a visual collective outlet of inspiration
dunhills key watch has been recreated from an original design from 1937 by alfred dunhill. if you are always losing your key, we bet you hardly ever lose your watch, now here is your chance to loose them both at the same time. brilliant. no one can tell if the key will fit your lock, but you can always try. the key watch is crafted from sterling silver and brass. by dd
perfect gift
the latest Bosendorfer grand piano
certain things… you just don’t mess with. like the shape of a grand piano. they all bear the same shape for a good reason, because the shape was not meant as design but for its acoustic function. that said audi has “broken the rules”… (wow, so punk to do that?), with it’s design for the bosendorfer piano’s 100 year ear mark with this contraption which appears to simply drape an old shape.
the piano is available for an approximate $140,000 and we can somehow rest assured that bosendorfer will not make anything short of amazing sounding objects. that said we’ll have to wait to hear the real auditions… had he been alive, i would have loved to see glenn gould’s reaction to this one… by dd
Porteur bike by Ateliers d’Embellie
ateliers d’embellie’s portuer bicycle has been released, bringing to us a truly unique masterpiece. the bike’s entirely handmade with vintage NOS parts and high quality leather and mixes leather craft, street fashion and luxury. the color scheme is a classic vintage grey, highlighted with brown leather, chrome and copper touches. i particularly love the flask clip under the seat. by kl
adidas: limited edition stan smith in matte black
adidas stan smith 80’s limited edition in black available at mita by dd
1961 the 250 GTO
1961 – the ferrari 250 GTO. almost as nice as raquel’s thoroughbred Arabian horse. now it doesn’t take too long to figure out that the most desired ferrari turns out to also be the most expensive. in the early 1990s, when prices for rare and classic cars were at a fevered pitch, a specimen sold for $15,000,000. now that “sanity” has returned to the market, a GTO was recently bid to just under $8million at an auction and went unsold!
part of the lure of the GTO is its exclusivity; only 39 were built. in theory at least 100 should have been built, as this was the number required to qualify the car at the time for international sports car racing. In fact the letters “GTO” stand for “gran turismo omologato” which translates into “your mother wears pajamas” or ore likely “grand touring homologated” or “approval” for racing. it was either enzo ferrari’s name, his inscrutable charm, or the head of raquel zimmermann’s horse, that enabled the rule makers to let the technicality slip by.
the price for a new GTO at the time of launch was about $23,000 (now go buy some more stock) which may seem ludicrous now but was a lot in 1962; so much that it probably was the limiting factor when it came to production quantity. by dd
HAKKIN SAKE
the other night i was given a bottle of hakkin sake, designed by kenya hara, and i’m very excited about finally tasting it. this sake, available for approx 10,500 yen (equal to roughly 120USD), is currently unavailable in the US and it is made the traditional way which is seldom the case these days.
hakkin is brewed the traditional way in wooden oke barrels, a labor-intensive process brought back at masuichi after a half century absence. hakkin is a historic sake which ranked highly in the all japan sake rankings at the start of the meiji period becoming an icon of a name.
specs: rice / kinmon nishiki
polishing rate / 59%
density / +10
alcohol / 16.4%
storage / keep in a dark place at 18 or below and serve within one month.
