Japan
Just one more day of World Cup action. { sniiiiif… } Today’s game for third place (what a doozy) found me screaming at the Celeste to “just score another f***ing goal” in a desperate plea to see the match stretch on for another 30 minutes…
Ahhh.. the good life! Not only is it World Cup time, summer is also in full-swing (at least, in our neck of the woods), making these Havaianas just the perfect thing to complete that head-to-toe hooligan look you’ve been going for. The Brazilian beach shoe legend launched their first World Cup flip-flop for the ‘98 series which, with the little Brazilian flag on the strap…
Oh Japan, you’ve done it again: perfect concept, perfect design – even the packaging is drool-worthy! Following the age-old tradition of Japanese hanko (判子) stamps (the first of these dates back to 57 AD!!!), Tokyo-based design firm Kawamura Hideo Activity / Rezon has created Otete & Anyo: a service for making custom hanko stamps of your baby’s hand- and footprints…
Argh! It’s been so busy here at the EP studio lately ( & exciting: we have a new addition to the team — badass, go-getting, design sidekick Nicky). But, with all this busy-beeing, poor Lo’s List has been getting the short end of the stick! So, while we keep trucking forth on these exciting new projects (rolling out this month!), we’ll be throwing a bunch of haiku-ed posts into the mix!!
So – now that we’ve scoured the Kapital archives, here are the List favorites from this Japanese brand’s latest collection for Summer 2010: “Deniming for Sunken Treasure.” A romantic hodgepodge of the tropics, camping, and a day out at sea, the flexible collection of separates distinctly captures the light-hearted, pack-light mentality of hazy summer days (optimistically including adventures abroad!).
Oh my… Another viable option on which to blow the nest egg!!! Almost immediately after taking a dive into the Kapital clothing collections of seasons yore I was weak in the knees with desire. The brand is all about the craftsmanship & detailing that consistently sets Japanese fashion apart: contrast stitching, perfect little buttons, intricate embroidery, etc… The garments themselves are adventurous and carefree — expressed through exaggerated silhouettes, lots of layering, and a color palette of solid earth tones and big, bright, worldly patterns.
“Skate decks eventually see their life shortened by snapping, cracking and/or wearing out. Purchasing new decks is a never-ending cycle and this was evident by the tower of old decks that were reaching to the ceiling of my room. We can’t throw away these decks because they hold sentimental meanings to us. I looked at these unusable decks every day and thought there must be something I can make with these. I decided to make some accessories with the old decks and this was the birth of Harvest…”
If you’re looking for the online motherload of well-curated, design-minded tees you’ll go bonkers over at Sixpack France’s online shop. With talents like typographic whiz Mark Owens and knee-slappingly funny illustrator (with equally comical moniker – translates to “RememberMyName”) HuskMitNavn – there’s something chic for every t-shirt geek!
A big thank you to the style-savvy Doug & Haruna, who sent over this link to Truck, a luscious furniture & housewares collection from Osaka, Japan. Aside from the must-have-it-all furniture catalog on their site, Truck carries tons of other goodies, from handmade leather belt bracelets by Atelier Shirokumasha (just $17), to very French antique wicker baskets, to one of my favorite things: Moroccan babouche slippers! Pretty much everything you see in the hypnotizing photos on their site (rugs, bins, lamps, pillows…) is for sale. Um… minus the coordinated house cat and pup, I’m assuming. Thank goodness I live nowhere near this decor goldmine…
Well, YZ and I finally crumbled under the pressure of all those Football Sunday flatscreen commercials and got ourselves a fancy-pants television. So, in celebration of the new gadget, we curled up in front of Juzo Itami’s Tampopo (タンポポ) last night with stomachs growling the whole way through. If you haven’t yet seen the 1985 noodle western about a truck-driving “cowboy” who stumbles upon a young widow’s ramen shop and orchestrates the reopening of all restaurant reopenings, rent it and make sure there’s something tasty in the fridge. This film is serious foodie porn. Of course I couldn’t ignore the stunning soup bowls used throughout the film and set out to find comparable pieces on the interwebs… If you’re willing to drop some serious cash, there’s a wealth of intricately-painted antique Japanese bowls out there. Two good sites to browse for the precious stuff are…
Winter is in full-swing here in New York: with two snow days so far and plenty of biting winds. So, instead of griping about having to trudge to the bodega for a pint of milk, grab this frosty opportunity and expand your cold-weather accessory collection! I adore busting out my winter hats, and add a few more trophies to the stockpile each year. What’s more, I’m one of those lucky people who’s coiff reacts rather well to hat hair… Etsy, queen of crafty commerce, is an endless trove of caps, cloches, balacavas and berets. Aside from curated top ten below, be sure to check out Dadaya’s exquisite embroidery with a Japanese-Scandanavian flavor, Yellow Field’s collection of 1920’s flapper gear, Rima Designs’ adventures with tweed, and Afra’s off-the-hook caplets and cowls!
We’ve been waiting for these slick iPhone accessories for a good few months now and are thrilled that Poddities straps and loops have arrived just in time for us to crown them as THE perfect stocking stuffers this holiday. Available from always-reliable Amazon, the straps come in natural and black leather or red, orange, yellow, green, blue, gray, and white seatbelt-weave styles. Get rid of that nasty case and flaunt your newly pimped iPhone!
1tranSglass by Tord Boontje & Emma Woffenden for Artecnica$46
2WWF’s Species Adoptions$25
3Limited Edition Print at Needs for Sale$100
4Heifer International Gifts$ ~
5Weekend Scarves from Organica Deluxe$59
6Leash by Found My Animal$56
7The Little Black Box from Charity : Water$24
8Hand-Coiled Bowl by Bambu$15
9Ideaco’s Futsal Ball$72
10Really Cute Kittens$ ~
