This has been a very strange day, and its only 11am. Yes, usually i'm still snoozing at this hour, but was up at 7am, stats broke one of our servers last night! Sorry about that, urgh, but thank goodness for the guys at wiredtree who take such good care of us.... and then had breakfast with Souris Hong-Porretta ~ the woman is incredibly inspiring, add her to the list of people to be like when "grown up", and hearing about all dot com days reminiscing about things like ChickClick (i never knew Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks was THAT heidi), i can't help but wish i were a tiny bit older to have been more conscious and active in all that was happening in the 90s... i'm rambling again, sorry, low on sleep, high on energy and ideas... and well, it's fun to get some perspective and chat with people as buzzing about the intersection of tech/design/gaming/film/art/music/internet/etc.

Moving along, mail call! Came home to a fun surprise from the boys at Diesel's Fuel For Life Fragrance department in paris... Remember what i thought was a bracelet? Well it turns out i was wrong. And they've proved me wrong by sending one over... its a big hefty shiny gold jean's chain that holds a little vial of Diesel's Fragrance, and it's refillable! Also awesome are the giant playing card like info cards that come with a CD of press pics. Gotta love the packaging. Anyhow, lots of pics below to catch you up.

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Tags: gifts - jewelry - shopping

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

Rahee Yoon is sticking it to the old adage that bigger is better. Rather than going for the largest carat, Rahee has created what she calls "the world's thinnest ring" - out of a single sheet of paper. She designed two books around these rings - one with 25 different ring designs, and the other describing the processes to cut the rings out of the book. The result is conceptual, ephemeral jewelry. See more of her rings after the jump!

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - paper - shopping - sub-studio

As i sit here in Toronto airport waiting to pop back over to LA ~ i'm sorting through MANY pictures, and how much i *could* post while i wait... first to really grab me ~ the playfully Canadian oriented jewelry of Anneke van Bommel that i encountered at The Souvenir Shop, she manages to simplify national pride down to simple cheeky iconic jewelry pieces... from these various wood/silver antler rings, to stubby beer pins, crossed axes, and more... (see lots of pics below!) The Souvenir Shop is one of the best collections of exclusive limited edition Canada oriented design pieces i ran into, which was unfortunately at the Gladstone Hotel within the Come Up To My Room Exhibition where artists took over rooms on the 2nd floor, and honestly, you didn't miss much, because there were some of the rudest, most obnoxious people manning the door and their store ~ so luckily you can shop the wares online!

Bio from the site: "Anneke van Bommel is an artist and educator living and working in Toronto. She shares a downtown studio with 5 other jewelery artists and teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design and George Brown College.Her work focuses on contemporary jewelery design, and explores concepts of place, memory and the symbols and icons of Canadiana."

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Tags: canada - gifts - jewelry - shopping

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

I have long been a fan of Paraphernalia - a line of very graphic, acrylic jewelry by Vanda Noronha. I like the monotone of black and white in the collection, and appreciate the humor in the various pieces (an Inquisitive Vulture Brooch, anyone?). They are also super affordable - ranging between $13 and $30. Not at all bad for a very eye catching piece of jewelry!

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Tags: jewelry - sub-studio

Alex + Chloe are popping up a pop up store tomorrow in Chinatown at the New High (M)art and i just noticed their new Black Diamonds collection... particularly the Anneau Solitaire - Diamant Inverse. I have had a bizarre fascination with inverted diamonds ever since Tobias Wong's Ultimate Reverse Setting Ring. Also shown here are the Sphere Noir Diamant Inverse and Sphere Diamant Inverse, which remind me of mini oxidized canon balls... canon balls coming at you with the point of a diamond. Inverted diamonds, an interesting twist on a classic symbol of luxury, and also the ultimate weapon with used with a point? See more images and info on the opening after the jump!

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Tags: accessories - diamonds - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Being a sucker for seemingly useful multipurpose designs... i'm strangely drawn to these leather wrap bracelets from A.P.C.'s spring 08 collection. This "doubled centimitre bracelet" is 100% leather with a small metal buckle and a centimitre scale embossed on the outside and 'A.P.C / WONDERWALL' on the inside. (NotCouture #1372)Now if only they'd do one in inches as well?

Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Sub-Studio just featured these incredible Lima 7192 glass jewelry pieces, and i'm smitten by the Lush Ring VI-2. Something about the precious glass in such playfully organic shapes ~ so clear it's practically invisible, yet you can't take your eyes off it. See more enticing close-ups after the jump!

