Hats by Selima

by CH Contributor

by Ariston Anderson

Today we went to the new secret hat atelier beneath the Selima store on Bond Street in New York. Accessory and eyeglass designer extraordinaire Selima Salaun recently set up shop with her friend Virginie Promeyrat to launch a new line, Hats by Selima. They started the line through a shared passion for hats and with the goal of serving as each other's design muses.

The atelier is full of vintage clothing and accessories collected on Selima's journeys around the world. Drawing from scarves, tulle, ribbons, buttons and beads, the collection is the perfect inspiration for each one-of-a-kind hat. Reviving old school millineries, clients are invited to come to the shop, have their head measured, and pick out the colors and designs for their hat and each hat is hand blocked and hand sewn in New York. Customers can also bring in a design idea of their own and have a hat custom made from start to finish.

While the fall/winter hats are felted, the upcoming spring/summer collection is all straw. There are six basic styles, including a bowler, a capeline, a cloche and two unisex fedoras, all hand-braided. A short top hat crosses the line between cabaret and elegance, while a crème straw fedora drums up the image of a perfect Brooklyn summer night hat. The collection is just as suitable for the beach as it is for a night out.

Virginie was influenced by the Caribbean for her spring/summer palette. Shades of aqua, royal blue, silver, magenta and lavender allude to the island of St. Barth. "The colors were my number one inspiration," she says. "I love colors, and especially now, the times we're living in, I need to see colors all around me. When I go out now I want people to have a smile on their face when they look at me.”" With the hats decorated in feathers, jewels, chains, brocade ribbons and silk floral designs, it's hard not to smile at each unique creation.

In addition to brightening our moods, the hats make a good indulgence in a recession as an accessory that will jazz up what you already own. "Now people aren't buying a lot of designer clothes," she says, "so what you need is one amazing accessory and then you can wear it with simple clothes."

"These hats are for everyone, because we have classical shapes and classical colors and then we have very unique hats," she says. "There are people who say they don't have a head for a hat. That's like saying you don't have a fit for shoes. Everyone can wear a hat, but you have to try them on and experiment."

As hats have become indoor accessories as well, the new line also includes a stunning cocktail collection, from small head pieces with ornate decorations to mini top hats embezzled with buttons and brooches. The head pieces are attached with an elastic band around the head and incorporate a variety of decorations, according to the client's wishes. They've also teamed up with jewelry designer Lulu Frost who will bring her ornate jewelry to trim select pieces of the collection. The cocktail head pieces are much easier to wear than a headband and a lot more fun—just the thing for a surrealist tea party .

Prices are around $280-350 and the hats are available in any of Selima's boutiques in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, as well as at Lolita Jaca in St. Barth. Cocktail hats start at around $200, can go upwards of $600 for very complicated detail and are only available in Selima's Bond 07 shop. Each hat includes a luxurious hat storage box.

Hats by Selima
7 Bond Street
New York, NY 10012 map
tel.+1 917 668 1317

Moop Handmade Bags

by Doug Black

Some things are always in style and a simple, high-quality bag makes that list. Moop is just this kind of sturdy bag, without any ostentatious designs or branding. The small company is the brainchild of Wendy Downs, who makes the line of original designs with a small team in an Easthampton, Massachusetts factory. Cut and sewn by hand, each bag requires hours of construction for a bag with an understated interior that hides a lot of functionality and toughness.

The bags use a sturdy-yet-soft corded canvas with a lining that makes it virtually waterproof. They offers six different styles, from the roomy Market bag (above left) to a traditional messenger (right). They also make a bookbag for kids and a slew of smaller accessories.

Bags range from $75 to $130 and—due to the personal attention shown to each one—takes about two weeks to ship. Find out more at the Moop website.

Kyouei Design: Liquid Bookmarks and Lamps

by CH Contributor

by Laura Neilson

For all the devoted bibliophiles who refuse to save their page by dog-earing their favorite pieces of literature, this startling bookmark instead applies a faux drip of liquid making for a cheeky alternative.

It's designed by Kouichi Okamoto of Kyouei Design, the same company that brought us the cleverly-conceived umbrella pot last spring and that's known for their inventive lighting systems. Just as creative as their lamps, the silicon "liquid bookmark," is meant to make books appear as though they're melting—although the red version could be the perfect bloodstain to any horror novel. Each is one of a kind, handmade by the designer himself and comes in a set of three (red, white and gray).

