From A to B and Back Again

by Ami Kealoha

After countless magazine articles, acclaimed annual events, and a spate of new boutiques, Brooklyn is fast cementing its status as a design capital. "From A to B and Back Again" is the latest celebration of all that the borough has to offer, featuring limited editions and prototypes by well-known designers including KleinReid, Jason Miller, redstr/collective, Scrapile, and The Design Can. Among the many highlights is KAWS' latest, one of ten highly collectible toys that he did for Original Fake (pictured, click for detail). The show opens tomorrow 7 September 2006 at Heidi Cho Gallery in New York and runs through 14 October 2006.

From A to B and Back Again
7 September 2006, 6-9pm
522 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011 map
tel. 01 212 255 6783

Susan Cianciolo: Woman of the Crowd

by Wendy Dembo

A collaboration with Cone Denim (the oldest denim company in the U.S.) artist/designer Susan Cianciolo’s show “Woman of the Crowd” opens tonight, Wednesday, 6 September 2006 at New York's Sears-Peyton Gallery. Past collections have involved Susan's handmade books, music, photography, movies, and clothing. Her unconventional approach to fashion is a mix of delicate detail, hand sewing, embroidery and projects with various photographers, musicians and film makers. For this show Mark Borthwick, writer, FIT research curator Patricia Mears, and art directors Takaya Goto and Lesley Chi of Goto Design are some of the people working with Susan. Additionally, she will be showing a line of clothing made out of denim. The runway show happens tonight and the clothing will be on view for two weeks (until 20 September 2006) before it opens 20 October 2006 at LACE in Los Angeles and runs through 3 November 2006 .

Woman of the Crowd
6 September 2006, 7-9:30pm
Sears-Peyton Gallery
210 11th Ave, Suite 802
New York, NY 10001 map
tel. 01 212 966 7469

20 October 2006 7-9:30pm
LACE at Woodbury University
6518 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028 map
tel. 01 323 957 1777

Neo2

by Leonora Oppenheim

A project of the Madrid graphic design firm Ipsum Planet, Neo2 is a monthly Spanish design magazine that features international young designers and artists from all creative fields. The magazine’s fashion photography is particularly dramatic and well-done, like two very theatrical shoots in the September issue that play with monochrome tones and androgynous figures. JM Ferrater takes on a Japanese series, which depicts nude bodies painted white from head to toe, and Rafa Gallar shoots the cover (pictured) and a series like it called "Beautiful Pain." We also like the new fonts they feature each month that can be downloaded from their website using a code found exclusively in the magazine. This month is the Joe Scerri. This graphic designer based in Basel, Switzerland was inspired by the ribbon of the audio cassette to create a fluid, yet broken script.

Hess is More: Nugroove vol. 3

by m ss ng p eces

Mikkel Hess (aka Hess is More), makes music for films, theater and multimedia (including a recent collaboration with the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen), has a current radio and MTV hit in Europe, and plays tennis. With his virtuosic ability to play multiple instruments and love of jazz and experimental electronica, Hess creates a sound palette that is all at once original, hypnotic and timeless. Cool Hunting Video caught up with him on the court and in the studio to discuss his creative process when he was in New York City this summer. You can also catch his work on the upcoming compilation Luftkastellet 4 or, if you're in Brooklyn, see his U.S. debut on 25 October 2006 at Monkeytown.

Nokia Flagship Store, NYC

by Josh Rubin

Yesterday I had a sneak peek at Nokia's flagship store that will open here in NYC on Saturday (9 September 2006). The store, located just east of 5th Avenue on 57th Street, is the second Nokia store to open here in the US. Aiming to change the experience of learning about and purchasing wireless devices, Nokia's stores are highly experiential and are staffed by trained and articulate employees who are not tasked with selling devices so much as selling Nokia. Product support and servicing will also be facilitated in the store.

Phones sold in the store include a range beyond what's sold by the US carriers, in addition to the ones already supported. While the focus is not on selling wireless plans, T-Mobile and Sprint accounts are available. The main floor (above, left), where customers will enter, has the full line of products and accessories on display including the 8801 front and center. The second floor features Nseries handsets and examples of the various devices they connect to for music amplification, picture printing, and digital media sharing. The top level (above, right) is dedicated to Vertu—the super luxury line of handsets and on opening day it will be the first place to see their new series of phones called Constellation (right).

Designed by Eight Inc, the first two floors are walled with luminous, color changing panels that wrap around flat panel displays and product pedestals. The displays feature a rotation of animations by various boutique graphic power houses including Hi-Res, Tomato, Universal Everything, The Hanazuki Company, Graphic Havoc and Phunk Studio. One nice touch is that when you pick up a product a layer overlays the animation to show all the details on that item. Check out the video below (created with my E70) to see how it works.

Nokia Flagship Store
5 E 57th Street, between 5th and Madison
Monday-Saturday, 10am-8pm
Sunday, 11am-6pm