While many menswear designers continue to rethink heritage workwear styling, others are returning to the classics to find inspiration in formal footwear. Recent dress shoe design toys with tradition with daring moves toward bold soles and contrasting patterns. Pioneered by the likes of Mark McNairy, many designers have offered their take in new collections, promoting a playful side of menswear. Here are five of our favorite styles from the Fall 2012 collections.

Florsheim by Duckie Brown

A new design from the Fall/Winter 2012 collection set to debut at New York Fashion Week, the Wedge Brogue blends current trends with mountaineering style eyelets, an exaggerated PU sole and warm color for a truly contemporary take on the classic longwing style. The standout design aims to bring a bit of life to the onset of winter next season.

Mark McNairy

Straying from the neon Vibram sole that's become synonymous with the McNairy name, these suede longwings still manage the signature flair without the overwhelming color palette. Traditionally a rather formal design, the classic silhouette is dressed down nicely here with a platform sole and contrasting green suede upper for a strong look.

Caminando

Similarly tackling the full brogue, the Tokyo-based brand Caminando injects significant aesthetic impact into a simple idea. Although the colors are a bit tame compared to the rest, the jagged sole on the Wingtip Ripple makes them an a key piece in dressing up an understated outfit.

Swear

Bright without being ostentatious, the simple Lou 4 features a brilliant blue PU sole in contrast against the perfectly clean black leather upper. The resulting aesthetic exudes easy confidence.

GRAM

The 380g insjön runner takes its distinct look from fabric woven by Insjöns Väveri, the sole fabric makers for the Swedish Royal Court. Woven on 1930s-era looms, the heavy-duty cotton and linen blend makes the collaboration shoe an elegant, fun and extremely durable choice.

Artist Tofer Chin's signature stalagmites have taken many forms over the years—as massive installations popping off gallery walls and planted in parks, and as the geometric force breaking up mathematically-derived Op Art patterns in mind-bending paintings. But the LA-based artist's sharp expressions, on view in his current solo show "Totally", are about to receive a fashionable change-up from Bijules' NYC-based jewelry designer Jules Kim.

For one night only, the collaborative duo will present "TC+ BJ = 23 Art Intervention", shrinking Chin's stalagmites to serve as stands for a limited-edition set of Bijules gold rings. The elegantly irreverent designer explains, "I am excited and honored to have a respected contemporary allow me into his sacred space and to trust my direction wholeheartedly." Perpetually "collaborating in spirit and friendship" since meeting in Chin's LA studio years ago, the pair pull off a seamless exchange between art and fashion.

Each of the 23 gold rings is signed and numbered by the two artists and comes with a Tofer Chin miniature stalagmite. Check them out at NYC's Lu Magnus Gallery 10 February 2012, where they will be on view as part of Chin's exhibition through 17 February 2012, or pick one up now from the Bijules web shop for $600. RSVP for the opening through Good People.

Photos courtesy of BHP

From design powerhouse Black + Blum comes a stellar new alternative to wasteful disposable water bottles. Eau Good uses Binchō-tan, a traditional Japanese charcoal, to naturally filter tap water over the course of six hours. The plastic bottle has a small indent to hold the charcoal in place while drinking, and a simple squeeze releases the piece for replacement. Held in place with a metal ring, a natural cork stopper secures the opening.

Sourced from sustainably harvested timber, the charcoal is created by burning the wood at a precise 1000 degrees celsius. Once activated, the filter rids water of chlorine and other odors while balancing pH levels to deliver a natural, clean finish. While many filters currently use processed charcoal, Binchō-tan has a longer shelf life and is recyclable as a fertilizer and deodorizer. The charcoals—only $3.70 per piece—can be reactivated by boiling after three months for an average life of six months.

We recommend picking up a pair from the Black + Blum shop to keep your cold, clean water in constant rotation.

When we learned about The Bushcamp Company, the only safari operator in the southern part of Zambia's game-filled South Luanga National Park, we not only wanted to visit, we wanted to share it with our readers in a way that a story or video couldn't provide. We decided the best way to share the experience was to actually share the experience, and we are proud to announce our first CH Edition trip, which is available exclusively through Jetsetter. This trip of a lifetime combines adventure, education and community action as well as a few surprises.

We chose The Bushcamp Company for several reasons. The South Luanga National Park (which is half the size of Massachusetts!), is one of the greatest game reserves in the world, home to a range of more than 60 mammals (including lions, tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, zebras, buffalo, hippos, baboons, giraffes and impalas), some 400 species of birds and vegetation unique even in Africa. It's also one of the least visited, so you won't be spending your time looking at other travelers instead of the amazing surroundings. Combining both driving and walking components, this safari offers a different experience from many others. It's been said that "From a vehicle you see Africa. On foot you feel, hear and smell Africa," and we agree. By walking through the park in small groups with a guide (and armed chaperone) we'll get to experience the smallest details alongside the biggest game.

We're pretty decent photographers, but in planning this trip we realized that even we could use a bit of help, so we're partnering with Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas to help document our experience. The new PENTAX K-01, designed by Marc Newson, will accompany us on our trip along with the just-announced Optio WG-2 rugged adventure camera, as well as celebrated nature photographer Kerrick James. We'll all learn how to capture incredible imagery in informal demonstrations, and Kerrick will join us in the field to help you document the experience. It wouldn't be a Cool Hunting trip without a few surprises, and we have several in store for you.

Our days will consist of an early morning, late afternoon, and evening safari. We'll talk photography, share stories, enjoy a siesta and tea, and three meals a day. You'll be traveling with Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten, the co-founders of Cool Hunting, and Greg Stefano, our video producer (as we'll be creating a Cool Hunting video of the trip). All travelers will start the trip at the Mfuwe Lodge, where we'll spend the first two nights. Then we'll split up into smaller groups as we venture into the park and spend the next five nights in the bushcamps (each bushcamp has three or four rooms), though we will all meet up once a day. We'll come together again on the last night.

Supporting the local rural community is part of The Bushcamp Company's mission, and we will not only spend our last day visiting the local school, we will contribute to it. Guests are encouraged to share their life experience with the students with a lecture or demonstration. Chilongozi is a rural school with very limited means, and they are in the process of building a much needed classroom and dormitory. Each guest, as part of their tour fee, will be donating a desk to the school, and The Bushcamp Company has generously offered to match our donations. The desks, which cost $120, are made locally, providing jobs and additional revenue to the community. We'll also be accepting donations for so many other things that are needed at this school.

This very special trip is limited to 12 rooms (a maximum of 24 people). Travel of this sort is unfortunately not inexpensive, though through our partnership with Jetsetter we're able to offer it at a thirty percent discount off of standard pricing. The price, $4,595 per person, includes the charter flight from Lusaka, Zambia's capital, to Mfuwe, lodging, all meals, park fees and a desk for the Chilongozi school. Some alcohol is included in the price, and the rest is available for purchase. Airfare from your city to Lusaka is not included.

For complete details and booking, please visit Jetsetter. We expect this trip to book quickly. If you're interested and it's sold old, please add your name to the waiting list. Questions? Feel free to contact us directly at info [at] coolhunting.com

A longstanding French tradition, almond water has been produced in small batches by nut lovers around the globe for hundreds of years. Bringing this all-natural treat to the masses is Victoria's Kitchen, a small, family-run company started by husband-and-wife duo David and Deborah Meniane to "honor the importance of family and traditions that are passed on from generation to generation."

Loaded with the nutrients found naturally in almonds, the gluten-free beverage still uses Grandma Victoria's original recipe of water, natural almond flavor, pure cane sugar—and, say the founders, her love—for sweetening. Although some may be put off by the added sugar, we can assure you the mild taste is just right.

Victoria's Kitchen is available in select stores across California, Texas and Florida, as well as online where a case of 12 16oz bottles sells for $27.

Seattle-based Vim Beget makes jewelry and accessories with a vaguely antique aesthetic, blurring the barrier between past and present. Each piece of burnished silver is finished with rusted steel, affording it its own unique look and feel—the upshot of hours spent in the hands of sole designer Billy Bartels.

Deeply rooted in the process, Bartels believes a hands-on approach makes the the end result worthwhile, and cuts each link separately before hand weaving them into a chain for bracelets and necklaces. "It's a lengthy process but something that can't be matched by a machine," he admits.

Materials are central to the process, and the designer takes a thoughtful approach to selecting the right combination. "The metals we use are very specific to the function as well as the aesthetic," says Bartels. "We use German silver not only because it's stronger and holds the weave better, but because the weave we do is a dated art and German silver is closest to the type of metal used traditionally when it was made hundreds and even thousands of years ago."

Similarly, the rings are first hand-carved from wax then cast in sterling silver. From there the finishing process involves sanding, forming, blackening and polishing to give the metal a distinct texture. Bartels has produced spectacular custom pieces as well, like the pair of nesting rings he recently cast in Shibuichi, an ancient Japanese alloy of fine silver and copper originally used for decorative elements on Katana swords.

In addition to their sterling silver rings and handwoven bracelets, Vim Beget also makes a number of fine leather goods crafted with the same attention to detail. With prices ranging between $95 and $295, Vim Beget is sold online as well as at a number of boutiques in the U.S. For a deeper look at the process behind the brand and the jewelry check out the Vim Beget blog.

For his first monograph, Matthieu Lehanneur has opted to express his design standpoint through the medium of his past works. Since his 2001 graduation from the ENSCI-Les Ateliers, he has stunned the community with a decade of innovative production in industrial and interior design. The bound collection from Gestalten looks at Lehanneur's design language with accompanying essays by the MoMA's Paola Antonelli and Ross Lovegrove, in addition to a conversation between Lehanneur and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Over the course of his ever-evolving career, Lehanneur has honored his commitment to marry science with design through inventions like the "Andrea" air purifier, which uses plants to naturally filter toxins from the air. The book highlights such favorites as it traces the development of his concept to create practical solutions for everyday living by working alongside members of the scientific community.

Other featured items include his design for a recuperative sleeping station, ceramic pottery based on U.N. population data, a weather forecaster for use in terminally ill hospital wards and S.M.O.K.E., an ethereal lamp made to imitate the appearance of compound bubbles that plays on the problem of air pollution. All of Lehanneur's designs share the common thread of cross-discipline innovation, beautifully outlined in this monograph.

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With Valentine's Day a week away, people everywhere are nervously approaching flower shops. Most don't know what they want and they may be worried about getting the wrong thing. With this in mind, H.BLOOM brings you a handy info-graphic to help you pick the right bouquet for your beloved. As a special offer for Valentine's Day, the subscription-based flower delivery service is offering the option to buy individual arrangements outside of their regular plans. However, if you're feeling extra romantic, go ahead and spring for the full service, which allows you to have flowers delivered on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.

Subscriptions are currently offered in Washington D.C., New York City, San Francisco and Chicago, and can be purchased on the H.BLOOM website. One-time deliveries can be made anywhere in the continental U.S. by calling 1-877-425-6665.

Share food with a loved one with Heart Part, a cleverly designed eating utensil that opens up into two pieces combining fork, knife and scoop. Recently spotted at the NY International Gift Fair by our friend Alissia Melka-Teichroew of byAMT design studio, the Heart Part appeals to both food and design nerds with its smart use of form and space.

