

Gallery photography by The Photograph Studio, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
additional Photographs © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce


Alexander McQueen now:
Sarah Burton, who has taken over Alexander McQueen's position after working along side him for 15 years, is incredibly talented in her own right and has done the line justice with her own amazing designs. It was Sarah Burton who designed Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress under the Alexander McQueen label name.

GRADMEN: Creative Circus Enlists Creative Directors To Woo MADMEN's Jon Hamm.

As the Atlanta-based Advertising school students tell the story it all happened one Sunday night. Inspiration struck a few booze-laden advertising students while watching the ad industry's favorite tv drama, Mad Men on AMC. They decided to start a side project to bring actor Jon Hamm to speak in character at their graduation as Don Draper.



The Challenge:
To get get actor Jon Hamm to speak in character as Don Draper at The Creative Circus graduation.


above: Creative Circus students Deanna Director, David Ma & Mike Quattrocchi lead the charge

The Pitch:
The students rallied various ad agency Creative Directors to speak, CD to CD, on their behalf.

The Video Plea:



The President of the One Club, Kevin Swanepoel, even sweetened the deal with the offer of a Gold Pencil for Best Fictional Creative Director Ever:


I hope it works (although they may need to woo the writers, too). Best of luck to them!

You can see stills of the Creative Directors who joined the movement on the GRADMEN Flickr page here.

The Facebook Page for GRADMEN

GRADMEN twitter feed

Creative Circus

Steampunk Gas Masks & Helmets So Exquisite, They'll Leave You Breathless.

It's hard to believe that Tom Banwell has no formal art training and is largely self taught when you look at his expertly crafted collection of leather and metal Steampunk Gas Masks & Helmets. The masks and helmets are an impressive display of workmanship, complete with mechanical parts, fully wearable and entirely original.