*notcot - 06.05.06 , 18:35 -

MAIL!

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Yay! Mail! Ok, excitement aside - I do not think i will ever fail to get excited to find a package in the mailbox, especially one that opens up to such fun goodies from down under. So first things first, you tear open the mailer pouch after glancing at all the customs stickers and signed “Dangerous Goods and Aviation Security Statement” - there is a nice hand painted cardboard box, with what looks like an inkjet printed label on it (see image below)… and when you pop that open, before you even get to the shirt - i found PEOPLE LIKE US candy (sucking on a piece now) - that literally has ‘people like us’ written in it… some stickers, pins, postcards, and a silly little puffer fish toy! As for the shirt, I received the Tree Hugger, which fits beautifully, is flattering and incrediblly soft, and i love the little red robin just as much now as i did when i first found it.

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*notcot - 05.29.06 , 22:42 -

KaviarKind

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Veering away from that dangerous weaponry as jewelry trend, here are the more oceanic and naturally inspired ones with a slight twist. Jermacide claims ties between that diamond studded peach pit on what looks like a golden shoe lace and James and the Giant Peach, but i feel like its a slight reach. In a similar - fruit leftover - type of way, that applecore is somewhat interesting… and the acorn is just cute and simple. Then for the oceanic pieces, i really liked the smooth curvature of the mantas and octopus, so just threw them in for fun. Pieces from KaviarKind.

*notcot - 05.22.06 , 19:12 -

Don’t Sacrifice Hygiene

diodeneck.jpgZelle - “ELECTRONIC LIFESTYLE HIPSTER STORE” - what’s that mean? Well… “[Fractalspin is] filled with geeky, yet fashionable stuff. Not all of us are Thinkgeek style nerds. Some of us indulge in the digital without sacrificing hygiene.” - those last three little words are key.

Anyhow, yes, i’m a bit out of it and cleaning through the inbox is good fun with such great submissions - but i am kicking myself for not having read more carefully earlier… for i’d love to have that necklace, except its a one of a kind (SOLD OUT) Cascading Diode Necklace… and i’ve been wanting something of that style for a while, but hated the boring jewels commonly seen when you get close enough. But don’t fear there are many more fun ones at ZelleStyle… also Electronic Musician’s Emergency Adapters! Love the packaging. Makes me want to be an electronic musician.

*notcot - , 18:38 -

People Like Them

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People Like Us. So “ARE people like them?” or “DO people like them?” - tricky, clever, and i love this shirt. I know i’ve passed by this shirt a few times on various sites, but it popped up in my inbox cleaning, and i stopped and looked at it more closely and fell in love with that robin all over again. And how cool is their packaging? with the goodies that look like pins and postcards and CANDY? T-shirts definitely ought to be more than simply some cloth in a bubble wrap people!

*notcot - , 18:02 -

Oddica

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“We love Art and Design, Typography, and of course, T-shirts. Oddica is the perfect outlet for our passions. We have designed T-shirts for companies such as Split, Hurley, West Coast Choppers, and Sole Technology, and we have shipped T-shirts to retailers large and small. It is this experience, working on both sides of the T-shirt industry, that has led us here. The focal point of our company is our Artists. How they interpret a particular idea, and how that idea looks on a shirt, determines whether a customer is going to buy, plain and simple.”

Tonight, on top of the WHAT people are making, i’m stuck on the question of WHY. And cleaning through my inbox (which i’m sorry everyone, i’m very behind on due to taking care of some family business here in Oxford at the moment) - this about section of Oddica just felt like the reason why any of us should do anything. But the shirts look amazing, and i can’t wait to see some in person, they certainly have the right ideas behind this company.

*notcot - 05.16.06 , 14:42 -

Woodpecker

dieselwoodpecker.jpgWOODEN GLASSES! from Diesel, but i can’t find them on their website (if you have info, comment it up and spread the word) - I’m completely exhausted and swamped, but i think the whilrwind travelling/meetings have been wearing on me - you’ll see much of the many little projects launching soon - but in my full imersion designing/exploring mode right now. Check out Galore, a free Scandinavian magazine that blew my mind. Great glossy, fun pics, and gorgeous content. So this is a quick snap of the glasses i found in there. Again, wooden glasses, what a cool looking idea, it matches the sleek woody scandinavian furniture styling i was falling in love with all over again this trip.

*Jermacide - 05.12.06 , 21:45 -

Al’s Attire SF

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With the summer wedding season arriving for me, I decided it was about time to shed that off the shelf suit look, and see what I could find in terms of unique hand made suits. After a few weeks of looking and asking around, I got tipped off to Al’s Attire in North Beach, San Francisco. Just browsing the shop it was clear that Al had a unique style and flair that really showed his passion for his work and a certain whimsy that I loved. From the hand sewn multi-colored button holes and hidden color-burst under the collar, to the bright silk linings his style gives a suit that fun when you want it feel, all hand cut/sewn and customized to your needs for a whole lot cheaper than you’d think. Read on for pics of his work.

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*notcot - 05.11.06 , 15:29 -

Demano

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Demano is a Barcelona company that does for City Banners what Freitag does for Truck Tarps. Gorgeous site and some really fun designs, everything from messenger bags and totes, this great duffle like bag, and belts, to notebooks and designer hats! [this hat collection is a collaboration with designer Nina Pawlowsky] The poster featured here is Banderola: BCN & fotografia - Barcelona, 18 noviembre 2005. ICUB - Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat. Diseño de banderola: Lamosca. This is one of the many new banners available for the 2006 collection! I stumbled across some in Copenhagen, and they are really beautiful, its no joke when they say that they really try to make the best use of the designs on the banners - not just cut them up and its a free for all… great means of recycling.

