Lifestyle

November 17 2010

"The temptation was to write a long piece justifying our creation of 3DD. We could have thrown in some academic analysis on the prominent role of the nude in the history of art and elaborate on the ways that 3DD advances that canon. We might have pointed out that the beautiful images of natural breasts in all shapes and sizes are a wonderful celebration of real women in all their glory. Or we could have reveled in the universal truth that looking and talking about boobs is just a lot of fun.

But that would be to complicate something that can be said in four words.

Boobs in 3-D, 86 pages of pure fun, glasses included. Enjoy."

Share It:  


Bars

November 16 2010



Tom Dixon’s career has taken him from discovering the idea for the S-bend chair while welding motorcycle parts, to being one of the hottest designers of lighting, furniture and interiors, and to occupying the chair of Creative Director at the venerable Finnish Artek.


 
Dixon’s latest showpiece, Tazmania Ballroom in Hong Kong, opened recently in the Central District (Lan Kwai Fong) where more than 100 bars, restaurants and entertainment venues attract people from around the world.


 
Tazmania’s owner is Hong Kong entertainment entrepreneur Gilbert Yeung Kei-lung. With his British boarding school and Canadian college upbringing, he wanted a British private-club atmosphere, but without the stuffiness.


 
He tapped Dixon’s Design Research Studio and lead designer Helene Bangsbo Andersen who employed refined James Bondish snobbery with its retro high-tech and combined it with a confident, cool club atmosphere.


 
The result is an exclusive and glamorous mix of a pool hall/private club/dance club/night club. Golden pool tables are magically lifted to the ceiling making room for one of Hong Kong’s largest dance floors where resident DJs keep the carefully screened guests hopping with the latest Funktion One sound system. The British street culture is emphasized with the staffers attire: they wear Doc Martens and Fred Perry.

Dixon’s own pieces decorate the opulent space including the Cone, Pipe and Copper Shade lights and the Offcut Stool.
 
Gilbert Yeung is also the founder of the Dragon-I bar and restaurant, Busy Suzie and Brother & Sister store and cafe. He is the son of Albert Yeung Sau-Shing, Hong Kong entertainment tycoon and chairman of the media conglomerate Emperor Entertainment Group. Tuija Seipell

Share It:  

Lifestyle

November 15 2010

Frescobol, the Brazilian paddleball beach sport dating back to the 1940s, looks a bit like ping-pong without the table. The bats look slightly similar, the ball  somewhat bigger.

But for those serious about their beach presence, the bat makes the difference. Frescobol cool happens when you play with the FB Collection one-of-a-kind wooden bats inspired by Copacabana beach culture and hand-crafted luxury yachts, and fire-branded with the FB logo.



Each bat is unique, and what’s even more cool, the wood used is all reclaimed Brazilian species, collected from sustainability-certified furniture factories where the remnants would have otherwise gone to waste.

FB Collection is a five-year-old company, established in Rio de Janeiro by Harry Brantly and Max Leese who now call London their base. Men’s beach shorts are the latest addition to the FB Collection. - Bill Tikos

Architecture

November 13 2010

Bridle Road Residence in Cape Town, South Africa, is a beautiful example of a sizeable structure that does not impose itself onto the landscape at the base of Table Mountain.


 
The single-family residence does not look massive or overly grand, but instead exudes a classic elegance with Scandinavian/Japanese lightness, precision and scale. The proportions and division of the walls and windows — including the “picture windows” overlooking the Cape Town harbor — create an openness without the feel of exposure.


 
Interior and exterior spaces are integrated seamlessly, which adds to the sense of site appropriateness — that this building belongs to this site.


 
The architecture is by Cape Town’s Antonio Zaninovic, known for his ability to let the landscape lead the architectural solutions. The Santiago, Chile-born, Zaninovic graduated from the University of Chile’s School of Architecture in 2000 and spent five years at Steven Harris Architects in New York before establishing his own practice in 2005 with Madrid, Spain-born architect, Ana Corrochano.


 
The interiors of the residence are by Lucien Rees of New York City-based Rees Roberts + Partners and the landscape by David Kelly of Rees Roberts + Partners.


 
The building and site feature several sustainable solutions including the self-cleaning outdoor pool, natural cross-ventilation, use of earth temperature as climactic moderator, use of heat-repelling glass, and maximal use of local materials such as poured finish concrete and balau wood.


 
The house and its landscape won an American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 2010 Honor Award in the Residential Design category, - Tuija Seipell

Lifestyle

November 11 2010

Floral designers are just floral designers but Andreas Verheijen is a "flower engineer." The strange title may sound like a bit of bad PR until you see his work. It's startling, it stops you in your tracks. Are they real?

How did he do it? Wow. He sculpts a plant display the way a sculptor would handle marble or wood or clay. He reveals the sculptural beauty of a branch of a palm. He creates a hair piece of feathers and moss. He carves a gourd into sensual art. He makes color pop in ways that look unnatural, yet the pieces are real.

Events, shows, displays, massive theatrical floral extravaganzas. We never knew you could do all this with flowers. The master florist was born in the Dutch dahlia town of Zundert, spent 15 years in charge of sales at Harrods floral department in London and now works as a freelancer in Europe. - Tuija Seipell.

