On more packages to play with upon returning to LA… Here is the Sorapot unboxing that i’ve waited 3 years to do (i first read about it over on Cool Hunting in 2005)! Joey Roth was actually my first NOTCOT reader i ever met, and i’m ecstatic to finally see his masterpiece in my hands (and not on a computer screen!). So amidst all this u-haul unloading, unpacking and playing 3D tetris with boxes… here’s a quick unboxing of this beautiful new teapot. So industrial, yet elegant… and i even have

… I have yet to brew my first sorapot of tea - more to come on that later… But for now - check out the freshly launched official Sorapot site! On the next page see the unboxing of it out in Topanga Canyon… a few sneaks peeks for you of the factory in the making… and a refresher diagram of the making of the Sorapot and how this is a testament to the power of design blogs to help small designers get out there!

As you can see from Joey Roth’s extensive press coverage (google alone shows thousands of links from blogs and magazines of all sorts)… the Sorapot has had some serious word of mouth going on which has helped turn this from a 3d rendering, to a project that Joey has worked insanely hard on - from researching and learning about factory production methods and packaging, to distribution channels… check out this awesome chart he sent me a while back - click to view larger!

A quote from Joey in his PSFK interview i love: “I basically owe my career to blogosphere buzz. Almost all of my customers find Sorapot through blog posts, and I still see blogs as my strongest advocates and best bridge to new customers, as well as insights on new product concepts.”

Here is a peek at where the Sorapot came from!

Also - on first looks at the Sorapot - check out Gizmodo Editor, Brian Lam’s video review of his first cup of tea…

I giggled when i first saw these “Command” posters on Swiss Miss… and then as i read them all a bit more, i couldn’t help but think it would be awesome to have Somebody Save Me From These Fools above my seat in a conference room… as well as the Please Do Not Copy, Create Something New! Ahhhh, they are all so relevant for our day to day work. Also check out the Close Your Eyes and Open Your Mind on the next page. You can order the three set from My Little Underground for $12.

This is definitely the week of driving. The sites have been insanely quiet today because i have spent over 8 hours cruising down the 101 (the historic El Camino Real - slowly passing many of the california missions) - at no more than 60 mph behind a uhaul towing a car that i spent all day/night packing yesterday… and yesterday between packing (moving the NOTCOT norcal office back to socal - so dan and i are both back in LA for good now), i was also a bit slow yesterday (and sunday and monday) because in between packing i couldn’t stop playing MarioKart for the Wii!!! It’s terribly addictive, and so adorable, and as silly as it feels to be holding a plastic toddler feeling fake steering wheel, i love it.

So MarioKart for Wii as one extreme… on the other end of the gaming/driving spectrum… getting back to my house after midnight (and the xbox still being in a box in the uhaul somewhere) i was thrilled to be greeted by a large amazon box with the GTA IV Special Edition set for XBOX (also available for PS3)… seriously, no one does schwag like Rockstar - beyond innovative gameplay and gorgeous graphics, their packaging and schwag always manage to blow my mind. So although i haven’t played the game yet, the unboxing of the Security Deposit Box, Art Book, Duffle Bag and more is not to be missed… see it all on the next page!

So - MarioKart or GTA? Which will you be driving this week?

I think this might need to become my new gym bag….

Here’s a sneak peek at the book, i’ll definitely be browsing it more closely in the morning… perhaps while listening to the soundtrack… and watching dan break in the game while i work?

Click the images to find out more! Wow, busy week/weekend across the NOTCOT sites… and the Daring Bakers have struck again, this month they have taken on the adorable “cheesecake pops” and over 25 posts have come up so far… some quite creative even! Inspiring and delicious? See the popular posts across the sites on the next page!

D!REKTRECYCLING makes the coolest envelopes ever. They have become one of my favorite things about receiving packages from Working Class Heroes - other than the incredible felt/leather sleeves for my gadgetry, of course.

The image above is what happens when i stick my camera inside the envelope… for more context move on to the next page… it’s brilliant because its such a clean professional looking envelope on the outside, yet you can’t help ripping it apart to learn about new places on the inside…

In the USA - you can shop via Start Motions for all of these various sized (and combo packs!) recycled map envelopes. Otherwise, you can browse the main D!REKTRECYCLING page to find your distributors/retailers.

Here’s a sneak peek at what came in the latest package… i’ve been bothering the Working Class Heroes for a kindle case, since the one that comes with it is horrendously bad… and this is the prototype which i’m already inseparable from…

NOTCOT Note: Interviews! We don’t have many of them on NOTCOT so far, but Anna’s introduction of them certainly has been refreshing to read… check out this great chat she had with Studio Lo! Also, feel free to let us know what you think, and if you’d like to see more of these, or interviews with specific people…

I wrote a post about Studio Lo a few months ago. I was (and remain) struck by Studio Lo’s minimal use of materials, gorgeous packaging, and the way each object is flat-packed and constructed by you, the user. In order to get more insight into their work and process, I decided to ask them a few questions about their work and process, and Eva Guillet and Aruna Ratnayake were kind enough to let me interview them. Check out the interview after the jump.

A shot of Studio Lo’s studio space.

1. Tell us a bit about yourselves.

Eva: I studied stage design at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Now, I work both at Studio Lo and I teach interior design.

Aruna: I studied design product in the Ecole Boulle in Paris. I also have a masters in philosophy and art. For the time being, I am an art teacher in a college near Paris.

Eva: We created Studio Lo in 2006 to sell our Slippers Pod. Since then, we have edited all our designs.

2. Where does your process begin? Do you think in 2-D or 3-D?

Eva: We begin with models in paper or paperboard and we go to 3D and back to 2D several times.

Aruna: After we have chosen a typology of object, we are very attentive to follow our process - working with few materials and minimal moves. Starting with models and prototypes, we develop the objects in CAO, until it arrive in the hands of the manufacturer.

3. How do you choose your materials?

Eva: Our first choice is always natural matter.

Aruna: Not only because it is “sustainable”. Of course we use French lambswool and Finnish birch wood (which is grown in responsible forests), but the feeling of natural matter is also crucial. It also need to be compatible with our manufacturing method (water-jet cutting). Felt and plywood are available in standard dimensions and are quite homogeneous materials.

Eva: Felt and plywood are also good candidates to be used in mono-material products. For example, felt can be both flexible and rigid at the same time. It depends on how you shape it.

4. Your products are minimalist in construction (eg. no adhesives - pieces fit together or fold into a larger object), often starting from a single piece of material. What draws you to this method of working?

Aruna: Our process is adapted to our small structure. We need to know at the beginning what is possible and how much it will cost to manufacture the product. Working like this requires less material, less energy, less labor, and less space.

Eva: It allows us to produce locally in France and to do small series.

Aruna: And it’s a beautiful way to show what is an object.

A display constructed from scraps of felt at the Ginza shopping market in, Tokyo, Japan.

5. Do you imagine yourselves working at a larger scale in the future or do you prefer to focus on products at a more hands-on, smaller scale?

Aruna: Small is beautiful and also ethical, but we are open to doing larger scale projects. In the best case scenario, we desire our designs to be accessible to the largest audience possible.

Thanks to Eva and Aruna for the interview! For more information on their work, please visit their website. You can purchase some of their work here.

For those days when you just really want to get a Glock 9mm with Tactical Light on your flight, MP Industries Berlin has got your back with their line of FELT weaponry. Also in their collection are: an original japanese katana, medieval flail, ak-47, claymore anti personnell mine, special forces FN P90 subpub, SOF sniper rifle, standard police issue revolver, frag grenade, bruce lee nunchaku, special forces colt m4 carbine…. and perhaps more to come… see some of my other favorites on the next page. (Thanks, Joshua)

I’ve been meaning to post about the incredible work of Nick Dewar all week, these images have been hanging out on my desktop waiting… Above are my two favorites, not that i’m on a death theme or anything, but they were just so beautifully dark!

Who is he? “Born in Scotland, grew up in a small fishing town on the East Coast and attended Art School in Glasgow, lived in Prague, London, New York and on a sheep farm in Cumbria. After living in New York for nearly ten years I have recently moved to Southern California. I no longer have to bathe in my kitchen.” Additionally unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably seen his work in a slew of top magazines, newspapers, book covers, corporate work and more… and it’s easy to see why. He’s incredibly talented and makes you laugh while taking on less than happy subjects. And besides his brilliant portfolio online… i love that he has a “But How?” section of his site, answering Q&As for artists and illustrators, showing off some of the behind the scenes sketches, and more!

