Last night i ended up at Milk Studios in Hollywood for the unveiling or the latest Dom Pèrignon limited edition designed by David Lynch. Of course David Lynch also created the whole experience of the evening… creating a fascinating series of spaces and experiences as each room opened up throughout the night. Starting with champagne on the steps as you enter… to gentlemen in top hats handing you chalk to sign your name on the wall… then passing through a mysteriously glowing foggy tunnel… to explore various dramatically lit dioramas of Dom bottles showing part of the process of how they came to the limited editions… while enjoying delicious molecular gastronomy from The Bazaar by José Andrés… and beyond to the reveal of the new bottles and performances by The Kills and Diplo! It was a spectacular night not to be forgotten… take a picture at the experience on the next page!
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Embargoed until a few hours ago ~ it’s been driving me crazy to sit on these pictures from my few hours in Reims, France for lunch a few weeks ago! Veuve Clicquot’s Hotel du Marc, which is barely a hotel at all ~ more of a magical guest mansion of sorts in Reims that Veuve Cliquot uses for special occasions ~ has recently finished its restoration/remodel which now includes some lovely themed guest rooms filled with modern art as well as hints of its past! From the beautiful staircase and the Chanel like faceted mirrors, to the Veuve-yellow Smeg and wall of champagne… the ornate chandeliered dining rooms to the modern portraits lining the hallway to the guest rooms… there is so much to take in, but here’s a first peek into their world!
p.s.
you can also catch me in a few reflections rocking the super yellow veuve apron…
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We’ve always been big fans of how much our friends at Veuve support design! And we love origami! This year
at the Salone del Mobile, during Veuve Clicquot’s Milan Yellow Week, the company will debut their latest design collaboration, Clicq’Up, an origami inspired design object by Belgian designer Mathias van de Walle.
Clicq’Up is the first foldable Champagne bucket and is based on a concept of origami on ice, marrying form and function to create a contemporary, reusable design object that can be folded for easy transportation, set up, and storage. Ultimately, van de Walle’s design creates a playful home for the iconic sleek Yellow Label bottle. See how it unfolds on the next page!
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This weekend ~ to kick off spring and celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Boutique champagne house, Perrier-Jouët, they brought 200 people from around the globe to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts… what a beautiful space! Skip the red carpet for a Perrier-Jouët grassy green path… and upon entering, you encounter a mysterious box popped up in the center of the cavernous space covered in projections… and surrounded by flowing bubbly and black and white old hollywood glam Harcourt Studio photos specially commissioned for the gala showing important people and someone they are passing their legacy to, and the Daniel Arsham limited edition piece to go with this concept. The surroundings were surreal to say the least, you must see a video on the next page of the projections from within, as well as all the lovely details!
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There’s something so refreshingly lovely about the champagne region of France. Is it the air? The people? The stunning champagne houses and the lifestyles inspired by champagne over the centuries? And there’s something particularly magical about the chalky caves below the area that millions of bottles of champagne are hiding in awaiting their time… While some say, once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all… Perrier Jouët’s is particularly visually enticing… those signature belle epoque flowered bottles (and with their pastel green bottle caps during the process) just pop so beautifully, breathing life into the otherwise damp colorless chalky caves. SO take a peek into the cellars with me on the next page!
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So many experiences and pictures i’m dying to share with you about adventures with Perrier Jouët from the last few days, but a full day without WeeeFeee (wifi sounds like that in french! i love it!) and i’m in slight withdrawl, so silly, fun posts first! Yesterday while explore the caves in Epernay, we ended the tour of where the champagne is stored in the beautiful new vault of a room to house the special 100 magnums of ‘98 waiting to be “passed on” as part of the limited edition collaboration series with Daniel Arsham, but more on that later. For now… you HAVE to see this amazing vintage safe they moved from their main offices into the space to hold the certificates for the bottle holders… the 4 dials have alphabets on them! And the key holes are covered by fire breathing dragons! And when it opens, the doors are even thicker than they appear! OH, and the KEY… it looks like a rocket launcher… absolutely amazing! So take a peek at all the details on the next page!
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Half awake, ready to crash, browsing the internet ~ and i felt like i was dreaming when i stumbled upon these oh so lovely images over at Materialiste ~ Fashion illustrator, Kareem Iliya, shows off the “Dandy Ball” a la Perrier Jouët, in a gorgeous pink and green silhouetted look ~ with stunning champagne botles in every image, and their signature flowers glowing radiantly across the woman’s dress and the man’s boutonnière. As Materialiste describes so eloquently - “The ball is brought to life thanks to the esteemed fashion illustrator Kareem Iliya, who depicts, with her usual ephemeral style, a meeting between a couple of high society champagne-lovers.” Also a very dreamworthy image to fall asleep to… the muse relaxing in her bath, sipping an elegant glass of Perrier Jouët… see them all on the next page!
p.s.
