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
DESIGN IS WHERE SCIENCE AND ART BREAK EVEN– Robin Mathew
Room8 modern counter top
Design is the search for a magical balance between business and art; art and craft; intuition and reason; concept and detail; playfulness and formality; client and designer; designer and printer; and printer and public.
Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future – Robert L. Peters
It’s art if it can’t be explained. It’s fashion if no one asks for an explanation. It’s design if it doesn’t need explanation – Wouter Stokkel
Art, Design, Fashion….it’s all personal is it not?
MINT Interiors was created by Michael McNamara and Rien Sharma with a vision to bring to Vancouver truly original furnishings thathelp people create homes that are extensions of their individuality. We believe that your home should reflect your personality and act as a sanctuary from the speed of modern life.
MINTeresting pictureslights and hand made mixed-media bagsWall paper has never looked this good
MINT offers exclusive private labelsof custom furniture such as sofas, beds and beautiful accent chairs. These custom upholstered goods are made in NorthAmericawith high quality materials and craftsmanship, with over 150 fabrics to choose from.
We are inspired by artists who work at an exceptional level of craftsmanship and imagination, and are able to seamlessly blend both art and function.
We’ve sourced many of the items in our shop from artisans around the globe who bring to life their own unique vision – from L.A., London, Paris, New York, Portugal, Stockholm, Italy and Germany.
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:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
You must be logged in to post a comment.