Browsing through some favourite links I fell upon this one. Although not a great collector of vinyl, Blue Note Record covers have always been a draw for me in record shops. A mix of vibrant and muted much like the music itself, these covers can keep you occupied for hours.
hijackyourlife is a website that is rich to the core. Full of illustration, typography, colour and shape inspiration. For those that may becoming restricted by lines or the restrictions of straight lines, take a look…
Michael Young — the Hong-Kong-based British designer of practically everything — has just designed a startling black bottle for Japanese Nikka Whisky. The man who in addition to interiors and installations has designed furniture for Cappellini, lighting for Artemide, barware for Schweppes, Jewellery for Georg Jensen, polo shirts for LaCoste and bikes for Giant, seems to be able to find new ways to express old ideas.
Nikka Whisky Co., Ltd has made whisky since 1934 when Masataka Taketsuru returned from Scotland where he had became the first Japanese person to learn whisky making. Japan is now the world’s second-largest producer of single-malt whisky. One of the most popular in Japan is the 37% Black Nikka whisky, available at corner stores throughout Japan in tiny, medium and enormous (as in 4 liters) bottles. Nikka is part of one of the world’s largest beverage conglomerates, the Asahi Brewery Group.
From: Coolhunting
Chocolate shops have been popping up all over the world and this Chocolate Café in Vancouver offers a little more experience than even great chocolate itself. A full espresso and fondue bar along with a line of over 30 different handmade chocolate bars graces the space filling the Café with fabulous aromas and textures.
Each beautifully-packaged bar is made in Vancouver and uses local, organic ingredients whenever possible. Because there are no added preservatives to extend shelf-life, you’ll have to eat them soon after purchase. But with quirky names and irresistible flavors like “Open in Case of Emergency” (fresh mint and Kentucky bourbon) and “Ginger or Maryanne” (candied ginger), no amount of willpower will allow them to sit around for long anyway!
Marc Liebermann (owner)
Mink Chocolate Café
863 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, British Columbia BC V6C map
tel. +1 604 633 6451
Ok so you know I love the open road, and whilst these tyres are for the 4 wheeled variety, its a pretty great idea. These tyres from are an all season, retractable stud tire, that performs well on wet and dry days. When needed, the Celsius uses existing tire pressure to inflate a secondary chamber, pushing studs through the surface for snow and ice, all at the push of a button. If conditions improve, air from the second chamber can be expelled and the studs will be pulled back inside. Ok so in the UK we may never need this extreme change in our cars footwear but the thought that it could make a few bad drivers better.
Extending the classic style of the brand Veuve Clicquot this premium limited edition showcase, combines beauty with function. Designed by Porche Design and at $70,000 a pop, it may be a little out of us lowly designers range. At least the champagne gives us a taste of this classic style.
Measuring over six feet tall Vertical Limit holds 12 magnums of Clicquot’s most prized vintages and only 15 were made worldwide. Each Vertical Limit is fully handmade and each of the 12 vintages are housed in its own compartment with the temperature set at a constant 12 degrees celsius—ideal for tasting and the same climate as the Veuve Clicquot cellars in Reims, France.
“We wanted to create a product to match the ultra high-end superiority of the Veuve Clicquot brand, so we tried to emphasize the importance of each bottle. We thought that each bottle should have its own stage essentially. This is why we gave each bottle its own door coupled with the classic Veuve Clicquot yellow as a light. We did this so each bottle received the attention it deserves, rather than opening one door to a collection of bottles. In making a superior looking product we also decided to make the Vertical Limit a tall object”.
Roland Heiler
Over the last few weeks I have been involved in bringing to life our new brand. In the process I have found myself looking beyond the creative execution to what the science is behind it as the representation of art and science. For a lot of what I have found intuition plays the greater role, the emotion of the artist, designer or modern day craftsperson being the driver. But a few have sparked my interest to look further and have found perhaps not the modern day Da Vinci’s, but fascianting all the same.
Bruce Shapiro
Northern California-based artist Bruce Shapiro makes the kind of kinetic sculpture that mesmerizes and dazzles visitors at science museums using computers and simple motors, a practice he terms “The Art of Motion Control.” In episode 94 we visit Bruce at the Maker Fair and at his home to learn more about works like “Pipedream,” effectively a screen that uses bubbles in place of pixels, “Sisyphus, “an intricate zen sand drawing and a kinetic ribbon sculpture modeled on ribbon dancers.
from coolhunting.com
Tom Gallant
Living and working in Brussels, Belgium, Tom Gallant creates hand-cut floral prints out of archived pornographic magazines. Using a surgical blade, he cuts into the imagery, layering extremely delicate cut-outs on top of one another to assemble a dramatic visual experience that almost blurs your vision. If you look closely you can see hints of hair, lips, neck and genitalia, but it’s the paper’s flesh tones and curvature that stand out.
Soft spoken and a self-proclaimed compulsive collector, he describes his work as a visual language “dealing with a private matter in a very public way.
from coolhunting.com
