Poldo Chest of Drawers

Oh dear, if I don't see that kind of price tag, I'd love to have one of these drop-dead-gorgeous chests at home. It's available at The Conran Shop in March 2006.

For potential buyers, CAUTION: it is NOT for the faint at heart! (as stated on the site)

bytrico online shop

It's a Japanese site, btw. ByTrico has tons of quirky interior items worth checking out. My favorite is the digital cuckoo clock by fly-pitcher, called Digital Stag.

Wonderful thing in the world

I saw this bike on The Sunday Times this morning and it's just too good not to be shared with iG readers, so I thought I might as well give my fresh scanner a try.

A 46-year-old man has been helping his brother running a 22-year-old restaurant, and started using this bike since year 2000 for food deliveries. The gorgeous kitsch-looking bike is decorated with his love of ornaments, from fridge magnets, toy windmill, animal cut-outs, to a radio. As he told Gerard Yeo, the writer: "It's nice to make your rounds and see faces greeting you with a warm smile. It puts a smile on my face, too."

Well, this guy has made one wonderful thing in the world. And this wonderful thing has just made my day livelier... It's a nice feeling, indeed.

Atelier LZC

Some of you might've heard of the LZC trio before, Vanessa Lambert, Barbara Zorn, and Michael Cailloux, fellow classmates at the Duperre school, and now, business partners. They've just launched their Spring 2006 collections. I have too much love for their silk screenprinted illustrations, wallpapers, greeting cards and stickers. Can you figure out why? ;-) bright colors, pretty patterns, floral/nature theme, silhouette... Just my kind of prints....

Printmaking, anybody?

Printmaking was my recent curiosity subject, and found this great printmaker on the net, Angie Lewin. She studied Fine Art Printmaking at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, and has recently concentrated on linocut, woodcut and wood engraving. If you are an art-ill person like myself, you could find out more about these printmaking techniques/terms at About.com.

Her nature inspired artworks are all hand printed and numbered limited editions. And I just looove her use of colors... it's surprisingly pleasant! I never knew such combination can be so intriguing. Well, now I know. :)

She'll be having an open weekend, March 11-12, 2006 at Spitalfields, London, in an 18th century silk merchant's house. For details, click here. Her works are available for purchase at these galleries, or online. Angie's screen printed fabric designs can also be found at st. jude's, a newly setup company based in Aylsham, Norfolk.

Happy Browsing!

Clipso Design

What is Clipso? It's a high technology ceiling/wall coverings stretched in a perfect finish, created by Clipso Switzerland. And Clipso Design? the digital printing on Clipso up to 5 meters broad, without joints or seams, aiming to make interior decoration a "haute couture". The whole wall/ceiling printed? well, not just that... you could put it over a door, too, as seen on the above pic. See more pics of how ppl use Clipso.

One downside.. it has to be installed by an approved Clipso specialist. If your area has one, lucky you! Otherwise, you might want to go for murals instead. ;-)

Design Competitions Calendar

Bookmark this Design Competitions Calendar by TAXI Design Network!

do you make stuff?

If you want to be the next big thing, you shouldn't miss fredflare.com's call for entries. They're looking for creative people who make jewelry, clothing, accessories, printed matter, home goods and more. 36 of the most outstanding submissions will be featured for sale on fredflare.com alongside your bio details.

Good news is, it's open to all talented people around the world! so all international applicants, submit your entries by March 31, 2006.

(via POPPY)

Radical Toaster by Matt Gossington

Found this bright starry looking toaster thru swissmiss, it was designed by Matt Gossington, a final year student at the University of Huddersfield studying BSc Product Design. I'm not sure if it's available for sale yet, it seems like it's just a prototype for now. But this is sure the only toaster I would ever get.

