Fashion’s latest from Notcouture. Click the images to find out more.

Had the pleasure of visiting ad agency, RPA, to see a friend today ~ and amidst the creative spaces, and many pics i couldn’t resist taking, firstly, i have to share their murals in the Acura team’s office that have inspired me to want to take a sharpie to my white walls… Jump over to the next page to see how beautiful these murals by Sainty and David Whittle are on the next page!!! Apparently they made these murals in the rp& offices (a division of RPA) while working with them on the insane Acura RDX advertisement where they spent 10 days on 1 wall with 17 painters and used 455 gallons of paint… to make a hand painted 30 second animated spot. WOW. So check out the close ups of the murals, as well as the actual ad spot and the making of! Beautiful stuff!

p.s. love that they are rp& ~ part of me wishes they were secretly behind The Ampersand blog! Or at least ON it more!

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Popped by the Architizer launch party tonight at the A+D Museum (major work in progress going on across the street from LACMA) ~ and then the Cool Haus Ice Cream Truck came! And it was ice cream for dinner…Architectural ice cream! From Richard Meyer Lemon to Frank Behry and Rem “Coolhaus”… the imagery for the Cool Haus brand of architecturally inspired ice cream is adorable… sadly the ice cream cookie sandwiches are just normal looking… i secretly hoped for a plate with a fake lawn and a cookie sandwich shaped like a house… that i could then decorate with doors and windows of sugary faux-glass panes? Take a peek at the scene and the truck and my cookies and cream smooshed between oatmeal raisin cookies on the next page!

p.s. the paper is edible, they’ll even let you print your own logo on it… but just because its edible doesn’t mean it tastes good!

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Checking in from NOTCOT.org, where it has been an exciting week. This week’s picks include skulls, creatures, architecture, and much much more. Something catch your eye? Click on the pics to get the scoop.

Aston Martin’s Rapide touts itself as “The World’s Most Elegant Four-Door Sports Car”… while it is certainly entering a growing market of 4 door luxury sports cars… and you can read quite a bit about it all over the web, what struck me most about it in person were the tiniest details. Some found on quite a few Aston Martins, others quite Rapide specific… if you’re ready, take a peek at the details that grabbed my attention… most notable are definitely the tiny sphere of a trunk opening button and the +/- cut matte metal and leather paddle shifters… and what an aggressive face it has when you look at it straight on! Also while from the exterior it doesn’t actually look all that much bigger than the others, yet once you’re inside its ridiculously spacious ~ and the rear seats fold flat! Anyhow, take a peek at all the best details on the next page from my tour at the Aston Martin Factory!

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One of my favorite things about my mom, she’s always cut out comics, pulled magazine articles, cut up newspapers… and now emails me links all the time as well… perhaps she was one of the curators of my world and editors of NOTCOT before it even came to be… one of her recent saves for me, which i couldn’t help sharing, LA Times Magazine has this awesome feature of 50s ~ in this case, 50 Signature Handbags ~ Cachet and carry ~ beautifully illustrated by Jameson Simpson. While i love the way the 50 look on the page (so i had to take a scanner to the mag for you) ~ i love the functionality of the web version ~ it slides along as you hop between numbers… but i’m torn, i do love my visuals more on the ‘overwhelming, all at once, let me choose what i want to see’ side of things… BUT on the web you can see the fun illustrations of our fashion classics up close! Anyhow, browse them all on the next page!

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On travel obsessions, someone just reminded me one of the few items that has made my MUST PACK list ~ i’ve been so busy using, i have yet to write about it. humangear’s GoToobs have been indispensable. Sure they are similar to Paul Koh’s Bubble Bottles ~ but they are much better. A more airport security 1 quart ziploc bag friendly shape for packing… the ring allows you to select Soap, Shamp., Cond., Lotion, Sun, … so no sniffing to figure out what’s in there, and no need for labels… wide mouth opening for cleaning/filling… the one thing i never thought i’d use, yet have many a time ~ SUCTION CUP! So far they come in green, blue, clear, pink, and a newly added orange! See more pics on the next page…

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I feel like such a tease. I keep showing you parts of Oakley HQ, but not the insides… well not the normal insides, just the secret bar so far. And since these are in fact their real offices with 1500 people or so… there is a lot of work going on, and the majority of it confidential… so for everything i CAN show you, just know that there were probably 10 things i was dying to take pics of to share with you… whether they were prototypes, new designs, renders, sketches, or even amazing future wall tiles that i’m still lusting after… BUT that being said, take a peek at how awesome the architecture is, a peek down memory lane of Oakley’s history, the ejection seats CEO Colin’s waiting room… and his mine… camouflage covered cubicles… a few allowed sketches… the GI Joe looking guy dropping out of a helicopter on me when i looked up… machine gun in the hallway… AWESOME diorama’s to put your childhood shoebox setups to shame… and a bit more.

On Oakley fun facts: Did you know the name came from that adorable dog up there? And you can see the original 70s acorn logo from their bike grip days on the next page too!

