Mimoco: Artist Series '07

by Tim Yu

Just in time for Valentines Day, Mimoco introduces their first Artists Series '07 characters. Meet One Love (designed by Hanazuki, above center), Ripple (Sket One, above right) and Gloomy Bear (Mori Chack, above left). Click on images for a detailed view.

All three are available at Mimoco.

Six Cork Objects

by Tim Yu

It's clear that cork is not just for wine anymore. After we came across the Cork Cuff and started hearing rumors of Japanese kids wearing corks strung around their neck as jewelry, we decided to explore other ways the alternative and environmentally-friendly material is showing up in industrial design.

Although its elasticity combined with its near-impermeability make it the standard for wine plugs—still taking up 60% of the cork market—there are increasingly creative and design savvy uses for the renewable, easily recyclable, hard-wearing material. Even better, the harvesting of cork does no harm to the tree. Not only is it a renewable resource that needs to be harvested to grow (unlike vinyl and other synthetic materials being used today) it does not release toxic fumes. Durable, easy to maintain, noise absorbent, light weight, rot and fire resistant, here are some products made with or paying homage to our new favorite material, cork.

Shake by Tonfisk Design are a pair of shiny white salt and pepper shakers (pictured above right) that sit on organic cork stoppers, which makes for a stable base able to absorb vibrations as well as allowing easy access for refilling. More importantly, the salt and pepper are easily distinguishable by the thoughtful concave and convex design.

They are available at Shop Composition for $48

Considering cork's fire resistant properties, this is a smart candle votive. (Pictured right.) Wrapped in a thin layer of cork, it won't burn the house down and remains cool to the touch. The tan cork gives off and nice color without the piericing brighteness of a naked flame.

It comes in two sizes; the small is available for $6 and the large for $15 at Straw Sticks and Bricks.

You can get these parquet cork tiles (pictured above, far right) in all colors and patterns for a variety of uses. Either prefinished in wax for durability or special ordered without the wax finish, the 1/4" thick tiles are customizable and an alternative to those bulletin boards you used to use in middle school. Versatile as well, they can be used for insulating purposes, office use, as a trivet, or however you see fit.

Click here for more info and details including pricing.

Available at Galerie Kreo in Paris France, furniture designer Martin Szekely designed this Chaise "Cork" chair. It is extremely limited (only five were made) and all are autographed. We got the chance to sit on it at Design Miami 2006 and with cork's soft and textured feel, it's pretty comfortable.

The price is available on demand from Galerie Kreo.

This 7" tall tea (or coffee) pot is made of vitreous porcelain and takes advantage of cork's insulating properties. The roughly cut cork lid insulates and keeps contents hot and secure and nicely contrasts with the modern lines of the ceramic. The removable "bracelet" of oak (or walnut) acts as a guard to keep you from burning your hand while pouring or drinking.

Get the teapot for $95, or the teapot and the set of two 8 oz. cups for $150 at Rare Device. Also, check out the matching sugar and creamer set here.

A subtle play on the more common use of cork when it comes to wine, this simple design holds your bottles in slings made of cork. Made by Amorim of Portugal, fittingly a leader in developing cork-made products, it was featured at Design Mais at London's Design fair in 2006. As an added bonus, cork's non-slip characteristic will keep that vintage bottle you've been saving secure.

Official Tourist Hoodies

by Ami Kealoha

SF Bay Area-based beat-maker and designer Official Tourist's hoodies are a reversible take on the disembodied hoods seen on Jeremy Scott and Herchcovitch runways lately. They come in a variety of pattern pairs—from a more sombre Burberry-esque plaid and stripes to one called "Slow Jams" that features a colorful Navajo-inspired print with polka-dots—and all add instant crazy style to boring outfits. "You'll never get old wearing this and maybe live twice as long because it's reversible," claims the copy for a hoodie with a pattern that looks old-school Stüssy. Official Tourist has advised us to stay tuned for ordering information. We'll let you know when and where the new collection is available.

