DesignBoom is so good. They always point me towards where I want to go. Even if I didn’t know I wanted to go there. Today, they pointed me to the Mini Pedicab (DesignBoom calls it a rickshaw, but I always though rickshaws were pulled on foot). This is essentially a modified Mini Cooper in the form of a bicycle. The detailing and design of this human powered vehicle is pure luxury and the fuel consumption on this beauty is a very low zero gallons per mile.

mini rickshaw in beijing

The New York Times reported on August 14th that Ikea has now embraced Chintz. Chintz defined is overly frilly and excessive decoration in design. It’s sort of the opposite of funtionalist where clean lines and no clutter rule. Now, Ikea has taken up the chintzy trend borrowing from the hotest current designers Jaime Hayon and Marcel Wanders. Is it a stylistic return to the Po-Mo 80s. Right now, I would say No Way! But, look back in a couple of years and you might say, " Why did I fall for this shit?"

The Post-Materialist | Ikea Embraces Chintz - The Moment Blog - NYTimes.com

Equals

I’m a fashion addict. Being a fashion addict means I sign up for all the press releases to all the major fashion shows. Today I got one for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Smiw 2009 in Miami. The MBFW really does a fantastic job of making you feel like a million bucks especially if you have a million bucks. Now, the MBFW Miami has teamed up with American Express to offer card members exclusive access to VIP events at a number of scantily clad events. In other words, American Express = getting laid. Okay. Maybe I’m being a bit crass. You also get:

·         Access to the private American Express poolside cabana at The Raleigh

·         Meet and Greet with Tibi designer, Amy Smilovic

·         Cardmember only trunk show with ANK by Mirla Sabino, hosted in the Penthouse of The Raleigh

·         Access to complimentary valet parking and a gift bag

I’m one of those guys who wishes that Paul Smith was my best friend. Paul and I would hang out walking the streets of London looking for affected youth to star in his advertising campaigns. Every once in a while I would look over at Paul and say, ” Hey Paul, would it be possible for you to make a collection for middle aged fat men at a price that could allow the pieces to be sold in Wal-Mart?” (this request would satiate the intense thirst of my socio-economic situation). Paul would look over at me and utter “Shite!”. End of conversation.

We can all dream… Speaking of dreams. Am I dreaming, or is Paul Smith somehow related to the movies of Wes Anderson? The suits featured on the actors in the Darjeeling Limited are impeccably crafted.

Back around the turn of the 19th century, one of the most common cafe chairs in the world featured bent wood and caning at the seat. This chair caning was a narrow hexagonal pattern that almost mimicked the delicacy of Moorish windows. I have a sof spot for this chair because my parents owned several which we loved to use at the dinner table. Fast Forward one hundred years, and we have Patricia Urquiola taking this concept to the extreme for B&B Italia’s outdoor collection. Her seat collection, entitled Canasta, evokes the feeling of the old cafe chair but she pumps up the pattern to a macro scale so that you can really get the feeling for the exceptional pattern.

I’ve made it a point to cover big, chunky fantastically fashionable brands over the next few weeks, and today is one of my favorites: Armani Casa. Armani Casa is like the stage set for a highly stylized 1940s noir film with a good budget. Each piece evokes one of two feelings in me. Armani Casa is the ultimate in off the shelf luxury hotel dressings, or Armani Casa makes me want to wear expensive suits and lose 40 pounds so I can have my picture take with this furniture in a respectable manner.

I’ve included three pieces by Armani Casa that I love: the Omega Bed, the Essen Vase, and the Talvin 1 Desk Set. Each piece has it’s own individual character, but together exude extreme brand clarity and synchronicity. All three pieces, as the hundreds of others, just seem to work well with each other. Each piece also has this modernist yet hand hewn historicist quality creating one of the most consistent collections of products I know of. Job well done.