Wendy Legro's graduation project, a modern Hot Water Bottle, gets produced by Droog.

A hit at 2010 design shows in Milan and the Netherlands, Wendy Legro’s graduation project for the Design Academy Eindhoven, Hot Water Bottle, is being mass produced by Droog.



The flocked hot water bottle has been on show at Sotheby's London, Salone del Mobile, Milan, Nike's design conference in Beaverton, Orlando, Designersfair at IMCologne, Graduation Galleries 2009 at Dutch Design Week and has been picked up by Wallpaper* and Frame.


above image courtesy of Wallpaper magazine

above image courtesy of Core 77

Specifications
Year: 2011
Material: PVC, ABS with flock outer lining
Product Size: 16.6" x 9.4" x 2.5"

Droog's press release:
Generations of people know that a hot water bottle is a simple way to stay warm. With its soft skin and unique aesthetics, this one becomes too beautiful to hide. “The sensorial and visual qualities of this hot water bottle completely change the role it plays in a room. From something that is often hidden, it is now an object you don’t want to put away,” says co-founder and director of Droog Renny Ramakers.

Designer Wendy Legro states: “The hot water bottle tends to be an underappreciated product. It has a beautiful function but an outdated appearance. I wanted to reflect the feeling the bottle gives you in the aesthetics of the product.”



Too beautiful to hide - hot water bottle is available at Droog Amsterdam and in
Droog’s online store for € 59,-. Soon available at resellers worldwide.

Q&A with Wendy Legro, designer of Too beautiful to hide - hot water bottle

What do you think makes the use of a hot water bottle particularly relevant today?
The hot water bottle never really disappeared; it has always played a part in the background. With this new design I hope more people will get re-acquainted with a very simple way of keeping warm. After all, comfort is something we are always looking for.

What are the benefits above a regular hot water bottle or electric blanket?
I find the comfort and support you can offer a beloved with a hot water bottle really beautiful. But the touch of rubber to skin is not comfortable and the material can be a bit smelly. Hiding it in an extra layer brings down the beauty and warmth. As for other ways of local heating like the electric blanket, my mother used one at our home but for me there was a lack of charm. My goal was to give an aged product with a warm use the look and feel it deserves.

How does this hot water bottle relate to your other work?
When I design I let my senses guide me. By doing so I hope to add an emotional value to my products. Finding beauty in shape and details, to me, is the most important thing. The use of colour and material should complement this.

How does this sensorial value translate into Too beautiful to hide?
The shape with its curves and flat areas is formed to fit a human body. The round lines on the surface let the bottle stay warm longer, while they make you want to touch the soft ridges to sense what it feels like.

Wendy Legro (Enkhuizen, NL 1984) graduated with distinction from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2009. In 2010 she founded Studio WM. with Maarten Collignon, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Based on affinity with the senses, the designer couple develops products that show a keen sense of atmosphere and detail. Work by Studio WM. can be characterized by a use of intuition and a sensitivity to material and aesthetics.

Droog

Cubistic Cubbies: Cornell Boxes From TECTA

Late architect and designer Alison Smithson designed these unusual storage and display boxes that are now being produced by Tecta of Germany.



Presented this year at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2010 in Milan, the Cornell boxes are available in three variations; a single tabletop version, a single floor standing version or a double floor standing version.

Cornell Box S30 D:

Cornell Box S30 1F:

Cornell Box S30 2F:

Images from Salone del Mobile, 2010



To inquire about price and purchasing contact TECTA.

Make A Doody In Denim: Huggies Launches Jean Diapers

Huggies is upping their fashion quotient (after all, they now have to compete with Ed Hardy diapers) with the US launch of Little Movers Denim Jean Diapers, a diaper with a printed pattern of simulated denim that includes stitched seams and back pockets. The stylish disposables have already been around in several other countries, including Israel, Mexico Singapore and Russia.


above photo courtesy of Baby Gaga.