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Wow. Yay for emails with new products that blow my mind as i wake up. Just im-ed these images over to Shade Elaine (aka Linhchi our NotCouture/scissor loving editor) and the response is a definite "OMG I WANT IT". Gogo of Toy-Me just gave me a sneak peek at one of the latest pieces from their upcoming collection, and knowing our thing for scissors (remember our sticker collection?)... is taunting us with this incredible silver scissor cuff bracelet, that can be worn two ways! Incredible that it actually opens, now the real question is: can it actually cut? I think we need two each, one for each wrist! More close ups below! And the full collections will be presented at Pitti Uomo next week.

Here's the teaser: "Paris designer Thomas Jaillot together with Marco De Michelis will introduce a Silver Scissor that wraps around your wrist and mixes with paper art transformations into silver, Origami earings and a Paper Windmill charm and earing."

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Tags: gifts - jewelry - scissors - shopping

I'm sure by now you've noticed that casting the everyday into silver and making it some wearable form like jewelry is instant subversive luxe. From plastic vampire teeth for belt buckles and cocktail swords as necklaces, to forget me knot strings around the finger and peeled bark as cuffs... so part of me isn't at all surprised to see that someone has gone and cast zip ties in silver as rings. In fact, i can't help but wonder why it wasn't done sooner. Granted i'd probably have to turn down any man who dared propose we marry with a pair of these, the concept certainly has a lot of potential. Personally, i feel like zip ties are the new duct tape... from tying back cables, to tying plants to poles, looping through dishrags to have a loop to hang them from, tying bad guys up instead of handcuffs, locking your suitcases... (i'm sure you have more examples to insert here)... these rings are from Metalnat by Natalie Gomensoro at Supermarket.

Tags: gifts - jewelry - shopping - technology

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

D-BROS is the product arm of advertising and graphic design firm, Draft Co., Ltd. I love almost everything that comes out of D-BROS - very witty 2-D and 3-D products. The Jewelgraphy card above would be great as a stocking stuffer (or as a card). It reminds me of the costume jewelry I used to play with as a kid, only cooler. After the jump are a few of D-BROS' 2008 calendars. I love how actual ribbons are incorporated into the design of the Ribbon calendar. The Joy by Day by Toy calendar starts as a blank slate but comes with a pack of coded stickers that allow you to decorate it on an as needed basis.

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Tags: gifts - jewelry - shopping - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here is our second post from our new contributor Dara Lang (who i just told you a little bit about in the last post)!

Conroy and Wilcox, two designers from New York have designed this stylish Thorn cuff bracelet. Coinciding with the up and coming trend, glam rock, Conroy and Wilcox have successfully achieved the marriage of two very contradicting styles. Its versatile design can appeal to both men and women and if you look closely, each thorn is slightly slanted, creating a subtle wave in the pattern. This beautiful thorn cuff bracelet not only screams out Rock and Roll, it echoes a touch of allure! Available in 18k yellow (see below) and in white gold (see above).

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Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Gift Guide Day 25 and counting down... i'm excited to present the Elsewares page! These guys have been one of my favorite stores since back in 06, and were a huge support when it came to NOTed, our first photoshoot ~ and we lucked out that they happened to be across the street and believed in our experiment as vague as it sounded! Anyhow, check out today's gift guide to see some of my favorite products they're currently stocking! (And yes, they were kind enough to help sponsor the gift guide as well ~ and for any that missed the announcement yesterday, of the 31 days, all of our 9 sponsors get one day where i show you my favorites from there stores, and so you get a chance to see these earlier, this will be a full sponsor week! Until i got nuts with randomness on the weekend again...)

Tags: accessories - gift guide - gifts - jewelry - shopping

2D looking rings... love em? hate em? What's your take on this trend of silhouettes and handscapes? Since every time a new one comes out, people seem quite into them, i needed to collage them all for some perspective, and i love them all as a means of creating a mini puppet show or diorama on my fingers, but i'm not sure about sporting them around town regularly (particularly for the sake of my knit goods who are unlikely to survive!). So here we have: Alissia MT Diamond Rings in plastic and silver (also available in gold), Blank & Reed's Bling Rings (in Bird and Bitch), Zelda Beauchampet's Handscapes, and Soop's City Farm (etsy store launching the 30th of Nov). There's something so pretty about seeing them all together, can't you imagine the story your punch could tell if you arranged them right?

Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

On unexpected things ~ i've been having a lot of conversations with mid-20 something guys about high priced watches, particularly those who didn't grow up with them, and the desperate coveting of high end watches as status symbols, followed by the implication that that watch would get them some. And i've been mocking them all, but after this weekend - OK, i take it back, maybe the watch thing *can* work. The unexpected stand out from this Oakley weekend is definitely the Oakley Minute Machine. It caused some amusing drama at the after party, and perhaps that IS the best marketing strategy, after all that now even i find myself curious about it... well the Oakley Minute Machine Diamond Dial Edition ($3,500) anyhow (left watch)... although the Black face Titanium Edition ($1,195) is tempting too (right watch)... then there is the Unobtanium Edition($995).

Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Toy Me has some fun new pieces ~ from their newest collection the ones that grabbed me are the macho arm, robotino, and the sunglasses to hang your sunglasses from (at first they almost look like the tabs from soda cans)! The mini rayban wayfarers and even aviators are far too cute, definitely a fun add on gift if you're gifting sunglasses this holiday season. Close ups below... and if Toy Me seems familiar, maybe you're remember those sweet Hunting Trap bracelets and Tank Cufflinks!

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping - toys

Oooooh. Robin over at Bittersweets has outdone herself with this latest creation. (For a refresher, we've written about Bittersweets a few times over the years, and even featured her opening and also showcased her products in the gallery)... this Vampress is the diamond ring variation of our favorite pairs of Baby Vamp Rings (see my favorite picture from NOTed featuring them after the jump). There is a slight issue with the wearing the two thin bands and keeping the jaws perfectly aligned ~ a minor issue that is instantly solved by having them holding a diamond... so the holidays are around the corner! Buy one for your Vampress.

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Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Ok, this is going to be a bit backwards, but i needed to share this product discovery from the A+R launch dinner before the dinner itself. I've long loved the deep resin works of Brooks Salzwedel from my discovery of his belt buckles back in sept of 06 to further exploration of his intriguing and mesmerizing larger resin "paintings" of sorts (and the smaller ones in found tins, etc) in august 07. Well as it turns out, Andy (the A of A+R) loved them as much as i did, and got in touch with Brooks who is also a Silverlaker, and the buckles did amazingly... and as the story goes Rose (the R of A+R) even helped Brooks get into the GenArt Fresh Faces this year, where his work was incredibly well received. So although A+R is stocked with so many things i love (it was like being in the NOTCOT store, if there were a NOTCOT store, it was incredible, but more on that later)... these teeny tiny new necklaces caught my eye. There was that moment of literal - OMG. Are those...?

And here you have it, the latest - in fact the FIRST - pieces of jewelry from Brooks Salzwedel, which Andy and Rose had *just* put out tonight... incredibly intricately cast metal woody pieces with the classic Salzwedel depth in resin. And in those teeny tiny logs, are even tinier little trees, which are truly the coolest things i may have ever seen (and i see a lot.) So if you feel so inclined, these may not make it into any store or website for a while, but you can contact A+R for more info... just please don't buy these specific little logs! I need to go back and beg them to let me buy them... once they figure out how much they are. Many more images below (please don't mind my super quick mid-party shots) - including one of the belts gorgeously displayed on logs in the storefront. And click to see more of Brooks Salzwedel's Buckles and Art.

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Tags: accessories - art - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

I can't remember if we were mildly obsessed with saftey pins before NotCouture, or if the safety pin naturally became our logo and then we kept noticing it everywhere. But regardless, saftey pins are truly popping up everywhere lately... i supposed it matches the whole psuedo-punk/glam trend with all the studded burberry, etc. But i was surprised to come across this new collection from Vivienne Westwood Hardcore Diamonds where she takes on safety pins and paperclips.

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

Living in New York, I don't get to fish much, but Sean and I both grew up fishing with our dads and have a healthy appreciation for an idyllic day on a river or lake. I would love to have Christina Angliker's Fishing Knuckles - basically a bum's fishing kit that you can keep with you at all times. Not only a fishing rod, Fishing Knuckles is a protective device and a fashion statement. Though, it might be a bit more fashion than function - I'm not sure how you could reel in a fish without cutting your hand on the line. Christina recently graduated from Pratt and her website is definitely worth checking out - I appreciate that she includes so much of her process on the site. Also, her Peace Buttons shown below are a beautiful physical interpretation of a "wound"...

p.s. if these feel familiar, these were also seen as NOTCOT.org #1599 back in the day.

