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Service for 6 only $111,600.00: Diamond Studded Flatware




Talk about a formal place setting!
At Christofle, sterling silver takes on a whole new allure. Knives, forks and spoons, with handles trimmed with diamonds of exceptional quality. Front and back, they embellish silver in a way as never before.



The diamonds are hand set, and the creative process requires six months of hand work. Malmaison Castle near Paris, was a favorite place of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Josephine.
Sterling silver and diamonds. Knife has a stainless steel blade.


Diamonds are set by hand in France.
Set includes one of each: dinner fork, dinner knife, soup spoon, salad fork, and teaspoon.
Price? A measly $18,600.00 per place setting

You can order yours here.

The Bouroullec Bros' Floating House




The Floating House designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec.
Conceived together with Jean-Marie Finot and Denis Daversin, architects

Achieved mid october 2006, the Floating House is a studio for resident artists in the CNEAI (Centre National de l'estampe et de l'art imprimé) located in Chatou, France.

floating house : by night ­ 2006



Floating House interiors:



Length : 23m
Total surface: 110m2
CNEAI - Centre National de l'estampe et de l'art imprimé

all images courtesy of the Bouroullec brothers


More underwater and floating residences for you!:

•The Underwater Poseidon Resort & H2Ome

•Floating Hotels and Offices

•The Silverfish Floating Home

•Houseboats of The Future

My New Favorite Photographer: Eugenio Recuenco




As an advertising art director for many years (how many would give away my age), I've had the good fortune to personally view some of the finest photographer's books. But I recently came upon one photographer in particular whose range of talent simply awed me.

He's shot everything from funky fashion campaigns to classic elegant portraiture to macabre themed photographic essays. And all of it is excellent. It was this year's Lavazza Calendar that first introduced me to Eugenio Recuenco and then once I went to his site, I couldn't stop gazing at his work.

He even writes a wonderfully fun and self-deprecating profile on his site:

"eugenio recuenco is a spanish photographer who is a pain in the ass because he always insists on doing whatever he wants. He works for quite a number of clients both in the advertising and editorial fields all over the World who are also a pain in the ass, because they always want to do whatever they want. Out of these fights between hardheads it has been possible to rescue the images for this web site, some better, some worse, but made with lots of enthusiasm and with the support of a great team who refer to themselves as "The Eye of Frosker". The latter is an entity that has came to the earth to bother some and also to amuse some others. If you are one of the latter, stop fooling around and get in."

Here are just a few extremely varied examples of his talent (please click on them to enlarge):













And these are just a very small sampling of his incredibly impressive portfolio which you can view by going here.

In addition to his being phenomenally talented, he's nice.
How do I know this? I actually wrote to him inquiring as to where I could find the stunning Lavazza Calendar since I couldn't seem to locate one to purchase anywhere. And you know what he did? He sent me one all the way from Spain. Himself. Not his rep. Not his agent. Himself.
Wow.

Seriously...is there anything this man can't shoot??!!!

I hope to work with him soon. If I could be so lucky.

CA Boom 4: West Coast Independent Design Show


Exhibitor Reservations for CA Boom 4 Now Being Reviewed

CA Boom 4: March 30 to April 1, 2007 at a new and larger location, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport. One hundred plus participating exhibitors will showcase what's next in how we live and how we work. Specific areas in the show include: prefab, fine furnishings, indoor/outdoor living, surfaces and finishes, and modern parenting.

2/8/07 CA Boom 4: THE WEST COAST INDEPENDENT DESIGN SHOW registration and tickets now on sale.


What else is new this year?
Dozens of national and international manufacturers are joining CA Boom’s core lineup of boutique design exhibitors. CA Boom 4 majors and mini-majors include Herman Miller, ducduc, Fleetwood Windows & Doors, Neo Metro and Nana Wall Systems, Inc.

This year, our show floor is divided into distinct zones including Prefab, Fine Furnishings, Materials, Surfaces & Finishes, Modern Parenting, Giftware & Accessories, Indoor/Outdoor Living and First-Timers.


Special Prices on Santa Monica Hotels, Airfare & Airport Shuttles. Travel & Housing

For the first time, Friday will be a “trade day” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., open to qualified design & building trade members.