I need to build a house/room around a bathtub one of these days… and i’m madly lusting after this Sorgente Tub, by Teuco. It completely submerges into your floor, and has water flowing to the brim… AND 8 hydrosilence whirlpool jets… *swoon*. It can even be covered with the same material that surrounds it - and of the options, Slate Grey Natural Stone option is just beautiful… but i imagine the oak-wood, teak, and pierre gris would be incredible too. via Trendir…

Take a look at the close ups of the tub, tiling, and other playful collages on the next page!

Tsunami Hazard Sign - While at the beach running around in Swims, at a crosswalk we noticed this new Tsunami Hazard Zone Sign - and i must admit the graphic design was quite inspiringly adorable. Nothing like instilling fear in the community through simply vector imagery of a man running for his life up a steep cliff from a massive wave and three mini ones chasing him. Great graphic, had to share it… more closeups on the next page.

I recently told you that i was hunting for rain so that i could do a proper review of the Swims show covers… and previously i showed you the beautiful photographs from their catalog… well yesterday when i went up to Sausalito for a meeting, it was RAINING! Well drizzling, and then got incredibly rainy as i came out of the tunnel… so here is an impromptu photoshoot and walk through of my Swims experience.

Here are the suede Theory flats i was wearing… you can see the rain pelting down on my windshield… and suede flats + rain + a bit of walking is never a good combination.

Enter, Swims! I pull out the handy carrying case, slip out the Swims… and slip them over the flats… not too hard, and a perfect fit.

As you can see, you can’t even SEE my flats anymore, they are nicely protected from the elements, and off we go!

I ran around in them, and walked around Sausalito in the rain in these for a bit - and it is definitely nice to have some added traction, no fear of puddles, and not need to worry about my shoes underneath. Unfortunately no pics of them in action in Sausalito, because as i wandered to my lunch meeting, the sun came out in a big way. The Swims certainly had my feet getting quite toasty in there at lunch, although to be fair, i was getting pretty tan in the corner window as the sun burned through. Removing the Swims from my soft suede flats was not super easy, but that is also probably why they stay on so nicely… its a two handed task for sure. What was really nice however, was how thin and floppy/flexible the swims are on their own (so really you dont want to be wearing them without shoes) - and with shows in them, they are basically super versions of your own shoe, and quite comfortable to walk around in (you barely notice they are there as you walk).

Fast forwarding, i was determined to try out their foot prints and get a few pics, and also get them a bit more wet… so off to the beach! The freeeeeezing cold SF ocean beach.

Here is one of the best footprints i made - the tree and its roots with every footprint look quite cute after you run all over the freshly wet sand at the edge of the tide.

It seems like although they have a slightly flocked inner lining, they are quite water proof, because i got splashed by a larger wave, and did get a little wet inside, and the water rolled right out.

So my conclusion is… Swims are definitely worth keeping in your car for flats/fancy sneaks you don’t want to risk getting soaked… or random romps in the mud… for an LA girl, rain and random flash floods aren’t a common enough occurrence to always plan footwear accordingly, so these are definitely handy to save my precious new Lanvin flats in unexpected inclement weather… and will probably accompany me to NY and potentially rainy destination. Now if only there was something to protect my HEELS!

On a continued giddy morning, after a crazy long day running up and down norcal… while i avoided all things Web 2.0, i couldn’t say no to playing with our Federated Media family at their party at the Web 2.0 Expo South Park Crawl… like all crazy parties, the open bar kept flowing, the people came and went, but we and the FMers pretty much stayed till the end, and then began the wander to hunt for food through SOMA… one place after another the kitchens were all closed so we ended up at Mel’s Drive In. And not being famished, but in a silly mood, i couldn’t resist ordering the Apple Pie with Cheese A La Mode… and as you can see from the menu screenshot below, it’s really on there! And although i seldom post on a dare, well, i did promise that i’d document and share this bizarre combination with NOTCOT/TasteSpotters…

Keep reading to see the closeups, etc… and the bizarre fork sculpture the kids next to us were building…

See? It’s real!

And everyone had to take pics of it…. (yes, thats a camera in the top right corner)

Close up of the cheesiness… not totally sure if there’s a special cheesy pie… but it sure looks like it was melted on the pie THEN cut… and honestly once you made it a la mode, you barely tasted the cheese… and cheese plates and fruit aren’t uncommon, so perhaps this is just a strange twist on that? But all in all, i see no real need to consume that again…

Here are the kids in the midst of their fork sculpture… if i recall correctly at one point there was broccoli involved too…

HAPPY EARTH DAY! Sadly the weather got a bit drearier here where i’m hiding in norcal… BUT the good news is, i’m actually hoping it rains - since i just got a pair of black swims in my size to try out, and i was hoping to get them a bit wet and shoot some silly pics in the rain to try them out and share with you! So *fingers crossed*. (I did consider dancing around in sprinklers, but that just seemed silly.)

Anyhow, not to get all literal on you, but i was thinking about earth day, and reading all over about the footprint we’re leaving… and i was realizing how i loved the trees on the soles of the Ms. Swims… and then i spotted these hilarious bespoke parisian wolf soled shoes, Berluti’s Empeinte du Loup… and i couldn’t resist a post about these awesome footprints you could be leaving everywhere you walk.

Also, you may remember swims with their gorgeous photography from this old post… and previously swims sent over a pair of pink, L sized swims… but i looked a bit ronald mcdonald in them, so pics below of the awesome packaging and shoe bag and the flexibility of the material… but coming soon (when it rains!) will be pics of how it works putting them on, taking them off, etc.

Happy Early Earth Day (it’s tomorrow) - we have a sneak peek from the girls at Delight who are touting this new bag line as the next big thing in the reusable bag market. They were even nice enough to send over a set for me to play with early to share my thoughts… (so my pics of it in comparison to others, on the next page!). These new RuMe bags are larger than any of the others i’ve come across, which can be good and bad… good: they hold more in less bags! bad: they make me look like a midget when carrying them full… while they are also lightweight - their material is a bit on the crunchier side (mom of the NotEmpire, and our official reusable bag tester explained the difference as… the envirosax felt more like an umbrella material, whereas the RuMes were a bit more like a raincoat)… but i do like the velcro strap that ties these together, and that it hangs INSIDE, unlike the envirosax which leave the button dangling as you carry the bag. Anyhow…. there are two sets of colors, the “Sillicon Valley” greys and blacks, and the “Spring in New York” set of colorful brights. See below for more pics of these in context!

Also noteworthy: (excerpt from the RuMe site)

RuMe’s premier product, the reusable RuMe Bag, is designed and packaged following a no-waste philosophy and all RuMe products are manufactured in South Korea under strict Fair Trade policies and standards including, but not limited to:

* A fair, living wage for all factory employees (2007 per capita GDP of South Korea is estimated at USD $24,600 per year by the CIA Fact Book).
* Employees have ample meal breaks, are not obligated to work overtime and employees may unionize.
* The factory is modern, clean, well lit and has emergency protocols in place.

RuMe’s manufacturing partner in South Korea belongs to the Fair Trade Commission.

Here are my comparison pics!

Click the images to find out more! Hey everyone, sorry i got quiet this weekend. To be completely honest with you, i’m just having a bit of a hard time with things right now, and its been a rough last few weeks particularly, and overall the last few months have really been catching up with me it seems… trying to officially take a vacation this week… but unlike most sites that go on vacation, shopping/hunting/browsing/sharing/posting inspiring things IS what makes me happy, so posts will probably pick up after i get some brunch today, whereas emails (especially the bitchy ones) will probably have even slower responses than normal, meetings/conference calls probably won’t be happening (other than the really fun pre-planned ones)… essentially anything that “feels” like “work” i’m not available for this week! Check back May 1st if you’re looking for that stuff, where hopefully i’ll get myself relaxed and ready to do the whole “business” thing again. And for those who clearly can’t seem to understand this - i just need a break, so feel free to resume the painful/not fun stuff May 1st.

OK - personal rant done. Just wanted to get that out there for the people who don’t seem to understand the current situation, but seem to see public posting as making something “real”. Moving along… roundup time! The popular postings of the last week across NOTCOT.org, TasteSpotting, and NotCouture…

Oh, and yes the sites went down for a bit this weekend ~ they were physically moving our servers and unfortunately there were a few problems, but all should be back up and ok now. Not stressful at all, right?

NOTCOT Note: Here’s another treat from Anna of Sub-Studio!

