Built on the ideals of Kintsugi (or the art of repairing pottery with gold to help cherish your belongings instead of discarding them), Penny is a playful little piggy bank that can break apart and come together. Using a series of magnetically-bonding pieces, the piggy bank comes with an all-white design that reveals its cracked surface rather than concealing it. Add the coins in as you would, and when you want to take them out, simply break open the bank by either striking against it or dropping it to the floor. The piggy bank shatters just like its ceramic counterpart would, but in a predictable set of pieces that can be put back once again. The joy of retrieving the money from inside Penny is only accentuated by the joy of getting to build her back again, piece by piece!
Designer: Dario Narvaez
“After seeing the loss and hardship suffered by millions of people during the pandemic, Penny is a representation of what is lost and broken, can also be recovered in unique and unexpected ways,” says designer Dario Narvaez. Even though the interaction of breaking and reassembling Penny is a fun, engaging activity, it has a broader meaning too. Built on the idea of resilience, Penny is all about how life can be rebuilt even after the effects of a hard fall.
The Penny piggy bank is made of 12 PVC injection-molded parts with neodymium magnetic inserts built in. The matte-finish PVC material used in Penny provides a wide range of benefits relative to its use: high resistance to impact, and the ability to conceal scratches, scuffs, and marks caused by the repetitive breaking of the piggy bank. The unique construction of the piggy bank allows it to be reassembled in thousands of different ways by rearranging or rotating certain pieces. The ears, face, and legs stay constant, while the other parts can be swapped with one another, or rotated in a variety of manners, creating a new instance of Penny every time!
The Penny Piggy Bank is a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2022.
From London-based Organ Morgan (aka songwriter, musician and vocalist Harris McMillan, along with sonic collaborators Stefano Amoretti and Frank Wright) comes “Figurehead,” a lush indie-folk single composed of sparse beauty that pools into uplifting, emotion-rearing instrumentals. Mirroring the track’s atmosphere is an official video directed by Hal Hockney. “For the ‘Figurehead’ video I wanted to expand on the single/EP artwork and create a myth around ‘the pink lady.’ We drifted around the Isle of Sheppey on a delightfully dismal day gathering dubious ‘sightings’ of her—aiming to emulate the shaky footage of Bigfoot, Nessie and other creatures of fancy,” McMillan tells COOL HUNTING. “Paying tribute to the sometimes pitiful, sometimes enviable belief that something can be brought into existence by sheer force of will—in this way it felt right for the song. The Thames Estuary felt like it wanted a creature of folklore; hopefully we have planted a seed of doubt in that marshy mysterious land.”
Reach: 5.4 million Background: Brides, Condé Nast’s one and only wedding magazine. While much has changed since the publication was launched in 1934 (the introduction of color photography, for one!), there are similarities between then and now, said executive editor Lauren Iannotti. “It was very fashion focused even then, and very service-y and advice focused,”…
Miami-based Brillhart Architecture consulted on the design of a pavilion-like island home in the Bahamas with local architects Garth and Darren Sawyer.
Composed of six pavilions overlooking Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island, the house was completed in 2022 with Brillhart acting as the design consultant and Darren Sawyer serving as the project architect and Garth Sawyer as the architect of record.
The pavilion-like home is in the Bahamas
The 6,700-square foot (620-square metre) home combines vernacular references with elements of tropical modernism on a sloping site featuring more than 70 mature palm trees.
Arranged on the site’s highest point, each room is held within its own structure, each responding in its own way to the island’s varied climate.
It was designed by architects Garth Sawyer and Darren Sawyer with consultation by Brillhart Architecture
“Each space offers distinct experiential qualities shaped by the immediate environment surrounding it,” said princiap Melissa Brillhart, citing orientations, views, landscapes, micro-climates, light and the breeze.
All circulation takes place on outside walkways or bridges, providing ample views of the ocean.
All circulation takes place on outside walkways or bridges
“The inseverable architectural experience of living both inside and out at all times is truly the focal point of and central design idea behind this project,” the team told Dezeen.
The vernacular gabled pavilions are clad in western red cedar shingles and have exposed rafters and pavilions like nearby cottages, but use structurally insulated panels and tongue-and-groove cypress decking for climate control and hurricane-rated strength.
