29 May 2010
27 May 2010
walhattan?
Does this graphic really surprise anyone?
The above is from Jesse LeCavalier's essay "All Those Numbers" at Places: Design Observer. In it, the architect investigates "the design possibilities latent not only in Walmart’s building types but also in the organizational practices — especially its unparalleled expertise in logistics." LeCavalier's essay is recommended for clearly explaining how Walmart works, its number-centric approach that makes it so BIG but also so fiercely loathed by supporters of the local, especially in cities. This last frontier, the urban market, is partly the focus of LeCavalier's piece. And while I can't say I agree with an investigation of how the retailer can be successful in cities, the power, influence and willfulness of Walmart is certainly something to be considered, not ignored.
26 May 2010
postcard from provence
Clouds (a change in the weather)19cm x 13cm (7"x5"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Thursday 27th May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
25 May 2010
prada sales up
Designer Prada first quarter revenue up on strong retail sales
MILAN, May 24 (Reuters) - Italian fashion house Prada posted a 26 percent rise in first-quarter consolidated revenue on Monday 24 May, boosted by strong sales in all main markets, including Europe.
Prada, whose stylist Miuccia Prada is considered one of the world's most innovative designers, said revenue in the quarter to end-April grew above the group's expectations to 366 million euros ($452.7 million).
A 36 percent jump in retail sales underpinned the rise.
Prada's strategy of developing a direct distribution channel had paid off, the company said in a statement. Sales were up 62 percent in Asia, 33 percent in the United States and 18 percent in Europe.
MILAN, May 24 (Reuters) - Italian fashion house Prada posted a 26 percent rise in first-quarter consolidated revenue on Monday 24 May, boosted by strong sales in all main markets, including Europe.
Prada, whose stylist Miuccia Prada is considered one of the world's most innovative designers, said revenue in the quarter to end-April grew above the group's expectations to 366 million euros ($452.7 million).A 36 percent jump in retail sales underpinned the rise.
Prada's strategy of developing a direct distribution channel had paid off, the company said in a statement. Sales were up 62 percent in Asia, 33 percent in the United States and 18 percent in Europe.
kitschy campground
Camp Motel: Visit Hicksville Trailer Palace, the desert's kitschy campground
Down a narrow, bumpy road in an unlisted location in Joshua Tree, there exists a punk rock utopia — only instead of mohawked unicorns there are glowing mannequins and the possibility of communicating with aliens.
Welcome to Hicksville Trailer Palace.
Imagine the Madonna Inn and its variety of thematic hotel rooms. Layer on top of that an eco-conscious commune. Add a recording studio for bands and an editing bay for filmmakers. Now picture a fleet of mobile homes, and you can start to envision Morgan Higby Night's latest masterpiece: a trailer park motel and artist retreat.
Hicksville, which opened April 24, has six vintage-themed trailers on offer. The Lux pays homage to the Cramps, and its founding member Lux Interior, with punk and tiki design elements and a mini jukebox that plays Cramps songs. The '70s-style Airstream called the Sweet has orange walls, turquoise pillows on a built-in couch, shag carpeting and the ever-important electric fireplace. Then there's the Pioneer, which looks like nearby Pioneertown. And there's Night's favorite: the Fifi. Designed by Ryan and Marci Hessling of Fifi Mahoney's wig shop in New Orleans, the trailer is decked out in purple and gold and has a vanity, full bar and a mini wig store that displays hairdos on mannequin heads that light up in different colors.
Perhaps the most amusing trailer, though, is the Integratrailor, a re-imagination of the “rejuvenating compound” known as the Integratron, which paranormal researcher George Van Tassel began constructing during the late '50s, according to plans he believed were given to him by aliens. Night says his trailer version looks like a spaceship, sleeps two, and has an alien-communication system.
But the trailer de resistance has to be the New World, a 40-foot vehicle from the '50s that has bunk beds that convert into an editing suite, plus a full kitchen, private bathroom, flat-screen TV, DVD player and DirecTV. (The house on the property also has a green screen and a recording studio.) Film buffs will of course note the reference to legendary B-film director and producer Roger Corman and his studio New World Pictures.
