With my trip to Japan planned for next month, I am inspired by what is made in Japan. Hidetoshi Takahashi has built a strong reputation for his exquisite wood work. His studio located in Asahikawa, Japan. Luckily for you, you will not need to go to Japan to get your hands on many of the tableware he produced. They are available from a NYC online retailer, Merchant4.

Hidetoshi Takahashi worked with Japanese tableware designers, mainly Rina Ono and Masanori Oji to create exquisite cups, plates, trays and bowls. As you can see from the pictures, the collection at Merchant4 fits the western eating habits while maintaining the Asian flair.

Hidetoshi Takahashi uses Castor Aralia wood and applies a food-safe polyurethane coating inside. For now, Merchant4 carries Cara and Kami. They shared on their blog that new items are coming soon. I am looking forward for the ice cream cups and goblets.

SOURCING:
+ Hidetoshi Takahashi’s Cara cup and bowl $44 to $52 USD at Merchant4
+ Hidetoshi Takahashi’s Kami cups $30 to $42 USD at Merchant4
+ photo: Breakfast set by Masanori Oji (Oji & Design)
+ photo: Kami collection by Oji & Design
+ photo: Cara collection by Rina Ono
+ other photos: Hidetoshi Takahashi

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Two words: style and comfort. I like them for their stylishly modern and comfortable lounge at the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Porter put attention to details. Usually, flying one trip with them will convince you.

Their brand identity is superb. But for them, it does not stopped with their advertising and their in-flight magazine. The same level of details and attention is integrated in their services.

It is not surprising that Porter looks so hip and different from other airlines when you know that the agency who developed their image is Winkreative, the agency of Tyler Brûlé. He is the Canadian guy who started Wallpaper* magazine.

To give you an idea of what I mean, I took a photo at the free dinner box they served yesterday on the flight from Toronto to Montreal. We had one piece of chicken sandwich. This were made with big chunks of grilled breast chicken cooked with green peppers. The salad was an apple and potato salad. Wine and beer are complimentary. We had a Lindt Milk Caramel Chew for dessert. In a time where airlines are inventing for more and more extra charges, I welcome the old-fashioned way passengers were served on an airplane.

If you wish to know more about their mascot, Mr. Porter and how the raccoon image is completely integrated within the brand, read this excellent interview that Grace of design*sponge did with the illustrator Neal Whittington. He is the guy who created the character.

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Chick Advisor gave us 6 steps to an Organized Closet. One suggestion is to place your hangers in backwards after every big cleanup. Flip the hanger the other way once you worn something. After a few months, you can get rid of the clothes that are still backwards since you clearly do not want to wear them. You should do that every season.

Knowing what fit you well and what is in your closet that you still like can save you money. This way, when you go shopping you can look for fashion pieces that will complement or update your style. Plus, a neatly organized closet means that you will lose less time finding an outfit every morning. For more on that topic, read the Evolution of a Fashion Recessionista, a post written by Yael Panet.

+ photo: Chick Advisor

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As more and more people use their bike for their every day transportation needs, it is about time that a company provides a cute cycle helmet. Sport gears are designed for guys. They may be built for performance but they fail miserably when it comes to fashion style. Since wearing a cycle helmet became a must for our safety, I settled for the unattractive option. I will not anymore.

Yakkay is a Danish company who mixed style to safety in designing the coolest bicycle helmet ever for the urban boys and girls. They produced a naked helmet shell on which you add a cover. You can buy more cover to complement your outfits. Yakkay proposes an assortment of warm fabrics for cold weather and lighter fabrics for hot weather.

Next spring, I will check their range. I want to look fashionable when I ride my bicycle. You can order the Yakkay helmets and covers from 50cycles, a UK retailer who ships worldwide.

The helmet fully meets the European CE standard (EN 1078), which is more stringent than the CPSP that is commonly used in the USA. I based that on the fact that the snell of the EN 1078 must be validated externally while it is self-regulated by the manufacturers in the United States.

SOURCING:
+ Yakkay helmet with cover £90 which is $145 each, extra cover £35 / $57 each
+ photos: Yakkay
+ via: Inhabitat

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The partner of food blogger Matt Armendariz of Mattbites made the most stylish candied apples I have ever seen. Matt qualified the result as pure magic and he is right.

While you get the recipe take the time to check the beautiful still life picture he made with black wine goblet from Juliska that I introduced last year.

+ Adam’s Scary Apples on Mattbites
+ via Totally Tabletops

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Lots of progress have been done with tile effects. We all seen the superb wood porcelain tiles in restaurant lobby. They provides form and function. Porcelain and ceramic tiles are perfect for high traffic areas  and a wet area like a bathroom or a pool house.