As possibly the perfect—or at least the cutest—alternative to wasteful plastic cutlery, the Heart Part is made entirely of biodegradable polystyrene, and the dishwasher-friendly parts use 66% less plastic than regular cutlery. Besides minimizing the environmental impact of the everyday toss-away—an estimated 40 billion pieces of plastic are dumped in the world's landfills each year—creator Fatima Fazal makes a social gesture by donating nine percent of profits to charity.

Heart Part comes in five colors including fluorescent green and orange, rose, teal and black, and comes in packs of 10. To snag one for your next picnic or cheese party, head online to iHeart This or The Future Perfect where they sell for just $10 a set.

On a recent trip to Vancouver, British Columbia we were pleased to discover Alex Fairbairn's line of finely made leather goods, Wülf Work at the new shop Much & Little. The Swedish hardware on buckles and fasteners complemented the fine leatherwork, all of which is crafted under the company's philosophy of sustainablity and innovation.

The young brand foregoes traditional machine-stamping methods and opts instead to laser-cut their leathers, which lends each product a clean, precise edge. Each item is hand-sewn and burnished to enhance the personalized aesthetic, during a process that's closely monitored to keep production local and minimize material use. The brand fit well with the simple and solidly designed wares at the similarly focused boutique, which also carries Matteo bedding, Small Trades striped cotton shirts and whale knives by Japanese government-certified sickle-maker Tetsu Yamashita.

Besides Much & Little, Wülf Work is available in-store at the Vancouver boutique Crome Yellow.

The character of Rammellzee is one of the most compelling to emerge from the NYC street culture scene of the late 1970s and '80s. The Queens native began his career tagging the side of A train cars in his home borough and later moved into the budding hip-hop scene, where he emerged as an influential lyricist. Rammellzee's obsession with futurism and linguistics led him to establish the eponymous persona, at times referred to as "The Equation." A duo of upcoming exhibitions at the MoMA and The Suzanne Geiss Company explore the work of the reclusive artist, his manifestos and the science fiction-influenced culture that he embodied.

Created over the course of 14 years, "The Letter Racers" sculptures are on view in NYC for the first time. They represent the artist's manifestos "Iconoclast Panzerism" and "Gothic Futurism," two works written in Rammellzee's idiosyncratic language. The written and visual works explore the slavery and corruption of language and its liberation through the artist's own work.

The complex theory behind "The Letter Racers" has to do with the freedom of language from its historical fetters. As Rammellzee writes, "In the 14th century the monks ornamented and illustrated the manuscripts of letters. In the 21st and 22nd century the letters of the alphabet through competition are now armamented for letter racing and galactic battles. This was made possible by a secret equation know as THE RAMMELLZEE."

Playing with metaphysical concepts in the physical world, Rammellzee used found objects from the city streets to create the sculptures. A collection of perfume caps, spray can triggers and other small detritus comprise 52 "letter racers," armed for linguistic and galactic warfare. Witnessing the series as a whole lends insight into the man behind Rammellzee's self-made masks as well as the impact of street culture on the American dialect.

Two years after his premature death, The Suzanne Geiss Company is exhibiting "Rammellzee: The Equation, The Letter Racers" from 8 March to 21 April 2012. At the same time, the MoMA will present a few pieces from "The Letter Racers" as part of the "Print/Out" exhibition starting 19 February 2012.

Almost every picture I take for Cool Hunting stories is shot with my Nikon D700 so today's unveil of the D800 is welcomed news. An expected follow-on to last month's D4 announcement, the D800 brings a bounty of new features ranging from a massive full-frame CMOS sensor to dual SD and CF card slots to proper HD video support.

The D800 is slightly smaller and lighter than the D700 despite being more feature-packed. The new model features an FX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, hitting the mark with an incredible pixel count of 36.3 million pixels and a wide ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 25,600) for impressive low light shooting. From these advancements expect truer tonal graduation, more faithful color and a wider dynamic range.

Raising the stakes for filming capabilities on a DSLR, the CMOS sensor reads image data at an incredible rate to minimizes rolling shutter distortion while also reducing noise in low-light filming conditions. The D800 ups recording time up to 30 minute per clip and offers full manual aperture settings to adjust depth of field, all while capturing at 30-fps full 1080p HD resolution. New output wise, the videographer welcomes a designated headphone jack and an 8 bit HDMI port for uncompressed full HD signal streaming.

Also announced today is the alternative D800E. Otherwise identical to the D800, this upgraded version promises truer image accuracy for RAW photo shooters by disabling the anti-aliasing properties for the optical low pass filter (OLPF). Instead of filtering the incoming light to prevent moiré and false color—like the D800 (and almost all DSLRs)—the light is transmitted to the image sensor uninhibited, achieving higher accuracy images. While this feature is of clear benefit to pro photographers, we suspect those seeking to shoot video will prefer the D800 as it will handle a wider range of shooting situations.

The Nikon D800E will be available mid-April for $3300 while the D800 will hit shelves late next month with a price tag of $3000.

Smoking fish, gun-toting octopuses, cupcake-eating lizards—these are just a few of the anthropomorphic animals portrayed in the intricate ink drawings by the eccentric British artist Rory Dobner. His ingenuous penchant for animals and maximalist approach to art come together in a series of wildly imaginative characters easily adored by children and adults alike. The industrious artist, now represented by Opera Gallery, also lends his talents to sculpture, painting, tattoos, home furnishings and graphic design.

Liberty London began stocking a small amount of Dobner's work 18 months ago, after seeing one of his hand-drawn portraits in the background of a photo of his wife Claire, who was featured in a news article. At the time, Claire tells us, Rory had been a stay-at-home dad who worked incessantly on his art, as her job with British Telecom moved the family to places like Amsterdam, Hong Kong, LA, India, Sydney and Taiwan. Since Liberty phoned the couple, his collection has become so widely appreciated by the creative community—and several celebrities—the 34-year-old artist can barely keep up with the requests for his work. In addition to Liberty, Dobner's quirky animals and typographic initials can be found on ceramics and textiles at Bluebird in London, Via Bus Stop in Tokyo, Agent Provocateur shops and soon at Maison 24 in NYC.

We recently caught up with Dobner's wife of 16 years—the artist himself seems to be almost constantly working—to learn a little bit more about her husband's motivation and plans for the future, which currently include working with renowned neon artist Chris Bracey and preparing for a personal appearance at Liberty on 10 February 2012. To show his support for the company that catalyzed his career, Dobner will be in-store all day drawing personalized portraits for fans of his work, or those looking for a customized Valentine's Day gift.

What brought about the idea of working with initials?

When they started, Liberty took about 10 of his ink portraits and hung them in all these Victorian frames. They starting selling well, too well actually, and since each one is done by hand he had to keep replacing them. They finally gave him a six-week break, and suggested he do a product so he wouldn't have to keep drawing. So he came up with doing the alphabet because it's very iconic, and he made drawings and printed them on the tiles, and people could still frame them or they could play with them and spell out words. He will frame them all together too if you want a word. For example, Robbie Williams bought "Fuck me, blow me".

He started doing commissions for bespoke coat of arms that include very specific stuff like childrens' names, marriage dates, etc. Kate Moss created one with Ray Bans and The Rolling Stones references for her husband. Making it personal is very important for Rory, he's always drawn, it doesn't sit well to sell his art so if he can personalize it that makes him feel better.

What attracts Rory to Victorian times?

We've always sought out antique things, we've traveled extensively so our house is filled with loads of stuff we've picked up along the way or salvaged and given a new life in a current time. Rory also likes the invention of Victorian times—the materials are so amazing and there's so much heritage and character.

How much time does one drawing take to complete?

Every single thing is hand-drawn, the only thing we've done print-wise is the products. Something like Ol' Smokey takes about a day, but a new idea (like a bespoke idea) takes more like 2 days to think, design and draw. Rory just goes straight onto the paper without penciling it in first. Like his paintings on brushed steel, the fluid way he does them means he can only come off the painting at certain points and he can't make a mistake or the paint will fuck up—he's very intuitive, it's very interesting to watch.

What's his preferred material to work with?

We have a piece of land out in the countryside, and there's a sexy garden down the driveway. I would say Rory's happiest when he's there making his massive wire sculptures. They are really smooth on the inside—models have worn them in shows for Dior and McQueen—but they are really quite sharp on the outside so we have to put them in open spaces to keep from accidentally injuring the children. They take about six months to make and people appreciate them for their artistic merit. At Babington House (the Soho House in Somerset), he created a massive horse that is standing up on its hind legs and the front legs are above you.

What is something people might not know about Rory?

He's one of three boys, and he grew up on a tiny island off the UK which is more like a waiting area for old people to die. His parents sent him to an all-boys military boarding school at a young age, where he learned to march and shoot guns—it's kind of a scary school system to be in, you're expected to go to the military. He was always drawing, and rather than bash it, they encouraged him and allowed.

We have two children, Huxley and Louie, and he's very good at playing and thinking like children. He's really in it though, he's making his characters come alive and gives them little personalities. He has a bit of taxidermy, and sometimes dresses the animals up in vintage Vivienne Westwood accessories. But he's so humble, so gentle, and very knowledgeable about history. He mounts every picture himself, he does everything from start to finish. He's very much an artist, just genuinely interested in what people are telling him, and I sometimes have to wrestle his work off him.

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's time to get in the mood for buying your beloved something good. To save you from showing up with just a generic box of chocolates, we've added 30 items to the CH Gift Guide to spread the love. From balloons to jewelry, below are five standouts sure to warm hearts.

Geronimo Valentine's Day Balloons

Surprise a youthful significant other with a set of heart-shaped balloons from the LA-based "Balloonatics" at Geronimo. Each array comes packaged in a lovely white box filled with one jumbo heart balloon, one matching frill and one replacement balloon in case of emergency. Geronimo offers delivery service for residents of LA, and expedited mailing service for the rest of the U.S. The set sells for $165 (includes shipping).

London Undercover Brussels Sprout Umbrella

Covered in a charming vegetable print, this lightweight umbrella makes a great gift for any foodie you want to keep dry. The elegant design features an engraved wooden handle and conveniently breaks down to just under 10" long when shut. Get one for $38.

One Origin I (thou) Ring

Deliver your latest love letter in a unique and unexpected fashion with this dainty carrier ring. The creative design allows for a note to be attached at any moment, perfect for keeping a spark of spontaneity close at hand. The ring sells for $150.

New York Times 36 Hours

Once a week since 2002 The New York Times has offered detailed itineraries for dream weekend escapes in its "36 Hours" column. Now 150 North American destinations have been complied into one book—making the perfect present for planning future romantic weekends away. The book is available on Amazon for $24.

A.OK Earrings

Better known as "fool's gold", the Pyrite in these earrings from A.OK renders them authentically charming. Accented by binding copper, each pair is unique by natural design. Pick up a pair for $38.

It all started with a search for a pair of whalebones—two of them, between five and seven feet in length—to be mounted on a wall. Michael Moskowitz wanted to display the rare pieces to spark discussion of conservationist efforts, but found them exceedingly hard to come by. With all the flash sale sites around, he was surprised that there remained no options for curating Craigslist and Ebay, the Internet's largest gold mines for rare and one-off finds. So he started Bureau of Trade, a newly launched website for unique items at remarkably low prices.

