balancing act

really cool video of a very cool product
sold at areaware

the chicest cup holder

Please meet the chicest cup holder on the planet.

A creation of petit h (yes, h as in Hermes, see my previous post), designed by leather craftsman and saddler Michael Orain.

When you look at it vertical on the cup, it's the exact same shape as the traditional Hermes craftsmen and saddlers apron and when you tilt the cup horizontal, it's the saddle, another iconic silhouette for Hermes. So everyday with your coffee (starbucks included), you have the whole history of Hermes in your hand. How powerful is that?

... and YES you can actually own one soon: they will be available at the petit h sale in the Hermes Madison store between Nov 2nd and 23rd 2011 and on Hermes.com (10/3 to 10/23).

I have to start drinking coffee now!!

petit h

Last Friday I got to visit the petit h studio in Paris and the Hermes ateliers (yes, as in Hermes) thanks to my very good friend Mathieu Forestier from White Sky.
The most inspiring visit ever.

petit h is the "atelier de re-creation" (re-creation studio) of Hermes. The idea is that Hermes having probably the highest quality control in the world, there's a gold mine of rejected materials that are absolutely perfect around the one tiny fault that made it get out of line. Well, petit h gives these "rejected" or "left over" pieces another chance to get in the spotlight. They might not become the Birkin bag they always dreamed they would be, but they might become the ear of this giant bunny designed by Marjolijn Mandersloot for the year of the Rabbit (see last image), or part of another one of a kind poetic objects created in the studio with the savoir faire of the Hermes artisans.
The movie on the Hermes website and a few of the objects below, will explain it better than words...

Directing the magic are Pascale Mussard, from the Hermes family as the art director and Cyril Feb, managing director (with me and the rabbit above) that I had the privilege to meet - exquisite people for sure!!
There's no limits to what's possible, you should see the studio, the ultimate dream. Believe me, if I lived in Paris, I would have volunteered myself to make coffee, sharpen pencils or anything that would allow me to stand around and absorb...

pretty light bulb

Please meet the Plumen 001 designed by Hulger and Sam Wilkinson (UK) - discovered on ahalife where you can buy them for $30. Do I really need to say why I love them??
Some numbers: it uses 80% less energy than a regular bulb and lasts 8 times longer.


also see the dezeen article showing the bulb in glass vessels for DECODE, London.

sort of coal

I haven't been that excited about a product in a long time... especially as I'm getting more and more disgusted by consumerism in general.
I discovered this water purifier bottle (on the table of some very good friends of mine) that makes you want to ditch your old BRITA - even though that wouldn't be very environment friendly - and its disposable filters full of plastic and cheap coal...
This is a whole different level, the coal is in the bottle, the design is impeccable.
There's a whole philosophy behind the products from SORT OF COAL, read about it on their website. It's just the most inspiring company I've heard of in a long long time.

>> the bottle with the piece of coal is 68 euros + shipping from Denmark (35 euros to the US). A lot more irresistible products on their website...

I'm in love!

story of stuff

My sister (tiltoid.com/blog) just sent me the movie below.
How did I not know about this organization before?? It illustrates perfectly the struggle I'm in right now, being in the advertising industry which encourages consumption of stuff nobody needs, and trying to find a way to make a good use of my abilities and my time on this planet.
We definitely need to break to habit, it's so easy to get sucked in... We need good ideas, inspiring people to stand up and lead the way. I'm thinking very hard right now, and will be back with ideas (hopefully)!!

hugo the wild boar

His name is Hugo and he's the result of a collaboration between 2 of my favorites: Aeraware and Monocle designed by David Weeks.
Limited edition: 100 only, available online (110£)

in the sustainable era

Just bought this book, and I love it!! Very inspiring.
$26.39 on Amazon

David Weeks for Areaware

Hard to choose one !
From $25 to $110 at Areaware

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