Hasta La Ideas

Earlier today we featured objects made of tarmac. Now here’s some furniture made of bricks by designers Rachel Griffin of Earnest Studio in Rotterdam and Emilie Pallard of Eindhoven.

The Building series features lengths of wood slotted through the holes in different types of bricks to make a bench, table, shoe-rack and lamp.

The project is on show as part of an exhibition called Craft and Scenography at Depot Basel in Switzerland until 11 July.

The exhibition also includes a clever shop display system by German designer Michael Schoner – see our earlier story.

All photographs are courtesy of Emilie Pallard and Earnest Studio.

Here are some more details from the designers:

Construction elements have a beautiful, functional aesthetic, one that is largely ignored in interior products.

Earnest Studio (Rachel Griffin) and Emilie Pallard seek to change this with their project, Building.

The project reinterprets traditional exterior bricks for use in the interior by combining them with refined wooden components.

The result is a series of objects that use the weight of the bricks as an anchor and the wooden elements to functionally and aesthetically tie the structure together.

The pieces are designed to be monochromatic, with the natural colors of the wood complementing the colors of the brick.

An Australian couple’s innovative approach to homeware retailing

For many, choosing how to outfit their home has become as important as how they choose to dress. With people like Tom Selby showcasing interesting creatives’ homes and work spaces, and thousands of Pinterest boards dedicated to home décor it’s become the expression of personal style through interiors has reached a fever pitch. Helping Melbournians do this is The SuperCool, a pop-up shop and online store created by Kate Vandermeer and David Nunez (Noonie). Enticed by the quirky goods on offer, we caught up with Kate to discuss retailing, retro styling and the reasons why pop-up shops are here to stay.

How did the idea for The SuperCool come about?

We both wanted to work together doing something creative and we love stuff for the home/studio spaces. In my own trend research as part of iSpyStyle I’d noticed that pop-up shops were more than just a fad and did some research regarding vintage peddlers. I found the idea of taking your wares to the people was a really relevant retailing style in the current retail revolution we’re having. So we workshopped that idea and then on our honeymoon met with heaps of artists, designers and vintage collectors.

It all began late last year, as a bit of an experiment to see how it would go. After just the first two locations Melbourne Central and Pope Joan we realized we had tapped into something unique. The response from customers and media was pretty overwhelming and we thought that we should go guns a blazing into 2012 with TheSuperCool!

How does it work in terms of finding and hiring the spaces?

There’s no real strategy; it’s very organic. We look for unusual spaces that have good foot traffic. We like to collaborate with other industries (Pope Joan and St Ali in terms of food, and Great Dane in terms of high-end Scandinavian-style furniture) and we like to move around different neighborhoods.

You have some really different stuff. Where do you source product?

Literally all over the world. We’ve had product from Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, UK, Spain, USA, Hong Kong, Argentina, Brazil and, of course, Australia. We like to have a healthy mix of both local and international design and we support a lot of small independent designers and makers and work with a variety of vintage collectors. We’ve also started making some product ourselves and hope to do more of this down the track.

Are you able to make a full-time living from this? If not what else do you guys do?

So far, I’m the only one full-time in the business, plus I’ve still got a handful of clients from iSpyStyle that I take on project work with and try to fit around TheSuperCool. Like any new business, you put in far more hours than you see profits but we’re starting to see the rewards from this and its definitely given us hope that it will be a full-time gig for both of us soon. Noonie still works full time in the corporate sector alongside working on TheSuperCool at nights and weekends.

In addition to being business partners you’re also married. How has it been working together?

I would say 90% of the time I’m pretty lucky—we have really similar taste and views on business. I’m a bit more cautious and he’s more of a risk-taker. So we balance out each other well. He’s awesome at logistics, systems, operations and is a wickedly good researcher and buyer. I handle the branding, social media, online store and admin side, as well as the visual merchandising. We both do the retail side of things and we both enjoy connecting with the customers and chatting about what they’ll do with our stuff.
That other 10% is tough. When we’re exhausted from working 45 days straight and we have to bump in/out of a shop—it’s physically full on and that can test your patience, but we’ve managed to make it work thus far and we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

How does The SuperCool differ from other online shops (i.e. for people unable to visit the pop-ups)?

We like to think that we offer an interesting curation of unique objects. We put time and effort into the displays of our products online as well as in store. We offer great affordability for people and that they don’t get ripped off. We’ve also tried to make the online store descriptions an echo of how we are in store when chatting with customers. We offer DIY tips, we try to be witty and not take ourselves too seriously and make it fun! The online store still has a long way to go though and we’ve got some big plans for the future.