Last Chance: Burton x iPod x Shiny Toy Guns Contest

by Tim Yu

In time for the really really cold weather here in the Northeastern U.S, we're about ready to give away some prizes that will help keep you warm and entertained. The grand prize is an autographed copy of the new Shiny Toy Guns album, We Are Pilots, the Burton Audex Jacket (which includes Bluetooth technology for mobile phones and iPod controls hardwired into the jacket) and a 30GB video iPod. Two runners-up will receive signed copies of the Shiny Toy Guns album.

If you haven't signed up already, you only have until Monday 12 February 2007 to enter here and win.

Burning Bright: Best of NYC Fall Fashion Week 2007

by Ami Kealoha

For the last seven days of Fashion Week, NYC has been locked in a deep-freeze. And, it seems some designers have caught a case of frostbite. Caution and care seemed to trump passion and progress, but Refinery29 was still able to find a few inspiring independent embers to keep you warm until spring.

Yigal Azrouel
Layered jackets and pullovers reflected urban style without distortion, and Azrouel's balanced palette of charcoals, blues, and black managed to brush grunge without picking up any grime. (Pictured below left.)

Karen Walker
Her country lady seems to have come to the city where her tight, scallop-shouldered jackets and roomy field coats could survive any office, femininity intact. (Pictured above right.)

Jeremy Laing
In a season of few flourishes, Jeremy Laing made a splash by simply perfecting the form of his relaxed basics. Wearable to the last look, these flexible classics are the perfect way to bide time until Laing's eventual CFDA grant. Bets, anyone?

Alexander Wang
Streamlined with just a dab of hip-hop, there's no slowing down these looks from Wang, who keeps getting better. Combinations of black leather, pale denim, and dark vests, unseen since the Palladium closed, return in a new sleek, almost exotic mode.

VPL
Talk about a revolution. As patent-leather boots marched down the runway, it became clear that even though Bartlett has transitioned from styling to design, she is still very much in charge of how her women wear their togs.

Read more...

The Lions

by Ami Kealoha

Without a commercial recording or even a live gig—at last count their newest song on Myspace has only logged seven plays, at least three of which I can personally take responsibility for—The Lions are newly signed to Ubiquity Records, have an album scheduled for release this year, and are packing Afro-Caribbean soul heat.

The Lions is the latest project of Los Angeles-based trumpeter/arranger Todd Simon, who has had a hand (and a horn) in a lot of funky places, from Brooklyn’s Antibalas (whose record release party The Lions are debuting at) to LA’s Breakestra, Madlib, Quantic Soul Orchestra, and more. A melting pot of players from the cross-pollenated underbelly of Hollywood soul, the ensemble effort borrows piecemeal from the Rebirth, Plant Life, and even the not-so-underbellyish Macy Gray. 


The production style stays faithful to the heyday of Studio and Channel One, but the songs are hybrids of reggae and its precursor, rock-steady, with Ethiopian jazz and funk as well. A version of Lyn Collins’ feminist-funk classic, “Think,” is a poignant tribute to the late James Brown, who, strangely enough, wrote the tune.

by DJ Scribe

Bisazza: Contemporary Mosaics

by Ami Kealoha

Founded in 1956, Italian mosaic company Bissaza is a relatively young venture that has grown into a venerable business largely responsible for re-introducing lavish tile creations to interior design. In just over 50 years Bisazza has helped transform the traditional material into modern, stunning looks for today's spaces. The recent book Bisazza: Contemporary Mosaics is an overview that tells the story and presents the examples—from trompe l'oeil fireplaces to a swimming pool lined with Warhol-inspired flowers—of the way Bisazza's large-scale installations brought mosaics into the modern era with daring colors, patterns and new applications. A brief intro details the artists and designers brought on by the Bisazza family and full-bleed photos illustrate their innovations and influences. A small volume, the hardback edition makes for a lovely introduction to the beauty, inventiveness, and humor (one ceiling depicts the view up a woman's skirt) of Bisazza.

Order a copy from Assouline or Amazon.