The famous CA Boom Opening Night party moves to Friday Night, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m., with an open bar, DJ's and full access to the show floor ($45).

Don't miss the debut of the “Modern Parenting” zone, spotlighting sophisticated furniture and accessories for children of design-conscious parents. Participants include Scandinavian Child, Inc., ducduc, Elevate Home and Nurseryworks.


Returning this year is the overwhelmingly successful PREFAB ZONE, the only place on the planet where prospective buyers of Modernist Prefab can actually comparison shop prefab manufacturers who are ready and able to deliver product. Participants include Living Homes, Clever Homes, Marmol Radziner Prefab, Sander Architects, kitHAUS, and Alchemy's weeHouse.

Don't miss our Design + Architecture Tours, where architects actually give tours of 15 cutting edge projects, 5 per day ($75 per day, includes Expo Hall admission).

Santa Monica: Friday March 30th • Venice: Saturday March 31st • Mar Vista/West LA: Sunday April 1st.

CA Boom exhibitors are invited to participate because of their innovation, design sensibility and category leadership. Each year, we also invite a select group of noteworthy up-and-comers. Many of our exhibitors are showcasing World and North American debuts at the show.

CA Boom 4 still has space to accommodate a few additional exhibitors who are a good fit. Interested? Go here.

79th Annual Academy Awards Promo Shot & Directed by Spike Lee


Directed by Academy Award®-nominated writer-director Spike Lee and shot throughout New York City, the 79th Academy Awards trailer features passers-by reciting famous movie lines from the past 70 years.

Go Ahead, Lick Penelope Cruz's Face



Elenis of New York makes cookies that are art you can eat. These are her special limited edition cookies for Sunday, Feb 25th, Oscar Night. Available to order online at www.elenis.com
It may be the closet you ever get to licking a star.


BEST ACTRESS COOKIES
The nominees for the the 79th Annual Academy Awards are: Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet.
• 16 hand-iced sugar cookies in a gift box -price: $58.50


BEST ACTOR COOKIES:
The nominees for Best Actor for the 79th Annual Academy Awards are: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, Peter O'Toole, Will Smith and Forest Whitaker.
• 16 hand-iced sugar cookies in a gift box, price: $58.50


best picture
**THIS ITEM IS SOLD OUT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON**
The nominees for Best Picture for the 79th Annual Academy Awards are: Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen.
• 19 hand-iced sugar cookies in a gift box


Famous Hollywood Quotes
Packaged in our New Medium Gift Box.
Test your movie expertise with these memorable quotes: "Show me the money", "I see dead people", "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", "Life is like a box of chocolates"and "Supercalifrajalisticexpialidocious"
• 9 sugar cookies is a gift box
• Cookie Sizes: Quotes 2.5" x 2.5", Stars 1.5" x 1.5", Director's slate, 1.5" x 2"

It's All About Oscar. How The Statuette Is Made.





How An Oscar Statuette Is Made, Step By Step:










above: close up look at base


Oscar Fun Facts:

• The official name of the statuette is the Academy Award® of Merit

• Oscar is 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ pounds

• The First Recipient was Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” in 1929

• Number of Awards Presented to date as of 2010: 2,701 statuettes

• It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley.

• The Oscar statuette depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.)

• How Oscar received his nickname is not exactly clear.
The most popular story is that Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar, and the Academy staff began to refer to it as Oscar. Although the nickname was used with increasing frequency during the late 1930s, the Academy didn't officially use the name Oscar until 1939.

• The Oscar statuette hasn't been altered since his molten birth, except when the design of the pedestal was made taller in 1945.

And the winner for Best Poster is....


The Official Poster of the 79th Annual Academy Awards

This year's Oscar Poster is finally one someone might actually want. (I do wish they'd have kept the abc logo and showtime off of it, however). So, here's what is takes for you to get your very own Official Oscar Poster:

Poster Price -79th Academy Awards posters are US$25 each.
Online orders may be placed using VISA, MASTERCARD or AMERICAN EXPRESS. Orders placed in person may only be paid for with a check, money order or cash. All sales are final, no refunds.

Shipping and handling is included in the poster price for domestic orders. International orders will be charged US$15 for every five posters ordered.

