Here’s the latest from our London based editor, Justine Aw.

A little red cottage has sprung up in the middle of Old Truman Brewery in East London. This unexpected iconic little cottage is a portal to Sweden for just three days to celebrate Sweden and offer us a taste of what Sweden has to offer, showcasing the regions of Skåne, West Sweden and Luleå. The use of the space within Old Truman Brewery is fantastic, complete with a moose head and reindeer and transforming the space into a fabulous dining room that manages to be decadent yet cozy and putting a beautiful emphasis on the kitchen too.

Tonight we were lucky enough to enjoy a taste of the Luleå region of Swedish Lapland with chef Richard Karlsson. And if our dinner was anything to go by, Luleå is delicious! Our evening opened with an unusual, but rather tasty birch sap wine, followed by three courses of delicacies including Kalix Löjrom (a delicious caviar collected only for a few short weeks each year), succulent grilled reindeer and a fantastic pie made from the gorgeous subarctic marsh growing cloudberry. More photos of our fantastic dinner on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "A Swedish ‘Red Cottage’ in London"! ----->

This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes a trampoline bridge, drawing with fire and plumes of smoke decanted. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Here’s the latest from our London based editor, Justine Aw, sharing her discoveries at the first London 3D Printshow - she came back with lots of pics, and our NOTlabs director, Shawn Sims will help explain it all below!

We’ve been following 3D printing closely as it picks up momentum faster than ever the last year… I made my first 3D print back in 2006 at Pratt, and have been fascinated since. We printed the F.U.C.K. Adapters with an Objet which uses a method called Stereolithography, also known as SLA. This particular process uses a photosensitive resin or liquid that is hardened into place by ultraviolet light. Recently we unboxed the Makerbot Replicator which uses a technique called Fused Deposition Modeling or FDM. It works by squeezing out a thin heated filament, usually plastic, which hardens once extruded. These two methods make up nearly all of the DIY and desktop 3D printers that you have been seeing. This week has been quite the week for 3D printing, with both the Shapeways Factory of the Future opening in NYC as well as the London 3D Printshow!

The 3D Printshow is a unique mix between a hardware trade show and an art gallery of selected works from sculptors, jewellery designers, animation and interactive artists all working with 3D form. We even got to see the much anticipated Form 1 3D Printer from the Kickstarter superstar FormLabs of MIT in person. It is great to see how they are bringing the art of 3D printing to the masses, helping it transcend being a prototyping/manufacturing level tool… perhaps it could truly become a reality for every home to have one much like an ink printer in the near future. Check out the variety of 3D printers and art pieces we saw on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "London 3D Printshow"! ----->

This super picture loaded post is made possible by our awesome friends, artists and designers, Che-Wei Wang & Taylor Levy of CW&T, who went and brought back lots of pics from the opening of Shapeways’ new factory in Long Island!

Shapeways has been on the forefront of creating what many have dubbed “the kinkos of 3D printing” - the go to spot to send your files and objects will appear at your doorstep! You can see the unboxing of our interlocking cubes here, and it’s super exciting to see in the pics on the next page where our prints will be coming from in no time!

As Taylor shared with us, “The space is HUGE, as you’ll see in the pics. It is empty now, but it will be awesome down the line. They are prepping for 50 industrial 3d printing machines. You can see the bright green spray painted plots on the floor to show where machines will go. They are running a couple machines right now in small adjacent spaces, doing strong white and flexible and FUD until the new machines arrive. They spoke a bit about interfacing with the community, giving tours, and workshops. And of course how important it was for them to pick a spot to open that was close to the majority of their customers. Both to lower their carbon footprint, but also to be close to the community. I hope that happens. Our dream of course is to be able to send them a file and then bike over from our studio (it’s 10 mins away) to go pick it up! Mayor Bloomberg was there to speak and cut the ribbon. There was lots of talk about how exciting it is to bring in a new wave of hi-tech manufacturing into the city.” Exciting stuff!!! Take a peek throughout the space on the next page… we can only dream (and hope to pop back) about what it will look like when completely filled with 3D printers!

TO PAGE 2 of "Shapeways’ Factory of the Future NYC"! ----->

Cycling Copenhagen, surfing Kauai and eating your way through Bologna are all part of this week’s roundup from NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual image.

The latest from London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw.

While most of the rest of the country is caught up in the Apple Harvest, we have a slightly more unusual harvest at this time of year, chestnuts. Chestnuts aren’t everywhere in the city, but where they are, they can’t be missed. Native to Japan and China, some of London’s tree are over 400 years old, having been planted primarily as decorative trees. The trees are heavy with nuts, which start off in tennis ball green balls of excruciatingly sharp spikes that mature into a mellower brown and when that happens, there’s a bit of a frenzy. Not just from human collectors (of which there are a fair few!), but also from squirrels, parrots and other wildlife as the trees unleash literally tons of food!