We're also big fans of Okamato's similarly-themed lamps which, depending on the color, appear to be melting or doing something far more blood-chilling.

Both the lamps and bookmarks are available at Designboom or the Kyouei Design shop.

Illustrator (and Musician) Mr. Bingo

by CH Contributor

by Kori Schulman

The work of Mr. Bingo is what you might expect from an artist with that name—self-described as “neat, well observed and silly." He likes to keep things on the lighter side and finds motivation in making people laugh.

When I first came across his popular hair portrait screened on a white t-shirt, I did smile—I even cracked up at points upon seeing his full portfolio of work, learning about Bingo’s side gig as a beatbusker (more on that later) and his secret desire to be a football hooligan.

The London-based artist was not always fun and games though, he began making art at an early age, drawing on the kitchen table “masculine and sometimes disturbing things like war and death and torture," or what Mr. Bingo calls “weird boys stuff." It was when he began his career as an illustrator that he focused an art project on Bingo and the old ladies who play it, where upon visiting the Bingo hall he scored £121 and the befitting nickname he's been with ever since.

The hair portrait that first caught my eye has since led him to a series of hair portraits that challenge you to recognize a famous person only by seeing the outline of their hair. The latest portrait in the series that includes "Guns 'N Roses" and "A New Hope" was created for the British comedy duo "The Mighty Boosh," who are just as quirky as Mr. Bingo himself.

When he isn't busy illustrating editorial pieces for Money Magazine or Microsoft ad campaigns, you can find him beatbusking on the streets of East London. An emerging urban subculture that involves impromptu beatboxing over the music of a street performer or busker, beatbusking is according to Mr. Bingo "like an unorganized jam that just goes off live right in front of whoever happens to be around."

Mr. Bingo's art and music is a bit like yin and yang — the illustrations are methodical while the music is sporadic and chaotic. On the whole though, Bingo's work is bright, entertaining and wonderfully inclusive to anyone that happens to catch a glimpse or pass by, most likely making them smile.

The Mighty Boosh Hair Portrait print is available online for £100, with 75% of the proceeds going to the Rebecca Ling Trust, a charity close to the Boosh boys.

Warren Muller's Light Sculptures

by CH Contributor

by Tisha Leung

Juxtaposing found objects with fanciful arrangements of light, Warren Muller morphs the two elements into one-of-a-kind chandeliers and sculptures. Scouring salvage yards and sidewalks, Muller (who started his career as a performance artist) injects kinetic drama with clusters and rows of small bulbs. More recently, the bulk of his work incorporates personal items from clients, recycling forgotten or cherished things from their home and handing over their memories in the form of sculpture.

To date, the most unusual material offered by a client is a mini station wagon. Brought by a man who ran a car repair shop, Muller transformed the vehicle into a fetching $200,000 chandelier. On average, a small table lamp goes for around $850 and a custom chandelier ranges between $9,500-$18,000.

Based in Philadelphia, Muller shares the seven-year-old company with his partner, RJ Thornburg, who executes the interior design part of the business. The two of them comprise Bahdeebahdu, which, for those curious, loosely translates to "You give me, I give you."

Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai Pedal

by CH Contributor

by Emily Kramer

Not just a run-of-the-mill looper, the Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai isn't just a piece of beginner's gear—in addition to looping, it includes blend, decay, filter, reflect and delay controls. By clicking the bypass button on the right, these effects can be used on their own without looping. The left button loops and adds the above effects to any sample—even after you've recorded it. And most importantly, the additional controls mean that the sound is immediately textured and forever pliable so you'll be making noise out of music in no time.

The real bells and whistles of this little guy are eight different programmable modes that, when in combination with the controls above, each allow different custom settings for the repeated parts of your loops. For instance, music can start off soft and then grow louder and louder each time it repeats. The stereo feature works to create a ping pong effect between two speakers if you have two separate outputs while the tap tempo is a critical facet for live performance.

The Stereo Memory Man runs about $215 and is available at Main Drag Music in Brooklyn where you can try it out with a Moog keyboard in one of their private rooms or purchase one online from Amazon or Sweetwater.