For example, an order of 10 posters being shipped to the United Kingdom would total US$280. (An international shipping charge of $30 plus the $200 cost of 10 posters, at the rate of $25 per poster, for a total cost of US$280.)

Shipping will be handled by FedEx. You may contact customer service at 1-800-99-FILMS for any shipping and fulfillment information.

Please allow 7 business days for domestic delivery. International orders may take up to 14 business days or longer. No P.O. boxes are allowed. No rush or overnight shipment option is available.

How to Order a Poster (There are four ways to order posters):

* In person
Monday - Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Academy Gallery, 4th Floor
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California 90211
* By Mail (send a check or money order payable to Academy Foundation)
Academy Awards Posters
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California 90211
* Telephone 1-800-993-4567 (option 3)
Monday - Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (PST)
* Internet - www.oscars.org/publications

Could you live without your computer for a day?



It is obvious that people would find life extremely difficult without computers, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?

Be a part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the internet. The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if we all participate!

Shutdown your computer on this day and find out! Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer?



See who can and who can't at www.shutdownday.org

Funky Find of The Week: The Media Centre by Porada

The Porada mediacentre

Always looking for new ways to display large plasma tvs, this is a truly unique find.

Attached to the ceiling and floor via a pole, it swivels, hold stuff and is a whole new way to consider a media center.

Porada of Italy has many amazingly beautiful products. This is just one of them. Just click on the above image to learn more or to purchase.

Where The Hip Call Home


Tiger Woods paid 38 million for his Jupiter Island Home, pictured above


WHAT MOVES CELEBRITY HOMESEEKERS
Real Estate Feature
Star-Studded Neighborhoods
by Matt Woolsey

"...There are all sorts of reasons why celebrities cluster in exclusive enclaves--beachfront property, good schools and extra-tight security to name a few... [and]
'They want to move to where all their friends are,' says Susan Breitenbach, a Bridgehampton, N.Y.-based Corcoran real estate agent, of the stars who flock to Long Island's East End. That also seems to be the case on Jupiter Island, Fla. In January 2006, Tiger Woods joined fellow golfers Nick Price and Greg Norman on the exclusive island when he bought a $38 million, 10-acre compound....

The Hamptons, a collection of quaint villages boasting the million-dollar second homes of dozens of A-listers, lies just 75 miles outside of New York City. Look out for Martha Stewart on Georgica Pond, Gwyneth Paltrow and Alec Baldwin in Amagansett, and Paul Simon in Montauk--a neighborhood so exclusive that Jimmy Buffett tried to buy a trailer there for $430,000... '


Paltrow and hubby call Amagansett home

For people hubbed in New York, there's really no other choice,' says Breitenbach... Back in Manhattan, stars huddle in several distinct neighborhoods. Robert DeNiro, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and model Gisele Bundchen call Tribeca home, and Bono, Liam Neeson and Madonna reside on the Upper West Side. In both areas, spacious lofts or multilevel townhouses run into the tens of millions...


Deniro has always been a big fan of Tribeca
Recently, A-listers such as Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger have answered the bohemian call of Brooklyn, plopping down $3.5 million for a four-story brick house with a three-car garage in Brooklyn Heights... At the Southern tip of the country, in Miami Beach, big shots flock to appropriately named Star Island, where Lenny Kravitz, P.Diddy, Hulk Hogan and Gloria Estefan all have multimillion-dollar mansions...

From Sunset Boulevard to Mulholland Drive and up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, Southern California has the highest celebrity concentration of anywhere on our list... Living in gated Beverly Park, where one home is currently listed for $38 million, would put them closer to Santa Monica's First Presbyterian School, where the Spielberg kids went, while living in Bel Air would place them closer to the Brentwood School, which Arnold Schwarzenegger's children attended.


Sean Penn and Robin Wright prefer Ross, in Northern California

Indeed, many celebs enroll their kids in private schools, though Sean Penn and Robin Wright-Penn--as well as Barry Levinson, who lives in Ross, Calif., outside San Francisco--send their children to one of California's best public schools, Ross School... Privacy in all regards is a big part of the celebrity real estate game. When it comes time to buy or sell a home, most celebs do so through limited liability corporations (LLC), which keeps their names off property records and sales listings, even if publicizing the sale might boost the selling price... 'Using their names would help the sale, but they're private people...'

via Forbes.com