NOTCOT Note: Lucky! Sub-Studio was invited to go see Chicago through the eyes of Volkswagen, specifically while cruising around in their new 2009 CC, while dining on molecular gastronomy goodness, and checking out the humble abode of Frank Lloyd Wright ... and all we got is a post filled with pictures of Anna's adventures! I'm so fascinated by the studio and foodie pics on the next page!

A few weeks ago, I made a trip out to Chicago to review and test drive the new Volkswagen 2009 CC. Along the way, we got to see Chicago, have a 20-course dinner at molecular gastronomy restaurant Moto, and visit Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in the Oak Park suburbs of the city. Check out my adventures through pictures on the next page!

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Tags: architecture - cars - chicago - food - molecular gastronomy - sub-studio - travel

I have long been a fan of APAK, the husband and wife team of Aaron and Ayumi K. Piland. They create fantastic, colorful worlds in their work, filled with little forest creatures and quiet narratives. They live in Portland now and in Japan in the past and I imagine that their environments and cultural heritage very much influence their work. APAK's artist statement: "They create artwork together as a way exploring the beauty, mystery, and magic of life as well as expressing their love for life and each other. They are known in particular for creating rich and colorful gouache/acrylic paintings on wood featuring the utopian lives and adventures of curious little beings living in lush fantastic environments surrounded by friendly little animals, the landscapes are familiar yet surreal, hinting at a fantastic narrative while suggesting truths about the real world at the same time." Their work can be found here, and purchased here.

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Tags: art - illustration - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: I've been so curious about the Target Bodega's popping up in NYC, thankfully, Anna was able to stop by and take a few pics to share with us!

I stopped by Target's Bullseye Bodega in Union Square this weekend - one of their four pop-up stores in Manhattan (open for only four days, today being the last). The store design plays on the classic New York bodega and is filled with exclusive Target home, fashion and beauty products from the likes of DwellStudio, Converse One Star, and Michael Graves to name a few. Besides products already in Target stores, the bodegas offered a preview sale of four new lines that aren't yet in stores - Sigerson Morrison, Anya Hindmarch, John Derian, and Jonathan Saunders.

I preferred the design and concept behind the stores to the products themselves, and have a bunch of pictures on the next page showcasing the fun graphics and bodega-like installations in the stores.

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Tags: designers - home - new york - popup - sub-studio - target

NOTCOT Note: While i'm running around france learning about champagne at hyper speed, it's hard to get much time or a good connection to work from... so good thing Anna has my back, and found this super awesome Band in My Pocket!

Yamaha has teamed up with au Design to create Band In My Pocket - a series of cellular phone prototypes that also function as musical instruments. Depending on the prototype you use, you can turn your phone into a brass instrument, drum sticks, piano, string instrument, etc. The au Design website is in Japanese, but be sure to check out the videos that showcase each design (click on the black box with the arrow beneath the diagrams). Also worth checking out are videos of Band In My Pocket in action over at Bola Sociology's blog.

Check out the individual phones and their uses on the next page!

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Tags: music - phone - sub-studio - technology

NOTCOT Note: Here's another fun discovery from Anna of Sub-Studio! Have you noticed she's become one of our new heavy contributors to NOTCOT.org?

I first met Andrio Abero back in 2001 at a party in San Francisco where we bonded over a mutual love of music and design. Andy went on to become one of the foremost graphic designers in the Pacific Northwest, particularly known for his show posters. His work is smart and graphic, and I love the way he plays with texture and typography in his illustrations. Since founding 33 RPM in 2000, Andy has produced a huge body of work (I had a hard time choosing my favorites for this post), including the Bumbershoot 2006 campaign, and a bunch of magazine illustrations for New Scientist, Business Week, and The New Republic to name a few.

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Tags: art - designers - illustration - music - sub-studio

I was just floored when I saw WASARA over on Swissmiss' blog. WASARA is a line of the prettiest disposable paper tableware that you've ever seen - I would throw a party just so I could use these. It's not just paper plates either, it's bowls, mugs, sushi plates, serving platters...With the desire to be as sustainable as possible, WASARA is made from reed pulp and bagasse (sugarcane waste).

