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What Do Bottled Water, Music and Architecture Have In Common? Check Out Ice Swan.




Glaciers + Music + Architecture = Ice Swan.
Ice Swan is a beautiful bottled water from the glaciers and waterfalls of Chile's Patagonia region packaged in an equally beautiful bottling plant designed by Panorama Architects. To add to the intrigue, it is processed in a very unusual manner, the harvesting and bottling of the water is imbued with classical music and natural sounds of Patagonia's habitat because, according to Dr. Masaru Emoto, a world-renowned researcher, water has memory and sensitivity to sound.

Origin:


Ice Swan is bottled in its place of origin. It is a nature's gift from a strand of more than seven ancient majestic glaciers and multiple waterfalls situated in the 'Coastal Temperate Rain Forest' of The Chilean Patagonia, one of the five most pristine regions on earth.



From ancient fjords on the planet's southernmost terrain, Ice Swan's smooth 'mouth feel' and delicate flavor will refresh and satisfy even the most demanding/refined palates. Ice Swan is for the savvy and demanding connoisseurs who prefer the kind of products that set trends and leave an overwhelming feeling of wellness.

Bottle Design:


Ice Swan's bottle is an original creation from award-winning Chilean designer Sebastián Errázuriz, whose talent is trend setting in NYC, where he currently resides. The bottle's teardrop shape represents the fluidity and elegance of a slender-necked swan.



Music:
Joakin Bello, outstanding composer, performer and researcher, has put all his talent to create Ice Swan´s sonorous universe, a soft melody which flows like the waters of the Queulat Fjord.


above: the speakers in the bottling plant

It is about an original musical piece based on strings, bronze and synthesizers, in different versions; a clear example of what he himself has denominated as "Total Music".

To preserve Ice Swan's original essence, they imbue their harvesting and bottling process with classical music and natural sounds of Patagonia's habitat. When tested at the Masaru Emoto Institute in Japan, water samples of Ice Swan produced wonderful hexagonal crystals that reveal the water's exceptional quality, purity and perfection.


above: an Ice Swan water molecule

The Bottling Plant:



The building is a square volume of 18 by 18 meters and 6 meters height with its four facades clad in toughened glass with a black opaque coating. The building is set on top of a 1.5 meter tapered soil base to avoid floods of the nearby river in winter. Because of the weather conditions glass offered a good skin solution plus the reflections of the surroundings, on the other hand the steel structure which is bolted was thought to ensure recycling as much as possible.



Designed by Constanza Hagemann and Nicolás Valdés of Panorama Architects, the end result is a balanced and vanguardist building that is environmentally friendly.




The architects were asked to design a building with the function of bottling water from a cascade which is formed by a glacier. The cascade is visible from the site that is situated at the border of Queulat National Park in Patagonia, 3 hours away from Coyhaique, the nearest city.



Regarding the building, they decided to propose a construction that would depend on its context to reduce to the maximum its presence in the Patagonian landscape; this is how reflection was the most asserted principle to work on. Reflection as the ornament and presence.

The situation of harsh climate conditions and isolation compromised the material and construction logistic decisions to secure its construction quality and aging.

Inside the bottling plant:




The interior is organized in two areas, each related to a different scale. The area of the bottling process utilizes the height of the industry and the rest of the office programs are disposed in wood modules of lower height.




The Ice Swan Myth:
Ice Swan takes its name from the cosmogony of patagonian communities, the first ones to dwell there. The legend tells they were a group of native kawesqar women that died by taking side with the 'Sister Moon' against the 'Brother Sun' turning into swans that flew up to the moon. They called them ice swans, believing these became winged spirits of the glaciers, which now is the place of origin of Ice Swan's water.



Physiochemical Properties
Of utmost purity and a delicate millenary taste, our water naturally flows from glacier thaws, snowdrifts and eternal snows from the untouched region of the chilean patagonia. Our water is bottled with classical music in our facilities in order to preserve its extraordinary genuine properties, following the theories of Dr. Masaru Emoto.



