NY based, the hardest working designer in the industry Lauren Kovin’s 9 piece capsule for Spring 10 is artfully mystique and wonderfully Avant-Garde. My personal favorite, the sheer body suite is absolutely to die for. Beautiful mix of buttery cream and purist white with shot of soft pink is just enough to bring an urge for the dreamy warm spring sun light.

Here Miss. Kovin talks about her design process,” It’s very organic and free. Usually, one thing leads to another and they all start forming together. I get inspired by each process and the each process brings me to the next new thing. I buy this grey fabric and love it, but I may bleach it down to the softest pink and the pink brings me to the next different idea. It’s an endless creative process…”

The most of pieces in this capsule are freely formed dresses with patch works and rushing ideas.  Open basket weave, playful stripes and ever so subtle color block ideas are well executed through interesting shapes and the volume. I highly credit how Miss. Kovin broke the usual hard edged Avant-Gadre attitude into one soft Spring fling.

Natural light filled Miss. Kovin and her partner and an animation artist Jesse McGowan’s art directed Spring 10 look book is a great success. Juxtapose of outdoor Nature and minimal indoor geometric lines around the each piece all work together fantastically.

Now, check out “Lauren Kovin SS10 Banned Commercials” directed by partner McGowan on YouTube. There are total 8 pieces.

Part 4:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuPrPDVjbpk

Part 5:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IviqJa9dnU

It’s like a part Canal Jeans (do you remember our Canal Jeans on Broadway in our better days of NYC?), a part CBGB gallery (this one too, of course)  and a part Urban Outfitters. 64 rue Tiquetonne. That’s the address and you want to write this down. Because you want to check this place out. It’s big, it’s cool as hell and it’s a very well organized mixed vintage and modern day clothing Mad House.

You may want to check out thier fantastic website, http://espacekiliwatch.fr/

A portion of beautiful ceiling with kicking 70’s atomic chrome bubble light fixture and a good dozen of well framed butterfly collection. This shop is wide and impressively long. You would think the room where you were would be the last one, then there would be three more after with well stocked and organized army jackets, motor boots, hats, ton of jeans, shirts, sweaters, leathers, sneakers, bags, scarves and the list goes on.  There are enough of amount of shop helpers to help you with anything. But again you need a good half day to even look through and decide where you want to even begin.

This is the last room at the end where western meets the leather motor jackets.

I really wanted to get better pic of the main cashier area because they just looked so awesome but this was the best I could do at the moment. ( I was not supposed take any photos…!)

Ha ha, lastly more leopard prints in Paris!

Heidi and I were trying to walk through more off the beaten path kind of streets to meet any fresh surprises for Fall 10 research.  We had well covered and studied the main stream, but like a refreshing quick shower, We were longing for something cooler and things that were more nurturing.

A second after we walked into a quaint yet handsome looking street, rue Sainte Anastase, we knew we would like this right away.  Gallery after gallery, we saw these very much attractive arts showing through big open glass windows.  Atsuko Ishii. A Japanese illustrator born in Osaka and now works and lives in Paris, definitely threw fresh breath of air to us.

Through small as 10×20 cm pieces to big wall poster sizes, the artist weaves dream like stories and touches our soul in her light filled softly colored beautiful etching work.  There`s naiveness in her work but you can also read her complex thought processes under lying.  It was such a nice unexpected surprise to encounter her exhibition and I felt so lucky that we were able to catch her last day of this solo exhibition. You must love Paris!

When you finish the main streets of Marais area (mix of Soho and Nolita of NYC)  for all the good shopping like `Loft` and `Sandro`, you will hit a small street filled with Moroccan and Greek restaurants and bakeries, Rue des Rosiers.  And right there in the heart of everything, you will see this small but lively great vintage shop where you will feel like you are hitting a Jack Pot with flea market like finds with great prices.  Eh-hem, of course you will not find anything more selected and up-scaled or mint condition items as in Lacasapark, but you can definitely have great fun in this shop digging and browsing.

Fur coats start at 35 euros up to 150 euros, classic sailor tees at 10 euros, bus-boy caps are around 5 euros. Not bad for Paris!

Bags and shoes and bags and shoes and bags and shoes…!

Animal prints are everywhere in Paris right now from the high ends to high street fashion and of course  the Vintage ones.

There are sweaters, kilts, track jackets, fedoras,  western shirts and so many more in this shop. Check it out next time you are out in Paris. 

And here are all those yummy restaurants on this strip.

Clay scull bag at St Germain, Next to Isabel Marant shop.

At St Germain market, next to Gap store

One of many home furnishing bodegas at St. Germain

Wool felted bird house at Ben Simmon, undergournd level, Marais.

Oh so good and Oh so beautiful Macaroons. To make it clear, the green one is Olive Oil, not pisctachio!

More macaroons at Pierre Herme; passion fruite, apricot, mint, caramel, jasmin, chocolate, and more!