Currently in beta, the space features around 30 finds per day with plans to up the output to 150 in the near future. Among the treasures are a trillion dollars in Zimbabwean currency (valued at $500), a block of petrified lightning and a 19th-century French fire helmet. Tailoring to the anti-IKEA masses, Moskowitz selects the goods based on what he sees would peak the interest of a discerning collector.

Moskowitz's background ranges from foreign policy analyst to IDEO designer, but he admits Bureau of Trade is informed by his personal experience searching the globe for rare collectibles. "If you've spent months scouring Bermondsey Market, and continue to hound Brooklyn and Alameda Fleas, travel to Kathmandu for sandalwood neckties, to Tel Aviv for illicit Afghan war rugs (don't ask why they end up there), to Buenos Aires for pure silver goucho spurs from the 19th century, and correspond with teenagers in Tripoli to secure Qaddafi propoganda posters, I think you have at least some small trace of credibility to make a site like this work," he says.

The site mashes up the tastes of a number of influences: effortless shopping à la Mr. Porter, humorous and informative copy they model on the writing of The Daily Show, visual appeal of Haw-Lin and the sensibilities of Brooklyn Flea shoppers. Succinct and entertaining descriptions limit product blurbs to tongue-in-cheek "suitable for" and "not suitable for" designations. Users can browse by category or world geography, which ranges from "American West" to "The Orient."

While Bureau of Trade is a free service, users are still asked to register. "We want to keep things exclusive," says Moskowitz. "There shouldn't be three, five or 50 Walrus skin attachés carried around Manhattan at any given time—at least prior to the Mayan apocalypse." In the future, Bureau will offer a subscription service to help customers find specific items as well as alert them when preferred merchandise becomes available.

Of the many noteworthy designs to come out of 2012 Paris Fashion Week the spatially inspired Fall/Winter collections of Sruli Recht and Inaisce were particularly captivating.

Sruli Recht presented a highly spirited line of garments featuring graphics of horses running across wild Icelandic landscapes while conveying the warmth needed to face such harsh climates.

The Field Dressing collection comprises luxury-quality natural animal-based materials like felted and knotted Icelandic wool, reindeer leather, calfskin and hand-loomed satin made from single strands of horsetail hair. For his third complete menswear line, Recht employed a hunting theme, but tailoring is decidedly urban, with impeccable detail from innovative silhouettes to precise pleats.

The 35-ensemble collection centers on a color palette of rusty orange-red, black and a spectrum of beige shades. The spirit of hunting shines through in audacious accessories, from a dolphin-skin belt to bird-wing collars and glass-blown slippers. Shorts over light knit leggings were shown with transparent shirts made with spider silk. Coats feature oversized pleats and enveloping hoods and jackets stay more closely cut, offering an asymmetrical line to the overall ensemble.

New Yorker Inaisce finds his inspiration in Far Eastern wonderlands like Mongolia, Siberia, Armenia and the Silk Road for his Pilgrimage collection. His story, documented in beautiful photography, follows some kind of rough warrior traversing land and sea to reach a kind of hidden heaven.

The waterproof garments are stiff and durable outside, disguising sensuality in soft and delicate materials on the inside. Paying close attention to fabric, Inaisce plays with contrasting textures on lambskin, wolf wool, cotton, silk, fur and leather smeared with resin or carbon.

Conceived as a whole, the architectural unisex collection is highly cohesive. The wraps and coats, caftans, leather blazers, monastic tunics and warrior skirts work together seamlessly.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the city known as the gateway to bourbon country, Matt Jamie has found a new way to repurpose barrels that have been used to age the region's signature spirit. Bourbon Barrel Foods makes micro-brewed and barrel-aged soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, marinades and sorghum salad dressing, as well as barrel-smoked salt, sugar pepper and paprika once the whiskey has been drained.

The barrels can only be used once to make bourbon, and are then typically exported to make scotch, Irish whiskey, rum and tequila. Bourbon Barrel Foods stood out from the crowd at the Winter 2012 Fancy Food Show for the company's new local, sustainable approach to reusing bourbon barrels with delicious results.

Each small batch of soy sauce is made with non-GMO soybeans grown in southern Kentucky, soft red winter wheat, and limestone-filtered spring water, and then aged for 12 months in the whiskey casks, which infuse the liquid with a distinct, smoky flavor unusual to the traditional Japanese marinade.

Bourbon Barrel Foods is a member of the Original Makers Club, known for their cultural business guide to Louisville that champions the work of unique local companies. Products can be found in the Bourbon Barrel Foods online shop.

The comprehensive language of architecture has been mastered by only a select few. While many of us may have a basic grasp from that freshman survey course, most would be hard-pressed to identify the difference between Roman and Greek doric columns, let alone identify the "squinch" on modern high-rise buildings. Reading Architecture, a new book by Owen Hopkins, aims to demystify the lexicon in a wide-ranging breakdown of architecture's most important terminology.

Utilizing floor plans, diagrams and photographs of famous constructions, Hopkins takes the reader through building types from the classical to the modern era before delving into structures and architectural elements. The final section comprises a quick-reference glossary of architectural terms. Reminiscent of a child's visual dictionary, the book may seem light to architectural historians, but it more than informs the curious neophyte.

Hopkins has a knack for selecting architectural structures with an array of complexity, breaking down the elements in laymen's terms. "Reading Architecture" marks the first title from the young architectural historian and curator, his straightforward approach the perfect primer for a European tour.

1. David Lynch Coffee

Last year famed director David Lynch created his own line of coffee beans, and in traditional Lynch style he released a bizarre and entertaining advertisement to promote his new brand. Check out his latest spot, which unsurprisingly offers up a creepy flash of the filmmaker's coffee obsession.

2. Blue Marble HD

The iconic photo of Earth, taken from outer space by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972, gets a high-def makeover from NASA. The exceptionally crisp new image, originally dubbed Blue Marble, is a composite of data collected by the new Suomi satellite put into orbit October 2012.

3. Foldable Bike Helmets

Based on a concept in 2010 these interesting helmets look to be going into production shortly. Aimed to combat helmet-less riders, the design takes on the challenge of maximizing available space for commuters.

4. Plane Sex

Bloomberg Businessweek Creative Director Richard Turley sheds light on the magazine's redesign and his approach to the covers, which have been making waves for their edgy outlook on topics like aviation, economics and politics.

5. Wrinkles of the City

After a year plastering oversized portraits on global streetscapes, artist JR has released a video of interviews with his subjects. Interviewees discuss the notion of wrinkles and age, reflecting on the symbols of their life and the city of Los Angeles.

6. Todd Waterbury's Apartment

The aggressively minimalist single bedroom apartment of Todd Waterbury exemplifies the concept of a design perfectionist. Among his proclivities is an insistence on monochromatism and a vendetta against sofas. Not subscribing to trends and style, Waterbury instead insists on following a set of personal design commandments.

7. Return Of The Sun

Filmmakers Glen Milner and Ben Hilton traveled to Greenland to capture the locals' as they celebrate the return of the sun after 40 days of total darkness. The beautiful imagery sadly depicts a real climate change though, one understood by the Inuit fishermen who now have to find new ways to hunt since their environment is changing right before them.

8. Tissue Series

In her Tissue Series artist Laura Nillson folds and rolls different papers to create fantastic anatomical cross sections. The pieces, which have an impressive amount of detail, strikingly resemble what you would see in an actual medical school text book.

9. Mattebox

Lifting inspiration from the 1993 Konica Hexar point-and-shoot, a new camera app called Mattebox aims to bring prosumer control to your cell phone. The semi-opaque interface allows users to adjust ISO, white balance, saturation and vignetting among other effects. To top it all off, the app can adjust settings using gestural commands.

10. Clear

A new iPhone app that is currently in the making aims to add some simplicity to your life. Clear appears to have a simple and clean user interface with gesture based interactivity to easily create, manage and accomplish tasks.

11. Core 77 Design Awards

Following the success of their first open contest, Core 77 is back with their second annual design awards competition. Winners receive Core 77's unique mould-shaped award from which they can cast their own victorious ingots. The early bird entry special ends March 13th, so take advantage of 20% off entry fees by heading over to submit to one of the 17 design categories.

12. The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World

From Slovakia to California, Flavorwire pieces together an impressive display of the world's most beautiful book stores, giving one more reason to celebrate the printed word.

Textile designer Rachel Craven works out of her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Angelino Heights, a historic neighborhood that provides the perfect setting for creating her Southwestern-style, handmade printed pillows, tablecloths and linens.

Craven, who cites influences from Agnes Martin to Marimekko, grew up in New York with parents who were both painters. After studying at The School of Visual Arts and working as a fashion stylist, she moved to LA to transition back to visual art.

Now, her hand-block-printed Italian linens are being sold at the Heath Los Angeles Studio & Showroom. The geometric "Circles, Arrows and Dots" collection provides a crisp backdrop for Heath's simple mid-century pottery.

"My Circles, Arrows and Dots collection marries my attraction to bright geometric pattern with my love for the tactile qualities of linen-combined I find the effect vibrant, comforting and subtly seductive," says Craven. Heath Gallery Director Adam Silverman was thrilled to bring in the designer's textiles along the classic ceramics, and "highlight a local artist whose design-focused textiles complement Heath's dinnerware at the table."

Craven's textiles are also available at deKor in Echo Park and she co-organizes the Echo Park Craft Fair with Beatrice Valenzuela, a Los Angeles artist collective, which will be making an appearance Beautiful Dreamers in Brooklyn, New York later this month.

Heath Ceramics
7525 Beverly Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90036

For their final year project while studying transport design at Northumbria University in Newcastle, budding English designers Roy Norton and Tom Kasher wanted to create a bike that would borrow from the past while looking to the future. The result—an exceptionally sleek take on the classic Triumph Speed Twin, kitted out with girder forks and signature quilted Barbour fabric on the seat.

The duo met with Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton, who not only gave them the utmost support in creating the concept, but sees the project as an inspiring foundation. "Some elements may have an influence on some of our future projects," he says. Triumph gave Norton and Kasher the frame of a production Bonneville to build from, which they reconstructed for a more contemporary aesthetic before adding Firestone tires, inverted levers, Thruxton brakes and a redesigned filler cap.

Warburton says Norton and Kasher's take on the Speed Twin is like "the bike the Bonneville might have evolved into in an alternative universe." Now graduated and fully employed by bike manufacturer Xenophya, the two are likely to be shaping the future of numerous machines to come.

via BikeExif

One bite of crusty bread spread with Sqirl raspberry and fresh lavender jam made by Jessica Koslow creates an explosion of local flavor. From the taste of such a juicy creation, it's hard to believe that Koslow swears she barely ate fruit as a child. Now, her sweet preserves are quickly gaining popularity among discerning consumers and pastry chefs alike.

The day after Koslow returned from a trip to London to sample bitter marmalades—she's on a mission to satisfy her new bitter orange craving—we tagged along for a drive to Mud Creek Ranch in Santa Paula, California. Koslow has made several jams with Steve and Robin Smith of Mud Creek, including, for one, pineapple quince with rosewater.

With the Smiths' menagerie of seven dogs in tow, Koslow checks out the Pitanga cherries, Palestinian limes, and Bergamots and places her order—"Whatever you have I'll take it," she says.

