36 days of New York Sky

Michael Surtees, a New York based designer, has taken a picture of the winter sky everyday between 7 and 9am and has uploaded all the images to flickr. The combo of all the images in their set is seen above.

BA&SH

Ba&sh clothes are made using soft, natural fabrics and are "designed to be worn everyday". With two boutiques in Paris and a line available for international wholesale distribution, I am in search of the line in NYC. Above are some looks from their Winter 08 collection.

Bubble Rings

Jane D'Arensbourg is a Brooklyn based artist and designer who casts jewelry out of Pyrex glass and metal. Above are her metal cast bubble rings. If interested, some of her work can be purchased online at Auto.

Missoni Fall 08

It's fashion week in Milan and Missoni just had their runway show for Fall 2008. I really like their neutral color palette mixed with teal, mustard, cranberry and orange. For more photo's visit style.com

Lounging Around

Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam has just opened its new Royal Center Lounge. The space was designed by Concrete Architectural Associates and Queen Beatrix showed up on opening day to check it out. Hope she liked it because she is one of the few that can actually use it. The space is intended to be used only by royalty, ministers, diplomats, state secretaries, etc.

Let it Rain

I know my in-laws in Amsterdam are going to be happy about this invention. Totes has developed a wind resistant (up to 70 mph) umbrella called SENZ.

Table Chair

Designed by Joel Hesselgren, these modern chairs slide into one another and transform into a table. Being an apartment dweller, I can appreciate the multifunctional use.

Table

The Apprentice

Jerome Olivet, who worked with Phillipe Starck for three years, is now launching his own collection of leather goods. 'City Bag' ergonomically merges with your body and houses your iPod and mobile phone in a black glaze skin.

Orchid Inspired Chair

Designer Sebastian Gronemeyer took inspiration from the delicate leaves of an orchid when designing this reinforced fiberglass chair.

Jovovich-Hawk for Target

Go International is an exclusive, limited-time, line of styles for Target, which are designed by "rising star" fashion designers. So far, Target has had 10 designers create a mass market line for their stores. The next line will launch March 2nd and has been designed by Jovovich-Hawk (some preview looks above).

Pimp My Powder Room

OK, this is just funny (minus the tired use of the word "Pimp"). Roto-Rooter is holding a Pimp My Powder Room contest where you can enter to win a Powder Room with all of the electronic equipment you see in this photo (toilet with heated seat and bidet, a tv with heated towel rack, a hair dryer, a foot massager, a laptop computer, an ipod with speaker docking station, a coffee maker, etc. etc.) And when are they announcing the winner...in April, on National Plumbers Day of course.

Bitter Sweet

Just in time for Valentines Day, BitterSweets has come out with three tins filled with candy hearts stamped with 37 funny sayings. For those of us that are less then thrilled with the love-filled holiday, perhaps one of these tins will make you smile.


From Left to Right, the 'Dejected' tin has depressing sayings for those spending Valentines Day alone (ie: "Table For 1", "I Cry On Q"), the 'Dysfunctional' tin has bitter sayings for those in dysfunctional relationships (ie: "No Fix 4 Dumb", "Sub Prime") and the 'Dumped' tin offers kissoff sayings (ie: "Back 2 Kennel", "I Got Sober").

Ryan at the SAG Awards

Ryan Gosling walked the red carpet at the 2008 Screen Actor's Guild Awards on Sunday and I thought his look was refreshingly chic. His sister, Mandy, seen in the above photo, suggested they wear black ribbons to honor the memory of Heath Ledger. The rest of his impeccable outfit was pure Tom Ford.

Oh So Pretty

Lauren Moffatt's vintage chic clothes are available at better department stores and specialty shops. These are some looks from her Spring 08 collection.

Nesst-ing Baby

Deriving its form from an egg, the nestt car seat has been designed by think/thing design firm. Among the many cool features of the nestt, it is able to tilt and swivel to face a car's open door with one swift motion.

Pantone 08

Pantone Colour Calendar 2008 was created by Swiss designer, Moritz Zwimpfer. It has a new Pantone color (complete with Pantone #) for each day of the year and has plenty of space to jot down notes and ideas. It is available on Amazon.

Paul & Joe Decorates your Desktop

Paul & Joe Beaute has some cute wallpapers you can download on their website.