As described on his profile pages, this radical six part toaster rotates and heats the toast in single compartments. Each compartment can be lifted from its main assembly and swing open, ready for a nice warm meal. It won my vote simply because of its trouble-free clean-up. I used to have a toaster few years back, but got frustrated on the hassles of cleaning the crumbs, so I gave it away. This kind of toaster would make my life easier..., but hmm.... would it make my husband's life costlier, heh?? ;-) Anyway, it is one innovative product, indeed. To see Matt's other projects, click here. That Three Piece Kettle looks insteresting, too.

Heat Wave by Joris Laarman

What a lovely wall decoration piece... well, that was I thought it was, when I first saw this picture. It's actually a decorative radiator, Heat Wave, by Joris Laarman. This concrete radiator, measured 60x70 centimeters, can be linked together and make one wonderful object. The prototype was made in 2003 in search for an ornamental and necessary form. As quoted on his website, "...functionalists are also sinners of styling, and that soberness is not always more functional than highly decorative form." Heat Wave was part of his graduation showcase in 2003, and it's been a permanent collection at Droog Design since then.

Starting this year, Heat Wave will be in production for the consumer market. The radiator's electrical version was presented by Droog Design at Ambiente 2006 in Frankfurt, Germany. For more details, click here.

more flower shots + card

Got my flickr last year, but never really use it, until now. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm browsing pretty flower pictures today. :) So I've just uploaded some of my flowers shots to flickr, for your viewing pleasure.

And of course, to show off the valentine's card I got from Natassja. :) I so envy her. Nobody taught me how to make this when I was in pre-school! it looks so much fun now. :)

Gorgeous blooms by Paula Pryke

I'm devoted to flowers. Flowers on prints, fabrics, plates, walls, you name it. I love them all. Too bad, you can hardly get good looking blooms on Valentine's day. There are just too many buyers and limited blooms, which btw, cost heavenly on this day. Even the poor looking ones are unreasonably priced. So today, it's best to enjoy flowers in the most affordable way, browsing the pictures of flowers. :)

Here's one pretty picture from my all-time favorite floral designer, Paula Pryke, who always produce gorgeous arrangements of pretty blooms, come rain or shine, or snow. :) To see more lovely blooms, visit her site here. Happy Valentine's Day!

Amadori at Hotel Fox

I've seen magazines' pictures of Hotel Fox before, but I don't recall seeing this particular room (pic. above). It was done by Birgit Amadori, a German illustrator. Although Hotel Fox is loaded with works of great artists from around the world, Amadori's is my top favorite. Simply because of her fine detailing. It's just amazing. Really amazing details. You could find her designs on different sizes of the rooms. And don't miss the rest of her great illustrations. Click here. Enjoy!

SPLITDESIGN

SPLITDESIGN is the brainchild of Mario Stipinovich, designer and animator based in New York. He's been involved in numerous projects for clients with big names, such as Mercedes, Mac Cosmetics, Planters Mr. Peanut, MTV, USA Golf, etc. Armed with bright talent and skills, he expanded his creations beyond animation into housewares, tote bags, mousepads and more. My favorites are his retro/vintage designs, such as this Match 5 mousepad, Wave Tile Coaster, and his cute animal designs, Pelican Mug and Wood-Bird Tote.

It's time to cuckoo!

I posted this cuckoo clock some time ago, and have been getting enquiries about it. It's such a hit in Japan, it really is a sold-out item there. Well... here's the good news for Singapore fans of Diamantini & Domeniconi's Cuckoo Forest by Pascal Tarabay. It is now available in Singapore at Blue Canopy. FYI, Blue Canopy's site doesn't offer online purchase, and it doesn't display the cuckoo there either. So head down to their shop. Btw, they call it Cucu Clock here, it's the same stuff, same deal. It's available in White and Light Blue. I want Black. Bring in the Black, folks! Gosh, worldwide shortage of the black one. :)

In U.S., you can find it at Antropologie, Conran Shop, and Unica Home. For New Zealand, visit Nest.

