google ad sense 728 x 90

So, what are you getting her/him?

I'm bummed at all the crap people are posting on blogs and sites for V-day gifts. Just because it's red or heart-shaped doesn't mean it's a great gift! Here are some gifts that truly are unique, memorable, hip or collectible. No crappy gold-filled jewelry or heart soaps on here. Just the good stuff.

Starting with a droog signature vase made from your own signature to naming a star after your significant other, you can purchase all these great gifts just by clicking on their images.

Seriously Good Valentine's Gifts

See more of my Seriously Good Valentine's Gifts list at ThisNext.

Give the man a hand. Or leg. Or back. Body Painter Guido Daniele.


These amazing images of Guido Daniele's painted hands are only some of his amazing work. He's created many images for ad campaigns over the years and his work just keeps getting better.

Cool City Plates, This one is Los Angeles

City Plate - Los Angeles :: Rios Clementi Hale Studios

I like maps. I like dishes.
So, I like map dishes.

This cool limited edition plate of Los Angeles will be available early february.
Just click on the image to pre-order now.

UPDATED 2012. Whatever Happened To "Wash Me"? Scott Wade's Dirty Car Art.




Most of us have fought the urge to trace 'wash me' on the filthy car window of some random automobile with our finger. Some of us have even given in. But it takes a little more willpower for Scott Wade.



You see, Scott Wade doesn't just want to write on a dust-laden window, he wants to paint. And paint he does.




In his recreations of famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer, Boticelli, Gauguin, Van Gogh - even the classic kitschy Dogs Playing Poker, Scott turns the removal of dirt into an impressive medium. Take a look at these:










Other images include portraits of famous people, friends and landscapes:








You can read more and see more about Scott Wade and His Dirty Car art right here.

Put That Down! That's My Grandma.


Proof that even great design lives for the deceased.

Put that down, That's my grandma!

We will all die someday, that's just reality.

But you do not have to be kept on a mantel in some imposing marble mausoleum or cloisonné ginger jar!

Here are some super stylish options to leave this world as tastefully as you lived in it.

Obscenely Decadent Valentine's Gifts

Most of us don't have $10,000. to spend on a Valentine's gift, let alone $2,000,000.
But for those lucky few who do, here are a few thoughts.

Below are some options from a 1.7 million dollar space ship ride to a diamond-encrusted Mercedes 600SL (That's right...if you have to ask, you can't afford it). A photo engraved on 6.8 grams of pure platinum. And a custom home theater.

Perhaps you'd prefer your own private island for the two of you?

Maybe a 1.5 million dollar underwater venture?


Okay, so this list is completely useless for the average joe, but we can dream, can't we?
10 Obscenely Decadent Valentine's Gifts

If any of you want to know more about these items, simply click on the pic and through the magic of the internet, you'll be there!

The 54 million dollar "Oopsy"

What began as a 40 million dollar "Uh-oh" is now a 54 million dollar "Oopsy."

You may recall this little story from October of last year.
It was published on Kovel's Comments Newletter as follows:

He may have built a few Las Vegas casinos, but Steve Wynn, in spite of his money and amazing art collection, is just like the rest of us.

Accidents happen.

He had just sold his Picasso painting to another collector for $139 million when he raised his arm to point out a feature of the painting of Picasso's mistress, Marie-Therese Walter, to friends.



Somehow his elbow shoved back into Marie-Therese's arm, making a 2-inch hole with two 3-inch rips radiating from the center.

“Oh s---,” he said, according to a friend who was there. “Look what I’ve done. Thank God it was me.”Every collector has had that feeling. No way to undo an accident. He later offered to cancel the sale, and decided to repair the painting and keep it.


Now, here's the latest from the Kovel's:

How much is a hole in a painting worth?

Steve Wynn accidentally raised his elbow and made a hole in the $139 million Picasso he had just sold. He cancelled the sale and had the painting repaired for $90,000.

Now he is fighting with Lloyd’s of London over the lost value of the painting.He claims the painting is only worth $85 million now, a loss of $54 million.

Lloyd’s has offered to pay the $90,000 repair cost and the $21,000 consultant’s fee for the restoration and increased security needed while the painting was being repaired. Wynn filed a lawsuit against Lloyd’s on January 11, 2007 and a day later, they started negotiating.

