Latest articles by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:17:20 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk Latest articles by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1435&Itemid=52 VilaSofa, a furniture store that opened in Amsterdam in October is a clever design feat by Tjep (http://www.tjep.com). Judging by the VilaSofa (http://www.vilasofa.nl/) website, it is a brand that can use some visual updating. VilaSofa is positioned somewhere between an IKEA store and a conventional furniture store and its claim to fame is reasonable prices and a guaranteed 48-hour delivery of all displayed models. The Amsterdam-based Tjep faced the challenge of making all this look cool. It zeroed in on the warehouse concept but with a homey twist. It focused on the aspects of speed and the transitional nature of the place where factory-born furniture lives while waiting to be taken to your home. Combining warehouse and home isn’t easy, but Tjep accomplished it by only suggesting both. They used warehousing and transportation symbols as the basis for gigantic cutouts and wall graphics, and created a white wall with cutouts of chandeliers, windows and ornate balconies that imply a villa and refer to your home as your castle. Staff rides around in cute cash-register trolleys so that customers don’t need to go to them. The Tjep design team included company founders Frank Tjepkema and Janneke Hooymans, plus Leonie Janssen, Tina Stieger, Bertrand Gravier and Camille Cortet. Tjep is a multiple-award winning firm that works in an astonishingly wide variety of three-dimensional design — Product and furniture design, interior design and interior architecture, identity design and events. Tjep clients include Droog, British Airways, ING, Restaurant Praq, Camper, Heineken and Ikea. Hooymans left Tjep in May 2008, and now works independently thisisjane.com. (http://www.tjep.com)- Tuija Seipell. Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:16:54 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1434&Itemid=43 GHD, makers of the must-have hair straightening irons (many a woman's best friend, let me tell you) have just joined the cool offices club. The company's new 15,600 sq ft head quarters in Leeds is more space ship than corporate office. And that's exactly how they wanted it, according to UK firm Carey Jones interiors, (http://www.careyjones.com/) who designed the futuristic space, which features a "catwalk" in the reception area. The objective of the two-year long project was to capture GHD's sense of style and uniqueness in the market place and translate that into their HQ's design. Mission accomplished. - Lisa Evans Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:14:34 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1421&Itemid=5 The marching beat surges forward, where it’s met by a chugging bass line, rattling guitars and a menacing vocal. It’s the opening bars of a new single called Bismarck, which among other things is the signal that Lost Valentinos (http://myspace.com/lostvalentinos) are back from the wilderness and want to be heard again. And it’s hard to fault them for coming back so fiery, after all, the last two years have seen Lost Valentinos in what can only be described as band hell. Riding the buzz from two successful EPs, the band spiralled as their label fell out from under them, they got sued by Bobby Womack, changed their name (from 'The' to 'Lost') and lost a drummer to Midnight Juggernauts. Emerging at last with Bismarck, a taste of their upcoming Ewan Pearson-produced record, it’s clear that Lost Valentinos have something to prove. They have a statement. They’re back and they haven’t missed a beat. – Dave Ruby HoweBismarck is OUT NOW (http://myspace.com/banggang12inches) Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:30:24 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1433&Itemid=50 One of the easiest ways to make a boring space more vibrant is to use colour. However, as so many of us can remember, obvious opportunities to do this have been missed for decades in schools, universities and hundreds of other places where young people are more or less stuck for long periods. Luckily, today’s kids have better luck — at least in the schools where Amsterdam’s i29 (http://www.i29.nl/) has had its say. i29 Interior Architects consists of two interior designers — Jaspar Jansen and Jeroen Dellensen — and is known for clear, bold solutions. A good example of this is their custom furniture project for a Het Veer. It is a public school in Almere, a city located 25 kilometers east of Amsterdam and often referred to as the most modern city in Europe. Het Veer is a school for children with learning and concentration difficulties and the objective of i29’s work was to express and entice concentration, playfulness and movement. Their eight different white and red tube furniture pieces can be mixed and matched creating various formations. They play off the Buzz Wire science game that teaches about electric circuits and is based