Design Christmas Trees

The International Herald Tribune reported on the annual “Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs” charity auction as 44 designers participated in the event held in Paris last week.”Guest artists included Louis Vuitton’s golden metal cone forged out of hundreds of LV emblems, Stella McCartney’s eco-friendly tiers of cardboard disks and Jérôme Dreyfuss’s stripped metal umbrellas stacked one on top the other and adorned with multicolored plastic bags, the “trees” came in all shapes, sizes and styles.

It was the first time that top name artists in the world of design had contributed to the auction. Designs by Norman Foster (which netted €8,500 or about $11,000), India Mahdavi (€8,000) and Jacques Rougerie (€5,100) were among the big bids. But it was the white column of circling shapes from Zaha Hadid that was the top seller of the night at €46,000. For art dealers and collectors at the event, it was a rare opportunity to acquire pieces by artists at a fraction of the price of their other work.

A total of €101,000 was raised for the Sol En Si charity organization that helps children and families living with AIDS. The fashion journalist Marie-Christiane Marek, who started the charity auction 13 years ago, said that the money would be used to create a residence in Togo for children orphaned by the disease. But as the total started to climb, more than tripling the sum raised last year, the charity will be able to build much more than originally planned.

No live Christmas tree was used in any of the designs, making all of the “trees” sustainable luxuries. Perhaps their only drawback is that they just might outshine all the presents tucked below their branches.”

Pictured below is Zaha Hadid´s version of the Christmas Tree.

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Gestalten Pop-up Shop in Berlin

Just in time for Christmas, publisher extraordinaire, Gestalten, has opened up their first pop-up shop in Berlin!

From December 6-23, the shop will be open and offer an exciting range of products including books, designer toys and celebrate the launch of their Art Editions. Gestalten features a mind-numbingly impressive selection of books on design, architecture, graphic design, contemporary art, and more that each document and anticipate vital design trends. The toys from art label, Release the Freaks, will be sure to please anybody else on your holiday shopping list with their vinyl and plush characters.

The Art Editions are collaborations with the best young designers in order to offer artwork that is featured in publications as high quality Art Prints produced witih digital LAMBDA technology. Artists include Stephan Doitschinoff, Jan Feindt, James Gallagher, Benjamin Güdel, Christian Montenegro, Neasden Control Centre, and Vanie.

See more information here!

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Arne Quinze at Art Basel Miami

Design extroadinaire and former Future Forum Barcelona speaker, Arne Quinze, had his latest work unveiled at this years Art Basel Miami. Simply called “Sculptures,” this exhibit was in conjunction with Wolfgang Roth & Partners. The pictures are from hypebeast.

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Party like its 1899 in NYC

Jaunted reported about a very interesting promotion that the venerable Zagat dining guides are sponsoring in New York City from January through March 2009 called the “Vintage Dinner Series.” According to the site, “The Zagat-sponsored Vintage Dinner Series is presenting a string of meals at high-end restaurants throughout New York, all featuring menus imported from the 19th century.Starting January 12, diners can sample dishes like turtle soup at Café des Artistes, boiled veal at Del Posto and pan roasted monkfish at Le Bernardin. Other A-list joints like Per Se, Le Cirque and Adour are getting in on the game as well, serving up an array of 1800’s specialties, most of which are completely unidentifiable to us.

The only bad news is the decidedly 21st-century prices–$200 to $300 per person at most of the restaurants.”

The following is a video of Three Star Michelin chef, Thomas Keller talking about one of the featured restaurants, Per Sel…

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Changes in Tsukiji Fish Market: Tokyo

Travellers to Japan often cite a visit to the famous Tsukiji among their priority list.  It is less a “fish market,” than it is a  a dazzling visual and sensorial psychedelia featuring every and any type of edible plant, animal, or fish to have ever been in a natural body of water.  Visits to the market, and its popular daily fish auctions, however, are going the way of Machu Pichu- effective this month.  The stricter guidelines for tourists actually began in April of this year when new rules stated that tourists had to show up before 6.15am and were meant to be confined to one designated spot during the big tuna auctions.This, according to Jaunted, obviously didn’t work out. The poor fishmongers and tuna auctioneers have still had to put up with a blitzkrieg of camera flashes and tuna-touching tourists–not what you want if the tuna’s headed to a classy sushi restaurant.