Share It:  

Design

November 2 2010

Supermachine Studio in Bangkok, Thailand, is a group of four multitasking architects that team member Pitupong “ Jack” Chaowakul describes as “small office – big projects.” “We work like guerrilla designers, everyone does everything, constantly shifting,” he told TCH.



Supermachine’s latest achievement is the interior design of two floors of one of Bangkok University’s new four-storey buildings that form the new, spectacular Landmark complex, designed by Bangkok-based 49 Group.



Supermachine’s work in the Bangkok University Creative Centre (BUCC) - about 600 square meters in total – includes a workshop, library, exhibition space, viewing room and office.



According to Chaowakul, BUCC was set up as part of the government’s goal to transform the country’s economy from agricultural and industrial into the creative economy. To encourage creativity, communication and experimentation, the BUCC facility needed to be open, playful, expressive and flexible.



One of Supermachine’s solutions was the “Lo-Fi pixel wall” at the entrance. They covered a 180 square-meter wall surface with 10,000 custom-made rotating four-sided plastic pieces. Each piece has a pink, blue, green and yellow side. Students can rotate each unite and create colour patterns, write messages or just experiment with the tactile wall.



In the student workshop, Supermachine enclosed the internet centre in a space-ship like green pod that students can move around in the open space.



Construction at BUCC is coming to a close and the facility will open shortly for students. Supermachine is currently working on the interiors for the university's student lounge facility. - Tuija Seipell


Food

November 2 2010

Unexpected details make Griffins Steakhouse Extraordinaire more interesting than your typical American steakhouse. That, plus the fact that it is located in Stockholm, in the brand new Waterfront Building in the downtown area between the City Hall and the Central Train Station.



The concept and execution of this restaurant – with its homey atmosphere spiced up by hints of travel, science and glamour -- was designed by Stylt. The restaurant’s imaginary host couple, the Griffins, have a penchant for mysticism and alchemy that is reflected in the eclectic interior.



Led by creative director Erik Nissen Johansen, the Gothenburg-based Stylt has recently designed several other eateries in Stockholm including Marion's Gastro Diner and the Orangeriet. - Tuija Seipell.

Music

November 1 2010

 

We're completely obsessed with Margo from L.A -  Wicked, original songs, videos and overall style. She holds her own, doing her own thing and totally OWNS it. Very Sheila E/Prince meets Cindy Lauper back in the day.

Born in Toronto, now based between L.A/new York, she's got the sexy, disco diva looks, individuality, talent, rockstar style, and performance skills to really make it big. Will keep an eye on Margo for now. Talent can only take you so far -  we do hope she has good management behind her. Watch below

Share It:  
Stores

November 1 2010



Paris has now joined Beijing, Beirut, Buenos Aires, Doha, Dubai, Florence, Geneva, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Macao, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Portofino, Riyadh, Shanghai and Tokyo as a location of an Officine Panerai watch boutique.

The Parisian shop opened in September in the 1st arrondissement on Rue de la Paix's jewellery row, between Place Vendôme and Opéra Garnier.



The Italian company was founded in Florence in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai. It became the official supplier of the Italian Navy and continued to build various precision instruments for the army's diving corps. Panerai remained relatively unknown in the civilian world until its bulky watches were brought to popular attention by Sylvester Stallone who wore a Panerai Luminor watch during the shooting of the movie Daylight in Rome. Stallone then ordered and signed a special batch of the watches called Slytech. He gave them to his friends, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stallone has since worn many Panerais, including the largest Panerai wrist watch, the limited-edition Panerai Egiziano, with a face that is 60mm in diameter.

The interior of the 41 square-meter Parisian boutique echoes Panerai's naval traditions by emphasizing precision and quality, and featuring such materials as teak and steel. - Bill Tikos

Share It:  
Events

November 1 2010

THIS is what we will want in our office now! Pinball may be living a second life as a retro thing to do and own, but what we really want now is to be living (or working, playing) IN a pinball machine!



Our hopes for this were aroused by the super clever exhibit of Modular Lighting Instruments at Interieur 2010, the 22nd International Design Biennale that took place October 15 – 24 at Kortrijk Xpo venue in Kortrijk, Belgium .



In a colourful and fun human-scale pinball machine, completely lit by LED lights, Modular introduced its latest LED ceiling lights, Spock and O’Leaf, for the first time to the general public.



The playing field of the game was divided into the same sections as the Modular lighting catalogue: Orientation, Accent, General and Dynamic making it easy for the “players”-- potential specifiers and buyers of the new lights – to pay attention to the lights, and not just the fun surroundings. Apparently, this energy-efficient exhibit used 70 % less energy than the company’s 2008 exhibit at the same event.



The Roeselade, Belgium-based Modular Lighting Instruments has showrooms across Europe and additional offices in the Netherlands and France.

Both of the new fixtures, Spock and O’Leaf, were designed by Bram Couvreur and Bjorn De Vos of Couvreur & Devos, also located in Roeselade. - Bill Tikos


Random Archive

Art