When Night, a filmmaker also known for his Devil's Night Drive In movie screenings in downtown L.A., started collecting vintage trailers at his Joshua Tree home, he hadn't intended for it to become Hicksville. “I built the place originally as a place for me and my artistic friends to get away and create. [But then] it felt kind of selfish to keep it for myself,” he explains. “That was half of it. The other half: It used all of my life savings and I was broke.” So he built it out, adding all of the elements he loved most about summer camp: Ping-Pong, archery, horseshoes, BB gun range,darts and a fire pit.
One part that's not vintage: the solar heated saltwater pool. In fact, the entire place is eco-friendly, from solar panels to charging stations for electric vehicles.
As for who stays at Hicksville, it's still too early to tell. “We're geared toward artists,” says Night. “But anyone is welcome.” At least for now. Night is thinking about instituting an age limit — 25 and up — since presumably that's when people learn how to hold their liquor.
Price: The Pioneer, Integratrailor, Fifi and Lux are $100 per night or $500 for a full week. The Sweet is $125 per night or $625 for a full week. The New World is $200 per night or $1,000 per week. With film equipment, the New World is $250 per night or $1,250 for the full week.
Info: Rooms can be booked at www.hicksville.com. Full website will launch June 1.
21 May 2010
postcard from provence
Morning near Velleron19cm x 12cm (7"x4½"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Sunday 23rd May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
oh so cute
2BR mod house with glass walls, solar, priced to sell
Rooftop solar panels power all the recessed lighting, and floor-to-ceiling sliding doors bring the outdoors in. Just don't leave your Emerson House out in the rain, though, because those wood floors will never be the same.
New York toy maker Brinca Dada showed a prototype of its latest plaything at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this week, and the modern-in-miniature concept had the crowd chuckling.Co-founder Tim Boyle said the mod dollhouse, which swings open to access its six rooms, will begin shipping it in June. Furniture, to be sold separately, will be available in August.
Inspiration from the design came partly from Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House, the Palm Springs landmark whose eight-figure sale at auction fell through. Priced at under $300, Emerson House should be just a tad easier to move.
-- Craig Nakano, LA Times
Photo credit: Brinca Dada
fashions from down under
Australia's Fashion Week Celebrates 15 Years of Style
by N. Jayne Seward, Fashion Editor Apparel News
by N. Jayne Seward, Fashion Editor Apparel News
SYDNEY, Australia—With 15 years under its belt, Rosemount Australian Fashion Week has become the premier showcase for designers from Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Sydney Opera House, the five-day run of the Spring/Summer 2010/2011 shows took place May 3–7 at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in the Circular Quay. The event highlighted more than 155 designers on the runway in collection and group shows, up from 33 designers in 1996. In addition, the event included Swim Fashion Week @RAFW this season.
As the popularity of Australian brands grows, the word is out among U.S. retailers that it’s worth the long flight Down Under to find new, innovative lines to stock their shelves.
Landmark celebration
It’s no secret that Australian designers have been making waves around the world. To celebrate fashion week’s 15th year, the Powerhouse Museumpresented an exhibition titled “Frock Stars: Inside Australian Fashion Week” in collaboration with fashion-week organizers IMG Fashion. The ongoing exhibition highlights the history, challenges and achievements of the Australian fashion industry.
With a temperate climate, diverse landscape and its own celebrity culture, Australia turns out everything from swimwear and surf brands to stylish menswear, women’s ready-to-wear and glamorous evening collections. Combining a European heritage with an easy, carefree lifestyle, Australian designers have developed their own brand of style.
Opposites attract
While the word is out that the fashion scene is happening Down Under, offering product on an opposite seasonal calendar can be a challenge. Having a U.S.-based distributor is a plus and also helps to make product more affordable.
20 May 2010
postcard from provence
House with poppies and wildflowers19cm x 14cm (7"x5"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Friday 21st May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
paris art theft
Filed at 8:43 a.m. ET
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS (AP) -- A lone thief stole five paintings possibly worth hundreds of millions of euros, including major works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight heist at a Paris modern art museum, police and prosecutors said Thursday.
The paintings disappeared early Thursday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower. Investigators have cordoned off the museum, in one of the French capital's most tourist-frequented neighborhoods.
