Sir Elton John & Laban Roomes Bring Us Blinged Out iPods That Benefit AIDS Awareness

Laban Roomes of Goldgenie and Sir Elton John have collaborated to bring us Swarovski Crystal Starburst studded iPods ( limited to 100 of each color) to raise awareness and funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.



Above: Laban Roomes of Goldgenie.

They are available not only in 8 gig, but also in 16 gig. There will be just 100 of each colour /color (black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, silver and yellow) and are available from, Selfridges or directly from Goldgenie Laboratories. As an extra bonus, Goldgenie are including "Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits CD" with every order.





The original iconic players are individually set with over 250 colour-coordinated Swarovski crystals and laser engraved with Elton John’s signature on the rear harnessing the very latest technology. They are backed by a full year’s guarantee.



By purchasing one of these, you will also benefit the many HIV/AIDS programms across 15 countries and 4 continents funded by EJAF.



This non-profit organization will receive at least 12.5% of the purchase price (ex VAT) to help their many projects. The charity was established by Sir Elton John in 1993 to help those living with, affected by or at risk from HIV/AIDS. You can see further information on the charity and it’s work on their website at www.ejaf.com.

Pre-order yours now here.

A Magical Villa For VilaSofa's Amsterdam Store

A Magical Villa for VilaSofa


Tjep. was commissioned to create a shop environment for a new furniture brand called VilaSofa in Amsterdam. The result is a large playful warehouse.



VilaSofa is positioned between a conventional furniture shop and IKEA in terms of delivery speed. It offers mid-range prices for a wide public and a 48 hour delivery guarantee for all displayed models. The 48 hour claim became the main theme for the shop. They used the idea of a warehouse as metaphor for speed: a place were goods are stored for the transition from the producer to the very personal environment of your home.





The conceptual solution was surprisingly simple and logic: a combination of warehouse aesthetics and home aesthetics. This resulted for example into materials such as plywood usually used for crates combined with high-end glossy finishes. The symbols used in transportation and packaging have been metamorphosed into decorative elements that form room dividers, arranged to organize the space and routing.



Finally there is a big wall suggesting the idea of a magical villa. Is the customer looking at a giant styrofoam packaging element, or is the construction itself the actual villa? They see cavities for a big chandelier, a diversity of playfully arranged windows, romantic balconies, paintings etc... In this space they placed big 'picnic' tables where clients can take their time to inform about the product, talk to the VilaSofa staff.





Design team:
Frank Tjepkema, Janneke Hooymans, Leonie Janssen, Tina Stieger, Bertrand Gravier, Camille Cortet

Production:
Kloosterboer

VilaSofa's site
Tjep site

Monkeys And Dogs And Bears. Oh My! Jill Greenberg's Photos

Jill Greenberg's amazing animal portraits are so expressive, I simply had to share a few of her enormous series with you. I say 'enormous' because she literally has over 80 portraits of monkeys to her credit, 40 portraits of bears (Ursine) and tons of dog portraits. I wish I could have shared them all with you, but it'd take about an hour to download. So, instead, I've chosen a few of my favorites from her prolific series of work.

As you will see below, she gets more personality from the faces of animals than most photographers do from people.

Monkeys:







Dogs:





.. and this beautiful one is Jill's own dog, Scooter:


Bears:









If you love these shots as much as I do, you'll be happy to know that she has publications of both the Monkeys (available on Amazon) and The Bears (Ursine) available directly from the Clampart gallery which sells several of her stunning prints from the Ursine series as well.




Jill and friend:


How does she do it? Well, here you can read an interview with the photographer about her animal portraits by Rosecrans Baldwin for The Morning News

Jill is a hugely successful photographer who uses digital manipulation, illustration and more in her craft. She has shot a lot for the entertainment industry, fashion, celebrity portraits and more. She has won many industry awards and continues to expand her portfolio. Visit her website here.


Above: just some of Jill's work

Greenberg was born in 1967 in Montreal, Canada. She graduated in 1989 from the Rhode Island School of Design and moved to New York City, where she was based until 2000. She now lives in Los Angeles with her family.

The "Fun"ctional art of Nicola L. Whimsical Aquariums & Furniture

French born Nicola L. (that's right, just an L. for the last name) is a conceptual artist who creates everything from performances, films and functional art. Having had a hugely prolific career for over five decades, she has shown in many galleries and has a clear affinity for heads, eyes and snails as you can see from some of her functional art pieces I've chosen to share with you below. Some of the following pieces were created as editions and may still be available for purchase via the galleries listed at the end of this post.

Heads:


above: plexi head fish tank

above: head aquarium and bar

above: detail

above: head library

above: wooden head bookcase

above: green head sofa

above: white vinyl head sofa

above: little heads tables

above: plexi head planter

above: giant head fountain

above: little fire head

above: giant fire head

above: the 12 faces rug

Eyes:

above: plexi eye ceiling lamp

above: Glass eye coffee table

above: large plexi eye wall lamp

above: plexi eye wall lights and lips floor lamp

Snails:

above: snail birdcage

above: blue snail sofa

above: snail wardrobe cabinet

above: snail table on snail rug

above: snail bed reflected in snail mirror

The artist:


A bit about her:
In the thirty years since her first exhibitions, Nicola L. has returned to the body on numerous occasions, producing extremely limited editions of lamps, see-through planters, aquariums, storage containers, tables, and her famous "Femme Commode" and "Femme Coffre Fort".

She had her first show at Daniel Templon Gallery Paris in 1969, followed by many exhibitions in european galleries and museums, with also a show in New York at Wadell Gallery in 1973. She moved to New York in 1979 where her functional work was featured between 1986 and 2004 in numerous galleries including: Alan Moss, Vrej Baghoomian, Peder Bonier, Wooster Projects and also recently at Twentieth Gallery in L.A. She is currently showing her work at Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Galerie Pierre Alain Challier, and Galerie Catberro in Paris. Her last show in New York City was a retrospective at Ingrao Gallery in 2006.

Nicola’s work is frequently featured in auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams & Butterfield. Her work is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Beaubourg, Antwerpen Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Modern Art of Glasgow, The Collection of The Frac Bretagne and many private American and European collections.



Recently, in 2008 she has had two shows in Paris, in April and May 2008, respectively, "Planet Eye" at Galerie Pierre Alain Challier, and "Functional Art 1989-2008" at Galerie Catberro, Paris.


above: THE RED COAT FOR 11 PEOPLE (1969) Last performance for Canal Plus+ at Galerie Favardin de Verneuil, Paris, Sept. 30th 2008

She is also continuing the performance with The Blue Cape, named now "The Blue Cape Of Human Rights".

The Book:



Buy it here


Learn more about Nicola here and see more of her work here.