kwangho lee

Kwangho Lee's new collection at the very cool Johnson Trading Gallery in New York. His knitted wire lamps (one wire), and knitted water hose chairs made me get in the gallery, very playful and unique.

I discovered his earlier work on his website, love all of the below

all images from the Johnson Trading Gallery and Kwangho Lee's website

be-poles paper goods

be-poles is the graphic agency in Paris who worked with MERCI on their brilliant visual identity. Check out my blog about MERCI and see their blog for more photos. They have a great approach they call ecographik about graphics and environment. They've designed a few great items for them as well - and you can find more on their website.

above, my MERCI paper bag (4 euros in the store) I use as a paper basket in my office in NY. I told you I'd be talking about MERCI a lot!!

wasara paper tableware

I discovered WASARA at MERCI (see post on my favorite store in Paris here).
These are one time use paper tableware made out of a mix of reed pulp, bamboo, and bagasse (sugarcane waste) which is usually discarded in the sugar making process.
It's super-eco friendly, and the soft feel and Japanese aesthetic are irresistible. the website's images to explain the concept are great

check it out here

a few products I love

all images above from the wasara website

jana and js polaroid stencils

This "stencil-ist" young couple is starting to spread their polaroid inspired art all over Paris. LOVE the idea. Check out their website: janaundjs.com

all images from janaundjs.com

jef aerosol

More and more good street art in my neighborhood in Paris: my favorite? Jef Areosol!

check out the organization Lezarts de la bievre

merci, merci!

I just discovered my new favorite store in Paris, created early June by the former owners of French kids top brand Bonpoint, Marie-France & Bernard Cohen, this store is 200% pure pleasure. You can literaly spend the whole afternoon there.
You'll find there a Christian Tortu flower shop, a perfume lab by Annick Goutal, fashion (YSL, APC, Isabel Marrant, Stella Mc Cartney, Marni, Paul & Joe) for women, men and kids, a "mercerie" (fabrics, zippers, buttons), amazing bedings, super great furniture vintage/roots to ultramodern, and great great home decor + accessories, an ice cream cart, a cafeteria with home baked goods, and a library/cafe where you can sit and sip something - you can also leave with the second hand books as they're all for sale. All of this in an amazing space.
The best part is that part of the profit margin goes to charities in Madagascar.

From the outside + the perfume lab

the 2nd floor - mostly home decor and the kid's section
+ the cool changing rooms from the 1st floor (fashion)

The rez-de-jardin (downstairs) with the cafeteria,
the small home accessories and lighting.
My favorite item on that floor? Probably the black and white
woven electric cords they sell by the yard...
My sister got me 2 yards for my birthday,
I can't wait to find the use for it.

The cafe/library

The books are sorted by subjects, you can just read
or buy them for 5, 10 or 20 euros depending on the color
of the sticker on its back.


I'll probably blog separately about specific finds from there. A real gold mine!!
MERCI - 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais - 75011 Paris

my holga

Remember my post about lomography? Well, I did buy a Holga, and I did test it. Here's my very first roll (after the one which came out blank). You like?

tracy rocca at winston wachter

Yesterday was the opening of Tracy Rocca's exhibition at the Winston Wachter Gallery in NYC.
It's a new kind of impressionism, makes everything around look so real and sharp! I love the artist's statement:
"The goal of my work is to create a place where the mind can rest.
The imagery I use arises from, first, consistent observation and, second, a conscious effort to slow down. [...]" read the whole statement here.

Lake Washington (2009)
oil on polyester over panel 36"x36"

Lilly 2009
oil on polyester over panel 48"x48"

Gilroy Garden 2009
oil on polyester over panel 20"x20"

all images from Tracy Rocca and Winston Wachter websites

pop up public bathrooms

I overheard French people talking about it on the street of NY, and I found it on likecool.com. The urilift unit (pictured here) can be found in several cities in Europe, it stays underground all day, and comes up at 10pm to go back down at 3pm... They seem to have noticed that this is when the drinking -therefore the toilet need- happens.
But these are for men only as they're actually a set of 3 urinals. The one we could import to the US would be the urigienic, which has a door, and also has the advantage of being unisex thanks to its "revolutionary suspended toilet seat".

