Zig is a modular shelving system designed by Ryan Frank.
It was commissioned by and will be displayed at the Post Design gallery
in Milan this April. Zig modular units are on castors, which makes it
easy to create and endless number of customized combinations. Zig is
made of solid bamboo and it will eventually be available in several
natural stains. Frank is a South African-born product designer living
and working in East London. He is known for his use of recycled,
recyclable and salvaged materials in his furnishings. Perhaps his best
known and most photographed “sustainable” pieces are the Inkuku chair
made of plastic shopping bags and the woolly Ishongololo foot stool. By Tuija Seipell
It is tough not to adore much of the wonderful, yet often high-priced,
kiddie fashion and baby stuff offered at designer shops. Of course, at
the other end of the spectrum, there are the truly hideous knitted and
crocheted craft-fair rejects that also pose as “cute for kids.”
Somewhere in the middle are a few companies that select items that are
hand-made — or at least look it — and cute, yet manage to be fun and
fashionable, too. One of these is blabla
in Atlanta, Georgia. We love their international animal tees and the
colorful Peruvian knits but the one item that we are ordering in
multiples, is the knitted cotton backpack. That there isn’t a kid in
our team here, is beside the point. It says “ages 3 AND UP” on the
order page, does it not? By Tuija Seipell
If it is creative and cool and has an edge that others don’t, we want
to know about it. This time, we are particularly interested in hearing
from the event industry.
Although we now can experience all sorts of “reality” just sitting down
in our own environments, nothing beats a real live experience of an
awesome party. One of our all-time favorites is the breathtakingly cool
Prada VIP do at the Central Market
in Valencia, Spain, to celebrate the America’s Cup. Talk about
awakening all of your senses in one lavish event!
If you design/produce/create events that are talked about years afterwards, let us know. - send images/info to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Spice Girls landed on our doorsteps more than a decade ago with
promises of ‘girl power’ and telling us what we wanted, what we really,
really wanted.
With the pop and fizzle of The Spice Girls’ stunning rise now a distant
memory, the UK is undergoing a second wave of ‘girl power’.
Instead of pre-fabricated, hyper-merchandised glitz, this new crop of
‘girl power’ artists embody lyrical honesty and authenticity.
Where the Spice Girls relied on sass and cleavage and commercial pop
smarts, the UK’s current crop of female singer-songwriters embody
honest self reflection and realness.
Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen led the way with their upfront,
unforgettable reinterpreta-tions of contemporary pop. In the wake
of Winehouse and Allen’s success arrives the next wave of UK female
singer-songwriters.
20 year old Kate Nash
smashed through with her single ‘Foundations’ and won the hearts of the
indie crowd with her cover of the Black Kids’ ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your
Boyfriend How To Dance’.
Duffy,
currently sitting at #1 in the UK with her track ‘Mercy’, has a voice
that sits com-fortably between Winehouse and Dusty Springfield and
comes with the promise that her music will last decades.
Adele
too, with her soulful croon and anthemic single Chasing Pavements’, is
cramming the airwaves and poised to take her sound global.
All in all, it’s a welcome arrival. It’s ‘girl power’ you can actually believe in. By Nick Christie
People have paddled since time immemorial
although the gear today is much different from what it was in ancient
times. Soon we will also see a new type of rest and overnight shelter
specifically for canoeists that will take advantage of the water as a
power source yet retain a pristine and timeless peacefulness. Finnish
architect and artist Sami Rintala,
together with architecture student Janne Saario, has created The Mill,
a modern wilderness hut that will be located in the Halikko river in
south western Finland, near the town of Salo, mid-way between Helsinki
and Turku. The wooden shelter even includes fireplaces and sleeping
platforms and the waterwheel in the middle of the stream produces the
energy for use in the shelter. To be completed in the fall of 2008, The
Mill is part of Halikonlahti Green Art Trilogy, which in turn is part
of an ongoing multi-year "Cross-artistic and Scientific Environmental Event"
The 39-year-old Rintala has created experimental and environmentally
sustainable installations and experimental buildings all over the
world, form the Scandinavian countries to Cuba, Canada, Japan and
Korea. By Tuija Seipell
At last...an alternative to jeans for men. NYC company Bonobos has
created a range of great-fitting men's casual trousers that'll take you
from the office to drinks. Available only online, the brand uses
lightweight corduroy, stretch corduroy, twill and tigersharks wool -
all comfy fabrics that hug the body without suffocating it. And that
means across the backside too (if you know what we mean)....so if
you've got it good, flaunt it. By Lisa Evans
Most of us have a personal image of an ideal escape or getaway. A secluded beach shack hidden on an island paradise - a tucked
away cabin built into a snowy mountainside - a private chateaux set on
the quiet, rolling hills of a vineyard - basically anywhere we feel
removed from the mundane normalcy of our own daily lives.
X.Pace, a Sydney/Singapore-based design studio is on the verge of
helping us redefine the ultimate lifestyle solution - the ultra
luxurious Hingarae residences and resort
located in Lake Taupo on New Zealand's north island. Hingarae embodies
everything one would expect from 6 star standards - the ideal balance
of extreme luxury, privacy and ultra-modern built form set upon a
pristine natural environment.
The development will offer twenty eight opportunities to own a
fully-furnished Hingarae Module. Each individual Module is 2,153 square
feet set carefully within 2.5 acres of natural landscape. Oversized
windows allow uninterrupted views to the surrounding forest, green
countryside, snow-capped mountains and crystal blue lake. The interior
design is equally rewarding offering an exceptional imported blend of
modern and futuristic furniture. The main living space sits on a
revolving disc floor that allows orientation toward the exterior or the
LCD screen.