Swissmiss turned me on to Delaney Jane Larson, who creates gorgeous illustrations under the pseudonym of Plane Jane. I very much like how she has usurped the iconography of traditional playing card designs to create her own cast of characters. The subject of her work is very much the stuff of dreams - little monsters, the wool of shorn sheep creating clouds, pimped out Kings and Queens. Her color palette is kept fairly limited in order to “counterbalance the situational idiosyncrasies” of her illustrations. Her strongest work is in the illustrations and paintings themselves, although she has translated some of the illustrations into t-shirts, cards, ceramics, and tote bags, available here. See more of her great illustrations after the jump!

Fresh from the inbox, Rich In Craft’s new Folie à Deux “represents the quintessential duality of functional feminine artistry,” created by L.A. designers, Tiffani Anne Williams and Parker Todd Brooks. So what is this ruggedly feminine bag exactly? From their site:

The body of the bag is soft and beautiful. It is made of 100% wool with a pure quilted silk lining. It was handsewn by local artisans. The handle symbolizes the sharp element of the wild. The horn shape was handcrafted in a custom mold by the designers themselves using an exclusive amalgam of polyurethane and glass. The aluminum loops that comprise the bag attachment were also specifically created for the project and were brought to fruition by CNC milling. The Folie à Deux is a unique marriage between the craftsman’s hands and tools and the artist’s imagination.Which is why only thirty-six Folie à Deux will ever be made. Each will be presented on a silk pillow in a handmade, cloth-covered box. And each will be marked with its unique identification number. The number will be mirrored on the underside of the wooden label which is sewn inside each Folie à Deux bag.

See more images after the jump!

Ever wonder how loud your world is? Or in contrast, ever notice how nice peace and quiet is? Love this new global billboard campaign by AEG-Electrolux for Noise Awareness - so far it has popped up in London, Madrid, Berlin, Brussels, and Milan. Basically the billboard has built in decibel meters connected remotely to LED screens, so 24/7 passerbys can see the noise level… what’s even more interesting is that in some cities, kids are intentionally screaming and making noise near them to watch the numbers rise… and in another case the local nightclub underneath has been taking pictures of it to prove how quiet it stays even when parties are raging inside! Oh… and the campaign is for how quiet the new AEG-Electrolux “silent” washing machines are. Check out images from the various cities below, as well as graphs of their noise levels!

In Madrid…

In Berlin…

In London…

… more London…

In Brussels…

In Milan…

You can view the all as well as charts of their noise levels at Noise Awareness

Mmmm matte black box, tied up in leather cord, sealed with a big glossy wax seal… along with an enticing black envelope sealed with a matching wax seal, containing silver sheets of paper… it was far too fun to bust open this latest press release to land on my doorstep this morning and discover this beautiful bottle of the freshly launched “100 proof, 100 percent agave, super-premium tequila”, 1800 Silver Select Tequila. This comes from the 1800 Tequila folks (who just started the crazy billboard artist collab campaign i told you about earlier this week)… Really, the unboxing experience was too fun not to share, see the pictures below.

My favorite quotes from the press release… “If James Bond had to give up his martini, shaken, not stirred, he’d switch to 1800 Select Silver”… “For a male-oriented, status-conscious market, driven by luxury and opulence, in which authenticity and perception is all, ordering the best is what counts”… “This is a premium drink for the bon vivant who requests his single malt scotch by name, and who will now be equally fastidious about his favorite brand of tequila.” I love the marketing speak - these made me giggle a bit, and hey marketers, we ladies like our premium drinks and single malt scotches too!

So seeing as i just woke up, and tequila isn’t quite how i start my mornings… i haven’t taken a shot yet, but will update later with how this “raises smooth to new heights”… but for now, be intrigued, and see the pics after the jump of how much fun this gorgeous packaging is!

UPDATED: now i know how to use the stopper as a shot glass… see the video… and my conclusion on the taste…

Rumor has it (well the press release says…) that the stopper doubles as a shot glass, but i have yet to figure out how the best way to use it is… sure it has a hole, sure you can flip the whole bottle upside down and fill it … but HOW do you get it out before it empties back out? And pouring into the tiny hole? Doesn’t seem so easy…

UPDATE!!!

Ok, thanks to Elwyn from Proximo Liquors, we now know how to use the top as a shot glass… and i just tried it… with only ONE shot in me (aka, i’m not wasted!), and i totally spilled on myself a bit. (so, no, no video for you of my attempt)… The conclusion? Interesting idea, not worth trying if you don’t want to waste your precious tequila… really, just take a swig from the bottle if you are shot glass free and need a shot that badly?

OH - and as for the taste. Damn that’s smooth. And i don’t even normally like tequila - i only ever do patrone silver/gold shots if i “must”…. but i think this is my new fav.

Browsing IKEA’s latest today… they’ve jumped on a few trends i’ve been liking for a while… so naturally much like the laptop station that they made 10% of the original price… funny to see that they have taken to the vinyl stickering (i had kind of expected them to get on this one sooner since its so cheap/easy to produce)… and one trend i’ve been loving for apt dwellers that move frequently and don’t want to worry about damaging the walls, yet want to mount that flat panel tv - the floating wall tv shelves, i’m kind of liking this Stiby one above that is $500… and there is also the Benno after the jump that is a mere$120. Now for the one piece i’m really really wanting - the Trollsta Sideboard… granted the whole series feels like a cheap jaime hayon knockoff… i’m still tempted. It looks really fun to add some subtle vinyl stickers to also…. few more pieces that grabbed me after the jump!

Here is the Benno tv stand and Hemnes vanity table…

Here’s that press announcement i’ve been dying to share with you….

Globalight - the latest Karim Rashid piece launching in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot in Milan tonight. An “artistic, orb-shaped lamp with adjustable pink light, Globalight is also an isotherm bottle carrier… First impression? It feels like the center slice of a silver space age egg with its glowingly pink fleshy yolk exposed - encasing a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rose… The asymmetrical egg like shape is so appealing and naturally inspired, yet relatively random feeling. And if you take a look at more of the gorgeously surreal photographs of the Globalight and its couples - there is also something oh so Easter Basket-like about it… The press release reads:

New York, NY—April 15, 2008 — Champagne house Veuve Clicquot affirms its strong commitment to design excellence, innovation and audacity with the release of Globalight by Karim Rashid, the second collaboration between the eponymous Champagne House and the prolific designer celebrating Veuve Clicquot’s Rose Champagne.The unique, limited-edition piece represents Rashid’s modern reinterpretation of the traditional French chandelier, icon of romantic dinners and meaningful moments. In the United States, Globalight will be unveiled exclusively at W Hotels, leader in modern travel, luxury design, and sensory experience.

Its portable nature makes entertaining a gathering of friends or someone special a charming occasion whether at home or on the road. One bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rose will remain chilled for 4 hours and the LED lights will give a soft glow for the same time, making Globalight an ideal accessory for outdoor entertaining.

Honestly - the pictures after the jump are worth checking out… beautiful sureal photographs - and a fun sketch and story of how Karim Rashid came up with the design…

Karim Rashid on the design of the Globalight:

“When Veuve Clicquot asked me to design a new project for their champagne, to continue the sensual integration of the immaterial and the material as i had done with the Loveseat, i immediately drew an elliptical scribble around the VC rose bottle as if to denote the intent - this is what i must do - and thought how could i bring light and champagne together? - and suddenly realized my scribble was the idea in itself - ‘surround the bottle with illumination’ - embrace the bottle with a dynamic energetic magnetism - encapsulate the bottle with warmth, so i literally made an elliptical object and designed Globalight - like a purse, or a handbag, the ovaloid vignettes the champagne - lights it, glorifies it, and embraces the fabulous pleasurable experience of drinking my favorite champagne. Salut”

With lighting handled by experts, Zumtobel, it can be on for 2 hours and won’t even heat your precious Veuve up…

Only 500 Globalights have been created worldwide with a suggested retail of $4500. In the United States, they will be available for purchase exclusively at W Hotels The Store, www.whotelsthestore.com and www.e-clicquot.com.

Warning, i have this tendency to do late night visual research binges - (binge and post?) - which result in rather large collaged image files - and tonight between the bottle of Veuve Clicquot and the press release i’ve been anxiously sitting on until i can share it with you without breaking embargo - i really couldn’t help myself and dug up any and all crazy Veuve Clicquot inspired designs on the net. And really i’ve been truly fascinated by the really cool designs that have been popping up lately… the Karim Rashid Loveseat grabbed me in NY at ICFF last year (it’s SO fun to sit in!) and then the Porsche Design Vertical Limit fridge at the Toronto IDS this year… and i just wanted to see what else there was… So see below for more of that signature Pantone 137c.

