RPA: Rubin Postaer and Associates ~ ad agencies always seem to have so much FUN with their office spaces! Remember the Sainty + David Whittle at rp& (of RPA) post? With the amazing art adorning their walls? Well, here’s a peek at the rest of the RPA offices! My favorite part is definitely the adorable original Honda Civic ~ their first account back in ‘79! What’s especially fun, is to see so many props from their various adverts in real life! From the SoyJoy tree, to “I Pinch” Crab, and more honda campaigns i’m sure you’ll remember when seeing the pics! Also fun, they are full of passion and creativity ~ and character! My favorite tradition they shared ~ on “birthdays” (anniversaries of being at RPA!) everyone signs pieces of paper with drawn candles ~ you can see a picture of one showing Gerry Rubin’s in his office… awesome to see how many candles there are! Also worth a read ~ love this article in Smart Business from 2007 about Gerry Rubin’s philosophies on the importance of nurturing your corporate culture! Anyhow, take a little walk through some of the highlights of the world of RPA in Santa Monica, CA (including their Club RPA bar…) on the next page!

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There’s plenty to ooh and aah over in this week’s NOTCOT.org roundup. From making of world cup balls to homemade cookie stamps, what’s not to love? Click the individual images for more about each post.

Money as art ~ or faux money as art, rather. Spanish illustrator Xavi Garcia created his stunning ‘Handmade’ banknote illustration as a reaction to soulless digital design. “This note pretends to remind the viewer the amount of work, hours, patience and love that artisans put into the handicrafts they produce and stress how valuable they are, replacing currency for the amount of time spent working on it (3 months were given for this project). Entirely drawn by hand, using different printing techniques, it features security measures common in banknotes such as watermarks, tactile elements, see-through images and invisible UV ink.” On the front it says “Tempus Neminem Manet” meaning “Time waits for no one” and on the back it reads “Tempus Fugit” meaning “Time Flees.” As you stare at his work, it makes you wonder about the world it may have come from… and i love the concept of time as currency. After all ~ Time is Money, right? How nice would it be to be paid with one of these 3 month notes? How would you spend it? See the details up close on the next page…

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What a gorgeous week of post’s we’ve had at NOTCOT.org. This week has a little bit of everything from flaming ipads to electric wellies. Click on the individual images to find out more about each post.

Stopped by the opening of Laguna Art Museum’s Art Shack ~ a large group show of artists creating literally “art shacks” for people to explore! Absolute favorite of course was Shag’s (originally made in 2009, but it looks like some newer art pieces displayed) ~ an adorably cool scaled down mid century modern home complete with those kid sized versions of design classics (panton chairs, eames chairs, etc!) ~ that you can actually wander in and out of! And feel very Alice in wonderland in it! It would basically be the coolest backyard “playhouse” ever if we were kids… take a peek at more pics on the next page!

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Unbelievably awesome. When my favorite crayon carver, Diem Chau, emailed me with pics last night of the latest project with W+K for Nike… for World Cup… the press kit for Write the Future campaign…. i was instantly amazed and jealous of all the lucky folks that got one. Such a beautiful piece of art. Incredibly packaged. Awesome idea. All the soccer stars are personified in crayon carvings! Huge thanks and congrats to Diem and W+K on an awesome project (and for providing the pics!) and see close ups on the next page…

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This week’s NOTCOT.org roundup is full of stunning installations alongside a great mix of architecture, gadgets and furnishings. Click on the images to find our more about each item.

Here’s a new Dear NOTCOT from Justine who popped by the Central St. Martin’s Pop Up Shop in London for us! Some fun finds, especially the lamp that goes skeletal when turned on! See all her pics on the next page!

On my way home on Friday, I dropped by Central St. Martin’s Pop Up Shop on Clerkenwell Road. It was buzzing with tutors DJing, students mingling and beers flowing. Lots of great pieces to snap up before Monday! The week-long pop up shop under the name ‘2060’ runs for one week (ending June 7th) and showcases work from second year graphic design students from the Saint Martins College of Art’s BA Graphic Design course. The shop is the final stage of a 6 week project, which looks at manufacturing as an integral part to the design process. Take a peek at a few quick snaps at some of the items that caught my eye on the next page!