Does a repaired hole seen only under black light reduce the value of the painting by about 40%?
Time will tell.

--from Kovel's Comments

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

In an effort to showcase what is beautifully designed, conceptually relevant,
art to some and objects to others, I wanted to bring these aquatic worlds to your attention.

They say that fish have a 'calming' effect on people.
That's why you so often see aquariums in Doctors' offices and Veterinarian's waiting rooms.
Why they are in Chinese restaurants, I'm not sure.


Either way, these fish are living the dream baby...


List: Aquariums that rock.

Who knew betta fish had it so good?

See more of my Aquariums that rock. list at ThisNext.

The 2007 Wallpaper Design Awards

If you're not familiar with the beautifully produced and informative magazine about global art and culture, Wallpaper, you ought to be. Below are their picks for the best in design for the year 2007. It's a wonderful and useful compilation of everything from best hotels to speakers.

Read On:

Design Awards: the winners
DESIGN AWARDS: THE WINNERS

The International Judges' Awards

It was a tough choice but here they are: the ultimate in global design, architecture and style, as selected by this year's elite panel of international judges, designer Naota Fukasawa, hotelier Ian Schrager, designer Ron Arad, fashion designers Viktor and Rolf, actress Jane Birkin, and MD of Charme Matteo do Montezemolo.

Best new hotel
Home, Buenos Aires
Located in Buenos Aires’s hip Palermo Viejo neighbourhood, Home was designed by architects Rodrigo Cunill and Juana Grichener. The exterior may be austere, but the rest of the hotel is warm, light and airy thanks to a 300 sq m garden and heated swimming pool. All 17 rooms have their own distinct style with a retro theme, mixing vintage European wallpapers, Chilean wool rugs and custom-made native watambu wood beds with CD and book libraries, MP3 players and Wi-Fi. Room rate: from $115
www.homebuenosaires.com

View best new hotel nominees

Best new public building
Morgan Library & Museum extension, by Renzo Piano
Working in collaboration with New York architect firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop masterfully inserted contemporary structures into a historic context. The expansion, which includes a new underground space and three glass-and-steel pavilions set around a central court, also adds an auditorium, a striking new entrance and an exquisite reading room, doubling the library’s floor space.

View best new public building nominees

Best new fashion collection
Prada
While Miuccia Prada might seem an obvious choice, being a fashionista favourite and having a keen interest in art and architecture, her autumn/winter collections were especially strong. Shown against a Rem Koolhaas backdrop, the theme was urban guerrilla. These were tough, sensible yet flattering clothes, ideal for the boardroom dweller, streetwise reveller and permanent traveller. A tempting mix of glamorous sophistication and urban grit.
www.prada.com

View best new fashion collection nominees

Best new grooming product
Serge Lutens cosmetics
Serge Lutens is a master when it comes to giving make-up a timeless elegance. He defined Shiseido’s image in the 1980s and 1990s, and he has now launched his own line of cosmetics, combining old-fashioned glamour with contemporary design and hi-tech formulas. The weighty black lacquer cases are a nod to old Hollywood movie star chic, but, for a modern twist, Lutens has replaced traditional curves with clean, linear contours.
www.salons-shiseido.com

View best new grooming product nominees

Best new private house
Baron House by John Pawson
John Pawson’s design for creative guru Fabien Baron’s house draws on the local Swedish vernacular, but uses cement blocks and timber detailing to create a contemporary sense of abstraction. This country home is in total harmony with its surroundings, its visible lines synchronised with the landscape. The house is divided into two lofty, light-bathed volumes, separated by a courtyard with views in every direction.
www.johnpawson.com

View best new private house nominees

Best domestic appliance
Ceramic speakers, by Broberg Ridderstråle
Mats Broberg and Johan RidderstrÃ¥le, graduates of Stockholm’s Konstfack University, moved away from the traditional black, box-shaped speaker and created a set of white ceramic speakers, using the symbol of sound as their inspiration. ‘It’s the universal icon of noise,’ says RidderstrÃ¥le of the truncated cone shape, which sits at the perfect angle to produce optimum sound.
www.brda.se

