Marimekko Mouse

by Letizia Rossi

Marimekko Mice are currently only available through the Japanese site kokuyo—we're crossing our fingers they make it stateside soon.

via red house design

Cut and Paste 2006 Nationwide Call For Entries

by Ami Kealoha

After two successful NYC events, Cut and Paste—the competition that pits designers against each other in a live showdown—is going national. With deadlines starting 29 September 2006 for New York entrants, dates follow for Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles through 20 October 2006. Face-offs will then take place over the next two months judged by local experts, including illustrator Deanne Cheuk, Flavorpill co-founder Sascha Lewis, designer Jeff Staple, graffiti artist Buffmonster, and Giant Robot publisher Eric Nakamura. For more info and to submit, check out cutandpaste.cc.

Luxe European City Guides

by Letizia Rossi

Luxe has introduced guides for European cities. With the same first-person, opinionated approach and unique perspective that we loved in their Paris, Madrid, and Istanbul are perfect companions for sophisticated travelers. Packed with information on over 300 bars, restaurants, clubs, spas and cultural activities, each entry bears the publishing editor's personal stamp of approval. Knowing you probably have little interest in visiting the same ubiquitous chain stores available at home, Luxe guides focus on artisans and shops producing one-of-a kind innovative designs. Forgoing graphics, photos, and other filler, the streamlined concertina-format books are the perfect size to fit into a shirt pocket and are updated as often as twice a year, so they are always current. $9 each from Luxe.

Seven Samurai: The Criterion Collection

by Ami Kealoha

Known for impeccable production values and extensive supplements, the Criterion Collection’s new reissue of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai is a case-in-point example of what makes an essential addition to any DVD collection. With its epic narrative and spectacular swordplay, the film is both a staple of any film school education and a favorite of the Tarantino-generation alike.

Possibly their most in-depth release in the collection so far, this three-disc set contains not only a beautifully restored version of the 207-minute film, but enough scholarly commentaries, additional documentaries, and lengthy essays to leave you prepared to teach a course on the film. Best of all, the exquisitely designed packging by Neil Kellerhouse makes this a smart-looking addition to any living room. Pick it up from Amazon.

by Michael Talbott

Brazilian Girls: Talk To La Bomb

by Ami Kealoha

A carnival of futuristic retro-sounds, the Brazilian Girls' second full-length album, Talk To La Bomb, is like a trip to a smoke-filled red velvet circus tent in a fish-eye dream. The New York-based quartet's signature mix of sexy pop-house and stage theatrics (mainly on photogenic lead vocalist Sabina Sciubba's part) has made them international couture and music scene darlings and La Bomb is a natural and dynamic follow-up to their self-titled debut and a dramatic expansion of its range. This time the frenzy is more feverish and the opium-cloud quiet is more nuanced and dreamy, but with an emphasis on the harder stuff overall.

Kicking things off, “Jique” opens with a tease of featherweight electric organ but quickly explodes into a dance-rock epic reminiscent of an amped-up Blondie with strings, setting the tone for the album. “All About Us” follows with a harmonious marriage of soulful house, afrobeat, and melancholia that only the Girls could pull off. And that’s just the beginning. Due in stores 12 September 2006, you can pre-order from Verve or Amazon.

by DJ Scribe

Also on Cool Hunting: Verve Remixed 3—They Do it Again, Brazilian Girls Do it Better

Nancy Burson: The Hand of God

by Wendy Dembo

Beautiful, quirky, powerful and fun, Nancy Burson’s work is about shifting vision and challenging the way that people look at art. Her human race machine allows people to morph into people of other ethnicities and one powerful series of her photos takes people with cranial facial disorders as its subject. More recently, working with healers, Nancy has been photographing energy from other dimensions—whether it be light orbs in crop circles in England, healer’s auras or what she calls ECs ("extra celestials”), which reside in her Soho loft.

“The Hand of God,” her solo show opening tonight, 7 September 2006 at Clampart in NYC, highlights her most recent work that focuses on the energy of love. The show includes a series of Marys to accompany the 2002 "Guys Who Look Like Jesus"—both projects are the result of an ad she placed in the Village Voice asking to photograph people who look like Jesus or Mary. The show also features her combination “one” image that composites Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha. And a powerful series of photos of the sacred healing substance called “Vibhuti,” which is produced by her teacher Derek O’Neill, will be exhibited as well. She will be selling a DVD called the “Hand of God,” which is a video emitting the energy of love as well as a book, Lineage, which is about the sentient beings that have been appearing in her loft. Burson will be giving two presentations to audiences in September at the request of the ECs, who have asked her to show them to others.

The Hand of God
7 September 2006, 6-8pm
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th Street
New York City 10001 map
tel. 01 646 230 0020