3-D printing moves into high-end jewelry installations.
3-D printing has become a multi-use phenomenon recently – John Brevard, a high end jewelry designer uses nothing but 3-D printing for all his jewelry, threeASFOUR, an avant garde clothing manufacturer in New York is using 3-D printing for some of its high fashion, CHEF-PRO and CHEF-PRO Plus is using 3-D printing in baking and dessert design, as was shown in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and now a high end, edgy Swiss jeweler. Shawish, recently opened a new flagship store in London. Mr. Shawish asked 3D printing experts and local design studio Modla to design eight bespoke, in-store display cases to convey the brand’s image.
The designs are tailored made so that each jewel stands out even more, in a setting that is perfectly rendered through the use of 3D printing, as well as laser cutting, and the addition of carefully balanced lighting. The Shawish Shop Installation project took about a month. Over the course of the first two weeks, Modla transformed 2D concept sketches into digital designs and 3D models. And the studio spent the second two weeks getting all of the parts 3D printed and finished.
One recreates a white, icy landscape, while another is a sea-inspired setting, made to display a gold octopus. Other works are more ethereal and convey dreamy images, which blend with the jewels’ colors through carefully chosen lighting, reflecting on the white nylon material. Each is as unusual as the jewelry it displays.
A New Strategy at Sundance:
Tangerine, a breakout hit from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is full of surprises. First, the subject matter: transgender prostitutes working in a not-so glamorous part of Hollywood. Second, the characters: survivors, with a sense of wit and irony. But the story behind the camera is surprising also — because the camera used to shoot Tangerine was the iPhone 5S.
Plenty of amateur films have been shot using iPhones, but by all reports, this is the first movie at the Sundance Film Festival to be shot almost entirely on an Apple device. It was a decision that indie writer and director Sean Baker made to accommodate the film’s small budget. But it’s hard to believe that Tangerine was shot in a widescreen, 2:35:1 aspect ratio, and its camera zooms through the streets of LA with a fluidity you’d not expect from a handheld device. And yet despite his camera of choice, Baker says the iPhone made for a good partner. “It was surprisingly easy,” Baker says. “We never lost any footage.”
Two New Lifestyle Brands: The Hyatt Centric and the Marriott Moxy
Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently introduced Hyatt Centric, a new full-service lifestyle brand designed for business and leisure travelers. The launch marks the sixth brand Hyatt has introduced since 2006.
The Hyatt Centric name was inspired by the brand’s mission to put its guests at the center of the action in the best destinations. More than 15 Hyatt Centric locations, comprising open and previously announced hotels, will debut this summer 2015, in some of the world’s most popular cities—including New York, Paris, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami.
“From listening to our guests, we learned there was an opportunity to better meet the needs of a large group of travelers that we call Modern Explorers,” says Hyatt’s president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian. “These travelers are looking for a cosmopolitan vibe in the center of the action, so we worked to test various elements in real time, in real hotels over the past two years. Hyatt Centric is the culmination of that work.”
And, Marriott International, Inc also announced the introduction of Moxy Hotels to the U.S.
The new and contemporary brand, first launched in Europe, is entering the market in a bold way, with eight identified projects slated for major metropolitan locations, including New York City (Chelsea, Mid-town and Lower Manhattan), San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans and Chicago.
Moxy Hotels was launched in fashion forward Milan last September and more hotels are set to open across Europe in Germany (Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin) Denmark (Copenhagen) and the United Kingdom (London) over the next two years.
So what can you expect from Moxy Hotels? Affordable rates (well, at least near the airport in Milan. Free and “furiously fast” Wi-Fi, Apple TV in the rooms, snug rooms and no phones next to the bed, as Moxy is all about high-tech, including keyless entry and motion-sensor lighting. Millennial- friendly, truly.
A New Montegrappa Salvador Dali-Inspired pen.
Montegrappa recently launched a new pen in the Genio Creative series; this one is dedicated to Salvador Dali. The prices range from $5000 to $86,000,
The subjects of the writing instruments in the Genio Creativo series are : Antonio Stradivari (in 2007), and Amedeo Modigliani (in 2008.) The third creative genius in Montegrappa’s roster of artists is Salvador Dalí. A visionary who personified surrealism, he was also a writer, filmmaker and designer.
Among his most famous works of art is The Persistence of Memory, the universally familiar surrealistic landscape of soft, melting pocket watches painted in 1931, and his 1944 work, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening.
It is the latter painting that has inspired Montegrappa’s designers to design a pen to contain the form of an elephant, which would become a recurring image in Dalí’s work.
On the Dalí pen, the elephant embraces a barrel of Mediterranean blue celluloid for the silver edition, or in malachite green for the solid gold version. When the pen is opened, a quote from the autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, is inscribed on the sterling silver inner barrel.
