Mondrian-Inspired Watch Cabinet by Smythson

by Brian Fichtner

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 the cabinet rear. White and primary colored drawers, offset by the Mondrian black grid, provide storage for eight more watches, belts, sunglasses, cufflinks, tie pins, key fobs or any precious accessory you might want.

Smythson notes that the cabinet can stand alone or be inserted into a safe. But with lines this clean, who'd want to hide such a treasure in a steel box? Available this October at both Smythson's East and West Coast boutiques (details after the jump), the Watch and Accessory Cabinet retails for $6,475 — a small expenditure compared to the Patek Philippe, Ikepod, Omega and Tissot collection it's designed to contain.

La Noche en Blanco: The Deambulants

by Max Gold

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, gravity-defying stage design that incorporated the wall of the stadium. Furthering the surreality, the troupe performed with live accompaniment from the Orchestra Fireluche, a Gerona-based group who play all of their music using unconventional instruments (such as toys or pots).

Stay tuned for more reports on the sights and sounds witnessed at La Noche en Blanco.

The Record Cabinet

by Laurice Parkin

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 in full frontal view. Jenn elaborates, "The whole MP3, digital music world doesn't make sense to me. So many musicians are visual people and you really need the LP at a minimum to see their vision. So much is expressed in album cover art that becomes part of how you hear the music. Pick any Beatles record, or Bowie, or Bjork, or Beck, just to stick with the letter B, and imagine hearing it without the artwork. You can't!"

Mid-Century Design aficionados will immediately recognize the modern lines of the Cabinet that echo back to the classic work of George Nelson and Paul McCobb — two designers who provided both inspiration and influence. "Their work was so simple, yet elegant and beautiful." In keeping with this timeless aesthetic, the piece comes in Maple, Oak, Walnut and Bamboo with solid brass drawer pulls and is hand-crafted domestically.

Just as musical taste varies, so does storage needs — Atocha wants you to have the right Record Cabinet and is offering various configurations including those with CD, DVD and component storage. Contact them to set up a design consultation. Each piece is made to order and pricing is based on size, materials and design requirements. The option pictured has six LP drawers and four CD drawers and is priced at $12,500.

We can't guarantee the Record Cabinet will make your music sound better, but such a combination of form, function and elegance will definitely alter your visual soundscape.

Kodak OLED Frame

by Ami Kealoha

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 first for Kodak and for the world.

Designed overall to make for a richer look and experience appealing to a more high-end market, the clean lines and black hi-gloss components provide a sleek container for the vivid color and clarity of the 7.6-inch display. With two gigs of memory, the ability to RSS weather, news, sports, Kodak Gallery and Flickr feeds, inputs for SD cards and USB, as well as compatibility across a variety of formats (including mp3, WMA, AVI and mpeg), the device has the guts to put the OLEDs to work. Other perks include built-in speakers engineered for better sound, as well as an audio out, enabling a complete AV experience.

Retailing for $1,000, the frames will be available later this year, in time for the holiday season, from Kodak's online store and other retailers.

Olio Taibi

by Brian Fichtner

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 is situated near the Valley of the Temples, one of the world’s most important archeological treasures and a UNESCO World Heritage site. A family run business, Olio Taibi is the epitome of artisinal, specializing in only two monocultivar olive oils: Nocellara and Biancolilla, both of which originated in Sicily. The estate is organically farmed, the olives entirely hand-picked and immediately cold-pressed after harvest, with all bottling done on site. When I asked Gauri what made Olio Taibi special, she noted of the oil, “It stands out amongst all the oils available in the market. It's an extremely well made, monovarietal which is representative of a region with high tipicity [or unique organoleptic identity]…”

For some, olive oil is olive oil and buying a bottle of Colavita is as far as one need travel. But if you like your oil to take you on a journey, then Olio Taibi is the producer for you. The Nocellara is characterized by a supple texture, citrus notes, and a hint of pepper, making it an ideal accompaniment for cheese, or to use in preparing a full-bodied dish. The Biancolilla is a softer, more earthy oil, though when consumed alone or with bread, it packs a peppery punch that can sneak up on you.

Due to a unfavorable heat wave last year, the 2007 Biancolilla could not be produced. However, you can contact Zingerman's Mail Order (tel. +888-636-8162) to purchase a bottle (or several) of the Nocellara for $30 for a half-liter.