Here's one of the more ingenious ways we've seen people use Instagram: instant fashion editorial. Paula Reboredo and Gil França, the couple behind Sao Paulo vintage store B. Luxo, have come up with a way to market their goods and get a response immediately, by doing fully styled mini...

While the U.S. is going through an artisanal coffee movement, Brazil—already the world's largest producer of coffee—is seeing a revolution of its own, with shops like Sao Paulo's new Coffee Lab at its center. Working with one roasting machine and a crew outfitted in jumpsuits inspired by mechanics' uniforms,...

Following an event in Hanoi earlier this year, Tiger Beer brought its free art and music series, Tiger Translate, to Beijing. The most recent installment brought together artists from East and West to collaborate on the theme of the metropolis. This time around, however, Tiger Translate tweaked the creative...

From what we've seen from Matt W. Moore, the Portland, Maine-based artist behind MWM Graphics, he leaves no question that he's rabidly productive. And now, he's taking his signature "Vectorfunk" optical artwork one step further into a new dimension (literally) with the debut of a four-piece collection of design...

While queuing at the Nova contemporary art event Nova in São Paulo recently, a handful of half-masked ninjas went to work scribbling on nearby glass walls. The live-art act by the collective Ros Dolan and the Gang kicked off a lineup of free art events running every Saturday over...

The Brazilian aesthetic might be most easily defined by touches of nature and color. This is also the case with regional food, like iFolie's inventive, artisanal macaroons and chocolates, which come packaged in keepsake giftboxes that add even more color. A partnership between Carolina Carnicelli and Renata Fernandes, Folie...

Already in its fourth edition, the annual São Paulo conference Boom SP Design is evolving quickly—much like the Brazilian designers that it helps to bring to international attention. Inviting boldface names to participate in the cultural exchange, last week's conference brought dozens of talks with such major figures in...

Already known for colorful furniture and art pieces reflecting his homeland's diverse culture, Brazilian industrial designer Rodrigo Almeida recently designed his first jewelry collection called "Caligrafia" for São Paulo jewelry shop Aria Joalheiros. The collection, consisting of seven one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces, explores the theme "East meets West," as...

Our newest installment for the Cool Hunting Local section, the São Paolo guide features ten of the best "jumping-off" points for those visiting the tropical city. Here is a taste of the insider tips we feel will help you prepare for a memorable tour of this colorful and culturally...

Prouvé RAW, G-Star's latest collaboration in promoting its creative approach to other fields outside of clothing, links the denim brand with modernist Jean Prouvé's furniture designs. Two years ago, the Amsterdam-based company approached Swiss contemporary furniture manufacturer Vitra and proposed a makeover of 14 pieces by Prouvé. Creative teams...

As the cultural center of Vietnam, Hanoi recently made the ideal location to kick off Tiger Beer's latest event in its free art and music series, Tiger Translate. With more than half of the country's population born after 1975, the theme focused on growth, providing a badly needed forum...

Confronted with a collection of '60s and '70s furniture that he'd amassed over three decades, Marcelo Joulia decided to open a restaurant. The French-Argentinean architect set up shop in the first floor of the building that houses the Buenos Aires arm of his international agency Naço Arquitectures in the...

Taking a cue from their select inventory of conceptual young designers, Singaporean boutique Black Market's newly formed sister shop Black Market No. 2 toes the line between fashion and art by extending their involvement with clothing into other areas, such as film and in-store installations from a range of...

A publishing concept that bridges print, digital and display mediums like touchscreen or arcade console, Singapore's free, quarterly Kult Magazine by creative agency Kult 3D is set to release its sixth art-centric issue with a theme focused on extinction. Concerned about how quickly animals are disappearing due to the...

Singapore's enormous, glittering shopping malls in and around Orchard Street are wall-to-wall major-brand retailers, the stuff of a shopaholic's dream. For those seeking something more intimate, the indie boutiques on Haji Lane are far from the roaming mall rats. Lining a narrow, backstreet of the tranquil Kampong Glam area—otherwise...

With its handy book-like itinerary given out to all guests, Singapore's 9-month old, 29-room Wanderlust Hotel puts travelers in the mood for discovery from the get-go. Their clever attention to detail, carried throughout the hotel, make the boutique establishment a destination in itself. The booklet, executed by Foreign Policy...

Although Brazil is one of the world's top producers of cacao, Brazilian chocolate, on the other hand, has received very little attention. The common, everyday chocolate found on market shelves in Brazil is formulated with a higher fat content to add flavor and has less cacao compared to chocolate...

