Thursday, May 29

Chanel store to open on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood

Edited Chanel

Courtesy of Peter Marino + Assoc
Chanel opens a store Friday on Robertson Boulevard with an edited selection of the season’s pieces and nail polishes exclusive to this location.
The scaled-down store debuts May 30 and will present a tightly edited selection of the season's pieces.
By Emili Vesilind, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 25, 2008
SLEEK, airy and abbreviated. The new Chanel store is as expertly packaged as the trendy shopping row it inhabits: West Hollywood's Robertson Boulevard. The boutique, which opens Friday, is the first in a new breed of smaller shops for the company that zero in on the season's trends and the neighborhood, a spokeswoman said.

The concept behind the mini store -- designed by Peter Marino, who is also responsible for Chanel's stunning Rodeo Drive revamp -- is to present a tightly edited selection of the season's pieces, including ready-to-wear, fine jewelry, accessories and cosmetics, similar to what a shrewd fashion editor might handpick for a photo shoot, said Barbara Cirkva, president of Chanel's fashion division. Merchandisers may focus on a certain color scheme or a trendy silhouette or handbag within the larger collections.

With Chanel's arrival on Robertson, the street's days as a quaint indie boutique district are officially over. (D&G and Ralph Lauren are poised to open soon.) But it's still the row du jour for young starlets and wannabes looking to get "caught" by the paparazzi. Chanel denies that the new outpost is an attempt to appeal to a younger crowd, but the trendy location and smaller scope do suggest otherwise.

The 5,395-square-foot, two-story boutique includes a huge landscaped courtyard bordering the main floor. Up the polished black concrete staircase is a smaller space featuring pieces from the ready-to-wear collection with sliding glass doors opening onto a terrace. As on Rodeo, the color scheme is classic Chanel black and white, and original artwork was commissioned -- this time from Robert Greene, who created two oil works on vellum, collaged onto aluminum panels.

Pieces from the latest haute couture collection will be on display, and the store will carry a limited-edition line of four eye-catching nail polish shades: Melrose (a shocking pink), Rodeo Drive (soft purple), L.A. Sunrise (primary yellow) and L.A. Sunset (warm tangerine). The bright hues make up the Robertson Collection, sell for $25 each and are exclusive to the new location.

Depending on how business shakes out on Robertson, Cirkva said the company is likely to replicate the small-store concept in London, Paris and Tokyo.

"This is a way to create a unique point of view about Chanel," she said, "tailored to each location."

Fortunately for us, Chanel doesn't make low-rise booty jeans.

Photo

photos: Chanel; WireImage.

emili.vesilind@latimes.com


via LA Times

Monday, May 26

Praq Restaurant by Tjep

Praq has a new unique restaurant concept that welcome parents and their children without looking like a playground. Tjep created a restaurant that is inspiring and fun for children, while being comfortable and enjoyable for their parents.

The space is characterized by a monumental farm style roof composed of huge massive wooden beams. Within the space they created a playful world by placing furniture and elements that form crossovers between objects and furniture or furniture that refers to the space itself.

One space is reserved for children and their parents while the other is reserved for adults. The adult space clearly fits the same world only here the accent is more geared towards cosiness and style.

via Coolboom

Via dezeen

Jan Vormann, New from Jean Marie Massaud,

Installation by Jan Vormann

Installation by Jan Vormann

http://www.janvormann.com

[via]

Suspension Lamp from Jean Marie Massaud

This amazing piece was designed by Jean Marie Massaud - I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything like it before.

AVMazzega: http://www.avmazzega.com

Jean Marie Massaud: http://www.massaud.com

Via Design Milk

Paula Bastiaansen

Start date: 26-04-2008
End date: 18-05-2008
Country: The Netherlands
City: Amsterdam
Location: Galerie Carla Koch

Exhibition of new ceramic work.

By Editor Design.nl / 06-05-2008

Exhibition of new ceramic work.

Paula Bastiaansen's objects are always extremely fragile forms, based on the bowl but with many fine offshoots. Her objects, which are very light, suggest total weightlessness, partially because of the bone-china she uses as her basic material. Apart from weightlessness, Bastiaansen is "fascinated by continuous movement in natural and cosmic processes". She expresses this fascination through the slow turning movement all her objects suggest.

Although her objects are clearly based on the bowl form, in recent years they have evolved into spatial structures. Any "enclosing walls" have been removed completely.