on concentration and hand coordination. At the Caland Lyseum in Amsterdam, 1,500 students work in a sport-centric environment where they receive coaching for their specific sport and in academic topics. i29 was asked to envision the public spaces — including the main hall, staff room, library and computer/media room — for the new Bos Partners architects-designed building with its gray brick, glass walls and unusual floor plans. They used large images of the school’s famous sports hero alumni and then custom-created multi-functional tables, benches and signage, plus a color scheme for the common areas. The award-winning solution matches the dynamic and multicultural life of the school yet lets the buildings features dominate. - Tuija Seipell Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:36:02 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1432&Itemid=50 These cool images are from the fabulous Kinderdentist in Berlin. Designed by Brad Pitt’s favourite architecture firm, the super-creative and multi-functional GRAFT (http://www.graftlab.com/), this is the kind of place that makes us want to be kids again. Never thought we’d say that about a dental office, (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/design/KU64---The-worlds-coolest-dental-clinic/) but what can we do? And why exactly is it that adults’ dental offices don’t look like this? Kinderdentist (http://kinderdentist.com/) is an underwater world of play and adventure with a 12-foot visual wave drawing the guests into to world of blue hues and pixilated schools of fish. You feel as if you were under water, in a submarine, just waiting for exciting things to happen. And yes, kids’ teeth get fixed there, too. Originally established in 1998 in Los Angeles by German architects, Lars Krückeberg and Wolfram Putz, Graft expanded in 2001 when third partner, Thomas Willemeit, opened the Berlin office, and fourth partner, Gregor Hoheisel, established Graft in Beijing. Now perhaps best known for its collaboration with Brad Pitt, Graft has always pushed the boundaries of mere architecture and is known for an enormous breath of projects. Architecture, interior design and art concepts, urban design, “eventing,” film and video projects, music, car design, commercials and exhibitions are just some of the things the prolific team has completed globally. Its architecture and interior design practice extends the breath of the field as well from furniture schemes to concept design of hotels, restaurants, clubs, offices, institutions, residences. In the media, Graft is often labeled as something other than a “global architecture firm” — including a rock band, a hippie commune and a bunch of eccentrics — and it seems that this is exactly what the partners like to hear. Willemeit has been quoted as saying that “In L.A. we’re these crazy German guys and in Berlin we are not accepted into the Berlin architecture mafia — we’re cowboys. - Tuija Seipell Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:34:28 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1431&Itemid=52 Aesop (http://www.aesop.net.au/) continues to serve up award winning design with its new store in "The Strand Arcade" in Sydney. Each Aesop store (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/stores/) has its own signature look defying the carbon copy stores that were so popular in the 90's and early 2000's. Respecting the store's neighbouring environment is important to Aesop and integration within the area is emphasised. March Studio's, (http://marchstudio.com.au/) Rodney Eggleston has again been offered the role to find the "store's soul" and bring it to life. He has made one of Aesop's highlight materials "Porcelain" the hero in this store by using the timeless, precious material for the tiles, small furnishings and floor. As always with Aesop, clean lines and only the necessary pieces of furniture and interiors are used allowing optimum space and movement. The complete range of skin, hair and body products are available in this store, so maximising the wall space was essential. The finishing results are a sublime gallery like offering that continues to push the retail boundaries. – Kate Vandermeer. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:15:00 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1430&Itemid=11 You can often divide people into two distinct groups - "hat people" and "non hat people". Wearing a hat takes confidence, courage and a unique personal style. Whether the hat is worn for comfort or a statement or both, the choice of hat says a lot about the person. Rike Feurstein (https://www.rikefeurstein.com/) (a self-confessed hat-aholic) has done a lot for the hat industry with her clean, minimalistic, sculptural shaped designs. Her unique perspective breathes new life into classic shapes with the choice of irreverent fabrics or colours. She references iconic shapes from the 40's and 60's and reworks the look by injecting her own twist. Rike studied in New York and London before opening her own studio and showroom