COMPANY OVERVIEW

Potter, designer and author Jonathan Adler launched his namesake brand after leaving his day job to pursue his first love: pottery. In 1993, Barneys bought his collection of pots, and five years later, he opened his first store in Soho. Jonathan’s desire to design all the bits one needs to create a flawlessly chic home led to more and more. Today, we are a design company with over 25 stores worldwide, a thriving e-commerce site, and a wholesale business boasting over 1,000 locations globally. Pottery continues to be core to our business and our commitment to impeccable craftsmanship and luxury is reflected in all we do. Our offerings span home accessories, decorative objects, tabletop collections, bedding, bath accessories, candles, furniture, rugs, pillows, lighting, fashion accessories and more. And our design work can be found in top restaurants, hotels and houses around the world. We are dedicated to bringing style, craft and joy to your life.

A PEEK INTO OUR WORLD

Jonathan’s mission: to bring style, craft, and joy to your life. How? By creating a foundation of timelessly chic furniture and accessorizing with abandon.

It all started with pottery. Jonathan first gave the wheel a spin at summer camp when he was 12 years old. He was obsessed with clay the moment he touched it, and the rest of his summer was spent in a clay-spattered Rush concert tee. Clay clay clay.

In college at Brown University he allegedly studied semiotics and art history…but he spent most of his time at the nearby Rhode Island School of Design making pots. His RISD pottery—Chanel inspired teapots and updated takes on Sevres urns—reflected his interests in pop culture, early Hip Hop bling, contemporary art, and fashion. When his hippie-dippy professor got a look at his stuff, she gave him a bit of career advice: “You have no talent. Move to New York and become a lawyer.”

And so, he moved to New York City. After three years as an assistant to various tyrants in the entertainment industry, he had a revelation. The approval of his pottery teacher meant nothing, and he had to do what he loved…which meant making pots that he himself would want to buy. Luckily he was a terrible assistant and got fired from every job he ever had.

Jonathan started teaching classes at Mud, Sweat 'n' Tears in New York City in exchange for free studio space. Soon, he had a collection of pots that made him happy, so he called up the buyers from Barneys New York. They took a look at his work, loved it, and placed an order. And so, he spent his pretty years as a production potter—rollerblading to the studio at 6am, making a hundred mugs, and coming home to fall asleep. Blaze, glaze, pack, and ship: He did it all.

After doing this seven days a week for three years, he hooked up with Aid to Artisans, a non-profit organization devoted to helping artisans in developing countries by connecting them with designers in America. They asked him to come to Peru to check out a workshop that could make his work. It was a match made in heaven. By freeing himself from production, Jonathan was able to dream. While in Peru, he fell in love with South American textiles and started designing pillows, throws, and rugs. He fused a Scandinavian modern sensibility with the ethnic, handcrafted styles of Peru.

Jonathan opened his first store in Soho in 1998. Although pottery will always be his first love, his desire to design all the bits one needs to create a flawlessly chic home became more and more difficult to ignore. First, he designed a few innocent throw pillows, then the sofas on which to plunk those pillows, then the side tables with which to flank those sofas, then the lamps to light it all up…you get the picture. Each piece, from a vase to a bench, is fueled by Jonathan’s various points of inspiration: Mid-Century Modern design, Brancusi's mix of guts and elegance, Pop Art, global pop culture, fierce femmes, luxe lifestyles.

Now Jonathan's design world is a bit broader than it used to be. In addition to making things he also makes spaces—he works as an interior designer on hotels and restaurants and houses. But his pottery beginnings are ingrained in our company’s culture. Jonathan’s office sits in between a giant kiln and a working pottery studio. Our sprawling headquarters occupy a full floor in Soho—we call it the Fantasy Factory (a cheeky nod to Warhol's Factory). Here, Jonathan and his collaborators slave away, problem-solve, have fun, and most importantly, design and sculpt the prototypes for our pottery by hand.

As lawless as our Fantasy Factory may sound, it’s actually quite serious. It's a place for creative minds to discuss design and craft, and create things that will (we hope!) become iconic designs. We believe that elegance makes fun possible. Once you have an elegant foundation, you can truly start to play. But, take note: This does not mean that there are not at least 10 dogs in our Headquarters at all times. We really love dogs.

Today, Jonathan’s work spans myriad categories, from furnishings to fashion. In less than 20 years he’s opened nearly 30 stores. With his serious design philosophy and colorful sense of optimism, he’s built a robust ecommerce site and a successful worldwide wholesale business with over 1,000 locations. His guiding motto, “If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it,” reflects his commitment to impeccable craftsmanship and irreverent luxury. And our current flagship store? It sits across the street from that little store with a dream from 1998.

www.jonathanadler.com/new

Klong is a sound, a clang. 