Still thinking about oranges, Koslow inquires about Sevilles or other bitter orange varieties like Bouquetiers, but Robin advises her that Sevilles are too hard to grow in their climate, despite several attempts. Miraculously, Mud Creek did yield a tree of Bouquetiers for the first time this season, and Koslow is able to leave with a heaping bag for her marmalade quest. She feels that American jams tend to be sweeter—and Sqirl skews on the sweet side of those American options—but for her, the bitter marmalade flavors of London are where her heart is at the moment.

The next morning Koslow will make her way to the other side of Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market where she will see Smith and the other farmers she has befriended along her food journey. Then she'll head back to Sqirl headquarters pull out the custom copper pots—made for her by David Burns of Copper Gardens—and begin the process of making her bitter marmalade one juicy fruit at a time.

Koslow jarred more than 6,000 containers of jam on 2011, in addition to piles of pickles, sauerkraut, cocktail syrups, candies orange peels, and several other small batch projects—all emblazoned with the bold Sqirl label designed by Scott Barry.

Sqirl jams are available at 15 Southern California retailers including Lindy & Grundy as well as in the Sqirl e-shop.

French photographer Lise Sarfati's new series "She" captures a striking sense of melancholy in intense portraits shot over a span of four years between 2005 and 2009. To explore the ideas of duplicity and identity, the body of work focuses on four women in an American family, with sisters Sloane and Sasha at the center, styled in wigs and heavy makeup that often make it hard to tell them apart.

She opens today at London's Brancolini Grimaldi gallery. As a part-time U.S. resident since 2003, Sarfati shot the series in four locations across California and Arizona. When it comes to choosing her subjects, Safarti says, "I like doubles, like mothers and daughters, or sisters or reflections. This represents my research into women's identity... I am interested in fixing that instability."

Beyond exploring the female persona, the series coaxes the viewer to consider social norms by juxtaposing the subjects' tattoos and severe makeup with the banality of everyday life in America. Despite the seemingly bland settings, the images emanate with mystery, offering a vaguely haunting reminder that we never know what those around us are up to as we go about our own days.

All images courtesy of Brancolini Grimaldi. See more in the slideshow below.

She
3 February - 17 March 2012
Brancolini Grimaldi
43-44 Albemarle Street
London W1S 4JJ

The concept is simple—connect expertise with creativity by bringing together manufacturers with designers. Founded by a group of textile industrialists looking to foster innovation, French network R3ilab helps bring new products to the market with 10 such alliances made each year.

In the three years since the project began, R3ilab has forged 30 partnerships between traditional, often narrowly focused manufacturers and young designers with fresh talent. The network supports the annual group of 10 pairs from the concept development stage to prototyping and marketing, and recently showcased its ouevre at the 2012 Maison et Objet in Paris.

For the familial Societe Choletaise de Fabrication, which specializes in weaving everything from shoelaces to industrial packaging, famous designer François Azambourg has imagined a jaw-dropping stool made with a composite strand of metallic wire and polyamide threads. The item is sold flat, with the strand wound on a cardboard frame. By plugging the strand into a power source after unfolding the frame, the composite thread is heated through the wire causing the polyamide to solidify. The frame can then be removed to reveal a solid strand stool.

Umbrella manufacturer Le Véritable Cherbourg was partnered with designer Mathieu Lehanneur for a series of umbrella-shaped, Asian-inspired suspended lamps.

Lace and embroidery specialist Broderies Bacchus and Normal Studio also created stunning lamps. The designers came up with the idea for the monumental suspension pieces when they visited the factory and saw the company's exceptional large embroidered strands and phosphorescent, reflective ribbons.

Designer Solenne Morigeaud conceived a new decorative window shade inspired by an Asian fan, and reminiscent of birds' wings for Toiles de Mayenne, maker of traditional luxury fabrics. At once lightweight and solid, the aluminum-frame panel can be attached to a window frame and manually operated to open and close by a unique folding system the duo has licensed.

With creative insight from Mathilde Bretillot, the sock brand Collegien expanded to the children's market with a menagerie of playful puppets, as well as baskets that transform into huts and decorative rugs.

Best known for massive, vibrant wood canopies installed in metropolitan locations, Arne Quinze presents "My Home, My House, My Stilthouse", a collection of smaller works that helps to explain his larger undertakings. On view now through 31 March 2012 at the Vicky David Gallery in NYC, the new pieces explore themes of escapism, order and voyeurism. The exhibition gives a fascinating glimpse inside the quiet studio work that underpins Quinze's precariously balanced structures.

While many see his work as chaotic, Quinze is quick to correct. "I don't believe in chaos," he says. "There is absolutely no chaos. There is only structure. I don't believe in chaos in life." His work is a constant building, whether that be structures or relationships, and it seeks a democracy in art that confronts and challenges. As people build fences and walls to keep things out, stilt houses to keep things below, Quinze seeks to restructure the world in a manner that is open and engaging.

Lamenting the shortage of markets, squares and other places of interaction, Quinze aims to force the issue through public art. "Today we live in a world where everything goes very fast. People are not used to saying 'hi' in the streets." The victory of his work, he explains, is inspiring a dialogue: "They have a kind of openness in themselves, they have a smile, they have something to share, something to communicate with each other. For a moment they forget who they are and they communicate so much easier with each other."

If the large works explore interpersonal interaction, the studies encourage an interface with the artist himself. "My Safe Garden" is a work enclosed in glass and backed by a large mirror. At once inspecting the work and becoming part of it, the viewer is meant to feel a connection to the locked-away corners of Quinze's imagination. This is only possible to an extent. As he explains, "I give more questions than answers because the safe secret garden is very personal. I will not tell you what is happening in my safe secret garden, but you can be like a voyeur."

The signature bright vermilion hue of Quinze's work, he notes, is a color of contrast. As blood, it is both life and death; as fire, both warmth and burning; in nature, both attraction and warning. The majority of the artist's works are constructed from wood, a "warm" material that gives flexibility and strength to his technically complicated installations. While working with a small team and city engineers, Quinze hand-builds small models to plan each project. The result is then rendered on a computer and adjusted to accommodate structural considerations.

Quinze sees his art originating from the "safe secret garden", a concept essential to his works. For him, it marks the deepest place a person can go, one that is often hidden from the rest of the world. This theme fits with the city installations, inspiring openness and communication.

"The studio is what is really happening in my mind—my safe secret garden," explains Quinze. "And I think from my safe secret garden I create my own world, my own vision of how I perceive, how I absorb the world and how I want to create." Mapping his own obsessions, Quinze uses elements of these experimental pieces when thinking about how to confront viewers in his installations. Invariably, the audience is transported into his vision, forced from their own consciousness to engage with that of the artist.

My Home, My House, My Stilthouse
2 February - 31 March 2012
Vicky David Gallery
522 W. 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

All images courtesy of the Vicky David Gallery and Arne Quinze Studio.

One of the most exciting finds at the winter 2012 Fancy Food Show came in the form of a non-dairy milk made from oats. Oats? Milk? Yes—and the result outshines other alternatives like soy and almond because of its neutral taste and dairy milk consistency. Plus, Simpli Naked Oat retains many of the vitamin and nutritional qualities of the oats. The beverage is available unsweetened, or lightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla.

Simpli also makes the creamier dairy-free, gluten-free OatShakes, which are available in chocolate and tropical fruit flavors, offering a new snack option that can be served cold or warm. As part of Simpli's mission to encourage healthy lifestyles, they offer an extensive list of gluten-free baking tips and recipes on their website. Both Simpli Naked Oats and OatShakes are available through Amazon where a 25oz box sells for around $5, and at retailers nationwide.

The 25-year-old actress-singer-jailbird Lindsay Lohan has attracted as much publicity off-screen as she has for her roles in slasher films and family comedies alike. The hijinks that have led her in and out of rehab centers and through the criminal justice system has always left us wondering whether she's a celebrity trainwreck or a brilliant self-publicist—or both.

Late last year Mexican-American artist Bibiru and his cohorts The Wormholes put together a 56-page zine dedicated to Lohan, a brilliantly titled, vaguely tongue-in-cheek tribute that captured massive attention and prompted renewed reflection on her undeniable beauty.

Bibiru is following up on the black-and-white zine's success with a second issue dropping in the coming days, and a third in the works. “We The Wormholes love Her Majesty and we believe she's here to teach humanity about love,” says Bibiru. “She has a naturally ability to cast a spell over millions.”

Bibiru jokes that the images were beamed down from extraterrestrial friends but then, in a brief moment of serious reflection, admits the project seems to be running away with itself, seemingly fueled by Lohan's controversial stronghold on pop culture. He's not surprised, though—“We felt its power but didn’t know what to expect.”

The second issue is due to drop this week, and will sell for $7.

To commemorate the life and work of Joe Colombo, Italian design company Kartell has reissued his iconic 4801 chair. Designed in 1965, the 4801 was the first of 12 objects that Colombo created for Kartell until his premature death in 1971. In conjunction with the new release, Kartell is hosting "Homage to Joe Colombo", an exhibition at the R20th Century gallery in collaboration with the Joe Colombo Archives.

While Colombo's work ranged from abstract expressionist painting to architecture, he is best remembered for his mass-produced interior design objects. The "Universale" chair—the first seating element to be made entirely of injection-moulded ABS—is still in production, and his landmark designs have been included at the MoMA, the V&A and Centre Pompidou. His designs often incorporate flexibility and modularity, paving the way for contemporary RTA furniture makers.

Due to the technicality of the 4801, Colombo's design was never produced as intended with ABS. Instead, multiple pieces of pressed plywood were fastened with metal and glue to accommodate the chair's non-traditional form. Kartell's reissue utilizes updated manufacturing techniques to realize the production according to the Colombo's original vision.

The exhibition will feature 10 of the pieces that Colombo designed for Kartell over the years alongside archival photographs of and sketches. Opening today, "Homage to Joe Colombo" runs for two weeks with the 4801 available for $2,790 through Kartell.

Designed by Marc Newson, the K-01 from Pentax is the most photogenic camera I've seen in awhile. Until now, the design-driven segment of mid to high-end cameras has been dominated by vintage-inspired units like the gorgeous Fuji X Series. Newson's signature style distinguishes the K-01 from the rest with a design that's simultaneously modern, classic and timeless.

Newson always incorporates thoughtful proportions. In this case, he not only worked with Pentax on the camera body, but also on the 40mm F2.8 kit lens that comes with it. The pancake lens is impossibly thin, measuring in at .36 inches—just enough room for a manual focus ring, and that's about it. The K-01 uses the standard K-mount so it's compatible with every lens Pentax has made over the years. Removing the viewfinder and the mirror from the equation also gave Newson more creative flexibility.

The K-01 is not only a beautiful object, it's also a powerhouse of a camera packed with high-performance features. The large APS-C sized CMOS sensor captures 16 megapixels for exceptional image quality and also supports full 1080p HD video capture. The heft of the camera and sound of the mechanical shutter lend a tactile quality that combined with the 3 inch high-res LCD screen make taking pictures a joy.

Fans of Newson will appreciate his signature on the bottom of the camera body and the use of his favorite shade of yellow on the rubberized grips. For those less bold, there are black and white and all black versions available.

The Pentax K-01 will begin shipping in March for $900 with the 40mm kit lens or for $750 for the body alone.

Jumping ahead of the current trends in men's footwear, Cole Haan's LunarGrand wingtip is a classically designed full brogue dress shoe updated with an ergonomic outsole for unmatched comfort. Launching 10 February 2012, the LunarGrand has been "engineered to conquer the streets of New York City" by combining a classic design from one of the most recognizable names in formal footwear with innovative Lunarlon outsole from their parent company—Nike.