From December 15, tourists will be banned entirely from the early morning auctions, a decision that’s probably quite fair. But the Japanese are still too polite to ban us forever, so it’s just for a month–perhaps after that any tourists who’ve completed Fish Auction Etiquette 101 will be allowed back in.

Though the auctions may become more difficult to attend, we still higly recommend a visit to the market…

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Top 10 Food Trends for 2009

Epicurious magazine recently announced their Top 10 Food Trends for 2009.

With the dawn of a new presidency, a deepening recession, and a fine-dining culinary culture that sometimes veers into the impossibly surreal, soberness is setting into the food world. Gone are the behemoth restaurants, $1,000 omelets, and ice cream made of dehydrated chile flakes. Hallmarks of 2009 will include a return to families cooking together and eating at home more than they have in decades, a premium on high-quality, seasonal ingredients that provide good value, and an emphasis on simple food for the people, by the people.

1. “Value” is the new “Sustainable”
These days, the economy dictates our cooking and shopping decisions: Bargains are in, no matter where they come from.

2. The Compost Pile is the new Flower Garden
Growing your own now refers to vegetables, not just herbs, and that will in turn help feed the gardener’s compost pile. Live worm garnishes, however, will not make it to the house salad.

3. Peruvian is the new Thai
You thought Peruvian cuisine was all about seviche, maybe? Guess again: Peru boasts culinary influences from Spanish, Basque, African, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, and British immigrants. Pisco Sour, anyone?

4. Noodle Bars are the new Sushi Joints
With some seafood being suspect or overfished and raw fish prices high, noodles make complete sense. If there’s no ramen, udon, or soba shop in your neck of the woods, there will be soon.

5. Ginger is the new Mint
Move over, mojitos. Ginger beers and ginger cocktails (like the Ginger Rogers, Gin Gin Mule, and Ginger Smash) are bubbling up at places like The Violet Hour in Chicago, the Clock Bar in San Francisco, and Matsugen in New York.
6. Smoking is the new Frying
You know how everything tastes better fried? Well, almost everything tastes better smoked, too, and that includes cocktails. Bartenders are smoking their bourbons (Eben Freeman at Tailor, for example), and chefs, recognizing the national craze for BBQ, are smoking more than just salmon and ribs: nuts, salts, even smoked steelhead roe (at Chicago’s Alinea). Who says smoking’s bad for you?

7. Regional Roasters are the new Starbucks
It’s come full circle. What started as a local coffee phenomenon migrated to other cities and turned Americans into java junkies. Then the chain overexpanded and overreached, and the little neighborhood coffee roasters thrive again, like Stumptown (Portland, OR), Bluebottle (San Francisco), and La Colombe (Philly).

8. Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon)
Abundance of great chefs, restaurants, and local foodies? Check, check, and check. Want examples? Visit Five Fifty-Five, Hugo’s, and Fore Street to start.

9. Rustic Food is the new Molecular Gastronomy
Wacky-weird-science cuisine that requires fancy-schmancy equipment doesn’t necessarily make food taste better, and more often than not it adds needless complexity (there are exceptions). Most importantly, no one really wants to do this at home. Expect to see comfort food stage a comeback. Again.

10. “Top-Rated” is the new “Critic’s Pick”
Power to the people; single critics are a dying breed. Why believe what one person says when you can read and reflect on what hundreds think? Don’t believe us? Feel free to comment below!

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Are you serious? Millionaire Fair in Moscow…

From the bad timing department…

According to the Wall Street Journal´s Wealth Report, The
Millionaire Fair seemed like such a good idea when it was launched in 2002. Gather together all the companies that sell to the rich–watch makers, Bentley and Rolls Royce, furriers, jewelers, champagne makers, yacht builders, private jet brokers–and invite wealthy consumers for a night of conspicuous consuming.