One brand that carries upscale luxurious tiles is Porcelanosa, a Spanish company that started in a small village by the Mediterranean Sea in Castellon, Spain. Browsing their catalogue is a treat. They have been in the United States for the last 20 years. Porcelanosa say that their products are available at surprisingly affordable prices.

If you wish to add the effect of luscious wallpaper in your bathroom without worrying about maintenance, go with wall tiles. My collage at the top shows a bathroom with Decor Silk Blanco tile. Venezia provides a baroque print. The sophisticated lino metal series would look awesome  in his bathroom.

Bringing Character to a Room with Tiles

Continuing on masculine home decor, I really like the ambiance of these two lounges. One the library, I wish to point out the large scale tiles while the natural stone fireplace is the star of this bachelor lounge. The two lamps fits so well in the space.

The reflexion of the 3D Blueker looks incredible on the pool. These pictures clearly demonstrates how you can make a statement with porcelain and ceramic tiles.

MORE:
+  Porcelanosa

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Inspired by the fabulous work of LA-based event design Flite, I examined how to best use silk lanterns in a garden party to get a stunning effect. It starts with the superb Vietnamese silk lanterns, which are a lot more sophisticated than Chinese paper lanterns.

When you are hanging lanterns, mix the shapes and alternate colors. Pumpkin, diamond, teardrop, balloon, cocoon shapes work well together. I encourage you to mix solids and patterns within a hue family. A two-color palette is more elegant. For the garden wedding in violets, you can broaden the scheme by adding a few pink lanterns. I think this installation was really successful.

Since you will need a large number of lanterns to make a statement, it is often best to rent them. Plus, they will do the installation for you, including doing the wiring if your party continues after dark. An event design studio with a remarkable portfolio is Flite located in Los Angeles, California. Looking at their portfolio is a treat.

If you wish to do it yourself, you can find sources online. Vi Gallery sells 4 shapes of Hoi An Silk Lanterns in two sizes (medium $20 USD large $30 USD) in an array of colors. For a larger selection, check Asia2you, a retailer based in Wisconsin that ships everywhere. This is where I found these beautiful parasol lanterns.

SOURCING:
+ Silk Lanterns by Flite - Photo credits for my first collage: top left photo by Cat Gwynn and Ben Hoffman, top right photo by Louis Felix, second row photos by Mark Carolin
+ Orange pattern prosperity lantern on sale at $33.95 USD
+ Solid Orange prosperity lantern on sale at $31.15 USD

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There is something about bento boxes that made them desirable. We often see the same ones. So I dig to see if I could find something different. Bento & Co carries products that are normally unavailable in the North American market. In fact, I was in awe with so many products that I will do two posts.

Bento Boxes for Him

Men do not wish to bring at work the cheerful bento boxes that we typically see here. As more people are getting concern with eating healthy food, I feel there is a market for bringing lunch at work. If you do not wish to cook your own lunch, why not plan with a local caterer a week of lunch meals? Bring your Bento boxes and ask them to set up your meal by day. One the morning, you just need to grab a bag.

Bento & Co proposes stylish masculine boxes. Select from the professional-grade stainless steel Zen boxes or the classic black boxes. The elegant fake-wood boxes go inside the microwave and are dishwasher safe.

Cool Way to Carry your Bento Boxes

Bento & Co also sells kits with one or two bento boxes, a chopsticks carrier and an assorted bag. A belt is used to secure the boxes and chopsticks carrier. It is really elegant.

Another way is the furoshiki wrapping technique. Here they have done the basic wrap.  The 100% cotton tea pot furoshiki looks great.

About Bento & Co

Founded by a Frenchman and his wife who lives in Kyoto, Japan, Bento & Co ships in many European countries, in Canada and in the United States. The only thing is that their site is only in French as far as I know. But there are lots of pictures for you to understand each product. They support Paypal.

SOURCING:
+ Dragon Black box 18.80 EUR, set 31.80 EUR
+ Zen 02 41.80 EUR
+ Bento Ajira fake wood 19.80 EUR
+ Furoshiki Tea Pot wrapping fabric 5.50 EUR
+ Kimono Pink Long box 17.80 EUR, set 29.80 EUR

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On August 20th, 2009, there was an outstanding picnic party in Montreal. The Dîner en blanc (White Dinner) was imagined by François Pasquier 20 years ago. He ran 20 editions so far in Paris. His son Aymeric, who now lives in Montreal, organized the first edition in Montreal. A bid crowd invaded a large place in the city that is kept secret until the last minute. The goal is simply to pass a good time around a good meal in an unusual urban place.

