STONE TOWN is the old city and cultural heart of Zanzibar where little has changed in the last 200 years.
It is a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses whose original owners vied with each other over the extravagance of their dwellings. This is particularly reflected in the brass-studded, carved, wooden doors – there are more than 500 different examples of this handiwork. Here are a few:
We really enjoyed spending hours wandering through the fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways. We could have spent days.
Stone Town was recently and deservedly declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO..
It’s also the birthplace of the incredibly talented lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury. For anyone wanting to make a Mercury pilgrimage, two good places to start are the Zanzibar Gallery, with a gold plaque on the outside to memorialize Mercury, and the popular Mercury’s restaurant. More at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tanzania/zanzibar
Wong’s World – a visionary, collaborator, anti-consumerist, provocateur, “paraconceptualist“ (as he called himself), prankster – was 35
He was a designer whose outrageous mimic of luxury goods and witty expropriation of work by other designers blurred the line between conceptual art and design. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wong attended the University of Toronto, studied Art and Architecture at Cooper Union in Manhattan then concentrated on sculpture. The design and art world lost one of it’s brightest stars when he sadly took his own life at his home in the East Village.
Killer Diamond – look closely and you can see the claws. Double click to enlarge.
Clever objects of Desire:
This diamond has been set upside-down, pointy and sticking out, and is held within 4 claws.
Catherine Osbourne of Azure Magazine says it as “the most truth telling, bittersweet object I’ve ever seen that describes what marriage really feels like.”
Lit from within
This is a lamp!
Philippe Starck Bubble Club chair turned into a softly glowing lamp.
The wrong store – double click to enlarge
One of his most elaborate productions was “the WrongStore“, a hoax-like exhibition he organized in 2007 with Gregory Krum, the director of retail at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.
The store, in a tiny Chelsea gallery, was stocked with objects by artists and designers from the United States and Europe and appeared, from the outside, to be a bona fide business enterprise. Mr. Wong had a business phone installed and printed letterhead paper and cards for a nonexistent group of directors. All was not as it seemed, as the discerning might have gathered from a sign in the window that read, “Come In, We’re Closed.” In fact, the store had never opened.
elaborate gold bill holder used for snorting drugs. Double click to enlarge.
Other companies were not as accepting of Wong’s work. In a collaboration with Ju$tAnother Rich Kid, Wong turned a McDonald’s coffee stirrer (an infamous 1980s “icon” that frequently appeared as evidence in drug trials) into a coke spoon.
Protect me from what I want tattoo
His one-man show is currently on display at the Vancouver Museum (at the Planetarium). I went to the opening and it was most interesting. You may not love it all but all will agree that he was an Original! See more below:
Matlacha (pronounced “MAT-la-shay”) is a community on Pine Island which is an “OldFloridian” fishing village & home to brightly-colored art galleries, island boutiques, (see photos) seafood restaurants and traditional Florida cottages. PineIsland is considered Florida’s best kept secret. It is the largest island on the west coast of Florida with a secluded, country waterfront atmosphere charmingly fringed with mangroves.
This is Leoma. As a rule she does not usually let people take photos in her gallery.
Loved the bohemian feel of the quaint little shops but the most unique was the Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens run by the extraordinarily talented Leoma Lovegrove (above). Have you ever walked into a gallery where you simply don’t know where to look first because everything is so eclectic even the floor mosaics? That’s how I’d describe it. Full of whimsy & inspiration and items you won’t see anywhere else – trust me.
Outside the GalleryFrom the back of the GalleryHaven’t you ever wanted a pink chair?Down with “hello kitty” we’ve had enough!
Leoma Lovegrove’s works are displayed in numerous galleries throughout the world. Her “Beatles Series” drew the attention of the City of Liverpool and her portrait of Richard Branson hangs at VirginAirlines Headquarters in London. She pointed out the shoes she wore to her White House invite – “a piece of art”. Everything is turned into ART from light bulbs to bottles. She was honoured at an artist’s reception given by First Lady, Laura Bush and her work hangs in a private collection at the White House. Her portrait of Jimmy Carter hangs in his Presidential Library in Atlanta. Lovegrove’s artwork has also graced the windows at RockefellerCenter in New York and the list goes on. It’s infectious…….you cannot leave without buying a little something but you really want to buy a bigger something…….if only you had the room. Visit her website and online gallery at: www.leomalovegrove.com
Not so cheap Frills. I bought a hardcover mermaid book & an abalone/sterling dragonfly pendant.Wild Child Art GalleryHasn’t every girl dreamed of becoming a mermaid at one time or another?Still thinking about the native inlay on the Minnetonka flip flops I ended up not buying.Display outside a shopAnother store showing the character of MatlachaThought this was a shop but it’s actually outside a private residence.Same residence…..interesting…..Cute or Creepy?
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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