That wants to surprise and give unexpected experiences.Klong values as well as cares for
the human being and nature. Klong combines the obvious with something extra, something
special. Let Klong be lingering. Be a statement in the room. Klong combines functionality,
materials and shape to create a product valuable or difficult to grow tired of. Klong creates
basic home appliances. It is a nice gift to give away or to receive. Klong develops products
where the combination of functionality, materials and shape make something worthy of
caring for, something lasting. Every piece is a product to be enjoyed for years to come by
its owner.The intention of Klong is to produce products that respectfully take the human
being and nature in consideration. Klong put’s great importance to work with designers
who dare to create their own expressions without following trends. Klong finds its
inspiration in many different cultures although most of the designers come from Sweden.

We are very proud of our designers who help us develop our collection. Much of the furniture and interior decorations, that we carry, have been formed by our team of designers. Klong prides itself in being classically timeless. Together with our designers we develop our products where functionality, material and form are molded into a durable product to be enjoyed by one and all. We work with designers who challenge themselves in creating their own styles and forms of expression, without following fashion trends. They represent both well-established interior decorators, carpenters and designers as well as young, newly graduated designers. are very proud of our designers who help us develop our collection. Much of the furniture and interior decorations, that we carry, have been formed by our team of designers. Klong prides itself in being classically timeless. Together with our designers we develop our products where functionality, material and form are molded into a durable product to be enjoyed by one and all. We work with designers who challenge themselves in creating their own styles and forms of expression, without following fashion trends. They represent both well-established interior decorators, carpenters and designers as well as young, newly graduated designers.

Skandium, 245-249 Brompton Road, London

Maison M, 25 rue de Bourgogne, Paris

www.klong.se

Royal Mail has published the designs for its 2014 Christmas stamps.

Among the festive issue are scenes of children singing carols, posting Christmas cards and building snowmen.

Five different drawings commissioned from illustrator Andrew Bannecker were selected for the first and second class stamps. 

The latest recommended posting dates for UK mail are 18 December for second class and 20 December for first.

There is no Christian imagery among the designs, as the theme for Royal Mail's main stamp issue alternates annually between secular and religious designs.

Christmas stamps were first issued in 1966 when Royal Mail ran a children's competition to select the design.

Since then the festive stamps have only been designed by children twice, in 1981 and 2013. 

This year's issue will be available online and in Post Offices from Tuesday and - as with all British stamp designs - were approved by the Queen before being printed.

Andrew Hammond from Royal Mail Stamps said: "Christmas is a stamp issue we particularly look forward to and the charming style of these designs sets the perfect tone for the festive season."

There are no deliveries on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day or, in Scotland, on 2 January. 

Royal Mail said last December it delivered 115m parcels, handling 10m on its busiest day of the month.

From BBC news

Apart was opened by Adrian Palengat in a former antiques market on London’s Portobello Road in December 1999.

 Known for its early work with a significant number of established artists and for its playful, pop influenced eye, the gallery has more recently become known for its overseas show programme, with its shows in Europe, Asia and the United States.

The gallery has operated as a fulltime popup since 2006.

Dave Hollier

Born Wolverhampton, 1971.

Lives and works in New York

Education

1998-1999 MA Computer Imaging and Animation. Guildhall University. London

1990 – 1993 BA(Hons) Visual Art. Northumbria University. Newcastle upon Tyne

1989-1990 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Wolverhampton Polytechnic

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Andy Bridge

Born 1965, lives and works in France

Education

1986-1989 BA Graphic Design (Illustration) Brighton Polytechnic

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Defi Gagliardo

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1975

Education

Universidad de Buenos Aires  (UBA)

983-1984 Foundation Great Yarmouth College of Art and Design

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 www.ap-art.co.uk

The APART 2014 London Winter Exhibition

Official Launch Date Thursday October 30th Current soft launch / Open Daily 176 High St Kensington, W8 7RG  

The story

Her name was Anita and she was the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970’s. While smoking Camel she screamed at her kids until her curlers fell out and just looked fabulous in her white high-heeled clogs. 

One summer day in 2006 we found the shoes she wore (300 pairs of red, white and black beautiful clogs from the 70’s) in the basement of an old clog factory in the neighboring village and brought them to Stockholm. So for all these people that shared our love for Anita’s wooden shoes and for ourselves we started Swedish Hasbeens. 

Our ambition is to continue to release more incoherent and fun shoes and stuff inspired by Hasbeens that once ruled the planet. 

The Hasbeens toffels, bags and belts are based on original 70’s models and are made of ecologically prepared natural grain leather since it’s the most beautiful and the highest quality at the same time as it’s environmentally friendly. 

