Friday, September 29, 2006

CHICKEN IN A CONE??



I love the new concept from food stylist and artist Nir Adar; CrispyCones, which aims to serve an array of classic dishes including meatballs, ceasar salad and barbeque chicken... in an edible cone. Turning the notion of take-away food on its head, Adar fills the baked dough cones with a wide variety of sweet or savoury fillings crossing an array of cuisines, to satisfy any craving you may have. As he explains it-

"The Crispy Cone is changing the face of portable food to meet the needs of the healthy, selective and environmentally conscious consumer. Not only is the shape of the cone different than anything else out there, it’s also different in concept: Nutritious. Responsible. Delicious. Prepared with care and thought. Environmentally smart, because it leaves no waste, and uses no utensils. Made with nutritious ingredients and delivered in a smart drip-free cone that complements the delicious flavors of the food, the Crispy Cone lets you enjoy your favorite foods in a modern and environmentally-smart new way."

Not sure that the menu constitutes healthy eating, but CrispyCones say they aim to introduce new flavors every week, apparently tailored to fit the demographics of each new location. Given the huge availability of traditional carbohydrate based fast-foods and the current interest in curing America's obesity pandemic it will be interesting to see whether this idea takes off. Currently only available in Santa Anita’s Westfield Arcadia Shopping Mall, California, CrispyCones plans to open throughout the US and is currently looking for investors and franchisees.
CrispyCones

Monday, September 25, 2006

PAMPERED POOCHES!

For those people who like walking their dogs, but not walking the dirt back into their homes this looks like the perfect solution- Pet Mobile. A mobile dog washer who will arrive at a given destination and give your dog a thorough clean, whilst offering a wide array of toys and treats for you to purchase for your beloved pooch. A clever little enterprise that seems to spend most of its time around the leafy periphery of Hampstead Heath where business must be booming!


Wednesday, September 20, 2006

MEDICINEMA

Time Out London today has a great article about London's only dedicated cinema-within-a-hospital at St Thomas's in Westminster. Set up five years ago, the idea is to provide a bit of escapism for patients, aiming to help their physical and emotional wellbeing and create some sense of normality to help relationships with their families too. Mark, the cinema manager told Time Out

"You have fathers who are never going to see their son play football again or do that male bonding activity. So to be able to, say, come and see a film with your son at the weekend, it's a way of normalising the situation"

MediCinema says it is dedicated to bringing ‘big screen therapy’ to as many patients in as many hospitals as possible, as it believes strongly in the therapeutic value of such entertainment.

  • MediCinema
  • Tuesday, September 19, 2006

    WELCOME TO WUNDERVILLE



    As part of the London Design Festival 2006 those creative thinkers at Beyond the Valley (the showcase store set up by St Martins graduates last year) have created Wunderville, described as 'a twisted Victorian sideshow of oddities for your viewing pleasure' shown across four locations around Carnaby Street. Alongside some bizarre creations such as Freak Peepshow, Cakes of the Damned, Cabinets of Curious Creatures, and Dusty Wolf's Answers from the Beyond were a range of appropriately fitting products and art installations including chandelier shaped wall-mounted mirrors, victorian recipe soaps, and my personal favourite- magical hybrid animal prints. A great way of creating a buzz around the store whilst promoting a range of design talents, we thoroughly enjoyed our outing and suggest anyone who is in the area to check it out

  • Beyond the Valley
  • Monday, September 18, 2006


    I knew we were heading the same way as NYC and making London non-smoking but I didn't realise it was being done by area! SmokefreeIslington is a website celebrating Islington businesses who have decided to enforce the smoking ban already, alongside news and information on quitting.

    "Islington Primary Care Trust strongly supports the view that a smokefree borough would benefit the health of all Islington residents. The Smokefree Team aims to make Islington the first smokefree borough in London."
    It seems like lots of local business are on board with this scheme so they may well achieve their goal, and good luck to them- I hope all other London boroughs start their own schemes soon.

  • SmokefreeIslington
  • LONDON OPEN HOUSE

    Once again London threw open it's doors for all to see this weekend, and I was first in line for a good nose around! Here were some of my personal favourites-

    The Central School of Speech and Drama in Swiss Cottage- an interesting use of angles and light with 5 floors of transparent, fritted and translucent glass wrapping around the building and folds of concrete creating interesting geometric movement
    the front facade at night
    the central stairwell

    Philip Hughes Studio in Camden- an open, light space enhanced by clever use of mirroring which extends to the outside of the building. The downstairs is dominated by a freestanding steam room with continuous corian surfaces, creating a soft shape space-age pod in an otherwise linear surrounding
    looking down onto the mirrored walls
    the pod!

