Aloha 2010!
Hope the New Year will be full of wonderful surprises and bring you inspiration and love. To all things beautiful in 2010, cheers!
Extinct toys
How beautiful are these handcrafted wooden toys...? Josh Finkle selected four, recently extinct, animals for their beautiful shapes and patterns (the Tasmanian tiger, Quagga, Pigfooted bandicoot and Sea Cow). The toys are meant to incite wonder and interest in creatures that existed only a short while ago. Great approach! Also, the packaging when unfolded becomes an information graphic about the animal inside.
Five star crockery
For inspiration for a Kladblok project Amsterdam-based designer Judith Montens looked into the rituals of collecting and the trophy collections of celebrities. The first two in the series of the Five Star Crockery collection refer to the rare insect collection of Johnny Depp and car collection of Jay Leno.
"(...) Through objects like the cabinet of curiosities, collecting was once a way to show your vision of the world. Over time, collecting has become more of an urge than a vision; nowadays it seems more a desire just to possess. (...). Like their collections, these objects are stripped of their function and become an art object or a trophy."
Hidden lines
The beautiful villa by Dutch SEARCH located in Vals, Switzerland, and carved out of a mountain wall, has already been featured on several sites and in Wallpaper. Where other sites merely focused on the architecture and not so much the interior design, I wanted to highlight the 'Hidden lines' design by Jeroen van Mechelen from Studio JVM who came up with the idea for a special cardboard cabinet which creates a guesthouse within this newly designed villa.
The idea to define the contours of the house and use a 3-dimensional cardboard matrix was inspired by the medieval painting 'St. Jerome in his study' by Antonella da Messina. Like this painting, the cardboard-carved "inverted chapel" becomes an autonomous space.
Droog goes fashion
Droog, a Dutch Design collective based in Amsterdam and set up in 1993 as a statement on design, might be known for setting fashions in the world of product and furniture design. However, per this month creative laboratory Droog will also bring Dutch fashion items and accessories to the Droog collection in New York, including labels by Corné Gabriëls, Gluejeans, Orson + Bodil, Painted, and Jan Taminiau.
Since Viktor & Rolf seems to be the only Dutch fashion design you will find in New York, Droog wanted to tap these talents and broaden the range of products in the New York store with exclusive fashion, books and items connected to architecture like the Lace Fence by Demakersvan. Way to go Droog!
Almost Christmas...
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with your friends, families, significant others and everyone special to you. Enjoy!
And... make sure to stay tuned for more design news. Next week you may expect news on Droog Design, Viktor & Rolf, the winners of Unlimited Design and of course another shopping item (or two)! See you Monday!
Alma
For a limited time only this Christmas you can watch the multiple award winning short film 'Alma'. Alma is an amazing 3D video motion about a small girl called Alma who discovers a doll shop. Attracted to the life-like doll in the window, Alma finds herself drawn in to the shop like a moth to a flame...
Alma is written and directed by Rodrigo Blaas. Alma is Rodrigo Blaas’ first short film as a director. Originally from Spain, Rodrigo Blaas has worked in animation for more than ten years, in Spain and in the United States. Seizing the possibility of directing his first independent short film, Rodrigo Blaas asked some of the best artists in their field to take part in this independent project.
All I want...
Again some wonderful finds, classic examples of beautiful items you can't go wrong with. A graphic beauty of a blanket for on the bed or sofa, a print for that entry wall, new boots that will make any outfit look fabulous, a pillow for your favorite place in the house, some birds to decorate the mantle piece and one amazing camera to show and share all you love with the rest of the world!
1 - Pillow; 2 - Wooden birds; 3 - Print;
4 - Camera; 5 - Ankle boots; 6 - Blanket
Something cool every day
Via
A wonderful collection where typefaces, retro images and illustrations are being combined, resulting in beautiful mishmash of styles and images. Some of the illustrations, prints and postcards are available through his shop in case you can't get enough...
Christmas countdown
Picture by Belle Âme
This weekend has been an awesome weekend. It has been a very cold one, minus 10 Celsius (which is a bit unusual for here) with lots and lots of snow. Saturday the snow and terrace heaters were begging for a spontaneous 'après-ski' outside. Right in front of our houses, at the end of the afternoon, we got together with all of our neighbor friends and shared warm glühwein, home-made pea soup, hot chocolate and Dutch oliebollen. Sunday was spent by drinking more hot chocolate, throwing snow balls, sleigh riding, making Christmas cards and getting high on chocolate Christmas cookies. A wonderful way to spend the weekend, but the more reason to spread the joy and share some more beautiful finds!
