paris review – Château de Compiègne
From Gare du Nord, train yourself an hour outside of Paris and you’ve got yourself at Compiègne and it’s Château. I must confess I was actually in search of Château de Pierrefonds but with a helpful hint from fellow train rider Nico, I ended at “the Castle,” namely Château de Compiègne. Unfortunately since I never made it to Pierrefonds, I’m unable to compare the two, but Château de Compiègne is a fantasy in itself. It may not have the panache of Versailles, however it’s typical French landscape layout (a central axis disappearing over the hill and the forested horizon with smaller blocks of up-kept gardens on either side of the axis) has a languid elegance in it’s seeming simplicity. Open to the public, Château gardens hold shirtless youths playing football, couples strolling through the flowers, lovers lounging in the grass, and the town’s population at large enjoying the sunny afternoon with various bottles of chilled white. With the typical Parisian clouds bobbing overhead, you feel as if in a Monet. Definitely worth a worth trip for those in need of a escape from Paris!
Picnic Brunch @ Barcelona
Voglia di un brunch a Barcellona? Nel quartiere del Borne trovi il Picnic, nuovo e ottimo ristorante situato in Calle Comerç, davanti al Parco della Ciutadella.
Al Picnic tutti i sabati e le domeniche dalle 12 alle 17 si può gustare il meraviglioso brunch: pancakes, uova, bacon e tanti altri piatti per saziare la fame post-festivalera. Dal lunedì al venerdì invece, a pranzo e cena, si possono scegliere piatti differenti: da provare assolutamente il lombo di canguro!
Dopocena il Picnic diventa un cocktail bar aperto fino alle 2 , dove sorseggiare esotici cocktail tipo Pisco Sour, Mojito alla fragola e cetriolo, Caipiroska di Maracuyá o il Bellini di anguria e menta.
Il nome è dovuto alla decorazione in puro stile picnic: cesti in vimini e fiori sparsi ovunque nel luminoso locale dominato da un grande bancone centrale, dove i cuochi cucinano a vista! Da provare!
A day @ Freitag Headquarters
On late July I have been invited ( as Polkadot boss 
) with just a few handpicked European bloggers in the wonderful Zurich to visit the FREITAG headquarters including cutting our very own iPad sleeves and enjoying a night out with the FREITAG crew. It was an amazing experience, the guys @ Freitag are really super and we also had a chance to have a talk with Markus Freitag (one of the founders of the company). We will post the interview in the next few days.
For the few who should not know the brand, FREITAG has been manufacturing bags and accessories for women and men since 1993. Their materials are used, having seen service on the road. They are well-travelled truck tarpaulins, unraveled seat belts, bicycle inner tubes beyond repair and recycled airbags. Tough stuff – which makes their products tough, too. The swiss company apply their recycled materials in a totally new way, insisting on superlative design and functionality. Every FREITAG product is made from original tarpaulins of different colors, markings and contours. So every FREITAG product is a one-off.
Freitag have just launched their beautiful iPad sleeves, complete with a ‘one-pull’ strap system for easy access, a ‘velvety’ inner lining, and their iconic recycled tarpaulin outers. We have been able to cut some pieces, and once they will be sewn together and will get our desk, we will give them for free to our readers, so stay tuned.
The Seattle Gum Wall – A Sticky Attraction
One of the most offbeat attractions in the United States, the Seattle Gum Wall is also one of the most germ infected tourist spot in the world.
Located in Post Alley, under Park Place Market, the Gum Wall has its beginning in the early 1990s, when people, irritated that they had to wait in line to get tickets to the theater, stuck chewing gum on the wall.At first, they would use the gum to stick small coins to the wall, but in time, the tradition of the coins disappeared, and the gum remained.
Theater attendants scraped the Gum Wall twice, but gave up in 1999, when it became a certified tourist attraction of Seattle. Now it is filled with thousands of pieces of chewing gum, of any color imaginable. And, as the wall grows, the chewing gum art becomes more sophisticated. You’ll find names written with pieces of gum, and symbols like hearts or the peace sign.
But, the Seattle Gum Wall is also one of the germiest tourist destinations on Earth. In a ranking made by Trip Advisor, it came in second place, after Ireland’s Blarney Stone.
Underwater jump!
The world champion freediver Guillaume Nery and his colleague Julie Gautier have realised this spectacular video of an underwater jump by using a Canon 5D Mark II! Enjoy it!
berlin review – FRAU TONIS PARFUM
Looking for that scent of gleaming individuality without succumbing to the latest fashion lords? You can try smuggling in some MMM action but these days, we recognize that attempt of anonymous numbers. And there is no way the no-names on the supermarket shelves are going to cut it. Well don’t despair ladies and gentlemen, this tiny but extremely elegant “Parfum-Manufaktur” has recently come to our attention. Please do not expect a miniturized nor glorified Sephora; no, FRAU TONIS PARFUM is a laboratory and design gallery in one clean airy boutique space. The tables hold glass containers from which the scented creations are poured through spigots. The colors range from vodka clear to various shades of yellow and amber. Keep an eye, or your olfactory senses, open for the select few whos recipes date back to the 1920s. The inhouse “chemist” offers a similar refreshing yet rich knowledge depth of advice and suggestions on scent combinations. Don’t be fooled by the minimalist labels, they are holding scents full of complexity and originality. Moreover, Frau Tonis Parfum allows for your own creative input in concocting your own scent, tailored to your skin!