What’s next?

We’re pretty excited to announce that we have just taken on a six-month lease for a semi-permanent shop at SO:ME Space at the South Melbourne Markets. We did a pop-up there for six weeks earlier this year and it was so well received, so when one of the shops came up for lease we jumped on it.

“Why would somebody do this, Doc?”
“Because people in the future are idiots, Marty.”

Yesterday quite a few people were taken in by this image, which went full viral on Facebook and Twitter:

It indicates, on the display of Doc’s time-traveling Delorean, yesterday as the day Marty McFly traveled to in the future. However, the image above is a hoax.

Those who faithfully remember the Back to the Future series of movies will recall Marty skipped thirty years at a time, traveling backwards from 1985 to 1955—and forwards to 2015, not 2012. Some Photoshopper created the image above.

(more…)

Miso-cured tofu answers the call of cheese-craving vegans

“It’s very much like a creamy cheese, a blue cheese or a brie—it just has an incredible mouth feel,” says Rau Om‘s Dang Vu. He’s talking about tofu misozuke, a preserved version of tofu that is cured in miso to create a spreadable, long-life version of the asiatic staple. Vu likens tofu misozuke—which pairs well with sake—to “an independent Japanese derivation of the wine and cheese experience.” Wary gourmets may doubt the fermented concoction, but Vu and his wife Oanh are making fast work of converting California’s eaters.

The story of tofu misozuke as Vu relates it goes a long way toward explaining the dish’s peculiar form. Following defeat during a 12th-century Japanese civil war, survivors of the losing clan went into hiding, disconnected from the metropolitan centers. In desperate need of preservable foods, the survivors created tofu misozuke as a way to extend tofu’s shelf life.

Vu’s first exposure to the dish came at a Tokyo sake bar. A DIY experiment ensued, and Vu finally found his recipe by combining a modern version with a recipe from 1780. Later, upon hearing of the dish’s origins, Vu’s picture of tofu misozuke became complete. “You have here a great example of function following form,” he says. “You have this thing that’s salty and savory from the miso and has this incredibly cheese-like texture.”

Following this process of creation and exploration, Vu began selling the spread at a local food market south of San Francisco. For the first time, Tofu Misozuke was available stateside, and has since been gaining traction as a vegan cheese substitute. Spreading rapidly by word of mouth, Rau Om’s tofu misozuke is quickly changing the perception of tofu and filling a cheesy void for long-time vegans.

Tofu misozuke is available from the Rau Om online shop.

Images by James Thorne

Austrian studio BWM Architekten und Partner has completed a hotel in central Vienna with big oval windows all over its brown mosaic facade.

Above: photograph is by Anna Blau, Lenikus GmbH

Behind the glass, the windows are lined with cushions so that they can be used as sofas by guests.

Named Hotel Topazz, the skinny 10-storey building butts up against a neighbouring building and is located just a few streets away from St. Stephens Cathedral.

Other hotels we’ve featured include one that looks like children’s game Connect Four and one behind the facade of a derelict pub.

See more stories about hotels »

Above: photograph is by Anna Blau, Lenikus GmbH

Photography is by the architects, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s some more information from BWM Architekten und Partner:

Hotel Topazz by BWM Architekten und Partner, Vienna

The new Topazz design hotel by BWM Architekten und Partner in Vienna’s city centre can be likened to a glistening, dark-coloured gemstone. Its brown mosaic façade, which absorbs and reflects the natural light, ensures that this building – on one of Vienna’s smallest building sites – is a real eye-catcher. The design, created by BWM Architekten und Partner, is characterised by striking elliptical window openings that jut out slightly.

This unconventional, distinctive treatment of the façade gives this round-cornered building a sense of weightlessness and elegance as well as an unusually physical presence within the fabric of Vienna’s historical architecture. Inside, the curved window recesses serve as comfortably rounded spots for sitting or lounging while you watch the hustle and bustle of the city below. In this way, the exterior and interior spaces engage in close dialogue and complement each other. The idea with the portholes was born partly out of a lack of space – with the aim of making the best possible use of the 153 square metres of site area. After relaxing and daydreaming in one of the niches, you will open your eyes and say: Good morning, Vienna!

Architecture: BWM Architekten und Partner, DI Michael Manzenreiter
Building concept, Facade: BWM Architekten und Partner
Floor plans, Interior designr: DI Michael Manzenreiter