The Sound of Your City
WeSC and smart team up in audio experiments around the globe
by Largetail on 25 May 2012 Pin It
Advertorial, Cars, Events, Headphones, NYC, Smart, smart car, Sound, Urbanization, WeSC
Advertorial content:
Even fans of urbanization don't usually talk about the cacophony of crowded sidewalks and highly-trafficked thoroughfares. What if all you really want to do is sleep in the city that never sleeps? But we're always ready to obsess more about NYC, so when tiny car brand smart asked us to take a deep listen and record the results, we hit the streets.
Part of "The Superlative Journey" campaign for a collaboration with streetwear label WeSC, our audio-scape was one of several captured by a cast of international online publications under the banner of "The Sound of Your City." The results were presented at events and now live online on smart's Urban Stages website—which is where the pieces come together.
Positioned as a place for dialog about the future of cities, the question becomes, what will our future cities sound like? The implication of course is filled with the purr of smart engines, but you also have the choice to literally go by the beat of your own drummer with the WeSC headphones developed alongside the Brabus, their smart car customization.
The headphones sell for $80 from WeSC online or from one of their 28 stores worldwide.
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Get in the spirit with tea towels, baked beans and Bentleys
by CH Editors on 24 May 2012 Pin It
Accessories, Bentley, Design, Diamond Jubilee, Events, Food, London, Queen Elizabeth, Tea, UK
From 10-year-old Katherine Dewar's winning design for the national emblem to Sir Paul Smith's tribute crown for Harrod's, creative displays of respect for Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne have reached a fever pitch both in the UK and abroad. Her Royal Highness truly embodies majesty, and several designers have successfully captured the spirit of the Diamond Jubilee with concepts that are quintessentially British—at once elegantly regal and playfully tongue-in-cheek. Read on for our favorites.
Ma'amite
Love-it-or-hate-it yeast spread Marmite just got a bit more British with the limited edition release of "Ma'amite", a clever pun in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Complete with a Union Jack and royal crown, the condiment is sure to make an appearance at many tables throughout England this Jubilee. "Ma'amite" is available through Sainsbury's for £2.50.
Heritage Heinz
An integral part of the full English breakfast, Heinz Baked Beans reached back into their vault to restore 60-year-old packaging in honor of the Queen's inaugural year. We dig the delightfully retro look of the 1952 can—assuming, of course, that the contents are are more up to date.
Drake's Handkerchief
This responsibly playful handkerchief from Drake's of London (£50) is printed on fine, lightweight silk. Motifs in the design include traffic-signaling bobbies, marching Beefeaters and a royal carriage parade.
Vivienne Westwood Red Carpet Collection
British fashion powerhouse Vivienne Westwood beckons the Diamond Jubilee with her Red Carpet Capsule Collection. Inspired by the Queen's own wardrobe, Westwood pulled back on her typically zany aesthetic to pay more demure homage to the woman who gave her a royal title with a line of dresses ranging from cocktail dresses to formal gowns.
Harrods' Diamond Jubilee Windows
A national institution itself thanks to a half century of Royal Warrants, Harrods has bedecked its Brompton Road windows with 31 commissioned crowns created specially for the jubilee by a range of designers like Sir Paul Smith, Lanvin, The Rug Company, Globetrotter, William Curley (whose crown is made of chocolate), Jo Malone and more. In addition to the one-off tributes, Harrods is also displaying Norman Hartnell's gorgeous satin gown created designed in 1953 for the Queen's coronation.
Bentley Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition
In honor of HRH, the legendary British motor company has created the ultra-regal Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition, a limited run of 60 cars—one for every year of the Queen's monarchy. Features build upon Bentley's already rich Executive Interior concept and include a gold royal carriage applied to the dashboard and embroidered on throw pillows and headrests, as well as polished treadplates with "Bentley Mulliner, England" and "Diamond Jubilee Edition" in script.
Ladurée Macarons
The delightfully irresistible macarons from Paris' Ladurée have been repackaged with a Union Jack in celebration of the anniversary. The macarons offer a sweet indulgence from Britain's neighbor and are the preferred sweet to have alongside high tea this Jubilee season. Find them in-store at Ladurée in London, Paris and New York.
East India Jubilee Tea
Pair your macarons with this rare tea made by the East India Company. Comprised exclusively of leaves plucked from a tree that Queen Elizabeth planted herself on a 1954 visit to Sri Lanka, the costly chai is given proper packaging in a handcrafted silver-plated caddy with a silver serving spoon.
Peter Gander Tea Towel
The tea towels have come out in droves this Jubilee season, and this design by Peter Gander is one of our favorites. Created to look like a playing card, the Queen's Corgis frame Her Highness's silhouette as playful banners carry the Diamond Jubilee announcement.
The Queen's Head 60
Anne-Narie Stijelja, faculty member at the Bedford Modern School, created a powerfully simple portrait of the Queen from vintage stamps. The image was included in a book called "The Jubilee Postcards", and is presently hanging in the Bedford Art Centre in Bedford, UK.
Lydia Leith Jelly Mould and Sick Bag
Whether the Jubilee celebrations make you work up an appetite or have you feeling a little nauseous, graphic designer Lydia Leith has you covered. Both made in England, her jelly mould and sick bag highlight the jovial side of the celebration with irreverent references to the Queen's reign.
OLO Fragrance
Diesel fuel, tobacco, damp dirt and pine tree perfume from Portland, OR
by Adrienne So on 21 May 2012 Pin It
American Made, Beauty, Experimental, Fragrance, Handmade, Nature, Outdoors, Perfume, Portland, Style
Perfumer Heather Sielaff hand-blends idiosyncratic, mostly masculine scents for her label OLO Fragrance in her apartment in north Portland. "I'm not really girly," she admits, and her perfumes tend to be intriguing rather than sweetly attractive. For example, Forêt's notes of pine and vetiver recall the scent of earth and damp northwestern trees, while Victory Wolf's birch tar, cedar and tobacco evoke nights spent camping beside an open fire.
Sielaff recently had a commission to create the smell of diesel fuel, which succeeded but had some unexpected consequences: "[The client] turned out to be allergic," she says.
"Years of practical use allowed me to get to know the individual essential oils quite intimately," says Sielaff, who trained as a neuromuscular therapist and studied aromatherapy on the side. "The thought finally occurred to me that making perfume would give me the opportunity to utilize my knowledge in a more creative way. It was initially just a hobby and I'm still a little surprised OLO took off the way it did," she says.
Undoubtedly one of the most significant elements to OLO's appeal is Sielaff's sense of humor. Diesel-based perfumes aren't the only unconventional product that she's attempted—the limited edition Make Deux room spray—interpret the pun in order to deduce its intended usage—asks the would-be customer, with tongue firmly in cheek, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a smell?"
Sielaff's intimate knowledge of scents keeps her perfumes multi-layered, personal and complex. Many of her projects stay local and never make it out of Portland."Some perfumes are limited edition or created for special events," she says. One such side project was a fragrance created for the Portland-based band YACHT, called Shangri-La, that blends more than a half-dozen scents into one moody, floral concoction. She also created a limited edition art bottle and box series with Portland glass artist Andy Paiko and Portland woodworker Jason Rens.
OLO fragrances are available online or at selected retailers. For more information on Sielaff's upcoming projects, check her blog.