Fast forward six years to today… the fair simply does not seem like such a good idea anymore. WSJ reports, “At a Millionaire Fair held in Moscow, yachts were being offered at two-for-one discounts, and there still weren’t any takers, according to a Reuters article by Simon Schuster. Crowds were thin and a lot of the attendees were journalists, a sure sign of crisis.

The master of ceremonies, Ksenia Sobchak, put a brave face on the proceedings. She congratulated the attendees for having the courage to attend, this being Russia with its history of revolutions and all. “Everyone is a superhero for finding it in themselves to come here tonight to try to bask in the luxury,” she said.

The Fair’s next stop is in Amsterdam, and the scene may be even grimmer. News reports say a coalition of socialists, anarchists and artists are planning Millionaire Fair protests. Their rallying cry: “Let the rich pay for the crisis.”

Calling the Fair an “absurd contradiction” given the tough times for most consumers, the groups will wave banners, blow whistles and bang pots and pans–instilling certain fear in the hearts of pan-fearing, Dutch millionaires.

Of course, the protesters have every right to make their voices and whistles heard. But the demise of the Millionaire Fair won’t come from protesters–it will come from a lack of millionaires. And that would be bad for everybody.”

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Design Holiday Gift Ideas

It is definitely “that” time of the year… crowded shopping malls, over-extended budgets, and eggnog… yes, it is the holiday season in full effect.  With this in mind, we put together a few gift ideas for the design lovers in your hearts to ease the pain of finding that perfect present.

• For Dad… Frank Lloyd Wright Globe: The design of each globe has been meticulously crafted to reflect the style of one of our all-time-favorite designers, Frank Lloyd Wright.  Replogle Globes
  

• For Sister… Momo & Eltono Print: If the design-lover of your life has recently graduated from a cubicle to an actual office, she’ll need to mark her territory. That’s what street artists Momo and Eltono have been doing lately, illicitly putting up sculptures and tagging along New York’s rivers. One of these limited-edition, nautical-inspired prints should help her remind coworkers (not to mention herself) that there’s still a rebel lurking somewhere beneath that corporate exterior.  Anonymous Gallery

•  For Mom… From style.com, “A woman’s jewelry should stand the test of time, so why not buy something that already has? New York’s Catwalk Couture has a wealth of vintage, often one-of-a-kind pieces from Lanvin, Dior, and Chanel, who produced these prototype earrings in 1975.” Catwalk Couture

•  For Brother… Mrs. John L. Strong Desk Calendar: Style and function… simply put. Mrs. Strong

• For little Brother… Playsam Roadster:  Sweden’s Playsam is known for its fashionable, minimalist toys. This smooth-shaped miniature auto looks like an expensive sculpture, but it’s actually a wallet-friendly collectible item that comes in a variety of colors. Parents might find the chic shapes so appealing they won’t mind leaving them out after play time, as living-room decor. Playsam

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World´s 50 Best Restaurants

Restaurant Magazine and San Pellegrino recently announced their choices for the world´s top 50 restaurants. Restaurant magazine was launched in London in 2001, in response to the phenomenal increase in interest in the industry in the UK. Under the strapline ‘For the professional and the passionate’, it quickly established itself as THE magazine for the quality end of the restaurant business, serving everybody from kitchen porter to head chef, from waiter to restaurant manager, as well as the owners, suppliers and service companies operating within the industry.

This year they have collaborated with several highly respected partners to compile their list of the world´s best including San Pellegrino, Nespresso, Laurent Perrier, American Express, and Elextrolux.

The decision is made from an Academy of hospitality professionals from around the world. There is no list of nominees; each member of our international voting panel votes for their personal choice of five restaurants. They may vote for up to two restaurants in their own region, the remaining votes must be cast outside their home region. Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant and voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate within the past 18 months.

The top 10 restaurants this year are as follows:

1. El Bulli, Spain
2. The Fat Duck, United Kingdom
3. Pierre Gagnaire, France
4. Mugaritz, Spain
5. The French Laundry, USA
6. Per Se, USA
7. Bras, France
8. Arzak, Spain
9. Tetsuya´s, Australia
10. Noma, Denmark

The rest of the list can be seen here.

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