Veuve Clicquot & Porsche Design have launched the “Vertical Limit”, a handmade stainless steel cabinet that houses 12 vintages of champagne. Each compartment is lit and 1temperature maintained. Only 15 made. $70k!! [via NOTCOT.org #6979]

On sleek furniture designs… i fell for the Karim Rashid Veuve Clicquot Loveseat this morning over at Luxist. There’s something about the infinite curves, yet a nice separation of space (with a bottle of bubbly as the border?) thats enticing, and the photography for the piece is beautifully surreal. [from an old NOTCOT post - and images of it in person from my ICFF trip]

Quite the party by Veuve Cliquot and the Wapping Project - “Last night was the launch we did for the highly original collaboration between Veuve Clicquot and one of the most innovative arts venues in London, The Wapping Project. Yellow 1877 is a celebration of Veuve Clicquot’s unique yellow colour first registered in Reims 130 years ago. As guests approached the party last night, they were met by a dazzling array of candles underneath Sam Spenser’s tree, dramatically canopied in silk umbrellas. Before the entrance, architects Shed 54 put Stairways and Reflection, a structural piece using neon light streets inside the accumulator tower. The ‘mistress of the jigsaw’ gave everyone a piece of yellow jigsaw with a number of it which they would then play later in the evening, while a dance by choreographer Maresa Von Stockert was performed in vaults within the boiler space. A small grove of silver birch trees was also the setting for a yellow phone box - that rang during the evening. Endless Veuve Clicquot champagne, great music by DJ Nikki and one of the most inventive evenings we have all had in a long time.” [via Camron with more info at Yatzer]

I was excited to see that this year Veuve Clicquot was one of the seminars at my alma mater, Domus Academy, in Milan! In conjunction with the Future Concept Lab they have worked with the students to create a product that embodies all that they are about…

“Veuve Clicquot, leading company in the field of champagne, has been proposing for a long time something more than the mere product itself. It expresses an attention towards the world of design, particularly sensitive and in line with the target of its consumers. Design becomes a driver of a mind and life style that is extremely refined but accessible, rich in history and culture, but at the same time modern and projected into the future. We can see it in the first examples of successful brand extension proposed by the Brand, from Vertical, the Porsche Design wine cellar, to Karim Rashid’s Love Chair, up to the champagne coolers in different shapes and materials, underlining the simple sophistication of Veuve Clicquot. The iconic yellow is in fact becoming a symbol and a brand of its own, which contributes to the research and design exploration of further objects able to represent the brand without becoming simple gadgets, but on the contrary, acquiring the dignity and the independent credibility that all design projects should have.” Read the full brief here… and apparently the results have just been presented - i can’t wait to get a peek!

Now here’s the overwhelming part… all the other products i found! And it’s quite fascinating how intruiging (and yellow) the various bucket designs, travel cases, paint “box” (can of minis!), necklace and pins by Arthus Bertrand, and more… i’ve created an image map so you can just click them to find out more…

Oh, and just to be thorough, these just in… the Magic Box which was popular in Japan, and the Pucci Grande Dame collaboration!

There has been much talk of NOTCOT TV… actually scratch that… by *talk* i mean *pressure*. And we’re definitely interested, but keep in mine we’re 2 people running 4 sites, with help from a tiny handful of part timers who help when they can. If you asked me what i’d be doing now, three years ago, this wouldn’t have even been in my realm of possibilities! BUT, that being said, i’ve been buzzing with ideas, just not the time/resources to pull it off quite yet… and when i saw the new Red Scarlet “pocket professional” camera that got announced at NAB 2008, i couldn’t help but drool a little. Before even getting to the insane guts this thing has, the aesthetic alone is drool worthy…

As Engadget describes “The teensy 3K resolution camcorder is based on a 2 / 3-inch Mysterium X sensor, can shoot at 1 to 120 FPS and records to dual CompactFlash cards, which can handle up to 100MB per second of REDCODE RAW HD video. You can preview your shot on the 4.8-inch LCD, and there’s a 8x RED zoom lens included. HMDI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 inputs are built in, and the device is compatible with “many” RED ONE accessories. WiFi control is also included.” - and it has still mode too!

NO Pre-orders, and it’s supposedly going to be just under $3,000, slated for early 2009… So i’m sayin’ it right now, if somehow people manage to get one of these in my hands to play with, i will make NOTCOT videos happen, and they will be fun and quite probably quite unlike what you’re used to seeing in podcasts today. (Notice how i’m basically not promising you video until earliest 2009? I guess i’d better start brushing up on my final cut now… and/or looking for people to work on this potential new project…)

More pics to drool over after the jump as usual…

Swedish, I Do Design, and their gorgeous Union Benches… i showed you their Outdoor Union Bench and renderings of the indoor one previously, you remember, the gorgeously sleek concrete/wood outdoor benches that were shaped like three hemispheres molded together? Well Salone time is upon us, and they’ve shared the two new glossy red and black indoor versions (perfect for lounges, clubs, waiting areas) and a DESK! which looks like a very fun place to work closely together yet still have quite a bit of your own space to take over! I’m very tempted by both. Get a first look at all of these new pieces after the jump!

NOTConcept 002: Outdoor Sound System - [1: Idea Sketching] [2: Concept Dev] [3: 3D Renders]

NOTCOT Note: It’s been a very crazy month for us all, sorry for the delays, but here is the final installment of NOTConcept 002 from Hero Design Lab! Here are some glossy renders showing off how we envision a fun aesthetically pleasing modular series of speakers, projectors, ambient lighting….ENJOY!

NOTConcept 002: Outdoor Sound System - [1: Idea Sketching] [2: Concept Dev] [3: 3D Renders]

I’m having one of those Mondays that already feels like a thursday… the week can’t end fast enough, yet its just begun. Also, its the week where i kick myself for not being in Milan for design week, not that i should have been there this year, seeing as i’m slightly over swamped with obligations at the moment anyhow. Good news for you, is part of that is due to a pile of really cool stuff i’m dying to post (the fun part of my life, um… “work”)… BUT for a random fun post before i get sit down in this crazy summery heatwave weather, i just wanted to say thanks to Veuve Clicquot for making today just a tiny bit more fun with their surprise delivery of a bottle of bubbly to help Milan coverage go a bit smoother this week. Yay for snail mail… a few more silly pics after the jump (although i do like how the pirate bronto in the apple is now in the glass up there)… back to regularly scheduled rants of designer inspiration and amusements!

Prepare to see Tequila in a whole new light… especially if you live in SF, Chicago, Detroit, or Atlanta, where the first set of 1800 Tequila Artist billboards are now popping up to show off some of their beautiful and crazy Limited Edition bottle collaborations! And rolling out soon will also be chances for people to submit art for upcoming billboards/bottles… and SNEAKERS!

From the press release:

A unique mix of palette and palate, this new initiative celebrates the talents of nine artists — Jorge Alderete (Mexico City) , Jeremy Bacharach (Chicago), Glenn Barr (Detroit), Will Chambers (Chicago), Chris Dean (Detroit), Kim Dosa (Atlanta), Josh Ellingson (Oakland), Hannah Stouffer (Oakland) and Urban Medium (Atlanta) — who have been commissioned to design collectible limited edition bottles. (There are only 1800 of each design, which will be available for a Pop Art price of $34.99 at high-end liquor stores).

The specially commissioned artworks will be unveiled as part of an $8million outdoor advertising and promotional campaign across the country — a new-generation museum that brings art to the people. For those who are unable to view the high-impact billboards in person, the campaign will also be available online at www.1800Tequila.com .

See my favorite bottle/billboards after the jump!

Curious what “normal” 1800 Tequila looks like? Between you and me, i’m not sure i could go back to the normal stuff after seeing these amazing bottle designs!

p.s.
totally random… but does anyone else find themselves reading 1800 Tequila as 1-800-TEQUILA ?

Jaime Hayon has a book coming out! And consider it on my wishlist… as i’m sure you know by now, i love those sleek, smooth lacquered curves of many of Jaime’s signature pieces, and have posted about him many a time! Launching sometime this month is Jaime Hayon Works from Die Gestalten (one of the best design publishers!), Format: 24 x 30 cm
Binding: 320 pages, full colour, hardcover, gilt edging - and it is described as:

Spanish designer and artist Jaime Hayon will be one of the most influential designers in the years to come, and this is the first monograph to present the full spectrum of his work. Ranging from clear and harmonious to playfully extravagant, all of the included examples of interiors, furniture, tableware and decorative ceramics attest to his inimitable grasp of form, style and colour. In addition to celebrated collaborations with clients such as Camper, Swarovski and Bisazza, Jaime Hayon Works contains previously unreleased personal sketches, illustrations and productions of new projects that will make its world premiere debut at the annual Milan Furniture Fair in April 2008.