The museum's security system was disabled, and a single masked intruder was caught on a video surveillance camera, according to Christophe Girard, deputy culture secretary at Paris City Hall.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the intruder was operating alone, Girard told reporters. He said three guards were on duty overnight but ''they saw nothing.''
The intruder entered by cutting a padlock on a gate and breaking a museum window, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
The prosecutor's office initially estimated the five paintings' total worth at as much as euro500 million ($613 million).
Girard, however, said the total value was ''just under 100 million euros.''
He said ''Le pigeon aux petits-pois'' (The Pigeon with the Peas) an ochre and brown Cubist oil painting by Pablo Picasso, was worth an estimated euro23 million, and ''La Pastorale'' (Pastoral), an oil painting of nudes on a hillside by Henri Matisse about euro15 million.
The other paintings stolen were ''L'olivier pres de l'Estaque'' (Olive Tree near Estaque) by Georges Braque; ''La femme a l'eventail'' (Woman with a Fan) by Amedeo Modigliani; and ''Nature-mort aux chandeliers'' (Still Life with Chandeliers) by Fernand Leger.
L'Olivier pres de l'Estaque (Olive tree near Estaque), 1906, by Georges Braque
Nature Morte au Chandelier (Still Life with Chandelier), 1922, by Fernand Léger
La Pastorale, 1905, by Henri Matisse
The Artist's Wife (Jeanne Huberterne), 1918, by Amedeo Modigliani
The Pigeon with Peas, 1911-1912, by Pablo Picasso
Alice Farren-Bradley of the Art Loss Registry in London said the Paris theft ''appears to be one of the biggest'' art heists ever, considering the estimated value, the prominence of the artists and the high profile of the museum.
She added, however, that the value of the paintings would have to be confirmed, as museums and art dealers often value paintings differently.
Interpol did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the theft or its possible role in the investigation. The police organization has coordinated international searches for stolen masterpieces in the past.
Red-and-white tape surrounded the museum, where investigators were studying surveillance video. Paper signs on the museum doors said it was closed for technical reasons.
On a cordoned-off balcony behind the museum, police in blue gloves and face masks examined the broken window and empty frames. The paintings appeared to have been carefully removed from the disassembled frames, not sliced out.
A security guard at the museum said the paintings were discovered missing by a night watchman just before 7 a.m. (0500 GMT, 1 a.m. Thursday EDT). The guard was not authorized to be publicly named because of the museum policy.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said in a statement that he was ''saddened and shocked by this theft, which is an intolerable attack on Paris' universal cultural heritage.''
The director of the neighboring modern art museum Palais de Tokyo, Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr, called the thief or thieves ''fools.''
''You cannot do anything with these paintings. All countries in the world are aware, and no collector is stupid enough to buy a painting that, one, he can't show to other collectors, and two, risks sending him to prison,'' he said on LCI television.
''In general, you find these paintings,'' he said. ''These five paintings are un-sellable, so thieves, sirs, you are imbeciles, now return them.''
19 May 2010
postcard from provence
White asparagus and enamel pot16cm x 14cm (6"x5"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Thursday 20th May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
maya lin-designed venice house
Participants in Sunday’s Venice Art & Architecture Tour will experience a nearly completed, 4,000-square-foot row house that is being lauded as artist and architect Maya Lin’s first residential project west of the Mississippi.
The property is owned by Christine Nichols, an art dealer and curator of drawings and other works on paper who is a longtime resident of the Venice walk-street where she owns the three-level, Lin-designed “urban beach house.”
As part of the tour, Nichols will display some of the original drawings, studies and elevations made by the architect during the design process. “The chance to work with someone who is as thoughtful as Maya Lin was riveting,” she said.
Read more here.
“Life and Style on Venice’s Walk Streets and Canals” is a self-guided tour featuring five homes, including the Maya Lin one shown here. The tour benefits Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the country, caring for more than 24,000 low-income and uninsured patients annually. It runs Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets are $100. Ticket sales take place on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Westminster School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice (free parking and shuttle service available). For tickets in advance or for information: (310) 392-9255 or www.veniceartwalk.info.18 May 2010
postcard from provence
Cabanon and poppy field19cm x 13cm (7½"x5"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Wednesday 19th May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
the dirty dozen
Choosing Produce With Less Pesticide
As organic food begins to occupy more and more space in grocery stores, you may have found yourself standing in the produce aisle wondering whether organic produce is worth the price. And if you can’t get organic, or it’s not in your budget, how do you make produce choices that limit your pesticide exposure?