From WASARA's website: "Underlying the concept of WASARA is the legacy of Japanese aesthetic and value sense. Japan has a tradition of good manufacturing backed by excellent skills and techniques, one of the most refined food cultures in the world, and a spirit of hospitality and courtesy. These are essential for days of spiritual fulfillment. While a WASARA is a paper dish good for one-time use, we would like it to represent those quintessences of our tradition."

WASARA will be available for purchase at the end of August 2008.

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Tags: food - gifts - home - paper - shopping - sub-studio - table

Isay Weinfeld is a Brazilian architect who runs a very diverse practice with projects ranging from built work to set design to art and furniture pieces. Clean lines and functionality dominate his work. He seems to be interested in working with a kit of parts to create a new, more interesting product. I love this mobile bar - a series of boxes sized for specific functions with a set of hidden drawers.

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Tags: drinks - furniture - sub-studio - wood

NOTCOT Note: Here's another fun one from our resident architect, Anna (Sub-Studio)!

David Lewis of Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis was one of my studio professors back when I was studying architecture at Cornell and he was very influential in the way that I learned how to draw and present information. LTL has perfected the art of multi-media drawing, using computer models to generate the building forms and to create severe, impossible perspectives and sections, and then hand-drawing hyper-detailed drawings which are layered on top of the model. The meticulousness of the drawings is amazing and I love the texture that the pencil provides - the more intense and detailed a section of a drawing, the dirtier it is.

Besides great drawings, LTL also creates really beautiful built spaces that are focused on materials and construction methods. The same attention to detail in their drawings shows up in their built work. I've only chosen to include their restaurant work in this post (after the jump), but LTL also has a bunch of great large scale projects and competitions on their website. If you want to see more of their drawn work, you should definitely check out a recently published a book of their work, Opportunistic Architecture, or an older publication, Situation Normal, by P.A. Press.

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Tags: architecture - art - books - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's a new post from Anna of Sub-Studio. I'd also like to say congrats to Jason Gregory on Makr, which he coincidentally emailed me about earlier last week ~ the leather line of simple wallets are stunning!

I saw these über-sexy wallets over at Kitsune Noir. Made by Makr, each wallet is laser-etched on leather. They are all limited edition, so you'd better click over there fast if you want one! The wallet patterns are minimal and functional, with little surprise details here and there (detail images after the jump).

The wallets from the One series (above) are super simple in shape and function - a single pocket card holder for cards and folded cash. Maximized for ergonomic comfort, the curves of the opening mimic the natural position of thumb and forefinger. See more on the next page, as well as the full press release and link to the line sheet.

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Tags: accessories - gifts - laser - leather - shopping - sub-studio - wallet

NOTCOT Note: I was up till 6am working on the sites, squashing bugs and adding new secret features with dan, and working with linhchi getting new navigation bars (see up top!) across all the sites, and giving in to the "notEmpire" as people have been jokingly calling us for some time now! Also, added NotLabs, for all those miscellaneous side projects! SO, i'm super thrilled that Anna of the fabulous Sub-Studio had my back and prepared this great post for you!

I saw Adam Haynes' work over at Evasèe recently and love it - love the color palette, the graphic/comic book style illustration, the fantastic industrial subject matter...everything! Adam is based in Bend, OR and has freelanced for a number of impressive clients - Nike, Adidas, Transworld...His website is still somewhat under construction, but you can find a fair bit of his work online. See more of his work on the next page!

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Tags: art - illustration - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's the latest discovery from Anna (Sub-Studio) ~ these cheese/cutting boards would be SO perfect for fourth of july picnics and bbqs!

I saw Lotte van Laatum's work on Bloesem recently and fell in love with it. Lotte is a designer and recent graduate from the Design Academy Eindhoven. In her graduate program she specialized in the social-cultural and ecological aspects of design, an interest you can see permeate through her design collection. Much of her work references other cultures, and even employs craftsmen from those cultures, such as her Bloei! sofa, Tulipa vases (after the jump), and the Made in Peru cushions. Lotte's Dutch Wood project attempts to create awareness about the sustainable use of local resources by keying the shape of each cutting board back to the geographical region it was harvested from. The cutting boards come from the regions of Veluwe, Noordoostpolder and Salland, and are made of three different types of wood - beech, ash and maple.

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Tags: accessories - furniture - kitchen - lighting - sub-studio - table

NOTCOT Note: Love these awesome necklaces that Anna from Sub-Studio found!