It should be incredible! Check out peek from within the book after the jump… and those who are ready to pre-order, it’s available at Amazon for $63 (instead of the listed 100)

What more could we need to kick off a Monday in the making besides waldo hidden in the real world waiting for google maps, designer foosball, books transformed into sculpture, dragon bras, fun dresses and coats, martinis, cupcakes, carbonara, and more? Well here’s a selection of things that grabbed me from the last week, and after the jump take a look at the 25 most popular posts from across the NOTCOT Network. Happy Monday! (and as always, click the images to find out more!)

I have that tendency to post things when i get really excited… really really late at night (like 4:30am?)… thing like the Nike 2008 Olympic Footwear collection, which has a new unique shoe for EVERY sport to be represented at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. And then as usual, i wake up, and start reading and clicking and browsing even FURTHER only to find another aspect of the story i just get so giddy about i can’t help posting it. Well today, it was reading the design stories behind each and every shoe, and viewing the extremely high resolution images, have you LOOKED at some of these soles up close?

Shoe and sport aside, there is some fascinating materials design going on here. After the jump are some of the most interesting shoe soles and their Material Design Stories as found in the many press releases.

[Click any of the shoe images to view them in their super high res form, which is the only way to truly appreciate how crazy they are!]

Nike Pidima (Greek for “Leap”)
Sport: Gymnastics

Nike’s smallest shoe being offered to athletes in Beijing, the Nike Pidima, is designed to support the needs of world-class gymnasts during the Vault competition. Much like the long-jump, this sport requires athletes to run as fast as they can in a short distance and leap with intense force off the vault in order to achieve the maximum distance, height, and foot velocity before they “stick” the landing. Inspired by track and field footwear, designers developed the Nike Pidima’s strappy rubber traction system to improve speed and control during approach and landing.

Working with a German sports research scientist, Nike developed a forefoot pad that mimicks the Nike track spike pattern. A split on the outsole allows for pliability between the first and second metatarsals where they spread during impact. Essential to the design is a slightness of material that allows the foot to feel as bare as possible while improving traction beneath the sole. A neutral-color rubber is used in construction to minimize distraction of the athletes and judges.

Each pair of the Nike Pidimas are packaged in a small carrying pouch inspired by Chinese silk to keep the shoes together in gymnasts’ duffel bags.

Nike Grigoros (Greek for “Quick”)
Sport: Kayaking

In Beijing, kayakers will maneuver their boats through gates in a slalom course into manmade whitewater rapids. The athlete’s feet are on pegs inside the kayak braced against the sides of the hull for stability and balance. US kayakers competing in Beijing, accustomed to competing barefoot, asked Nike designers to build them footwear that would provide lightweight protection and traction for their feet during a race. Inspired by the challenge of improving the performance of athletes who normally forgo footwear during competition, designers created the Nike Grigoros.

Made from a single piece of Nike’s stickiest rubber compound, the shoe is a low-profile skin that easily slips over the foot. A web and lug pattern on the sole delivers reliable grip in the boat and on the dock while channels in between allow for water drainage. The anatomical, split-toe design of this fitted silhouette provides natural movement of the foot on the boat’s pegs. As with every world-championship event for which Nike has created shoes, lightweight innovation makes the Nike Grigoros an improvement over any other footwear option available—even an athlete’s bare skin.

The Nike Grigoros is made from one piece of 100% recycled rubber.

Nike Zoom Victory Spike

Weight wise, 100 grams has always been the Holy Grail for a track spike.

Tom Redding and John Truax, the Nike design and development team on the Nike Zoom Victory, weighed everything that went into the spike. They used lightweight Vectran thread. Stronger than Kevlar, it’s spun from liquid crystal polymers and was used to sew the balloons on the Lunar Rover. The Flywire filaments themselves are covered in a TPU film to ensure they don’t snag. The TPU film determines much of the spike’s weight, so it was paired down to only a couple microns thick. Every part of the shoe that could be, was perfected to cut weight. To cut even more weight, the decision was made to remove the sock liner. Instead of the foam sockliner used in traditional track spikes, a single piece of lightweight suede was used. To get a better fit, the shoe was constructed with a center seam, but then a way was also found to remove the thread itself. The shoe was still sewn up the center, but drafted in a solution more common to surgery—water-soluble thread. Now, just before the factory adds the suede sock liner and puts the shoe in the box, the Zoom Victory is wiped down with a wet brush to dissolve the thread. This process removes approximately 1.2 grams.

The final innovation John and Tom incorporated was a hole in the heel. “We didn’t need a heel counter, which again probably weighs five or six grams,” Tom explains. They created a weld around the edge and punched it out to expose the foot itself. At first athletes were nervous about the fit, but the hole allows the Zoom Victory to grip the heel tightly, creating an almost custom fit and preventing slippage.

Nike Simadi (Greek for “Target”)
Sport: Shooting

The success of a world-championship marksman depends on balance and rock-solid stability. In a sport where athletes have to be as steady as possible, often pulling the trigger of a gun between heartbeats, the slightest movement can be devastating. The unshakable foundation of this kind of extreme body control relies on stable footwear, which is why designers met with US gold medalist athletes to develop the ultimate shooting shoe, the Nike Simadi.

Available in a mid version for rifle shooting and a low model for pistol shooting, the key innovation in this footwear is the outsole. Designed to provide the most stable platform possible for a shooter, the Nike Simadi is built on a carbon fiber plate that is both lightweight and stiff, allowing the most comfort possible in a shooting shoe. To prevent foot slippage, a high-traction rubber compound is integrated into the outsole, providing unmatched grip on the hardwood floors of the range. The stiff, synthetic upper—with a molded heel cup and midfoot panel—helps keep the athlete’s foot firmly in place inside the shoe.

The Nike Simadi Mid rifle shoe has been constructed with as much ankle support as possible, helping to immobilize the kinetic chain of the lower leg and lock down the shooter’s stance. The square toe of the Nike Simadi Mid was designed to accommodate and stabilize the toe-to-floor contact point of the foot in laying and kneeling positions. In the rifle shoe only, the carbon plate in the sole has been truncated to allow slight flex for floor positions.

Nike Akribis (Greek for “Accurate”)
Nike Dunkesto (Team USA Only)
Sport: Archery

When the process began to create an innovative archery shoe for Beijing, the first step was to seek athlete insight. Based on feedback from the world’s top archers, the goal was to design footwear that helped the athlete execute precise use of a bow and arrow. To do so, athletes would require footwear that was lightweight, stable and comfortable. As with any sport that demands steadiness for perfect aim, an archer’s stance is the foundation for a well-placed shot. Building from Nike’s heritage of turf traction and stability footwear, a modified football cleat was used as the basis for the Nike Akribis archery shoe. With a nubby Astrograbber outsole that can penetrate and grip either grass or synthetic turf and a contoured footbed that elevates the heel to an athletic shooting position, the Nike Akribis provides comfort and sure footing on any surface, giving Nike athletes a better chance to perform their best in Beijing.

Nike has designed a whole line of Olympic Footwear… one for every sport in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. And besides the usuals like track and field, basketball, etc… what fascinates me are their designs for things like Gymnastics, Wushu, Kayaking, Wind Surfing, Taekwondo, Equestrian, and Fencing. These were launched at the incredible 2 day press event: The Nike Beijing Innovation Summit (more images here).

View the most interesting designs after the jump ~ with a special feature on the fencing ‘Ballestra’ shoe (for Justine) ~ and just in case you have yet to see Kobe jump over an Aston Martin in the new Hyperdunks, i’ve embedded that as well!

Here is an image from the Innovation Summit that a handful of lucky global press were present for…. i love that it says “Considered Design”… Nike, i’m blown away by this collection. Really.

Here are some of the most unusual footwear designs that i found particularly noteworthy…

All of the shoes have incredible background stories ~ read them here

Here is Kobe’s Hyperdunk… “Nike’s Lightest and Strongest Basketball Shoe Ever”

This is definitely one of the viral videos that is hard to forget…

And for the fencing shoe… did a bit more digging and found a few more colors and some reviews as well - Fencing.net review/interview, Sneaker Freaker’s Take, Squidoo review…

Nike Ballestra
Sport: Fencing

The sport of fencing requires athletes to perform a constant series of advance, retreat and lunging moves during the course of a competitive match. Each move creates an impact on the athlete’s body. However, the impact of a lunge on a fencer’s lead foot is one of the most powerful in all of sport, reaching up to seven times the athlete’s body weight. Such force requires footwear that can withstand this type of impact. Working closely with world champion fencers, Nike designers developed the Nike Ballestra. It is not only more comfortable and lighter than anything currently available, but it also meets the demands of the sport.