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Ok, so i have been calling One Icon, Foothill Ranch - Oakley HQ, but part of me feels like i should be calling it Oakley’s Secret Lair. or Oakley’s real life video game set of a compound (it’s very steampunk industrial massiveness)… or… yea, you get the idea. And since its friday, and closing in on Happy Hour in my time zone… next up i had to show you their SECRET BAR!!! Seriously, its behind a secret panel, in a secret location, that i promised not to share… so long as they let me show you some of the awesome lustworthy details of their bar… like the Marais stools i loved (which so happen to be on sale at DWR today)… the floor plan of the Secret Lair etched into the glass table… the walls covered in signatures and notes of what i imagine are Oakley folks and friends… their amazingly design taps (made by Oakley designers of course)… SO ~ if you happen to find your way over to Oakley, see if you’re lucky enough to go have a drink in their inner sanctum… the ER. Or perhaps you can have a top secret meeting in there, amongst the buzz and humm…. oh, i’ve said too much. Good luck finding it! See the few pics i got permission to share on the next page…

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Here are just a few of the delicious drinks over on Liqurious. Just click the images to find out more.

So, today was incredibly inspiring. Popped down to Oakley HQ in Foothill Ranch ~ and was quickly overwhelmed with everything from the beautiful view on the drive into the space… to the entrance… to the design studios… architecture… ejection seats… history… future… and secret bar… but, lets start outside. Between the Helipad and the Tank out front… POMEGRANATES! Tiny clementine sized pomegranates growing on the more adorable bushes lined the pathway between. And i was tempted to climb on the tank… but didn’t, and in retrospect, i’m now extremely curious what those little pomegranates taste like. But before we get inside the building… take a peek at at the fun outside Oakley.

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Ok. I’m super excited about this one. I got a little obsessed with Flexicords when i ran by and saw their booth as CES 09 was closing then they finally made it into production and sent a few over… and they have been in my bag no matter where i end up ever since. They are bendy! They come in nice short sizes, and super long ones… and they have fun cables for everything: all forms of USB, HDMI, S-Video, RCA, and more. Apparently Flexicords are a big a fan of NOTCOT as i am of them ~ and they’ve given us 5 bundles of their popular cables to give away to you!

Additionally, Craig and Linhchi have been working hard on a new contest platform for us to play with, so we thought this would be the perfect chance to test it out! SO, this becomes one part contest, one part testing out a new experiment we’ve recently been playing with! Ready to enter to win a Cable Makeover? Help us debug and poke around with this new section?

Here’s the deal ~ To win one of the 5 Flexicord Bundles [Each one containing: - 1 6ft HDMI, 1 10ft CAT5e, 1 6ft RCA, 1 6ft S-Video, 1 6ft USB 2.0 A male to mini-B male, 1 6ft USB 2.0 A male to B male, 1 6ft USB 2.0 male to female, 1 6ft USB 2.0 A male to A male, 2 12in USB 2.0 A male to A female, 2 12in USB 2.0 A male to mini-B male, and 2 12in USB 2.0 A male to micro-B male.] SUBMIT A PICTURE (up to 3!) OF YOUR CABLE MESSINESS! Have your friends come vote for your entry! See all the details HERE!!!

Also see more close ups of the fun packaging and goodies to be won on the next page!

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Wow just stumbled upon this incredible poster… up close it’s all stars… step back and the skull emerges… oh, and it Glows In The Dark!!! Sweet Dreams by Daniel Bjugård ~ discovered it on the amazing swedish print site Wonderwall. See close ups on the next page!

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I’ve been thinking of a million and one ways to start this post over the last year… So, here goes! In Nov 2008, i was in talks with Aston Martin’s London agency and it came up to have a post looking for someone UK local to go to the Aston Martin Factory in Gaydon for NOTCOT. That was supposed to happen a month or two later… and between scheduling and the economy shifting and Aston Martin’s tumultuous year… a lot changed for them, and for the winner… and so, it’s been a year and a bit, but they happened to have a last minute opening around their customer tours, and we were finally able to squeeze in a visit to the Aston Martin Factory while i was in London. And Tom, thank you for being so understanding!

Ok, so all that aside ~ how sexy is that curve where the One-77 body flows to the side mirror? Putting the iridescent color shifting periwinkle/grey aside, there’s something very batmobile aggressive to the look of the One-77… even more so in person than those initial press shots. Not yet in production, and already sold out for its limited run of 77 customizable supercars priced at $1.5-2 million a piece… it was fun to get to take a look at some of the design details of this prototype up close… take a peek at my favorite details on the next page… as well as a video of it in action!

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Going through pictures from the London trip… i have so many i’ve been meaning to share from Aston Martin. Sadly, i wasn’t able to take pictures inside the actual factory other than some super glarey diagrams on the walls… and the lighting for most of the cars was a bit difficult, but lots of details and overviews to share! Unsure of where to start, this saddle jumped out at me when i was going through the pics… it’s like a picnic basket meets a horse saddle… for the hump in the backseat of your Aston Martin DBS… Apparently each saddle is individually handmade by Robin Coleman in Warwickshire. Each saddle takes two craftsmen 28 hours! It has room for everything including your bottle of wine! See more pics on the next page.

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