The stucco pavilions are arranged around a courtyard
The stucco pavilions with copper detailing are arranged around a courtyard – a tropical brush garden with a pool and lounge area – to protect it from the strong offshore winds.
Known as the Ocean Room, the beach-facing pavilion offers panoramic views of the sea through 16 sand-colored operable shutters that capture the breeze and provide shelter from the rain.
The kitchen and dining area are located in a covered open-air pavilion
The kitchen and dining area are in a covered open-air pavilion, while separate structures comprise en suite bedrooms, a living room, media room and indoor kitchen and dining room.
The rooms feature vaulted ceilings ranging from 15 feet to 26 feet (4.5 metres to 4.9 metres) in height and sliding doors and operable windows, bringing natural light into each space and displaying the surrounding landscape.
A separate structure holds the living room
The interiors are defined by natural materials and an earth-toned palette with white walls, light wood floors, cherry millwork and locally made, white concrete countertops.
“The entire project is a testament to the craft and resourcefulness of the local builder,” Brillhart said.
On the eastern side, a wooden walkway leads down the hill to the beach, and on the western side, the jungle landscape is more prevalent.
“Given the long and narrow nature of the lot, a separate two-bedroom guest cottage was located on the lower part of the site, designed to take in the surrounding lush and tropical vegetation,” the team said.
Natural materials characterise the interiors throughout
Founded in Florida in 2007, Brillhart Architecture is run by Jacob and Melissa Brillhart whose work ranges from residential and commercial projects to design-build projects, exhibitions, and research.
Background: Fortune has been in circulation since 1930 and has a long tradition of covering the world of business—from in-depth profiles of business leaders to the popular Fortune 500 list of the world’s top performing companies. “[Industrial life] was clearly a force changing American life at the time when we were founded,” says Andrew Nusca, digital editor. “We don’t exist to glorify executives and businesses independently… we’re quite critical with our journalism. But we do believe that business can be a force for good.
Fortune’s target readership includes everyone from recent graduates who are just starting their careers to C-suite executives; and Fortune sets itself apart from other business media by focusing on power—specifically, “who’s got it, who’s lost it, who wants it,” says Nusca.
What to pitch: Fortune has a healthy number of staff writers, but they like to augment their coverage with new freelance voices. Most of Fortune’s freelancers have been writing for the publication for years, but newbies can get their feet in the door by pitching to the following sections:
The Briefing section is a collection of short business-related news items. Word count: 20-100.
The Focus section is comprised of four sub sections: Tech, Invest, Venture and Passions.
Tech articles must have a tech angle, but stories need not be about so-called tech companies. Editors see technology as the future of every industry, so they’re interested in running stories about people, companies, and trends in a mix of industries: retail, energy, transportation, business services, etc…
All Invest stories must have an investment angle. Editors run traditional investing stories (where to put your money), as well as articles about trends (e.g. changes in corporate reporting rules and the recent effects of the economy on second homes).
Venture is the place to pitch articles about entrepreneurship, and Passions is all about the finer things in life (e.g. fine wines, fast cars, beautiful hotels). The pitch angles can vary from reported pieces and profiles to Q&A stories and trend pieces. Word count: 450-1200 ea.
Freelancers can pitch to the Feature well, but editors have one major rule: “It must be a good yarn,” says Nusca. “We want great stories.” He notes that Fortune’s bread and butter is the corporation as an entity. Extraordinary startups are valid feature subjects from time to time, but stories tend to go big when the companies are big, too—if not the industry as a whole. Features are dedicated to the most important people, companies, and industry trends of our time, says Nusca, so they need to have a big impact.
Word count: 3,000-4,000.
What not to pitch: The Last Bite section is covered in house.
Online opportunities: Fortune.com covers a variety of topics, including design, energy, autos, entertainment, finance, health, leadership, luxury and tech.
Word count: 450-1200.