As organic food begins to occupy more and more space in grocery stores, you may have found yourself standing in the produce aisle wondering whether organic produce is worth the price. And if you can’t get organic, or it’s not in your budget, how do you make produce choices that limit your pesticide exposure?In short, when does organic matter the most?
The Environmental Working Group decided to answer that question by studying the pesticides present on 47 different fruits and vegetables. From that, they released what they called the “dirty dozen” - 12 foods that you should avoid or buy organic whenever possible.
The EWG estimates that you can lower your pesticide exposure by up to 80% by focusing on the low-pesticide foods and/or eating the “dirty dozen” in organic form.
The EWG estimates that you can lower your pesticide exposure by up to 80% by focusing on the low-pesticide foods and/or eating the “dirty dozen” in organic form.
miss usa
WASHINGTON — A Lebanese-American woman beat out 50 other contestants late Sunday 16 May to be crowned "Miss USA," the first woman of Arab descent to win the coveted beauty pageant title.
Rima Fakih, 24, a resident of the city of Dearborn, Michigan was selected by a panel of celebrity judges including real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, who also is one of the organizers of the annual event, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
US news report said Fakih's family moved to the United States while she was a baby and that she was raised in New York City, where she attended a Catholic school, until 2003 when her family moved to Michigan.
She told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths.
Fakih, who earned a college degree in economics from the University of Michigan, said she hopes to become an attorney. Her favorite past times are travel, running, dancing and kickboxing, according to pageant officials.
Pageant officials said the pageant in which contestants competed in three categories -- swimsuit, evening gown and interview -- was seen by an estimated worldwide audience of more than 250 million television viewers.
Fakih nudged out first runner-up Miss Oklahoma to claim the Miss USA title, and now wins the chance to represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Las Vegas later this year.
She competed against contestants from all 50 US states and Washington DC.
Her package of prizes that go along with her custom diamond tiara include a one-year scholarship, a year-long lease on a New York apartment including living expenses, an undisclosed salary, a clothing and shoe wardrobe and various other health and beauty related perks and prizes.
The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that a large crowd gathered at a restaurant in Dearborn, which is heavily Arab-American to watch the contest and cheering Fakih and dancing and singing late into the night Sunday 16 May.
"This is historic," the daily wrote, quoting Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, according to the Free Press.
"This shows the greatness of America, how everyone can have a chance to make it."
Another Dearborn resident, Zouheir Alawieh, 51, told the Free Press, "This is the real face of Arab Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about.
"We have culture. We have beauty. We have history, and today we made history. ... She believed in her dreams."
Rima Fakih, 24, a resident of the city of Dearborn, Michigan was selected by a panel of celebrity judges including real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, who also is one of the organizers of the annual event, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.US news report said Fakih's family moved to the United States while she was a baby and that she was raised in New York City, where she attended a Catholic school, until 2003 when her family moved to Michigan.
She told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths.
Fakih, who earned a college degree in economics from the University of Michigan, said she hopes to become an attorney. Her favorite past times are travel, running, dancing and kickboxing, according to pageant officials.
Pageant officials said the pageant in which contestants competed in three categories -- swimsuit, evening gown and interview -- was seen by an estimated worldwide audience of more than 250 million television viewers.
Fakih nudged out first runner-up Miss Oklahoma to claim the Miss USA title, and now wins the chance to represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Las Vegas later this year.
She competed against contestants from all 50 US states and Washington DC.
Her package of prizes that go along with her custom diamond tiara include a one-year scholarship, a year-long lease on a New York apartment including living expenses, an undisclosed salary, a clothing and shoe wardrobe and various other health and beauty related perks and prizes.
The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that a large crowd gathered at a restaurant in Dearborn, which is heavily Arab-American to watch the contest and cheering Fakih and dancing and singing late into the night Sunday 16 May.
"This is historic," the daily wrote, quoting Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, according to the Free Press.
"This shows the greatness of America, how everyone can have a chance to make it."