*notcot - 05.10.06 , 09:44 -

CPH Metal Smithery

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Part of the CPH ADD events, the Copenhagen Technical Academy of Noble Metal Smithry in conjunction with Magasin - held a workshop in the department store demonstrating various ways of recycling the Magasin plastic shopping bags into incredible jewelry (you seriously would never have guessed that they were making these from the plastic bags when out of context!). Take a look below to see the designing/creation in action. With the use of heat guns and sewing machines, bags were rolled+melted+sliced, melted around glass balls and stretched, sewn with elastic, shredded to bits - and recombined. The creativity and skill were really mesmerizing…

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*notcot - 05.08.06 , 15:03 -

Pagne

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Over in Copenhagen, on Hyskenstraede 14, you glance down slightly and see this edgy little shop window filled with cute high end fashion and some eye catching buttons. They say it all & then some. But it doesn’t stop there, does it? It never does. Check out the images below enter Pagne and to see the interior of this adorable store (by adorable, read: dark with just the right splashes of gloss and color applied). And go say hi to Pia Moller Hansen, the shop’s mastermind - she will point you in all the right directions - she sent me to Storm (“the Danish version of Collette”) and out to the new up and coming streets of Elmegade and Falledvej over in Norrebro. I mean sure there are a lot of “hot sneaker shops” and such in the usual spots - but if you’re looking for more, start here.

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*notcot - 05.07.06 , 13:33 -

Danefae

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UPDATE: Oops, was so tired that night i posted this i had the spelling wrong! links work now!

Danish stuff is the theme for the next few days probably, until i hit Sweden! But check out the best Viking/Danish-y/Touristy piece i found! Seriously if you’re going to have to buy someone something “from copenhagen” - and don’t want to go for that mini copper mermaid on the rock, or that horrible viking troll thing… Danefae has your perfect solution. I LOVE this viking (and yes there’s a mermaid as well but i didnt fall for her quite as hard). The green striped shirt is really fun, and its a good thing i don’t have kids, b/c the bibs, shirts, and unitard type things for them are the most adorable things i’ve ever seen. The totebag is also a great size and has inside pocket (about 4” depth, boxy, versus like an envelope - great beach bag?). Also check out the raincoat, the really sweet store owner at Akimbo [Hyskenstraede 3, 1207 Kobenhaven, +45.33.11.13.01] has them coming in Monday, and swore they were they were worth seeing in person.

Check out a bigger picture of my Viking pouch below, he has fish and utensils. [gave in and got him over the totebag].

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*notcot - 05.06.06 , 10:34 -

Bunny!

bunnymain.jpgCan you believe how minimalistic yet overflowing with character this bunny ring is? Perfectly hardy enough to give a child, yet beautiful enough to pull of with something funky/fancy? AND diswasher safe? This is also made from the mixing bowls! Gitte Nygard’s ability to transform these everyday plastics into such incredible pieces seriously changes the way i will look at plastic objects in my everyday life.

… and there are more bunny ears in this family! Different ear flips and sizes - see the image below. and make an effort to head over to Mette Saabye’s on Studeistrade 25B, 1455 Copenhagen

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*notcot - , 10:16 -

Opus Formosus

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So you understand how the drilling tiny holes together creates playfully subtle imagery… well drill the hole, then take tiny saw blades to make cuts - that make flower details - and then… here’s the clincher - do it all with those plastic mixing bowls we all have in the kitchen! Its gorgeous, sturdy, and one of my favorite details is the fact that these flower broaches, instead of having some gluegunned standard pin back, there are multiple tack backings (you know that type where theres a single prong and then that small circular backing?).

Well this piece is a part of Gitte Nygard’s “Opus Formosus” at Mette Saabye’s- a series of jewelry shaped like flowers in thermoplastic polyurethane [specifically Ancient Magarethe and Rosti mixing bowls!].

Below is a necklace, earings, and broach set which were carved out from plates, and i love how she turns the little details (like the dishwasher safe brand and two toned nature) into added aspects of the set.

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*Jermacide - 05.03.06 , 22:44 -

Tags as a Medium?

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I just love the attitue on this tag. The idea is to put silly messages on your tags (upsidedown) for the people behind you to read when they get annoyed by it sticking up. Playing off of the pretty universal annoyance of tags in the first place. Best part about it is that the wearer doesn’t have to see it protruding so obnoxiously, and thus is immune to its effects. This is a great exploit, right in line with the theme:”It’s All In Your Head”. This is Tag A Tag by Therése Broberg. I have a few more good ones from Designer’s Block + Lund I will hopefully get to posting tomorrow.

*Jermacide - , 22:19 -

A Bag For Your Chaos

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More fun from Designer’s Block’s show with Lund University. This one is going after those of us who need quick ways of taking inventory of all the amazing number of random things in our bags. Great simple idea, taking those collapsable grocery bags that fold into their own pockets to the next level. Makes me want to hang a giant bag off the fire escape and clean my apartment this way. Bigger pic after the jump.

UPDATE: This is “Inventory Bag” by Linn Källgren and Ingrid Magnusson. The idea is pretty fun, and i can imagine all the times rummaging through my purse when i couldn’t find anything in there and needing to dump it all out practically - or wish i could cover it up when running through the rain! ~Notcot.

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