Creative Time Slumber Party

by Ami Kealoha

Playing on the concept of childhood sleepovers, public art non-profit Creative Time's upcoming slumber party benefit launches a pair of limited edition pajamas designed by painter Will Cotton. The night, held at Ace Hotel New York, promises drinks, snacks by in-house restaurant the Breslin, Tarot readings and Ouija boards and DJs Matt Creed and Fischerspooner providing the soundtrack. If the above video indicates anything and with a dress code of "boudoirs and bachelor pads," like most slumber parties, guests won't experience much in the way of sleeping.

Tickets start at $150 and for $275 they include one of the thousand pairs of unisex pjs. You can also buy a preview pair of pjs for $150 (prices go up to $195 after the event). It's all for a great cause, so get shopping at Creative Time.

Creative Time Slumber Party
18 November 2009, 8-11:30pm
Ace Hotel New York
20 West 29th Street
New York, NY 10010 map
tel. +1 212 206 6674

Hollywood Bowl Poster Art Show

by CH Contributor

by Julie Wolfson

Easily one of the most iconic landmarks in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl Poster Art Show commemorates the memorable concerts that draw crowds of thousands each summer with an exhibition of the many colorful posters produced for recent and historic Hollywood Bowl performances.

David Weidman's print—a bright yellow-and-fuchsia sun shining over the Bowl, surrounded by palm trees—perhaps most truly captures the sentiment of the exhibit. Evoking the magic of an amphitheater that hosts the L.A. Philharmonic and maintains a commitment to accessibility with $1 seats, the exhibition presents an array of colorful portraits and California vibes.

It also makes for a who's who of illustrators working in the field, including Tim Biskup's geometric design for the Santigold and Raphael Saadiq show, Camille Rose Garcia's gothic swirls for Death Cab for Cutie and Kii Aren's colorful graphic landscape for Ray La Montagne and Jenny Lewis.

Josh Agle—better known as Shag— interprets Hollywood Bowl favorite Pink Martini with a swanky purple hot air balloon ride. Niagara's compelling Grace Jones portrait, with her gorgeous blue face, red lips and and giant eyelashes, makes a great memento for anyone who witnessed her astonishing show this summer and for her fans worldwide. Each artist will also exhibit an exclusive new work alongside the posters they created.

Hollywood Bowl Poster Art Show
Arclight Hollywood
17 November 2009-5 January 2010
6360 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028 map
tel. &343;1 310 867 3897

Japanese Barcode Design

by Karen Day

Masters of turning the mundane cute, we recently came across this collection of the clever ways Japanese designers have extended this eccentricity down to the boring barcode.

Without impeding on the necessary numbers, inventive versions transform humble skus from the usual black-and-white rectangle to graphics that range from cityscapes to waves, often relating to the product it identifies.

The online gallery from Tokyo's Design Barcode studio demonstrates the creative ways the barcode can go from basic to engaging with a few simple additions, revolutionizing the iconic information tag.

via Information Aesthetics via Fast Company

See more creative barcodes after the jump.

Girlscantell Home Goods

by CH Contributor

by Samantha Melamed

The Girlscantell hand-drawn coasters, tea towels, trivets and more from Philadelphia-based designer Sara Selepouchin add an artistic touch to any kitchen. Using visually striking infographics, items feature and labeled diagrams of anything from human hearts to typewriters, cameras, gardening tools and hamburgers.

Altogether, Selepouchin now offers about 50 diagram designs emblazoned on affordable home goods. For the domestic goddess, an oven mitt features KitchenAid mixers and for masculine types who still value a tidy kitchen, industrial-grade felt coasters come printed with a portrait of a power drill.

After making the rounds of local art fairs for a few years, Selepouchin turned Girlscantell into a full-time endeavor, putting out larger print runs for clients like Terrain, the home-and-garden design mecca from Urban Outfitters parent company Urban Inc. She adds new diagram designs every week for the first half of the year, and now prints on notebooks, placemats and key-chain bottle openers.

Prices range from $10 for a single trivet to $16 for a set of four coasters or $28 for four placemats, and all sell online from the Girlscantell website or Etsy shop.

