Apr

1

The Cool Cat in the Hat

Filed Under New Obsession | Leave a Comment

Ricci cap

I know I would look entirely ridiculous attempting to pull off the above look, but I am coveting the “cutaway cap” shown on the Nina Ricci runway for Fall 2009.

Really. I am. No April Foolin’ here.

IMAGE | Nina Ricci | photographer unknown | Fashionologie | 5 March 2009

Mar

4

I Castellane a Spell on You

Filed Under New Obsession | 1 Comment

Diorette

My fascination with colourful enamel bauble is not new. However, my interest in seeing the way enamel jewelry is made today, is. Luckily I have two illustrious resources, behind the career of one particular artist, to consult.

Victoire de Castellane was with Chanel for 14 years before moving onto her current post as Creative Director of Fine Jewelry at Dior. From a lineage of aristocrats, Victoire was exposed to many people and places at a young age, when she first discovered her love of jewelry–her grandmother’s, Sylvia Hennessy, pieces–and melted her catechism medallions to create charms. By 11-years old, Victoire was sending her designs to be made at ateliers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the ateliers used, at least while at Chanel, was the famous Desrues; now, part of Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel “satellites.” Established in 1929, Georges Desrues transformed the company into a highly-specialized outfit for costume jewelry and buttons for fashion designers, by way of introducing metalsmithing techniques such as “engraving, polishing, and gilding.” In the past, Desrues’s clients include, Lanvin, YSL and Dior. However, the majority of the work done now appears to be predominantly for Chanel. Read more

Nov

27

New Sugar and Spice Style

Filed Under New Obsession | 1 Comment

Sugar and Spice

Seriously, I have nowhere to put this thing, am not sure how often I would use it, and would most likely be annoyed to have to flip through each book to search for a recipe. However. THAT IS THE POINT!

Don’t believe me? Just ask Philippe Starck. Sometimes form is the function, and sometimes that function is just about being so cool! Especially in a postmodern era, like now. (Don’t get me started. That’s another blog post all together.)

To continue. Sugar and Spice is a novelty cake-gift box, containing sixteen small books filled with dessert recipes. Each book contains twenty recipes accompanied by vivid, colour photographs; with two titles on both sides to every cover, such as, “Lemon,” “Lime,” “Chocolate,” “Vanilla.”

Recipes can be browsed by theme, via titles, or researched through a 5″ x 7″ size-ish loose card, which comes with the cake box, indexing all the recipes of the sixteen books. (You know who would be the first to lose this pragmatic piece of paper!)

I must admit. The index seems like a bit of restraint on the publisher’s behalf, who got sold on cool, and then somewhere down the line, considered to help the buyer out. The publishing spoon-feeding, if you will, merits many a cliché (how many can you count in this post?) including, too little, too late; go big or go home. It relegates the fantastic book-packaging design into a box of books instead of an interesting piece of design.

Don’t believe me? Just ask Philippe Starck. His Juicy Salif lemon squeezer doesn’t come with instructions. That’s because Stark knows, in this day and age, it’s not about squeezing the cool out of you, it’s about squeezing it into you. One lemon, one lime; one chocolate, one vanilla at a time.

Oct

30

Paging Palmano

Filed Under New Obsession | 1 Comment

Under the Pink

Does anyone have any information about photographer Cindy Palmano? Any examples (preferably in book form) of her works? A Google search doesn’t quite land me to any references, worthwhile.

I feel like Palmano is the missing piece to something I am working out in my brain, but not exactly sure of yet. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Please provide comments below. Thanks.

IMAGE | Cindy Palmano | Alan Reinl | 1994

Aug

14

Pink-y and the Brain

Filed Under New Obsession | 3 Comments

Karen Norberg Brain

I’m sorry, but if this isn’t amazing, I don’t know what is. Genius!

Jul

24

Tatting Devine

Filed Under New Obsession | 2 Comments

Teri Dusenbury Tatting Heart

 

Once in a while, I really get hung up on the exact meaning of a word. How to best use a word in a sentence, the subtle differences it has over similar words or synonyms, and just how much of an argument can be strengthened or weakened by a particular choice of word or words.

So instead of being interested in the design of things, I’ve been paying more attention to the anatomy and architecture of things. I’ve been concerned with the making than with the resolving. (Does that make sense?)

Tatting (making lace) has been one of the things that have satisfied my exploration into anatomy and architecture. Particularly, the drawings and sketches used to establish the patterns and process necessary to create such intricate designs. (Doing better?) Read more

Jul

15

Mus. Muse. Museum.

Filed Under New Obsession | 1 Comment

Casati July

Marchesa Luisa Casati has been on my mind lately, particularly the painting of her by Augustus John. (John’s portrait of Casati has been haunting me in my sleep. Why? I just don’t know….)

Usually when I get this kind of “nagging vision” the reasoning reveals itself sometime later, like an answer to something I’ve been trying to solve, or it acts as foresight to a trend or innovation that has yet to surface. (Just call me the “psychic cool hunter.”) For now however, I need to be content with dreaming of Casati’s extraordinary personality (I’d love a copy of the biography!) and how oddly enough, with just the right amount of kohl, Miranda July could pass as an impersonator. (The photograph of July and its similarity to the Casati painting is unbelievable, non?)

If July uses Casati in one of her upcoming works, then perhaps I’ll have the “a-ha” moment my dreams are chasing after! Maybe a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, post-construction, where the Augustus John painting permanently resides, might be necessary. It might be the only way for my dreams to occupy a reality.

NOTE Couldn’t locate any credit info for the July image. Would love to know if the photographer and stylist had Casati in mind when art directing the shot. Any leads? Let me know.

Jun

13

The Souvenir Shop: Eh! Candy.

Filed Under New Obsession | 2 Comments

Nate Archer Timpins

Last year, I was completely disappointed in myself for missing out on the Gladstone Hotel’s annual Come Up to My Room (CUTMR) show. The 3-day event, which features Canadian designers and artists exhibiting works that are interior or lifestyle based, had many items reproduced for sale, one of which I coveted immensely. Nate Archer’s Timpins, to me, was the best example of taking a Canadian legacy, Tim Hortons, to a whole new level in pop culture.

Nate cleverly converted the Tim Hortons, timbits, into small buttons. So genius! This is art meets commercialism at its best! But it’s so much more! It’s like franchising on the franchise, and the franchise is a comment on who Canadians are and what Canadians are like. It’s about how the Canadian identity is rooted in a very humble history – a hockey player, his hometown roots, a coffee and donut being a reward for an honest days’ work – and how the thing that carved Canadians into their own, was not really the donut, but the donut hole. The negative space. The thing that is usually discarded. The “sweet nuthins” as other donut chains have coined.

Canadians as sweet nuthins. Does that not say it all? Read more