To help launch the new product, JWT New York has created a new 30 second television spot. The tv spot doesn't mince words, instead they give us the straight poop, so to speak.


above: the tag line shown was considered too risqué for some networks, believe it or not.

The New York Times says:

While the jeans diaper commercial, which is scheduled to run on May 31, was accepted by 13 networks, including NBC, TNT and E!, three others, ABC, ABC Family and Sprout, objected to screen text at the end of the spot that included the word “pooping,” according to Huggies. (The brand did not seek to advertise on either CBS or Fox.) For those networks, the text was changed to, “When you gotta go, go in style.”

Below is the launch spot for Huggies Little Mover Jeans in Denim, which has the tagline "I poo in blue".



Credits:
Agency: JWT, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Ty Montague
Client: Huggies
Chief Creative Officer: Harvey Marco
Executive Creative Director: Walt Connelly
Creative Director: Richie Glickman
Art Director: Grant Mason
Copywriter: Richie Glickman
Copywriter: Kevin Mulroy
Planning Director: Lauren Turner
Planner: Libby Schaub
Director of Integrated Production: Clair Grupp
JWT Director of Production: Matthew Anderson
Producer: Kristen Barnard
Director of Operations: Jean Dabrowski
Project Manager: Lani De Rose



The press release:
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) today announced the nationwide availability of the limited edition Huggies Little Movers Jeans Diapers – a unique, fun and stylish denim-inspired fashion for babies during the summer months.

The new diaper is the first of its kind available in the United States and is available nationwide for a limited time from June through July 2010, where diapers are sold.

"Jeans have always been a Mommy fashion must-have, but now it's time for their little ones to steal the style," said Stuart Schneider, senior brand director of Huggies. "The design helps babies stay trendy while keeping dry with the same revolutionary design and proven leakage protection that moms have come to know and trust from the Huggies brand."



Huggies Jeans Diapers feature a fashionable blue denim design, providing parents and little ones everywhere with a trendy way to express their personal styles. First launched in Israel in 2007, Huggies Jeans Diapers have been a success in more than 20 countries around the world including Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore and many more.

"Following the success of our global Huggies brand teams, we're inviting consumers to engage with the Huggies brand in the same way they would engage with a fashion brand they love," said Schneider. "From baby fashion shows to celebrity partnerships, we're challenging moms to look at diapers in a whole new way."



above: babies rocking the new diapers at the New York Launch Event

The release of the fashion innovation in North America will include a comprehensive integrated marketing program that will stop moms in their tracks and inspire them to purchase Huggies Jeans Diapers. Utilizing the same tactics as a fashion brand, the team is incorporating a mix of marketing elements that include fashion shows, celebrity partnerships, social media, public relations, digital and e-commerce partnerships, TV, mall and Internet advertising, as well as highly visible and unique in-store displays and cross promotions.



Huggies Jeans Diapers are available in three sizes, from size 3 (16-28 lbs) through size 5 (over 27 lbs) for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $9.59 for a jumbo pack and $19.99 for a big pack (diaper count varies based on diaper size).

Video and agency credits courtesy of Creativity Online.

Like Booze? Sex? Have I Got A Drink For You. Introducing Aphrodope Elixir.

From Australia comes Aphrodope Elixir - an herb and berry liqueur claiming to be the world's first true aphrodisiac in a bottle.



In their own words:
Aphrodope Elixir is a strong 35% Alc/Vol Liqueur. It is a known fact that alcohol is one of the top ten aphrodisiacs. In small doses it is able to elevate your mood and lower your inhibitions, raise libido and enhance sexual pleasure.



Aphrodope Elixir can have a remarkable effect on the libido of those that may be a bit shy when it comes to flirting and sex. However, dependence on Aphrodope for its aphrodisiac-like qualities can result in mistakes in judgment that you may regret in the morning.