Memphis Design Retrospective

by Jacob Resneck

Azzedine Alaïa gallery recently unveiled an original 28-year retrospective of Memphis design now on display in Paris.

Conceived by a gaggle of talented—and tipsy—architects and recently making a comeback in the design world, the Memphis movement came of an evening spent endlessly listening to Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. The Milan-based architects—led by the late Ettore Sottsass—decided to name their group after the southern U.S. city and capital of ancient Egypt.

Memphis designers created furniture and objects to exist in a fluid free form with the idea that they can be arranged anywhere and intentionally clash or mesh with other pieces, deliberately attempting to break out of the rigid rules of previous schools of design. By the early '80s the group emerged as a creative force in its own right using non-conventional materials and gaudy colors that often employed celluloid or sheet metal.

More images after the jump

Memphis Design Retrospective
Through 4 December 2009
Galerie Azzedine Alaïa
18 rue de la Verrerie
75003 Paris map
tel. +33 1 42 72 19 19

Nike Store, Harajuku, Tokyo

by Josh Rubin

Enlisting the interior design brilliance of Masamichi Katayama Nike's first Tokyo flagship store located in the style-magnet Harajuku district opens tomorrow. We were invited in advance of the grand opening to take a look.

While unmistakably Nike, the space makes an inspiringly distinct departure from their other stores. Katayama used elements from shoes and the brand's history to create crisp but playful treatments. Black rubber soles cut into square tiles make up one wall, while waffle irons, similar to the one used to make the first Nike running shoe tread, offer a poetic backdrop for the latest high-tech trainers (both pictured below). The centerpiece shoe chandelier hangs over the stairway between the first and second floors, made from 400 pairs of of various styles, all in white leather and creating a subtle glow by reflecting lights pointed at them. Behind the cash wrap on each floor is a different creative installation: floor one features a "Just Do It" sign made from foot molds, the second floor has a nautilus made from Dunk uppers (pictured above) and the third floor hosts a crest made from cleats. Beyond these remarkable elements, subtly sophisticated details are there for for discovery throughout the store, some of which are captured in the images below.

In terms of product, the Tokyo flagship store features a huge range of items from both sport and Sportswear. On the first floor, a Runner's Studio facilitates finding the perfect shoe for running needs. The second floor features a huge NIKEiD studio and the third floor, aka Bootroom, is dedicated to Football gear—a feature only seen otherwise at Niketown London. To celebrate the opening Nike worked with 11 Japanese athletes to create unique colorways from a variety of styles that will only be available at this location.

We had an opportunity to sit down with Katayama and hear about his inspiration and process for creating the store's experience so we shot some video. Stay tuned for a CHV soon. In the meantime, check out some photos of the space below.

Wool and The Gang Studio NYC

by Karen Day

photos by James Ryang

Wool and The Gang, the irreverently fashionable knitting brand, opens up their first-ever street-side location in NYC's SoHo today. Peddling their clever ready-to-knit kits, as well as skeins of Peruvian threads, the yarn-obsessed group spreads their love of all things knitted in a stylishly welcoming studio.

With the motto, "Instead of simply wearing it, make it as well," they encourage new and experienced knitters to join in on some DIY enjoyment. Kitted out with colorful balls of yarn and already-made premium wool products, the simple interior—complete with signs and stools by Kenyan Lewis (who also had a hand in interiors at the Smile, Santa Maria Novella and several other of NY's loveliest establishments), white Light Years lamps and an accessible gathering table—makes for a community spirit and an alluring atmosphere.

The studio will offer free lessons to celebrate its first week of business, followed up with steadfast assistance for anyone in need of a "knitting surgery."

Breathing new life into the knitting industry with their "crazy sexy wool," perfect for chunky scarves or snoods, Wool and The Gang adds Alpaca to their collection next month, which makes a good pick for softer items like beanies or baby clothes.

The joy of knitting advocates even created the faulty pattern, a ripped style design highlighting instead of hiding those dropped stitches—the fortunate result of stylist Nadège Winter’s unsuccessful first attempts at knitting her own scarf.

Check out more images after the jump

Wool and The Gang
98 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012 map
tel. +1 212 966 9266