They are all so stunning ~ i wish they were available as prints!
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“With the creation of an exclusive collection of three bottles by the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design, Dom Pérignon pays tribute to Andy Warhol, creative genius and one of the most illustrious artists of the 20th century.” Love press releases that start like that. Especially when followed by fun anecdotal excerpts from Warhol’s Diary! “Went to the gallery where they were having a little exhibition of the glittery Shoes, and had to do interviews and pics for the German newspaper and then we had to go back to the hotel and be picked up by the “2,000” people - it’s a club of twenty guys who got together and they’re going to buy 2,000 bottles of Dom Pérignon which they will put in a sealed room until the year 2,000 and then open it up and drink it and so the running joke is who will be around and who won’t…” This is an entry from Andy Warhol’s diary on March 8th, 1981. I can’t help but wonder what ever happened to those 2000 bottles… but it is pretty awesome that “Inspired by Warhol’s unconventional representation of icons, and the playful use of codes and colour in his work, Dom Pérignon commissioned the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design to reinterpret its timeless bottle. The result is a unique collection of three bottles, each with its distinct label in red, blue or yellow, paying homage to Warhol’s iconic colour games.”
The bottles look stunning, that splash of colour definitely changes the presence of walking into a dinner party or hotel room carrying this dressed up bottle of Vintage 2002 Dom! Perhaps we should lock a few cases of these in a room till 2020 and throw a future NOTCOT party? These bottles should be available starting October 15th across the US! And until then, take a peek at the two really fun videos on the next page as well as more pics or the bottle and packaging!
p.s.
there’s a part of me ~ so tempted to open up one of these boxes to frame as a random piece of art!
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0 Notes
As design week comes to a close, but not the trip (we’ve been hostages of the volcano), i’m still sorting and posting much of the fun stuff discovered this week! Here’s a favorite photo from Milano Salone del Mobile 2010 this 4am. Staring at it ~ Leo, who’s been amazing helping explore and cover design week with me, and i joked that in a way, this image epitomized the key elements of the design week chaos…
Milan Design Week = beautiful objects + flowing libations + a sea of humanity
p.s.
This is the Luce Plan Mini Mini designed by HABITS Studio.
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On random adventures today, went to go find the Dom Pérignon Black Box by Marc Newson collaboration ~ special travel/gift packaging for the Dom Pérignon 2000 vintage. While i love the colors and playful way it photographed… i must say, as far as product collabs to save for years to come, this one feels a bit like plastic packaging, versus a solid reusable champagne cooler like some of his previous 3 collaborations? This polycarbonate black box is designed to play with the iconic shape of the bottle, and keep it perfectly chilled for any occasion, with a design that is said to “resists the wear and tear of transport and keeps Dom Pérignon perfectly chilled, even in the hottest destinations.” It does look awesome in pictures though, and i love the green on black! Also you have to check out the coolest robot of a street art piece i ran into on the way there too!
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Some packages just leave you speechless. You sit. You stare. You open it. You poke at it. You close it. You stare a bit more. This was one of those packages. Veuve Clicquot sent over one of their 1200 limited edition stingray skin Yellowboams (there are 3600 in the edition, 1200 each of ostrich, alligator, and stingray) ~ yes, a 3L (4 bottle equiv) bottle of Yellow Label Champagne... in a stunning handcrafted metallic lacquered wood box (with adorable little round hinges and magnetic closure) ~ with a stand for the monstrously large bottle... and the bottle itself has a yellow label made from ostrich, alligator, or galuchat, sealed with 22.4 ct gold and a 24 ct plated muzzle engraved with Mme. Clicquot's signature. A little over the top, in a completely surreal, "how is this enormous bottle sitting on my counter right now, and how amazing is this paint job?" sort of way. Next question of course was, "How will we ever pour this? Or chill it? And who will have to come help drink it?"
So take a peek at more pictures on the next page ~ once you get past the extravagance, it's really one of the sweetest most unexpected gifts to arrive, so, thank you, Veuve Clicquot. And don't worry i will certainly document it when i open it... i'm terribly curious what is under that golden muzzle... and the adorable notebook that was included mentions that you can send in the leather label to have it turned into a card holder... intriguing...
p.s.
This launched me into that hunt for the names of various bottle sizes, so for those curious: Magnum = 2 bottles, Jeroboam = 4 bottles, Rehoboam = 6 bottles, Methuselah = 8 bottles, Salmanazar = 12 bottles, Balthazar= 16 bottles, Nubchadnezzar = 20 bottles. And most are named after BC kings... and "A useful mnemonic for these big bottle sizes is: My Judy Really Makes Splendid Belching Noises" says Champagne Magic.