Chris Berens
Last night, when the whole house was asleep I was enjoying my local newspaper. Just a little me-moment. And then, after turning page 7, I just fell in love. In love with the beautiful work of Dutch artist Chris Berens.
Via his paintings, Chris has found a true unique way of sharing visions of his internal universe as if he sees it through an ancient handmade lens and shares his view of curious places in unpredictable ways. His canvas world is inhabited by an exotic menagerie of animals, children and fantasy landscapes.
Chris' technique and process of working are just as unique, as he begins by painting small scenes and figures in ink, bistre and varnish on glossy paper. Once completed, he cuts up each sheet and reserves the elements he wants to use, and peels away the clear coating layer from the underlying paper. The remaining semi-transparent images are stacked, layered and collaged onto panel to create the final work. To learn more about Chris’ technique, see the interview (part 1 & part 2) for Hi-Fructose magazine.
Would you happen to live or be in New York, please make sure to check out Chris' first solo exhibition debut 'The only living boy in New York'. The exhibition runs from December 16, 2009 through January 23, 2010 at the Sloan Fine Art Gallery.
Covers
John Paul Thurlow loves to draw and wants to make a statement. What started back in April of last year as “a homage to the creative men and women who produce such disposable perfection”, is now a collection of more than 90 detailed, articulate and personal drawings, all based on the covers of old (fashion) magazines. Nice...!
Cloud
Imagine how cool it would be to run into this dreamy cloud, projected on the wall of the courtyard in Paris? Every year, Nuit Blanche is full of pretty surprises like this... if you're into events, art, design and interactive media, you'd check it out!
All I want...
Last week has pretty much been a week where every minute awake was spent on projects and planning. As I had to submit a plan for a new event within the city of Amsterdam, I didn't have much time to collect any design news. Today I’ll make sure to kick start the week and make up, starting with this post for the ‘All I want…’ series.
This week’s list includes some great, classic style icons (such as the ever beautiful Egg Chair) but also some new finds that will make great gifts. And, yes, do purchase the amazing jumpsuit. It's all you need to look fabulous this winter…!
1 - Coat hooks; 2 - Lamp; 3 - Tea pot;
4 - Monkey; 5 - T-shirt; 6 - Mug;
7 - Cutlery; 8 - Jumpsuit; 9 - Candles;
10 - Bowl; 11 - Ring; 12 - Chair
Maracon
Swiss architectural practice Local Architecture designed this beautiful and contemporary house to respect the morphology and scale of the other constructions in the village. The project is inspired from traditional architectural forms and codes and is reinterpreted to the use of the building and to contemporary esthetics. The form of the building nestles itself in the topography of the ground and inscribes itself in the landscape. For more pictures, go to Plus Mood.
Fever Ray
Tonight Fever Ray will work its magic. My chance to fall under its spell as Fever Ray will be playing at the Paradiso in Amsterdam (I have a ticket!).
Fever Ray is the debut album from Fever Ray, an alias of Swedish Karin Dreijer-Andersson of the electronic duo The Knife. Constructed on electronic foundations and embellished with traditional instrumentation (guitar here, congas there), Fever Ray is strikingly beautiful. If you’re not familiar with Fever Ray, make sure to check it out as her music is incredible…!
Workstead
Finding a lamp that complements the interior can be quite a quest when looking for one. Workstead's new light fixture called the Industrial Chandelier seems to just blend in and stand out at the same time (a bit like the lights of restaurant Snel, part of the Amsterdam Lloyd Hotel). What a find. Thanks Holly for sharing!
Miso
About a year ago Liss mentioned Melbourne street artist Miso and it seems as if her work has been popping up ever since. Liss now shared the news that Miso is having a solo show at Gorker Gallery, opening next week. I wish I could go and see for myself...
All I want...
As promised, another shop item... yay! As every time when I'm at Etsy's I'm impressed with the quality, creativity and assortment, I thought this would be a good moment to check out some of the shops on Etsy again. I picked out some items that I thought would make great gifts for friends and family. Enjoy!