Processing chestnuts is by far the most time-consuming, labor-intensive and absurd culinary activity we’ve ever taken on (this from a couple that make their own marshmallows and ice cream from scratch), but it’s also one of the most satisfying transformations from tree to delicacy I’ve ever attempted!

TO PAGE 2 of "The London Chestnut Harvest"! ----->

Dirty Chai pancakes, autumnal sangria and spiced brown butter pumpkin pretzels are all part of this week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

This post is sponsored by Merrell shoes and clothes.  For more great ways to enjoy the California outdoors, check out the Merrell blog for information on their Vendemmia Collection inspired by the grape harvest.

As a born and raised Angeleno ~ since walking the few blocks to the beach in Santa Monica with my parents as a toddler, nothing has ever felt more calming and invigorating that being near (or in!) the ocean… especially the pacific! Even during college and on and off in San Diego, i bounced through various apartments and houses that seldom left me far from the beach… When living in San Francisco, as brisk and foggy as the beach was, we always went regularly! And now, having my home base be back in LA the last few years, the beach is merely a roll down the hill once again… and whenever i need to clear my head i usually hop in my car, and depending on the amount of time i have - head up/down along the 1, aka Pacific Coast Highway which spans up and down the California coast. While often, heading up to SF or down to SD means hopping the 5/405, whenever time permits, nothing beats taking your time cruising along the ocean as closely as possible! The rolling sound of the waves, the sparkling sea right beside you, that smell of fresh ocean air makes you forget everything (even if you’re in traffic!) and just enjoy the beauty of the moment!

So when Merrell approached us to share some of our California outdoor loves, it seemed like the perfect time to pull together some of our favorite spots to stop along the coast… focused between San Diego and San Francisco, these are some of my favorite roads i’ve spent countless hours cruising along at every which hour since i got my drivers license at 16! So take a peek on the next page at my top 10 from the best beach spot to pull up to in SD, to malibu hideouts, to the elephant seals, otters, monarchs and more… on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "10 Favorite Spots up the CA Coast"! ----->

This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes robotic arms, stackable chess sets, the world’s fastest stroller and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Absolut Tune is the latest from Absolut… a sparkling fusion of Absolut vodka and crisp white wine. While i’ve only just started experimenting with this unique combination… the packaging is definitely noteworthy. Quite a sidestep from the iconic Absolut bottle shape this champagne like bottle has a very Tord Boontje-esque double layered, flowery pattern to it… the caged cork glass bottle has two layers of plastic on it - one with a gold on blue, and the top layer with a matte/pearly white lined with gold that peels back ever so dramatically. Take a peek at the packaging details (and a few drink recipes) on the next page!

P.S. See if you can find the gears, fish, tentacles, peacock feathers and more tucked away in the intricate designs!

TO PAGE 2 of "Absolut Tune"! ----->

It has been quite the week, so, apologies for being a bit quiet. A last minute super packed trip to San Francisco came up, so jumped in the car and ended up barely able to have enough time to sleep let alone post (feel’s like a first i a while!) and just got back to Los Angeles, missing the Endeavour have its slow parade like drive across LA, but just in time to wake up and watch the Red Bull Stratos jump - LIVE! And it was mesmerizing… stunning to see the views and how fast he was freefalling! “Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, will attempt to transcend human limits that have existed for 50 years. Supported by a team of experts Felix Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground. His attempt to dare atmospheric limits holds the potential to provide valuable medical and scientific research data for future pioneers.” And wow - it was quite a sight to see even via laptop… See screenshots from the event moments ago on the next page, and find out more about the mission and the team at Red Bull Stratos!

TO PAGE 2 of "Red Bull Stratos"! ----->

Penguin canapes, Kahlua banana popsicles and anatomically correct edibles all feature in this week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each delectable post, click on its individual image.

Unbelievably soft. We just wandered in to Marine Layer in Hayes Valley in SF today and like the sign says “Get Grabby. Stop! And feel the fabric.” - we did. And it is SO SOFT. And coming from from a hot, sunny LA and landing in a super foggy/misty SF, the name couldn’t be more appropriate! And again - seriously - they are ridiculously soft! Also amazing about them - “every step of our production process occurs in California. This minimizes our environmental footprint and supports 3 American factories that have been in business for over 25 years.” and “Our custom fabric is a blend of two yarns, Pima Cotton and MicroModal, produced by Lenzig AG. Modal is a bio-based fabric that comes from recycled Beech Wood.” Everything is made locally - and you can read about the whole process. They also have such an adorable store (the vintage shufflepuck table in the center, chalk board logo, fun rope lamps) and really cute bags! As well as a vintage VW VAN! Take a peek inside Marine Layer (cell phone pics since i didn’t expect to be shooting it!) on the next page…

TO PAGE 2 of "Marine Layer SF"! ----->

Rain Rooms, kite-making and hot tub boats all feature in this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

We’re in San Francisco! Here’s a peek at some of the random finds that have grabbed my cell phone camera’s attention while running around the city…

TO PAGE 2 of "Randomness: San Francisco"! ----->