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Tags: gifts - jewelry - outdoors - shopping - sub-studio

Magic Symbols ~ its like a secret code through silver and string - and a card. "Once it is unwrapped to its full length of almost 4 feet (46" to be precise, or 120 cm), the meaning disappears and your secret love affair would never be recognizable in public as it turns into a multi-layered necklace. Only when you wrap it around the card, does the true meaning shows up." And that true meaning can be a heart, skull, or infinity symbol ~ seems like a brilliantly simple gesture, and also something easily replicable for the craftier kids in the group. Currently the soup du jour at Charles and Marie.

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Tags: cards - gifts - jewelry - shopping

[NOTCOT Note: I'm so honored that Anna chose to share the beautiful packaging of her wedding rings with us. Again, congratulations to Anna and Sean on their wedding last month! I can't wait to see what else is going to be coming out of Sub-Studio this fall.]

As you might know, Sean and I got married in September. Sean bought my engagement ring from this amazing Japanese jeweler, Niwaka, and we loved the ring so much that we decided to get our wedding bands from them, too. Niwaka’s designs are (mostly) very simple and elegant, with clean lines and a twist on the traditional ring setting. Niwaka pays close attention to detail, and that extends to their packaging, as well. The rings sit in a two-piece, white ceramic box (it looks like a tooth in profile!), which comes packaged itself in a simple wooden box. A red ribbon ties the box together. So that the wooden box sits flat, two holes are cut into the bottom of two side faces to allow the ribbon to run concealed along the inside of the box. Niwaka has stores in Kyoto and New York. You can see more ring designs on their website.

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

Derrick Cruz of Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons and THECAST collaborated on a series of handmade accessories for their Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Picking up on Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons' love for "Dark and Uncommon Goods" and THECAST's edgy basics, the collaboration brings to mind a refined Wild West - accessories for the urban cowboy, perhaps. Shown above, the Cottonmouth is a solid metal snake bolo on a hand-screened gauze scarf.

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping - sub-studio

Dominique Cohen for Target. You've probably heard about it. It was everywhere, as every GO Target collection seems to be. You've seen the ribbon pendant and broach. Well, me too. What i didn't expect was that when running over to Target for a quick errand, the collection would actually catch my eye and have me hovering at the Target jewelry case. In fact i have seldom even looked in that direction when i go (i tend to go to target to grab method goods and toys usually). Beyond the adorably edgy. fun, gothy display, a fresh shipment had just come in, and i saw a pile of the gorgeous satin pouches and ring/earring boxes taunting me. So when i came back to it three times, i finally gave in and played with a few of the pieces, and purchased this Dominique Cohen Lace-Covered Bead Necklace with Ribbon Tie. The attention to packaging details surprised me, i didn't realize that they created a series of brown satin corded bags (with a nice beige satin interior) printed with Dominique Cohen for Target on them, and the necklaces even have a tiny little "dom" tag on the silk ribbon. So if you're ready for an overdose of closeups, as well as my roundup of some of the best pieces, and pics from the LA launch party, as well as some of Dominique Cohen's high end collection that inspired these pieces... click on.

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Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

NotCouture #942 points out these great Fang Cufflinks, that are less than traditional (close up below)... and as i went exploring the Stephen Einhorn site i discovered their brilliant twist on Gift Packaging. (And its also making me kick myself, wondering why i didn't think of more creative ways to explore the idea of packaging when it came to gifts before!)...

They will gift wrap" your jewelry in a plaster heart, painted whatever color you desire (silver, gold, black, red, pink, etc)... and upon receipt the recipient has to break the heart to get their gift... doesn't it really feel more like a prize at that point? Or like the grown up version of those toy in the plastic eggs from the machines? And i love how this makes you rethink about the concept of the giftwrap as you open it as well... forcing upon you the idea that (unlike wrapping paper or those plastic eggs) this is a no return kind of move... you'll never have that heart again? Anyhow, i love the idea of how this changes the gift receiving experience!

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Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping

Crumley. Gorgeous jewelry line out of NY ~ and i think Refinery 29 has helped them spread across the internet today ~ as the Peace Under Fire collection has been making its rounds... (images below!). BUT, i can't seem to stop staring at these glass bubbles. And on odd random associations, these glass bubbles remind me a lot of some of the strange body modifications you see... when browsing page after page of body mods last night which was incredibly inspiring and artistic. And also there's something so precious about the seemingly fragile nature of the bubbles...

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Tags: fashion - gifts - jewelry - shopping