Ice Swan: Chile (Patagonia)
Virginality:
Tds: 12 Mlg (Super low minerality)
Hardness: 1 Mlg (Soft)
Ph: 6,7 - 7,3 (Neutral Orientation)
Calcium: 2,99 Mlg
Nitrate: 1 Mlg (Superior Virginality)
Sodium: Sodium Free
Magnesium: 1 Mlg

images and info courtesy of Ice Swan and Panorama Arquitectos

Ice Swan

You can purchase Ice Swan Water here or at other fine bottled water retailers.

Artist Boyarde Messenger Hand Paints Charlotte Olympia's Dolly Pumps As Famous Paintings For Neiman Marcus.




Designer Charlotte Olympia re-interprets her Dolly shoe by taking inspiration from the great painters of the Twentieth century for Neiman Marcus and Art Basel Miami. Charlotte Olympia hired British artist, photography and body art painter Boyarde Messenger to reinterpret the works of Pablo Picasso, Howard Hodgkin, Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein and Piet Mondrian on her signature Dolly Pumps. Boyarde hand-painted 100 pairs for the Neiman Marcus Charlotte Olympia project.


above: Boyarde Messenger painting the Van Gogh shoes for Charlotte Olympia (photo courtesy of http://boyardelovesart.wordpress.com)

With each pair painstakingly hand-painted by Boyarde (you can see her entire process here), the results are high-heeled works of art.







Composited shoe and art images shown above by If It's Hip, It's Here.

The shoes were created for the Neiman Marcus Charlotte Olympia project and debuted at Art Basel.

Boyarde Messenger
Charlotte Olympia

Oakley Designs A Bad Ass Flask For The Macallan.
And Has A Fun Time Testing Its Durability.





The Macallan has partnered with sport and lifestyle brand Oakley, Inc. to bring you a tough and sexy new way to carry your scotch in 'The Flask'.



The Flask has an edgy and adventurous feel. Masculine, luxurious and innovative, made of carbon fiber, food-grade steel and aerospace-grade aluminum, it reeks of precision and craftsmanship.



Macallan had a lot of fun working with Oakley, Inc. and together they’ve taken a truly design driven approach in crafting this beautiful, yet high octane Flask. The Flask is more than a vessel, it's a statement.




For the launch a special gift set in 550 limited editions containing The Flask with the accompanying 22yr single cask of All American Sherry Oak Scotch Macallan was produced (shown below). But only 100 of the flasks are available for purchase (link to buy is at the end of this post).




The carefully considered and expertly executed Flask is the last word in dynamic and premium craftsmanship from the inside out. Durable in style as well as design, the resilience of The Flask is assuredly robust. Every potential circumstance and environment of usage has been considered. And just to be sure, Oakley, Inc. put The Flask to the ultimate test. See how it performs here in the Test Sessions film…



The Flask from The Macallan and Oakley, Inc. is the purveyor of pleasure for whisky aficionados across the globe. Just 100 flasks will be available, priced at £600, so make sure you snap yours up quickly.
Buy it here

The Macallan
Oakley

CP+B Dresses Up Domino's Handmade Pan Pizza In A New Box.




The package design blog, Lovely Package, has just reported that CP+B has created these new pizza boxes for Domino’s new Handmade Pan Pizza.




The black and silver box has a vintage look and is filled with ornate typography touting the handmade aspect and fresh dough as well as some fun facts.




Inarguably, it's a beautiful pizza box, but some may agree with commenter John Scmidt who claims "I still won’t eat Domino’s pizza. You can polish a turd but it’s still a turd."

cpbgroup

Design Credits:
Scott Pridgen, designer; Sean Smith, writer; Mike Danko, associate creative director; Dave Steinke/Tom Miller, creative directors; Tony Calcao/Adam Chasnow, executive creative directors; Rob Reilly, chief creative officer; Jessyel Ty Gonzalez, photographer; Roger Xavier, illustrator; Amy Foster, art producer; Duane Burgess, print producer. 

The Super Smart I'm Watch Gets A New Look and Updated Technology.





