Fructodent Toothpaste

by Evan Orensten

More exotic flavored toothpaste hits the shelves with Fructodent's recent arrival at CVS, Walgreens and Albertson's. This Italian import comes in ten flavors (including Green Apple, Orange and Lemon, Mint and Chocolate, Mint and Strawberry, Eucalyptus, Aniseed and Licorice, Lemon and Sage, and Vanilla) and has a funky, flexible plastic bottle that feeds the toothpaste out of the bottom. The various flavors include Vitamin C and fluoride, some with whitening additives. MSRP is around $3.50. Not much available online, but if you can't find a store near you try eBay.

Flat White

by SummerSeventySix

Apologies to any Aussies or Kiwis reading, but until now, I've been in the dark about how good your coffee can be. Specifically, the antipodean take on a latte called a flat white, which I had this morning at the cafe of the same name that's recently opened in London's Soho.

Coffee Geeks have already been praising the place, saying it could serve the best coffee in the city. Personally, I'd give that award to the Monmouth Coffee Company, but the fact that Flat White buys its beans from them means it's a very close second. At £2 for the signature drink, it is on the expensive side of things. I'm not going to argue over a few pennies though when you get a well-made hot cup, with just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness that stays frothy to the bottom. Nice silver fern on top too.

The café itself is a little less busy and therefore a little more relaxed than the handful of Monmouth outlets. With music from the likes of New Zealand seven-piece Fat Freddy's Drop on rotation and ANZAC biscuits to snack on as well, Flat White's laid back vibe feels authentically Kiwi. That's no mean feat on a grey London tuesday with Berwick Street market right outside the door.

Flat White
17 Berwick Street
Soho
London W1F OPT
England
+44 020 7734 4384

Camo File Folders

by Ami Kealoha

While the creamy manila variety have a certain generic appeal, keeping documents organized with these folders by cheeky Boston-based stationers Bob's Your Uncle, adds pop humor to the workplace. Available in orange, blue, and pink colorways, two of each color comes in a set.

$12 for a set of six from Fred Flare.

Metropolis Magazine's 25th Anniversary

by Josh Rubin

Hitting newsstands today is the 25th anniversary issue of Metropolis Magazine. With the original mission of bringing architecture and design to a savvy New York audience, this independent has only changed course to expand its breadth and become a national publication. Their ability to stay on point for so long is founded in their publisher's dedication, "he's our first reader and biggest fan" says Editor in Chief Susan Szenasy of Horace Havemeyer III.

To celebrate the anniversary issue the team looked back at the last 25 years for the catalysts that are responsible for today's directions in architecture and design. Feature stories range from Michael Grave's early 1980's controversial Portland building to the 1990's OXO emergence. There are also amazing spreads by different graphic designers each assigned a five year range to visualize.

One favorite section of mine is a stunning series of photographs titled Looking at the City which was curated by Creative Director Criswell Lappin. The 17 page spread includes personal works from various Metropolis photographers and will be expanded in a larger show here in New York at the Art Director's Club from 10 - 28 April 2006.

Artists Play Too

by Ami Kealoha

In a dream, Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference and announced: “Foremost, New York is about artistic collaboration. My number one goal is to nurture the city as a cultural incubator so we can breed a new generation of Lady Pinks and Andy Warhols.” Then he declares August 27th as Old School Respect Day and instructs all citizens to dress accordingly.

Since this will never happen, we should be thankful NYCollective initiates hothouse projects giving young artists exposure. Their latest, “Artists Play Too”, joins up with FILA and 12 New York designers to produce limited edition T-shirts considering the fusion of art and athletics. Each of the artists were chosen for their unique graphic style and role sport plays in their lives.

Contributing artists are: Adhemas Batista, Darren Greenblatt, Pete Hahn, Nam Kim, Dust La Rock, Kasper Ledet, Jim Lasser, Larry Mayorga, MomiMomi, Youth of Tomorrow, and Linda Zacks. And the T-shirts will be sold in FILA stores worldwide.

A few work with the iconography of specific sports, like momimomi’s bike flying off a velodrome track. Most consider how both human endeavors define the body kinetic. Ledet’s design reads like human muscle involved in confrontational yoga. All display a slight addiction to retro.

FILA’s place in hip-hop history was one of the central reasons Wayne Kasserman, Executive Director of NYCollective, chose the brand for this mash-up. For Kasserman, the project harkens back to the height of FILA’s popularity when the makers of high art, street art and promoters pop ephemera made things happen in the city’s nightclubs. Youth of Tommorow’s shirt is a direct homage to the time with it’s graphic straight out of the video for “Double Dutch Bus.” (Pictured above right.)

by Kristopher Irizarry

Also on Cool Hunting: MomiMomi