Electric Windows

by Ami Kealoha, 4 July 2008

Bringing together 24 street artists from all over the world, Electric Windows is a semi-permanent installation of large-scale work exhibited on the exterior windows of a 19th century blanket factory in Beacon, NY. We traveled to the small town earlier this year to meet some of the artists and watch them make "urban art" in a not-so-urban setting. We also interview one of the organizers, Daniel Weise, a vet of the NYC street artist scene who recently moved to Beacon and co-founded Beacon's Open Space gallery there.

Eight Clear-framed Sunglasses

by Ami Kealoha, 3 July 2008

by Piera Gelardi

See-through specs have been popping up everywhere lately and old-school opticians Moscot recently released their limited-edition Nebb style inspired by fashion designer Chris Benz. These translucent shades comes in hues of cornflower blue, lavender, yellow, and amber. There are only 200 of each being produced so here are four other options for crystal-clear vision.

Clockwise from top left:

Moscot
Nebb Limited-Edition Sunglasses, $220, available at Moscot.

Grey Ant
Status Sunglasses, $253, available at Revolve Clothing.

Topshop
Contrast Lens Sunglasses, about $40, available at Topshop.

Costalots
Sunglasses, $196, available Oak.

For all eight pairs...

Five Sights at the London Festival of Architecture

by Leonora Oppenheim, 3 July 2008

Hairywood in Covent Garden Piazza
The celebrated collaboration between 6a Architects and fashion designers Eley Kishimoto has been reconstructed for 2008 and placed in London's busiest public square. The decorative tower (above left), inspired by both Rapunzel and Jaques Tati, created a buzz in 2005 when it appeared peeping over Old Street. Take some time out to rise above the chaos, go sit in the tower and watch the London go by.

Road Trip to the Moon
This amazing installation, using steam bent hardwood (above right), is the first solo outing for Charlie Whinney, previously of Sixixis. Together with Metropolitan Workshop, Charlie Whinney Associates have created a sculptural exploration of sustainable growth, which discusses road use in urban areas. The exhibition's title refers to the fact that, "if all public UK roads were laid end to end they could span to the moon and beyond."

Storefront London
After popping up in LA and Milan, the New York Gallery, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, traveled on to London to set up shop for a month with the exhibition CPH Experiment showing projects and models by Danish architects BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group.

The highlight of the show is surely their Mountain Dwellings project model made out of 250,000 LEGO bricks. On 4 July, Geoff Manaugh, founder of BLDGBLOG and senior editor of Dwell magazine, will host a day long event at Storefront.

Street Gallery
As an encouragement for Londoners and bustling tourists to stop rushing around the city with their heads down or buried in a map most of the time, the LAF's Street Gallery provides markers around town highlighting significant buildings, construction sites and landscapes. Look out for the pink boards tied to railings and take a moment to stop, appreciate and learn something new about your built environment.

Architectural Jelly Banquet
Potentially one of the most surreal events of the festival, the Jelly Banquet, hosted by food brand Bompas & Parr, will see over 1000 architectural jellys exhibited during the evening. Models of St. Paul's, the Eden Project and other British landmarks will be dramatically uplit alongside "wobbling soundscapes," before being devoured at the end of the night.

Architectural Jelly Banquet
4 July 2008, 8pm-3am
University College London
Gower Street, WC1E 6BT map

Plus Minus Zero: 5th Collection

by Brian Fichtner, 3 July 2008

Plus Minus Zero, the Japanese company co-founded by the master of minimal design Naoto Fukasawa, just released its fifth collection. Consisting of a table clock, a thermometer, a timer, a card case, a fan and an electric water kettle, the latest exudes a sense of austerity that, somehow, only Japanese design achieves.

The success in Fukasawa's designs stems not only from a rigorous paring of excess, but from calculated development decisions. Consider the "2.5R" series of products (below right). The dimensions, 58.5mm x 58.5mm x 29.3mm, have been systematically appraised to be the ideal for holding in one's hand. The corners of each object have a radius of 2.5mm. The company literature explains: "A long time ago, the corners of wooden furniture and fixtures were not rounded; the corners were planed off, and this "chamfering" relaxed any excessive sharpness. Since the size of this chamfering translated into an R of 2.5mm, 2.5R is a roundness of the corners that feels comfortable to the touch."

Unfortunately, Plus Minus Zero has yet to develop a distribution channel here in the United States. Although previous collections (which included such products as a glossy, donut-shaped humidifier and a pop-colored space heater) were widely praised, there remains little indication that these minimal wares will hit Bed Bath & Beyond anytime soon. For now, you can buy a few select items through gadget retailers such as Dynamism and Compact Impact. Or, as an alternative, get your Japanese friends to check an extra bag on their next return flight.

Yee-Haw Industries

by Doug Black, 3 July 2008

Housed in a turn-of-the-century storefront between theaters and restaurants on Gay Street —Knoxville, Tennessee's main thoroughfare—Yee-Haw Industries has become something of an institution. Since 1996, founders Julie Belcher and Kevin Bradley have been producing striking posters and fine art prints, strictly using classic hand-pressed printing techniques.

Having more than a small obsession with Americana and classic American musicians, Yee-Haw began by making folk art-inspired woodcuts of figures like Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams, Sr. They eventually caught the eye of current musical acts, who hired the pair to make art and concert posters for them. As their output increased, they moved into their current location 10 years ago, a length of time reflected by the scores of posters that completely blanket the studio's walls and ceiling.

On a recent visit to Knoxville, I was drawn into the storefront when a striking Obama poster (above) in their display caught my eye. I later learned that it was printed on hand-carved wood that's over 100 years old. This technique creates the imperfect ink coverage and makes each print unique. The studio's front is used as a shop where they sell their limited and one-of-a-kind prints on 100-percent recycled paper. I particularly enjoyed their series of small prints featuring various soul-singers with colorful biographical commentary (pictured below, click for detail).

If you can't make it to The Marble City anytime soon, purchase Yee-Haw prints at their online store or through Etsy.

Coconut Milk Yogurt and Ice Cream

by Seth Brau, 3 July 2008

With everybody suddenly becoming allergic to everything, all kinds of new food alternatives are popping up. The latest we've sampled is a line of organic coconut milk-based "ice creams" and "yogurts" from Turtle Mountain. The same makers behind So Delicious and Purely Decadent, Turtle Mountain has already made a name for themselves in the world of non dairy treats. Technically called cultured coconut milks (yogurts) and coconut milk non-dairy frozen desserts (ice creams), they're not only dairy free but are also soy free (for those wary of estrogen overload) and fingers crossed there aren't too many people with coconut allergies.

Beyond the no soy/non-dairy benefits of coconut milk and something described as medium chain fatty acids (which these products apparently have a ton of), they actually taste great. The "yogurt" is rich and creamy (albeit a bit thin texture-wise) and has a refreshing coconut tang. With flavors like blueberry, vanilla, and peach, these are definitely one of the best-tasting non-dairy yogurts I've come across though they are a bit on the sweeter side.

The "ice creams" are even better. With a texture similar to gelato and sweetened with agave, they're plenty milky and smooth. With all the classic flavors, including cookie dough (which was one of the most popular among our tasters), each manages to have a distinct taste that finishes with a refreshing bite of coconut. Look for these at local grocers and health food stores.