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Domenico de Palo's Sexy Sliver of A Sink. The Silenzio For Antonio Lupi.





Silenzio is a Corian washbasin that is a sexy sliver of Industrial Design. The concept behind Silenzio is to offer only the functionality and sculptural mark of a washbasin, allowing it to be perfectly integrated into the wall, dominated by the atmospheric elements of cut and light.





The unmistakable signature of Domenico de Palo is even more evident in this washbasin which is able to blend into the surface onto which it is installed. Silenzio appears to come out of the wall, giving it a life and shape.






The Silenzio washbasin is realized in Corian and, after it has been positioned (with puttying and plastering), it can be painted just like the rest of the wall, so that it disappears into the same. Silenzio can be described as a “nude” washbasin to be dressed in clothing that can be changed and updated with different finishes.





Silenzio offers an unconventional reinterpretation of the bathroom. It is a fusion between a functional object of the past and a newly invented element of the present.



Antonio Lupi

The Winner, Finalists and Best Of The Washington Post's Peeps Show VII: 2013 Diorama Contest.




Washington Post has announced the Winner of The Peeps Show VII: 2013 Diorama Contest winners. The seventh annual Peeps Diorama Contest brought in more than 650 entries.

This year’s standouts include reproductions of oil paintings and controversial films, as well as replicas of iconic landmarks and democratic institutions. But ultimately nostalgia won. The diorama, “Twinkie: Rest in Peeps,” stole the most hearts and votes from The Post newsroom.

As is often the case, I don't agree with all of their picks. So, after the winner and finalists, I'm showing you a few I think should have been honored, such as The Peeping, an homage to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining shown at the top of this post.

The 2013 Peeps Show Winner:
“Peeps Mourn Their Peeps: Twinkie, Rest in Peeps,” created by Leslie Brown, 55, and Lani Hoza, 48, of Charlottesville.



Lani Hoza, an advanced-placement psychology teacher, and Leslie Brown, a manager in the principal’s office, have a reputation among the students for submitting hilarious dioramas to the contest. Adding to the creativity and absurdity of the scene, the Peep Pope comes out of retirement to preside over the funeral of Twinkie.



The Twinkie will be buried in the graveyard where other departed treats, including Ho Hos and fruit pies, have been laid to rest before it.



Brown bought the wooden box and wood panels and took them to the high school woodworking shop to have them cut before she stained them. She also sews and made the cushions for the pews and all of the outfits.



Finalist: “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Peep”



Mark Rivetti, 29, is a three-time finalist in our contest. His latest diorama is an homage to the oil painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by French artist Georges Seurat.



Rivetti made use of Georges Seurat's pointillist style, which he’s coined as “Peepalism,” in his depiction of “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” where Peeps enjoy a lazy afternoon on the banks of the River Seine.



Rivetti made 30 figures using the heads of Peep bunnies and sculpted clay for the bodies. To match the perspective of the painting, the Peeps in the background are smaller than the ones in the foreground, a visual trick that makes point of view important to the scene.

Watch Mark create his Masterpeep:


Finalist: “Peep’s Chili Bowl”


The staff of the Corporation for Enterprise Development takes diorama-building seriously. The office team has submitted dioramas for five of our seven contests. Many of the members live in the U Street corridor, making Ben’s Chili Bowl a natural choice.



The team photographed Ben’s to help scale their entry, with the restaurant's popular chili dogs and other dishes being served by aproned marshmallow bunnies. The restaurant is illuminated with a strand of holiday lights.



In the team’s homage to the U Street haunt, President Obama visits Peep’s Chili Bowl with his Secret Service detail while the injured Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III waits outside.

Finalist: “Despeepable Congress”


To make the Minions, they turned Peeps upside down and painted on their trademark blue overalls, adding red overalls, too, to depict the partisan divide.



Googly eyes tricked out with modeling clay and a gluelike substance made from confectioner’s sugar gave the Minions their wild-eyed mien.



