Egg3 sale in Singapore

If you happen to find yourselves in Singapore in the next couple of days, do go to this wonderful store Egg3 who are having their end of season sale with discounts of up to 50%. It’s a treasure trove of unique and quirky homeware, tee-shirts and gift accessories. Whenever I go back to Singapore, this is one shop, I never fail to visit. Besides the original shop at Erskine Road next to the ubercool Scarlet hotel, they have now two more sister shops at Haji Lane called Salad and another Egg3 in the Eastern suburbs in Joo Chiat.

Call 0065- 6536 6977 for more info.

The Omnia redesigned by Ali Tayar

New York-based architect Ali Tayar has redesigned The Omnia hotel in Zermatt, Switzerland. Tayar conceived the 30-room boutique hotel as an avant-garde contemporary American mountain lodge in the Swiss Alps, furnished with some of the greatest 20th century design classics by Mies Van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen amongst others.

Cool hotels-part II

Here are some more cool hotels that are on my list for 2008.

Top: Dar Beida is a restored Moroccan House and is undoubtedly is one of the coolest places to stay in the hippie-chic town of Essaouira overlooking the Atlantic ocean, where Jimi Hendrix wrote the hit song Castles in the sand. The house-turned-hotel has been featured in Elle decor magazine and is kitted out in modern-retro style.

Middle: The Serinn House in Cappadocia, Turkey designed by Turkish architect Rifat Ergor and owned by Eren Serpen is one of the hottest hotels to make its debut this year (2007). Serinn, that means cool temperature in Turkish is a super stylish cave hotel inside a fort-like structure.  Inside it’s a modern minimalist haven with designer furniture including Chair One by Konstantin Grcic.

Bottom: Beit Al Mamlouka is Syria’s first boutique hotel located in Damascus’s old Christian quarter. With only eight rooms and tastefully-rendered traditional decor, with a central courtyard adorned with trees, the hotel is steeped in luxury and charm.

Design wishlist for 2008

From top to bottom: Taccia lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos; Crochet table for Moooi by Marcel Wanders; Legend Bibliotheque by Christophe Delcourt for Roche Bobois; Barcelona Chair (left) by Mies van der Rohe, Wishbone Chair by Hans Wegner (right); Madamoiselle chairs by Philippe Starck in Missoni prints for Kartell; LC4 Chaise Lounge by Le Corbusier.

I know Christmas is long over but here’s my wishlist for 2008 in no particular order but I would especially love those Madamoiselle chairs by Philippe Starck and the classic Barcelona chair.

Design Events for 2008

Mark your calendars. Here’s a little round-up of most of the important design events/furniture fairs for the year 2008. A couple of dates are yet to be confirmed but there’re tentative dates to help you plan your schedule better. See you there!

• IMM Cologne, Germany, January, 14-20, 2008 http://www.imm-cologne.com   
• The Office Exhibition, Dubai February 4-6, 2008 www.dmgdubai.com
• Stockholm Furniture Fair, February 6-10, 2008 http://www.stockholmfurniturefair.com
• Design Indaba in South Africa, February 23-29, 2008 http://www.designindaba.com
• Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, April 16-21, 2008 www.cosmit.it
• International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), New York, May 17-20, 2008 www.icff.com   
• Art Basel, Switzerland, June 4-8, 2008 http://www.art.ch
• NeoCon, Chicago, June 9-11, 2008 www.merchandisemart.com/neocon/
• Habitat Valencia, Spain, September 15-30, 2008 (dates to be confirmed) www.habitat.feriavalencia.com
• Abitare il Tempo, Verona, Italy, September 18-22, 2008 www.abitareiltempo.com  
• 100% Design London September 18-21, 2008 www.100percentdesign.co.uk
• Tent London September 18-21, 2008 www.tentlondon.co.uk  
• Dutch Design Week in Eindhovan, The Netherlands, October 1-31, 2008 (dates to be confirmed) www.dutchdesignweek.nl  
• Orgatec (Office Design), Cologne, Germany, October 21-25, 2008 www.orgatec.com
• 100% Design Tokyo, October 30-November 4, 2008 www.100percentdesign.jp  
• Art Basel Miami, December 4-7, 2008 www.artbaselmiamibeach.com

Cool destinations

 

From top to bottom: Jeronimos hotel, Lisbon; Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman; 9Hotel, Paris; Aji’a on Bosphorus, Istanbul.

Forget New Year resolutions (they’re only meant to be broken anyway); instead make holiday plans and add these cool hotels to your list. Design hotels genre is the in thing, even though I read somewhere Ian Schragger saying that they are passé and that he has moved on to the next big thing in hotels (we’ll find out soon). Personally I would rather stay in a decadent and obscenely luxurious Ritz Carlton or Raffles kind of hotel anytime, but you’ve gotta give it to the ‘design hotels’ for making the hotel industry more interesting than just butler service, chintzy furniture and carpets. Here’s some eye candy.

Tripod chair by Poul Kjaerholm

 

This yellow tripod chair is based on a 1953 prototype designed by Danish designer Poul Kjaerholm and manufactured by two New York based galleries- R Gallery and Sean Kelly Gallery. It was recently on display at Art Basel Miami and Design Miami. It is available in 25 limited-edition pieces in gray, yellow, black and blue each.

 The boundaries between art and design are increasingly getting blurred. Investors are turning to high-design pieces just like you would invest in a Rembrandt or a Klimt. This brings me back to my favourite question- capitalism might keep the fires in design industry burning but it’s design democracy that will make it everlasting.

Most iconic houses

Top: FallingWater; Below: The Glasshouse (photography: Paul Warchol)

 I fell in love with FallingWater and The Glasshouse at first sight. Designed by two of the most talented as well as controversial American architects of the 20th century- Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson respectively, these houses are not mere structures, they are monuments.

They are both pure and convey their architects’ strong personalities. The Glasshouse was opened to the public only in June this year for the first time. Apparently tours for next year are already sold out! And FallingWater is also always fully booked.

Do you know of an iconic house?

Cutlery lighting by Francois Legault

Here’s a lamp made of cutlery by Canadian lighting designer Francois Legault. He has an entire collection of lamps, chandeliers made of steel cutlery. And recycling is of course the in thing.

See more images or download the entire catalogue at this link http://www.unik-sculpturallighting.com/Productline/tabid/481/Default.aspx 

www.francoislegault.com

Print Room by David Archer

Since the final newspaper rolled off the printing press in the early 1990s, the print room at the Daily Echo building in Bournemouth has remained in most parts, largely empty until now. The Print Room Brasserie and Ink Bar that occupies the former print floor of the Grade II listed Seal and Hardy building on Richmond Hill, is now open to the public. The Print Room is the second of two Bournemouth eateries that David Archer Architects have designed for local entrepreneur and restaurateur Andy Price, following the opening of Aruba Bar and Restaurant on Bournemouth Pier during summer. Drawing on inspiration from brasseries around the world, The Print Room pays homage to the building’s original Art Deco architecture and heritage of the old print room, offering visitors a distinctly opulent dining experience.