Cool Hunting
| 18 October 2007view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-150
by Watchismo
by Jason Alan Snyder
A much needed update on the MBW 100 model, Sony Ericsson recently released a better looking Bluetooth-enabled wristwatch. Vibrating call alerts, a remote control connected to your phone's music player, track identification and phone controls on the watch (mute or reject) make the MBW 150 much like the MBW 100 model, but it's designed to work with and coordinate aesthetically with Sony Ericsson Walkman phones.
Time is displayed in traditional analogue rather than digital display and it is finished in mineral crystal glass. Available in three different models, the Classic features a leather band, Music is a sporty orange version and Executive has a metal band. Visit Sony Ericsson for more info.
Richard Meier: Houses and Apartments
by Ami Kealoha
A follow-up to the book Rizzoli published on pre-eminent modernist architect Richard Meier 10 years ago, their forthcoming Richard Meier: House and Apartments is a hefty volume featuring 28 stunning works. Organized chronologically, each private residence, apartment building and project gets several pages devoted to it that include full-bleed photos, stunning detail shots, brief descriptions and floor plans. A highlight is the section on the East River Project's trio of buildings that the prize-winning designer is currently building in NYC, fittingly adjacent to a modernist masterpiece, the UN building.
With some great writing in the preface and afterword, the book is a must for anyone who's a fan of one of the most influential living American architects. Due out 13 November 2007, you can pre-order from Amazon.
Baggu Bags
by Ami Kealoha
Baggu, a new line of of reusable shopping bags, is our new favorite eco-conscious tote for the gym, groceries or any other lugging. It beats out other similar bags with a few key features.
Firstly, we prefer the shorter double handles to the over-the-shoulder types that are so ubiquitous as of late. We think hand-carrying makes for a more masculine bag and doesn't overburden a girl who's already got a purse slung on her shoulder. And, if you do want to free up your hands, the handles are still big enough to fit over most shoulders as well.
Made of rip-stop nylon (the kind with that pleasing grid woven in), the bags are durable enough to carry bricks if that's your thing. They're also roomy with gusseted sides (so you can carry bulky items also) and they fold up neatly into a four-and-a-half inch square for tucking into pockets or other bags.
Available in a variety of lovable colors, Baggus start at $8 from Baggu.
Also on Cool Hunting: Susan Bijl Bags, Bags of Goodwill, Ecobags
Diana+ Reissue from Lomo
by Letizia Rossi
Fans of Lomography will be excited to hear about the Diana+, a faithful reproduction of the plastic 120 camera made by the Great Wall Plastics Factory in the 1960s. At the time they were originally produced, the Diana was priced at only about $1 but still failed to be a mainstream commercial success and was often a free-with-purchase giveaway. With time the camera gained a cult following and became an artistic tool of avant-garde and lo-fi photographers.
To create the reproduction, Lomo started with an original 1960s Diana camera dismantling it piece by piece and taking care to reconstruct every quirk and "imperfection." The plastic lens creates dreamy, color-drenched and sometimes blurry images (examples at right and after the jump) —crafting them becomes an exercise in relinquishing control with each click of the shutter yielding unique and unpredictable results. The Diana+ features include: two shutter speeds “N" for normal daytime snapshots or “B” for unlimited indoor and nighttime exposures, two image sizes 12 full-frame shots (5.2x5.2cm) or 16 smaller square images in the classic Diana format (4.2x4.2cm), multiple and partial exposures, a pinhole function, an endless panorama function, a shutter lock and tripod thread and a two-year warranty.
The Diana+ is available online from Lomo for $50 and for $75 with 20 rolls of Afga portrait 160 or Afga Optima 100 film.
Also on Cool Hunting: Lomography Sidekick Bag,Colette Fisheye,Color Flash Holga and Lomo Printshop.
Elkus Manfredi Neiman Marcus Store
by Lost At E Minor
Inspired by a silk dress, the wrapping for a new Neiman Marcus store in Boston undulates and folds around the building.
Neiman's philosophy is that every store should look completely different from every other of their stores. In line with this, the wrap to this outlet in Boston is made from patches of stainless steel knitted together and is 40 feet high and the length of two football fields.
The secret is in the subtle change of colors and the way that they are merged together, creating the breezy look of a silk skirt. Apparently it's modeled on a particular dress, one that the architect Howard Elkus of Boston firm Elkus Manfredi once designed for his wife to wear to a music festival in England.