Another Dearborn resident, Zouheir Alawieh, 51, told the Free Press, "This is the real face of Arab Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about.
"We have culture. We have beauty. We have history, and today we made history. ... She believed in her dreams."
17 May 2010
postcard from provence
Vieux Malaucene12cm x 17cm (4½"x6½"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Tuesday 18th May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
why design now?
“Why Design Now?,” the new edition of the Cooper-Hewitt’s design triennial, is now on view.
Holland Cotter writes: “Design as defined here isn’t about how to make the House Beautiful more beautiful; it’s about how to keep the globe afloat and ensure that all its occupants have access to a healthy patch of it.”
“The exhibition, the fourth since the triennial was initiated in 2000, is the largest yet and the most international in its reach. It’s also hands down the most ecology-conscious version so far.”
A design for a botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia, by Plan B Architects.
A plug-in vehicle called the MIT CityCar, designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is intended for short-term urban use.
“This squat two-seater would be rentable by the hour with the swipe of a charge card, and is small enough to be stored in stacks when not in use.”
“Three elegant Swedish drinking glasses, which swell gently outward just below midpoint, couldn’t look more straightforward as to use, though they were conceived with a very specific function in mind. The swell was meant to serve as a stabilizing grip so that the glasses could be comfortably held by people afflicted with neural or muscular disorders that produce numbness or tremors.”
“A zany piece of furniture called a cabbage chair looks modishly high-end but is strictly D.I.Y.: You take an upright roll of tightly layered paper and peel back the sheets until you have the seat you want.”
“National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?” continues through Jan. 9 at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street, Manhattan; (212) 849-8400, cooperhewitt.org.
Holland Cotter writes: “Design as defined here isn’t about how to make the House Beautiful more beautiful; it’s about how to keep the globe afloat and ensure that all its occupants have access to a healthy patch of it.”
“The exhibition, the fourth since the triennial was initiated in 2000, is the largest yet and the most international in its reach. It’s also hands down the most ecology-conscious version so far.”
A design for a botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia, by Plan B Architects.
A plug-in vehicle called the MIT CityCar, designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is intended for short-term urban use.“This squat two-seater would be rentable by the hour with the swipe of a charge card, and is small enough to be stored in stacks when not in use.”
“Three elegant Swedish drinking glasses, which swell gently outward just below midpoint, couldn’t look more straightforward as to use, though they were conceived with a very specific function in mind. The swell was meant to serve as a stabilizing grip so that the glasses could be comfortably held by people afflicted with neural or muscular disorders that produce numbness or tremors.”
“A zany piece of furniture called a cabbage chair looks modishly high-end but is strictly D.I.Y.: You take an upright roll of tightly layered paper and peel back the sheets until you have the seat you want.”
“National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?” continues through Jan. 9 at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street, Manhattan; (212) 849-8400, cooperhewitt.org.denim as art
Re-denim by Canedicoda for Replay.it
The cooperation between Replay and the artist Canedicoda goes on. After working with Fondazione Claudio Buziol and after the successful ‘Re-denim by Canedicoda for Replay’ tour, the collaboration now has a wider international scope.
Canedicoda - a young fashion designer, artist and musician – has brought to Replay his love for colours, abstraction and the unconventional. After granting wishes around Europe by customizing their favourite pair of jeans live, he has now selected a female and a male spring/summer 2010 five-pocket regular fit style to customise in his studio, creating a limited edition set of hand-printed jeans. The range will only run to 40 pairs for women and 40 pairs for men.
In Canedicoda’s hands, Replay denim turns into an artist’s canvas and the result is a limited edition artwork to wear and to keep forever.
These specially designed jeans can be found exclusively at the Replay Online Shop at: www.shop.replay.it.
The cooperation between Replay and the artist Canedicoda goes on. After working with Fondazione Claudio Buziol and after the successful ‘Re-denim by Canedicoda for Replay’ tour, the collaboration now has a wider international scope.
Canedicoda - a young fashion designer, artist and musician – has brought to Replay his love for colours, abstraction and the unconventional. After granting wishes around Europe by customizing their favourite pair of jeans live, he has now selected a female and a male spring/summer 2010 five-pocket regular fit style to customise in his studio, creating a limited edition set of hand-printed jeans. The range will only run to 40 pairs for women and 40 pairs for men.In Canedicoda’s hands, Replay denim turns into an artist’s canvas and the result is a limited edition artwork to wear and to keep forever.
