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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Tags: animals - champagne - nature - new york - polo - sport - travel - veuve clicquot

Sinking into my bed barely conscious, debating what to show you before i give in and pass out... been quite the night of wandering, but the most bizarre and not so design week related event this evening brought me back to those awesome Artek Shigeru Ban chairs i showed you... only instead of being on a tour... this was the The Standard SPiN New York Classic - for those (like me) who know little about the ping pong world - here is the SPiN bio: "SPiN New York is a 13,000 square foot ping pong social club on Park Avenue in Manhattan's Flatiron District. The club offers unparalleled table tennis courts with Olympic quality cushioned flooring and 17 individual tables, including a stadium-like center court. In addition, SPIN New York houses a pro shop, lounge, bar, private room sponsored by Fred Perry and over a dozen internationally known professional coaches and players who are available for private and group instruction." Intense, right? Did you know Susan Sarandon is a huge ping pong lover?

Anyhow, in addition to this party of a ping pong classic (don't get me wrong, there were some there extremely serious about the sport, and alongside were many party goers and an open bar) - the sunset out on the deck and in the background was absolutely stunning. Jaw dropping to say the least... so check out the many pics of this scene on the next page!

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Tags: events - hotels - luxury - new york - ping pong - sport - standard - travel

With a title like, FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game... how can you not look twice? And then when you see the incredible illustrations? And that this is described as "The indispensible, amazingly illustrated companion to today's NBA--a roundball Rosetta Stone that hilariously decodes the trends and tendencies of pro basketball." on Amazon... I think we may have just found the perfect gift for both basketball fans and designers without a clue about the current state of the NBA... Who knew it'd be possible? And only at 15$!

The illustrations are drop dead gorgeous, the Style Guides incredible, and FreeDarko even has limited edition prints and shirts! First spotted over at Bobby Sattler's Whole Lot of BS, then i got quickly distracted at the FreeDarko site (so gorgeous, and full of design details and digital goodies)... then got busy making pics for you to see my favorite excerpts from the book on the next page! So, go on, click to the next page and take a peek inside the book!

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Tags: books - gifts - holiday - illustration - shopping - sport

Karma Balls! I am in love with the packaging for these Nike Karma Golf Balls ~ apparently, for the golfers, these are more forgiving on slower swings - they are " Nike's softest compression ball designed for added feel and distance." You can read a review on the balls from 07 over at The Sand Trap... i discovered this fun grassy/cardboardy/vectory packaging over on BeSportier. Larger image on next page!

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Tags: gifts - golf - packaging - shopping - sport

The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic will take place on Governors Island (Sat 31 May) and can you believe that this will be the first time Polo will be played in NYC for over 70 years... bringing taste of Hamptons to NYC. Ralph Lauren's team (Blackwatch) is playing Asprey's team and Nacho Figueras (the face of Polo Black and best player in the world will be playing)

And guess what? The event is open to the public! So head over to Governor's Island on Saturday if you are in NY, and let me know how the polo match turns out! Hopefully it will be a beautiful (non rainy) day! More images on the next page...

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Tags: luxury - ny - polo - sport - travel - veuve clicquot

In addition to my growing porcelain fascination this ICFF, i have also been noticing a lot of Foosball Tables going more high design. During the Conran Shop's Rojo opening (incredible! Definitely worth how wet i got in the rain to get there)... i came across the bright red metal RS Barcelona RS #2 foosball table designed by Rafael Rodriguez... and then saw the white one downstairs in the shop... the silver one at ICFF... and the coat rack versions in both the Conran Shop and ICFF. Really what stands out about this one is the bright metal frames and the arms and expressions on the player! Their faces scream "pass it to me! pass it to me!" with that excited/alert look... and their arms make them look like they are always on the go... which is admittedly, even funnier on a coat rack. There is also a hilarious stumpy super-buff silver and black set of players on another table i found at the Conran Shop that you've got to check out on the next page (and maybe one of you knows who made that one?)... see all the pics on the next page!

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Tags: foosball - football - gifts - icff - kids - shopping - soccer - sport - toys