Jonny Detiger: Artist, Artisan & Aesthete – and among many other things privileged enough to have him as my brother in law. His upcoming exhibit at Partners & Spade is a must see… True talent exposed. OCTOBER 17th to NOVEMBER 1st – OPENING RECEPTION OCT 17th 3-6PM
“Sit around and activate your own sound! Boom-Boom Box is an Interactive Sound Environment consisting of multiple seats. The musical compositions will be ever changing according to how many and what combination of seats are in use. Move & Mix!”
Check out more of Jonny Detiger’s work here… You can also view some other Interactive Sound furniture pieces here…
I discovered La Colombe for the first time just a few months ago, but since it has become intolerable to experience anything else related to coffee drinking. What I can vouch for is that La Colombe tastes how coffee always should: so powerful that one sip changes your entire state of mind.
La Colombe Torrefaction they call it… one of the premiere artisanal coffee roasting companies in the United States, setting benchmarks for taste, service and knowledge. It is roasted in Philadelphia and served at their own cafés in NY & Philly, as well as some of the best restaurants in New York including Daniel, Robuchon and Le Bernardin. Their claim to “excellence” is blending coffees, the art of mixing different coffees together to result in an exquisite mélange.
A few pics from the Lafayette/Prince location by my office where the baristas concoct their magic! Pics powered by BlackBerry Phone Cam.
WHY stands for the partnership between Hermès Yachts and Wally. This new joint venture has conceptualized a motor yacht that redefines the art of living on the sea in green style.
In an attempt to move beyond the horizon of current trend, WHY has shaped up a boat that is contained in a triangular hull measuring 58m x 38m. Powered by a diesel electric engine, it is also fitted with 900 square meters of photovoltaic panels.
These solar panels provide juice to most of the boat’s auxiliary system needs. Cruising on the most efficient motorization requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size. In an attempt to optimize the boat’s energy consumption, the company is also investigating the latest wind energy production and wind propulsion system technologies. The 58×38 size is deliberately conceived to significantly reduce its energy consumption, saving up to 200 tons of diesel per year.
Turning our attention to the luxury aspect, this designer yacht will boast of a 25 meter-long swimming pool and a 36-meter aft deck beach. The interiors also scream of luxury with water resistant buffalo leather décor. Since Hermès was involved in every step of the process from concept to realization, the boat WHY promises to render luxury sailing with cutting edge technologies.
Walking the downtown streets of my neighborhood, I am always impressed by how many old school European bicycle, scooters and cars there are still left around NYC. These are just a few funky ones I captured this past couple of months: Solex, Motobecane, Peugeot, Puch, Fiat 500, Citroen 2CV, Alfa R, BMW, Batavus… more to come. All pics powered by BlackBerry phone cam.
I thought of stopping short with the AMC Sportabout Gucci post but my fellow SLISM contributor Chris Bray’s comment made me want to expose a bit more about the legendary American Motors Company and their deep ties within the Fashion community of the 1970’s & 80’s… collaborations with Pierre Cardin, Levis and more. These guys really had some pull back in the day! I think the automotive industry is still trying to recover from it…
When some latter-day Arnold Toynbee lumbers out the full history of 1970s civilization, it’ll hopefully mention the all-important phenomenon of mass infatuation with downscaled designer chic, the early foundation of today’s collaboration between Martha Stewart and Kmart, for instance. Pierre Cardin, Givenchy, Bill Blass and others had associations with carmakers back then. Same for the acclaimed Italian house of Gucci.
The fruit of that seeding showed up in a custom AMC Sportabout wagon with the Gucci trim package that was a Hornet option in 1972 and 1973, and costing a whole $142 retail…
The model sold just shy of 3000 vehicles in the United States, though it proved to be a last straw as far as the dynasty’s position in the luxury community was concerned. A station wagon? Hardly what the 1970s jetsetters of privilege were pushing…
It seems that in these gloomy times “escape” is the way to go… but make sure you are well equipped for the occasion. Here are the Top 10 essentials to bring along your upcoming safari expedition to Botswana or the next Bronx Zoo visit.