750ml, 1800ml
the best way to keep the HAKKIN SAKE is refrigerated. expiration date is 1 to 2 month after the manufacturing date. the manufacturing date is printed on the label. but after 1-2month the hakkin sake will only deteriorate in flavor. it will still be drinkable. by dd
Raquel Zimmermann on horse
hmmm. a perfect gift. what a nice idea. just cant say which one looks better. by dd
sparklehorse & dangerous mouse genius blank cd
after radiohead giving away its album for any donation, the greatest move against the musical industry comes from sparklehorse (mark linkous) and nyc producer dangermouse. after recording “dark night of the soul” (featuring david lynch, iggy pop, suzanne vega, julian casablancas from the strokes, wayne coyne from the flaming lips…) EMI decided that they wouldn’t release the record as they’re still pissed off at danger mouse for the grey album that he gave away for free download on his website. the grey album was a record that mixed the beatles’ white album with jay-z’s black album (jay-z’s label was ok, EMI representing the beatles was not). whatever, sparklehorse are selling a blank cd in a book designed by david lynch, and you can download for free the music on their website to burn it on your blank cd! just great! by pp’
review of the nixon masterblaster headphones
first off we went after this particular nixon headset for its fabulous looks. we received our advance copy in its considerable box last week and have been putting it to the test. a few observations: the exterior of the box reflects the unit and is simple and clean, a mix of a clock work orange meets ipod. we like the name nixon but the unit name and slogans “master blaster” and “bring the noise” seem off target and pretty lame! they belong to pioneer not nixon! inside you’ll find a modern darth vader helmet case which again is at odds with the retro inspired audiophile cans, but one can see why they tried to avoid a fully retro kit.
the unit itself is rather beautiful and well made. designed by yves behar they sport premium leather ear cups, large volume knob, aluminum cans with a ball/pivot that is ingeniously engineered to fit, at least my head perfectly. like all high-end headphones the cord is detachable and i simply love the choice of this particular cable. it makes the whole piece come together, yet unlike the retro fabric cords the 3.5mm stereo plug at the end is delicate avoiding the cumbersome look of the old cans. the pivot joint and the cable where truly the first two details i noticed. one disappointing detail is the logo/pajama style printed fabric used inside the ear cups. who made that decission? gladly noone will see it but you.
the sound on the nixon master blaster is not as high end as its great looks, but the sound is ‘good’ and well above average for its price range of just under $200 (vs. say $450 for the AKG 701 that we reviewed). the headphones at 95 db are not super sensitive and will probably sound their best using headphone amps like headroom or other brands. but on its own the sound is rather neutral with a leniency towards a heaviness in the bass. i would have liked to see more detail in the mid range, and easier on the bass, but i always say that no matter what i listen to unless they are magnapan speakers (which i once owned, but with those you then loose the bass! the MG20.1 seem to have addressed the issue at $4,000/pair). all in all the nixons are great fun, good looks, decent sound, quite affordable, with details to awe over. we used the nixons at a recent event and we had 2 people asking us about them and where to buy them, now no one ever asked me about my AKGs… so they do indeed turn a few heads. by dd
a digital camera with decent looks
at least, olympus is releasing a digital camera with a decent function, not just a gadget, that looks good! why did it take so long for those guys to get what we don’t want? that is not another startrek object in our pocket? whatever, this one in soon to be released. more info here by pp’
made by eugene
i particularly like the leather ware… made by eugene. the ultimate unisex cool, forever. various straps and clasps can be used as jewelry, key ring, belt, or however you prefer 😉 now i need to get for myself! by kl
nagra: Analog candy
the nagra IV-S portable audio/sound recorder
call me crazy but I always wanted to get one of these units for my home use for playback of music ever since the film industry went digital on me. where is cassavetes? the professional audio field recorders by nagra where simply too expensive in the day, but now… used ones can be fetched up for a measly $2,000.
these audio recorder/playback decks are simply amazing not only in how they sound but also in how they are made. originally designed by a polish inventor by the name of stefan kudelski and built in cheseaux-sur-lausanne, in switzerland, their built and finish are to die for. they remind me of my old minox spy camera that my father gave me except they are swiss made. silver. slick. and rugged. of course there is a cool little story to the name… the name nagra is actually based on the polish slang meaning “it’ll record”. well, it did more than that indeed.
the swiss manufacturer of course has recently come up with a whole line of consumer audio equipment but the marketing reeks badly and the desperate jump to audiophile markets is simply not in style with old nagra. i have a strong feeling either the company was sold or took over by people who are looking to make a fast swiss frank. by dd
