The Watts Towers, Los Angeles

1921. 
Watts, Los Angeles. 

Simon Rodia, an italian emigrant, buys an odd shaped triangular lot and starts building his sculpture. A project which lasted for almost 35 years, leaving the man all but sleepless nights and no weekends. The collection of 17 structures are built out of steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire and coated with mortar. The decoration is completely made out of recycled material: bed frames, bottles, ceramic tiles, scrap metal and sea shells. The structure was built without any plans or drawings and certainly no permits. Nails, bolts and drills, not to mention scaffolding, weren't used. Rumors have it Rodia got tired of the abuse received by his suspicious neighbours and left, never returning.
The structure is structurally incredibly sound, having survived several major earthquicks in the area.Rodia called the towers "Nuestro Pueblo", our own town in Spanish.
Quite of an achievement, it earned the man a place in the top row of the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cover.

More:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576218503747540120.html?mod=WSJ_Leisure%26Arts_LEFTFeatures

FreshEst presents: The Estonian Ministry of Creative Arts

Kristian Steinberg  
Kristina Viirpalu
Karl Annus
Kadri Kruus.

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Helen Sirp

Indrek Arula.

 

Them. Let me present you one of the highlights of the International Fashion Showcase 2013 - Ladies and Gents, these names form the Estonian Ministry of Creative Arts. And from the 14th until the 19th February they'll take over one of the main London venues for alternative art happenings called

 the Horse Hospital.

(they opened with a Vivienne Westwood retrospective in 1993)

The legendary Horse Hospital's space is transformed by Helen Sirp into a multidisciplinary design hub which aims to tell the visitor the mythical journey of these design objects and the creators behind them. The key part of this exploration process is a short movie ambiented in deep Estonian winter (- freakin' 20 degrees! ). "To celebrate Estonia's unique, mystical background, Helen Sirp, Creative Director of Estonian Showcase, has conjured a fairytale-esque film that captures the vision behind each designer's work via a series of mythical characters and their stories." The film, shot by fashion photographer Indrek Arula, is accompanied by a unique soundscape composed by drawing on visual film stills, translating the pixel sequences into electronic melodies.   It will be screened on 15th of February on a private view. Looking forward to it!

Read about the International Fashion Showcase 2013 in London and find out other participating countries here.
http://cafenaivete.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/freshest-presents-estonian-ministry-of.html

Kristian Steinberg

 creates sleek tailored Bauhaus inspired menswear.

 http://www.kristiansteinberg.com

 Karl Annus 

 designs edgy yet sustainable eyewear out of different types of wood.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karl-puidust-prilliraamid/154684864551399

Kristina Viirpalu

  is the woman behind the delicate and unique haute couture evening gowns realised by using traditional Estonian techniques.

http://www.kvcouture.eu/kv

 

Kadri Kruus

 handcrafts one of a kind leather bags of simple yet sophisticated design.

http://www.kadrikruus.ee/

 

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The Short-Movie:

"There is a land far up North where the sea hugs the shores of white sand and snow. Feel the breath of every tree and stne as the air draws circles around the morning mist amid the rising fog."

 

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(information credit) SAINTIL COMMUNICATIONS

Pretty in Pink

The perfect tone. 

I want this. 

On sale from the 13th of February.

Via Hypebeast.

WHEN THE PLOTTERS WON'T PLOT

via ArchitortureSchool.

International Fashion Showcase during London Fashion Week 2013

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You see, this is exactly why I love London. Whether you are the son of a preacher's man or not, no one cares, you still get invited to the party!  

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From tomorrow most of the blogs on my reading list will start the restless blogging-marathon about FashionWeek in the 4 main capitals of the industry: New York -  London - Milan - Paris. Always been quite curious about it but since not directly involved with the world I haven't really felt the urge of finding a way to participate in it in any way. Until now that London, the mecca of aspiring newbies, designers who's names are yet about to be blown up by the critics, has found another way for reinventing itself in the field. The British Fashion Council has teamed up with British Council to launch for the 2nd time the International Fashion Showcase, a platform for international emerging designers, aiming to "develop a new audience and market, focusing on fashion beyond the traditional hotspots, highlighting equally fertile new grounds."  

Starting from now until next week 27 embassies will display the work of the talented local designers and on the 17th of February the best exhibition will be given the Emerging Talent Award 2013. Amongst them, also Estonia will be participating! RSVP is required to participate in most of the exhibitions. To find out more you need to download the booklet guide.

