For Christmas I received the Metaphys Garden Factory Rectangle, and I love it. This unique home accessory can either be used as a planter or a wall frame. Either use will produce a deicate garden of wild grasses. Chiaki Murata of Metaphys has designed a set of compact modern planters to help us Angelinos bring a little but of nature into our homes. Metaphys is a collaboration of companies who’s missions is “to explore the basic principals of all existences.” They strive to examine how important the existence of a product is in a world of excessive production.

Thanks Aaron for the gift!

We’re pretty up on that whole European hand-drawn aesthetic as of late. So Me pushed himself to the forefront with his creative direction for ed banger / illustrations-a-plenty per t-shirts in the video for Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. So it’s only appropriate we tip our collective hats to the artists continuing in that vein. First up; the French collective Shoboshobo. Like a couple previous posts, dudes are kinda all over the place. Hand stitched sweaters, silk screened shirts, drawn-on cassettes with original music, icons and the like. These guys are pretty on point. Viva la analog!

Read the rest of this entry »

You GOTTA hand it to our boys over at Royale. Formed in mid-07, these guys are jamming out some of the best design/cell animation/mograph we’ve seen in some time. Probably even since early 2004, when Lobo dropped their existential take on world travel for Diesel’s ‘Lost Paradise.’ Ironically enough, the first piece Royale’s released for public viewing is for none other than Diesel in conjunction with Flaunt Magazines 9th anniversary.

Without question, this piece involves one of the more interesting narratives we’ve seen. And though, it’s in due part to this being more style-savvy than commercial based, combining the ideas of editorial and fashion through animation wasn’t an easy process. So, check out their steeze, send them flowers, 24 packs of pepsi and good ‘whitmore’s mom’ jokes. These guys’ll be around for the long haul. Bookmark this site, MUCH more in the weeks to come. BRIEN AND JAY.. YER KILLIN IT!!
Read the rest of this entry »

Now is the time to step up your game if you’re in the “green” or “socially conscious” retail business. Companies like Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea are raising the quality bar. There are so many opportunities for big companies to cut costs at the expense of ill compensated third world labor forces, especially when it comes to commodities like coffee and tea. So we were pleased to see that not only has Intelligentsia catered to our socially conscious consumer needs, they have surpassed the quality of nearly all retail coffee establishments in Los Angeles.

Truly providing the gourmet experience, Intelligentsia beautifully crafts each latte and cup of tea as if it were being scored for presentation. But most importantly, Inteligentsia seeks out growers and importers that are know for socially responsible practices and the compassionate treatment of people.

In a spark of genious, Icelandic collective Vik Prjónsdóttir has created the beard cap. It comes in a couple lengths and colors and is available from Scandinavian Grace in Brooklyn. For those of us who dream of having a full beard for a day and don’t have the patience or ability to get there, this is a product we’ve been waiting for. - Via Kitsune Noir. Thanks for the tip Jason.

Gibson has released a long overdue product, the self-tuning guitar. Just pull on one of the new Robot Guitar’s knobs and strum the strings. Within seconds the guitar is tuned to any key or combination of notes you want. The Guitar is based on a Gibson Les Paul and sounds identical to its non-tuning counterpart. The internal electronics bring a level of accuracy to tuning beyond what can be heard by the human ear. Best of all, musicians can spend more time doing what they love and less time tuning guitars. The Robot Guitar lists for $2500 and retails for slightly less.

If you’re lucky enough to get an iphone, ipod or a laptop from santa this christmas, we’d highly recommend giving it that extra personalization by laser engraving it. Engrave can laser engrave just about anything you can come up with, giving your high tech gadgets that little extra bling. You can chose from a variety of provided options or create your own custom ones.

If you happen to be in New York this month you should definitely stop by the Espeis Gallery in Brooklyn to check out WK Interact’s new show running through Jan 18th 2008. For those outside the New York area there are some really nice photo’s of the opening here, and the individual pieces here. “The Trail” (shown above) is limited edition silkscreen (40″x 24″, india ink on 130lb paper, run of 100, signed and numbered by WK Interact) and is available through Espeis Gallery’s website.

You may remember our earlier post about the late illustrator Charley Harper. A selection of over 100 of his prints are available from Gallery One. The illustration above, titled Unzipped, is a 9″ x 13″ serigraph. It was produced in an edition of 25 and was signed and numbered. It is available for $175.

The second illustration, titled Condominimum (Purple Martins) is a 9.25″ x 9.25″ open edition lithograph. It sells for $50.

This lighter is the envy of anyone who sees it. It is crafted from a block of aluminum using traditional Japanese technique. Flint ignited and gas fueled. Get it here for $75.