slow car crash

SLOW INEVITABLE DEATH OF AMERICAN MUSCLE - SLOW MOTION CAR CRASH "This sculpture is a machine that advances two full sized automobiles slowly into one another over a period of 6 days, simulating a head on automobile collision. Each car moves about three feet into the other. The movement is so slow as to be invisible." see movies here.

found on today and tomorrow who found it on jeriko (thank you!)

shopdropping

We all know about shoplifting, but do you know about shopdropping? This artist group in Canada invented it. You drop your art in supermarket so people can enjoy it at home!! See ShopDropping Montreal for more images, movies and info. Pretty generous!

posted on notcot.org by keenon design

learning about sustainable living

Ever dreamed of building a solar oven, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a wind generator or a lemon battery?
This brilliant little house can teach you (and maybe your 12+ year old kid/cousin/nephew) the basics of alternative energy and sustainable living. Plenty of little experiments to heat the house with the sun's energy, using evaporation for cooling, cook with the sun, using wind energy, etc. Great gift.
Sold at uncommon goods for $90

highlighter portrait

I thought it was so smart I almost* bought one... These are the lyrics of these hip hop legends with their "highlighter style" portraits. There's a small STABILO highlighter in the back.
Sorry the images aren't great, I couldn't find any that gave it justice. The green portrait isn't the best... the yellow one was, if you go there.
Reed Space 151 orchard st in nyc (212) 253 0588 ($36)

* no offense to the designer for the "almost", I just don't wear tee-shirts

neo-paris

The new Parisian attitude: twisted classics, a pinch of modernity, a bit of humour noir... and still very Paris [vé-ree pah-ree]!
1- who else than Chanel?
2- "Je t'aime" lamp - Fleux (275 euros)
3- chimpanzee chandelier - Fleux (175 euros)
4- baccarat Black Angel tall glass, designed by Philippe Starck - Neiman Marcus ($510) {found on Toast and Tables}
5- riedel black crystal blind tasting wine glass - Tiffany ($60) {found on Toast and Tables}
6- poplin cotton necklace with a silvered brass chain - Arty Dandy ( 69 Euros)
7- hand made broche by Marianne Batlle - Arty Dandy (125 euros)
8- trompe l'oeil cardboard stool - Fleux (39 euros)
9- showtime double poltrona sofa - the future perfect ($9,920)
10- greatest find of the day: biblioteca shelving by Matt Car, mahogani and lacquer- the future perfect ($550)
11- smoke collection from Maarteen Baas - moss this piece has sold but there are others still available (price upon request), I just had to place it here.
12- deluxe plastic cutlery set - rose and radish ($27)
13- who can escape the oxfords this year? these are Rag&bone (the most comfy on the market) - eluxury ($237 on sale!)
14- zeppelin S1 suspension light by Marcel Wanders - moss ($3,512)
15- front design table pig - Fleux ( 1,495 euros) or Unica Home ($2,277)
16- still life serie from Klein and Reid - kleinreid.com

mystery fashion accessories

I really don't mean to reveal the entire content of the French Marie Claire 2 (printemps-ete 09), but I really wanted to share this other story. It's so refreshing to see magazines being actually creative. I promise, if you buy it, there will be much more to look at! This editorial is about DIESEL accessories as Hitchcockian stars.

dog eat shoe

Another brilliant editorial in French Marie-Claire 2 (printemps/ete 2009). One of my absolute favorite magazines, huge density of ideas and great images.
At last a little humor in the fashion world (along with perfect styling by Isabelle Roville, and great photography by Peter Lippmann)

PHOTOGRAPHER: PETER LIPPMANN

STYLIST: ISABELLE ROVILLE

get a character

I love these salvaged characters from this brilliant company in Finland: characters. They were once part of a store front, and were re-cycled with led lights.
I want one!! (between 120 and 400 euros, all one of a kind)

discovered on Toxel.com.

the future of magazines

This is the very near future of books and magazines (for real).
This one is still B&W but soon we'll have many versions to pick from ($359 on amazon.com)
I'm not sure about not turning pages, but that will definitely save some trees!