To soften the notoriously heavy blow of fencing lunges, the heel of the Nike Ballestra’s outsole is rounded to absorb impact. Designers also updated the traditional vertical cushioning system of most fencing footwear in the Nike Ballestra by adding an additional 10mm of foam in the back of the heel to accommodate the rolling motion of a fencer’s footwork. Along with a Zoom Air unit, one of Nike’s best cushioning technologies, Poron foam is stacked in the heel to act as a dampening agent that slows down the foot as it moves through heel impact.

Fencing athletes stressed the need for sure footing during competition. The Nike Ballestra is built on a very flat outsole, incorporating a traction pattern that delivers unmatched stability on the metal competition surface during advancing, retreating, and lunging moves. On the medial forefoot of the Nike Ballestra, notched TPU wraps up from the sole to resist abrasion as the back foot is dragged during advances. Breathable mesh on the upper makes the shoe more comfortable for the athlete while reducing the overall weight, making it up to 2oz. lighter than the market standard.

Special colorways of the Nike Ballestra were designed for the Chinese, US, and Ukrainian teams for this summer’s events. Team China will wear a version with a White/Metallic Silver upper that incorporates a Comet Red stripe on the tongue and laces, an extension of the red stripe that runs down the front of the Chinese fencing uniform’s socks. Sockliner graphics specific to the Chinese team are inside the footwear and are designed to inspire athletes every time they lace up. The exclusive Nike Ballestra for Team USA is a mixture of Obsidian and Photo Blue, Sport Red, and White. When worn during a match, red outsoles create a bright, flashing effect as the athlete elevates the toe of the front foot during a lunge. USA graphics on the sockliners complete the package and personalize the team experience. The Team Ukraine fencing footwear is Royal Blue with white accents and a Yellow Zest Swoosh. These have special sockliners as well, inspired by tribal art.

Look for Italian gold-medalist Margherita Granbassi to be wearing a pink and black version of the Nike Ballestra when she goes for her second gold this August.

Key Features
-Breathable upper with seamless lining offers secure and comfortable fit with no peeling sockliner
-New flexible, abrasion-resistant materials in high-wear areas of the shoe
-Highly flexible forefoot and rounded heel promote nimble advance and retreat
-Zoom Air unit and Poron foam add cushioning in high impact areas
-Stable base of support in forefoot
-Outsole designed to maximize traction on competition surfaces
-Weight = 275 grams

I can’t help myself, i’m so in love with the wallpapers you can unlock with the riddles from the membership booklet of The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding - that they needed a post of their own. It has been a VERY long time since i’ve had anything but a solid black or white desktop wallpaper, but tonight the Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding octopus crest is up! (You can see it after the jump…)

To unlock your own ~ go to Veer solve the riddles and unlock your prizes…

Also, it looks like they have some very cute ads running for this campaign!

I got this mysterious envelope today, and it contained the membership booklet of The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding. Seriously, as great as the internet and email are… snail mail has some perks, especially when it’s in the form of surprises with incredibly well designed typography, stock art, riddles, and a secret society membership card. I felt like i was a little kid as i read through the secret handshakes and riddles in this booklet over breakfast.

This… is the latest mailer from Veer! See more shots of it below!

Check out the official website of The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding here.

And you can even download your own membership booklet! Solving the riddles will get you codes to get deals at Veer.

On collabs i didn’t see coming… Courvoisier is going all out on their new Exclusif Cognac! Including a multi-city tour (LA, SF, Houston, Miami, NY) this spring to show off an exclusive line designed by urban/skate brand LRG, inspired by Courvoisier… including a Napoleon Rubberband Jacket.

Ok, but seriously, we both know that’s not why i’m posting this. What grabbed me is that they even customized some limited edition gadgetry - iPhones, Blackberries, and iPods to be specific, and i’m surprised, but i’m kind of loving the the napoleonic/spy logo thing thats going on, and while orange isn’t usually my color, this shade is kind of interesting on electronics… check out more sneak peeks after the jump!

For more info on the tour and clothing line : click here!

WiiWare!!! Coming in June ~ Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People! As you can tell, i’m pretty excited about this one… can you believe Home Star Runner has been running for 8 years now?!?! Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

SAN RAFAEL, CA, April 10, 2008 - Interactive entertainment pioneer Telltale, Inc. is pleased to announce Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People (SBCG4AP), a new series of episodic games for WiiWare™, in partnership with Videlectrix. Starring Strong Bad, the self-proclaimed coolest person ever, the series is based on Matt and Mike Chapman’s online animated series, which has been running at Homestarrunner.com since 2000. SBCG4AP will launch on WiiWare this June.

As the very first episodic series for connected consoles, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People has been designed specifically for WiiWare, with easy-to-use controls and WiiConnect24™ features. Like Telltale’s popular Sam & Max series, SBCG4AP will be released as a five-episode “season” akin to a season of television. The episodes will come out on a monthly schedule. Release dates and pricing details will be revealed in a future announcement.

But the exciting part for today… the launch of the video trailer… and the “well paid advertisement” flash strong bad email! via the wonderful 4 Color Rebellion!

Blue Ant Studio has created yet another adorable poster for designer chair lovers… can you imagine if you went to the optometrist and they made you tell them which chairs you saw up to the tiniest ones to test your eyes (and chair knowledge)? Or what if it was part of an entry exam to design school??? Anyhow, loving this poster, check out the larger image after the jump!

Chair Exam Poster, Hand signed and dated, Size print: 11”x17”, Total: 12” x 18”, Price is $35 shipped in the US or Canada, $50 shipped anywhere else. This poster ships flat in a custom made mailer made by the same black backing material.

How very surreal tonight has been. After much hmmming and hawwwwing… i ended up at one of those LA massive clubs (Vanguard)… and it didn’t really LOOK like clubbing in LA… it was a super techy/web 2.0 crowd having their incestuous circles and drama… supposedly for networking/matchmaking of every sort… yet you could barely talk to someone without screaming… it was cool to run into lots of random people and hide out at a dive bar after… there were some screens set up for sponsors to show off their companies… but they were impossible to get near and then understand what was going on… but that’s ok, because there was massive twittering of who was where and waving to who and doing what constantly… and Perry Ferrell (of Jane’s Addiction fame) was djing (see flickr VIDEO here)… and i get home and my mind/body is so confused… it was a night out in hollywood, yet it doesn’t at ALL feel like a night out in hollywood. This was the scene that was the TechCrunch + PopSugar “cocktail party”…

So much tech. But i did get a few fun crazy colored pictures of the bizarre scene from the upstairs window by the room where engage was matchmaking… no, seriously. Stickers read - single, taken, matchmaker… and people were actually meeting potentials! Ok so super techy sidetrack over ~ ready to go back to more designy themed events! Few more pics after the jump!

Back in October of 2005, I wrote about Anthro’s new eNook, a thin, wall mounted laptop/charging hideaway… it was a brilliant idea, but with a $399 price tag, it was a bit steep to prioritize over buying a proper desk or chair… Well today i noticed that three years later Ikea has jumped on the design (oh ikea, *shakes head*), and in standard Ikea fashion, they moved the decimal point to $39. Far more tempting isn’t it? And while i don’t condone copying… at that price it is tempting to organize tech charging into a hidden box on the wall… See further comparison imagery below!

Ikea PS - laptop workstation

Anthro eNook

Big differences other than price?

eNook = Wood (and nice rounded corners for you to run into)
PS = Steel (and it looks like a locker)

Both = key/lock
Both = power strip in the bottom section!

I could totally see that red IKEA one in a garage above the rolling red powder coated steel craftsman drawers!

Keyport - the all in one keyfob… we’ve shown it to you before it was available, what the process of shipping your keys looks like, and more - and now i got hands on with one of the early production models to take apart for you! Aren’t you curious how they take your original keys and cut them down with dovetailing them to interlock with the main unit? I was… so up close pics and first impressions after the jump!!!

The box is the size of an altoids box (for some perspective)

My only complaint sliding these keys in and out a bit was that my fingers turned black with the lubricating goo, and its a bit hard to keep track of which key is where…

by slightly pressing the two sides you can remove the cap - i had a bit of trouble with this since its so smooth and there’s no real click… but its not something you’re supposed to be doing regularly anyhow!

