Cool Hunting
| 15 July 2005view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Metromint Water
by Evan Orensten
Metromint water is a great new addition to my fridge. Created by the husband and wife team of Rio Miura and Scott Lowe (who are also behind David Rio teas), Metromint is made with only two ingredients: pure water, and mint from Washington. The flavor is just right-- a notch or two above subtle, and way below intense. I've been bringing it to the gym and enjoying it in the afternoons when a mint julep isn't an option. It's really refreshing and a nice change of pace from fruit or sweetened waters and tea. You can find it at Whole Foods and other retailers for around $1.50 a bottle.
Fran's Smoked Salt Caramels
by Ami Kealoha
I'm a fan of all things that mix sweet and salty, so when I first tasted the rising confectionary trend combining chocolate, sea salt, and caramel, I was hooked. Fran's Chocolates, a company based out of Seattle, just kicked it up a notch with their introduction of a version that utilizes smoked Welsh sea salt. Sweet and complex, the savory punch perfectly compliments the buttery caramel and milk chocolate. And the handmade chocolates took home the 2005 Outstanding Confection Award at the Fancy Food Show this week to boot.
Imaginative Inmates
by Parker Hutchinson
Will Alsop has agreed to take on a new project that's likely to be as controversial as it is visionary. In Leicestershire, England, the esteemed architect will meet this autumn with long-term prisoners at Her Majesty's Prison Gartee to devise a new, more forward-thinking concept of incarceration. Alsop was enlisted by a company called Rideout: Creative Arts for Rehabilitation to conceptualize and design a "creative prison" that privileges rehabilitation over punishment, with the inmates' viewpoints in mind.
The project is meant to promote education and the arts within the prison system, elements of rehabilitation that are generally relegated to last priority. All sides hope to spark public debate about what exactly a prison should be and how the treatment of prisoners affects the greater success of society. Alsop says, "Creative cities, where you create cities where people feel engaged and involved, are actually economically and socially more successful. Why should prisons be any different? They are small towns in effect."
MedicomToy Life Entertainment
by Ami Kealoha
Having made Kubrick and Bearbrick toys into virtual household names, MedicomToy is the Japanese company credited as one of the originators in the vinyl toy phenomenon. With the launch of Fabrick, their debut line of accessories and décor designed by artists, MedicomToy is becoming a lifestyle - MedicomToy Life Entertainment, as they charmingly call it. Silas, Geneviéve Gauckler's best-selling character, Big Black Doll (pictured), a soft version of Futura2000's Unkle, traditional furniture by Karimoku, and, yet another Kubrickian homage, a full-size reproduction of the famed phallic rocking chair from A Clockwork Orange.
Look out for the items in stores (like Kidrobot and Colette) next month.
