Liberty Dunks

by Ami Kealoha

After spying Nike's new Liberty Dunks among a blossom-laden display meant to resemble a flower stand at Opening Ceremony yesterday, this girl got an instant case of Spring Fever for the totally girly, limited-edition high-tops. While some might already be declaring the recent spate of Liberty prints in fashion a trend past its prime, I think the classic patterns are timeless and make for a fresh contrast on a sneaker.

There are a few other versions without the all-over print floating out there, but the two colorways pictured are the superior ones and available exclusively at Opening Ceremony (in NY starting today, 6 May 2008, and in LA on 10 May 2008) and in Paris at Colette.

ITP Spring Show 2008

by Ami Kealoha

Spring in NYC means trees in full bloom, lightened moods and NYU's semi-annual mega-exhibit of art and technology, the ITP show taking place this year 12-13 May 2008. While every season promises an outpouring of creativity, this time around I was particularly intrigued by a project more straightforward than most but with a subject after my own (and Josh's) heart called "Born Dropped Out, The Hippie Kid Stories." The undertaking is simply a site documenting stories of the children of hippies in short video interview format and full of the drug references you might imagine.

Other more ITP-like offerings include Brush Bots, which are little motorized paint brushes, Waves of Leaves, an interactive ceramic sculpture, Table for Electronic Dreams, which visualizes the electricity in mobile phones and other gadgets and Jealous Furniture, a concept that puts furniture in the role of monitoring internet use.

On that note, nothing beats seeing the projects in person and talking to the creators. If you're in the NYC area next week, it's worth checking out.

ITP Spring Show 2008
12-13 May 2008, 5-9pm
Tisch Building
721 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10003 map
tel. +1 212 998 1880

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Caleb Neelon Is Working On It

by Lost At E Minor

Massachusetts-based artist Caleb Neelon is staging his first West Coast exhibition, "Caleb Neelon Is Working On It" at West Hollywood's Carmichael Gallery opening this weekend. The solo show includes several variations of his groupings of multi-colored Beech leaves against brushy backgrounds and marks, in Neelon's own words, "a new and very personal direction for me." Click above image for detail and see more after the jump.

In conjunction with the show, the artist is also painting a mural on a nearby building (see below).

In addition to his prolific fine art work, he was the author and illustrator of the children's book, "Lilman Makes a Name for Himself," co-authored "Street World," and has a new book of his art coming out this year through Ginko called "Caleb Neelon's Book of Awesome."

Caleb Neelon Is Working On It
Opening reception: 10 May 2008, 8pm-midnight
10 May-1 June 2008
Carmichael Gallery
1257 North La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90038 map
tel. +1 323 969 0600

Fetty Braille Jewelry

by Letizia Rossi

Greenpoint-based jewelry designers Fetty of Brooklyn recently released a new collection inscribing multivalent words written in Braille with diamonds or Austrian crystals. Interior lettering reminds the wearer of the message

Available at Barneys stores nationwide, the high-end collection Fetty Signature includes rings, necklaces, earrings ID bracelets and bangles set in polished and oxidized sterling silver with diamonds spelling out the words I Love You, Yes, Forever, Try, Mine, Maybe, Tomorrow and XX written in Standard American Braille.

The sterling silver "Yes" bracelet with diamonds is $625 online from Barneys.

The lower-price point collection Fame also includes the same series of Braille but rendered in crystals to offset costs. The Fame collection will be available at Fred Segal in Santa Monica and at Alter in Brooklyn.

The Braille line is in keeping with Fetty's overall subversively glitzy aesthetic, also mirrored in designer Justin Tranter's band Semi Precious Weapons—making for a hard-edge glam rock lifestyle.

Check out these other Fetty projects covered on CH: Fetty x DKNY Sneakers and Fetty of Brooklyn Rocks Necklace

Banksy Hosts The Cans Festival

by Leonora Oppenheim

This bank holiday weekend in London saw one of the world's most famous street artists (and least likely corporate collaborators) host his own spray party thanks to help from Eurostar.

Recent years have seen the worlds of mega-business and street art colliding with unprecedented frequency. Such collaborations more often than not have predictably disastrous results (Kellog's streetwear anyone?) but sometimes they yield happy consequences. A prime example of how to do it right was the 2006 11 Spring Street project in New York, which saw several stories of prime real estate in Soho covered in graffiti by street artists from all over the world. Opened up to the public for one weekend before the developers moved in, the project was a bang-up success drawing crowds numbering in the thousands.

Banksy took on the idea by inviting artists to join him in London for The Cans Festival stencil party, this time not in a building but in a tunnel once used by taxis before the Eurostar terminal moved to St. Pancreas. With permission, the tunnel was closed down to make way for an onslaught of color and sculptural installations. The tunnel's location was kept secret while the artists set to work making their mark in the center of London. On Saturday the address was announced and crowds, who were invited to bring their own stencils, flocked to Waterloo to join in the fun.

Queues stretched round the block as Londoners waited to have their chance to collaborate with the now almost mythological Banksy and the other artists who flew into town for the festival. The group included Faile from Brooklyn, Bandit from the Netherlands, Run Don't Walk from Argentina and James Dodd from Australia. Although the main event is now over and the installations are being taken down today, it's been said that Eurostar have agreed to leave the stencil work up inside with tunnel for at least six months, so there's still a chance to catch a fleeting glimpse of what soon will be history.

HTC Touch Diamond

by Josh Rubin

This morning in London, mobile phone manufacturer HTC unveiled the Touch Diamond, a new Windows Mobile Device that looks great! Yes, I did just say "Windows Mobile" and "great" in the same sentence. Focusing on delivering a killer experience, the device features a highly customized version of Windows Mobile called TouchFLO 3D. All the most important functions are accessible from the home screen using a simple gesture based touch interface; the graphics and animation are gorgeous. While the faceted physical design is innovative, its little nuances, like turning the phone over to silence an incoming call, that make this a device worth noting. As Horace Luke, Chief Innovation Officer, noted, "We think about touch including the full movement of the device, not just a tap on the screen."

The sexy and full-featured device will be available in Europe and Asia this June and the rest of the world later in the year.

Check out the launch announcement video below and the User Interface demo video after the jump.

For many more photos and full tech specs, head over to Phone Scoop.