Bernabei Freeman

Bernabei Freeman was started by Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman in 2002. Using their industrial design and lighting backgrounds, they're incorporating textile design into their wonderful mystical lightings. No doubt their lightings became much loved by the hospitality industry. They give you that warmth and soothing feelings. Mmmmm.... should have one of these at home, huh? :) I love their peony lightings and their Exchange Hotel project. Nice...

WOOK KIM

This is so awesome, digitally printed wall coverings by WOOK KIM, a Brooklyn-based textile designer. I love his idea of putting an animal on a certain part of the pattern, making his collections unique among other wallpapers. I can imagine Natassja talking to this wallpaper animal. :) *yeah, she likes to talk to our porcelain dog occasionally, and tell everybody else that she has a pet dog at home!* My favorite patterns are Bayou, Cabbage, and Feu. Each pattern is available in a non adhesive or adhesive backed paper. His site doesn't say anything about him, but you could read his interview by Souris at Hustler Of Culture. Enjoy!

Rizalman Ibrahim Couture

I don't usually feature fashion here, but with great collections like these, I just gotta talk about it. Rizalman Ibrahim is a Malaysian fashion designer, launched his own high fashion label in 1995. Specializing in made-to-measure, Rizalman Ibrahim Couture offers highest quality fabric and personalized attention to each individual clients.
I like his Sex & City and Mega Mendung collections. He has the most gorgeous kebayas I've ever seen! FYI, these are the modern version of kebaya, not the traditional ones. For those of you who'd like to know what kebaya is, click here for more details. I never get a chance to wear kebaya before, so I couldn't tell you how to wear one. For beginners like me, I would need instructions to put it on. But of course, you wouldn't need that if you wear the modern kebayas like Rizalman's pieces. :)

Past Perfect!

If I could find more Singaporean sites like this, I'll be so happy! It's Past Perfect Home, a husband-and-wife team who has great passion in making old things NEW! They turned vintage scarves into gorgeous one-of-a-kind cushions. I love what they did on the furniture. I've seen plenty of furniture like this abroad, but not locally, until now. Past Perfect Home was featured recently on Singapore Home & Decor January 2006 and today, they are in The Straits Times. So I'm not the only one who's loving this. More to come, I hope. :)

Thank You, Abigail!

I've just received a Selvedge back issue from Abigail today. She had a double copy of this issue and sent one for me. She's so thoughtful! I'm so delighted to receive it. :) Thank you so much, Abigail! She sent it along with a postcard of her beautiful Begonia brooch. What a lovely piece. It looks so real on the postcard, doesn't it?

Abigail Percy is currently working on her latest jewelry collection, but you can view some of them on her flickr site. Above are my top picks. With beautiful design and fine craftsmanship, it's hard not to fall in love with her jewelry. I'm sure you'll find your favorite pieces there. :) Okay, I'm off to read my Selvedge now.

UPDATE Feb 10, 2006:
Abigail Percy Jewelry is now available for online purchase at http://abigailpercy.etsy.com

FIQ online

I couldn't tell much about FIQ online, other than it's a japanese site offering quirky interior items, totes and bags. I like their Boston bags and floral/nature theme rugs. I love the idea of their frame table. It works just like a picture frame. You could change the prints/fabric of the table as often as you wish, and if you're creative enough, you could make your own prints. ;-)

KUSTAA SAKSI at MIDI

This is my first time seeing an illustrator who has done pretty much everything from visuals to clothing to sneakers. Kustaa Saksi is a Finnish illustrator based in Paris, France. Here are my favorite pictures of his works taken from his site.

Kustaa has done works for Diesel, MTV, Playboy, Printemps, and many more. He'll be at the MIDI Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10-11 March 2006 along with Karim Rashid, Jaime Hayon and other international speakers. This event will also feature works by local & international brand/designers such as Phunk Studio, Eleven18, Moooi, Marcel Wanders and more. For complete details of the event, click here. This is a MUST-VISIT for all creative folks. Don't miss it! *thanks, multi, for this awesome link.*