Bernadette Deddens is a London-based accessories designer who views accessories as props that can add small-scale drama to daily life. Her work is playful and often has multiple narratives, requiring interaction by the user. For instance, a necklace that begins by mimicking a checkered linoleum floor but that can be transformed by the wearer into hundreds of configurations, or a bracelet that is both sculpture and bracelet. Check out her shoe accessories after the jump - it's a great collection of add-ons that dress up the shoes that you already have.

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Tags: accessories - bag - jewelry - shoes - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's a fun find from Anna over at Sub-Studio ~ and a HUGE congrats to her, on taking the plunge to give up the day job, and take Sub-Studio full time! We're so excited for her!

Mystake is a new brand by Dima Komissarov of Plus Minus (#061). The presentation of the brand reminds me of Atypyk - cheeky one-liners that are polished and pretty.

The Candle Bulb Candle, as Dima writes on his website, "looks like a candle bulb, but it's not a bulb, it's a candle, which looks like...you know". Modeled after the old chandelier candle bulbs - I would love to have a chandelier over my dining table that could take one of these. Mostly, I'm just really into the idea of a candle modeled after a bulb. I'd love to see this series expanded into a bunch of different bulb types (compact fluorescents, anyone?).

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Tags: accessories - candles - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another post from our friends at Sub-Studio!

Keeseh Studio is a design studio run by two talented RISD grads, Asher Dunn and Shane Richards. Both graduated this year - I was impressed by the quality of their student work and am looking forward to see what comes out of their studio this coming year.

Above is Asher's Upholstered Chair - I love the bent laminate chair shell - how the back curves to form the rear legs and how it sandwiches the cushions together. Also shown is his Serving Utensil, a nice translation of a common household object.

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Tags: furniture - student - sub-studio - toys

NOTCOT Note: Here's another lovely post from Anna of Sub-Studio ~ and i totally had this on my list of things to post when i got back! I guess that's why she's a perfect fit for NOTCOT =)

Gregory Buntain is an Industrial Design major at Pratt Institute. Currently working for Brave Space Design and developing his own projects at Pratt, he exhibits a great design eye and really great carpentry skills.

My favorite project is Carbon, a set of diamond-shaped salt and pepper shakers. My only gripe with the project is that they are made of injection molded plastic (I would love to see them in wood). Gregory's website showcases a bunch of different projects, many of which begin flat-packed and are assembled by the user. He includes lots of great photo-diagrams on how to assemble or use each piece.

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Tags: furniture - kitchen - sub-studio - wood

NOTCOT Note: I finally got to meet up with Anna and Sean of Sub-Studio when i was in NY, and they are even more fun than i could have imagined! Definitely NOTCOT people, and i'm so excited to have her as a contributor! (I'm not so used to the meeting people on the internets, still a bit odd to me for some reason?)... anyhow! Here's a fun new post from Anna!

Jean did a round-up recently of bird feeders and I wanted to add some great bird houses to the mix. I love the Nidusa birdhouse by Art. Lebedev - the faceted shape is beautiful! If I had some outdoor space, I would definitely hang one of those up to attract some little birdie friends. A few more feeders are after the jump!

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Tags: animals - bird feeders - gifts - nature - shopping - sub-studio

I came across Wing-Ip Ngan's Etsy store a while back and fell in love with his prints - so colorful and whimsical...They remind me a bit of the nonsensical phrases on notebooks and cards that I used to come across during my childhood in Thailand - lighthearted and a little bit random. Wing-Ip uses a Gocco primarily to print and I have to give props to his Gocco skills - all of his prints are made of multiple screens and colors (registration is no easy feat, people, at least not with our little B6 machine).

More of Wing-Ip's prints can be found in his Etsy store. For some of his graphic design work, check out Ink Design.

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Tags: illustration - prints - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Interviews! We don't have many of them on NOTCOT so far, but Anna's introduction of them certainly has been refreshing to read... check out this great chat she had with Studio Lo! Also, feel free to let us know what you think, and if you'd like to see more of these, or interviews with specific people...

I wrote a post about Studio Lo a few months ago. I was (and remain) struck by Studio Lo's minimal use of materials, gorgeous packaging, and the way each object is flat-packed and constructed by you, the user. In order to get more insight into their work and process, I decided to ask them a few questions about their work and process, and Eva Guillet and Aruna Ratnayake were kind enough to let me interview them. Check out the interview after the jump.