OK. How smart is this? An elephante made out of detergent bottles and bottle caps. Do you Green youself?

A lot more to come!!!

These are not glass or poly lamps. These are made out of PU, so they are lighter and safer.  And also fantastic looking!  It`s about 130 euro each. Do you want a few?

Check out their web site http://www.bubblewood.com/

When the fashion week took off in NYC, the Gap had opened a joined pop-up store with the hottest new life style store, Merci from Paris. Gap had stocked up their new premium jeans and vintage clothing, accessories and even vintage and modern furniture. And the result was one big success by making impressive amount of sales.

Today, I visited the original store where everything had started.  The Merci , Paris.

So there are 3 entrances to get into the Merci. One through the flower shop to the left, the main one in the middle and the book shop to the right. But once you are in, you are in for all.

The main entrance and the cutest court yard.
Hundreds of china cups hanging from the eye soaring glass roof greet the customers. The ground floor houses the cashier, perfumery, stacked up casual chinas and a room dedicated to a metal cabinet installation and posters.

My favorite box of all. The wedding. (Chrissy!)

Second floor carries many mixed designer`s clothing such as Isabel Marant, Gap, vintage and tons of more great lines. The third floor is all about home furnishing and textiles with more upscaled plates, kitchen-wears and lamps. And also the basement level with more home and kitchen stuff is great.

It`s a life style store that has ease and air. Comfortable air. You can find at least one thing here in all sort of price range. There are so many more to share, but I`m stopping here, so you can enjoy them yourself next time when you are in Paris!  Happy Life…!

It`s like an open exibition of all kinds of bikes when you get to the Island.  People bring all sort of them and they are perfet. Island opens till October to public. So check it out.

Oh Bring your lunch basket and a favorite book with you.

Elderly people of NY prepare food with attention and care and serve slowly. The setting is serene and requires your active participation and upkeep. Tea bags are sewn on the spot. Ingredients coming from distance places served in tiny portions and food from the local garden served generously.

Slowness has become a rare quality in our modern world.  The Go Slow menu questions the big scale consumption of food that has been transported from all over the worked.  The Go Slow cafe’ shows the slowness is a true luxury.

The whole routine of in and out of houses in Governor’s Island or the pavilions in Venice Biennale are somewhat similar. I think it’s one interesting way to see Arts. Getting out of one is always a palette cleanser when especially the weather was that good!

This heavy duty woolen yarn samplers make a fun wall installation. Tiny plastic bags contain the origin of the color of each sampler like ” Oak Husk”, ” Mango Skin”.

Using Six -foot -log needles, Christien Meindertsma is knitting a big wool carpet from three different species of Dutch Sheep. Her Book PIG05049 shows all kinds of products that have been made out of a single pig. The knitting project is part of her quest to discover unique colors and textures available form sheep in the Netherlands today. By following one raw material in her book, PIG05029, she unravels the lack of transparency in the world of products.

Search

Recent

• Last Dinner in Tokyo: Shibuya Ramen House, Aji Gen
• Lunching Sea Urchin Rice Pot; Asakusa, Tokyo
• Visiting the Sensouji Temple: Asakusa, Tokyo
• Tokyo Shakes! : Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya!
• Seoul Story 4: Sulong Tang!
• Seoul Story 3: Walking Myung Dong
• Seoul Story 2: Garosu Gil
• Seoul Story 1: Chadolbeghi!
• Visiting the Big Bambu’ : Met, NYC
• FIRE WORKS!
• Grapes and Snake meets Junka Nabay at P.S.1 MOMA!
• Sexy Back! :Paul Smith Men’s Spring 2011
• HAppy Gael Day!
• Just …!
• Happy Father’s day to you dad!

Topics

• Architecture
• Art
• Berlin
• Book
• Brooklyn
• Brother
• Dance
• Design
• Emi
• Events
• Family
• Fashion
• Film
• Flea
• Food
• For the Weekend
• Friend
• Hair
• Italy
• Italy 2009
• Korea
• Mother
• Music
• NY Marathon
• oldes but goodies
• Paris
• Paris 2009
• Photography
• Poem
• restaurant
• Shops
• Speak my mind
• Street
• Tokyo
• Travel
• Tulum
• Uncategorized
• Vintage

Links

• AMAGAZINECURATEDBY
• BESTIVAL
• DanielBolligerStudio
• gromtone
• icanteachyouhowtodoit
• JAPAN FRIENDSHIP HAIR SALON - Yasu
• KILIWATCH Paris
• LUXIRARE
• ManifoldArchitectStudio
• NOWNESS
• SITEINSPIRE.NET
• SUPERMETRIC
• The Fiery Furnaces
• UNLIKE
• Venice Peggy Guggenheim

Archives

• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• March 2009
• July 2008

Design by SUPERMETRIC