Cate – Page 51 – everydaysparks

Dress to impress

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Cate

There are times when a normal dress just won’t cut it. When you want to stand out from the crowd and need an outfit that tells a story. Or, in the case of these frocks, an outfit that yells LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME.

Take this dress, recently featured on Design Taxi. It’s made out of 50,000 gummy bears and apparently takes the strength of three adults to move it. By the looks of her, that model wouldn’t be much help with moving the gown – in fact, she should probably sneak a few rows of bears from around the hem line.

Or perhaps this bread suit from Lux Fashion Style would be just the ticket to make a strong impression in your workplace. As long as your workplace isn’t somewhere with a lot of hungry birds flying around. And please exercise caution if you sit very close to someone who is gluten intolerant. Or on the Atkins diet.

Speaking of carbs, here’s a pretty delicious frock featured on the Delish site – it’s made of spaghetti, set off with a dazzling necklace of meatballs. Perfect for a dinner party or night out on the town.

And not to forget the boys – here’s another outfit featured on Lux Fashion Style. The top looks as though someone threw a compost bin on the poor model, but the waffle pants are fashion gold. Practicality doesn’t matter a jot when you look this good.

You can check out the gummy bear dress on Design Taxi here. And the Lux Fashion Style post is here. And the edible outfits from Delish are here. EverydaySparks takes no responsibility for any accidents or incidents or broken relationships caused by you getting inspired and creating your own culinary couture. I’m planning a three-course outfit: a layered lasagne dress with a little bruschetta jacket, accessorised with some tiramisu shoes. What about you?

Arty sparks

The Bubbles of Fabian Oefner

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Cate

Designboom recently featured the work of Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner, who has explored the art of the bursting bubble in his project ‘iridient’. It’s easy to appreciate that these amazing images are extremely difficult to capture as the soapy air pockets are immortalized in two states: the moment immediately before and after rupturing; and the famous spectrum of colors. The result is an amazing collection of art – lively photos that are full of rainbows. And, as with clouds in the sky, I can definitely see other worlds – outer space and under the sea…and maybe the musical Hair…

These photos are from the designboom post here. And you can check out Fabian Oefner’s website here – including his incredible ‘Dancing Colors’ project, where Fabian has focussed on ‘making sound waves visible’, capturing stunning pics of coloured pigments as they leap from the surface of a vibrating speaker when music is played. Amazing.

Food sparks, Home sparks

Just Dough It?

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Cate

I first saw this range of fake food (uh huh) for sale on Fab.com and knew that I needed to find out more about it. Apparently, Just Dough It! has been making fake food for more than 15 years, handcrafting most of the “faux food items” featured on their website at their warehouse in Oklahoma.

But wait, is there really a market for fake food? I hear you cry. According to the company’s website, the answer to that would be a big fat YES – their fake foods have been used in several movies and tv shows, as well as stores and homes. Interestingly, they claim Pizza Hut as a company that has used their fake food, but I’m going to leave that one alone.

The range of fake foods is mindblowing – especially when I’m still not entirely sure why people would want to buy fake foods (other than for a display in a shop, when I can appreciate that you don’t want to use, say, real cheese or ice cream in your sunny window display). Basically, it seems if you can make it, they can fake it. (And that’s not a bad tag line for them, if I do say so myself.)

Care for a glass of champagne? Thankfully, it comes ‘with bubbles’ according to the product blurb. And for only $2 extra, you can ‘add condensation to the glass’. Yes, really. Or what about a decadent chocolate martini, complete with ‘chocolate drizzle on glass and chocolate shavings on top’? There is also a delicious looking fake mojito, which I’m sure would prove to be downright annoying on a hot summer’s afternoon.

There’s a fake lamb chop dinner (which looks eerily similar to hospital food – maybe this is where they get it?) and a fake plate of sushi. Fake beer, fake popcorn, fake pretzels, fake chocolate dipped fruit. Everything you need for a fake night in. There are fake ice creams, fake milkshakes, fake cupcakes and even fake chocolate frosted cake with a fake slice removed.

Apparently, you should “use our decorative fake wine, fake beer and decorative bar drinks as food props, or to spruce up your room and give that finished look”. And that gave me an idea. I’m going to buy the fake Old Fashioned (on the rocks, including orange wedge and cherry). Just so I can pretend that Don Draper from Mad Men is somewhere in my apartment.

Fancy fake food? You can check out Just Dough It! for your ‘realistic food and drink replicas’ here. Bon (faux) appetit!

Arty sparks

Kids Draw The News

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Cate

There is a section of the New York Times called ‘Kids Draw The News’, which pretty much does what it says on the tin – kids from around the USA (and sometimes even other countries) are invited to submit a drawing to tell the story of a particular news topic. As is often the case with pictures drawn by kids, there are some very funny and very clever and very wacky results. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about…

An excerpt from an article last month: Swarms of honeybees seem to be everywhere in New York City these days — on cars, on trees, outside restaurants — as fast-growing colonies take off in search of new homes. As illustrated by the kids who made a big effort:

As illustrated by the kid who was maybe being forced to enter by an eager Mom and Dad:

Also from last month, an article about NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to limit the availability of giant serves of soda: Because way too many New Yorkers of all ages are overweight, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wants to make it illegal to sell large sugary drinks in restaurants, movie theaters, delis and some other places. From the pens and pencils of babes:

And from a kid whose parents maybe need to cut him off from tv shows like NCIS and Law & Order:

As an HR person, I can’t help but think that ad agencies should consider signing up some of these kids sooner rather than later. And I am now imagining a newspaper with kids’ drawings to accompany the stories, rather than shocking photos. Or maybe even using kids’ drawings instead of some of the news stories. Somehow, they get to the point and make you smile at the same time – would love to get their take on issues in politics and the environment. Oh, and the real story behind the breakup of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, of course.

You can check out the ‘Kids Draw The News’ section of the New York Times online here.

Home sparks, Sparks at work

Pipe dreams

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Cate

I saw some of Kozo Lamp‘s amazing products on Fab.com and thought they were so cool that I went digging to find out more. Turns out that the company is based in Israel and is the brainchild of David & Anati Shefa – a genuine upcycled lighting brand, made by hand since 2008. The lamps are made from galvanized iron (‘old pipes’ to you and me), which apparently will only rust around the edges over time. They say that the bit of rust gives the lamp “an old era charm”. Here are some of my favourites…

Meet KozoMan. He is a desk lamp and he’s thoughtful – with magnetic hands to hold your keys and little padded feet so he doesn’t scratch your desk. And if you’re meant to be working or studying, I think he looks a little threatening, almost like he’s saying, “you think you’ve earned a break already, do you? DO YOU?” But you retain control, and can dim KozoMan’s light by turning the tap light switch.

And here’s Kozo 2, or KozoPup, as I prefer to call it. Granted, it’s a pup with only three legs, but it would make a cute little companion on your desk. And it won’t run away with your favourite pens. At least, I don’t think it will…

Perhaps you don’t have a very big desk space and you need something even smaller. If so, you might want to consider the Mono desk lamp. I can’t get past the fact that it looks sort of like a lamp being tortured or cramping over in pain. Though maybe that’s just me reading too much into an angled pipe attached to a low base. Maybe.

These are just three of the amazing Kozo Lamps (photos from Fab.com) and you can check out more of the range on the Kozo Lamps website here.