Her Majesty the Queen Presents

Britain’s Royal Mail issued a set of ten stamps celebrating 20th-century British Design classics. How cool is that!

Tape it by Swiss designer Claudia Caviezel

Very talented designer Claudia Caviezel developed a series of patterns for room dividers and walls in the Business class Lounge of Swissport International Ltd. at Airport Zurich/New Terminal Dock Midfield.

www.caviezel.cc

RUM - A DANISH INTERIOR MAGAZINE

Just discovered this great interior magazine from Denmark. Ok - I do not understand a word - BUT the images are truly inspirational.
check it out for yourself:

www.rumid.dk

Commune Community Shop opens in L.A.

Opening their workspace in West Hollywood two afternoons a week, Commune Community Shop is multidisciplinary design collective Commune's first retail venture. What's for sale reflects the group's neo-boho aesthetic—natural textiles, Native America craft, unique ceramics and metal sculpture—seen in their own collaborations with the likes of the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and the Heath Ceramics' L.A. store to Opening Ceremony in Tokyo. Love it!

Community Shop @ Commune
650 N. Robertson Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-855-9080

OPEN TUE AND THU
2 – 6 PM OR BY APPOINTMENT

New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) and Grolsch present SwingArt Award 2009 winner Olaf Breuning

The SwingArt Award commissioned an artwork from a living artist to grace a limited edition collectible bottle. 1,615 bottles were gifted to Opening Preview Guests at Design Miami/ 2009, in honor of the founding of the Grolsch Brewery. Grolsch also hosted the SwingArt party to celebrate Olaf Breuning, and recent collaborations with NADA and The Green Art Center Miami.

L.A. Modernism

The L.A. Conservancy launched its 'Sixties turn 50' campaign - the program's nine months of tours, discussions and online activities are designed to celebrate and preserve L.A.'s modern architecture, cementing the notion that the sites are, in fact, historic. In the 1960s the city became the epicenter of innovation, thanks not only to the tract houses built after the Case Study House program but also to cerebral works like the Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building, the Music Center by Welton Becket in Bunker Hill, the now endangered Century Plaza Hotel by Mioru Yamasaki and the space-pod Chemosphere House by John Lautner. I love the 60s and it's wonderful to celebrate the unique style and architecture of the decade. But sadly, I sometimes get the feeling that L.A. peaked 50 years ago...

laconcervancy.org/sixties

Miya - a pop-up restaurant in Paris

How cool is that? Laurent Grasso & Everland’s Electrolux Miya, is a pop-up restaurant à Paris. Seating just 12 people, it provides a unique and intimate eating experience with all of city's beauty within sight. The restaurant will be open until July 1, 2010.

Maarten Baas - Design Miami/ Designer of the Year 2009

Who is this guy who has become an overnight sensation with his graduation collection SMOKE? Born in Germany and raised in the Netherlands, Maarten Baas graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in 2002. He literally set fire to old chairs and tables before coating then in epoxy resin to preserve the charred remains. By stripping away ornament he diminishes the hand-off preciousness of design and brings the objects closer to their true purpose. The SMOKE collection was commissioned by Dutch label MOOOI, bought by museums and collectors such as Philippe Starck and subsequently further developed in collaboration with New York gallerist Murray Moss. Baas focuses on creating one new project a year, each time exploring new ideas and media. Highlights include his Hey, chair, be a bookshelf! collection, in which he combined discarded furniture elements into complex structures with entirely new purposes; his boldly colored Clay Furniture series, in which each piece is modelled by hand from synthetic clay; or his Sculpt collection in which items of furniture are based on quick sketches which are then enlarged and literally translated into finished pieces on a monumental scale.

Baas is a poster child for the the new spirit of design that has emerged at the turn of the millennium. No longer content with producing sleek designs Baas is embracing a raw, surreal and idiosyncratic approach. At only 31 years of age, Maarten Baas is a strikingly young designer who has impacted the world of design in an unprecented short period of time.

Baas is the fifth designer to receive the award, following the Campana Brothers last year, Tokujin Yoshioka in 2007, Marc Newson in 2006 and Zaha Hadid in 2005.

DESIGN MIAMI 2009 OPENS TODAY

If this is December 1st, this must be Miami. Along with the art world, which flies south for Art Basel (Dec. 3-6), design aficionados head there for Design Miami, which runs from today (the invitation-only opening) to Dec. 5.

www.designmiami.com

Mr & Mrs Smith go Down Under

One of my favorite hotel guides, Mr & Mrs Smith, comes out with a guide book featuring 33 of Australia's and New Zealand's finest boutique properties photographed by Australian photographer, Earl Carter and reviewed by Australian tastemakers such as actor Sigrid Thornton, chef Christine Manfield and media luminary Deborah Hutton in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in-the-know tips for destinations to make tracks to in 2010.

www.mrandmrssmith.com