As delicious as certain liquors are… you all know that spontaneous packaging based impulse buys are how the weird stuff often ends up here. Well recently at Mitsuwa, the adorable little sakes were calling out to me and i couldn’t resist. I also couldn’t resist shaking up the nigori ones… which of course meant i then had to let them sit for a day or so in my fridge so they’d fully settle (all that unfiltered sediment sinking to the bottom) so i could show you the difference when i took pics! But how amazingly cute are these Aladdin Sake bottles? They’d make the prettiest little vases for your desk… And the way the top opens is fascinating as well. So take a peek at them all on the next page! (And no, i haven’t tasted any of them yet ~ too tired tonight, but wanted to show you the packaging first!)

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Tags: bottle - drinks - gifts - glass - liqurious - packaging - sake - shopping

On more things i’ve been meaning to post for a while. Here’s a brilliantly fun idea… how do you take a normally boring average looking bottled Magners Pear Cider and elevate (or catapult) its status instantly? Give the awesome Bungalow 8 in London an exclusive stunning bottle that is only available there, and only 500 bottles are produced. The new design was created for Magners by their brand entertainment agency, Cake. They were even kind enough to send one over so i could take a look at it in person - and its lovely! Its a sleek black bottle with 5 gloss silver sticker stripes wrapping the bottle and the Bungalow 8 ‘8’ etched in the silver pear. Honestly, it’s hard to look at the original bottle the same way after seeing and holding this. Actually, it’s hard to look at any cider or beer the same. Why don’t they all look this stunningly designed? See more pics on the next page…

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Tags: bottle - drinks - exclusive - glass - liqurious - london - packaging

Apologies for going a little quiet on you. Tried to take a little bit of a break this week ~ reassess the amazing year that passed, trying again to hit inbox 0 before 2010 officially arrives… and in doing so, also finding some gems i’ve been meaning to post that sadly got buried in the chaos of my inbox. SO, here’s one of my favorites!

As we slip in to the new decade ~ here are two of my favorite slides from the presentation given by Absolut at the Absolut Art Collection anniversary event in Stockholm a few months ago. On the top you see the state of vodka packaging design when Absolut first entered the market with its shockingly apothecary styled bottle (which i adore!)… Below you see the state of things today. Yes yes, sure it may be a little biased in how things were picked, but you can’t deny that the overall trend is true, and that the it’s a great illustration of the shift in vodka packaging design over the decades! As 2010 comes upon us, i wonder how things will shift next…

Tags: absolut - drinks - glass - liqurious - packaging

Sometimes you desperately run around the city all evening, desperately hunting for an open restaurant after having two drinks at the ice bar for "breakfast", almost genuinely considering buying 7-11 food, tweet for help, call for suggestions, and almost everything that comes up is closed... then you stumble upon the adorable red cozy outdoor section of Grodan, and peek into a stunningly ornate dining room that smells delicious... and there it is. Froggies! Everywhere! On the menu... embroidered on the napkins, on the door - a simple red silhouette of a frog! (Yes, i now know Groda means Frog in swedish)... but the most intriguing instance of this little red frog i encountered was as i sipped my water... there it was on the bottom of my glass! And it looked so fun with its reflection and prismatic colors projected on the table... I had to share... and i'm so tempted to make mini vinyl stickers to apply to the bottom of my glasses to surprise people when i get home... see more of the pics on the next page!

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Tags: drinks - food - gifts - glass - restaurants - stockholm - travel

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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Tags: champagne - drinks - gifts - glass - kitchen - liqurious - packaging - shopping - veuve clicquot

On unusual jewelry gift "packaging" ~ how beautifully intriguing is new Abandoned Comb Amulet by Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons? There are only a limited edition of 30 pieces made!

From their description: "The Abandoned Comb Amulet consists of a hexagonal sugar-glass pyramid filled with Brooklyn rooftop honey. Free floating in the candied bubble is a solid 18k gold honeycomb necklace sculpted by bees. It is protected by a glass dome with a rubber stopper. The usefulness of the Abandoned Comb Amulet is defined by the resulting choice of a Solomonic dilemma. One must either forcefully exhume the honey drenched gold by violently shattering and eating the casing, or find value in the object's current form and care for it as it deteriorates on its own.

Regarding the process: "First, abandoned honeycomb from Brooklyn rooftop hives is gathered. Next, in the ancient 'lost wax' tradition, the honeycomb is burned away and replaced by molten gold. Resulting is a perfect hold replica of the wax comb."

It's a fascinating story/process/concept for what may finally result as simply an 18k honeycomb necklace, but the delicious "unboxing" process really adds a new dimension even more delectable and beautiful to display than most. See more images on the next page!

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Tags: food - gifts - glass - jewelry - shopping

As spotted first at Today and Tomorrow ~ the Greece is for Lovers "Hooker's Delight" is an interestingly misleading name (if your mind naturally leans that way) ~ for a fun martini glass design perfect for the fishermen in your life! Talking about living dangerously ~ you may hook yourself at any moment... or on the flip side, your olive can't go far when its attached to the stem! See more images of this pretty, playful design on the next page!

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Tags: drinks - gifts - glass - martini - shopping

On long overdue and super amazing things that have shown up recently ~ 8/9 of the 1800 Tequila Limited Edition Artist Bottles arrived, and i can't bring myself to open them, i just kind of sit and stare at how gorgeous they are ~ honestly, if you haven't seen them in person, you must! Because i've seen pictures, from high res to billboards, for some time now, and they were far more incredible in person! They are like gorgeous drinkable works of art... basically it feels like they are screened on to the backs of the glass bottles, which results in a nice matte feel on the back, and the art looks like its floating in the bottle of tequila... perhaps my favorite detail besides the art work itself (and the fact that the cap is a shot glass) ~ each bottle is numbered (out of 1800), has the name and bio of the artist, and their signature in silver! Really i can only ramble so much about this, but what you really need to see is all the close up pics of the bottles themselves! So click through and browse them on the next page!

p.s.
Not sure what to bring for a last minute party, gift, etc ~ i think its pretty hard to go wrong with one of these... SO pretty!