Techniques
Bastiaansen starts by drawing a new object, and covering this drawing with transparent plastic. She then forms a very thin layer of bone-china, and cuts it up into pieces. She assembles these pieces on top of her drawing, dries it a bit and then puts it in a bowl-formed mould. Finally she forms the fine offshoots and folds and fires the object. By this procedure she creates her recognizable, fragile and moving objects.

Biography

Paula Bastiaansen (1953) was educated at the Koninklijke Academie voor Kunst en Vormgeving in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. Recently she won the Bronze Award of the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, the jury especially praising her fragile techniques and her mastery of her material. Paula Bastiaansen is a teacher at the School voor Expressie at Roozendaal, the Netherlands.

via design.nl

Live/Work Space by Sculp(IT)

Architects Pieter Peerlings & Silvia Mertens are Sculp(IT), who live and work in this remmant space of 2.4 meters wide, 5.5 meters depth and 12 meters height.

Four wooden floors between two existing walls organize this house. Downstairs for work, dining on the first, relaxing on the second, sleeping on the third and on the roof a place to go and enjoy the view.

Photos by Luc Roymans

via coolboom

Via Archinect

Sunday, May 25

Kivi Placemats

Kivi Placemat Designs Kivi Placemat Designs

Really cute placemat and coaster design from Kivi.

via Design Milk

http://www.cloudberryliving.co.uk

Anemi Hotel

The Anemi Hotel is a luxurious contemporary hotel located in the island of Folegandros, Greece, that has been inspired by the traditional Cycladic architecture.

The hotel consists of a small two-floor building complex which lays harmoniously on one of the most peaceful seaside resorts of the Cyclades.

The decor is inspired by simplicity, detail and elegance, giving the feeling of a private residence, comfortable, yet distinctive. The hotel is a place for young-spirited persons who enjoy the Greek island lifestyle.

Photos by Periklis Thouas

via CoolBoom

Via yatzer

Saturday, May 24

Swedish Limited Edition

G1

Gram, a Stockholm based design company whose work we've long admired, have just launched a new premium sneaker range to go with their existing range of shoes and knitwear. Limiting themselves to a strict monochrome palette, Gram have created two distinctive looking shoes; one appears to have been dipped in a bucket of white paint (sole, upper and lacing all blend seamlessly into a blindingly white shoe) whilst the other represents it’s polar opposite; black, black and more black. Nothing unusual in that, you might say. But don’t be fooled by first appearances. It may look at first as though Gram have simply created a classic hi-top shoe but look closer and you’ll discover a multitude of technological wonders. Here’s just a taste of the design specifications for the Gram SE range:

“In an effort to recreate the comfort of professional trainers, a mixture of EVA and abrasion resistant rubber has been used for the shoe’s outsole, thereby achieving excellent dampening, multi-directional support and all the grip and durability you’ll ever need. If for any reason you actually manage to wear out the sole, fear not. Every pair of Gram SE trainers comes with replacement parts. The thick-coated cow leather shells come with triple stitching on all seams, reinforced lacing and are fully lined with moisture absorbing, quick drying mesh to keep your feet warm and dry. The ergonomically shaped insoles are covered in quick drying microfiber cloth and include neoprene heel dampening, silicone arch support and all-over EVA cushioning.”

Gram was formed in April 2005 by Alexis Holm and Anna Stenvi. Having started by designing and producing shoes, then adding a range of knitwear, Gram are slowly but surely expanding their range to a full collection for next year. You’ll already find Gram products in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, France, Spain, Canada, Italy and Belgium, as well as their native Scandinavia. Gram’s new premium line will be appearing in stores from August onwards, in places such as Nitty Gritty, Aplace and Solo (Sweden), Opening Ceremony (US), Firmament (Berlin), CODE (Amsterdam), Nano Universe (Tokyo) and Shine (HongKong). Take a look below to read about the limited edition Autogram and so a see a selection our favorites from their regular range:

G2

G3

For the launch of the new Gram SE sneaker line, Alexis and Anna wanted to create something that would physically communicate what they had in mind when developing the new shoe….something that embodied cutting edge technology, blistering speed and uncompromising performance. They came up with The Autogram, a specially designed top of the line remote control car which is only available on special order for €500 each. Rather like the new shoes, there's a lot of technology and performance hidden under the car's deceptively simple monochromatic exterior.

321g
321g

366g
366g

383g
383g

387g
387g

388g
388g

406g
406g

Gram

via Lifecarbon