What publicists should pitch, and when: Editors look to publicists to provide access to authors, celebrities, etc… who are relevant to the Fortune audience. There’s no need to pitch story ideas. Lead time is 2 months (print); 2 weeks (online)
Percentage of freelance content published: Print: 30-40%; Online: 70%
Percentage of freelance pitches accepted: 25%
Recent freelance stories pitched and published: How to Get a Job in the Cannabis Industry capitalized on spiking interest in the topic and was pitched by a long-time contributing writer who specializes in workplace issues. And Streaming Could Change the Video Game Business Forever was pitched by a writer who is well sourced in the video game industry. He noticed a shifting industry business model and pitched this trend story, which helped our readers stay abreast of change, says Nusca.
“Power to the Peeps—From Humble Easter Treat to Big Peep” is a good example of seemingly lighter annual holiday content, which nonetheless highlights the big business involved in the viral emergence of Peeps as a heavyweight brand.
Etiquette: When crafting your pitch, please make sure you have a clear sense of why the pitch is important for Fortune, and why the editors should run the story now. And please remember that editors are interested in receiving pitches about stories not topics.
Nusca prefers that potential freelancers first reach out to inquire about his current editorial needs. Since the majority of freelance writing does not come from cold pitching, he believes that “it’s better to get on the same page about what you can do and how we can work you into our needs.”
Fortune doesn’t have a separate editorial staff for print and online, so they do not have section editors. Therefore, when you pitch, please make sure you reach out to the editors that cover that specific topic.
Lead time: 2 months (print); 2 weeks (online)
Pay rate: Print rate is generally $2/word, but it varies by editor and section. Online is generally .50-$1/word. Payment schedule: 30 days once invoice is received Kill fee: 25% but can vary Rights purchased: All rights
Contact info: Fortune 225 Liberty St. New York, NY 10080 Fortune.com
Elon Musk is a man of many talents. Manufacturing cars or effectively running a social media network isn’t one of them… but now being a beer connoisseur apparently is. After launching a limited run of Tesla Tequila back in 2020, the world’s richest man is hawking a US$98 three-pack of GigaBier in select European countries. The limited-edition Pilsner-style beer bottle takes its design cues from the much-hyped, yet still elusive, Cybertruck and sports a gloss-black finish and glow-in-the-dark labeling. The alcohol itself is brewed in Berlin with Tesla’s exclusive strain of “Cyberhops” (does Elon even pay his marketing team anymore) and is said to have “notes of citrus, bergamot, and sweet fruit” and an ABV of 5%.
The GigaBier, which definitely ISN’T a joke, comes in a pack of three, within a foam-lined black box that is undoubtedly going to give this alcohol collectible status. The three-pack retails for £79/€89 (or just under $100) and is available exclusively in Europe on Tesla’s GigaBier microsite. Strangely enough, as of writing this piece, the beer still hasn’t sold out so if you’re still waiting on the Cybertruck, just pull out your $100 pre-order deposit and buy the beer instead. At least you know this thing actually exists.
In a world where Elon Musk once captivated audiences with his grandiose visions of electric vehicles and space travel, it’s somewhat fitting that his latest venture is a beverage that invites us to drink our sorrows away. After all, instead of delivering on the Cybertruck and the Tesla Roadster, Musk has spent the last three years shifting his headquarters to Texas, selling Cyberwhistles, buying and bungling social networks, and banning people tracking his private jet. So, raise your glass and toast to the GigaBier, a testament to the fact that sometimes, when life gives you lemons, just cut up a few wedges and have them with beer.
Coalition building, advocacy and technological solutions must be applied to ensure forced and under-paid labour is not used in creating materials for architecture and design projects said speakers at the second Design For Freedom summit in Connecticut.
The conference included a slate of speakers, including founder Sharon Prince, who told the audience that changes need to be made to the industry if the issue of forced labour was to be solved, noting that the lower prices in design materials are often the result of unfair labour practices.
“What I hear a lot is the question ‘is this going to cost more?'” she said. “So rather than say is this ‘going to cost more’ we’re going to ask ‘am I okay with the slavery discount?'”
“We can no longer accept the slavery discount,” she added.
Maha Khan, a representative from the finance against slavery and trafficking group at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research said that the construction industry is a large contributor to the problem of forced labour worldwide.
“We often refer to modern slavery as a tragic market failure, which it is,” she said, noting that of the 50 million people living under conditions of modern slavery, more than half are made to do forced labour. She also added that more than 16 per cent of that number is within the construction industry.