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Tags: art - drinks - gifts - glass - liqurious - packaging - review - shopping - tequila

Also found at Maison et Objet - designed by Camilla Kropp for Design House Stockholm, this set of Pipette Oil & Vinegar Bottles calls to the mad scientist in all of us... regardless of whether we're in the kitchen, in the lab, or simply in our heads. And who says these bottles can only be used for oil and vinegar, they work just as well for soy sauce, chili oil, sugar water........ in fact seeing these gets me thinking, you could even use these in your lab.... or your labware in your kitchen? But unlikely its as gorgeously designed as this! Really what it comes down to is that there is no longer an excuse for imprecision! (Although i'm not clear on whether there are actual measurement marks on the pipettes.) See a close up on the next page!

Merci beaucoup, Veuve Clicquot ~ who loves design as much as we do, and brought me to Paris to cover Maison et Objet 2008! More design discoveries to come...

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Tags: accessories - gifts - glass - kitchen - maison et objet - shopping - veuve clicquot

Design House Stockholm has been one of my favorite design companies for some time now, and i was absolutely giddy to meet the people as well as the full series of products in person finally! More to come on the booth itself, but there were a few stand out products they've added to their collection that deserve features of their owns! Here is the one product i fell in love with as soon as i started playing with it (consider this on my birthday wishlist!)...

The Barbara Carafe by Nina Jobs for Design House Stockholm ~ is a brilliant experience... the glass carafe comes with an option of Amythest, Black, Clear crystal balls, which has a subtly ground surface, so it won't roll away... the crystal balls can serve as a top for the carafe, add more intrigue and/or a splash of color when hidden in the nest of a bubble in the base of the carafe, or as merely another playful tactile aspect to the carafe experience. And what could they possibly do to make such a gorgeous design better? Have it come in a gorgeous matte black gift box that sort of resembles a hat box... so when purchased you don't even have to worry the unboxing experience! See more images of the Barbara Carafe by Nina Jobs for Design House Stockholm on the next page, including hands on pics from Maison et Objet.

Merci beaucoup, Veuve Clicquot ~ who loves design as much as we do, and brought me to Paris to cover Maison et Objet 2008! More design discoveries to come...

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Tags: gifts - glass - luxury - shopping - veuve clicquot - wine

Carafe Un Verre from Sentou by Claudio Colucci. First time seeing this gorgeous handblown carafe in person, it's even nicer than i expected. Although designed in 2001, Sentou is apparently re-releasing the piece, and has improved the production of it. The design magically embodies the wine glass within the carafe, which creates an interesting visual depending on how you fill it and what you fill it with... if you're careful, could be fun to fill the glass with one liquid, and the main with the other.... shake to mix before pouring? See more images, especially ones of it at Maison et Objet on the next page!

Merci beaucoup, Veuve Clicquot ~ who loves design as much as we do, and brought me to Paris to cover Maison et Objet 2008! More design discoveries to come...

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Tags: drinks - gifts - glass - maison et objet - shopping - veuve clicquot - wine

Maestro Dobel ~ the "world's first-ever diamond tequila" ~ with incredible undeniable crystal clarity (seriously, it looks like water in a glass) ~ but even more incredible than the taste and the complexity of this high end tequila? The set of 50 tiny vials of aromas they sent over which utterly overwhelmed my olfactory system ~ and before we even had a chance to taste the tequila, things quickly digressed into a pick a random bottle and try to name that scent. See images and the full scent listing of the case on the next page.

Noteworthy details on the bottle packaging ~ i love that it is hand numbered, signed, etc ~ and that silver on matte black definitely pops off a bar, not so sure about the base though, seems to kill off all the fun of bottom lighting! And it retails at $75.Take a peek at our experience on the next page, and honestly, you have to taste this one to experience how good it is (and i'm not usually a tequila kind of girl).

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Tags: aroma - drinks - glass - review - tequila

NOTCOT Note: This is the fifth in my series of Ultimate Accessories posts which have been sponsored by the new Infiniti G Sedan! As with any sponsored content ~ these posts are done - my way - my product choices, my content, and they help me keep doing what i love!

On ultimate accessories, one of the more interesting ways to bring some green into your home is definitely in the form of terrariums (especially over cut flowers!). And your terrariums can be filled with anything from cacti or venus fly traps to flowers or bonsai... one of my favorite designs which manage to be both minimal and somewhat traditional, yet so organic and fluid feeling is definitely the blown glass terrariums of Esque at A+R. As described on the site - "Esque Design in Portland: Justin Parker and Andi Kovel blow recycled glass into purposeful sculptures that are as elegant as they are otherworldly. Case in point: These crystal-clear balloon terrariums, which frame your favorite succulents, flowers or other life into a world of their own."

Tags: accessories - gifts - glass - home - Infiniti Ultimate Accessories - shopping

I did a double take when i saw Kacper Hamilton's theatrically sinful 7 Deadly Glasses over at Dezeen, and had to see more pics!

Here is Kacper's description: "These red wine glasses are based on the 7 deadly sins. Each glass encapsulates a sin, which is revealed through the ritual of drinking. The '7 Deadly Glasses' are about celebrating passion and encouraging the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion. Handmade in England. Limited Edition. Available to order." See the full set and all his gorgeous photography on the next page!

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Tags: drinks - glass - sins