    Michaelis House in Ladbroke Grove- built down instead of up this family house manages to be light and airy despite being boxed in by two town houses. An inventive and ecological use of the space acailable,
    the entrance

    Paradise Park in Holloway- the most impressive visit all weekend, this children's centre has a hydroponic garden as its exterior walls, an efficient energy kitchen which is used as a social enterprise for locals to run a fairtrade cafe, and green roofs to help provide habitats for displaced species. The architects explanation for the building also showed just how aware of the needs and wants of children they are- and although the centre is still being added to, it is being utilised and enjoyed by many. What was interesting was how a site that before was unloved and used for burnt-out bikes and rubbish has been appreciated by the community rather than vandalised- it just goes to show how important a little respect is.
    external walls are hydroponic garden
    social enterprise cafe

  • more information on london open house
  • Thursday, September 14, 2006

    HERE'S TO THE SOLE TRADER!

    When i was younger there always used to be an old man who rode around on his bicycle selling onions and it looks like he's passed the business down a generation- I saw this guy today, could he be following in his father's footsteps?



    Now that Starbucks, Sainsburys, Dixons etc rule our high streets, it's comforting to know that the big corporations haven't put ALL the smaller traders out of business!

    Tuesday, September 12, 2006

    LOVE AND WAR: THE WEAPONIZED WOMAN

    A new exhibition has just opened at the Museum at FIT, looking at the influence of armor and other military styles on fashion. Ok, sounds pretty unexciting, but more than just chain mail and uniforms the curators have looked at female power through clothing, dividing the exhibition into four sections-

    -'The Weaponized Woman' featuring warrior-like fashions by Boudicca, JPG, Versace and Yamamoto,
    -'The Hard Body' which looks at moulded forms on the catwalk including pieces by Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler and Hussein Chalayan,
    -'Officers, Not Gentlemen' showing how military uniforms are used in contemporary fashion,
    -'Skin2: Weapons of Seduction' which explores the allure of lingerie

    Power through clothing seems a prevalant topic at the moment, and as more stylish women take prime positions in male-dominated environments (Segolene Royal, Zaha Hadid), designers are producing clothes that harness 'the spirit of warrior women' (think of the last collections by Marios Schwab or Viktor and Rolf, and the recent return to animal prints). This is one trend that is set to continue- men had better watch out!!

  • FIT press release
  • BAGS OF WISDOM!

    Walking down Bond Street I couldn't help but notice the wise words emanating off the Samsonite windows promoting their Proverbs collection- a range of bags with cheesy slogans of 'wisdom' imprinted in the leather.





    An interesting concept, although not the most stylish realisation- I like the idea of using meaningful text on inanimate objects. Could this be the future- wearing your beliefs quite literally on your sleeve (or arm at least!)

    Friday, September 08, 2006

    KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE


    Noticed this full-page advert in the Jewish Chronicle this morning and was impressed by Tesco's clever niche targeting. How to engage more with your customer? Understand what's going on in their lives. Simple, clever and personal advertising like this is surely the future for growing brand loyalty.

    Thursday, September 07, 2006

    GOT AN AMANDA? YOU'RE IN LUCK!

    Am loving this site- it's a slogan generator that will randomly place any word you give it into one of the catchphrases in its vast catalogue, and then print it onto a T-shirt should you so desire. It's amazing how many of them you can identify and just goes to show how important a good slogan is to building brand recognition. I challenge anyone not to get a giggle out of it-

  • slogan generator
  • NOW YOU CAN DRESS LIKE A TV STAR

    Emulating your favourite real celebrity is so passe- now you can dress like your favourite TV character instead thanks to a collaboration between Los Angeles-based premium denim company AG Adriano Goldschmied and HBO. The two have teamed up to create a full lifestyle brand out of the network's hit series "Entourage", according to Womenswear Daily. The result is a denim and sportswear brand called AG for Entourage.

    The series is based around the lives of Vincent "Vince" Chase, a hot young actor in Hollywood, his three-member entourage and his agent, and is produced by Mark Wahlberg.

    According to Alissa Friedman, marketing and advertising manager for AG Adriano Goldschmied,
    "[The show] is the hip and current direction in which one can drive their entire lifestyle, the guide on what's hot in technology, cars, restaurants, clubs and, most importantly, what's hip in fashion. Since you can't be them, the least you can do is dress like them."


    The collection will be launched for spring, and the company is targeting upscale specialty boutiques and select department stores. In addition, the line will be sold in AG freestanding stores to make every availability for us mere mortals to get our hands on the aspirational clothing and be one step closer to our dream lives!

  • full article
  • Friday, September 01, 2006



    This flier for Lunchdate London landed on my desk today, and the playful slogan caught my attention. A new dating service aimed at busy London professionals, it's usp is 'Why risk your precious evenings when you can keep first dates short and sweet at lunchtime'- a polite way of saying in the likelihood that the date is crap you know you won't have to waste more than an hour!

    According to their website
    "The answer is simple: date people who work in your area! That way you know they’re in the same industry as you, so you’re bound to have loads to talk about. And you can just meet at lunch or for a quick drink after work, so you’ll have time to chat and flirt and test the all-important chemistry, but it won’t take up a whole evening or cost a bundle"


    I'm not sure that London can be divided quite like that, or if having a partner in the same profession is such a good thing, but i'd be intrigued to know their success rate

  • lunchdatelondon