Pantone Hotel
Anche se non sei un designer, non sai cosa vuol dire CYMK e non mastichi di DPI, apprezzerai il Pantone Hotel a Bruxelles. 59 stanze in 7 toni di colori diversi, “white minimal” all’apparenza, concepite dal designer Michel Penneman e l’architetto Olivier Hannaert. L’hotel rientra nel PANTONE UNIVERSE, un tentativo di allargare il famoso sistema di classificazione dei colori ad una linea di prodotti che stanno facendo gola ai design-addicted : mugs, cancelleria, sneakers, cosmetici e accessori per la cucina.
Live Every Litre, a road movie for the digital age by Honda
Honda is currently filming a month long European road trip to celebrate the launch of a new sporty hybrid, the Honda CR-Z. The project called ‘Live Every Litre’, concepted by Grey London, is inspired by the idea that people’s journeys are about experience not distance. The road trip is a crowd sourced film where the community writes, stars in, votes for and continually influences the story.
In just six weeks almost one thousand people from 28 countries entered themselves for a leg of the journey, and now 13 people have been selected to star in this groundbreaking social-media activated film. The ‘Live Every Litre’ film is evolving in real time right now, thanks to an innovative use of technology and a passionate community that are active participants. Get involved by:
- Communicating directly with the Cast and Crew live on their Nokia N-series phones via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.
- Offering suggestions for each leg of the journey. Any suggestion taken by the film’s director, Claudio Von Planta, the director of the award winning Long Way Round and the Long Way Down, will be credited in the final film.
- Following the Honda CR-Z via photos and GPS tracking. Using the images, maps and GPS locater in the Nokia N97 phone, follow along passively or meet the Cast and Crew along the route.
- Accessing behind the scenes coverage on Facebook. Watch, read, share, and comment on exclusive content from the Crew and sign up to attend the pre-screening of the final film.
VML London is the agency behind the digital strategy, Julian McCrea, Digital Strategist, commented, ‘We wanted to evolve the road movie for the digital age – where audience engagement and community involvement became paramount in telling the story. Technology is used to enable a richer level of storytelling – where the audience can influence the story being told, in real time.’
Filming continues until 4 June, 2010. Follow the action live at www.liveeverylitre.com. Via
Big Fish – Barcelona
Se dico Big Fish probabilmente pensi al film di Tim Burton. Per me, da alcuni giorni, Big Fish è anche quacos’altro. Da quando ho scoperto questo ristorante di Barcellona, il “pesce grande” è sinonimo di buona cucina, ottimi piatti e bel design, un posto dove passare un’ottima serata.
Il locale si trova di fronte al Mercato del Borne, il quartiere radical chic di Barcellona, in un edificio del XIX secolo. L’interno è stato progettato dall’interior designer spagnolo Lazaro Rosa-Violan: accogliente, a tratti moderno e a tratti vintage, evoca alcune caratteristiche di un salone dell’Ottocento con divani in pelle, sedie e tavoli di diverse dimensioni e materiali.
SIVA, lighting object
SIVA is a lighting object designed by Marco Veroli for Romanò , inspired by indian divinity Siva, also named Shiva and known as a destroyer and as creator. The object was born from decontextualization of a plant grid, that becomes a decorative ambient divider with lights and elegant lampshades.
Will be presented during Fuorisalone 2010.
LED illumination, Aluminium and Palm-tree wood, Otton & Aluminium Fiber, MDF.
MAISON SWISS SLEEK
Heard of Michael Meier? Chances are, you haven’t. It’s not a brand name and outside of the CH, you won’t place a face to the name. So why bother with a blog? Because this young Basel-based architect fresh from ETH Zurich, has a flat just soooo darned sleek, it belongs in the pages of apartamento or Dwell.
Killspencer
We love the military-inspired design, and Killspencer bags are premium artifacts handcrafted in Los Angeles. We have asked Spencer Nikosey , the man behind the brand, to talk more about the bags and the ideas which led him to design military bags.
All the products are made locally right here in Los Angeles using the best materials I could possibly find. There are so many details behind the materials, where the fabrics were made, what they are designed for, as well as all the buckles, zippers, and parts.With the new launch I focused the viewers on the Utility Collection (black twill), but the other bags are great too! I studied product design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California where I had a passion for making things, branding, innovation, and music. While taking a dynamic sketching class with legendary instructor Norm Shureman, we had to go onsite to various museums around LA and sketch all the artifacts. At the time I was developing ideas for a sustainable laptop bag and when I saw the military truck tarp at the museum found my solution- to repurpose “used in combat” military truck tarps that I get from the American Military Museum and make bags out of the virtually indestructable materials.
Keep reading, after the jump all the pics from the Killspencer collection.