in Berlin and has an international stockist's resume including Barney's, Saks, Harvey Nichols, Tsum and Le Bon Marche. – Kate Vandermeer Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:49:42 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1429&Itemid=44 We love a fine wine, especially when it can be ingested in as thoughtful an environment as this one. Welcome to Merus, (http://www.meruswines.com/) a "designer" winery like no other. Located in the Napa Valley in California, Merus looks more like a Michelin-starred restaurant than your average cellar-door retail outlet. Exposed beams are the only nod to the past in this interior design strategy, which is thoroughly modern with a hint of Californian warmth. Amsterdam-based Uxus Design (http://www.uxusdesign.com/) is the architecture and design firm behind the winery. With more than a few inspiring, high profile projects under its belt, Uxus is one of the Netherlands' hottest design studios - with an office (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/offices/UXUS-Design-Offices/) to match, - which we got to experience first hand during our trip to Amsterdam last week. It's been a busy year for Uxus, who have unveiled a number of other great retail design projects recently including the new Heineken 'concept' bars which will open in airports across the globe and one of Europe's coolest McDonald's play areas in Amsterdam. They were also behind the Buccella Wines (http://www.buccellawines.com/) bottle design, which we featured (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/food/Buccella-Wines/)last week. - Bill TikosSee also Design Wine (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/design/DESIGN-WINE/) Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:16:27 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1428&Itemid=43 When the investment group All Capital wanted a power space for their high-powered meetings in Amsterdam, they engaged two local creative firms that had the right vision. Interior design firm i29 (http://www.i29.nl/) and architectural office Eckhardt en Leeuwenstein (http://www.eckhardtenleeuwenstein.nl/) created meeting and lounge areas that are prestigious and opulent without being pretentious or stuffy.Themed around the playful concept of being under a spotlight, the spaces feature gigantic, round, black lamp shades spray-painted gold inside. These power lights appear to cast spot lights and create shadows everywhere in the space. The fake ovals of light and shadow on the floor, walls and furnishings are created by altering the colors and textures of the finish.The golden ovals also define specific areas and soften the angles of the black-stained ash wood desks and cabinets. In addition, the gold and silver ovals scattered about can be interpreted as coins — highlighting the business of the client. All existing ornamentation and detail of the building was painted white. The All Capital boardrooms and lounge opened last month in the historic, 17th-century building, De Gouden Bocht (http://www.gouden-bocht.nl/)located by one of the most famous canals of Amsterdam, the Herengracht (=Gentlemen`s Canal).i29 was established in 2001 by Jaspar Jensen and Jeroen Dellensen. Their style is characterized by a dramatic absence of extras or gimmicks, and by frequent use of clear blocks of color and lots of white. Their projects, mainly in Amsterdam, include schools, retail shops, restaurants, hotels and private residences. Architect duo Rob Eckhardt and Goos Leeuwenstein has a long history of distinctive projects from public spaces to restaurants, entertainment venues and residences. They’ve created offices for Publicis, DDB and Eigen Fabrikaat, film studios for Jurriaan Eindhoven, and interiors for Restaurant Bordewijk. Eckhardt became known early in his career as a furniture designer with the disco stool Dolores as his first success in the early 1980s. He even operated a retail store that sold his furniture, including the 1983 Groeten uit Holland chair and the 1982 Karel Doorman chaise lounge. - Tuija Seipell Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:00:21 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1378&Itemid=55 The Cool Hunter celebrates creativity in all of its modern manifestations. We are a leading online publication and an upmarket hub for what is the most creative, the most innovative, the newest, best and coolest. We value global relevance, not global trends, channeling what we find to our worldwide audience. In a society obsessed with the shiny and new, The Cool Hunter has become the reference point of choice for the latest in what's hot tomorrow. Everyone wants to know what's hot, because 'hot' products and ideas sell. Over 1 million people now read The Cool Hunter a month. (http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/?dosubscription=1)free weekly newsletter (?dosubscription=1) so you're always in the know! Because being in the know - makes you so much more interesting. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:55:24 +0100