cup of beauty & funny

yoran morvant's pierres graphiques

ashes & milk is an online gallery that straddles the time/space challenge of modern vs. traditional with grace. its mission is deeply rooted in nature and simplicity. they have curated a lovely, organic and singular selection in their online gallery space.

they best express their mission in their own words:

ashes & milk is an online gallery space founded on the principle that a lot can be created from very little. We are driven by modern ideas with a reverence for traditional methods and believe that the things we bring into our homes should have a soul and a sense of history.

Our collection is a boutique of texture, organic materials, and nuances of white, brown, and gray. Each piece is made by hand - an original work of art. Created by one person, designed for one person.

Ashes & Milk is honored to present our patrons with a very fine selection of artists and their work. We love the artists we represent: for they observe the world in amazing detail and respond by constructing the most unexpected, beautiful things.

hairy chested swimmer by helen beard

wooden design for your every need

berlin firm {wood begood} designs and builds customized wooden dwellings, furniture, kindergärtens, huts (!) ....more more more. they have some lovely photos on their site of a project in finland. the one above is a sample. check out their site for more.

{store front in berlin}

Yesterday at Vitra

It was rainy and nasty yesterday and I thought - how 'bout an outing?!

Got my stuff together and launched out to Weil am Rhein (close to Basel) to the Vitra Museum. It's a beautiful train ride there and the museum and grounds are fantastic.

main vitra entrance | building: frank gehry

balancing tools : claes oldenburg | coosje van bruggen

Saw exhibits by the Campana Brothers, Fernando & Humberto, of Buenos Aires, viewed the architecture of Frank Gerhry & Zaha Hadid, saw a very cool Oldenburg | Van Bruggen sculpture and fell in love with the bus stop.....a great day.

vitra holds workshops on a regular basis. I would love to go to the Re-Design workshop they have in September.

Hard Times Commitment

Fantastic profile of artist Alexander Conner in the NYT this morning. He talks about his art and what impact the financial constraints of the recession are having on his lifestyle and artistic passions.

News from the Coast of France

Looking forward to the new film about Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen & Anna Mouglalis who both look ravishing. The film was presented last week in Cannes.

Sweet Air Sweets

Karina from el beso is also associated with Buenos Aires Pastry who makes these lovely things. The creations are innovative combinations of sweet, savory, salty - with such distinct color combinations. Que linda...

Training Camp Italia

Fierce and stylish Italian version of Bang Bang by Mina.

Farm Stay: Part 2

Looking forward to my assignment in June in Italia. Staying at Fedrica's at this beautiful place {she was recently featured in Marie Claire Italia}. She runs Agrifuturismo and has beautiful photos on her site and in the feature in MC Italia. Fedrica's site works well in firefox (safari's not so hot...).

found out about this beautiful place through Mandarine...which is a lovely blog.

99 bottles of beer in my wall

These buildings are constructed from glass bottles.
As Alex Steffen says:

There is no such thing as garbage, just useful stuff in the wrong place.

via treehugger

....bikes!

I learned about these clever carrier bikes by trioBike about two years ago. They are a traditional city bike that has an integrated carrier attachment (for kiddos, groceries, admirers, etc.). Not cheap but damn ingenious. 

 

This video shows how it works.

More bikes!

My sweet friend Maury sent me a link to this awesome bike by Cynthia Rowley - featured on apartment therapy

I don't have any babes yet - but how awesome to take a ride with the whole passel in-tow.

New Inspiration in Munich

On May 21st the newest member of the Munich Kunstareal steps onto the scene: Museum Brandhorst. It will contain more than 700 artworks of the most renown artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Sigmar Polke, Bruce Nauman, Mike Kelley and many more. One whole floor will be dedicated to the Twombly collection of nearly 50 artworks and will be thus the second largest collection outside of the US.

I've watched it being constructed over the past three years and am so excited to see a museum embody (in my opinion) the approach to art that's very much this generation - a 21st century place - colorful, creative, lively use of light and shadow. It seems to jump right out of the ground and say - "come inside see these beautiful things!" The museum is located in Schwabing/Maxvorstadt - at the corner of Theresienstrasse & Türkenstrasse (Theresienstrasse 35).

Images & Imagination has some great photos up of the exterior and a nice bit on the architects and design process.

Going Dutch - from NYT

Yesterday's article in the New York Times (first post from yesterday - just below) reminded me of an article from a few weeks back. It offers insight into what the perceived 'high' tax rates in European countries are comprised - what programs, initiatives and social support. Read the entire article {here}

Toujours Petite

Love everything about this mini-maison. This idea is a bit like what we're working on at El Cosmico. Low-impact Mini dwellings and art shacks as an alternative to gigantic hospitality structures.

These photos are from a feature in Marie-Claire Maison on weekend homes.

Selections for feet that deserve

Hand-crafted leather shoes: Plus by Chausser

Community

In 2006, after touring the world over, the Icelandic band, Sigur Rós, went back to Iceland to give a series of free, unannounced concerts to their public. They traveled to out of the way villages and communities - often playing outdoors or in small cafes, even an abandoned fishery made the list. As they detail in their documentary film (released November 2007), they did the tour because they felt like it was something they had to do to show respect for they community from which they came. News of the tour was passed along largely by word of mouth and was visited by young and old, families and friends to celebrate music, nature - beauty. Wow. Sigur Rós is joined by the female Icelandic quartet, Amiina on the documentary who are quite legendary in their own right.

Needless to say, the footage is breathtaking. The documentary comes with a spectacular book with photos printed on sublime paper. An amazing band and film. All made in a grand gesture of appreciation, humility and reverence for community.