Cool Hunting

14 September 2008 - 20 September 2008 week before | next week view all from this month
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Untethered
We're always fascinated when the surreal and the practical intersect. That would explain our past delight with Blendie, a blender that responds to growling noises and is included in the upcoming group show, Untethered. Opening at Eyebeam next week in Manhattan the exhibit is promises a myriad of creative curiosities. With 15 artists on display, this season's offerings include a a photocopier that reads...
La Noche en Blanco: Graffiti Virtual
After being wowed by the Deambulants and other sights of La Noche en Blanco, I made my way to the Caixaforum building of Madrid to see more. Pushing through the crowd to get closer, I gaped in awe at the enormous exhibition called Graffiti Virtual created by the Catalan collective Omnivor Lab. Consisting of a series of animated digital graffiti projected onto the building's...
Quinta da Romaneira in Northern Portugal's Winelands
by Juliet Kinsman Cobbled and colonial but also contemporary and quirky, I recently had the chance to stay at the brand-new Douro Valley hotel, Quinta da Romaneira. From one look at the interior design it's clear that super-picky attention to detail is paramount. Thierry Teyssier, the creator of Quinta dos Sonhos (Romaneira's Portuguese name) considered every color, visualized every view, procured the highest spec...
Fall Picks From Those Who’ve Seen It All
Tasking seven online publications (including yours truly) with sourcing new housewares, the New York Times today highlighted 32 new products — from marble soda cans to modern beveled mirrors — and the people who picked them. Props to our participating colleagues, Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, Hollister Hovey, Moco Loco, Peak of Chic and UnBeige for their picks. See ours below. The Dancing Belly chair...
Coalesse Live/Work Furniture
Courtesy of Coalesse, I recently had the chance to visit their Chicago showroom to see their latest collection of furniture conceived for the modern workspace. The experience revealed a new brand (it's actually the merging of Metro, Brayton and Vecta under Steelcase's umbrella) that's totally in touch with — or perhaps even ahead of — clients looking for a reinvented approach to office furnishings....
La Noche en Blanco: Perpetual Sunshine
Around three in the morning last Sunday, several hours into Madrid's La Noche en Blanco festival, I stumbled to Plaza Vazquez de Mella in search of Perpetual Sunshine. The brainchild of meteorologists, interior designers, and club kids, the exhibit is composed of 334 infrared bulbs that are wired to a computer. Using conditions of anywhere in the world where the sun is shining, the...
Marcel Wanders: Mondrian South Beath Hotel Residences
by Tamara Warren It takes a fairytale to capture the imagination in Miami's over-blown hotel district. Hence, "Sleeping Beauty" stirs 4 December 2008 when the Mondrian South Beach Hotel Residences opens it doors. Conceived by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, who nicknamed the property "Sleeping Beauty's castle," the one and two bedroom hotel residences overlook the Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Miami skyline....
Mondrian-Inspired Watch Cabinet by Smythson
The spirit of De Stijl is alive and well, as evidenced by this Mondrian-inspired watch cabinet soon to be released by the revered luxury goods purveyor Smythson of Bond Street. Part of an entire men's collection for this fall, the cabinet is finished with a black pigskin leather exterior and contains a perpetual motion watch "rocker" that pulls out to reveal hidden storage at...
La Noche en Blanco: The Deambulants
This past weekend at Madrid's annual La Noche en Blanco, a city-wide, all-night arts and culture festival, I watched the Deambulants defy the laws of gravity at 00:30 in the Real Madrid stadium. The floor became the walls and the walls became the floor as the improvisational circus performers and acrobats scaled the stadium, mixing moves from circus acts and modern dance with bizarre,...
The Record Cabinet
The Record Cabinet, the first offering from Jenn and Nick Atocha (the husband and wife team behind Atocha Design), is the happy result of two music fanatics needing a home for their newly combined vinyl collections. Unlike most LP storage systems, which store records sideways allowing you to only see the spine, the Record Cabinet allows you flip through your collection savoring the artwork...
Kodak OLED Frame
Boasting superior resolution, contrast ratios and a micro-thin screen (about three millimeters), Kodak's new WiFi-enabled OLED frame is their latest bid to bring Kodak moments into the 21st century. Pioneering much of the research into the field (they in fact invented the technology), Kodak previously has introduced a camera and a portable TV (for Japanese markets) that uses OLEDs, but the frame is a...
Olio Taibi
When it came to finding a top notch extra virgin olive oil, I turned to Zingerman's, the nationally renowned delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I asked the retail manager, and good friend, Gauri Thergaonkar for a list of highlights, and one of the first producers she mentioned was Olio Taibi. Olio Taibi is a single estate producer based in Montaperto, Sicily. The Taibi Estate...
MiniJet Lighters
Browsing the newly revamped Colette recently, I spied these sleek little lighters called miniJets. From the 135 year-old maker of fine lighters S.T. Dupont, the miniJet's compact size (it's just over two inches tall), punchy colors, and technology are meant to introduce the brand to a younger market.In spite of its minimal weight (for nomads), the miniJet's satisfying heft and smooth surface makes the...
Michael Swaney: Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Red Deer
The other day, while on one of my regular gallery tours in Vancouver, I stopped by Atelier Gallery during the installation of their most recent show, a series of collages by Canadian-born, Barcelona-based artist Michael Swaney. I was immediately taken with one of the images leaning up against the wall waiting to be hung. The staff were kind enough to let me browse through...
Revolution 3D Tea
Revolution Tea's new 3D teas make their premium blends portable and add a little something extra. Known for a triangular tea bag (the Teapot Infuser, which is designed to brew a small pot of tea), Phoenix, Arizona-based Revolution company is never afraid to make a good thing better. Known for their extensive sensitivity towards consumer preference, their flavors have become beloved by tea connoisseurs...
Helly Hansen Odin PCM Soft Shell: Self-Regulating Temperature Control Jacket
Regulating body heat is always a challenge during cold weather — it's always too hot or too cold, especially when running around town from crowded subway to overheated office. Helly Hansen's Odin PCM soft shell jacket solves the problem with technology that automatically adjusts according to your body heat. Fabric called Phase Change Material uses paraffin to store and release heat when needed most....
Albert Einstein's Longines Watch Up for Auction
We think this gold Longines watch is probably one of the more interesting objects you could own from Albert Einstein. He once said, "the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one." Too bad we can't ask him what a real timepiece should look like. If you'd like to own Einstein's personal Swiss wristwatch from 1930, here is...
Pas de Deux: New Women's Boutique from Odin
by Christene BarberichOwners of Odin and Den boutiques, Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi, are building out further, breaking ground today on their first shop just for the ladies. Called Pas de Deux, the petite boutique is right next door to Odin and offers the femme yin to its brother shop's yang. Designers like Alexander Wang and Rag & Bone are on the menu here,...
Matthew Palladino
Citing influences including Jim Jones, the tiger that escaped from the SF zoo earlier this year and the Mission School, 22 year-old artist Matthew Palladino's paintings are, to say the least, bizarre. Primarily working on watercolor paper, images of gang members, drug dens and bleeding bodies are rendered in simplified shapes with rich, saturated colors. The faux-naive allusions are many — Darger, , Dzama,...
Sweetiepie Restaurant: An Interview With Julie Janklow
I met Luke and Julie Janklow ten years ago when we all moved into the same apartment building in TriBeCa. They invited us to check out their latest venture, Sweetiepie, a new restaurant opening up in New York City's West Village later this fall. It will seat around 80 people in two rooms, one of which can be used for parties. It is glamorous...
September 14, 2008 - September 20, 2008 week before | next week view all from this month
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