The move by Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art director Jeffrey Deitch to remove commissioned street artist Blu's artwork from the institution's exterior was polemic—not to mention ironic—being that it happened just a few months shy of its blockbuster "Art in the Streets" show, which opens later this month....

The 30 mosquito bites that eventually landed him in the hospital from a Dengue scare didn't stop artist Tofer Chin from installing his latest show in Rio de Janeiro's Parque Lage. "Fourteen Black," as the Los Angeles native calls it, runs until 30 April 2011 as part of Rojo's...

In a world of diminishing print publications and—even more rare—free ones, The Art Street Journal is an inspiring example of how it can still be done. The latest issue, Volume II: Issue IV, features Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara and at 36 pages is its biggest edition yet since launching...

Our round-up presents brick-and-mortar stores that took advantage of space and place to give customer experiences that went beyond just shopping and eating. Melrose Market Seattle's Melrose Market opened in Capitol Hill boasting 21,000-square-feet of space as home to almost a dozen retailers including Sitka & Spruce, Rain Shadow Meats,...

Though this year consumers had their pick of platforms with the e-reader, iPad and at its tail end, the ambitious Google eBooks project all at the pinnacle of published matter, print stood strong and proved that just like with the movies, the book is usually better. 3DD Photographer Henry Hargreaves'...

In recent years travelers have shied away from traditional hotel chains in favor of more intimate boutique establishments, but the newly-opened Nhow Berlin aims to change this with a Karim Rashid-designed refuge dedicated to music. Billed as Europe's first hotel with a state-of-the-art recording studio and guitars on the...

A foreword by BBDK design agency founder and Thinkingforaliving's Duane King on the modern definition of craft kicks off the inaugural quarterly issue of Singaporean magazine Bracket, featuring interviews with an international who's who in the creative industry like Aaron Rose, Geoff McFetridge, Frank Chimero and even musician and...

Disney continues to fan Tron fever with the release of several items of higher-end, wearable merchandise for men and women by designers like Rousseau, Hayden-Harnett and Rotenier that will be available all in one place beginning 19 November 2010 at the Tron Pop-Up Shop inside Los Angeles' Royal/T. The...

For anyone who's ever wanted to live inside their Hello Kitty pencil case, the cat character's founder Sanrio is currently celebrating its 50th with Small Gift—a massive, national blow-out tour. Following last year's global celebration of Kitty's 35th anniversary last year, the parent company will host events at L.A.'s...

Highly charming and intensely creative, "My New New York Diary: A Film-Book" by graphic artist Julie Doucet and director Michel Gondry merges graphic novel with cinematic storytelling. The book comes packaged with a DVD, and both are a necessary accompaniment to the other to help tell the tale of...

At over 32,000 square feet, the renovated former storage warehouse located in the middle of the downtrodden city of Inglewood, CA, doesn't exactly have the pomp and circumstance that you'd expect Los Angeles' newest art studio complex to have. But that's the point. The new Beacon Arts Building is a...

Assigning themselves with the heavy task of sifting through a whopping 15,000 indie records from the last 25 years to find the most interesting albums, editors Brian Roettinger, Mike Treff and Diego Hadis of "Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records From the USA," narrowed the selection down into...

Dave Eggers, author and founder of the indie publishing house McSweeney's recently unveiled yet another creative talent: the knack for drawing. His oversized "It Is Right to Draw Their Fur: Animal Renderings" arrives in McSweeney's book release club members' mailboxes this week and his first collection of drawings. Packaged...

This past weekend marked the official grand opening party for Seattle's new 21,000-square-foot gastronomy and retail mecca Melrose Market. Located in Capitol Hill, the destination steps in as a refreshingly modern version of the city's tourist-heavy Pike Place market. Melrose Market focuses on locally sourced, independent and organic goods...

Asking 11 artists and scientists from around the world to consider the "emerging behaviors" of devices, the fifth annual Biennial of Art and Technology: Art.ficial Emotion is a fascinating and provocative meditation on the future of technology. Leonel Moura's Robotarium SP, a site-specific robot zoo based on an existing...

Celebrating the craftsmanship, functionality and intricate details that catapulted G-Star to denim fame long before hip-hop celebs began sporting their jeans, the brand has taken it back to their 1989 roots with their new collection, Raw Essentials. Hitting stores this Friday, 13 August 2010, the collection includes key pieces...

Known for its collaborations with artists both emerging and on the radar, Poketo's latest partnership falls outside the circle of fine art with a 52-piece collection of bags, umbrellas and more designed especially for Target. Already landing in select stores, the entire range hits shops 10 August 2010, where...