While we love the striking design of a contrasting outsole, in the LunarGrand's case it also serves a distinct purpose. The ultra-lightweight Lunarlon increases flex, movement and wearability—making the LunarGrand a great looking, super comfortable dress shoe alternative. I walked the show floor of CES for three days straight to test the LunarGrands and became an instant fan—never before have my feet felt so good at that beast of a trade show.

This marriage of a classic design aesthetic and contemporary tech was created with the nomadic city dwelling man in mind. Cole Haan's VP of Design Phil Russo explains "the goal of the design process was to create a wingtip to take on the streets of New York City—a shoe that utilized motion-enhancing innovations at the same time as retaining its authentic and timeless aesthetic."

Because of their lightweight design and superior comfort we see the LunarGrand as the ideal travel shoe, as it looks just as good dressed up or down. And this is no coincidence, as Russo goes on to explain that the shoe concept came about from understanding "what people are doing in their shoes today, their expectations of style and demands of functionality," pushing Russo and his design team to "create products that really do make a difference as people go about their everyday lives."

For the time being the LunarGrand wingtip will be available exclusively at the Cole Haan SoHo store starting Friday, 10 February. All five colorways will be on hand retailing for $248.

Hand-built in Providence, RI, Snappy Tables provide a simple solution to compact living spaces. Founder Dean Robinson crafts each petite table from bamboo, plastic or or maple Europly, adding a convenient handle to the lightweight frame for a portable, easy-to-pack piece of furniture. The handle also serves as the starting point for unfolding the clever table, which easily swings open and rests on its legs as its name suggests. The typically plain surface also offers up an array of ways to get creative with customized, bright and punchy graphics. Plus, there's something about the pared down silhouette that makes us think the style will endure as a new kind of classic.

We spotted the line at the New York Gift Fair, in advance of their upcoming release. The tables—which work well in a kid's playroom or as a side table in a small apartment—will sell for $200-300. See more information, including an animated step-by-step breakdown of how the easy piece works, and keep an eye on their widespread distribution by visiting the Snappy Tables website.

The bicycle has seen numerous incarnations since rolling onto the scene well over a century ago, but the natural human desire to race them on the road and off has remained constant. In his new book "The Competition Bicycle", Bicycle Quarterly editor Jan Heine chronicles the evolution of the two-wheeled vehicle and how professional racing has influenced its design, from the High Wheeler penny-farthing to the high-tech carbon fiber frame.

The progression from full creative ingenuity in the late 1800s to today's results-driven mechanical structures provides an intriguing study on design. As seen in the 2010 exhibition "Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle", the masters of this craft work in tune with the cyclist's needs, a relationship reflected in every element from the shape of the frame to the weight of the bike.

The shift from excitement over the novelty of the bike itself to a focus on creating a comfortable ride for cyclists is likely best demonstrated in the cantilever 3-speed made by Danish investor Mikael Pedersen in 1903. Living in Dursley, England, Pedersen had created a silk hammock-like seat but found mounting it to the customary diamond frame too difficult, so he designed a triangular frame to support the seat. Dubbed the Dursley Pedersen, the bike weighed just over 20 pounds and reached mainstream success when famed cyclist Harry "Goss" Green broke numerous records riding it. One particular race saw Green shed two hours off the trip from London to York—a nearly 200-mile long journey—finishing in just 11.19 hours.

The next half-decade brought about numerous innovations in bike design, including French bike manufacturer Labor's "Tour de France" model, which radically used a bottom bracket to tension the chain. For the competitive cyclist, though, one of the more important design developments came from record-holder Oscar Egg and his racing-specific "Super Champion" derailleur, which used a friction-reducing chain more like those on a single-speed—a tweak that, consequently, significantly increased speed.

"The Competition Bicycle" charts the second half of the 20th century with a careful eye on the different race courses—long, short, mountain—and how those influenced all facets of design from tires to tubing, as well as the different needs for male and female cyclists. The science behind the engineering reached a pinnacle during the '80s, with wind tunnel testing and velodromes giving cyclists and bike builders a chance to tweak things on a more microscopic level during hour record trials.

The book also looks at the deeply ingrained racing history in France, as well as the country's important role in both bike design and training. In the '50s, numerous semi-professional cyclists worked as "porteurs de presse"—arguably the earliest form of bike messengers—and were paid based on the amount of deliveries they could make. This incentive not only encouraged the couriers to peddle faster, it gave them the money to enhance their machines and build truly bespoke bikes.

Heine ends with Danish cyclist Tony Rominger's classic track bike. Built by Ernesto Colnago, the bike features steel tubing, aerodynamic handlebars, fork blades and "lenticular disc wheels", but most of all its streamlined design allowed Rominger (a road racer) to beat out the all-time hour record champion, Miguel Indurain, without any real training on the track. As Heine explains, this bike "showed that traditional frame-building techniques still are more than competitive in the age of carbon fiber."

Packed with images of the original bicycles used in landmark competitions, some valuable historical references and a full set of comparison diagrams charting the sizable differences in frame construction, "The Competition Bicycle" is a solid guide to a wide-range of professional cycles.

The large-format book is available for pre-order from Amazon for $50, or you can pick it up from a Rizzoli distributor when it releases March 2012.

“Criterium des Porteurs de Presse" from Joel Metz Collection; jacket cover by Kayleigh Jankowski; all other images by Jean-Pierre Pradères, from "The Competition Bicycle" by Jan Heine, Rizzoli New York, 2012

We know plenty, perhaps even too much about how we ought to eat, but the fact remains we put a lot of faith in restauranteurs and grocery stockists to have our best interests in mind. Lately, we have noticed a few apps that aim to put power in the hands of the purchaser. Vegan, gluten-free, raw, green, sustainable, ethical and flexitarian eaters can all appreciate the awesome power of knowing the best foods to eat and where to find them.

The newest app for selective eaters is inBloom, founded by OK Go guitarist Andy Ross and Eytan Oren of Eytan and the Embassy. The personalized interface saves the users' dietary preferences and employs the information to filter search results. Not limited to food, inBloom also offers the ability to search for eco-friendly lodging and electric charging stations. Each restaurant description includes yelp ratings, hours of operation, map location and other useful tidbits. The location-based app is currently only available for NYC with plans to spread to other cities.

Clean Plates is less user-specific, with browsing based on the type of fare you happen to be feeling at the moment. Search by cuisine, location, price or diet to find healthy, sustainable and delicious food. Essentially a restaurant searcher, Clean Plates sets itself apart with well-researched summaries that are a result of investigation into the background of individual restaurants. The app also includes Yelp ratings, links to Menupages, hours, price ranges and locations. Rather than ignoring middle-of-the road options, restaurants are rated as either "great," "good" or "okay" to allow for more dining flexibility.

Some old favorites in the sustainable food app selection are Seafood Watch and Locavore. The former comes from Monterey Bay Aquarium and rates different types of seafood based on sustainability and ecological ratings. Once users decide on a fish, they can search restaurants and stores to find it nearby. Locavore features a seasonal food list so that you can stay informed of locally grown produce any time of year. The app also lets you search for nearby markets, browse recipes and see what others are eating in your area.

To rethink the process of American-made goods and reinforce the values of domestic production, former Chrome bags President Bayard Winthrop founded American Giant, a new line of high-quality menswear. Focused on the basics, the first line of affordable garments includes five variations on the sweatshirt made with an exclusively produced, 14.8oz cotton fleece.

The garments' immediately apparent durable quality, coupled with the weight and construction of the heavy-duty cotton reminds us of Carhartt, but without the workwear aesthetic. All styles save for the crew neck feature double reinforced shoulders, elbows and forearms to extend the life of each piece, and the entire line is outfitted with exaggerated four-inch cuffs and waistband that offer comfort and security without a feeling of restriction.

Inspired by classics, the overall feel of American Giant seems to fit somewhere between vintage collegiate apparel and contemporary everyday wear. The collection comprises a subdued "American palette" of red, heather gray, indigo blue, off-white, black, brown and burnt orange, and sells between $59-$89. American Giant is now available online with an expanded line including T-shirts and other essentials coming soon.

While navigating the endless maze at the 2012 NY International Gift Fair, we came across this playful take on a home essential, the smoke detector. The Chick-a-Dee is, simply put, a smoke detector shaped like a bird; it brings a bit of life to a device designed to protect it. As the winner of the Mooi uit de brand design competition, the Chick-a-Dee previously sold in the Netherlands and has just recently been approved for sale in the U.S. The cutesy appliance draws on the American Black-capped Chicadee for its size and sound, replicating the bird's iconic "chick-a-dee-dee" call at the first sign of smoke then emiting a louder, more sustained 85 db sound as smoke thickens.

We love the fresh thinking and fun approach from the multitalented Dutch artist and designer Louise van der Veld, bringing design ideation to a corner of the home where it's not normally found. Now let's just hope the batteries are easy to access for those unfortunate—and all to frequent—burned dinners. The Chick-a-Dee smoke detector is now available online in white, white with black base, pink and blue for $75.

It's hard to turn down an invitation to experience a few days in Beijing while staying at one of its hippest hotels, so when the Opposite House extended an invitation to visit we jumped at the opportunity. The hotel, along with its sister hotel Upper House in Hong Kong, strives to present a uniquely local experience wrapped in service with style, and perfectly suited to hyper-travelers like us. While certainly impressed by little details like in-room check-in and free mini-bars, the biggest surprise came in the form of the hotels' art programs, particularly the constantly rotating artist program at Opposite House.

Hotel art is notoriously subpar, typically taking the form of cheap prints hung without much thought. Not so at the Opposite House, where the offerings significantly transcend what we've typically seen. While the space is filled with excellent art from a range of Chinese artists, the hotel takes it a step further by hosting artists for three-month installation periods, customized by each artist, in the hotel's massive central forecourt. The hotel is tapped into China's contemporary artistic core, acting as a host to both established and up-and-coming artists of the city's prolific talent pool.

Approaching the emerald glass exterior of the Opposite House, the modernist styling blends seamlessly with surrounding bamboo gardens. A large atrium fills the interior while the front faces a traditional courtyard-style home, giving the hotel its witty name. The hotel spares no expense for luxury, and offers a number of bars (Punk and Mesh) and restaurants (the casual Village Cafe, the upscale Asian Bei, and my favorite, Sureño, with its Mediterranean menu).

Opposite House works with the local Red Gate Gallery to create its shows, selecting mainly Beijing-based artists. The hotel keeps the content of these exhibitions as diverse as the interests of the artists themselves. During my visit, I was fortunate enough to witness "Through My Eyes" from Mo Yi and got a preview of "I-Ching," an installation of sculptures by Huang Rui inspired by the the eponymous book, known in English as "The Book of Changes."

"Through My Eyes," is an ever-expanding collection of photographed eyes that blurs the line between artist and audience. Participants pose for a photograph taken by the artist. Two prints are made: one the participant keeps and the second becomes part of the evolving installation, with inscriptions written in the borders by the subjects. While exploring the collection, I opted to be photographed and join the ranks of Mo's subjects.