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We’ve had a week full of playful design and vibrant color at NOTCOT.org. This week’s picks include seed grenades, clever ice cube trays, edible crayons and more. Click the images to discover each item.

New sponsored content series ~ this time Las Vegas is letting me rant and share some vegas awesomeness NOTCOT style! As usual, my pics, my story, they just give me an excuse to talk Vegas.. and share some of my favorite bits!

Who doesn’t find the “Truisms” of text artist, Jenny Holzer, intriguing… especially when paired with a huge Las Vegas drive way… like at the Aria at CityCenter? The Las Vegas Sun highlighted a few good ones (out of around 200 programed into the LED display art) - “It’s important to stay clean on all levels.” “Overeating should be criminal.” “If you live simply, there is nothing to worry about.” “It’s not good to operate on credit.” - also love the logic they highlighted here - “Holzer was tapped by Michele Quinn, whom MGM Mirage tasked with overseeing its ambitious public art effort. Quinn describes herself as “kind of a groupie” of Holzer’s, and says she thought such an LED installation could be the best use of such an awkward, dark space as this lower-level valet area. People would be waiting around anyway, so why not give them something to look at — and think about — as they departed?” So true! And as i stood there plastered against the glass window, a herd of frat boys behind me lining up for the club, i just couldn’t stop reading them…if only i’d known there were 200 at the time, i wouldn’t have felt so bad leaving in the midst of trying to read them all! I may have been there forever! Take a peek at a few closeups and some youtube videos i found on the next page!

P.S. Apparently the very fun Twitter handle @JennyHolzer is a fake! But the real Jenny Holzer has been quoted not to mind…

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Dominic Wilcox’s Pre-Handshake Handshake Device was part of one of my favorite shows at NY Design Week, Uncomfortable Conversations. The Design Glut ladies curated an incredible show of pieces that veered on the art/installation side of design, and perhaps the most fun was the amount of interaction visitors had with pieces, and truly, the incredible conversations which naturally ensued.

While his piece is set up to be that baby step for when “A traditional handshake can sometimes be just too big a step for those entrenched in their dislike of the other.” ~ luckily i recruited the happily married Sean and Anna of Sub-Studio to have a little fun with his piece, and they tried having a thumb war, doing secret handshakes, making shaka signs and more… Additionally, how beautiful are the photographs he has of the device? Large limited edition photographic prints in collaboration with photographer David Sykes will soon be available! See more pics on the next page!

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What a week we’ve had! This week’s NOTCOT.org roundup features a bit of everything, from ABC furniture to jumpology. To find out more about each of the week’s picks, click on the images.

What a colorful week it’s been over at NOTCOT.org. This week’s picks include fabulous furniture, creatures, installations and much more. Click on the individual images to find out more.

3am - Going through hundreds of pictures ~ and not sure where to even start, or if i should just curl up and get some sleep, somehow these two pictures from within hours of each other felt like they needed to be shown together. While separately they grabbed me, together they felt inseparable.

Found on a billboard in Noho ~ “Material possessions won’t make you happy, or maybe they will.” And then riding the elevator “home” to my room at the Gramercy Park Hotel ~ “Help Is On The Way” ~ instead of my floor, every time i step in, i want to press that. Where is the “Everything will be ok.” button? Feel free to see both far away and close ups on the next page. Interpret as you will!

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It’s 3am. I’m tired, but i felt like i needed to share before the backlog built up and my excitement wandered off… what a day its been, so much #OBJECTHUNT fun ~ so many supportive folks having fun at design week this year between workaholicking. And between it all i stumbled upon Mr. Brainwash’s takeover of the boarded up construction ~ mixed with scrawls about what a hack he is ~ only to turn across the street to see all his art also inside at a huge gallery show… and it was filled with classic designer chairs… so, i couldn’t help myself, the mix of spray paint art, pithy statements and quotes, elephants-kangaroos-snoopy made of tires, a life size NY taxi packaged in matchbox packaging with a toys r us price tag… so say what you will about his work ~ i just had to take and share some pics! See it all on the next page…

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