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Between Oxford and Stockholm, there was a last minute irresistible reason to change plans and detour through Paris to have dinner as a guest of Dom Perignon in Versailles! In the style and room that Louis XIV dined... ok, quite honestly, for something that "once in a lifetime" feeling, how could you turn down such an opportunity? So that meant hopping on a train to London in the morning, then Eurostarring it over to Paris, and then into the infamous Hotel de Crillon (according to wikipedia, it's one of the oldest luxury hotels in the WORLD), where a matte black Dom Perignon bag filled with matte black goodness and lots of history and background information on the world of Dom awaited me on the desk to dive into in the few hours i had to prepared before for dinner. So before we get into Versailles... here's a peek at design details of Hotel de Crillon and the lovely packaging of the Dom Perignon materials! (As you'll see, they LOVE stacks of cards/imagery on gorgeous paper in various sizes... even with gilded edges...)
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"Inspired by the comet logo and created by Design Research Studio under the creative direction of Tom Dixon, Veuve Clicquot presents The Comet. The Comet is a natural evolution of Tom's original creation the Comet Lamp." (Which we gave away to a luck reader earlier!) I've always loved geodesic structures, and to have this large igloo like cave of a space in that vibrant Veuve yellow ~ and filled with perfectly stacked bottles of champagne... it was just a delightful space! Also unmissable from afar as you wonder what the bizarre yellow structures are as you enter from the bridge...
I suppose i shouldn't be too surprised to find myself coming from the history and source of Veuve Clicquot having just participated in harvest, only to be mesmerized and inspired once again by their design collaborations... on random thoughts, these comet structures would make for a very cool fort if i was still a kid... or maybe a sanctuary or work space? tree house? Unfortunately there weren't really any kids at the VIP event, but i bet they would have made for some adorable pictures! See lots of pics of the structures and some other Veuve details on the next page!
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Ok on aspects of this trip that i shamelessy geeked out on... did you know that's how champagne corks start? Before they get mushroomed? And the machine that mushroomifies them and puts the cage on is really cool? (Cool enough i had to make a video to share with you of course!) Also, there was definitely a warm fuzzy feeling that overcame me as Veuve Clicquot brought us to visit a tiny (relatively speaking!) grand cru champagne maker ~ Gatinois, a family-run business located in Aÿ since 1696, at the foot of the Montagne de Reims. While they have been selling half their crop to neighbor, Bollinger, they are producing more and more of their own label. It was infectious how passionate Pierre Cheval-Gatinois was as he shared his company's story and history and process with us (his son is starting to step in as the 12th generation!)... perhaps the biggest contrast was visiting his cellars compared to les creyeres of Veuve Clicquot... the shift in scale was amazing, and you must check out the exposed wires running the lighting (to fry yourself, just reach up and grab one in each hand)... Oh, and also, the amber blush tone of the champagne is gorgeous and it is extremely delicious... but unfortunately it they don't have a distributor in LA! Anyhow, on the next page you can see lots of pics, and the video of how the corks transform to magically to the mushrooms we associate with champagne!
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Veuve Clicquot was generous enough to bring me to Reims again this year to join their intimate harvest festivities (read: honored they let me come do a day of manual labor with their friends/family). I kid you not. I spent half a day in the beautiful hot champagne region sun from the break of dawn fighting jetlag clipping grapes and working my way through the rows while chatting with friends old and new. So there you have it, my excuse for why posts slowed down and got so quiet. Also minimal wifi. But really, it turns out that the best way to slow me down is tire me out! Because i certainly had no problem running around, drinking late, and still posting before bed on the last trip...
So on the next page you can take a look at my experience from sunrise to learning how to pick grapes, to wine breaks (at 9am!), to crating the grapes away, to seeing them pressed... all the missing steps from last year... it's fascinating really to see what happens between the fresh grapes and the bottling to spend time in les crayeres. And we were back at the Verzy country estate which has some of the finest grapes behind it ~ the grapes we picked will be in the 2019 Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame if we're lucky, so far they are saying it is a phenomenal harvest! And if nothing else, they've at lease guaranteed that i will have to purchase a bottle (or case!) just to see where my grapes went! So see the process first hand on the next page!
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6 Notes
It was a gorgeous day in NY to take the VIP ferry out to Governor's Island for my first official polo match/picnic. Granted this was no ordinary day in the park ~ since there was much buzz with Prince Harry playing, Marc Jacobs and Madonna wandering around, and never ending Veuve Clicquot flowing at the second annual Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic. The views were absolutely stunning ~ the manhattan skyline peeking out from behind the game, endless smatterings Pantone 137c between the lush green grass and perfectly clouded blue skies, and amusing people watching with lots of "daring hats" as requested. Take a peek at the experience on the next page...
