Blog Archives

Hotel Not Hotel

HOTEL NOT HOTEL is a hotel with quite a difference. Collaboration-o, a group of designers form the Design Academy Eindhoven, have let their imaginations run amok within the spacious walls of Piri Reisplein 34, taking the concept of individually-designed boutique rooms several stages further than simply varying the colour scheme or sticking in some mismatched chairs.

The rooms at HNH sit inside the building’s superstructure like stand-alone cottages, and bear almost no relation to each other in their layouts or furnishings. Take for example the little semi-detached rooms that make up the Crisis Free Zone. One red, one blue, both bedecked in busy wallpaper, enough room for the bed and nothing else, and fronted by a wonderful carved wooden archway of hearts and skulls, the facade of the rooms themselves equally ornate with an almost church-like window/steeple arrangement. Then there’s the Crow’s Nest, which offers an unusual vantage point of the rest of the hotel through its scaffolding platform on the room’s roof. A secret room hidden behind a bookcase, another fashioned from an antique tram trolley… what will you discover next? Great fun.

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citizenM Hotel : New York

Dutch hotel group citizenM has set up home in the old New Amsterdam, right in the core of the Big Apple: a stone’s throw from Times Square. Midtown Manhattan is the quintessential New York layover for first-timers and seasoned fans looking to rekindle their romance with The City That Never Sleepsalike, and citizenM has developed a hotel right in the sweet spot on Broadway and 50th. The area has its critics, but there’s enough kitsch and craziness left in the triangular intersection to warrant your time, no matter how cultured you may think you are. The brand’s debut American outpost is brimming with the modern attitude and outlook that the city is famous for, but leaves out the extraneous bells and whistles in a bid to keep costs down in a notoriously pricey part of town. No one has used a hotel trouser press since the 1980s anyway. That said, in a city famed for its can’t-swing-a-cat bedrooms, citizenM’s compact pod feels oddly spacious when we checked in recently – familiar too, the Dutch brand are unwavering in their successful model.

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Urban Outfitters : Herald Square

Urban Outfitters opened its newest location in Herald Square. At 57,000 square feet, this outpost is the company’s biggest store yet. And with all that space, you’ll find much more than the usual offerings of music-fest–ready clothing, novelty books and home-decor goods. This location also features a hair salon, an expanded makeup department, an in-store shop from eyewear company Tortoise & Blonde, a large record department with more than 800 vinyl titles curated by Amoeba Records and a coffeeshop powered by Intelligentsia Coffee.

You’ll also find a booth that prints out your own Instagram photos, a huge department dedicated to workout clothes and a large department-store-worthy shoe section. It’s all part of the latest trend in retail, where stores are offering extras that encourage hanging out.

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The Line Hotel : L.A

Conceived as a starting point for urban explorers and comfort zone for stressed out city dwellers, The Line Hotel, a full on luxury boutique hotel by the Sydell Group. Located alongside the area’s famous 1940-prebrick colonial revival buildings, it provides an oasis of raw luxury and design right in the middle of L.A.’s never ending urban sprawl. Displaying full sensitivity to its exciting location, designer Sean Knibb has achieved much much more than merely refurbishing and restyling this former middle range hotel dating from the 60s. 



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Set Designer : Es Devlin

Hey Es, Imm’a let you finish, but firstly can I just say, you’re amazing!

I don’t feel the need to wax lyrical about Es Devlin because her incredible work speaks for itself. She’s a true inspiration to me, and for proof of why, just take a look at some of her many achievements below.

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OPENING CEREMONY : Crash Collection SS2014

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Opening Ceremony. I anticipate their collection launches and fashion shows more than Christmas. They always create an environment that is unique and original, with the perfect ratio of nonchalance that actually works to heighten their polished aesthetic. Their shows are abstraction meets style meets street meets modernity, all rolled into one take that! fun ball. As a Set Designer I’m always fascinated by their concepts, and each season my expectations are exceeded. I don’t know if they would appreciate this comparison, but I like to think their shows are Chanel for Millennial‘s.

Their Crash Collection for SS14 is no exception. OC have expertly dressed their models and then flat laid them on beds either relaxing or captured undertaking everyday tasks. It seems to be a common theme these days- heightening the everyday aesthetic and OC are capitalising on the trend. All shots are in plan view and give the customer a perfect image of the clothes, albeit a more relaxed depiction of them.

I couldn’t say there is consistency to their colour ways this look book. But who cares. Anyone who can send out an oversized Neoprene Racing tee, next to avocado green psychedelic trousers and a blue bauhaus inspired print button-down is already so far ahead of the fashion game, it makes the rest of us look like we’re still in the locker room with our jersey’s on backwards.

Game Over. OC for MVP.

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Dior goes to BKLYN

Dior in Brooklyn. Who would’ve ever imagined those two proper nouns together in a single sentence? Alexander Wang broke the outer-borough barrier back in February when he showed at the Navy Yard’s Duggal Greenhouse. But Dior, the storied French house and LVMH bigwig Bernard Arnault’s baby? It happened tonight, and the likes of Rihanna, Marion Cotillard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Leelee Sobieski, Allison Williams, Margot Robbie, the artist Sterling Ruby, and designers including Christian Louboutin and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough arrived by water taxi and town car to witness fashion history in the making. Bureau Betak spent nearly a week constructing an elevated floor at Duggal that situated the show’s 1,000-plus guests at window level. The Manhattan views vied for attention with the LED light display at the opposite end of the warehouse space. 

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Best of Tumblr :The Mighty Pencil

These are the good guys of Tumblr. The Mighty Pencil is an independent not-for-profit organisation that works together with a select group of professional illustrators in order to showcase their work worldwide.  TMP are not kickstarting anything, they are just fans like you and I. They appreciate good illustration, great drawings and stunning colour ways and act as a platform for those who feature on their Tumblr.

So in good faith, check out The Mighty Pencil. You can find a contact list of current featured artists on their sidebar should you wish to commission an illustration for yourself.

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Best of Tumblr : This isn’t Happiness

Ironic really, because the people over at This Isn’t Happiness bring so much joy to so many people with their deprecating humor and innate ability to poke fun at daily life. For every comical upload they also post hopeful insights and moments of wisdom, cool imagery and on point platitudes. All of which you’ll be screen-shotting for your own Instagram feed.

This isn’t Happiness got my attention with their good looks, but won me over with their sense of humor. It’s a real thing. 

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