Cited as being Europe’s first music hotel the nhow Berlin is located on the banks of the river Spree and at the heart of the creative scene of the city, neighbouring music, fashion and art hotspots. This crane-like hotel looks spectacular from the outside and inside reveals a futuristic decor and eye-popping bright colour scene. This hotel prides itself on being offbeat, lively and dynamic and we can see why and is the only hotel in Europe with two professional music studios too with panoramic views of the city. Prices start from around €110 per room, so if you are looking something different in this price range, we reckon nhow is a great place to experience.
Chinese white goods brand Galanz has introduced a new bubble-shaped, space like microwave which is so refreshing to look at compared to the usual rectangle shapes we see. The new round microwave opens at the top and comes in a range of bright colours. We are unsure of retail price as yet but we think it looks great.
There are many different colourful styles of umbrellas out there but we particular love these from German start-up company Choke Urban Creation. Their vision is to collaborate with different artists from around the world to produce functional, yet distinctly stylish products. We particularly love the umbrella featuring artwork from US based Paper Monster, totally edgy and packed with attitude. Each umbrella costs €29.99 and can be bought directly online.
There has been a spork, a hybrid between a spoon and and fork and now there is the Knork, you guessed it a knife and fork in one and it seems that this piece of cutlery has become very popular amongst people with a disability and have used the use of one of their arms. Feedback online shows that stroke victims can particularly benefit from the knork which has one tapered precision edge which can effectively cut food with use of a gentle rocking motion. The knork can also come in handy for people travelling, camping, the elderly or someone who just want to wash less dishes! On Amazon you can buy a pack of 4 stainless steel Knorks for £19.99, which we think is affordable and life-enhancing for anyone who does struggle to use a knife and fork.
Each year the Au Vieux Panier Hotel (The Old Basket) in Marseille, France commissions artists to reinvent their 5 hotel guest rooms and we are totally blown away by the final design for one room by internationally recognised graffiti artist Tilt. Called the 'Panic Room' it is really hard to make out or quite believe what you are looking at but it is in fact one half of the room stark naked, pure white in contract to the explosive graffiti covered other half of the room. For the experience itself this would be a worthwhile stay, although a long stay would probably make anyone go crazy!
Source: www.thisiscolossal.com
Public art installations are always a great platform for marketing and putting a message across. We loved the idea from architect firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and fabrication studio, Flat Cut, who created this huge LED Heart Scuplture around Valentine's Day past and planted right in the middle of Times Square. The sculpture which included almost 500 LED-lit tubes responded to touch of a nearby sensor by passer-bys. The more people who touched the sensor the brighter the heart glowed. The Times Square Alliance also donated money to the Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Fund too when people uploaded pics of the heart to Facebook. A good talking point and an original way of generating funds for charity too.
Australia produces some amazing fashion brands and we totally love B.Sirius for its range of ultra cool handbags and iPad holders. The company has a definite sense of self, with a very distinguishable designs which set it apart from many other brands. The 'girl with the bird on her bag' certainly gets us chirping away in excitement!
Banjara, based in Melbourne was founded by Danielle Hill & Elise Shabat. This well-travelled pair journeyed to the Far-East where they discovered the Banjara tribe people. They were totally amazed at the resourcefulness of the tribe, using whatever materials they had around them to make beautiful rings, bangles and necklaces. Inspired by what they saw they established Banjara and now design and produced unique pieces that pay respect to natural beauty and cultures from around the world, with 3 design collections: Lost Coin, Tribal Stitched and Wild Flower. We love the tribal cross rings, made from sterling silver and nylon. These can be purchased through their site for about £45.
Facebook moved to its new headquarters in Menlo Park, California and here are some pics from HQ which caught our eye. We particular like the huge, now iconic Like sign outside the building and the subtle nod to the founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on a small piece of portrait wall art. Keeping a sense of humour is obviously important especially in the private call area, where a Superman costume proudly hangs.
Source: Time Techland
