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Porteur Bicycle.

 

Being an urban person; how about carry yourself with style, easily, smoothly and colorful through the stages of life? This inspirational bike, ‘Porteur’, is the new must-have.

And the best thing of it all, when you own a Porteur bike you are a member of an exclusive group; the ones that do good, in style. For every Porteur bike sold, a bike is donated to a child in a developing country.

Makes you sleep good at night. Not only do you get the exercise and care about the environment. You know that someone in need gets a piece of your cake. And that that cake looks good too ain’t bad either!

Membership + bike is €900

www.porteur.cc

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Yellow is here.

I think I have always had a thing for yellow. In my first apartment I had a yellow bedspread If I recall correctly. In another apartment I painted yellow walls (happy 90s). In the apartment that followed I had one wall painted deep burgundy. Just to show you that I Do Not Always Go For Yellow. Sometimes I go for pink. And black. And…oh well.

However, I am back where I started I think. I am back to adoring yellow. It is something about that color that makes me …well, happy actually.

In my inbox today I got an email from The Rug Company (to whom I have written introducing my all time favorite rug “The Macaroon Carpet” – but they just don’t seem to get it. Well, their loss.) with fabolous rugs, wall hangings and throw pillows in…yeeellow of course. I simply love the picture below. Love all of it. Not only the yellow rug. But it is darn beautiful.

So I would hereby like to share my frenzy for yellow with y’all.

Have a yellow day!

Sellarsbrook Yellow rug by Suzanne Sharp and Fantastic Journey wallhanging by Fiona Curran. Picture from The Rug Company.

Oh, before you continue to another website; just got to show you this Baggu Pouch M as well (8.5″ wide by 8.5″ tall). It’s like a juicy lemon. Love it!

Made in NYC by Baggu.


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Banana Republic to launch Mad Men Collection

Today, Banana Republic and AMC will debut the Mad MenCollection, a limited-edition yet affordable line for both men and women. Created by Banana Republic in collaboration with the show’s Emmy-winning Costume Designer Janie Bryant, this Capsule Collection offers a modern take on ’60s style and features nearly 65 pieces of apparel and accessories.

“Working with Janie to gain a true understanding of theMad Men look and feel was a delight,” says Banana Republic Creative Director Simon Kneen. “Janie was instrumental in helping us achieve the series aesthetic and standard of authenticity with this capsule collection, offering sketches, her own inspirations and actual artifacts from the production set to help inspire the Mad Men within all of us.”

The men’s collection includes knit sweaters, tailored suit separates and fitted trousers, as well as such classic accessories as a money clip, cotton pocket squares, silk ties, tie bars and fedora hats. The women’s pieces include a chic trench coat, tailored dresses, high-waisted skirts, silk tie-neck blouses and statement accessories like print scarves and leopard print pump heels.

“Collaborating with Simon and his team to design this collection was an experience I’ll never forget,” says Bryant. “It’s so rewarding to help create a collection that will allow fans of the series to channel their own Mad Men style and take home fashionable items that are modern, not costume.”

 

Text AMC Mad Men blog
Picture from Banana Republic Facebook

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The Chick-a-Dee Smoke Detector.

Smoke detectors, oh how important, and oh it really save lives, but oh how…not nice it looks. It can look like this

Or like this

Or even like this

 

ZZZzzzzzzz…You get my drift, right? Not that you really see the smoke alarm up there in the ceiling. But you still sort of do. There is this…blorb in the middle of the ceiling quite annoying for a design freaks eye. Or maybe to a normal person too?

Therefore, without further ado I would like to introduce to you: The Chick-a-Dee Smoke Detector

Dutch designer Louise van der Veld is the smart brain behind this and  in 2007 she won first prize in the competition Moi uit de Brand. The smoke detector is now available in stores across The Netherlands and in various web shops. Just google it and you will find a store just for you. Or try this one

But seriously people, this cute bird come smoke detector will make you happy every time you happen to look at the ceiling. It is there, no matter what, why not make it memorable?

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Sustainable ads.

There is a lot of talk about sustainability lately. Well, maybe not lately – more like soonely. I found this ad for Pivot Boutique in Chicago. It was founded by ….oh, well I just as well just copy/paste the text right in. Read this:

“Pivot Boutique, LLC was founded in March 2007 by Jessa Brinkmeyer, and opened as Chicago’s first eco-fashion boutique in September 2007. Pivot quickly became one of the most talked about boutiques in Chicago.  Jessa set out to align fashion and good design with smart living, featuring designers using organic and sustainable materials and processes. Pivot featured lines from more than 50 designers including Lara Miller, Frei Designs, Linda Loudermilk, Loyale, Good Society and She Bible.”

A great idea she had Jessa. But it seems that the boutique closed down. Maybe she was to early (late:ly?) because I think that if she’d done it now (soon:ely) she would still be running Pivot. Or maybe she is, just in another setting. Smart move then, Jessa.

However, I am not to dwell on that/this. What I started out wanting to do was to  show you this ad from Pivot. Love it. Don’t you too? Love the colors, the look, the messages. Nice job!