They are still handmade with respect for people and the environment in the old traditional way, and in small factories that have made shoes for decades. Our production methods and material are kind to nature and people. Happy toffels make happy people. 

The shoes of the Swedish fashion brand Swedish Hasbeens were chosen as the trend of the year in Sweden at the annual Trend Award Gala 2008 in Stockholm. 

During 2009 Swedish Hasbeens have become one of Sweden’s fastest growing fashion brands and now sells in 15 countries.

Good to know

Swedish Hasbeens shoes are hand-made using the same craftsmanship as in the the 70s which is kind to people and nature. We use natural materials and you could pretty much bury your shoes in your garden.

Like all hand-made stuff using natural materials every pair will be unique which is a sign of quality. So don't worry if the wood varies in color and if there are twigs in it. Natural grain leather may also have marks and may vary in color and thickness.The untreated natural colored leather will darken with time.The colored leather, like black, might rub off on other light stuff. The color on the painted wooden sole and the rubber sole will wear off in a natural way with time.

Hand-made stuff with natural materials just makes you more unique... which is really great...if you like being unique that is...

How can you make sure your kids will inherit the shoes?

The natural grain leather

Don't get mad. The natural grain leather will soften and stretch with wear and one day fit like a glove... a foot-glove. The leather will look better the more you wear it. Put some olive oil on the untreated natural colored leather (not nubuck or colored leather) and it will look better and you'll get a better resistance to dirt and water. Even better just use your shoes in dry weather, since wood and natural leather really don't like moisture and if fully soaked they will stretch a lot!

The wood

Wood is a hard but fragile material so watch out for knocking the back of the heel into stairs or edges of sidewalks since the wood might chip. Chips are also super-easy to glue back on since its natural materials. Here is something unique: sandpaper can remove marks and dirt from the wood and you can also use some olive oil on the wood for protection.

The rubber sole

The rubber sole is glued on and will loosen by time since wood is a natural living material. It's super-easy to glue it back on or get a new bio-degradable one at your local shoe repair shop.

The buckle

Open the buckle when taking your shoe on or off. Not only will it be easier, it will also make it last way longer.

The leather sole

Protect the leather sole from dirt and moisture with a leather cream (we're sure your local shoemaker / heel bar can recommend a great one). To protect the leather front sole from wearing out, it's also a great idea to have a rubber sole put on (or a bio-degradable sole). This is super-easy to do at your local shoemaker / heel bar. This is also because a rubber sole is less expensive to replace than the leather sole and will make the sole more resistant to moisture. If a rubber sole is properly applied, it is barely be noticed when worn.

The natural rubber soles

The natural rubber sole is really comfortable to walk on and great as a sole since it's soft and flexible yet with strength and durability. However please note that it is a natural, organic material and as such it can be sensitive to very strong heat, making it sticky and in the long run making it hard and dry. Just like our other natural shoe materials like cork, leather and wood, natural rubber is a living material so please take care of it, dry it slowly, don't expose it to
extreme heat, talk to it and the shoes should last for your grand kids.

Overall these shoes are really comfortable and kind to your feet and with the right care your kids will think their mom was super-cool way back in the 2010's...

London Pop-Up

Boxpark Shoreditch 
2-10 Bethnal green rd.

www.swedishhasbeens.com

www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/categorylist/dept/fabrics_new-season

De belles illustrations pétillantes et des informations différentes. Ce magazine "participatif" que je viens de découvrir est très raffraichissant...

 

Alerte gourmandise, ouvrez grand les écoutilles, un nouveau concept en vogue aux Etats-Unis pourrait bien révolutionner vos goûters. Après l'empire du bacon sous toutes ses formes, la ville de Chicago réitère dans l'extase culinaire, cette fois version sucrée, inaugurant un bar dédié... à la sacro-sainte pâte à tartiner : LE NUTELLA.

 

6000 m², dont une partie allouée à la glorification de cette matière première chocolatée, c'est bel et bien le cap innovant emprunté par la chaîne Eataly. Des classiques crêpes, muffins et cookies aux surprenants paninis et bagels, la loterie du Nutella est désormais ouverte. Sucré, salé, tout mélangé, il y en aura pour tous les goûts et sensibilités au royaume de la saveur noisetto-cacaotée.

Bien sûr, ce n'est pas parce qu'on a touché le gros lot qu'on ne doit pas y aller mollo, attention huile de palme et autres ingrédients à consommer avec modération. Enfin, pour ça, il faudrait déjà qu'un homologue français reprenne le flambeau… Affaire à suivre ? 

Les Cartes Postales de Paulette

  

    

www.retrohouse.de

www.alphabetbags.com & www.thecalmgallery.com