1 - Picture; 2 - Vases; 3 - Journal;
4 - Lantarns; 5 - Necklace; 6 - Bag;
7 - Illustration; 8 - Deer; 9 - Geek necklace
All I want...
With all the holidays coming up it was time to check out a collection of wonderful shops and galleries. All the items here are great finds, but what really wowed me are the needle felted dogs. These beautiful dogs are handmade by artist Domenica More Gordon from the Work Shop Edinburgh. Another treasure is pretty much anything from Shinzi Kathoh, but the pieces from the beautiful
PS - As I really enjoy browsing, collecting and creating these kind of items, I'm thinking about posting a shopping item every Friday (the 'Friday shopping feast'). If you have any suggestions for a theme, designer, color, special gifts, or anything else, just let me know and I’ll make sure to post a great collection with items and ideas here.
4 - Card; 5 - Bird hangers; 6 - T-shirt; 7 - Plate;
8 - Kids duvet cover; 9 - Plate; 10 - Felt dog
Carysfort Road House
Irish ODOS Architects have always been on my list of architects to watch. Almost all of their projects turn into architectural gems, and this house is just another fine example of a contemporary live/work space.
Rhiannon Adam
These dreamy vintage-feel shots are taken by photographer Rhiannon Adam. It's almost as if I can touch my childhood... loving it!
Pig 05049
Currently I’m working on the PR and marketing for a marketing communications game that will be launched during the upcoming TEDx Amsterdam. Of course, it’s exciting enough that Amsterdam is organizing an independently TEDx event, but since the game will be launched at the TEDx it’s double the fun.
Anyway, while checking out the program for the TEDx I found that one of my favorite young Dutch designers, Christien Meindertsma will attend and talk about her famous PIG 05049 project. PIG 05049 is an extensive collection of photographic images that documents an astounding array of products that come from different parts of an anonymous pig called 05049. In this book, Christien reveals lines that link raw materials with producers, products and consumers that have become so invisible in an increasingly globalized world.
Christien was recently awarded the prestigious Danish Index Award 2009 in Communications Design (!) for this project. PIG 05049 has also won the Dutch Design Award for best Graphic Design, the Rado Young Design Award and the Golden Eye. At this point in time Christien is in the running for the Rotterdam Design Prize 2009 for various works; her most recent work being the Urchin Pouf, as seen during i.e. the last Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.
So… if you have a chance to check out the live-stream this coming Friday, make sure to listen to Christien’s talk! She's too promising to miss out on!
Sweet dreams
A couple months ago I watched this wonderful sweet video, and although I immediately thought it was beautiful, I totally forgot about it until I ran into it again today.
This video is made by Kirsten Lepore who studied experimental animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). This is Kirsten's senior thesis, and took a year to get it to what it is right now. After seeing it, you'll have to agree that every minute spent was worth the effort. Cupcakes never had more personality.
Orange Pop Photography
The other day when I shared some of my photos here, some of you let me know you really enjoyed them (thank you!). So I thought I'd share another photo with you, one I took recently.
The atmosphere of the photo is just so dreamy, it makes me want to climb up there and enjoy the beauty of this autumn forest. It seems that the golden leaves are trying to embrace the tree house, trying to caress and protect it at the same time. It's already one of my favorites, I hope you'll like it too…
Ana Botezatu
Spheres of fury
Tim Brown and Christopher Hewitt teamed up and created this brillant video for Hecq Vs Exillion.
The video was shot with a Canon 7D - Canon should be so honored with this visual, a true compliment to what the new cam can do!
Suitcase closet
Sorry all! The last couple days the phone and internet were not working properly which made it pretty much impossible to post some cool news. But all seems to be fixed... yay! I'm back! :-)
Last year at the Elle Inside Design event in Amsterdam Dutch designer Lotty Lindeman surprised with her sneak preview of her 'Tassenkast'. During Design Miami next month, Lotty's latest handmade limited edition collection of suitcases will be internationally launched exclusively by Priveekollektie.
Interiors nowadays are presented like stills, but in fact there is a lot of mobility of objects, moving around by human needs. Tassenkast blends traveling storage with furniture. A collection of suitcases get a status as a cupboard in the interior.
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