STARFUC*ER – GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN
March 12th, 2010Lex, one of the INVEN.TORY guys, turned us onto this version of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Starfuc*er.
Cheers to the weekend. Go outside. Enjoy.
BENJAMIN NORIEGA-ORTIZ AND ABYU
March 12th, 2010
BY: LEX PEREZ
Being used to paper lampshades and fluorescent lighting for most of my life, finding something a little softer (sculpturally and incandescently) is a refreshing change. The new lighting collection “Opus Lumen” by ABYU (And Bob’s Your Uncle) and Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, of BNO Design, fits the bill just fine.
ABYU specializes in creative custom lighting products that emphasize the value of good design and craftsmanship. By combining functionality with creativity, their lighting fixtures are a work of art. ABYU was started by Steven Wine and Michael Landon in 1994 to showcase their creative talents by bringing light to us all. Michael passed away in 2008 leaving the company to “continue his vision of quality lighting products that infuses fantasy and fashion, a couture collection.” Designer Benjamin Noriega Ortiz has long had a close relationship with ABYU contributing his own dreamy confections of lighting design. His design company, BNO Design, became the parent company in 2007.
ABYU takes pleasure in painstakingly crafting these lighting fixtures from feathers, fabric, glass, and materials of all kinds. Inspired by fire and snow, this collection continues the tradition of creative excellence put forth by both companies.
DEREK….HARD AT WORK
March 12th, 2010
What’s Derek up to? Working away on fixing up the INVEN.TORY interior. Come swing by tomorrow for our SPRING SHOPPING EVENT to see Derek’s latest creation – as well as a performance from the uber-talented Alison Valentine.
It’s gonna be poppin’.
INTRODUCING…ALISON VALENTINE
March 12th, 2010Introducing….the LOVELY SLY SHY ALISON VALENTINE….
Alison Valentine will be performing at INVEN.TORY this Saturday with a guest appearance by her partner in crime Mika (her yorkie). Alison, also known as Baby V, is an upcoming artist from New York City with a truly unique sound and sense of style . Classically trained in voice and piano, Alison currently studies at the Julliard School. She is notorious for her roses, her distinct canine teeth, and her mischievous behaviour. She will be accompanying herself on the piano for a 45 minute acoustic set of some of her original songs, inspired by Prince, Serge Gainsbourg, Chic, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Yves Saint Laurent and Mr. Pretty. Alison cites Prince as her greatest influence and we are excited to watch her blossom into a female version of the guy who simply goes by a symbol.
Check out her demos HERE.
MEET….DAVID AND FRANCESCO – HERCULES MAGAZINE
March 12th, 2010
Meet David Vivirido and Francesco Sourigues – the two guys behind Madrid-based magazine HERCULES. THE MALCOLM just sat down with these two entrepreneurs and picked their brains. Check it out HERE.
MEET…STEPHANIE
March 11th, 2010
Check out INVEN.TORY’s own Stephanie – rocking out the floor on Lafayette. She just returned from Paris this morning looking refreshed and relaxed and can rock a denim bra over a vintage tee like it’s nobody’s business. She likes Woody Allen movies, Coconut Milk, and….well, her last favorite can’t be published on the blog. Feel free to stop by and say hello to Stephanie and the rest of the INVEN.TORY crew. But don’t hold your breath – she’s got a man. A boy can dream…
FAIRGROUND IN YEN MAGAZINE
March 11th, 2010
Check out the latest piece on FAIRGROUND in Australia’s YEN Magazine. The feature documents the success of Valerija Vocanec…and why she is destined for international success. Remember the name!
And keep you eye out for FAIRGROUND to hit the shelves of INVEN.TORY in the upcoming weeks.
A NEW CALENDAR
March 11th, 2010
Spanish designer Oscar Diaz has designed a calendar that uses the capillary action of ink spreading across paper to display the date. Each month, a bottle of coloured ink spreads across a sheet of paper embossed with numbers, colouring them in as it goes.
COLOR BLIND SUBWAY MAP
March 11th, 2010
Brooklyn based designers David Heasty and Stefanie Weigler of Triboro Design have produced a new New York City subway map printed in a single color: Flourescent red, of course. As Heasty notes, “The new design strips away the familiar color-coding of the subway system routes while still maintaining a level of hierarchy and functionality. All lines of the map are forced to conform to an underlying grid of 45 and 90 degree angles, yet surprisingly, the landmass contours here are more true-to-life than on the MTA map. The flourescent red color becomes an unpredictable variable, as legibility can change completely under different lighting conditions. The neon effect can be intense and retina-burning under certain lamps, washed out and unreadable in other environments, or glow otherworldly under black-lights.”
Going back to the poster, clearly it loses a lot of its context without its color coded system, but there’s something quite charming about this application. The intensity of the color demands your attention, as though the map doesn’t want you to get lost. Eye-catching at the very least.
The map embraces a dual and seemingly contradictory agenda, “offering practical and aesthetic improvements to the existing subway map while simultaneously subverting these improvements through the absurd adherence to a single color,” Heasty adds. “In this way the map reflects the often contradictory experience of New York City, the rigid systems and grids constantly interrupted by the unpredictable realities of a metropolis, the intermingling forces of order and chaos, and the city’s visual communications frequent inability to make sense of it all.”
Offset printed in a limited edition run of only 300 pieces, the poster is the exact same size as the MTA Subway maps that are located at entrances to New York Subway stations. For more information on the map or to obtain copies, email: hi@triborodesign.com.
BY: LEX PEREZ