Cool Hunting
| 28 June 2006view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Quikmaps
by Josh Rubin
Quikmaps is another installation in the ever-growing collection of Google Maps mash-ups. Handy for scribbling a quick overlay of information, Quikmaps lets you save, email and post your creation. In addition to being highly useful it's open ended so creative-types with a map fetish can draw till their heart's content. If you're so inclined, make some map art and send it to us at mapart [at] coolhunting [dot] com and we'll post our favorites tomorrow.
Victorinox x Yuhzimi: Urban Survivor
by Josh Rubin
Swiss-based "interdisciplinary task force" Yuhzimi paired up with the 100-year old Victorinox to create a limited edition line of these artist-designed "Urban Survivor" pocket knives. Maharishi dressed theirs up with their trademark camo, WK Interact's features an abstract figure and a signature on the blade, and Fafi adorns the classic red with one of her heart-cheeked girls. Each features a different set of tools and all come with a custom-designed chain and package. Retailing for $89, only 200 of each will be made and they will debut at Fafi's opening this coming Monday at Colette in Paris, following sometime next month at 8Five2 in Hong Kong, Maharishi in London, Trust Nobody in Barcelona, 90sqm in Amsterdam, Evil Monito Co-op in Los Angeles, Greyone in Pasadena, Nomad in Toronto, and more to come. See some detail and Cool Hunting exclusive behind-the-scenes shots after the jump.
Nike Futsal Ball
by Josh Rubin
Nike just keeps scoring with limited edition World Cup themed product. This Futsal ball is decorated with 32 icons that symbolize the behavior and skills of the game. Distributed exclusively by Moss, 64 of these 9" balls are available for $225 in-store or online, but only until the final match on 9 July.
China Contemporary: Architecture, Art, and Visual Culture
by Ami Kealoha
A trio of museums in Rotterdam are currently exploring this theme of contemporary creative culture in China with three interrelated exhibitions on Architecture, Art and Photography. Nederlands Architecture Institute (NAI), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Nederlands Fotomuseum. The explosion of industry and commerce in China over the last few years has gripped the West’s attention. Some are gripped by fear, some by fascination, but whichever way you look at it China is very big, and growing fast; the industrial revolution going on over there cannot be ignored. But what about the creative revolution? Change and creation go hand in hand, so one would expect that with the pace of change in China right now there must be a great deal of creativity energy brewing. These shows are examining, through carefully selected works, how young creative talents are expressing themselves in their various mediums; how they are influenced by and how they may be influencing the "new" China. Only having time to see the NAI show I was impressed with the selection of work being shown. Avoiding the enormous homogenous development going on across China, this show focuses on small studios doing creative one-off building projects. With a great respect for traditional forms and natural materials, but using innovative techniques and a minimalist style, these young guns are creating a new and distinctive Chinese architecture for the 21st century. I also enjoyed the monumental exhibition design, which with its towering columns of images evokes a dense urban landscape and gives some sense of both the conceptually and literally enormous scale of the subject.
The Paper Scissors
by Lost At E Minor
Young Sydney group The Paper Scissors create a hybrid of sounds. It's a little funk, a little soul, roots and pop. James Brown in tight jeans? Yet despite their hyperactive approach, they've quickly developed a cult following amongst the Converse-wearing set across Australia. They've just released their debut self-titled EP and bigger things await. Check out their MySpace site for musical inspiration.
