Charming. It was the word that came to mind when we ran across the work of Icelandic/Norwegian illustrator Rán Flygenring and her improvisational, doodling style of drawing and watercolor. She captures her nomadic lifestyle on small pieces of paper, coloring a beautiful world of interesting people, tasty food and worldwide travel. [Read more...]
For those that missed it (and considering the massive impact few could), a huge meteorite hit earth last week in Russia. In the land of the dash camera, videos far and wide captured the very rare event in its full shining glory – a missile like streak through the sky and an incredible window breaking crash following soon after. For the Russian population the event was one that stirred memories of the not so distant past, one of the tree flattening Tunguska event in Siberia just over 100 years ago. That blast was the largest impact event on earth in recorded history. [Read more...]
“They killed my mother and father. I will kill them with my knife. I will kill them like I would kill a goat,” says Kachadur Manukian, the 25 year old Syrian fighter above. The darkly vignetted image is the work of photojournalist Sebastiano Tomada Piccolomini, who spent 2012 with Syrian rebels as they fought against soldiers loyal to the regime. [Read more...]
Artists from around the world have come to create the 23rd ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. Organized by the ICEHOTEL art & design group, the only building material used is 1,000 tons of pure ice and 30,000 cubic meters of snow extrapolated from the frozen water of a river. In addition there was some support from thin metal frames that helped with some of the weight of the ice. While it is a place for guests to come, wine, dine and stay, it also serves as a large scale art exhibition. [Read more...]
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of reading a mid-century men’s adventure magazine, you’ll immediately recognize their place in Nadine Boughton’s work. For the muscular strong men featured in the periodical pulp-fiction; wrestling alligators, shooting sharks and rescuing scantily clad damsels in distress was all in a days work. When Boughton ran across these 50s and early 60s magazines at the flea market, she wondered how they would look set against the sleek interiors of the same era. As she puts it, it’s “men’s adventure magazines or ‘sweats’ meets Better Homes and Gardens.” [Read more...]
We in the western world take healthy cooking completely for granted. You turn the knob on your stove and magically gas or electricity heats the food before you. Many people in the world aren’t that lucky however: much of the worlds population still use indoor wood stoves of questionable design. They pump smoke into the surrounding air, use many more trees than necessary and eat up the income of people already living on the edge. Now, the organization Enlace is working to bring smart and simple eco-stove designs to the people of world, beginning their life saving mission in El Salvador. They call the project Cooking Up Love. [Read more...]
Have you ever wondered where the richest people in the world get their money? Have you ever been curious about what country holds the most of these ultra-rich? If so, Bloomberg has recently published an excellent interactive graphic highlighting a slew of facts about the 100 richest people in the world. [Read more...]
Everyday in the world there are friendships between animals and humans. One unique and charming relationship between the species’ is the one of an elderly lady in Japan and her little cat “Fukumaru.” Together they do just about everything in their daily lives. [Read more...]
It’s now considered a masterpiece of the modern design world – perhaps even one of its most recognizable items – but in 1956 the Herman Miller Lounge Chair was “quite a departure.” Here it is featured for the first time on national television, making its debut on NBC’s “Home” show with Arlene Francis. There to introduce the chair are none other than designers Charles and Ray Eames. [Read more...]
Beirut is a vibrant place with a storied past… one which has left the city covered in scars that are still being repaired. Lebanese artist Marwan Rechmaoui often works with themes of urban development and social history revolving around his home country – in this case a large, floor based map of the current city layout. Titled Beirut Caoutchouc, the coastal Mediterranean city is recreated with heavy pieces of rubber embossed with roads, byways and segmented into 60 individual pieces that demarcate neighborhoods. [Read more...]