Numerous additions to Hingarae Module ownership include an electric
car for all on-site traveling, personal use of Hingarae's premium
luxury 4WD vehicles for off-site travel, access to on-call helicopter,
on-going membership to Jack Nicklaus' Kinloch Golf Club, ongoing winter
season's pass to Mount Ruapehu's Whakapapa (New Zealand's largest ski
area), shared use of Hingarae's motor launch and unlimited access to
the 6 Star Hotel Hingarae and all its facilities including a recording
studio. Hingarae also fully manages and maintains each Module and its
individual acreage.
Nearly every aspect of a superior style of living has been taken into
consideration during the conception and development phases of
Hingarae. Unlike anything in the world, this New Zealand
destination will soon embody the ultimate expression of escape for
those of us able to get in - as prices start from US$1.9 million.
As for the rest of us, we can always hope for an invitation from a
generous friend. By Andrew J Wiener.
Aspiring mini-chefs take note: now there’s no excuse not to get the
kids involved in the kitchen with this sweet range of kids cookware
made specially for little fingers. Created by Melbourne based brand, Little Kitchen, the range will inspire little people everywhere to help mum with dinner.
The innovative brand also runs a kids' cooking school from their
North Fitzroy retail store in Melbourne, Australia. The space features
a custom-built kitchen designed specially for children where kids can
learn basic cooking techniques and the joys of cooking with fresh,
organic produce. They also hold cooking parties; a great choice for
parents looking for interesting (and healthy!) ways to celebrate their
little one’s birthday. By Lisa Evans
One of our favorite auto magazines, the ever-stylish Intersection
(think of it as I-D for car buffs), has always made its mission tomix
man and machine, art and design and all things culture into itsview of
the automotive world. Its latest project is no exception. In an aim to
portray cars as more of a reflection of thehuman race then simply a way
to get from A to B, Intersection asked 6different fashion designers
from 6 different cities to create acar cover that represents their
individual fashion styles.
The designers were chosen for their
conceptual yet sensual, wittyapproach and because they each represent
the city they're basedin. From the real-size print by Parisian Martin
Margiela tothe mammoth box of Sydney's Ksubi, each piece offers a
perspective trueto the designer's style and method, while also
portraying an aspect of the car's personality.
The
car that each cover is modelled on is the Alfa Brera that will nowbe
parading at events from New York to London, Tokyo to Sydney, Paris
toBerlin, and finally back to Milan where she will be showing off
herexclusive new clothes. If this approach proves popular, look out for
acouture-covered car on a street near you. By Brendan McKnight
Bauer is the newest chic bar and eatery in Södermalm — “Stockholm’s
Soho.” Opened on February 28, 2008, Bauer is a refurbished neighborhood
watering hole on Götgatan’s northern end, an edgy-stylish area
constantly changing and looking for a new form. Suitably, the job of
designing Bauer was handed to Stockholm-based Dizel&Sate,
known for aptly fusing street-art subculture with upscale style for
retail and hospitality clients, including Hotel Birger Jarl, and stores
for H&M, Hugo Boss and Peak Performance. Bold walls are their
signature feature. For Bauer, they took inspiration from the Bauhaus
style and from Berlin’s bar and gallery culture. Bold, graphic images
depicting various forms of enjoyment achieve a casual and fun feel
while punching up the black-and-white space and furnishings. By Tuija Seipell
Samu-Jussi Koski’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection for Marimekko
is a combination of Art Deco angularity and summer-breezy ruffles and
girly pleats. The styling and colorways remind us of the early 80s, but
the two main fabric designs he has used for the collection are much
older. The collection includes pieces made of the Sireeni pattern but
the star is the geometric Attica, designed in 1959 by Marimekkos’ most
prolific and famous designer, Maija Isola (1927-2001). Isola created
more than 500 fabric patterns at Marimekko from 1949 to 1987, including
the iconic Unikko, Kaivo and Lokki.
Koski’s spring collection is a soft take on stylish simplicity with
salmon, pink and black as the main colors. Feather-weight silk dresses
and tops, 100% cotton dresses and tops, and the long cotton Akemi
anorak are all perfect for urban life, which is something that inspires
Koski. He’s designed for Marimekko since spring 2005, and sites people,
old photographs, jazz, cigarette smoke and city life as the sources of
his ideas.
The large Marimekko Spring 2008 bag collection includes two gems by a
14-year Marimekko veteran, Mika Piirainen. The Horisontti carry-all
(size 54 X 47 X 18 cm) and the Ankkuri shoulder bag (35 X 30 X 11 cm)
are both made of 100% cotton canvas in another Maija Isola pattern,
Dyyni, form the 1980s. Piirainen has also produced a fashion collection
for Marimekko this spring. By Tuija Seipell
With their new album 'In Ghost Colours' to be released next month, Cut Copy
are going to be everywhere very soon. Radio, TV, car stereos and who
knows - maybe they’ll go down the Pnau path and put their tracks on
slick commercials.
'In Ghost Colours' is certainly one of the most hyped Australian
electronic albums ever. With the release of the first single
'Hearts On Fire' followed soon after by 'So Haunted', musical appetites
were whetted worldwide. Then came a freely downloadable mixtape which
dropped Cut Copy gems in between indie classics like Panda Bear's
'Bros'.
Backed up by a world tour and a support slot at Daft Punk’s
Neverland shows, Cut Copy have well and truly done the groundwork to
build the excitment. Now when we can't take any more, the clip
for 'Lights And Music' emerges. The tension is palpable. People are
dying to hear the record in its entirety. Bring on March! By Nick Christie
Delicious
Technorati
Digg
Stumble