"I-Ching" features 64 phrases from the book of changes, inscribed on black and white umbrellas for an installation with both active and passive elements. When the artist is not present, viewers enjoy sculptural groupings of the umbrellas. When the artist is in the hotel, people are invited to stand with the umbrellas and the artist in a circle decorated with the yin yang symbol and to have a one-on-one exchange with the artist, which may be spoken or silent depending on the artist's desire. While superstitious westerners may be quick to forewarn the dangers of umbrellas indoors, Huang's show was a hit amongst participating guests.

I-Ching is currently on display, and is open to the public through March 2012. Previous artist exhibitions have included Chen Wenling's sculptural series "Red Memory," Li Xiaoling's clothing-inspired "Enhance the Beauty" and a bespoke postcard collection from various students at Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Opposite House
11号 Sanlitun Road
Chaoyang, Beijing, China, 100027

Photos by Opposite House and Evan Orensten

by Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi

When one thinks of Atlantis, a phantasm of decadence and splendor floods the senses, harkening a city at the height of its glory. For the "Atlantish: quite like Atlantis" collection, design collective Greece Is For Lovers (GIFL) turned to the present to communicate the allegorical allure of the past through modest design classics synonymous to Grecian culture. GIFL designer Thanos Karampatos says he wanted to "play with the idea of how the current and the antique are often blurred." The ubiquitous and somewhat nondescript styrofoam water cooler is peppered throughout fishing docks and port cities across Greece, while disposable paper cloth adorns the tables of provincial tavernas all over Greece. Yet with Greece on the brink of a financial crisis, these objects possess a nostalgia quite like Atlantis, symbolic of a bygone era of innocence.

In that vein, as an ode to the historical vestiges of Atlantis, a plastic water cooler was sculpted into a luxe red earthen clay pot while trite tablecloths were turned into precious silk twill scarves emblematic of the lost city. The end result straddles the line of calculated irony and metaphoric reverence, with neither evoking a retrogressive aesthetic. At the same time, utility and integrity are not lost in the beautifying process. "Our products always have a utilitarian aspect but we insist on giving priority to emotive qualities and metaphors," reflected Karampatos. Indeed, both recreations are sensitive to the distinction of Atlantis, but in their functionality do not capitulate in addressing the present. Karampatos feels this mirrors his current country's plight in that Greece "obsess over the glory of the past rather than firmly focusing on the problematic present and future to come."

"Atlantish: quite like Atlantis" had a recent unveiling at the 2011 Tent London design trade show and the metaphorical significance of the collection resonated among fair-goers. Despite standing as one of their more opinionated pieces of work, Karampatos comments that "this is by no means a campaign for Greece. Of course the Greek crisis has been an inspiration factor around this in a symbolic way of how Greek people interpret the chasm between the glorious past and the bleak present." In keeping with the ephemeral beauty of Atlantis, the limited series of just seven ceramic decanters sell for €350. The scarves, on the other hand, will be a permanent part of the GIFL product range and will be available soon online.

South Korean label VAGX, maker of highly functional bags for the urban cyclist, introduces the Lumisac series with more understated branding and a fresh new design concept from its previous lines. Named for illuminating strips affixed across the bag exterior, the hi-vis collection may propel VAGX's status as a solid, design-focused commuter style.

Besides the sleek look of the backpack, messenger bag and waist bag models, the Lumisac line packs technical function akin to brands like Mission Workshop. The fabric and color combinations are consistent throughout, with the black styles comprising 1000D Cordura nylon upper and waterproof truck tarp on the base, and the beige made almost entirely from truck tarp.

The battery-powered light strip can be turned on or set to blink, making the wearer significantly more visible while riding in low-light conditions. Inside, the line is Apple-focused—the backpack stows a pocket specifically designed for a 17" Macbook while the messenger bag features a special slot for an iPad or Macbook Air.

The waist bag merges a traditional fanny pack with a tool belt, with ample compartments to keep essentials secure. The adjustable design can be worn around the waist, or as a sling style Bandolier bag.

Although VAGX is currently primarily sold overseas, the brand's presence at New York's Capsule trade show last week indicates potential for an increased presence in the U.S. The Lumisac backpack, messenger bag and waist bag are available online for roughly $225, $160 and $135 (based on current exchange).

Roughly translated to ski driving, skijoring is a Scandinavian-originated snow sport where a skier is towed—typically behind a horse or dogs. My introduction to the sport earlier this month came as an invitation from Bentley and Zai to join them in Gstaad for a less conventional interpretation.

In caravan with the Flying Spur, GT, GTC and GTC Supersports 205mph ice speed record holder we followed the Continental Supersports between track and road destinations to watch world skijoring champion, Franco Moro reach speeds he'd never seen before behind a horse. Of course, this was a perfect opportunity to mount a Contour camera to the boot and record a bit of video.

Over the past five years, the highly influential graphic designer Milton Glaser has designed rugs, sculptures, posters and interior spaces for a variety of independent projects. In the forthcoming book based on the 2010 AIGA exhibition of the same name, "In Search Of The Miraculous or One Thing Leads To Another", Glaser shows how the concepts for these works relate to each other as a continuous evolution of ideas.

Glaser began studying Kundalini yoga in the 1960s from a spiritual leader named Rudi, who believed that your consciousness grows by layering past lives—whether that was the past life of yesterday or long ago. The cover art Glaser did for Rudi's book, "Spiritual Cannibalism", not only opens this book, but the guru's teachings serve as a metaphor for the natural progression of Glaser's work into new designs born from past ideas.

As design consultant Ralph Caplan explains in the foreword, you can see traces of the book jacket design for "Spiritual Cannibalism" in the identity of Glaser's graphic design for NYC's Tibet-focused Rubin Museum of Art in 2004. Glaser was asked to create interior works, including a series of patterned silkscreen prints and a massive gilded copper wall panel inspired by his drawings of Tibetan clouds. Glaser explains in the book that these projects inspired a new interest in pattern design—from there, the unexpected opportunity to make rugs based on the patterns gave new purpose to the work he was doing, eventually giving rise to several new poster designs, and an important study on light and dark.

Another example of Glaser's penchant for perpetual revision lies in his series of Shakespeare portraits created for the Theater for a New Audience. The various looks Glaser gives the legendary bard not only demonstrate his ability to see something from several different perspectives, but they also served as inspiration for the theater's annual award, which is an iridescent bust sprayed with automotive paint that changes color depending on how you're looking at it.

Glaser was once again inspired to experiment with patterns and portraits, which led him to develop a new series in which he explores the point where the image becomes visible through the pattern, like a more thoughtful and visually compelling version of Magic Eye posters.

In an interview with Anna Carnick for her book "Design Voices", Glaser neatly explains his process of refining and reflection. "The work itself becomes a mechanism for learning," he says. "And that is the most highly desirable aspect of design or anything else for that matter."

Glaser will be at Brooklyn's powerHouse Arena for a discussion and book signing 16 February 2012. Pick up a copy there or pre-order from Amazon for $20.

This year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, presented the requisite set of features and documentaries with the not-so-surprising general consensus that the smaller, independent works transcended the generally lackluster star-studded blockbusters. Whether speaking to current issues that plague the American conscience or shedding light on new innovators, each film we saw or heard about felt unique to 2012. We've selected a combination of documentaries and narratives that stood out and set a tone for this year's new ideas and political issues.

Arbitrage

Nicholas Jarecki's financial thriller Arbitrage premiered on Saturday. The film presents a novel perspective of the financial crisis through amiable hedge fund executive Robert Miller, played by Richard Gere, as he struggles to cover up a series of his crimes. In spite of Miller's problems—cooked books, multi-million dollar debts, a fed-up mistress and a suspicious wife—he's able to talk his way out of almost every conflict and, most impressively, he ultimately charms the audience. Jarecki leaves us wondering whether we might make the same choices in Miller's position—a tack that filmmakers don't usually employ when examining Wall Street. Jarecki explains, "I didn't want to do a Bernie Madoff story because I had heard something Madoff said in jail: 'Fuck my victims. I carried them for 25 years. Now I'm doing 125.' To me, those were just the words of a sociopath, and I thought that was too limited of a character."

Jarecki collaborated with cinematographer Yorick LeSaux (I Am Love) and composer Cliff Martinez (Drive) to build momentum through landmark locations of NYC's financial world including the Sherry Netherland and Four Seasons hotels and the GM building. Nate Parker and Sundance alum Brit Marling perform on par with their superstar co-stars Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth.

Finding North

The documentary Finding North premiered on Sunday, offering an eye-opening tale of hunger in America on the heels of its sister film Food Inc. Finding North defines America's problem not as food scarcity, but as "food insecurity"—that is, when one does not know from where one's next meal will come. This condition, which one half of Americans face today, leads to the purchase of processed junk food and cheap carbohydrates, turning obesity into a close cousin of starvation. The film was helmed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, with supporting star power by Jeff Bridges and Silverbush's husband, chef Tom Colicchio. Cinematographer and Sundance alum Dan Gold follows the subjects through their daily life, searching for the source of their next meal. The strong pop score by T-Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars adds a unique emotionality to the film.

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

Besides the two features we caught, there were several titles drawing buzz throughout the festival. Reports abounded of audiences being driven to tears by the intensely revealing documentary, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present. During the spring 2010 show at the MoMA, performance artist Marina Abramovic would sit for hours on end inviting audience members to sit down across from her and stare. The lauded film traces Abramovic's quest to "archive" her art by imparting her performances to younger artists, and her heartbreaking love affair with fellow artist Ulay.

Indie Game: The Movie

The documentary Indie Game: The Movie focuses on several independent video game artists as they work for years on a single project outside the confines of a major developer. Launched in May 2010 as a Kickstarter project, first-time filmmakers James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajote single-handedly produced, shot, directed and edited the film, picking up the award for cinema editing in the festival's grand jury vote.

On 7th February Stockholm welcomes design lovers as the annual Stockholm Design Week kicks off again. Timed to run alongside the Furniture & Light Fair, Finnish concept restaurant Hel Yes! will set up a special space on Skeppsholmen Island in the center of Stockholm.

Hel Yes! first entered the design fray during the 2010 London Design Week, hailed as one of the highlights of the festival itself as it tied together the disciplines of food and design with a sophisticated site-specific installation.

With Helsinki having been named Design Capital of the World in 2011, Hel Yes! gets another chance to shine as creative founders, restauranter Antto Melasniemi, artist Klaus Haapaniemi and designer Mia Wallenius bring their diverse skills to the new location.

London's Hel Yes! was focused mainly on food and design, but Stockholm's concept looks more toward the social aspects of gathering to eat, played out against neo-paganistic iconography devised by Haapaniemi, whose graphic forms of fauna and far-off galaxies will fill the 100-square-meter space. "Everybody on the team is interested in mysticism and Finnish pagan aesthetics," explains Wallenius. "The textiles create a vast architectonic element and are part of creating a unique cosmos."

In the months leading up to the opening, the founders worked with Finnish choreographer Kenneth Kvarnström and his dancers at Helsinki Dance Company to incorporate key elements of interaction and movement to the latest iteration of Hel Yes! More than just dance, the heightened sensory experience builds sections of choreography into the cooking and preparation of the food. "There's no distinction between the dancers and the waiters. We're trying to create a logical entirety with the audience being a part of it—more of an event than a performance," explains Melasniemi. According to the chef, it's about more than just food. "I'm not so much of a technician but have found myself getting more and more into the whole experience and concept of the dining ritual," he says, explaining that when he eats out, he spends more time looking at the movement of the waiters, the sommelier's delivery or the angles of tables and chairs.