With the cap off, and the key out, you can see that they cut the original key and have doevtailed notches for you to slide the key on and off…

Here are the direction on how to use it and how to open it up… click to view larger!

Impulse buy while at the Monterey Bay Aquarium… a little aquatic indulgence for my kitchen… not that i NEEDED a baster, although i dont have one that amuses me quite like this one. Boston Warehouse AnimalHouse Octopus Baster - over at amazon they have the purple one, but they call it a squid… Check out pics of the store’s insanity, close ups of my new adorable baster with and without its silicon head on… and it even comes with a cleaning brush! And has measurements along the side!

Overlooking the store (and this image is only half the store), how could i resist poking around all the kitchsy aquarium schwag? This was the only thing in there that grabbed me… and only when it was in white… It would just look so fun squirting dark ink like fluids!

ARGH, does anyone else still get the Portal song stuck in their head? If not, feel free to see the video after the jump and see if it buries itself in there for you too. Game play, addictive music, the awesomeness of portals to pop in and out of… put that all aside. Kotaku pointed out this insightful analysis (and imagery!) over at Game-ism… where he (with the enlightening assistance of his wife) visually analyzes GlaDOS in Portal, and as even you can see in the images, she’s pretty much tied up and hanging upside down taunting you endless throughout the game… until you “free” her… and he ventures into theories that you are being trained to accomplish her assisted suicide?

The second time I played through I turned the director commentary on, and got confirmation by way of a description of the things they attempted to make GlaDOS look like as they were making the game. What turned the light bulb on was the line “Botticelli’s Venus hanging upside down, but we decided to go with something else and use some feminine lines within the structure.” I’m paraphrasing; it’s late and I don’t feel like booting up the game again to get the quote exactly right. The spirit is there in the paraphrase, though, because I think they went for something much more sinister than a Venus.

In a follow up post, he even completely dissects the SONG lyrics! Using this to further back up the assisted suicide concept. I feel silly, but beyond gameplay, its fascinating to see the artists rendering of how he views her, as well as reading all of this analysis of what is so easy to just play and ignore.

Portal ending credits and closing song by Jonathan Coulton embedded after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Ding3000 is gearing up for this year’s salone in milan, and their theme is Animal Tales!

“Mother Nature is still the best designer in the world.” That’s why we started copying her most fascinating creations. Visit our petting zoo during the Milano Design Week 2008 and admire floating afghan hounds, shy giraffes, greedy chicks, and not-at-all-stubborn mules.”

Just as interesting as their concept and products… the sneak peek they’ve sent over (images below of the collection!) show some creative use of shadowing to bring out that animal nature in the pieces…

cuco
Greedy chick - always hungry for fresh flowers!

The cuco vase is a sphere with a beak-shaped opening glazed in copper and taking in the flowers. This design is inspired by the image of a hungry cuckoo chick.
sphere-shaped vase in 2 sizes
measures: 250 x 210 x 210 mm or 200 x 170 x 170 mm
colours: white, copper
materials: china

muli
Not-at-all-stubborn mule - carries almost everything without a moan!

The sideboard muli is inspired by a mule. The body is made out of solid oak and houses a big drawer and a shed which is accessible from the top. The angled legs leave the impression of the sideboard being „walking”.

sideboard with one shed and one drawer
measures: 1320 x 600 x 420 mm
colours: white, oak
materials: lacquered solid oak, untreated solid oak

tazi
Elegant afghan hound - floats swiftly through every living room!

The sofa tazi is inspired by an afghan hound. A curtain of white fringes covers substructure and legs. Only the seat remains visible. Due to this design-trick the sofa seems to “float” above the floor.

2-seat sofa with 3 cushions
measures: 2040 x 900 x 680 mm
colours: dark magenta, white
materials:
legs - solid oak
substructure - birch plywood, moulded cold foam
cover - Kvadrat Hallingdal (100% wool)
trimmings - polyester

jirafa
Shy giraffe -being all bright, it hides in the lampshade!

Characteristic feature of the floor lamp jirafa is the construction of the lamp´s base. The three legs differ in length and are attached to each other following a mathematic algorithm. Despite this technical design principle the lamp has a natural appearance and offers different impressions when looking at it from varying angles. The design is inspired by a giraffe.

three-legged floor lamp
measures: 1520 x 600 x 600 mm
colours: dark cyan, baby blue, copper
materials:
shade - pvc-cotton-laminate, lacquered steel frame
base - lacquered steel tubing

I bet you’re having one of those “i wish i had thought of that first” moments… yes we all have $$$ bills and scanners, have probably played with origami or silly money folding tricks in our childhood… but Dan Tague has stepped up and taken it to the next level using this combination to make politically provocative prints 20 something inches wide (and bigger!).

Dan Tague - “Cash Rules Everything Around Me” runs from March 29, 2008 through Apr 19, 2008 at the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans. Above - THE END IS NEAR & TRUST NO ONE… LIAR. See some of my favorites from his show after the jump - including: We Trust Liars, He is a liar. State of Fear. The American Idol. I Hate War. Hunt For Oil. The Heat is On. In God We Trust, Serve The State.

Dan Tague’s Statement about the work:

The appeal and power of money are the issues at the core of this series. In a capitalist society cash rules everything. Society teaches us that you can buy love, happiness, and status through possessions. You can even right wrongs by taking away a bit of someone’s happiness through fines and lawsuits. Politicians buy votes through claims of lowering taxes, in other words letting us hold on to a little more of status… upper, lower, upper-lower class. Income tax, sales tax, and property tax all fund the war on terror, war on drugs, war on poverty, war on morality, etcetera. In fact our consumer pursuit of happiness is the cause and solution for all of these wars.

So in order to convey the allure of cash I relied on the aesthetic qualities of the bills. Detailed decorative engravings, masterful portraits and architectural renderings, and elegant fonts create a decadent allure. I further the effect with folds and twists to abstract the imagery and create a collage of wonderful images.

Folding the bills has another purpose to create narrative. The folds are precise and calculated in order to convey messages amidst the appeal of the abstracted imagery. The messages are political in nature ranging from local issues directed at rebuilding New Orleans with phrases like Unite NOLA and Home is a Tent. The proceeds of this photograph go to UNITY of Greater New Orleans to help out with the homeless crisis in our city. Other messages relate issues of terror and war with State of Fear and Hunt for Oil. While others deal with religion, God is American, and politicians, Trust No One. Then there is the ultimate praise of money in a capitalist world as the The American Idol.

NOTCOT Note: Here’s another post from Anna of the lovely Sub-Studio! You can also see her artwork in the tags on the side of the page right now!

Little Fury is the design collaborative of Esther Mun and Tina Chang. The two met in New York at Pentagram, and after a few stints at different offices, started Little Fury with the design philosophy:

No design for the sake of design.
No “overdone” products.
No “cutesy doodads”.
Simplicity. Functionality. Practicality. Innovation. Individuality.

The result is an impressive portfolio of branding/identity projects and gorgeous product packaging, including the product series Start Here - a set of linkable notebooks and planners. Individual notebooks can be linked together as you need and customized with self-adhesive pockets and colorful tabs. The cover is stain resistant, waterproof, and tear-resistant, and the interior paper is available in blue, grey, white, pink, manila, and green.

Check out more great projects after the jump.

Packaging for BeeHive Honey.

A set of JD Salinger books.

A funny little graphic about the history of Little Fury.

Look left. Look right. I’m excited to announce that we are showcasing the works of Sub-Studio in the gallery hang tags!!! While most of you should be quite familiar with Sub-Studio (anna has been contributing some pretty amazing posts to NOTCOT)… for those who don’t know, Sub-Studio is the dynamic husband and wife duo - anna corpron and sean auyeung - with some incredible illustration/print skills, an adorable online shop, and a very cool blog. So explore an excerpt of their work through the tags - click away to see full pics in the gallery!

Click the images to find out more! And as always - TasteSpotting and NotCouture roundups after the jump! Here are the most popular 25 posts over at NOTCOT.org this week! I’m still up in norcal, but theoretically heading back down to LA in a few hours… see some of the deliciousness on tastespotting and notcouture below - the bacon bra is particularly horrifying/fascinating.

