oclock: my new watch

I started getting into rubber/non-metal watches a couple years ago with the purchase of my Nooka watch (my first love).  Nooka had a good run and is now starting to disintegrate and look a bit tired, so I replaced Nooka with Oclock, from an Italian company named Full Spot. I purchased the hot looking red watch (bottom watch of first picture) and absolutely love it! I wear it casually and with suits.  It is super light and fun because when you get tired of one band, you can pop out the face and switch up the look with a new band.  The other fun thing about this watch is its packaging; it comes in a tuna-esque can   Hours of fun, right there.

via oclock-usa

via imtheitgirl.com

via 59diamonds.com

lox and savvy

Australia based stationery company, Lox and Savvy is turning out some creative and bright paper goods.  No one is doing flourescent right now except Lisa, who does it very well.  I love her choice to combine geometric shapes with bright neon colours.  Lisa, the creative energy behing Sydney, Australia based Lox and Savvy is inspired by 60s + 70s furniture and design objects and applies a dash of 80s when it comes to colour.  To hear more from Lisa’s inspirations, read her interview here.  Can’t wait to see what comes out next!

via paper crave

 

via write on and more

via on sugar

via leeloo

 

via the terrier and lobster

 

Chocolate Research Facility

This is by far the coolest chocolate store concept I have ever seen and I am sorry that on my last trip to Singapore, I missed this thing. 

Here are all the juicy facts about this fabulously designed chocolate store- it’s called Chocolate Research Facility and it is located in Singapore’s Millenia Walk.   Singapore based design agency owner Chris Lee of Asylum Creative  launched the concept.   It’s part cafe part retail and the interior design is laboratory-esque.  What caught my attention when I first read about the concept on blog, The Dieline, is packaging of the chocolate (makes sense for a hot find on The Dieline).  The Chocolate Research Facility boasts 100 flavours like strawberry yogurt, green apple with dried pear, champagne, espresso, irish cream, Sichuan pepper to name a few and all of the chocolate comes packaged in super savvy, sophisticated, modern wrapping (see below).   The package design is so sleek, it truly embodies the value that can be created in a business through great design. 

The store caters to chocolate neophytes and aficionados alike.  Just take a look at these pictures to see what kind of experience is provided.  I am ready to hop on a plane and get back to Singapore to check the Chocolate Research Facility first hand!

inside store via oh joy

store exterior via luxury insider

inside store via we heart stuff

chocolate wrapper via the lovely room

chocolate wrapper via ministry of type

chocolate wrappers via blabber, etcetera

Emoi Life

store window via btting

store interior via btting

I love product design.  In my past life I must have been a designer.  I take such pleasure in a product’s design, colour, texture and integration of form and function. 

When I was travelling in Hong Kong, around the corner from my hotel in Causewaybay was a store called Emoi Life.  It caught my eye because of its resemblance to the Japanese home/lifestyle store, Muji.  Clean, minimalist aesthetic, Emoi Life products are affordable and fun.  Walking through the store invoked thoughts of if Club Monaco (emoi life uses a lot of black, white and grey), Umbra and Muji got together to produce products, Emoi is what they would look like. It turns out the Emoi Life is a brand from China and they have locations in Shenzhen, Beijing and Hong Kong.  Expand across the Pacific Ocean!  I like your stuff.  They have a blog here if you can read Chinese.

product via btting

Modern Italian Bakeries

Think of where you go to buy your daily bread.  In my area, I treck to the grocery store, a very unglamourous experience both in design and in process.  In Italy, I am noticing a  trend in contemporary, minimalist, high style bakeries and there are two in particular that I would like to highlight. 

The first is the newly opened creation by Colli + Galliano Architects in Rome, Italy called Vyta Boulangerie.  Vyta is housed in Grandi Stazioni (the train station) and is a combination of black, oak, stainless steel visual perfection!  The breakdown of the architecture and interior design can be found in a blog commentary from the Contemporist here.

photo via contemporist.com

photo via contemporist.com

Then there is bakery,Princi, in Milan that takes minimalism to the next level.  I have never seen a bakery so beautifully crafted and layed out.  The brand identity of the bakery is centered around three of the most basic components of bread making: fire, water and flour.  An example of how these ingredients are incorporated in the space’s architecture and design, a wood fire and running water greet customers at the entrance of the shop.  Designed by Claudio Silvestrin, Princi is meant to be a place to relax, sample breads and meet with friends.   Princi has four locations in Milan and an outpost in London.

photo via zagat.com

 

photo via bellaphon on flickr

Green T. House Beijing

I just wrote a post on my fav blog and furniture store, Brocade Home and wanted to provide a visual application of the Brocade Home style in a tea house in Beijing 北京.   Green T. House was featured for its use brocade design on the Brocade Home blog a while back but in case you did not see it, here is my take on the design.

Green T. House, created by master chef, artist, calligrapher, musician and owner Zhang Jinjie, is an excellent example of mixing the romantic damask/brocade style with a modern twist.  The zen like modern space she has created would tempt the likes of any international jet setter or local Beijing fashionista/design buff to visit the restaurant/tea house for an afternoon or evening of food and tea.  The aesthetic of Green T. House actually reminds me of MoRoCo’s style in Toronto, however Green T. House is more minimalist and MoRoCo more goth glam. 

Green T. House is such a stunning place, I could not not imagine all the great events that will be hosted in the space for years to come.

Green T House info in Beijing:

318 Cuigezhuang Xiang Hegezhuang Cun, Chaoyang District ,
Chaoyang
北京朝阳区崔各庄乡何各庄村318号

136-0113-7132

Exterior (photo via aerislifestyle)

 

(photo via momist.com)

(photo via City Weekend)