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5 Notes
Have you ever found yourself mesmerized by a curvature? A silhouette? Just stuck in your mind, and you could stare at it for ages? And it doesn't help that as you stare at it you can't help but sip it as well? Well there's something so beautiful about the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and La Grande Dame champagne glasses that i've been obsessing about since that trip to paris with them last year... It actually had me paying much closer to attention to both champagne and champagne glasses, since. You'll see what i mean in the many pictures on the next page... there's a comparison of some of the various champagne glasses rounded up from holiday gift boxes...
... also further indulging my curiosity about the origins of Champagne Glasses, the Veuve Clicquot historian was kind enough to put together some information on their background as well as some gorgeous visuals - from vintage Veuve ads ~ to scans from their library to take a look at what types of champagne glass styles exist and how they have evolved over the years.
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8 Notes
Just got back from the midnight showing of Quantum of Solace... and as a total bond junkie... i still stand by my opinion that the last one was one of the worst... and this one... well, it was off to a good start! Decent intro graphics ~ like the color palette and sandy look ~ awesome techy glass wall and table touch UIs (details like having him spell out "G R Double E N" over the phone, and as he says "double" a W shows up and changes to EE) ~ the aston martin DBS chase scene in the intro ~ tom ford did an incredible job dressing him... The prada dress she wears through the desert is awesome... but seriously, no gadgets? at all? Painfully annoying semi background integrated text telling us when we were in russia, etc? (wtf was up with some of those fonts?) Range Rover was one thing, but Ford? The fight scenes were so badly chopped up, you couldn't follow what was going on... And could sony's product placement have been more blatant? I think the sony phones and terrible microPC must have been his only "gadgets"... and the villains weren't nearly amusingly villainous enough either! Ok ok, anyhow, i think i just needed to vent! BUT... seeing it was a nice excuse for me to post more of Justine's pictures (she seriously sent me TONS from her National Geographic night out in London).
Here are some quick snap shots of the fun Harrod's Brompton store windows as they closed up the Bollinger champagne bar... as well as the Aston Martin DBS, the Sunseeker speedboat, Tom Ford suit and black Prada dress worn by Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko and the latest Omega. Front and center of the bar you can also see the limited-edition Champagne cooler in the shape of a Walther PPK bullet that was featured on Liqurious. Perhaps better than the gadgetry in the film is the motion activated display at Harrods, where upon walking by you trigger clips from the film to play... Anyhow, check out more pics and info on the next page!
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0 Notes
While recollecting my thoughts and trying to take a bit of a break ~ i've also found myself cleaning up my computer, and while doing so, discovered a lot of posts in the making... that never quite made it! So here's some more catch up. I spent most of yesterday running around LA (and the outskirts) hunting and researching for the house i'm working on (under construction! i get to move in soon!) ~ and in doing so, finding myself thinking about so many details i hadn't paid such careful attention to before, and things that reminded me about the Manoir de Verzy ~ the Country House of Madame Veuve Clicquot that we visited, and i'm ashamed that i hadn't gotten these pictures up for you sooner!
There were so many fascinating details to this house and its gardens and being able to visit the actual vineyards ~ consider this a photo essay of sorts taking you through some of my most memorable images while there. This house is where we learned about vintages (even tasting our birth years! mine was a delicious vintage in '82) and Dégorgement à la volée in the Vieux Pressoir with Cyril Brun, the wine communications head and wine maker ~ followed by aperitif and specially crafted, perfectly paired lunch with Stéphane Gerschel - International Communications Director, Andrea Crippa - International Marketing Director, Cyril Brun, Felix Bocquet - Quality and Environment Director, followed by a walk through the vineyards with the Veuve Clicquot Vineyards director, Christian Renard. (All before taking off to our surprise helicopter ride!). It was at this lunch that Andrea gave us that sneak peek of the Ice Cube and i showed you some of the tile i loved. Anyhow, so on house shopping, and all the little details that make a house a home, take a peek at some of the quarters where VIPs stay with Veuve Clicquot, and the beautifully inspiring views across the vineyard on the next page!
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Just spotted this Built NY Origami Wine Tote over at Crate and Barrel. “Its unique folds aren’t just visually-appealing—they actually help safeguard your bottle from bumps in the road. This wine carrier also compresses flat and secures with handle for compact storage. Each Origami Wine Tote comes with a to/from tag so it needs no wrapping to make a great presentation.” It reminds me of the Veuve Clicquot Clicq’Up Origami Ice Bucket that collapses so nicely… This tote comes in Wine Tote and Champagne Tote - the perfect reusable gift bag! See more pics on the next page…
These big glowing neon 
On fun unboxings ~ this beautiful gift box came from 
Just discovered a series of 
So that plane i hopped on instead of checking out the 
On beautiful holiday editions, 