In August 2011, I introduced to you the i'm watch, a hip smart phone for your wrist made in Italy. Since that time, the design and technology have been updated.


above: comparison of the original i'm watch and the newest version (composited by if it's hip, it's here)

It now sports a new interface making it better looking than before and updated technology that works with Android-based phones and iPhones.




The world’s first real smartwatch. It connects via Bluetooth and brings you calls, SMS, e-mails, notifications and any app directly to your wrist. Now you can leave your phone in your pocket, in your purse or on the desk,and have all the messages, phone calls and social network notifications directly on your wrist.






With i’m Watch you can do things that with a smartphone alone you wouldn’t be able to accomplish. Because, with an i’m Watch on your wrist, your hands are free! When needed, just activate the touchscreen display to access the numerous functions available.





Connect to your smartphone through a Bluetooth™ connection and control emails and sms, check Facebook and Twitter activities, see the weather forecast, upcoming appointments, new pictures and applications.

The Colors Collection (7 colors with aluminum case and colored straps):


The Tech Collection (black or white with a Titanium case):


The Jewel Collection
Silver Case with colored straps:

Yellow and Pink Gold:

Black Gold and White Gold with Diamonds:


Operating System
The software, i'Droid, that controls i’m Watch is a condensed form of the best technologies. With a single gesture, you open and close applications, receive social networking notifications and read e-mails. And even with all this power - and the compact dimensions of a watch - the battery goes on and on. A small, BIG technological miracle.

Apps

Connect and Download. i’market is the biggest smartwatch app store, not just an ordinary one. Many applications, waiting and ready to be downloaded and installed on your i’m Watch. Do you want to workout? To have fun? To work quicker and more efficiently? Come have a look in i’market, and you will find the appropriate app for you.

Mobile and Computer Control (PC and Mac)
The i’m Watch world does not stop at i’m Watch. With the innovative i’m Cloud system, you can control it remotely: thanks to powerful, high performance cloud technology, you can manage your smartwatch apps and data via the Internet. And with the brand new i’m Cloud Mobile, you do not even need to go through your PC or Mac: you just need your smartphone.

For Fitness and Health

Thanks to the connection between i’m Watch and the Heart rate monitor Zephyr you can control your heart frequency. The specific App, i'msport, lets you set up your training, work out, count your calories, monitor your heart rate and all sport activities.

Music

i'music is an app of i'm Watch that allows you to download and listen to your favorite music among a selection of over 9.5 million songs. It's unlimited. i'music offers a rich music collection: latest top hits and a lot of channels including Pop, Urban, Indie, Jazz, Oldies and Rock. Choose among many artists or select your favorite genre!

Starting at $449
the i'm watch

Addendum: the Apple iWatch is said to come out this year. And I certainly hope it's better looking than this report or this report suggests.

Animal Pocket Knives by David Suhami & How To Get One Of Your Own.





Israeli designer David Suhami's Animal Pocket Knives have been getting a lot of attention. The stainless steel and wood wildlife versions of the traditional Swiss army knife are actually undergoing production so you can have one of your own soon. With blades silhouetted to look like an Antelope, a Rhino and a Giraffe, complete with legs and tails, the pocket knives are adorable. How functional, I don't know, but they look as if they can at least open a beer bottle and that's good enough for me.







The story of the APK  and a cute little presentation video:
The Animal Pocket Knife was developed as David Suhami's design school project and rapidly got lot of attention throughout the web. It combines the idea of a Swiss army knife and a jungle safari in Africa. It is made from stainless steel to represent the current technology while the handles are made from fine Ipe wood to symbolize the traditional craft.



The knives will soon be available for purchase.
Sign up to be notified as to when they are available here.

About the designer:

David is a 3rd year student of Industrial Design at Shenkar College of Engineering & Design in Tel Aviv. He likes snowboarding, open sea fishing, motor sport and more. He speaks Hebrew, English and French.

He works with the following 3D software: Solidworks 2012, Rhinoceros 4 and Sketch up 7. For his graphic design works he uses Illustrator CS5, Photoshop CS5, InDesign CS5 and Flash CS5.

David Suhami


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