Basic Instincts

Today the 30th of June the multidisciplinary exhibition Basic Instincts opens in Villa Elisabeth in Berlin. Premsela organised the exhibition with another vision on Fashion and Fashion Culture in a multimedia context. Iris van Herpen is one of the artists in the exhibition for wich Henrik Vibskov designed the overall exhibition structure.  A free catalogue is made as an I pad app available for download here  it gives a really good impression of the exhibition which will travel for another 2 years.

in Berlin 30th june - 31st july

the Koffeepot in Manchester

The Koffee Pot may be your best bet for a high quality all day English Breakfast, non-greasy, good quality, friendly staff make this place not the typical English Breakfast place.
They also claim to do a really good haddock sandwich but the sausage filled me up fast enough.. They played us some Glastonbury coverage radio so it might always be full with good tunes.
The Koffe Pot is situated in the Northern Quarter just around the corner from Oldham Street which is the place to go for action in Manchester. Vintage or record shopping will be an easy mission here.

Iris van Herpen

This is an interesting short documetary made by Dutch DFA in a series about dutch designers, artists and architects. They are all well worth watching.
Today the exhibition 'The New Craft' : Iris van Herpen and her inspiration opens at Central Museum Utrecht, the Netherlands.


june 29th - oct 9th 
http://www.irisvanherpen.com/

Crystalline

Crystals grow like plants:
Crystalline is now available 

photo by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin 
graphics by MM Paris 
dress by Iris van Herpen

What can I say, LOVE Björk, love the work by Inez & Vinoodh, love MM Paris (their contribution to Ann Lee No Ghost Just a Shell) and the modest Iris is going to be Big! 

more tickets for sale for some of the shows in Manchester here:
http://mif.co.uk/event/bjork-biophilia/ 

and some not such good quality concert pictures. The playlist lists no less then 10 new songs.
The encore was best in my opinion One Day and Declare Independence.
I wonder who designed the dress she wore during the concert..

House of Hackney, not your typical English Rose..

The Dalton Rose range by London brand House of Hackney is a typical English-style nave blue rose print with a dip-dye fade into a darkblue/black. It is this very ‘subtle’ touch that makes the pattern so interesting and extremely modern. The pattern is available made by  traditional specialists and craftsmen on wallpaper, bed linen, pillows and furniture.
And here again is talk of my favorite New York Walhalla store Opening Ceremony: a collaboration will see the light soon, for more information see their blog. They already had a pop up store in my favorite London hood: Stoke Newington. I think their take on the old and traditional with a (huge) twist will be around for a while.
Oh and, the models hair…. Amazing!

Where They Create

Where They Create is not 'just a book'.
As is claimed in the PR text, and even though this is not the only book published of Studio interiors by friends, designers and artists, the Where They Create book by  Paul Barbera is an extensive, very exstensive document. It shows you places you could have never visited yourself. The inspiring photographs where already published on his blog: Where They Create and in the book which is available for pre-order via Frame (released in july 2011) The (I am sure of) Inspiring book will also contain images of the Opening Ceremony Studio's and Julie Verhoeven

PRINTINK

KINFOLK

KESSELS KRAMER

 

Buenas Migas

There are a bunch of Buenas Migas places in Barcelona,  i think about 8. We went to the one right on the beach near Barcelonetta. It was the best for a good ice coffee. And unfortunately we had to run and there was no time to eas any of the breads, cakes or pies. But I would suggest to do so and take some time for this coffee-chain which is really what all coffee houses should be like. The beautiful drawing on my paper cup made me smile with joy for at least 30 more minutes!

Ane Brun - Do You Remember?

Antwerp as seen through the eyes of Studio Aandacht

http://www.studioaandacht.nl

http://www.sleepinthecity.be/

http://www.boulevard-leopold.be

Happy Socks for Happy People (or to Become very instantly)

Happy Socks are really just that, very happy unisex socks that I am sure will improve the quality of life massively. The swedish entrepeneurs turned the everyday essential into a colourful design item and spread happiness. High quality is a given and the often geometric patterns are woven with great care in a family business in Turkey. The socks are sold in over 50 countries now but can also be purchased online. New at-this-moment-fashion-items are added on regular basis. Happy Socks also jumped on the tie dye wagon resulting in great leggings that I might need to purchase.
I would also suggest this as a birthday present for any of your happy friends.

the Happy Socks crew blogs here

Barcelona Reykjavik: Bakkery

Anybody who has been around me for a while knows that i have a very serious Reykjavik obsession. Not so much a problem in daily life so I just cope with it.

Although the simple word Reykjavik is almost enough to speed up my heartbeat. So also when I read in print about a 'shop'  ReykjavikBarcelona.  I took my travelcompanions there immediately, not even knowing what BarcelonReykjavik really was. When arrived the place was closed, and even though a peek into an inspiring minimalist interior did not really unveil the bussiness of this 'shop'.
The next day my companions found another BarcelonaReykjavik and unraveled the mystery. BarcelonaReykjavik is an organic bakery. Run by Icelandic Gudrun Margret they use some Icelandic ingredients in their traditional breads. High quality and healthy, manually processed ingredients are important to the business. Although not cheaply priced I would say everything in this bakery is worth the money. It tastes GOOD, no excellent! There are no less then tree locations and they work on festivals as well. At Primavera Sound they prepared me a perfect 'Bocadillo Dinner'.