london

i am in london, and man, it was cold the past few days. luckily it's in the 50s F [15ºC] today! i'm staying in shoreditch house and i must say, membership does has it's privileges – best stay ever in london [london, like NYC, is a city where even paying $200+/night does NOT guarantee a nice room, or even good water pressure in your shower]. i just wish my room had a bath tub...

so, i got the most of the cultural stuff out of the way on monday, as it was a bank holiday here: design museum, tate modern, and even a show on royal british armor at london tower [my friend darren dragged me to that one]. great shows at both the design museum and tate but it bothers me deeply that my products are in neither of the 2's gift shops [but i won't get into that here].

darren also arranged tickets to see hair, which he did the press for. it was a bit of a mind fuck for me on a few levels. i'm not into musicals, but hair is one i grew up listening to because of my parents brief hippy phase [my mom's huge afro and colourful dashikis were part of my aesthetic influences] and also, the drama club in my high school did a production of it [against my best advise, inner city NYC public school with maybe 5% white kids is not the most supportive environment for a hippy musical. no one came]. the mind fuck part is really about NYC – a city that spawned jazz, folk music [still can't get my head around that], glam rock, punk, disco, AND hip hop is so different now, it's hard to process how much has changed even since i was in high school and i wonder how a city like new york will propel itself into the future. london seems so motivated by their olympics, shanghai by the the world expo...why is NYC so not interested in big events to force major improvements to infrastructure? of course, the federal government is part of the problem with nyc being bled dry of tax revenue, but i'm not an articulate enough writer to address this complex issue up...just mentioning it in the context of what went through my brain while watching a production of a musical.

anyway, excited to meet with illustrator extraordinaire, ken chung, go for a tour of the royal society of arts HQ, meet with the ilove dust team...all between now and friday when i return to NYC.

openers japan: cocktail culture

i was 2 months late in finishing this article, mainly because i was too lazy to translate the interviews from english to japanese [yu yamada of my tokyo office was kind enough to do that part for me!] – so here it is, episode 8 of my openers column – the cocktail!

the gist of this 2 part article is the history of the cocktail [which is very much a new york story] and concludes with interviews with 2 giants in NYC mixology: sam lipp of eleven madison park and gregory seider of minetta tavern which happen to be my 2 favorite places to drink classic and try new cocktails. seriously, if you're going to spend more than $10 bucks on a beverage, it better be absolutely perfect!

so thanks to sam and leo of 11 madison and seider of minetta tavern [the seider interview is part 2 next month]. also, if you really want an impressive and perfect meal with that drink, check out both restaurants. 11 madison's website is here. minetta tavern here. tell them matthew waldman of nooka sent you!

also, don't forget to vote for nooka at pulchra. the voting process may seem a bit tedious, but it is actually really simple. simply drag nooka to the number 1 spot, if that's your choice of course and choose the other 9 objects until you have completed your list. In order for your vote to be valid, you will need to complete the details form. remember you can only vote ONCE PER DAY, so make sure to log on the next day and do it all over again. link is here!

nooka can be found in fine stores all over the world and here. follow nooka on facebook and twitter.

i lego nyc

here is a another post totally unrelated to nooka but i thought was cute enough to share here.

Christoph Niemann's illustrations have appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration. His work has won numerous awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration. He is the author of two children's books, "The Pet Dragon," which teaches Chinese characters to young readers, and "The Police Cloud." After 11 years in New York, he moved to Berlin with his wife, Lisa, and their sons, Arthur, Gustav and Fritz. His Web site is christophniemann.com.

original post here.

nooka zon launch party NYC [and miami!]

we will be part of the details block party with ddc lab mpd this coming saturday to introduce the zon! ddc lab is an incredible brand which we share conceptual synergies. they also throw the best events! i hope to see you there.

if you can't make it to the party for the launch discount, you can buy full price here, or at fine nooka stockists.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND, a ZON launch event at BASE in miami. this is one of my all time favorite stores, well curated and fun. 939 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139 t (305) 531 4982. so if the art at art basel is too expensive, come buy some of my product.

recent blog press:
complex
designnotes
swissmiss

chanel chanel chanel

from the article in the link below: "It’s not just the economic turmoil, although the timing could hardly be worse. It’s that the pavilion sets out to drape an aura of refinement over a cynical marketing gimmick. Surveying its self-important exhibits, you can’t help but hope that the era of exploiting the so-called intersection of architecture, art and fashion is finally over."

it always surprises me when people write stuff like this! unless you go back to cave painting, i doubt there was ever a time when art, architecture and fashion did not intersect – moreover, for the financial gain of some or many! then again, it is probably the opinion of someone born into a rich family afforded the luxury of studying art and design as a purely academic pursuit (i am jealous!).

i myself am excited to see this perversion of art!


Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

airtravel

i figure i can try the power of the blog for this one:

OY, air travel...i need to get myself to tokyo for work and was pretty proud of myself for managing a M-class economy ticket on my favorite airline ANA with an upgrade to business class with my mileage until my meetings were changed to the week of the 24th! now i can't seem to get the same deal leaving either the 20th, 21, or 22nd on any airline even though i have more advanced notice? if there are any airline marketing people reading this and you want a hip designer to try your trans-pacific business class...let me know what you can do! or even a skillful travel agent who can find a business class ticket under $6,000US... as sitting in a tiny seat for 15+ hours is something i can no longer handle. ah the problems of a start-up company executive!:)

it'd be great if priceline added business class to their "name your price" feature.

nooka is looking for a superintern

one of my star employees, an assistant designer, has left our small studio to prepare to go back to college, which leaves us just a bit short handed. we need a superhero-level design assistant intern. spread the work, specs below:

Nooka is seeking a versatile, self-motivated graphic design student who has a solid understanding of Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign to work as an intern under the guidance of an art director and the Nooka design team. The intern will be responsible for concept development and creation of Nooka marketing materials ranging from the 2008 look book to product line sheets and advertisements. Additionally, the ideal candidate will be able to contribute to the design and maintenance of content for the Nooka website.

Internship can be part or full-time and is for school credits. Intern should be available to start asap. Length of internship is approximately three months, but could go into the summer if candidate is available.

To apply, please send a PDF of sample work or link to your online portfolio and your resume here. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. No phone calls please.