 

 

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What can’t you do from what the bees produces.

When I was little I had a candle made from bees wax. Only one. But oh, how I liked that candle. It twirled around the candlewick in such a twirly way. I liked that. Unfortunately it melted away as we lit it and enjoyed the smell and the sight of the beautiful yellow flame. And then I forgot about it. Life went by, and suddenly I had my own family with kids of my own. The daily rut cut into life and everything went…grown up, whatever that is. And then came along these beautiful beecups.  And I suddelny felt so inspired. Yezzz. Happiness in a little (bee)bowl!

Keep an eye out for what’s happening on the design scene in South America. A true design mekka.  The Chilean designer Mariana Tocornal use bees wax to mold different objet d’art. Check this bee cup out

Here’s Mariana Tocornal

And if you want to check out her other products, click the picture below. Enjoy!

 

 

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Didn’t get any fish…

Back from traveling. Did you miss me? I missed you.

Before I get all ahhh owwww about designed objects; I want to tell you a little about me/my trip. Here goes:

I have this thing for dogs. Well, animals really. But since I have a darling dog they are close to my heart. Specially the stray dogs you see when traveling in certain areas/countries of the world. My dog is a stray dog adopted from Spain. This is she:

She is absolutely lovable. She might be a mix, she also might be a Podenco Andaluz. Well, the breed is not important, she is simply adorable.

The trip we made this time was bound for Sri Lanka. And boy, do they have a lot of stray dogs. It seems to me that the stray dogs that live in the city has a much harder life than those living in the countryside. With that I am not saying that life is easy for them, but anyhow different from the lives of those in the city.

Some dogs seem to be… OK. They seem to be able to find something to eat and are not hit by cars or three wheelers. Whereas some has a terrible life. No food, diseases, broken legs etc. Yes, I know that happens to humans too. But this time around it is the dogs that I want to talk about.

We came across this one on Galle Road in Colombo.

And it broke our hearts. We felt we had to do something so we contacted Embark. They came promptly, got the dog to the veterinarian where it got tested for diseases, got medication, rest, food etc. We are still in contact with the Embark people to follow the progress of this dog.

However. Embark. A wonderful organisation founded by the CEO and founder of Odel, a department store in Colombo (well, more like THE Department Store in Colombo), Ms. Otara Gunawardene. Ms. Gunawardene has two stray dogs herself.

This is from the Embark website:

“As Otara’s personal CSR initiative, Embark was launched in March 2007 with the sole mission of reducing animal cruelty and focusing on the well being of animals throughout the country.

The overriding objective of Embark is to change attitudes and mindsets of people. Embark has identified strategic goals that will assist in the movement to eradicate cruelty and raise awareness of animal welfare issues. To date Embark has undertaken and implemented a number of targeted activities that have made huge inroads into the achievement of these goals.

Its key activities include sterilization surgeries, puppy re-homing campaigns, and caring for injured stray animals. Each of these activities is supported by a comprehensive and consistent campaign of education. An overriding objective for Embark has been to change attitudes and mindsets amongst the public. To date, this has been achieved by raising awareness of the importance of animal welfare, and advocating practical approaches to connecting and enjoying community animals.

Embark appeals to animal lovers of all ages, and we are delighted to say that we have converted many indifferent members of the public into dedicated supporters of Embark.

Embark’s Long Term Goals

International Distribution and Recognition:
We aim to sell Embark merchandise internationally and increase our exposure to animal lovers world-wide also bringing in more funds for our activities here in Sri Lanka. Plans are already underway in Singapore.

Transit Shelter Project:
We are in the planning stages of a Transit Shelter Project whereby injured dogs recovered from the road receiving treatment will have a transit shelter to reside until they are re-homed.

Animal Hospital:
An Embark long-term goal is to create an Animal Treatment Centre that meets international standards in terms of facilities, qualified staff and the medical treatment on offer to animals.”

If you want to know more about Embark, please have a look at www.embark.lk. Not only for the fantastic mission they have but also for the great design of their website, advertising and merchandise. I take my hat of for Ms. Gunwardene and her fantastic staff.

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Ikea everywhere.

Ikea is one of the worlds most spread Swedish companies I believe. It started years and years ago with one mans notion that all households should be able to have easy access to furnish their homes. Said and done. Furniture were produced and sold….in flat packages. Easier to carry that way. And assemble the furniture you’d to do yourself. It was a way to enable the low prices that in turn would enable all households easy access to furnish their homes. Years and years went by. And then came Bemz. If you have a piece of furniture that you’d like to change your cover on you just go to www.bemz.com. Voilà! Fabrics in many colors and textiles. The latest thing is Bemz’s collaboration with designers. Love it. I simply looove that. Designer’s Guild is the new ‘kid on the block’ at Bemz. Sometimes the prices of Bemz’s covers are more expensive than the actual furniture it is supposed to cover, oh well. But boy, does Bemz make the Ikea furniture look nice! Thank you Ikea! Thank you Bemz!

Sagrada Blossom by Designers Guild. Photo: Bemz.


Sagrada Aqua by Designers Guild. Photo: Bemz.