Cool Hunting
| 14 October 2008view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Sewing Stories Collection
by Phuong-Cac Nguyen
Step outside your everyday human world and imagine, if you could, the life of two parasites living large. Such is the premise behind the "Sewing Stories Collection," five Brazilian children's books chronicling the shenanigans of a perfect couple (a mite and flea named Glauber and Hilda).
Written by award-winning author Indigo, each book is illustrated by a famous Brazilian designer like Alexandre Herchcovitch, Rita Wainer, Fabia Bercsek and Marcelo Sommer.
Among the diverse tales, there's an adventure in which the parasites are enlightened by listening to philosophy from an old hippie; another involves chilling inside a surfer's hair before having to disembark when he applies an anti-flea treatment; and one tale has them taking up shack inside the fur of a female gorilla.
Unfortunately there's no English version of the books yet, but the fantastical pictures more than make up for it. Check the site next week to see the books online.
Safe by Rebecca Turbow Spring 09 Sneak Peek
by Letizia Rossi
We've been fans of Brooklyn-based conceptual fashion designer Rebecca Turbow for years. Known for her space-age, mod-influenced designs and her signature look (she dressed in a palette of exclusively turquoise and white for over six years), Turbow recently transitioned into a new colorway of sleek grey and silver. Her Fall 2008 collection, available now at her online store, features sophisticated basics like a Button Up Swing Coat ($398) and versatile bags accented with her new custom gumdrop print. Men shouldn't feel left out either, they'll love the visual pun of the Safety in Numbers T-Shirt ($28).
And there are more good things to come from Safe. We recently caught an advance peek at the Spring 2009 lookbook and were blown away by the gorgeous (and at times humorous) images shot by Tom Hines. Turbow's modern designs make for a striking contrast with the furnishings of a classically sumptuous-looking Upper East Side apartment and satisfy both our fashion addiction as well as our penchant for "real estate porn." With luxurious fabrics and exquisite construction, the collection's little pops of yellow punctuate her renowned grey and silver colors — like sunshine through the clouds. See the rest of the images after the jump.
Coffin Couches
by Lost At E Minor
Is it green? Is it funny? Is it Halloween? Or is it just a bad luck? I actually think Coffin Couches are super smart and stylish and would not mind getting one of these beautiful couches next time I move to a new apartment. They are made of recycled (but unused) coffins, after all.
Coffin Couches start at $3,500 and are available in a variety of colors and materials (including cow hide) or customized by contacting the manufacturer (info [at] coffincouches [dot] com).
Smateria
by Doug Black
Tucked into a hectic street in Phnom Penh, Smateria is an accessory workshop that's helping improve Cambodian lives. Their line of vividly-hued bags and wallets have a positive environmental and social effect, with 98 percent recycled source materials and production with strict accordance to fair trade principles.
The Mosquito Net Handbags bags (above right) use one of the most readily-available materials in Southeast Asia. When not providing protection from balaria, dengue fever and other insect-born illnesses, mosquito nets often end up refuse. Smateria uses a clever recycling method to make functional, attractive bags. The Drink Carton Wallets (below right) also come almost entirely from trash. Companies using the omnipresent Tetra Pak cartons give secondhand containers directly to Smateria, where they thatch them into durable money-holders. The Plastic Bags are have the most directly re-purposed source material. They take a spectrum of used shopping bags and weave them into far more resilient totes.
Smateria employs a workforce of local residents and give equal opportunity to the disadvantaged. Members are fully trained before being given access to equipment and are encouraged to organize and share their own work independently of the aforementioned items. That way everybody wins. You can purchase Smateria products at a number of boutiques in Cambodia, or through one of their internet retailers.
Smateria Workshop and Store
#8 EO, Street 57
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
+855 (23) 211 701