Louis Vuitton is really fighting back against counterfeiting these days. Did you hear about how the IACC (International Anticounterfeiting Coalition), which includes brands like LV, Chanel, Abercrombie, etc, sponsored for-credit college classes on the issue? Where their PR folks were “teaching” alongside some professors? It seems to have caused quite a stir…

How about their little Canal St-eqsue set up outside the Brooklyn Museum of Art for the Murakami exhibit launch party? It is a fake set up of a fake bag seller that sells real bags. The concept itself made me laugh - and i was previously amused by the idea of putting a pop up store INSIDE the exhibit which makes it art, only its also a fully functioning store, but i think this tops it. Thank goodness for the internet allowing me to follow the linktrail from High Snobiety who got the information/pics from SuperTouch who got their pictures from the Flickr of Athlete Director, David Lam… see more of my favorites of his photos below. It is really quite a hilarious set up - notice the hand written labels below the paintings for $6000?

UPDATED - love the WWD article, “Fighting the Fakes: Louis Vuitton and Murakami Make a Show of It” on this as well!

UPDATE: even cooler pics of this from NYTimes By Joe Fornabaio

So my mother sends me an email linking Target’s Club Wedd Catalog. Yes, a catalog for those prepping for their vows. No, i’m not at all anywhere near that stage of my life… and i don’t *think* she’s hinting at anything (she’d be skipping a major step, seeing as i’m single). Anyhow, turns out what she claims to have wanted to point out is that she really liked page 74 which has a nice “what you need in your kitchen drawer” type diagram… i love that they have things like Silicone Gadgets, Angled Measuring Cups, Potato Ricer, Zester, etc… really the whole guide could be an easy way to catch your bachelor friends up on what they need in their houses…

ALSO noteworthy… when two giants converge, as soon as i started flipping through this digital catalog, i kept feeling like i was at Daily Candy, but i knew i was at Target, naturally i thought i was losing it… Turns out i’m not completely crazy, and they enlisted Daily Candy’s signature illustrator, Sujean Rim to paint the adorable images of newly weds in various stages… see more images below of my favorites!

This is the page 74 she’s liking the layout of…

For even more of Sujean’s work for target, check out this cute post with lots more pics over at A Design Affair.

NOTCOT Note: Here’s another post from Anna of the lovely Sub-Studio! I can’t decide whether Julie’s work here creeps me out and/or is incredibly awesome…

Julie Krakowski is a designer creating conceptual textiles. Take Coffee and Cigarettes I - a series of textiles based on the marks typically left on linens by everyday life, such as cigarette burns, and food stains. Each mark is painstakingly embroidered into the linen. This series seeks to “accentuate the importance of the random and the ambiguity between the worn and the precious”. Other textile explorations look at material transformation, such as molting and shedding, as well as textiles based on the organic world of mosses, vines, flowers, lichens and shells.

Check out more of Julie’s work after the jump.

Textiles from the Mutation line. The textile on the left mixes plastic mesh with wool.

Further translation into wearable fabric.

Textiles from the Jungle line.

NOTCOT Note: Here is another post continuing on Justine’s (aka RUGenius’) adventures in Sheffield, it took a bit of researching, but she’s come back to me with some MIND BLOWING infographics from Stephanie Posavec, you definitely need to click on the images after the jump to see them in full resolution where you can see what every curve and color represents. I kid you not, you will not see Kerouac’s On The Road the same again…

During my recent trip up to Sheffield, I was fortunate enough to be staying next door to the Millennium Galleries, who hosted a portion of the citywide Art Sheffield event. Among the exhibits, was one called “On the Map” (more info here as well), which uses craft and design to understand the symbolic and representative nature of maps. Works included a dress made of maps, numerous old maps of London, a gorgeous Kerr | Noble representation of the River Thames through graphic design and the words of the John Banck’s Description of London. Seen here:

However, the works that caught my eyes was that of Stefanie Posavec. Stefanie’s maps capture something above and beyond that of the others. Rather than mapping physical geography, her maps capture regularities and patterns within a literary space. The pieces featured in On the Map focused on Kerouac’s On the Road. The maps visually represent the rhythm and structure of Kerouac’s literary space, creating works that are not only gorgeous from the point of view of graphic design, but also exhibit scientific rigor and precision in their formulation: meticulous scouring the surface of the text, highlighting and noting sentence length, prosody and themes, Posavec’s approach to the text is not unlike that of a surveyor. And similarly, the act is near reverential in its approach and the results are stunning graphical displays of the nature of the subject. The literary organism, rhythm textures and sentence drawings are truly gorgeous pieces. It’s not often that I am so thoroughly impressed by the depth of an artist’s work, but somehow, for me, these pieces do it all. I know, who would’ve thought I’d have stumbled upon such incredible work in the gallery across from our hotel in Sheffield! It just goes to show the world is full of surprises.

High-res images below not to be missed!

CLICK THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM IN ALL THEIR HIGH RES GLORY!

Here are pics in book context:

NOTConcept 002: Outdoor Sound System - [1: Idea Sketching] [2: Concept Dev] [3: 3D Renders]

NOTCOT Note: Here’s part two of NOTConcept 002 ~ more thought out sketches exploring the idea of the tiki torch styles and gnomes to create a modular ambient multi-sensory experience outdoors… and i must admit, as i go through the sketches that Leo Corrales and Jenny Lemieux from HERO Design Lab have done for this round, i can already imagine how much fun a garden party or dusk, movie on the lawn party would be with these surrounding you and helping create that perfect outdoor musical/projector experience.

To start off - here’s the Alfa gnome (there are also alfa trees), which will incorporate a projection unit… either to create flood light or to project your last trip vid (alright maybe the match of the day that you’re watching with your buddies)… See the rest of the clan of gnomes and their corresponding tiki torch speaker trees after the jump!!!

Close-up of the garden gnomes: the materials could range from ceramic to glass or translucent matte/glossy plastics. It could be really neat if the whole clan was also available in “DIY - paint your clan” white. You should be able to equip the members of your clan or forest with the appropriate speakers for the desired surround sound experience. LED interior light is a must in this design.

The garden shot at dusk… We thought of this image as the tikis vs. garden-gnomes showdown in the burrow, but then liked how they were living together in HIFI harmony. The combo could lead to some pretty silly configurations.

The garden shot at night… taking place a couple of minutes later when the sun is almost completely gone and your whole HIFI clan/forest creates a moody garden ambiance. Nice for those summer night BBQs or open air backyard cinema with the family!

Tiki tree close ups! The exact same concept as the garden gnomes, one Alfa tree-tiki will incorporate a small projector and the branches contain the speakers. Oh yeah, warm LED lighting strips complete the experience.

The universal powersource - Instead of sticking a solar panel in the clan member or the tiki forest, why not create nice pebble like tiles that live also with the clan/forest, with bigger panels that lead to more energy needed for the system.

How do you control this little multi-sensory ecosystem? Well, we think it should be something simple, like a Bluetooth/iTrip/iPhone combo on steroids… that sends your favorite media to your projection unit and speaker unit/s / clan / forest.

NOTConcept 002: Outdoor Sound System - [1: Idea Sketching] [2: Concept Dev] [3: 3D Renders]

On random buying based on pretty graphic design/typography/packaging… i couldn’t resist snagging two packs of the Kopali SUPERGOOD SUPERFOOD (no, seriously, that’s what it’s called). And also how intriguing do these dried mulberries look? (they were new to me… and once i grabbed those i also HAD to try the Dark Chocolate Covered ones too.) They also have dried Mango, Pineapple, Goldenberries… and in the choc covered range - Cacao Nibs, Espresso Beans, Goji Berries, Mulberries and Bananas (i think i need to try the bananas next time). The site says “They’re “Supergood” because they’re so delicious, nutritous and righteous. They’re “Superfood” because they’re packed with energy and essential phytonutrients. ” Also interesting is their “three bottom line” business plan, focusing on reaching not only financial goals, but also eco/sustainable goals and personal goals to support the people involved. Check out the video below with their company’s fascinating business story, bus tour, and how Whole Foods have really helped get the ex-programmer and horticulturist working out of the beaches of costa rica on the map…. and a few more fun close up pics of these crazy mulberries.

The dark chocolate is addictively good…

As for the mulberries, on their own they need a little something to help with the flavor… and they are terribly chewy and get super stuck in your teeth, yet such a strange texture/sensation they too were a bit addictive, but MUCH better when coated in dark choc, and a nice pick me up when famished and in the car……….

Would it be terribly bad of me to go to Rome just to see Audrey Kawasaki’s solo show at Mondo Bizarro in sept? She has just shared her latest - ‘She Who Dares’ 18x21 oil and graphite and gesso on stained wood panel, and as you know, i’m a huge fan, but now i’m even more excited to see she’s gone to a darker place with the paintings! See more close ups here… and behind the scenes pics after the jump!