These specially designed jeans can be found exclusively at the Replay Online Shop at: www.shop.replay.it.
14 May 2010
postcard from provence
Clouds and shadows (view from my window)13cm x 12cm (5"x4½"), oil on gessoed card
Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT and ends on Saturday 15th May at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)
Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com
now i've seen everything . . .
Rice bra supports Japan's farming fad
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Female urban farmers keen to keep their agricultural hobby close to their heart can now grow their own rice in a special bra designed by Japanese lingerie maker Triumph.
Trimuph, makers of other eccentric, gimmick bras that include one with a sushi set and another that comes with solar panels, said it came up with the "rice bra" because of the growing popularity of farming among city dwellers in Japan.
Growing concerns over food safety and the environment, and the ideal of a laid-back rural lifestyle, are attracting more urbanites to agriculture, once the mainstay of Japan's economy. Rice is also the nation's staple food.
"Over the last year, young Japanese women have taken a tremendous interest in agriculture. We wanted other women to experience farming as well," Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda told Reuters at a Wednesday 12 May event.
"Home kits that allow people to grow their own rice are very popular online. We thought that it would be fun if a bra could give people the same experience," said Masuda.
The bra, made of recyclable plastic, can be tied together to create pots that also double as the cups.
These are then filled with soil, and rice seedlings, that are watered through a hose that also doubles as a belt that goes around the wearer's waist.
The bra also comes with gardening gloves.
"The bra fits much better than it looks. Wearing it puts me in such a fun mood," said model Reiko Aoyama in the lingerie.
Like other Triumph concept bras, the rice bra will not go on sale, with the company saying it was another way to generate interest in its brand.
(Reporting by Akiko Fujita, editing by Miral Fahmy)
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Female urban farmers keen to keep their agricultural hobby close to their heart can now grow their own rice in a special bra designed by Japanese lingerie maker Triumph.
Trimuph, makers of other eccentric, gimmick bras that include one with a sushi set and another that comes with solar panels, said it came up with the "rice bra" because of the growing popularity of farming among city dwellers in Japan.
Growing concerns over food safety and the environment, and the ideal of a laid-back rural lifestyle, are attracting more urbanites to agriculture, once the mainstay of Japan's economy. Rice is also the nation's staple food.
"Over the last year, young Japanese women have taken a tremendous interest in agriculture. We wanted other women to experience farming as well," Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda told Reuters at a Wednesday 12 May event.
"Home kits that allow people to grow their own rice are very popular online. We thought that it would be fun if a bra could give people the same experience," said Masuda.
The bra, made of recyclable plastic, can be tied together to create pots that also double as the cups.
These are then filled with soil, and rice seedlings, that are watered through a hose that also doubles as a belt that goes around the wearer's waist.
The bra also comes with gardening gloves.
"The bra fits much better than it looks. Wearing it puts me in such a fun mood," said model Reiko Aoyama in the lingerie.
Like other Triumph concept bras, the rice bra will not go on sale, with the company saying it was another way to generate interest in its brand.
(Reporting by Akiko Fujita, editing by Miral Fahmy)
13 May 2010
the new first lady
Samantha Cameron: cool aristocrat is Britain's new 'First Lady'
LONDON, May 12, 2010 (AFP) - Conservative leader David Cameron's wife Samantha combines aristocratic roots with a cool dress sense -- and is almost certainly the first British prime minister's wife with a tattoo.
Dubbed "Sam Cam" by the media, the photogenic 39-year-old put aside her earlier reluctance to campaign with her husband and helped him in his bid to take the main opposition party back to power after a 13-year absence. Sporting a growing bump -- she is five months pregnant with the couple's fourth child -- Samantha was at her husband's side when he made his first speech as prime minister in Downing Street on Tuesday (11 May) evening.
The couple's clear delight at the pregnancy -- which was revealed before the campaign started -- masked the heartbreak at the sudden death in February last year of their first child, six-year-old Ivan, who had severe disabilities.
David Cameron has admitted he nearly gave up politics after Ivan's death and the enormous strain on Samantha was clear from the handful of photographs of the couple at the time.