As with the last Hel Yes! close attention to detail guides every aspect of the experience, from the special waitstaff uniform to the beer and vodka selection. Even the tablewear is drawn together from swap meets, in which residents from the Mylittala community are asked to hand over their old pieces from legendary Finnish brand Iittala and share the memories attached to each piece, in exhange for a free dinner. More advanced choreography fills the venue throughout the evening, including the introduction of an orchestra with a section of instruments crafted from whale bone. As for the food itself it's likely to be a true showcase of Finnish cuisine and ingredients by chef whose vision goes beyond the food itself and transcends into a spectacularly memorable dining experience.

Hel Yes!
7-11 February 2012
Eric Ericsonhallen, Kyrkslingan 2
111 49 Stockholm, SE

1. Fifty Dollar Follow Focus

This Kickstarter promises to do a solid for independent filmmakers everywhere. Anyone shooting on a DSLR system knows the importance of a follow focus system, and is aware of the dent it can make in your pocket. This simple, straightforward piece of mechanics promises to offer a consistent way to pull focus for only $50—a pretty big deal for the future of filmmaking.

2. Thom Browne F/W 2012

Innovative menswear designer Thom Browne is known for reinventing the suit—most notably with a cropped pant—but his recent Fall/Winter 2012 collection takes it to the next level. Football shoulder pads, rugby-striped sweater dresses, Uncle Fester makeup and Hellraiser-esque headwear mark his resounding departure from business casual.

3. MoMA-Inspired Bow Ties

Nicholas Ruiz began making himself bow ties to wear to exhibition openings for his job in special events at the MoMA, inspired by the artists on display. After his initial run of 11 bespoke creations, Ruiz realized he had a potential business on his hands and, in a nod to his Queens neighborhood, named it Made in Forest Hills. The mix spans a guitar pic tie inspired by Picasso and a style made from wine corks gathered from the restaurants of his favorite chef Jose Garces.

4. Origami Masks

Folded from just a single sheet of paper, the amazing origami masks by paper artist Joel Cooper mark the marriage of his creative vision and a mastery of his craft.

5. Exploding Food

Playing with his meals seems to have informed Alan Sailer's most recent photographic series of exploding food. To produce the highly saturated explosions, Sailer worked off of a custom-built, micro-second guided flash and shot improvised ammunition at his subjects through copper and PVC "cannons".

6. 20 Things in 2011

Syzygy Group has presented their annual illustration of 20 events from the Internet this year, with friendly competition open to see if you can name all 20 based on the visual clues. Winners will receive a limited-edition 20things print of the illustration along with the right to lord Internet supremacy over friends and colleagues.

7. Yosemite HD

An uplifting record of North America's most impressive park, this time-lapse video from Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty shows the life of Yosemite over a few weeks. With brilliant shots of swarming stars and the rising sun to entertain the masses, filmmakers will appreciate the pair's deft use of a controlled dolly setup.

8. 3D Printed Record

Remember the old plastic Fisher Price record players that would trickle out your favorite childhood tunes? Well some ingenious individual used a 3D printer to create a plastic record playable on the classic turn table. Not to let the nerd factor fizzle out there, the record plays "Still Alive", a track from the popular video game Portal.

9. Givenchy Couture

Riccardo Tisci draws inspiration from the 1920s in his masterful 10-piece couture collection for Givenchy, and the Gatsby-era glamor shines with modern precision. The designer flexes his unparalleled talent in numbers like the gown made from crocodile scales that were individually cut, then numbered, bleached, dyed and re-sewed onto the garment in a process that took the sewing team 350 hours to complete.

10. SX-70 Camera Kit

Holden and The Impossible Project have combined efforts to bring back analog photography in this camera kit featuring a vintage polaroid SX-70, instant film in a custom wood box and a Tanner Goods leather camera case. Ten established photographers have also been tasked with the mission to capture Holden's lifestyle through instant photography.

11. Love Is Lame

Starting 28th January and running until Valentine's Day, the stuffed work of Chad Silver will be on display at JS55 gallery in NYC. The cute and edgy "Shit Bitch" stuffed animals will surely charm—so swing by and give them a squeeze.

12. Sleepwalk With Me

If you aren't familiar with the hilarious and enchanting comedian Mike Birbiglia, now is the time to get to know him. Entertaining during the day, at night Birbiglia suffers from an intense form of sleepwalking, during which he acts out his dreams, sometimes to dire ends. In partnership with This American Life, Birbiglia produced a film based on some of these experiences, and now you can petition to have it come to a theater near you.

We were recently invited down to check out the Cayman Cookout taking place at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman, and we jumped at the chance to talk to some of the world's top chefs. In our latest video we learn a little bit about what makes a good kitchen tool and why. We chatted with Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, José Andrés of Minibar and Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations. This eclectic, multi-national crew of elite food experts shared their favorite kitchen tools and offered insight into why they are essential.

While we all like to tap into an artist's brain, find out exactly what goes on in their mind to make them create what they do, sometimes there isn't really more behind a work of art than simply a vision that a person is unable to explain through words. The different approaches to making art—from pragmatic to utterly emotional—is part of what keeps the field perpetually intriguing.

A reticent painter originally from Côte d'Ivoire, Ouattara Watts recently opened up his studio to Cool Hunting for a preview of the newly formed works comprising his forthcoming exhibition. The large, garage-like space is located in an industrial part of Brooklyn between Williamsburg and Bushwick that's home to numerous emerging artists. With both the Whitney Museum and Venice biennials on his résumé, the veteran painter may hold more clout than his neighbors, but his artistic spirit seems unaffected by his widespread success.

Organized by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Watts' upcoming NYC exhibition—which Roitfeld says is more like a small retrospective—will feature 18 new paintings alongside a few existing pieces. Watts completed all of these large-scale works in a matter of about six months, explaining that with the way the world is right now, he has a lot to say. At the moment, he is mostly preoccupied by the population of mistreated children in the world, a concern that presumably evolved since the birth of his own child, a life-changing moment for him.

Bursting with color and layered in fabrics and objects picked up from his global travels, Watts' paintings are still entrenched in his own style of Neo-Expressionism. Cryptic serial numbers abound, alluding to a secret code that only he knows about, but one that could potentially be worked out through clever deciphering or a deep understanding of West African cosmology. The mysticism that prevails reflects a coalescent spirituality, his beliefs not tied to one religion or another, but that together are very much a part of his enduring creative passion.

The mix of media Watts uses is also symbolic of his constant exploration, and the people he encounters along the way. For example, the massive piece, "Vertigo #4" is covered in a denim remnant given to him by the shop owner of a fabric store near his Midtown apartment. Glued to this is an Ikea-like dish cloth embroidered with the initials "JL"—who they belong to Watts claims not to know. These found objects and recycled fabrics likely speak to the movement against using expensive materials, a notion developed in the 1970s by fellow Ivorian painter Mathilde Moraeau which she called Vohou-Vohou. The mix also undoubtedly marks a more natural way for Watts to express himself, free of monetary limitations or a prescribed aesthetic.

Although known in his own right, it's difficult not to associate Watts with the legendary artist Jean-Michael Basquiat. The two met in Paris while Watts was studying at the renowned L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and while their friendship was short-lived due to Basquiat's death, Watts considers him almost like a soulmate. Basquiat convinced him to move to NYC, where Watts gave rise to African art with prominent shows at the Gagosian and Vrej Baghoomian galleries.

The exhibition opens 7 February and runs through 19 February 2012 at the cavernous space known simply as 560 Washington Street.

All images by BHP, see more in the slideshow below.

As winter sputters along in New York, we're finding plenty of reasons to be homebodies —an activity that calls for the appropriate soundtrack. Like Atlas Sounds' opener "The Shakes," some of the best music for the season seems engineered for playing on vinyl, a choice that helps conjure warmth on even the coldest, darkest nights. We also included some cheerful songs, perfect for the intimacy of always being indoors, and a few rebellious shouts ("Yella Diamonds" by Ricky Rozay, Waka Flocka and Ludacris on "Rich and Flexin'") to get you amped for work when you'd rather be snuggling. Remember, you have to be ready to be reborn come spring.

Listen now

The dummy book motif has appeared on accessories from handbags to desktop boxes, only partially satisfying true literary geeks because, after all, they're only just replicating the covers. Book Chargers by Rich Neeley Designs, on the other hand, are made from actual vintage books outfitted with an impressively subtle power source for an iPhone or iPod. The USB-compatible hook-up tucks neatly behind the book's binding, and the dock itself is discreet enough to go unnoticed at quick glance.

Neeley and his wife, Brenna, travel around Southern California on what they call "book hunting" excursions. They've picked up tomes like a 1977 edition of "Alice in Wonderland", a manual called "Modern Dentistry" dating back to 1975, and a cloth-bound copy of Louisa May Alcott's "Eight Cousins" from 1914 for the antique bases they then refurbish to keep your modern technology fully juiced. The selection of books also includes contemporary releases bound in throwback past-edition covers, with titles spanning "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Huckleberry Finn" and more.

Rich Neeley Book Chargers sell through the designer's Etsy shop, with prices ranging from $48-$55 per book.

Solid construction, clean lines and a no-frills approach to design drive LA-based bag brand, Ignoble. Centered on the assertion that the black backpack represents the true "essential carryall for the modern man," Ignoble makes their own with a focus on thoughtful design, style and personality. The current collection comprises five distinct versions, ranging from an oversized canister pack to a center-zip cocoon silhouette.

We got our hands on the Lenore Capsule Backpack, a multipurpose top-loader built for everyday use. The mid-back handle allows the wearer to carry it on the back or in hand as a duffel. Inside the large, double-zippered main compartment you'll find ample room for your gear, but no interior pockets or bells and whistles. The minimalist interior allows the bag to compress easily, making it nicely packable for travel.

The Cora Classic Rucksack caught our eye as well for its mountaineering look. The most technical bag in terms of pockets and compartments, the Cora features ultra-durable 400D high density nylon and a draw-cord opening with an adjustable hood.

Ignoble manufacturers their bags in America, explaining on their website that the line is "hand-assembled in small runs by a military-grade production facility." The collection is available online through Ignoble, with prices ranging from $165-$400. The Lenore and Cora Classic sell for $250 and $165, respectively.

A lot of ingenuity is required to rework a classic. Swiss company Kuhn Rikon recently had in-house designer Philipp Beyeler take on the iconic pepper grinder to create a fun design object informed by contemporary materials and ergonomics. The ratchet mechanism is more intelligent than a traditional twist grinder, and there's something to be said for a design that brings an element of playfulness to the mundane task of cracking pepper.

The grinder's personality resembles that of a small creature—a detail that's enhanced by the ratchet's chirping sound. We received a green one, which offers a nice pop of color and feels contemporary, but there are more classic colors available to fit any kitchen's scheme. Made from high-grade ceramic, the grinder can withstand the salt and moisture that erode a metal grinder over time. Ceramic also allows for high precision grinding from powdered dust to coarse chunks.

The Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder is available from Amazon for $20.

We got to preview the rich new collection from Ligne Roset at Maison et Objet, which reflected a range of larger trends seen throughout the show. Here, we highlight Ligne Roset's take on some of the most intriguing concepts coming up in design.

