Friday 28 August 2009

Pencil me in



These smart writing tools are designed by Richard Wentworth. The wooden box has been whittled to hold its six pencils aimed at the style-conscious carpenter. It has a card top embossed with 12 thoughts and each pencil is emblazoned with 6 woodwork industry thoughts black - Height (blue) - Weight (blue) ,Length (green), Breadth (white), Depth (yellow), Width (orange). Available at the Tate shop

Prints please


Iconic finnish designer Vuokko Nurmesniemi's rare vintage print from the late 50's for Finnish textile company Marimekko. Finnish children grew up with this in their bedrooms. It reminds me of the Vitra ones by Alex Girrard (see picture below) who took influence from Charles and Ray Eames who Vuokko also used to hang out with in the 60's and 70's, although she designed this pre-Vitra.

Put on your dancing shoes


Love the shop display styling in French ballerina vetements and shoe specialist Repetto. A far superior version to London's unanimous fashion flats by heavily marked-up Pretty Ballerina

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Cook off


Independent Belgian culinary publisher Minestrone have published a series of cookazines. Content includes recipes and food related articles based on the theme of the issue. "Fast" for instance will include articles on fast food and recipes that make for a speedy slap-up. Photographs by Belgian food photographer Tony le Duc.

Monday 24 August 2009

Metal mitten


A sinister hand-accesory to murder? No, it's an Oyster glove from German firm Pott that has a century old heritage. Founded by Carl Hugo Pott in 1904 and began as a workshop for damascening knives.

Sunday 23 August 2009

Finnish-ed


Finnish Antti Nurmesniemi is Alvar Aalto's equal and husband of iconic textile designer Vuokko Nurmesniemi. Nothing beats his enamel coffee pots and wooden sauna stools on display in the Artek showroom, for sauna-loving Finns. Beautiful lines, Finnish design is always practical, unshowy and minimal.

Sunday 16 August 2009

Feeling sketchy?

Love these excerpts from Cassius M. Coolidge's sketch book (1844-1934). Read more about it in the lovely New-York based arts magazine Cabinet



Love these excerpts from Cassius M. Coolidge's sketch book (1844-1934). Read more about it in the lovely arts magazine Cabinet

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Check Mate!


During this September’s London Design Festival, the public are invited to come and play chess on a Jaime Hayon gigantic chess board in Trafalgar Square until Monday 31 August. The public must apply to play and download the application to play through the London Design Festival website.Match winners will be awarded a pair of Camper shoes designed by Jaime Hayón. The floor will be made by Bisazza for whom Hayon has often teamed up with and BD Barcelona will provide chairs for the contestants to sit on.

Blow


A simple air conditioning unit for the not-so-clever, un-business savvy, un-Klum, un-Giselle un-C.Crawford average fashion model. Love the retro feel.

Saturday 8 August 2009

Ceci n'est pas un mixte tape


According to curator Bobby of Kitsune Noir, Ceci n'est pas un mixte tape, c'est un Kitsune mixtape - and there's a difference you know. (sic Patricia Arquette says to Christian Slater in True Romance on the roof). If you still hark back to the golden age of making or receiving mix-tapes for boys/girls you were in puppy love with and friend and fellow music lovers you'll appreciate Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker's take on the digital age that has killed the mix tape. Read his "mix-tape column here

Fast food that's fucking slow to make if you do it this way

An excerpt from Fancy Fast Food, a blog pioneering junk food that looks Michelin posh. Strapline below says it all. No bun intended.

A picture of top entrée Wendy's Napoleon (Fancy Baconator Combo) by Adrian Fiorino of Insanewiches with recipe below, read it and retch.


Wendy’s Napoleon
Ingredients:

* 1 Wendy’s Baconator
* 1 large fries
* 1 small Coke
* 1 botte of water
* 2 little cups (or packets) of ketchup
* 12 sugar packets

Disassemble the burger. The cheese may not separate from the meat, but that’s okay. Place the bun in a food processor with 2 tbsp of water and pulse until it resembles couscous. Set aside. Do the same with the fries until it becomes a paste.

Chop the burgers (cheese and all) into pieces with a knife. Place in a food processor and pulse until they look like pate.

To create the Napoleon, cut the french fry container so the top is level. Pack alternating layers of the minced meat, the mashed potato paste, and the bun-turned-“couscous” into the container until it is full. Invert over a plate and wiggle until it is loose.