Last Sunday, rather than the usual ballgame crowds, a different kind of fanatic filled L.A.'s Dodger Stadium parking lot. Shopaholics of all stripes came out to see the goods at the city's new monthly antiques, arts, food, and new-merchandise event, the L.A. Flea Market. Just as eclectic as the...

An interactive experience evolving right in front of attendees, the 100 international artists creating Nova—São Paulo's largest creative endeavor on view at the Museu da Imagem e do Som—take the stage for an immersive platform that challenges contemporary techniques and modern technology. Put on by the creative consortium Rojo,...

A simple idea easing a regular task, the new Reflect showerhead streams water from the attached mirror for a fog-free shave. Reflect initially debuted in New York at ICFF, but I got the chance to check it out up close recently at Dwell on Design. The patent-pending shower-mirror combo...

Shrinking Modernism to a micro scale, the sleek and minimal dollhouses by NYC-based Brinca Dada have kids and adults alike excited to play make believe. At the Dwell on Design show I got to hear about the toymaker's recently-completed Bennett House (above and below), which takes its cues from...

With former Droog co-founder Gijs Bakker at the creative helm, Taiwanese design collective Yii is sure to steal the show at the upcoming exhibit "Asia Now: Exploring Design Culture" curated by Designboom. Kicking off tomorrow in L.A., "Asia Now" is a major part of this year's Dwell on Design...

I like big butts and I cannot lie. As a female constantly preoccupied with how mine looks in pants combined with my experience living in Brazil—the very land that invented the thong bikini and where baile funk girls become overnight celebs based just on the girth of their behinds—I...

Charming, witty and altogether unexpected, Emmie Hsu's Fomato birthday cards make our favorite day a little more educational. Designed with bold graphics, each card starts out as with a mini comic-book-style, non-fiction tale about such subjects as potatoes, samurais and wine before revealing, often on the back page, the...

In a well-timed moment of cross-cultural exchange, the Corey Helford Gallery partnered with the Bristol City Museum and Gallery to put on a mega American show at the latter's space, featuring some of today's heaviest hitting street, pop and fine artists, including several never-before-seen works. Aptly called "Art From...

The focus on Brazil's tourist meccas of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador makes Belo Horizonte—the country's third largest city and where I stayed on my recent visit to art park Inhotim—all the more appealing. Full of hidden gems, the city's a worthy stopover when traveling to Brazil,...

Those needing interior decorating tips might find some offbeat inspiration after they see "Rooms", an exhibit opening tomorrow, 24 April 2010, at Scion's Installation L.A. Gallery. Curated by Roger Gastman, eight artists including Kime Buzzelli and Adam Wallacavage were assigned an area in the 4,500-square-foot gallery to create a...

While always preferred, buying organic is often cost-prohibitive and, with some produce, sometimes less important. Heidi Kenney's downloadable Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet makes that split-second decision on whether to spend that extra 20 cents a pound on organic bananas or organic strawberries a little easier. The convenient, credit card-sized guide...

In celebration of the upcoming Earth Day, one of our favorite creative collaborators Poketo got together with South Korea-based non-profit Eco Party Mearry to create a selection of adorable, unique bags made from recycled material. Fashioned out of discarded Korean billboards, leather jackets, couches, and second-hand clothing, each totally one-of-a-kind...

L.A. bookstore Family brings their indie spirit to the East Coast with a month-long extravaganza of art, music and literature, sponsored by Absolut. Set in a 4,200-square-foot pop-up space in NYC's TriBeCa neighborhood, Thirty Days NY features a host of daily festivities from some of the creative community's finest....

Humorous and provocative, the much-anticipated film Exit Through the Gift Shop by the U.K.'s leading street artist Banksy is impressively on par with his captivating artworks. After its surprise premiere at Sundance last year, the well-edited movie opens in select cities across the U.S. on 16 April 2010. Don't...

In the upscale São Paulo neighborhood of Higienopolis, Rojo Artspace inaugurates their newly-acquired digs with a show called "Born Into This" by Japanese-Brazilian graffiti artist Yusk Imai. Housed in an ornate 1920s building on a quiet residential street, the new space actually belongs to Galeria 600, which underwent a major...

A private, 178-acre lush botanical garden of 3,500 plant species, the outdoor museum Inhotim is home to commissioned and collected works from artists such as Doug Aitken and Matthew Barney. A visit to the immense Brazilian art park, an hour away from the country's third-largest metropolis, Belo Horizonte, feels...