It’s no secret that we’re pretty enthusiastic about food here at CH, as we scour all corners of the country to find the most mouth-watering, handmade culinary offerings from people who’ve taken risks—and succeeded. We teamed up once again this year with our…
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Designed and produced one at a time in Finland, Thin King is Helsinki’s answer to the bulky wallet most people have sworn to never own again. The sturdy anodized aluminum card case has been making noise…
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Back in 2009, CH met with Eve Blossom to learn about her sustainable textile initiative, Lulan Artisans, for which she employed women in rural villages throughout Asia to produce high-quality products. Launched today, 24 September 2013, Blossom has expanded upon Lulan…
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Third generation chocolatiers, the three founders of Zoe’s Chocolate Co. also happen to be siblings, and such a tight knit familial collaboration lends itself to such stunning chocolates. Zoë and Pantelis manage various business aspects while…
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By Paul Cantagallo It all started with a stapler. Sebastian Kaufmann of Kaufmann Mercantile, a Brooklyn-based online store specializing in all things beautiful, functional and durable, had been working in film production in Los Angeles for seven years when yet another cheap stapler found its way onto his desk. He…
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Approximately one in three—that’s the statistic for women who will be raped or beaten in their lifetime, a demographic that works out to one billion worldwide. Eve Ensler and her nonprofit, V-Day, aim to change this statistic with One Billion Rising, a global call to action for people to…
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As the winter weather pushes us inside, our kitchens inevitably heat up with holiday parties and dinners done indoors. We were thrilled to work with our friends at New York Mouth—hands down the best purveyors of handmade, artisanal culinary products—on a collection of our favorite food finds. Here’s a…
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Designer Tom Budding puts a creative spin on an essential Hackney shop
When you ask East Londoner Tom Budding to tell you about the selection of items in his newly opened shop, his face lights up. Stocked with a handsome assortment of practical goods sure to delight any discerning adult, J. Glinert is Budding’s professional take on a store that entertained…
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Sweet Instagram and Polaroid shots re-imagined into edible chocolate
Cooking up quite an online stir in the last few weeks is Philadelphia’s Cocoagraph, makers of artisanal chocolates topped with vintage-filtered Instagram and Polaroid shots. The small start-up allows customers to pick and choose any photograph they may have floating around and turn it into a unique and edible keepsake with just one scan. Founder Rae Vittorelli made us a special batch—featuring our very own CH mascots Otis and Logan—so we could get a closer look at, and taste, the graphic treats.
While the image is what creates the buzz, the artisanal chocolate is equally important, and equally satisfying. Sourced from a small-batch, organic chocolatier in Santa Barbara, CA, each bar is available in two sizes in white, milk, dark and dark organic, with the addition of a subtle mint leaf flavored dark organic coming soon. Of the group, we preferred the dark organic for its crisp snap and slightly bitter but full flavor.
The new brand has a selection of chocolates available to purchase on their website, and are able to fulfill custom personal orders for weddings, personal and corporate events.
Handmade knives from Southwestern Tel Aviv
A brilliant series of utility knives from Israeli designer Tomer Botner brings together high-end craftsmanship with social advocacy. The blades have been created with the help of 17 local suppliers, craftsmen and professionals from Tel Aviv’s Florentine neighborhood, made from materials sourced from the area. The knives comprise Botner’s final project for the Shenkar School of Engineering and Design, imagined as a way to showcase Florentine’s place as a thriving hub of Israeli culture.
“I hope all the small businesses in my community will want to work with designers and open their minds to a new future for Florentine—a future of quality and community,” says Botner. “I believe that design is the most important capitalist tool. It can be used for good or evil. This is my way of doing good: making crafts and skills last, making it possible for small business to compete with big business, and branding my community as a place of high quality.”
For the design, a single forged handle and blade serve as the cornerstone of the knives. The handle features a single steel plate that joins the hilt and forms an extruded cross. Botner then stacks weighted disks along the length of the handle, using a range of weights from 3-9 grams to achieve a perfect balance for each blade.
Once the wedge is set in the hilt, the handle is then sealed and the knife given an individual number. Form follows function as the colored rings stripe the knife in a playful spectrum. The shape is a bit of a departure from the traditional Western chef’s knife, using a highly curved spine and blade for rocking-style chopping.
Currently producing 200mm and 120mm lengths, Botner is in the process of sourcing funding to produce the knives for consumers. Take a closer look at the production process on Botner’s blog.
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