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AUSTRIA

http://www.acflondon.org/exhibitions/international-fashion-showcase-another-austria/

 

ARGENTINA

http://www.argentine-embassy-uk.org/ifs/talleres.pdf

BOLIVIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/932/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Bolivia_Showroom_

 

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

 http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/events_detail.aspx?id=953

ESTONIA

http://disainikeskus.ee/en/news/255-freshest-showroom-during-london-fashion-week

 JAMAICA

http://www.windrush-style-block.com/jamaican-fashion-showcase/

LUXEMBOURG

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/935/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Luxembourg_Showroom_

 

NETHERLANDS

http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/event/954/events_list.aspx?y=2011&m=0

NEW ZELAND

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/936/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_New_Zealand_Showroom_

NIGERIA

http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/event/694/International-Fashion-Showcase-2012-Nigeria-Showroom

PAKISTAN

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/938/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Pakistan_Showroom_

PANAMA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/939/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Panama_Showroom_

PHILIPPINES

 http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/940/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Philippines_Showroom_

PORTUGAL

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/940/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Philippines_Showroom_

ROMANIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/942/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Romania_Showroom_

 SCANDINAVIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/943/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Scandinavia_Showroom_

SERBIA

http://stillinbelgrade.com/international-fashion-showcase-2013-serbia-2/

 

SLOVAKIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/945/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Slovakia_Showroom_

SLOVENIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/946/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Slovenia_Showroom_

 

SRI LANKA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/947/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Sri_Lanka_Showroom_

  

SWITZERLAND

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/948/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Switzerland_Showroom_

 TANZANIA

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/949/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Tanzania_Showroom_

 

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/950/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Trinidad_and_Tobago_Showroom_

 

URUGUAY

http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/event/951/International-Fashion-Showcase-2013-Uruguay-Showroom

 

VIETNAM

http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/event/952/International_Fashion_Showcase_2013_Vietnam_Showroom_

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Just one more thing.  

(win a prize!)

They've also come up with a fun way of involving more people with the event by offering the chance to win a VIP day at Vodaphone London Fashion Weekend, including a £250 voucher to spend on over 100 British designers.  To enter into the prize draw you just  need to collect at least six stamps of the different countries which exhibition you've visited. 

 

SCHEDULE

MAP




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"The International Fashion Showcase reinforces the UK's status as a creative international hub; connecting everywhere, reflecting both itself and the world."

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http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/content/1876/International-Fashion-Showcase

(Restaurant review) Hand me over that cleaver, baby, it's bloody Sunday!

Okay, so just inbetween all the trillion other things that need to be done (actually started), I'll squeeze just a tiny bit of extra time and write to you about another gastro-enterprise I've had here in this freezing cold'n'wet London. 

This time it was slightly more spontaneous. Sunday, right, inbetween huge piles of books my nose kept on getting distracted with all sort of other things and eventually ended up dragging me out of the house for food hunt. A nice pub nearby (in Queen's Park) seemed like a reasonable option. The atmospehere was nice yet the feeling wasn't right and as soon as I had mentioned something about an amazing steak house I had heard about the other half of this gourmet-duo had already rushed out of the door, leaving me with all practical questions to resolve. Should we try to call and book a table quick before jumping on the tube? Are we actually stupid to expect to get a table on this cold Sunday afternoon (when probably all the other londoners had have the same original idea)? Is it affordable for us? Wwwwhere exactly was it again?! Luckily all these questions are rather irrelevant if Destiny is your friend. Blink. 25 minutes later , hungry like hyenas we arrive to the spot. We walk in, we're greeted, we get seated, we get served pop corn and 3 minutes after we're already done with the ordering. Easy! For our luck the place doesn't take reservations (Daaa!). And shortly after, the steak arrived! Very appealing serving, with a tiny cleaver as a knife, I'd have to give it 10 plus! Honestly speaking, it was the juiciest steak I've ever had in UK. I could only compared it to the one I had this summer in Frascati, a small mountain town near Rome. The portion was the right size for my small tummy although my some hungry beasts might need to order another one). And then the bill arrived. Ridiculously friendly for a student wallet. To sum it up: a lovely experience! If we really feel like being difficult well then one minus was the fact that we weren't served by one waiter only. I just like the idea of creating a relationship with a waiter, makes it more homey. But I'm definitely going back!

Straight to the business: the menu. It couldn't be easier. It is attached on the wall and this bad-ass resto serves is just: 

1 main

the steak, (a regular or a daily special)  

6 sides

 (warmly suggest the creamy spinach)

4 sauces

* * *

Atmosphere: intimate yet lively
Service: extremely friendly
Crowd: 20's - 40's
Dresscode: casual
Price range: about 15£ per person
Best occasion: a date or crave for some quality meat (ladies, do not get frightened, the portion was perfect)
Avoid: if you are vegetarian, with children

* * *

This image above was taken by James Morris, found on Flat Iron's facebook page. Check out his dining experience on flickr here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwmoz/sets/72157630759424744/ 
 
All the rest of the images belong to Flat Iron and you can find them on their facebook page as well.

CONTACT 

Opening times: Mon-Sun 12pm-11pm 

Address: 17 Beak St W1F 9RW LONDON

http://flatironsteak.co.uk/

NO RESERVATIONS

Follow on TWITTER and FACEBOOK

No bling for me, please.. unless it's tiny!