View best domestic appliance nominees

Best furniture designer of the year
Hella Jongerius
Dutch designer Hella Jongerius and Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra may seem like an odd pairing; one is known for a naive, idiosyncratic approach, the other for slick, hi-tech furniture. But the collaboration speaks volumes about Jongerius’s talent and Vitra’s commercial nous because everyone wants design with a quirky, homespun feel, and Jongerius provides it in spades with pieces such as this ‘Worker’ chair. From vases for Ikea to a solo exhibition at Galerie Kreo in Paris, her design covers a wide spectrum.
www.jongeriuslab.com

View best furniture designer of the year nominees

Best city
Istanbul
Having carved out a niche as an art city, with its new modern art gallery and Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul’s latest incarnation is as a shopping paradise and chic nightspot. A host of new stores and bars have opened in Nisantasi, not to mention design specialist Addresistanbul. But perhaps most impressive has been the emergence of a daring design scene. Derin Design and Gaia & Gino are already stars, while Autoban points to Istanbul’s exciting design future. The city is rapidly turning into an elegant party capital.

View best city nominees

Best new restaurant
Müzede Changa, Istanbul
Six years after opening the ever-popular Changa, restaurateurs Tarik Bayazit and Savas Ertunc have opened an equally slick sequel, Müzede Changa. Architect Aysen Savas dreamt up the ‘glass cube’ that houses the restaurant; the 1960s- and 1970s-inspired interiors were designed by the award-winning Autoban design team; and chef Peter Gordon has given traditional Turkish fare a modern twist.
www.changa-istanbul.com

View best new restaurant nominees

Most life-enhancing item
Google earth
The earth is getting smaller. And so there is something so perfectly right about Google Earth, the rapid zoom from space to your own back yard and off again, sweeping across oceans and continents to land wherever you wish (security concerns allowing), to see streets and beaches and the places where other people live, work and play. Thrilling and disquieting in equal measure, there is an idealistic charge to the Google Earth project.
earth.google.com

View most life-enhancing item nominees




Shop or I'll shoot! Gun-shaped Items

Stick Em Up! Gun-shaped Stuff

Is it because we're in the midst of a nonsensical war?
Or because of all the horrible things happening in Darfur?
Or because we have a republican as president?

Whatever the reason, gun-shaped objects seem to be all the rage these days. So, if you've got a thing for guns (handguns, pistols, revolvers or other things that shoot), here's a list of items to admire. Or to loathe.

Your choice.

Clicking on the image will take you directly to the place of purchase.

Ready. Aim. Buy.


64th Golden Globes or Toga Party?

First of all, congratulations to all the winners and the nominees. It was a year of excellent movies.

But now, let's get catty.

I was really surprised to wake up this morning and despite the numerous articles on the 64th Golden Globe Awards which aired last night, no one mentioned the fashion trend that was glaringly obvious! I didn't know if I was viewing the Hollywood Press's nominees or a glamorous Toga Party!

White, strapless or one shoulder pleated gowns were everywhere! Even Angelina's and Eva Longoria's gowns, despite being colors other than white, were pleated and had Grecian style. What is the deal? Has ROME on HBO been that popular??

OK, so one Australian blog site mentioned the "grecian" overtones, but I almost expected Los Angeles headlines to read Golden Globes or Toga Party? Can't believe not one newspaper or evening magazine has pointed this out.

Here's the evidence: (click on the pic to enlarge)


So, As you can see, these beautiful women should be toasting with Ouzo, not champagne!

This Next Loves Me.

One of the reasons I began this blog was the overwhelmingly positive response I was getting on the hot new shopcasting site, Thisnext.com.

If you haven't visited it yet, you ought to. It's a compilation of people's recommendations for available products on the market.

I have personally created over 7 different lists on there.

Begun by Gordon Gould and Craig Ogg, it's received wonderful press from reputable sources like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and continues to grow.

Once you compile a list of products, they keep stats as to how many people actually 'clicked through' on the product or put it on their own personal wish lists. It's here, that I discovered I have a knack for finding items that people like or want.

Today I learned that I am the first person to have posted 349 "first" recommendations.

I believe that literally means I'm a Trend-setter. What fun!



No wonder I'm still single.

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