SnOOp: 2010

Convoy is SnOOp's new blog love

I would like to share with you on my last post for 2010 my new blog love Convoy.

It captures how I have felt during this year. I've been wanting adventure, rediscovering my love for design and the need for simplicity.

Quality, handmade and providence have been some of my key words during 2010.

I drove my Siamese cats to France during the summer break, I have spent some serious time in front of my home computer and my friend Richard Powers said thank you to me in his new Thames & Hudson book Living Modern.

 My Fiance still loves me after a year of me being impossible and is one of the most talented chefs on the planet. He has spent all of today making an incredible chocolate and orange tart. 

 This has been a year of hibernating and too much television watching. I have stayed in touch with most people I know through Facebook and not face to face.

So... 2011 goals are... 

Adventure
Be in a job I LOVE
Excercise
Learn from the past and look to the future
Love my hair
Finish the book
Be happy & positive
Spend less time in front of the computer 
Don't blame anyone else 
Spend quality time with my friends
Thank you everyone for following SnOOp and I hope I can continue to entertain and inform you in 2011.  

HAPPY NEW YEARS XXX  

KCY Story Panels Exclusively At FLOR By Eames Demetrios

As the world obsesses about downloading the best-selling novel onto their i-pad or Kindle, Californian based artist, author and film-maker, Eames Demetrios, grandson of iconic designers Charles & Ray Eames, is opting out of digital and going back to basics. He is telling his Kcymaerxthaere stories - how ancient cultures shared their tales- through craft and narratives.

To create his make believe history of an alternative world Eames is traveling the globe installing historical but fictional plaques in America, Australia, Asia, Africa, Middle-East and Europe. He even lowered a plaque onto the ocean floor, under forty-five feet of water in the Garvellach Islands of Scotland. Currently there is 74 sites.

In February 2010, Eames first shared his stories of Kcymaerxthaere with the people of Penduka, a women's collective in Windhoek, Namibia. These skilled embroiderers, many from the San tradition, began rendering fragments of what Eames calls "disputed likenesses" of his stories.

Eames returned in the Fall of 2010 to share the stories again, discuss the work-to-date and fine tune the collaboration with the embroiderers-focusing on the imagery for three kcymaerxthaereal legends: Culev Larsze, Eliala Mei-Ning, and Kirguellin. Through physical samples and digital connection, the process continued, resulting in (literally) otherworldly embroidery panels.

Eames sent me an email the other day telling me "I am having a Kcymaerxthaere show at the FLOR store on Broadway in Santa Monica from the 16-23 December... Even though I am a bit biased, the pieces are pretty magical". And what about the name? Kcymaerxthaere's name comes from the cognate words kcymaara (meaning "the true physicality of the planet") and xthaere (which is a shape with almost an infinity of edges or dimensions-infinity minus 29 to be precise)

Only 151 pieces of each story will be available as a limited edition. Each story panel is embroidered by hand by a member of the Penduka collective. The labels on the back give the provenance and edition number. When the edition is complete, Eames will continue to work with Penduka to create products inspired by this work as a regular source of income for their community. 

To find out more about Kcymaerxthaere and the show at FLOR go here. Check it out if you are in L.A.

SnOOp Friday

Via new blog crush Varpunen Hanger by Poola Kataryna

Need To Know - Optimistic Design

What is Optimistic Design? It's deeper than using bright colours -it's an attitude displaying self-empowerment - nurturing a more upbeat approach to living. It's simply about breaking the rules. La Tête Au Cube, have embraced the movement by using shockingly bright neon colours on their Fluro Vase made from the iconic Limoges porcelain shaped in a classic tapered vase form. Their mission “slightly offbeat and completely off the wall.”

We at SnOOp started talking about O for Optimism back in August with our post New Ideas With Paint soon followed by one of my favourite posts Rough Neon. Sibella Court from The Society Inc is an early adopter to this lifestyle trend showing confidence in how we can be carefree with our decorating by using paint and colour in unpredictable ways.

We are pushing aside the gloom of climate change, shortage of natural resources and the endless media articles making us feel guilty for erm... well everything. We are taking control and making our new world better by simply dictating how we want to live. As photographer Slim Aarons shows us we don't have to use a towel or sun-lounger to sunbathe on. Be easy going and grab a comfy mattress from the spare room. If you are still not convince then why not read 'This is Who I Am' post

When You Go Into The Woods Today?