An image found on tumblr years ago

Gold became my best friend when I was 13. And I mean BOLD gold, the H&M kind of a gold. Big earrings, rings, nice and long necklaces.. Until the STOP sign came along. The "embellishments" made me feel like a tacky fake Christmas tree at a supermarket all of a sudden. Less is what I felt was more appropriate for me and I have been of that idea ever since. So in the rush for Christmas gifts have a peak on this selection of very cute and fine pieces of jewelry I've found on web. Just click on the image to go on the websites. My personal favourites are the skull rings!! What would you choose to get from your Santa!?
 

 

Restaurant review: Bistrotheque E2 9DR

It was Friday night and I was at home, as usual, continueing with the architecture routine. While hunting for some ideas for the current design project I'm working at I came across this really cool pop-up restaurant built back in 2010 (about which, I'll post you soon). One click lead to another and after I discovered myself dribbling like a dog on the menu of this curious looking restaurant, I decided to book a table for the next evening. 3 factors made the decision: the price, the interiors and the location.

It is not comfortable to get there, we got off at Hackney Central Overground station and had to walk all the way down until the Regent's Canal. It was freezing!! Right after the canal we turned left and walked into a secluded and dark street with no sign of life at all. The place hides itself from strangers. After walking around an old factory building, all painted in black, we found the entrance on a small dead-end alleyway. No signs. You can only assume the place is THERE by the contrasting white-painted corridor which inavoidably pop-ups from the rest of the surroundings. Sherlock! Truth is, if it wasn't for the three young boldly dressed women smoking outside of it, we would have continued our walk around the building. Now once IN the corridor, we didn't get any smarter. It was bright, it still felt cold and it seemed silent. Although we finally felt the presence of the fuss we were looking for, somewhere behind the walls. After exploring straight and checking right we got up and et voilà! A huge room divided in two: on the left side the dining space, on the right side the bar. Obnoxiously full. And extremely loud. Just like a proper canteen.

This is what we had (marked in blue) all of it was DElICIOUS, especially the Roast duck breast, foie gras, chanterelles, A MUST TRY!:

I would say Bistrotheque is a right mix of old and new, and I'm not talking about the interiors. Everything from the cutlery on the table to the waiter's manner is in good old school style - impeccable. And yet it wasn't just that, it was also extremely vibrant and at the same time informal. And a big merit for that goes to the open-kitchen, the key-element of the place. I loved it and I'm definitely looking forward to go back there !

* * *

Atmosphere: vibrant
Service: excellent, 'Client is the King'- kind of a way
Crowd: 30's & 40's
Dresscode: casual smart
Price range: about 45 per person
Best occasion: nigh out with friends, informal business treat
Avoid: if you are looking for intimacy (I date) or you are with elder people (your grandfather might miss half of the conversation).

* * *

All the pictures above (except the first 2) belong to Bistrotheque

CONTACT 

Address: 23-27 Wadeson Street  London E2 9DR

Contact number: 020 8983 7900

http://www.bistrotheque.com/

email: reception@bistrotheque.com

Book online on toptable: http://www.toptable.co.uk/bistrotheque

Follow on TWITTER and FACEBOOK

Simple things in life: isn't this what we used to do?

So this is a late night tale n.1: how a semi-crazy action can lead to deep reflections. Hopefully there will be more of these. Enjoy!
 
I must be going mad, but then again, what is the joy of being sane?  I just came from outside and I SHOULD be going to bed so I could wake up in the morning, finally, as I haven't seen it for a week now and NOT because of any fun reasons but because of my miserable architecture-student routine. Cannot even call it a life, it's a never-ending non-sense routine. My evenings have become days, nights have become evenings and mornings have become my nights. Does this make any sense to you? Because it doesn't to me but whatever, who cares. So, today at 01:13, miraculously early (let's say it equals with 9 o'clock), this student was happily about to jump into the bed... until... she noticed the moon outside. She had neve seen something like that!! And right, she obviously thought it would be a great idea to go outside, freeze to death and photograph the moon. And then come back and stay up for another hour to share her mini-epiphany moment...

MORAL OF THE STORY: 
While I was walking up the stairs back to the flat and feeling my cheeks going on fire because of the incredible temperature difference, just like when I was a kid, after a long winter-play-day outisde. I thought about how good it felt. I imagined my warm living room waiting for me. I thought I would like some hot hot tea; And then Christmas came into my mind. And then I imagined how I would fall asleep like a baby, finally. And suddenly nostalgia took over me. Isn't this what we used to do? Before the Internet, before the TV... We used to go for walks. In the dark, in the cold, late at night. It didn't matter. Because fresh air is good, it helps you to clear your mind after a long stressful day. But we've stopped doing things as simple as that. The thought of how alienated we have become in certain aspects of life is actually frightening. We've taken away from ourselves the possibility of seeing or feeling the magic in SOOO many simple yet enjoyable things in life. At least this is what I realised today. I used to see things differently and  do and create more just before I got the chance to chill on internet unlimitlessly. 

Anyways.. I felt like sharing this with you. And some of the experimental photographs.

Can you think of any other mind-refreshing things or activities you used to do just before all the technology invaded your life? 








  
Note: these pictures are not re-touched.