From a small grinding shop in 1929 to one of the finest names in accessories today, G. Lorenzi has come a long way. Housed on Via Montenapoleone in Milano, the Lorenzi’s scan the world for the best materials, craftsmen and designs – always incorporating their love for artisanship in everything. The shop is a testosterone hub, with men’s accessories being the focus and a clearly masculine decor.
G. Lorenzi specializes in all the things you really don’t need but always had the desire to own – from the classy range of accessories like pocket knives, money clips, nail clippers, scissors, shaving instruments, walking sticks, lighters, pipes, smoking accessories and many more exquisite gears all wrought of the finest materials…
In case you can’t make it to Milan, a well-edited selection of their goods is available in New York at the Bergdorf Goodman men’s store. You can also check out this documentary on menstyle.com…
In times of crisis there are few investments which give you a benefit even if they go significantly wrong, but it is fair to say that investing in wine is one of them. Could buying wine be the answer to your investment needs in today’s economy?
Fine wines are becoming increasingly popular as an investment, alongside other alternatives, such as fine art and antiques. But the recent performance of fine wines goes to show that it is more than just a tasteful hobby – for some, it can also be a very lucrative investment.
Wine has shown little or negative correlation with the stock market indices, with lower price volatility. Over the past 8 year course – as shown in the graph below – the Liv-ex Index that is composed of the premier 100 investment-grade wines, has shown little comovement or correlation with the major stock market indices. In fact, Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index does not move with S&P 500 Index. Most importantly the characteristic of fine wine is particularly beneficial for significant risk diversification of a traditional investment portfolio.
So what is the Liv-ex 100 Index?
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is the leading exchange for fine wine. The Liv-ex 100 Index is the industry’s leading benchmark. It represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines for which there is a strong secondary market and is calculated monthly. The majority of the index consists of Bordeaux wines – a reflection of the overall market – although wines from Burgundy, the Rhone, Champagne and Italy are also included. The index is calculated using Liv-ex Mid Prices and is then weighted to account for original production levels and increasing scarcity as the wine ages. As such, the index is designed to give each wine a weighting that corresponds with its impact on the overall market.
The reality is that the Liv-ex 100 Index of fine wines is up 210% since the past 5 years and 5% year to date for the Liv-ex 500. A significant performance in time compared to major equity indices and gold… Of course, if you do find that the price of your wine goes down, you are always able to drink it. Knocking back a case of fine wine is not a bad way to drown your sorrows, that is for sure. These are some of the Grand Cru you should be keeping an eye on…
This year the Geneva Auto Show revealed a lot of avant-garde designs among which the revamp of an old classic: The Lagonda. For the curious ones out there… Lagonda was a British car manufacturer, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by the American Wilbur Gunn. He named the company after a river near his home town of Springfield, Ohio. The company was purchased and integrated into Aston Martin in 1947.
Aston Martin’s “Lagonda” return marks the 100th anniversary of the brand, best known for stately sedans and luxurious grand-tourers. Aston wanted an outlet to expand beyond sports cars and GTs, and the Lagonda’s uber-designer Marek Reichman* ran with it with a great deal of success. *By the way, Reichman happens to also be the designer behind the AM DBS, the Rapide, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Lincoln MKX concept and Navicross Concept Cars and the current-gen Range Rover.
Check out the designs presented at the ongoing Geneva Auto Show… and the old timer that probably served as inspiration dating back to the mid 1970’s, the last Lagonda produced to date.
After a decade in branding under his agency Buro+Creative and creating successful ad campaigns and strategic marketing initiatives for some of the most prestigious luxury brands globally, Benjamin placed his focus in the fashion arena.
In 2008 he re-launched the acclaimed French tennis shoe “Spring Court since 1936” in N. America including limited edition co-brandings with J.Crew, Jean Shop and Saks. In 2009, he co-launched Happy Socks as exclusive USA licensee turning a forgotten product into a fun and sought-after creative success story including highly publicized co-brandings with Barneys NY and The Standard Hotels.
In 2011 he designed and launched Etiquette Clothiers globally, with the desire to elevate basics to a new level. He calls it “The World’s Most Proper Basics”.
A Helvete national, he grew up living in Switzerland, Monte Carlo and Hong Kong and resides in New York City since 1992 with wife and kids Georges IV and Charlotte.