More Like... When You Come Out Of The Woods TodayYou're Sure For A Big Surprise You'd better go in disguiseIt's lovely inside the house todayBut safer to stay in the woods

This Lakeside House in Slovenia is designed by Now Office

Shiro

I'm loving this Japanese promo for Sake. It captures everything we love in the blog world... It has clouds, easy to copy interior ideas, illustration and the newest emerging trend of mad scientist-inventor chic. Watch the video below if you are looking for inspiration

found via lifeintheslowline

Optimistic Design

And... You thought using balloons was so last season.... Oh how wrong you are. Jaanisays balloon pendant light W20G80 celebrates what I like to call Optimistic Design.God knows, with all the doom and gloom, we need more design that is functional, beautiful and can put a smile on our face.

Be inspired by Littlewhitehead at the Saatchi Gallery via Sweet Station

Jaanisays balloon pendant light W20G80

To see other examples of Optimistic Design go here, here and here

Fusion Tea Set by SARAH DE RUIJTER

How can you not adore Sarah de Ruijter's new Fusion tea set collection. The recent graduate from Design Academy Eindhoven's aim is to connect different cultures with the very traditional ritual of serving tea

As early as during the 17th century, the Dutch East Indian Company VOC introduced tea to our country. And yet there is not much of a tea-drinking culture in the Netherlands. Something which the different groups of immigrants do have. Each group has its own customs. Sarah de Ruijter sees tea as something to connect people: serving tea is a marker of hospitality and mutual respect. She has designed a tea set in which Turkish, Moroccan, Chinese, Polish, Surinamese and Indonesian elements combine to form a new tea drinking culture. With copper and porcelain as common factors, this set subtly displays characteristics from six different cultures. Fusion allows the user to keep up traditional rituals or to invent a completely new tea ceremony.

Dedo Message Board

The Dedo message board provides an easy, intuitive, and fun way to express ideas, leave messages and play, just by simply dragging your finger through the fur… It functions both as a basic communication device and a decoration piece. It offers a much more appealing way to leave a message and converting it into a statement, bringing in a whole new dimension of personalisation and communication to the domestic environment. Link here.

Illuminate your world with LED colour changing lights.

Feelings are Facts by Olafur Eliasson and Ma Yansong Bassam El Okeily Photographed by Tim van de Velde
SnOOp looks at the growing trend of mood-enhancing LED lighting, dedicated to home “sanctuary”. It focuses on wellness and relaxation inside your home

Stocco Bathrooms Blurred Vision by Prose Studio

Townhouse Street SOPOPULAR ss / 2010

Blurred Vision by Prose Studio ELLE Decoration August 2008

Townhouse Street SOPOPULAR ss / 2010

Bassam El Okeily Photographed by Tim van de Velde Blurred Vision by Prose Studio

Designers are exploring how colour and lighting inside the home can improve our wellbeing and daily health. If you are stressed opt for calming blue or if you're feeling sick glowing pink could be better than an asprin. Here are some key reasons to consider mood-enhancing LED lighting for your home:

Creates a cool and refreshing space. Pastels and white are combined with subtle shine evoke a mood of contemporary cleanliness.

Light therapy is used to bathe you in a rainbow of therapeutic colored LED light. Hues include relaxing blue and refreshing green, each with its own therapeutic qualities

LED Increases emotion and vitality
Deeply colourful and reflective. Bold hues tempt you to indulge in the mood of sensuality.
The healing pink LED creates an ambience of tranquility

Ideas For A Happy Home

The best tip for a happy home is to have unexpected pieces that make you smile every time you use them

All products by Ange-Line Tetrault at Corofolt

SnOOp Friday

Photo by Jolayne Attwood

What Happened This Weekend

"This weekend I got up late" shares interiors journalist Kate Jacobs owner of the newest and most gorgeous location house in London. Check it out here

"My parents told me they want to remove our vintage wallpaper from our wall. With winter coming this is my one escape to dream of sunny places. We have taken family photos in front of this wall since I can remember. I will be spending the rest of the week trying to convince them to keep it" says Alexey Lapin

"I'm looking for a swimming teacher (wouldn't say a coach) in Hawaii, Maui, just in case, I do float and swim on my back but can't breathe and also looking for a room to rent for about 3 months. cheers yeah. Aloha" says artist Hasisi Park

"My girlfriend has a really, really bad hangover. She believes putting refrigerated eggs on her temples helps to soothe the pain", says Davey Warren

 "I made a tooth of clay. I think I will make more, maybe a whole set. I  have a thing for bodies right now. I also got drunk, but that's not such  a pretty sight" says freelance photographer Sannah Kvist.
  "With a stuffy nose and sore throat, the weekend consisted of feeling very uncomfortable on this couch- probably making this girl feel more uneasy than I could have felt myself," says photographer Dimitri Karakostas.