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Tags: interview - sub-studio

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

Swissmiss turned me on to Delaney Jane Larson, who creates gorgeous illustrations under the pseudonym of Plane Jane. I very much like how she has usurped the iconography of traditional playing card designs to create her own cast of characters. The subject of her work is very much the stuff of dreams - little monsters, the wool of shorn sheep creating clouds, pimped out Kings and Queens. Her color palette is kept fairly limited in order to "counterbalance the situational idiosyncrasies" of her illustrations. Her strongest work is in the illustrations and paintings themselves, although she has translated some of the illustrations into t-shirts, cards, ceramics, and tote bags, available here. See more of her great illustrations after the jump!

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Tags: art - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another post from Anna of the lovely Sub-Studio! You can also see her artwork in the tags on the side of the page right now!

Little Fury is the design collaborative of Esther Mun and Tina Chang. The two met in New York at Pentagram, and after a few stints at different offices, started Little Fury with the design philosophy:

No design for the sake of design.
No "overdone" products.
No "cutesy doodads".
Simplicity. Functionality. Practicality. Innovation. Individuality.

The result is an impressive portfolio of branding/identity projects and gorgeous product packaging, including the product series Start Here - a set of linkable notebooks and planners. Individual notebooks can be linked together as you need and customized with self-adhesive pockets and colorful tabs. The cover is stain resistant, waterproof, and tear-resistant, and the interior paper is available in blue, grey, white, pink, manila, and green.

Check out more great projects after the jump.

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Tags: branding - packaging - paper - sub-studio

Look left. Look right. I'm excited to announce that we are showcasing the works of Sub-Studio in the gallery hang tags!!! While most of you should be quite familiar with Sub-Studio (anna has been contributing some pretty amazing posts to NOTCOT)... for those who don't know, Sub-Studio is the dynamic husband and wife duo - anna corpron and sean auyeung - with some incredible illustration/print skills, an adorable online shop, and a very cool blog. So explore an excerpt of their work through the tags - click away to see full pics in the gallery!

Tags: art - gifts - shopping - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another post from Anna of the lovely Sub-Studio! I can't decide whether Julie's work here creeps me out and/or is incredibly awesome...

Julie Krakowski is a designer creating conceptual textiles. Take Coffee and Cigarettes I - a series of textiles based on the marks typically left on linens by everyday life, such as cigarette burns, and food stains. Each mark is painstakingly embroidered into the linen. This series seeks to "accentuate the importance of the random and the ambiguity between the worn and the precious". Other textile explorations look at material transformation, such as molting and shedding, as well as textiles based on the organic world of mosses, vines, flowers, lichens and shells.

Check out more of Julie's work after the jump.

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Tags: sub-studio - textile

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

Sub-Studio reader Kariann sent me a link to Edible's Aphrodisiac Pearl Chocolate Paste as a submission for February's chocolate themed Idea's column. Being that we were just switching over to a conceptual shoe column, I didn't get a chance to include the link, but I fell in love with Edible while browsing their site. I'll be the first to admit that I'm partially charmed by the exotic snacks that they carry, but beyond interesting items (chocolate covered scorpions, anyone?), their products are beautifully crafted and packaged. The Antlix Lollipop (below) is gorgeous - it looks like little black seeds frozen in ice. Check out more potentially tasty, pretty things after the jump. Oh - and if you aren't from America, Edible's wares aren't ridiculously expensive.

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Tags: candy - food - sub-studio

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

I came across a flickr set today with some amazing pictures of an abandoned housing complex called San Zhi outside of Taipei, Taiwan. A google search didn't bring up much information, but from what I can gather, it was apparently built in the early 1980s as a series of vacation homes marketed towards affluent Taipei residents seeking to get out of the city.

The speculation about why the site was abandoned varies, with the most interesting being that a series of fatal accidents occurred during construction, causing locals to believe the site was haunted, and therefore instigating the developer's decision to stop construction (and also putting a stop to any future redevelopment). A more mundane reason listed for the abandonment was the developer running out of money, but I'll go with the first reason, thank you!

Architecturally speaking the houses are super cool, being very futuristic for the 80's (even by today's standards) with the cantilevered, modular pods houses (think Archigram). Check out more amazing photos from two flickr sets after the jump!

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Tags: architecture - sub-studio

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