They have two other children, six-year-old Nancy and Arthur, four.
Samantha combines motherhood with her role as creative director for luxury good brand Smythson, and has been credited with helping to modernise the company's once stuffy and traditional designs.
She says she has "no plans" to give up her job while her husband is prime minister.
Samantha Gwendoline Sheffield was born on April 18, 1971, the oldest daughter of Sir Reginald Sheffield, a wealthy landowner, and Annabel Jones, who owned an upmarket jeweller's.
Friends say she went out of her way to hide her aristocratic roots, going on from the private Marlborough College to study fine art at Bristol Polytechnic, now known as the University of the West of England.
There she mixed with a set far from her privileged background -- she regularly played pool with rap star Tricky, a former delinquent who has admitted he and Samantha were "unlikely mates".
Along the way, she acquired a small tattoo of a dolphin on her right ankle.
Samantha was still a teenager when she was introduced to David Cameron by her best friend Clare, his younger sister.
The couple dated while she was still a student, but he gave her early warning of his political ambitions.
"He was very upfront and said: 'I want to be an MP (Member of Parliament). If you think you would hate it, you have to say so.'. It certainly wasn't my natural inclination," she has said.
Samantha was undeterred and the couple married in 1996, when David was an advisor to then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Norman Lamont.
He became an MP in 2001 and Samantha is said to have played a major role in persuading him to enter the leadership race after Michael Howard stepped down in the wake of the Conservatives' defeat to Tony Blair's Labour in 2005.
Andrew Feldman, a friend of the Camerons, says Samantha acts as a "good barometer" of the public's taste for her husband.
"She has a good sense of what is important and what's not, but also of what's important to other people.
"She may be from very grand stock but she's tremendously grounded," he told David Cameron's biographers, Francis Elliott and James Hanning.by Elodie Mazein
LONDON, May 12, 2010 (AFP) - Conservative leader David Cameron's wife Samantha combines aristocratic roots with a cool dress sense -- and is almost certainly the first British prime minister's wife with a tattoo.
Photo: AFP
The couple's clear delight at the pregnancy -- which was revealed before the campaign started -- masked the heartbreak at the sudden death in February last year of their first child, six-year-old Ivan, who had severe disabilities.
David Cameron has admitted he nearly gave up politics after Ivan's death and the enormous strain on Samantha was clear from the handful of photographs of the couple at the time.
They have two other children, six-year-old Nancy and Arthur, four.
Samantha combines motherhood with her role as creative director for luxury good brand Smythson, and has been credited with helping to modernise the company's once stuffy and traditional designs.
She says she has "no plans" to give up her job while her husband is prime minister.
Samantha Gwendoline Sheffield was born on April 18, 1971, the oldest daughter of Sir Reginald Sheffield, a wealthy landowner, and Annabel Jones, who owned an upmarket jeweller's.
Friends say she went out of her way to hide her aristocratic roots, going on from the private Marlborough College to study fine art at Bristol Polytechnic, now known as the University of the West of England.
There she mixed with a set far from her privileged background -- she regularly played pool with rap star Tricky, a former delinquent who has admitted he and Samantha were "unlikely mates".
Along the way, she acquired a small tattoo of a dolphin on her right ankle.
Samantha was still a teenager when she was introduced to David Cameron by her best friend Clare, his younger sister.
The couple dated while she was still a student, but he gave her early warning of his political ambitions.
"He was very upfront and said: 'I want to be an MP (Member of Parliament). If you think you would hate it, you have to say so.'. It certainly wasn't my natural inclination," she has said.
Samantha was undeterred and the couple married in 1996, when David was an advisor to then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Norman Lamont.
He became an MP in 2001 and Samantha is said to have played a major role in persuading him to enter the leadership race after Michael Howard stepped down in the wake of the Conservatives' defeat to Tony Blair's Labour in 2005.
Andrew Feldman, a friend of the Camerons, says Samantha acts as a "good barometer" of the public's taste for her husband.
"She has a good sense of what is important and what's not, but also of what's important to other people.
"She may be from very grand stock but she's tremendously grounded," he told David Cameron's biographers, Francis Elliott and James Hanning.by Elodie Mazein
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