It took place at SANAA-designed Grace Farms in Connecticut
In order to find solutions, communication between members of the industry was a big-ticket talking point among the speakers and facilitators.
“When we look at a problem as overwhelming and as vast and urgent as modern slavery, we acknowledge that successful outcomes are not going to happen in silos,” Grace Farms ethical materials director Nora Rizzo said.
During the talks, members of large construction companies such as Turner Construction and Lendlease Americas said that certification requirements from subcontractors were an essential part.
Hundreds of professionals from the architecture and design industries and governmental bodies were in attendance
A lack of transparency and complex supply systems were stated as impediments to the process. To aid in this process, Design for Freedom contributors have put together a toolkit that provides a “comprehensive resource for design and construction professionals to implement ethical, forced-labor-free materials sourcing strategies into their practices”.
Large architectural studios such as SO-IL and BIG presented recent projects made with an attempt to trace materials back to their source to implement more ethical designs, while New York architecture studio SHoP Architects presented sourcing software that would try and capture the life-cycle of all materials involved in a project.
Designers are complicit
BIG partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann told Dezeen that much of the sourcing process has been “so far removed from the actual design and specification” that designers are “complicit in not understanding how materials are sourced and made, perhaps using forced labor”.
“So by actually requiring companies to certify that everything is fair trade, without the forced labor issue, is the absolute right thing,” he said.
“So on BIG’s behalf, we’re very committed to finding both pilot projects and really integrating [the principles] into the way that we work. Because we care about where materials are sourced.”
Bergmann cited the studio’s recently announced Juneteenth Museum in Texas as an example of a project where the studio is making an effort to monitor the ethical sourcing of the materials.
US State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Building Operations also made a commitment at the conference to “educate their employees about Design for Freedom and integrate Design for Freedom principles into future projects”.
Collaboration and certification were too talking points for addressing the issue of modern slavery
Members from engineering studios such as ARUP and representatives from furniture brands such as Herman Miller were also speakers at the event.
Design for Freedom was founded by Prince in 2017. This year’s conference was the organisation’s second.
For more events, talks and exhibitions in architecture and design, please visit Dezeen’s Events Guide.
Discreet and elegant, the Block is the world’s first bio-material toilet—made from a mixture of wood chips and resin. Produced by Finnish interiors brand Woodio and designed by Pentagram, the toilet eschews porcelain (which carries a larger carbon footprint) for an innovative wood that’s highly durable and waterproof. The Block is expected to last 10 to 15 years with the possibility of surviving up to 50 when cared for correctly. Alongside a sleek hidden mount, the toilet features a speckled design that reveals its natural and innovative composition. The resulting expression is warm and organic yet modern. Learn more at New Atlas.
Sportswear brand Nike has unveiled two home and away kits for the England women’s football team, which both include blue shorts after players voiced concerns about wearing white while on their period.
Designed by Nike for this summer’s upcoming Women’s World Cup, the home kit features the Nike Pro Short in a hue called Gym Blue, while the away kit’s shorts come in Coast Blue with a Gym Blue trim.
Both pairs are integrated with the sportswear brand’s Nike Leak Protection: Period technology.
This consists of an ultrathin absorbent liner that is built into the shorts so that players can bleed more comfortably and discreetly if they find themselves on their period during a match.
“Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks or time-outs,” said Nike women’s global sports apparel vice president Jordana Katcher.
“Many told us they can spend several minutes on-pitch concerned that they may experience leakage from their period.”
“When we showed them this innovation, they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can’t leave the pitch,” she added.
The home kit’s shorts will be worn with a white shirt, the colour of which was informed by the original Wembley Stadium’s “chalky white brick exterior”, while the away kit will be all-blue for the first time.
Ahead of this summer’s World Cup, the updated Nike kits will debut at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, where the England women will play Brazil in the first-ever Women’s Finalissima.
Other national women’s teams West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City have also made similar changes, opting for navy and black shorts respectively.
For the 2022 FIFA World Cup, sports brand Hummel designed intentionally toned-down football kits for Denmark’s national team as a protest against the event being hosted in Qatar and to criticise the country’s human rights record.
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