At Siemens Building Technologies in Beltsville, a team began building a model of Congress during the State of the Union address. In an unexpected twist, Gru’s Minions from the movie “Despicable Me” replace the representatives and create “Despeepable Congress.”



“We didn’t have a political agenda or message, but we wanted to make a funny and common representation of Congress tripping over themselves,” Hughes said.

Finalist: “Zero Peep Thirty”


Nicholas Burger, 33, and Radha Iyengar, 32, economists at the policy think tank Rand Corp., wanted to depict a scene from “Zero Dark Thirty” without diminishing the importance of SEAL Team 6’s mission.



Judges marveled at the battery-powered, light-up fireball made of spray-painted cotton, and the realistic copy of the compound.

Now, for a few of MY personal favorites:

above: The Peeping, Submitted by Elizabeth Vogt,14, Lucy Vogt, 11, Brad Vogt, 47, of the District and Peter Vogt, 71, of Cabin John.


above: Life of Peep, Submitted by Kathy Ansell, 61, and Chris Broquet, 57, of Alexandria.


above: Banana Joe the Affenpeepscher bests an impressive line-up to take Peepminster's most prestigious award- Best in Peeps. Submitted by LeAnn Lemke, 46, of Potomac Falls.


above: The Expose on Pink Slime Burgers being served in cafeterias comes too late to save these Pink Peeps. Submitted by Peter Yeo, 49, of Chevy Chase


above: Michael Peeps goes for gold at the Olympeeps. Submitted by Ron, 56, of Lusby. (I just love the use of the Chick Peeps in the pool coupled with Bunny Peeps as spectators)

To see other entries into this year's contest, go here.
Thanks to Deb Lindsey and The Washington Post.

Wrap Your Loved One Around Your Finger. Literally. Contura Rings by Thomas Geison.




Jewelry designer Thomas Giesen has been creating and producing his own jewellery collections in his own workshop for 20 years.



With several beautifully crafted pieces to his credit, it's his Contura rings that fascinate me. He developed the idea of crafting luxury rings from a human profile in 1998 and it took him a few years to develop the technique to get it precisely right. The final result is a very unique and personal Red Dot Design Award-winning piece of jewelry.




The Contura Rings can be crafted from yellow, white, rose or black gold, silver, titanium, platinum or stainless steel. Available in 8,10,12 and 14mm widths, the rings are suited to any gender or age.




And many options are available. Diamonds, pearls and other gemstones may be added in a variety of styles (see below):


Jeweller Thomas Giesen:


Prices range quite a bit depending on the style and material. For more information or to order one visit this site.




Modern Luxury Home in India Boasts An Enormous Infinity Pool, Angular Architecture and Serene Interiors.



This stunning residential home perched upon a cliff in Chowara, India was designed by Khosla Associates, one of India's premier architectural firms. With an enormous Infinity pool (4,521 sq feet), 15,069 ft² (1400 sq meters) of living space with a large open floor plan and a modern design that unites sea, air and sky, the Cliff House pretty much takes your breath away.

The Classic Honeybear In Art and Design. 40 Awesome Items Inspired by The Bear-Shaped Honey Dispensers.



The classic Bear-shaped honey dispenser which has simply become known as a "honeybear" reportedly dates back to 1957 when Ralph Gamber, future president of the Dutch Gold Honey company, reasoned that "a bear likes honey, why not a bear of honey?"

Some Hair-Brained Fun. Comparing Al Pacino's Wigs To Phil Spector's.







No reason to write a review on David Mamet's Phil Spector movie for HBO, which premiered tonight since you can read numerous reviews online. But I simply had to show you the real convicted murderer Phil Spector's hairstyles compared with the wigs Al Pacino donned as him in the movie. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed putting them together.



Believe it or not there were more wacky dos worn by Spector throughout his life that Pacino did not don in the movie, such as a wigless Spector during his mugshot (above), which bears an eerie resemblance to Gollum.



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