For this chic affair, guests bring their picnic with a or two bottles of wine. In France, many people bring Champagne. Everyone must wear white clothes and people should dress up. If you own a gorgeous white hat, you should wear it. Besides the guests, the tables and chairs are all white.

Dîner en blanc encourages people to bring white china and to carry their food and drinks in a white basket or bag. Do not forget to bring your wine glasses, white linen napkins and a few tea votive candles for candlelight dining.

I love the concept because it is an elegant party where everybody pitched in. This is a true experience. Everyone that went was thrilled. As I discovered how they organized this large-scale picnic, I thought you could recycle the concept for a big outdoor reunion.

Set Up the Tables and Chairs

A bus brought the guests to the location. This process ensures a steady flow of people, which is key to the set up of the tables and chairs. In France, people bring their own chairs and tables. In Montreal, they were supplied.

The guests reserved as a twosome formed by a man and a woman. This is because the event design implies that you need to be accompanied by someone from the other gender.

Every pair/couple gets a specific place (row and number in the row). Each twosome received an overall floor plan to locate their row and a detailed plan of their section. Then, an orchestrated ballet started. Men picked their folding table and 2 chairs. Women grabbed the white tablecloth. You eyeball the location of your table in the row and as your table neighbors arrive you move to the right or to the left until the long communal table is built. It sounds complicated but it is not. 1200 guests were ready to sit down in less than 20 minutes last week.

All the men sit on one side while the women sit on the other side. The event design is based on symmetry. It is beautiful to see the alternating rows of people all dressed in white.

Fancy Food

The food that people bring is fancier than at a typical park picnic. If you do not wish to make it yourself, you can always ask a caterer to prepare the food for you. This way, it is already package to be carried around. With picnic basket on wheels, you can go the extra miles. I saw a Parisian couple who brought their cast-iron fondue pot to eat a cheese fondue.

Like I said, everyone that went to Montreal 2009 White Dinner had a fabulous time. I think that recycling their concept for your party in a park would be a hit. Watch this TV report from Radio-Canada about the first Dîner en blanc that happened in Montreal. Even if it is in French, just watching the images would give you a good idea of the event.

MORE:
+ Images from the Facebook group of the Montreal’s Dîner en blanc
+ Montreal’s Dîner en blanc

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If you are a Greater Toronto resident, you can enter the $10,000 Dressing Room Makeover on Canadian House and Home. For the rest of us, we can take clues on how to organize our closet by exploring the different displayed elements. This is an installation made by California Closets.

+ Enter via Canadian House and House

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I introduced last April this exquisite Champagne cooler. I got the chance to see many in person at the Interior Design Show of Toronto. Do not look in the exhibit; it was only accessible to VIP guests.

I have the chance to be a good friend of Harry Wakefield, the founding editor of MoCo Loco. If you recalled, Harry was one of the 3 bloggers invited on a Design Trends by the Minute panel at the show.

Not only did I drink a superb rose Champagne (pink) but I got the complete demonstration on how works the coolest cooler on Earth. This unique piece of technology is an avant-garde interpretation of the French candelabra. This explains why the cooler illuminates thanks to rechargeable battery.

Globalight retails for about $800 if I am not mistaken. But do not rush to the store; the Globalight cooler is only available in Europe.

In the shadow (bottom picture), you see a guy taken a picture. This is Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy. Look at some of his pictures on Maxwell’s highlights of IDS 2009.

Go see more pictures of the VIP lounge and bar on a photo album of AHWKV’s page on Facebook.

+ Globalight for Veuve Clicquot

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When I saw this on TV this morning, I was in awe! This is the simplest idea to impress your guests at your next dinner party

How to make fancy After Eight Chocolate in 7 steps

Christian Escribà demonstrated for a TV5 show called Mixeur. The recipe is an idea from the cooking genius, Chef Ferran Adrià of El Bulli. I took pictures from my TV, which explained the lower image quality.

1. You start with fresh mint leaves.
2. Deposit the leaves on a waxed paper sheet in a cookie tray.
3. Pour hot chocolate on each leave – my choice would be dark chocolate
4. With a spatula, spread the melted chocolate to create a layer
5. Deposit in the fridge for cooling down
6. Carefully turn and remove the paper
7. Use a dessert tongs to place them in a serving plate

With a recipe so simple there are no reason why not to serve homemade mignardises after your meal.

After Eight Wedding Cake

If you like the idea, you can order from Pasteleria Escribà the After Eight wedding cake where white chocolate suits better the occasion.

If you understand French, you can watch online the episode 5 of Mixeur with La famille Escriba, Philippe Starck and more.

SOURCING:
+ Recipe images from MIXEUR, les goûts et les idées
+ Pasteleria Escribà

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