Felt

Designers seem poised to explore the potential of felt and wool this year, using the material to cover chairs, make pots and more. In its most effective iteration, felt warms up furniture that may otherwise not be so comfortable.

Stripes, Strands and Bands

Offering a sense of fragility and flexibility, the idea of stripes was prevalent, whether from stretched cords on a chair or bands shaped to form a pot. The Fifty armchair was modeled on the metal-and-cord recliner chair designed by Hans Wenger in Denmark in the 1950s. The modern Fifty features a straight back with woven "ears" protruding from either side of the head rest. Made from polypropylene plastic threads, the piece can survive inside or out. A gracious series of decorative pots called Bidum is made with stiff metallic strands covered in a satiny black finish.

Outdoor-Indoor Furniture

Thanks to a special fabric called Tempête (tempest) interwoven with strong, metallic thread, and quality, downy filling, the refreshing Serpentine armchair by the young French designer, Eleonor Nalet is both comfortable and durable enough for the outdoors.

The Grillage series by the famed French designer, François Azambourg comprises ultra-light, lace-like chairs, armchairs and a table made from sheets of metal. The origami-style fold of the armchair makes it a particularly elegant piece.

Transformation

The Dino serves as a sophisticated storage system with interior shelves and cabinets when closed, and a folding writing table when opened. The functional secretary is modeled after James Bond's cabinet, reconfiguring to form side drawers, a document tray and a set-up at the back to plug in a laptop or lamp.

The innovative, double-function table, Black Bird, can be positioned low to meet a sofa end or raised to a standard height for chairs. The tri-color shelves can stand vertically or laid horizontal, overlaid or articulated to one another.

Specialties

The Ukomi Kimono Chair very successfully blends Scandinavian purity and geometric structure with a traditional Japanese covering. Styled to look like a kimono has been thrown over the seat, the chair features Japanese patterns between the creases, which are actually stitched in the traditional way of the kimono.

The highly original Peye table lamp and floor lamp reminded us of a hair dresser's drying helmet, but are actually inspired by Popeye the Sailor Man—the table lamp is named Olive. Instead of a traditional bulb, the light relies on invisible LED stripes beneath its oversized shade.

Sensitive to the cash-strapped culture lovers of the world, Recession Art began with the simple premise of uniting aspiring collectors with emerging artists. After three years of shows at Brooklyn's Invisible Dog, they have now opened RAC on New York's Lower East Side. Seated atop Culturefix, an artsy watering hole with adjoining event space, RAC combines a storefront shop with a permanent gallery.

"We wanted to bring together two groups of people we knew personally," says founder Emma Katz. "Artists who were making work but had no way to get it out into the world, and young art lovers who were maybe furnishing their first apartment and wanted access to original artwork." True to their mission, Katz and curator Melanie Kress stocked the storefront with prints and books by emerging artists, along with affordable original works.

The space has played home to a number of pop-ups over the years, but both Culturefix and Recession Art saw the benefit of a shared venue. "We get people to come into the gallery that might not usually visit an art gallery. Our goal is for anyone to feel welcome here—if you come for a beer or a concert you might end up buying a handmade pop-up book or a photograph. It allows us to work with many kinds of artists including musicians, performers and poets."

Kicking off things at RAC is an exhibition by veteran Recession Art artist Megan Berk. "Weird Party on the Other Side of the Hedge" shows scenes of Berk's native Los Angeles, the nostalgic dreamscapes tinged with an air of outsider skepticism. A friend of Recession Art, Berk also designed a totebag and limited edition print for the store.

Recession Art plans to continue shows at the Invisible Dog, and are currently taking submissions online for "Everything is Index, Nothing is History," curated by Melanie Kress. In an effort to build relationships with collectors, Recession Art also runs a Collector Club to keep the community abreast of artist activities, studio visits and private previews.

RAC
9 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002

Against a backdrop lined with machine gears reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times bleached white, a parade of slipper-clad, bearded cavemen sleepwalk to the sound of a percussion march. This is how we are introduced to the Henrik Vibskov Autumn/Winter 2012 collection.

Vibskov's models appear in sharp contrast to typical menswear models' standards, hunched over with heads down. They wear some kind of futurist, helmet-like nightcap and carry bright, girlish handbags, their clothing maintaining a comfortable fluidity, from fabrics to cut to color.

Wool dominates the collection from top to bottom, perhaps a nod to the designer's Nordic heritage. Knit sweaters and jackets have the look of garments home-made and hand-knotted by the fireplace, while Vibskov brings back the marled and heathered effects on other pieces. Pants comprise mostly leggings, plus trousers with a Turkish-style dropped inseam. Huge overcoats sport pocket-like hoods and draped backs with zipper accents.

We came away from the collection thinking about the colors of Fauvism painting—mustard yellow, a range of browns, rusty reds and greenish blue. Vibskov seems to channeling a man out of the 1950s, but in a futuristic way. His is a modern man, daring enough to blend vaguely feminine accents—leggings, shoulder pads, handbags—into his wardrobe, and take risks with bouffant cuts and cosmonaut ensembles.

Titled "The Shrink Wrap Spectacular," the free-spirited collection seems to focus on contrasts—the combination of skinny cuts with extra-large pieces, the range from dark solids to zebra prints, clothes that go from day to night—as Vibskov blends styles and silhouettes from a wild variety of worlds.

With his cavemen models trudging through a mechanized set, the designer seems to present more of a raw archetype than yet another stereotype of modernity.

In the new e-book "Design Voices," Dutch designer Maarten Baas points out that 20 years ago, "designing was quite anonymous as a profession." Now, not only has the importance of design become more visible outside of the creative industries, but designers themselves have also gained distinction as innovative problem-solvers.

Curious about how some of the industry's most notorious talents see the future and the "larger design arena today," journalist—and Cool Hunting contributor—Anna Carnick asked Giulio Cappellini, Ross Loveg- rove, Massimo Vignelli, Stefan Sagmeister, Maarten Baas, Tokujin Yoshioka, Dror Benshetrit and Milton Glaser to offer insight into how the profession has changed, and where they think the industry is headed in the years to come.

The thoughtful and timely e-book sells from Amazon as a Kindle Edition ($3), and you can check out some highlights from the "Design Voices" interviews below.

A designer known for injecting technology and science into his materials-driven designs, Ross Lovegrove predicts that in the future people will stray from issues "purely centered on glamor and expression of personal wealth" and instead look to new industrial processes to shape things. "We will witness an explosion of sculptural forms in society based on the digital process and industrial economics," he says.

The industrious, multi-platform Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister offers his thoughts on the fate of photography and books, saying "The still image will continue to lose its importance. Everything that can be animated will be animated. The printed book will die."

As the creator of the iconic "I Heart NY" logo and co-founder of Push Pin Studios and New York magazine, Milton Glaser lives as a graphic design legend. In "Design Voices," he expertly sums up design as the "fundamental activity of the human species to achieve results," adding that "the official guideline of design is effectiveness."

One of today's game-changing industrial designers, Dror Benshetrit sees today's design "at a fascinating point", and believes people are beginning to see it from a more holistic perspective. "Today, it seems that more and more, people need to compartmentalize others and put them in certain boxes," he says. "I think that's going to change. We are going to break that, and we're going to say, 'Well, I'm a designer, I'm an artist, I'm an inventor, I'm a machinist, and I'm a poet; I'm all of that.'"

All images courtesy of the designers.

On a recent trip to Gstaad with Bentley (more on that next week), I had the pleasure of meeting the team from Zai, the high end, handmade Swiss ski manufacturer. Patrick, Daniela and Thomas (pictured here) all happened to be wearing incredible ski suits. As it turns out, Zai has recently branched into outerwear with the Cassacca, an aesthetically subdued, technically advanced outfit for the slopes. In teaming up with exclusive Italian garment and fabric manufacturer Loro Piana, Zai is able to select from the world's finest wools and cashmeres for the Cassacca. This complimentary alliance is founded in Zai's commitment to innovation and design and Loro Piana's uncompromising dedication to material standards and craftsmanship.

For the main upper Zai uses a combination of 94% wool, 5% cashmere and 1% elastane to give the wearer proper freedom of motion while skiing. The fabric blend is treated by Loro Piana's Storm System, laminating a pliable membrane and sub-layer of microfiber for additional insulation. Once completed the fabric is treated with Rain System, a unique waterproofing process effective at both keeping moisture out and allowing the material to dry surprisingly fast.

As a garment first and foremost it's engineered to enhance one's skiing experience, however the Cassacca caters quite well to the Swiss tradition of après activities. The understated aesthetic is sleek, while avoiding being too sporty—a mark that's not easily hit in the outerwear world. This "essential" design is limited to just four earth-tone colorways to keep in line with Zai's traditions in wooden ski making.

Zai's limited production skis expertly blend natural and man made materials for a superior ski. While the weekend warrior can appreciate the beautiful crafstmanship, these skis will be most appreciated by those working towards a triple digit day season. Standouts from the winter '12 ski collection include the classic Testa with a walnut vaneer and the revolutionary Nezza, made almost entirely of an innovative compound called Zaira.The two hand built skis represent Zai's superlative use of material on opposite sides of the design spectrum.

As with all superior things in life, quality comes at a price. Zai's Cassacca sells online for $4225 while their handmade skis are officially sold through retailers in over 19 countries. Use Zai's national directory for a list of dealers in your region.

Ever since seeing "Altered States" back in the day, we've held off on trying sensory deprivation tanks. Watching Willam Hurt's character devolve into a primitive man through repeated psychedelic experiments seemed like a red flag for curious newcomers. A recent trip to Portland's Float On has changed all that. The supremely chilled-out center invites visitors to come and enjoy the health benefits of a good float, which run from dopamine rushes to skin rejuvenation.

With four tanks, Float On holds the distinction of being the largest tank center on the West Coast. We opted to try one of the two "ocean" tanks, which are built with six feet of head room for anyone with claustrophobic tendencies. The team behind the center, Quinn Zepeda, Graham Talley and Christopher Messer have created a haven of calm with an inclusive ethos—cash-strapped customers may work shifts to earn float time, and artists are allowed to float free of charge.

After stripping down and showering, you enter the tank, where the water is warmed to match the ambient air at 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The 40% salt content makes the water extremely buoyant, keeping you afloat in a mere 14 inches of water. The environment is pitch black and silent, thanks to wax over-ear earplugs. You are encouraged to lay in whatever position feels most comfortable for the 90-minute sessions and, if the tank isn't booked, they'll let you stay in for as long as you please.

After a little more than an hour in suspended gravity—which they claim releases enough pressure on your spine to lengthen your body by an inch—the mind gives over to theta brainwaves, oscillating between consciousness and unconsciousness. It is in this state that practitioners report mental breakthroughs of a creative and psychedelic nature due to decreased level of cortisol, the chemical in the brain that causes stress. Once the initial "What the hell am I doing?" feeling passes, all sense of time and environment gives over to pleasant calm as the loss of sensation shuts down most survival-related brain functions. Sensory deprivation makes the body lose track of time, too, so the float seems to last just a few minutes.

The session ends when music pipes into the tank to wake you if you've fallen asleep (I didn't), although you are encouraged to take your time when re-entering reality. While I didn't have what I would call a mental breakthrough during the float, it seemed to clear the way for my creativity to take a jump in the days to follow.

Float On
4530 Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97215