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| 23:08 Wed 14 May 2008 |
Tag: London
These items have all been tagged with the tag "London", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Hot Chip - 'Made In The Dark' |
| 2008-03-26 14:21:17 |
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Hot Chip's new album 'Made In The Dark', is a wild ride. From the popping, stomping squelches and whistles of 'Out At The Pictures', to the LCD Soundsystem-esque groove of 'Ready For The Floor', the album jumps frenetically between styles and influences. With moments of delicate intimacy, soulful croons and straightforward dance-pop, Hot Chip truly are the kings of hipster electro-pop. Full of infectious, imaginative hooks and schizophrenic mood and tempo changes, you can lose yourself in 'Made In The Dark'. With so much to process, it's an album that will reveal its more subtle elements on repeat listens. Music for sound-tracking times of bliss and glee. By Nick Christie myspace.com/hotchip |
| Fiat Flagship Store - London |
| 2008-03-19 16:22:11 |
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Fiat has opened its new London flagship showroom and it is well worth the visit even if you have no desire to purchase one of the swanky new 500's. The Marylebone store features a heavily chromed interior (look out for the exhaust pipe clad columns) and is fresh and modern without being intimidating or overbearing – think Austin Powers love den meets the science lab of the future. The space is split over two floors. The first floor is the showroom with a handful of vehicles, a whole lot of shag pile carpet and a gift shop to boot. Here you can purchase pretty much anything for the Fiat enthusiast from cufflinks to handbags to miniature models that open up to become USB sticks. Yep, Team Fiat has thought of everything. Downstairs is a more minimalist white multi function space designed for corporate meetings, fashion shows and art and design exhibitions. This space currently features the 'Fiat Workpop 500' exhibition where prototypes of Fiat accessories that have been designed by 22 young product designers are on display. The public can vote for its favorites, and in a Survivor like contest, the winner's product will go into mass production and eventually on general sale. Where will you be able to purchase these you may be asking? In the gift shop of course. By Brendan McKnight |
| Oliver Goldsmith |
| 2008-02-11 16:36:16 |
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Britain’s Oliver Goldsmith has been making iconic eyewear since 1926. In 1935, it was Charles Glodsmith who made sunglasses a must-have accessory for anyone who was, or wanted to look like, a celebrity. There’s hardly a Hollywood movie icon or international celebrity who hasn’t been photographed wearing Oliver Goldsmiths. Since its 2005 re-launch, led by Oliver Goldsmith’s great granddaughter, Claire Goldsmith, the brand has experienced a strong revival. Another UK native, Aseef Vaza, burst into the limited-edition luxury handbag scene in 2004 with his collection of bags in fine Parisian silks and dyed skins of ostrich, stingray, shark, alligator and python. Today, there’s hardly a red-carpet event where the leading ladies aren’t clutching a Vaza. Now take the 1969 Oliver Goldsmith TAK sunglasses known for their unique detailing and sexy Hollywood proportions. Give the design to English craftsmen. Then give them some Bengal Blue vintage acetate discovered in an abandoned Italian factory and have them recreate TAKs by hand. Then have Vaza design a luxurious pouch in metallic graphite-grey ostrich with a black patent trim and lined in the Vaza trademark pink suede decorated with a hand-painted gold monogram. Only 50 sets of VazaTak sunglass and pouch sets were created. With £800 (US $1500), one of them can be yours. By Tuija Seipell |
| The Friendly Garage |
| 2008-02-08 18:40:54 |
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For many of us, taking our cars to the garage can be a daunting experience. Feeling anxious and uncertain over the price and duration over jobs, use of technical jargon and the like. This may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the launch of the major rebranding programme for car care network HiQ, starting with their new concept center opening in Nottingham, UK. The aim was to revolutionize the way fast fit car care is delivered and to develop a fresh retail concept that would set new standards in this sector. And it looks like they have come up with the goods. Designed by the London team at Fitch, the brand has been repositioned by using simple language, illustrations, and the center itself has clever features like glass walls that allow customers to see onto the garage floor for themselves. We have seen this uncomplicated, tell it like it is mentality popping up all over the place, especially as banks try to re-align themselves with their customers. It is now nice and refreshing to see this evolving into other touch points of consumers' lives. I wonder if this approach would make going to the dentist any better? By Brendan McKnight |
| If The lid Fits |
| 2008-02-04 15:52:31 |
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It's not easy these days to create a point-of-sale display that truly stands out in the hectic visual environment of an average busy department store, yet alone one for Selfridges in London. Manchester based True North were given the task to create a 'can't miss it' bespoke display system for Adidas Originals within the Offspring concession at the Oxford Street store. Taking inspiration from the product itself where an Adidas shoebox becomes a table and the shoebox lid, a chair, they have created a display and "trying on" area where customers can fully immerse themselves in the brand. Launching this week, we suspect these will be the hottest chairs in London. By Brendan McKnight |
| Middle East Center at St Antony’s College, Oxford - Zaha Hadid |
| 2008-01-28 20:29:14 |
