Longchamp ANDAM Bags

by Ami Kealoha

Celebrating 20 years of ANDAM (Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode), Longchamp tasked fashion designers Bless, Jeremy Scott and Charles Anastase (all past winners of the covered ANDAM endowment) with interpreting their Le Pliage bag. We particularly love Bless' clever take on the classic, taking the foldable design and re-engineering it so that the handle can fold inside itself and be worn as a bracelet ($495, pictured above).

Trickster Jeremy Scott emblazons his bag ($345) with his own likeness as a "nouveau samurai."

Charles Anastase's decidedly romantic version ($260) adorns a white bag with text and line drawings of ether ballet slippers or Persian cats.

The limited edition bags will debut in Longchamp stores on 1 October 2009.

GSelect Refined Goods Online Store

by Karen Day

For pets to people with items from toys to organization, the new online boutique GSelect offers an array of carefully selected goods for the refined lifestyle. Beginning with their signature men's skincare line Gessato, the expanded collection includes a complete range of products for almost any need.

A few of our favorites include the long-lasting Droog hippo doormat ($124) made from PVC and coconut husks by designer Ed Annink (pictured above), the Red October salt & pepper shakers ($24) from Ooga and the carbon-fiber Random Chair ($1,260) by Bertjan Pot, exclusive to GSelect (pictured below).

Other items include the dual-functioning bookend and table lamp ($539) from Matteo Ragni and Jennifer Yoko's clever Chew Leg Cover ($30) for Gaia and Gino (pictured below).

A great source for distinctive gifts, the stylish assortment of products will please even the most discerning of tastes.

Photographer Matt Hoyle: Barnumville

by CH Contributor

by Alison Zavos for Feature Shoot

With a penchant for drawing out rich details and the personalities of his subjects, NYC-based photographer Matt Hoyle's hyper-real works tell the stories of America's fringes. We checked in with him to ask a few questions about his background and to find out more about his recent work on circus performers.

You were a creative director in the advertising industry before becoming a full-time photographer. What made you decide to make this jump and was it an easy transition?
I decided to make the jump to give myself more creative freedom. The structure of an advertising agency is still a commercial enterprise and the many layers of power and decision makers made it hard to put my heart and mind into something that would inevitably get diluted into some unrecognizable form down the track. Having said that, the ad industry gave me quite a bit of insight on how to create concepts that had cohesive themes, similar to ad campaigns. I now work in series so that the viewer can see a common thread of an idea woven throughout.

In your latest series "Barnumville" (pictured) you photographed performers who are part of the few remaining sideshows in America. How did you initially approach them about this project?
We were very lucky to align ourselves with a great casting agent named Oliver Zehetner-Loffredo at Ugly NY. They have the absolute best in characters and real old school performers from around America. Oliver fell in love with our project and we gave him our wish list. He then went about sharing the story of Barnumville with these guys and they jumped at the chance. It was really about selling the idea of a thematic project that went deeper than just a photo. I had written a backstory on the founding of Barnumville and how the residents came to be that I think intrigued the subjects and gave them an insight that it was a respectable fine art project and not some exploitative shoot.

What made you decide to shoot close-up portraits of the performers? Did you look to any other photographers for inspiration? The project actually came about and still has the intention of creating 14 cinematic format scenes/shots. I am in the process of creating those scenes in CGI, which is very similar to the process in motion picture CGI movies. These 14 scenes will depict Barnumville as a realistic 1940s Florida town inhabited by sideshow performers. These black and white portraits were initially just a recording. I didn't know they would have such an impact, but the features on each of their faces told so much that I had to create a separate series.

Brooklyn Bridge Park

by CH Contributor

by Evan Lamagna

Integrating itself into the now desolate landscape at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, the long-anticipated construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Park finally broke ground recently, commencing the first installment of the 85-acre park that will assume the Brooklyn waterfront along the East River.

Sections of the park covering Piers One and Six are anticipated to open by the end of 2009, consisting of a nearly two-acre destination playground complete with a marsh exploratory garden, swing valley, slide mountain and small water park.

The initial phase will also include three sand volleyball courts, a dog run, a wide promenade onto Pier Six and a park concession comprising a 1000-square-foot restaurant and roof top deck boasting views of the Manhattan skyline.

The creative minds behind the park's design are landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, who are responsible for Union Square and a myriad of other civic landmarks around New York City. The group seamlessly blends fun with responsibility, using locally sourced or recycled wood when possible, as well as incorporating renewable energy sources and sustainable systems into the park's design.

Felted Animal Sculptures by Amelia Santiago

by Lost At E Minor

Portland-based artist Amelia Santiago uses needle felting to create wool fiber sculptures of dogs and other animals commissioned by pet owners. A technique that uses nothing but a barbed needle, Santiago has laboriously sculpted more than three hundred sculptures in the past three years, each taking 20 hours to complete from start to finish.

Intent on replicating the essence of each animal, Santiago pays great attention to the details of markings, trying to "capture the personality of the dog through his or her eyes."

Prices vary depending on size, visit the Amelia Santiago website to place an order and see more examples of her work.