Graffiti Artist Tasso

by Lost At E Minor

Legend has it that Tasso's career started with some scrawlings on his grandmother's kitchen table. Every year he would sign and date the underside of the table and over the years would watch as the style and flow changed. Growing up in divided Berlin he was forced to compete with the hordes of other artists painting political messages on the Wall, but his photo-realist style led him to become one of the most photographed graffiti artists in the world.

Two New Andy Warhol Books: The Record Covers and Warhol Live

by Doug Black

Much is written of the late Andy Warhol. Too much, you might argue. And while the newest pair of titles cover some of the same well-trodden ground, they limit their focus to one specific aspect of the eclectic artist's career. "Warhol Live" and "Andy Warhol: The Record Covers, 1949-1987"&mdashboth published by Prestel&mdashexplore the Pop artist's relationship with the music and bands he loved and the way it informed his art.

"Record Covers" is a collection of all fifty album covers&mdashfront and back, in the original LP dimensions&mdashall designed by Andy Warhol. Listed in sequential order, the covers are accompanied by more than 100 additional images of related work, inspirations and studies. Naturally, he'll always be remembered for the iconic Velvet Underground banana cover and the Rolling Stones' pelvic "Sticky Fingers" design. But the book also looks at the lesser-known early covers that Warhol designed for compilations and Jazz musicians like Thelonius Monk and Count Basie.

While more conventionally oriented, the early designs shed light on his creative process and gift for distilling music down to rudimentary imagery. The covers take adopt more bold colors and Pop Art characteristics as time progresses until his death in 1987. And it's strangely fitting that his last record cover was a compilation record for the fledgling MTV, a network that served as an exemplar of some of many of Warhol's cultural philosophies.

"Warhol Live" is the volume that accompanies the current exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It chronicles the myriad ways that music and dance pervaded Warhol's life and work from his childhood through 1987. In addition to the aforementioned album covers, Warhol produced bands, collaborated with choreographers show concert videos and created multimedia presentations. The book depicts these with 350 illustrations, along with essays and interviews with former friends and Warhol experts.

"The Record Covers" and "Warhol Live" can both be purchased from the Prestel store or on Amazon. The "Warhol Live" exhibition runs through 18 January 2009 before traveling to San Francisco's de Young and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Adam Goodrum: Stitch Chair

by Karen Day

Thanks to Adam Goodrum's Stitch Chair, we no longer have to choose furniture that fits over what we would actually like to have in our homes. And thanks to Cappellini, having recently added Stitch to its roster, it's now available in wider distribution.

The cleverness of the chair come from a nontraditional approach to folding, the result of the Australian industrial designer's goal of creating a version that didn't look like every other folding chair on the market and had the capability to go completely flat. Comprised entirely of aluminum, the chair bisects along a hinge for an impressively small footprint, a mere 15mm wide, when collapsed.

The design has been recognized with many awards, including Best Design by the American International Design Review and Best Furniture Product by IDEA.

The chair folds up to less than a half-inch thick and is available in various solid colors or a patchwork of colors at Cappellini stores.

Barracuda Yacht Charter by Fatboy Slim

by CH Contributor

by Juliet Kinsman

If you thought boutique-hotel chic need be restricted to terra firma, you haven't heard of what Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) and friends have been up to. Having got his paws on a classic wooden yacht, Cook's boat-loving tour manager, Jim McNulty, enticed his pal to renovate this magnificent sailboat and they've converted it it into a modern-minded stylish stay named the Barracuda.

Currently based in Portisco Marina, near Olbia, Sardinia, this vessel is outfitted for hip-hotel devotees as much as dedicated sailors. Thanks to trimmings such as Designers Guild soft furnishings, Cowshed products, Britannia rules the waves with this luxury yacht available for charter in Sardinia.

"We called it a refit but actually (the boat) had to be rebuilt," says the DJ. They sat and planned the layout of the Barracuda with Jim's partner Sorcha Bridge, an interiors stylist. "We didn't want a Gin Palace super yacht—we wanted it funky." This meant a mixture of teak, mahogany, pine and beech instead of gold or marble, resulting in lots of color combined with soft furnishings and hand-picked retro trinkets.

Because Norman and his wife, British TV presenter Zoe Ball, are tall, they sidestepped pokiness with roomy bunks and uncramped bathrooms. A decent hull width enabled extra luxuries such as proper porcelain loos en suites, bunks not far off regular beds, modern conveniences such as round-the-clock hot water, a washing machine and dishwasher.

Of course, you don't need to be an experienced sailor to enjoy this kind of high life on the seas—there's a super sharp crew to navigate guests through the sparkling waters off the Emerald Coast. Not just a pretty boat, a night on the Barracuda also includes a live-in chef to ensure non-stop gourmet on the go.

The boat comes equipped with fishing rods, water ski and wakeboard, plus speedboat lessons are available from the crew and seafood cuisine master classes from the on-board chef. There's even a dress-up box of pirate costumes for the enthusiastic.

More images of the interior of Barracuda after the jump.

Barracuda Charter Yacht

Marina di Portisco

Costa Smerelda

Olbia

Sardinia, Italy
tel. +1 866 610 3867

Karola Torkos: Fools Gold Confetti Jewelry

by Karen Day

Royal College of Art grad and now designer based in London, Karola Torkos creates playful and imaginative jewelry that is quite the contrast to her East German upbringing. Her pieces engage the design process in its entirety by allowing wearers to interact with them; changing up the compositions (Karola makes a variety of styles) forms a more personal relationship with the jewelry.

Way more than a string of happy colors, Karola's "Fool's Gold" collection illustrates her fascination with patterns and shapes and is yet another example of her boundless creativity as well as her skill as a jewelry maker. Her work is currently on display at Electrum Gallery, one of London's preeminent contemporary jewelry galleries and the Fool's Gold necklace is available starting at $70 from Object Fetish.

Electrum Gallery
21 South Molton Street
London, W1K 5QZ map
tel. +020 7629 6325