Cool Hunting
| 19 January 2007view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Materials & Applications
by m ss ng p eces
Since 2002, nestled among boutiques and cafes in the popular Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake, Materials & Applications has been installing large-scale architectural exhibits in what amounts to a front yard. For episode 62, CH looks at some of the stunning works that have been shown there, from the attention-grabbing golden vortex of Maximillian's Schell to last year's interactive fountain piece. We also check out the current exhibition "Bubbles," a collaboration between designers from FoxLin Inc., NONdesigns, and Brand Name Label, which features white teardrop-shaped inflatables that react to visitors bumping into them. We talk to architect Michael Fox (of FoxLin Inc.) about the concept and inspiration. Sitting down with Materials & Applications founder Jenna Didier and technical director Oliver Hess, we get the story behind their innovative space for experimental architecture.
Also, in this edition of Cool Hunting Video, like the previous two, we're very pleased to include a soundtrack by Julio Monterrey of the Brooklyn-based duo Something In Spanish.
Burton x iPod x Shiny Toy Guns Contest
by Tim Yu
It's Cool Hunting's turn to team up with Shiny Toy Guns, Burton and Apple to help keep you warm and connected this winter. In celebration of our first snow yesterday, we are putting up a sweepstakes to win some loot. The grand prize includes the fully outfitted Burton Audex jacket (which includes Bluetooth technology for mobile phones and iPod controls hardwired into the jacket), a 30GB video iPod to use with the jacket and a signed copy of Shiny Toy Guns new album, We Are Pilots to play on your new iPod. Two runners-up will receive signed copies of the Shiny Toy Guns album.
You have until 12 February 2007 to sign up here to enter and win.
Fireplace Accessories
by Tim Yu
Last week we brought you the best alternatives for enjoying the ambient glow and warmth of a fire. Tending fires is an art unto itself and these accessories will help make the task easier and more enjoyable with their smart design and good looks.
We all love playing with fire. The classic Franklin Poker (pictured above right) is stylish and has dual functionality. Used as a conventional poker to prod at the fire, it doubles as a blower to stoke the waning coals and increase heat. Made of a solid brass shaft and tip, the trumplet-shaped mouthpiece provides an easy grip and a good seal for getting air to the fire. It also has a built in safety valve which prevents inhalation of smoke and burning embers. The tip is modeled after a shark fin, adding a pull aspect to the poke and helping to hook and easily maneuver logs. Long enough at 42" to poke at the fire without burning your hand or stoke the fire without singing your eyelashes, it is available at Franklin Poker for $99.
A play on the more common version that mimics a matchstick down to the wood grain, this chromed metal lighter (pictured above right) is a fun minimalist simulacrum. At seven inches long, it makes lighting a fire easier and can be refilled with butane. The tool is £3 from Dwell.
You may have seen kitschy virtual flames before, but this DVD Fireplace Video (pictured above left) is by far the hottest available. With three different 20 minute tracks that include a roaring log fireplace, ambient embers, and a widescreen fireplace, you can convert any room into a cozy retreat even if you never earned a fire safety merit badge. Pick it up for $20 from PowerFloe.
Made from stainless steel, we're not sure how well Conmoto's two-piece Fire Stand (pictured above left) would resist blackening, but on the plus side it'd likely wipe clean easily enough. The understated appeal of its design is almost good enough to function as an object on its own (for those too lazy to actually build fires. On the other hand, its flexibilty (it can be adjusted to suit various log and fireplace lengths) and the functional way it raises logs from off the floor so they burn better, represent some of the basics of smart design. It's $550 from Fitzu.
via Better Living Through Design
Woodstock (pictured above right) combines solutions for both storing and transporting wood into two symbiotic parts. A dolly slips under a rectangular frame for easy maneuvering from the woodpile to the fireplace, eliminating the bothersome need to re-stack logs. The presentation adds a modern and homey—albeit bold at four feet tall—statement to a living room. Woodstock's available in black (pictured) or galvanized steel from Unica Home for $1163 plus freight charges.
Logging for firewood, for a variety of reasons, is a bad idea. On the other hand, Java-Log, a fire log made of coffee waste, is a great idea. (Pictured above right.) It was declared one of the "Coolest Inventions of the Year" by Time Magazine in 2003. In fact, Java-Log diverts 42 million kg/year of coffee waste from landfills. The log utilizes renewable, natural vegetable wax and coffee waste to make fire logs that produce significantly fewer emisions and less carbon monoxide while burning 2-3 times longer than firewood. The packaging is also made of 100% recycled materials furthering their effort to save trees. A case of 6 logs is available for $50.
Developed by the Swedish Defense Department, The Light My Fire Firesteel (pictured above left) is small but very well designed and quite possibly the best "match" on the market. An alternative way to start your fire, no butane or sulfur is involved. Working even in the wet or cold, a slow and easy strike across the magnesium alley rod produces a huge spark up to 3,000°C that will light most flammable materials. It lasts for approximately 12,000 strikes and is available for $10 at Amazon.
Master/Slave
by Lost At E Minor
The next time you're walking down Liverpool Street, just off Oxford St in Sydney, you may notice an eye-catching window display that draws you into an unknown world. Meet new kids on the block Roderick Ng and Elenie Kondos, owners and founders of clothing brand Master/Slave. The name Master/Slave was chosen as it signified a symbiosis of sorts, meaning one cannot exist without the other. Which is how these two feel about each other and the Master/slave brand. As Roderick says of the typical Master/Slave customer, "he declares that he is a slave to fashion, but the master at play." Walking through the doors you will find a Pandora's box full of quirky and unconventional designs. A well thought out space of wall-to-wall creativity, they specialize in made to measure and ready to wear clothing including their luxury denim and funky t-shirts. Of particular interest are the elaborate couture dresses. The quality workmanship is apparent in each piece.
Carla Bruni: No Promises
by Ted Cahill
The second album of French/Italian model-cum-chanteuse, Carla Bruni just hit stores in France. Two years in the making, No Promises is a unique and personal interpretation of some of the greatest poets of the American and British traditions, including texts by Emily Dickenson and W. B. Yeats. No Promises won't be released in the U.S. until the end of January but is availble for purchase in France from Fnac or can pre-ordered from Amazon
Readymech Series 002
by SummerSeventySix
Collecting toys, like those made by Japanese company Medicom, can be pricey, so during a lean January you can instead have fun for free with the Readymech series. Put together by the industrious Portland-based design studio Fwis, who are also responsible for Squarewolf tees, the second series of paper Mechs have just gone up on the website. A printer, decent paper, double-sided tape and about 15 minutes are all you need.