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The office of Zaha Hadid, the sometimes controversial and always bold Baghdad-born, London-based architect, has revealed design plans for a striking new building in the most traditional and affluent of places, Oxford. The new composite-glass structure, to be named the Softbridge Building, is an extension to the Middle East Center at St Antony’s College. It will link the 66 and 68 Woodstock Road buildings, one a Victorian mock Tudor and the other Edwardian. The new, concave, shiny structure looks like a modern sculpture that fell from the sky and wedged itself between the two sleepy oldies. The exuberant and dynamic Softbridge appears to have known that, against all odds, the old buildings will not buckle, the mature trees will not die and the limited space into which the newcomer must settle, will be just enough. The Softbridge will house a lecture theater and the library, taking pressure off the old, bursting-at-the-seams facilities. Other goals are to provide a better research environment for students and to connect the academic and public functions of the institute. The above-ground floors house the reception and exhibition areas, the main archive reading room, library storage and the main library. The lecture theater and additional storage will be located in the basement. The outspoken Hadid continues to produce bold design work, characterized by rounded shapes and unconventional approaches, in spite of the widely publicized controversies surrounding some of her buildings in Britain, including the Olympic Aquatic Centre. In an Oxford Times article, Hadid was quoted as saying, “As a woman, I’m expected to want everything to be nice and to be nice myself. A very English thing. I don’t design nice buildings. I don’t like them. I like architecture to have some raw, vital, earthy quality.” By Tuija Seipell |
| FIAT 'FLIES' ON LONDON EYE |
| 2008-01-22 16:35:00 |
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Publicity stunts don't come on much of a larger scale than this. To celebrate the launch of the new Fiat 500 in London last night, one of the vehicles was placed into a pod on the London Eye where it will live for the next 2 weeks. The launch of this 'time capsule' was at 8pm, exactly 500 hours into the year and as one would expect for such an event, was a star-studded affair and included a light show that lit up the river Thames, and performances by Mika and The Feeling. The car itself is a remodel of the original version which was first presented 50 years ago, and is Fiat's go at re-releasing a retro classic, as VW (Beetle) and BMW (Mini) have arguably both done quite successfully in recent years. The 500 was recently named the 2008 Car of the Year and has been praised in numerous auto publications. By Brendan McKnight Random archive Snapple Takes off Zoop Car Waterworld - China Karaoke Clubs |
| Electric Birdcage - London |
| 2008-01-15 14:17:30 |
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Opened in late fall 2007, Electric Birdcage at Haymarket in the heart of London’s West End, has been receiving mixed reviews. One thing is certain, though, it IS getting a reaction from everyone who visits. Electric Birdcage is a magnificently weird combination of Alice in Wonderland and Russian Aristocrat, dim sum parlor and late-night cocktail bar, sophisticated party venue and silly funhouse. The owners, brothers Richard and Anthony Traviss, knew where to go for eccentric and totally extravagant interiors: to London’s beloved venue designer Shaun Clarkson. His handiwork can be seen, for example, at La Pigalle, Covent Garden's Denim, Play Room, Profile, Power's Acoustic Room, The Bloomsbury Ballroom, Atlantic Bar & Grill and Jerusalem. Electric Birdcage’s surrealistic interior includes a Fibonacci-style patterned floor, tables made of tree roots, gigantic pink hands for chairs, lavish Vegas-style mirrors, imposing black stallions, two snarling black polymer panthers, a carousel bar and iron birdcage chandeliers dangling from a pink ceiling. Even the DJ operates from a birdcage. Capacity crowd of 300, served by cute staff in retro airline get-up, can order Pan-Asian fare by head chef Somporn Khamsaenphan all day, and stay until 4 am enjoying cocktails by mixologist Chad Shields. You and seven friends can share the signature Electric Birdcage bowl filled with a mix of champagne, Absolut Raspberri peach schnapps, Cointreau, Absolut Citron, strawberry puree, gomme syrup, orange juice, fresh raspberries and blueberries. That should elicit a reaction, if nothing else will. By Tuija Seipell Random Archive Huvafen Fushi Jason Mark Karen Walker Transparent Car |
| Magma Bookstore (London) | ||
| 2007-12-12 07:26:14 | ||
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| A Wapping Good Time |
| 2007-12-06 21:26:50 |
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The Wapping Project is the brainchild of acclaimed theatre director Jules Wright. Based in London's too-cool-for-school east end, it has been at the forefront of this cities renowned contemporary arts scene since way back when in 1984, and things are still going strong. Housed on the banks of the Thames in the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station - which once generated hydraulic power for Central London, this is more than simply an arts company. The Wapping Project combines restaurant Wapping Food, which, like a perfectly choreographed dance sequence, flows it's way through the Engine and Turbine Houses. Looking something akin to a Vitra catalogue shoot, guests dine amongst the gorgeous original brickwork, heavy duty machinery and of course art, making this for a very unique dining experience. To achieve a perfect combination between art and food, much like it's hand picked art's programme, the Chefs are also commissioned by Wright, propping this to be one of London's most novel and exceptional restaurants. With a menu that changes daily, an in-house butchery and a quirky, internationally applauded art's agenda, a visit to both Wapping Food and The Wapping Project is always going to be a memorable affair. By Brendan McKnight. |
