Hasta La Ideas

This is one cool sleeping bag. By artist Eiko Ishizawa.

Danish architects MAPT have won first prize in a competition to design a cafe in the Anker Brygge harbour in Oslo, Norway. (more…)

by Paolo Ferrarini of Future Concept Lab

In recent years the term “luxury” has been abused and misused, making it often difficult to identify with certainty. Riva, an icon of style and opulence, with a long history of quality and excellence in the boat industry, leaves no question. Their new project, Riva Home Couture, is a collaboration with the Milanese designer Odilia Prisco, known for her expertise in working cashmere and silk, as well as other precious yarns and materials.

Every piece is made-to-order and entirely handmade in Italy, exactly like the Riva ships with the core idea of bringing what’s inside of a boat to the home. The inspiration starts form the interior decoration and materials used in the yachts and the result is a collection of fine leather bags, wood and stainless steel boxes, cashmere mantles, silk and cotton sheets, fur rugs and small pieces of furniture. There will be only one collection per year and each piece is conceived to become a classic, so the range will grow, like a private collection, far from the typical fashion approach.

“First of all this objects have to be nice and rich to touch,” says Prisco, “a true fulfillment for all the senses, including the sixth.”

Maybe the new luxury is avoiding mere consumption and waste by bringing together objects meant to last for life.

Ever seen a font that catches your fancy and then spend ages trying to track it down? Now anyone with an iPhone can snap a photo of a billboard, poster or any document and an in-phone image processor will cross reference the typeface with the MyFonts database.

It’s a simple application that’s downloadable for iPhones. It’s wi-fi compatible and also works with images saved from Safari or Mail on an iPod Touch, so that means even more instant gratification all around when chasing down mystery fonts.