For the spun sugar garnish, empty twelve packets of sugar into a heavy-bottom saucepan with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. While stirring, cook mixture until it is a deep brown color (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to sit 1 min. Over foil, gently flick the sugar back and forth to create a strand-like design.

To make the sauce, put 1/2 cup of Coke and the ketchup into a pan over medium heat. Reduce for five minutes.

Next, crisp up the bacon in a pan for two minutes over medium heat before chopping it into little pieces.

To assemble, gently separate sugar garnish from foil and stick it in the top of the Napoleon. Pour sauce around the Napoleon and then form 4 little piles of bacon around the edges of the plate.

Pour some of the remaining Coke in a wine glass, and there it is: a Fancy Baconator Combo that you might think is waaaay better than the original!

Friday 7 August 2009

I'm singing in the rain


I have literally been waiting my whole life to find an umbrella that can withstand incessantly bad English weather and the Japanese typhoon season. The "Senz" umbrella was designed by Gerwin Hoogendoorn, Gerard Kool and Philip Hess from the Netherlands. It involved a lot of technical research and hence can withstand windspeeds up to 70mph. It has also won Time Magazines Best Invention award. Sold by Merchant No.4 who are a very selective online design shop that has SUCH nice stuff.

Some like it hot!


Love this ad from June 11th 1972. From The National Australian newspaper archive.Via Butter Paper

The Ring

Koji Suzuki, author of cult horror Japanese "horror" film "The Ring"'s new book will be launched in this packaging. It was released in June. It is being marketed as Koji Suzuki’s bathroom-reading horror novel Drop.” I think it's great packaging but weird, the ring, toilet paper, bum, eurgh.

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Dolly the Sheep gets a better look

Love Ben Schlitter's Matryoshka icons.

"Rainy day" Matryoshka has managed to find an umbrella that fits her head perfectly, even James Smith, on New Oxford Street in London and the best umbrella shop in the world don't customise to that extent. Thanks Swiss Miss

Bunny bunny bunny


A book that is a homage to antique playing cards by Buzz Poole and published by Mark Batty, this is an excerpt of "Bunny" cards.

Kaidan

An element of Japanese horror films and ghost stories, k(w)aidan in Japanese has influenced this slide show of my favourite illustrator friend Polish, Tokyo-residing Przemek Sobocki for NY-based Hint magazine. You have to view the full slide-show with sound effects for a true impact if you click through on this link Hint mag Kaidan slide show. It also reminds me of the ukiyoe colour palette and uber famous Tabaimo's work





Legalise the Lot


Couldn't find a better quality image until I scan this but Aug 1/2's cover for the FT Weekend magazine about Matthew Engel's report on the war on drug's is bold art direction from a publication that usually sports more conservative graphic images at first glance. The "l" in legalise is a joint, the "e" in the is an ecstasy tablet and the "l" in lot is a line. Read the article on the FT Weekend website.

Monday 3 August 2009

Liquid Image Digital Camera Mask


The Liquid Image Digital Camera Mask looks like part of a snorkelling set but it doubles as an underwater camera and video camera. It can be used anywhere down to five metres below sea level at a resolution of 5 MP. Perfect fun for the sun and surf. From Cute Gadgets

Sunday 2 August 2009

Hurricane Alicia

A great-looking vintage t-shirt with some serious pre-Katrina history to it.

History of the t-shirt
Hurricane Alicia was the first tropical storm and the only major hurricane of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season. It struck Galveston and Houston, Texas directly, causing $2.6 billion USD ($5.27 billion 2006 USD) in damage and killing 21 people; this made it Texas' first billion-dollar storm. Hurricane Alicia became the last major hurricane to strike Texas until the stronger Hurricane Bret in 1999 made landfall. Alicia was the first storm for which the National Hurricane Center issued landfall probabilities.

Le(t's)go


Salt and pepper shakers based on original Lego LEGO® minifigures. The best bit is you can mix and match so the beardy one can look startled and the el moustachio can looked pensive/slimy/peeved! Get a shaking if you are over the age of 5 (as advised on box).

LEGO® minifigures kitchen scales. Suitable for chefs and gourmands who like a bit of humour when indulging in sous vide-ing and sautéeing. Alternatively suitable for the seriously dodgy wheeler-dealers who only sell large amounts eg. Kate Middleton's uncle Gary Goldsmith of "La Maison de Bang Bang." which you can read yet another glorious scoop from New's of the World's Mazher Mahmood, web-link is New's of the World Miyo Wada wants!