Members Only

Remember in the movie 'Shallow Hal', when Gwyeneth Paltrow asks Jason Alexander if he's the last member of the club after she spots him wearing a Members Only Jacket? Well, the 80's outerwear brand is back and has relaunched at Henri Bendel in NYC.
Now you'll have something to wear to the newly announced New Kids on the Block reunion tour!

At Home with JC Penney and Target?

Target is introducing two lines of housewares from Dwell Studio, the home furnishings company known for textiles with bold patterns and subtle color palettes. Dwell Baby, available today, has furniture, accessories, and textiles for the nursery. Dwell Home will be introduced at the end of February and it will have sheets, throw pillows, etc. for the rest of the home.


J.C. Penney is working with Danny Seo to create a line of organic and bamboo housewares that will be called "Simply Green".

To see or not to see...that is the question

I tried on some items in Club Monaco today and had a mental heart attack when I viewed myself in their 3-way, dressing room mirror. After talking to my friend CDB, it got me thinking......are there any dressing rooms in NYC that deserve praise instead of a reaction of shock and horror? What happened to good lighting, "skinny" mirrors, and room enough in the dressing rooms to actually see yourself before venturing out in the hallway only to have the door close and lock behind you?
Anyway, I came across the grindskipper's take on the best and worst NYC dressing rooms and thought I'd share.....

Perrier + Paul & Joe

French fashion house Paul & Joe have collaborated with Perrier to design assorted, canned, 6-packs. My friend, Michelle, insists on drinking her Perrier out of a wine glass...I wonder if this new packaging can get her to change her mind.

White House Re-Do!

In today's Metro, I noticed an article reporting on Storefront for Art and Architecture's contest to do-over the White House. My initial reaction was - it's obvious - a 200 story penis shaped tower! But politics a side, think about it...would't you love to know what would Frank Ghery do? It's all hypothetical, but if your submission wins it's worth $5000 and a weekend in NYC!

The article states that formal submissions aren't necessary - it could be paragraph or full blown plans. The jury will consider all reasonable and creative ideas. And it's a highly esteemed jury at that:

Beatriz Colomina, Architectural historian, New York
Stefano Boeri, Editor-in-chief, Abitare magazine, Milan
Liz Diller, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York
John Maeda, MIT Media Lab, Boston
Geoff Manaugh, BLDGblog and Dwell magazine, San Francisco
Mark Wigley, Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Columbia University
Laetitia Wolff, Editorial director, Surface magazine, New York

So, good luck in impressing them! We would be thrilled if you would like to post any of your ideas here! Let us know. Meanwhile check out www.whitehouseredux.org

What's the Story Morninglori

Morninglori by Lori Brown has "handcrafted curiosities" by Lori Brown. Each stuffed creature comes with a story about their character.....really cute.

Big week at Liz

It has been getting increasingly difficult to keep up with which designer or celebrity is lending their hand to a new line, gadget, or accessory but some recent news regarding Liz Claiborne has caught my eye.
Isaac Mizrahi is moving from Target Corp, where he has been designing an apparel line from 2003, to creative director of women's sportswear, accessories and licensed products beginning with the spring 09 season.
Liz Claiborne has also hired John Bartlett to design the Claiborne men's sportswear line which will be launching for spring 09.
And in other Claiborne news, there are rumors that they are in talks with Kohl's to license the Dana Buchman label.

MacBook Air

Weighing just 3 pounds and remarkably thin, the MacBook Air will be available in two weeks time. In addition to its compact size it has iPhone's trackpad features. I'm not ready to replace my MacBook Pro but I'm tempted...

Earrings

I posted about Abigail A. Percy's jewelry on 2Modern but I'm digging her earrings so much that I thought I'd give them a second mention.

Top Design Casting

Bravo's Top Design show is now casting for Season 2!

Vest Assure

It's hard to swing a stick these days without hitting a men's vest but to be honest there is not much stick swinging going on so men do not fear. Seen on the streets, in the clubs and in the office, vests have turned into that wardrobe piece that is easy to throw on and seems to kick up almost any outfit a notch. Born out of need for postboys and horseback riders in 19th-century England to keep warm, it is now being seen all over Hollywood's big screen as well. Check out Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd", Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood", Brad Pitt in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and George Clooney in "Letterheads"....vests, vests, and more vests.

I Can't Live Without a Poni

Layers of markers and pencils build up an energy in I Can't Live Without a Poni's artwork.