The Aphrodope Elixir recipe is based on herbs, berries and seeds, which are known as natural stimulants, able to promote sexual stimulation and enhance mood.

Some of the herbs used in the Aphrodope Elixir recipe contain essential natural oils which release fragrance in the air. The smell of Aphrodope Elixir can also be stimulating and arouse senses and libido.

The 500ml bottle (which sells for about $45- $50) is seductively embossed with a sculpture of ancient lovers:


Buy it here.

The little 50ml bottles are sold as a sixpack:

Buy the little bottles at their online store here.

The site has many recipes and ways to serve it; hot, cold, mixed.. even with espresso beans or red bull. They also have uses for the liqueur in food, see the recipe section here for more info.




I have yet to find a formal review, nor have I tried it myself, so I can't tell you actually tell you how it tastes. Or if it really works.

But if it does, I foresee an increase in both alcoholism and sex addiction.


all images and information courtesy of Aphrodope
Manufactured and distributed by Naked Chef Pty.ltd of Moorabbin, Melbourne

Shop their online store here.


If you're a fan of unusual liquors, be sure to check these out:
•25 Unusual & Premium Vodkas From Ed Hardy To Bacon Flavored
•Stunningly designed Vodka Bottles
•Organic Vodkas
•Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka
•Belvedere's 1X Vodka

Beer That's Out Of This World. Sapporo's Space Barley.

Now, I don't know how it tastes, but Sapporo has released a brew whose barleycorn was cultivated during a five month space mission. That's right, a beer brewed in zero gravity.

Sapporo intends to sell limited quantities of the space brew with proceeds going to a charitable science program for Japanese children. CNET says there will be a lottery in which 250 winners will be able to purchase the brew, the price of which will be $115.00 a six-pack.

Why they did this as well as how is explained in detail further on in this post.


Product specs:
name: SAPPORO Space Barley
Material: Malt, hops
Content features: 100% use of the the seedlings of barleycorn that traveled the space for five months
Alcoholic content: 5.5%
Volume/Number per package: 330ml in a one-way bottle
Design: A chic design with Navy blue graduation representing the space set with stars, featuring the product name like a shooting star. Barley is an English word.
Manufacturing plant: Nasu Breweries, Sapporo Breweries

The information below is from The Sapporo Bioresources Research & Development Department:

SAPPORO Space Barley


In collaboration with Dr. Sugimoto, Associate Professor, (Speciality" Cytomolecular Biochemistry) of the Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University (Kurashiki City, "Okayama University) and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences", Sapporo Breweries, Ltd. (Head office: Tokyo; President: Masaru Fukunaga) test brewed the first-in-the world beer brewed from the seedlings of barleycorn that traveled the space, "SAPPORO Space Barley."



Most of the only 100 litters of brewed beer will be used for experiments, but Sapporo would like to offer part of the beer for tasting events to be held at six breweries in Japan (Hokkaido, Sendai, Nasu, Chiba, Shizuoka and Shinkyushu,) and is inviting 60 persons (30 pairs) of customers.

The beer was brewed as part of the joint research with Okayama University conducted to exploit possibilities of barleycorn for beer in space, "Studies of Impact of Extreme Environmental Stresses on Barley" and uses 100% of the "seedlings of barleycorn that traveled the space."

Regarding the malt used for the beer, seeds of "Haruna Nijo," beer barley developed by Sapporo Breweries that stayed in space for five months in the Russian Research Modules of the International Space Station were brought back to earth, cultivated at our experimental field of Bioresearch and Development Department at our Gunma Plant and successfully harvested in this past May.



The company plans to offer opportunities for the invited guests to taste "Space Barley," and be awarded the chance to taste the brew and tour the breweries.

Next year, in addition to this series of events, they also plan to hold a "space class" and an event to "roast and taste barley tea" for local children at these breweries by taking advantage of the "seedlings of barleycorn that traveled the space" still under cultivation.

Sapporo Breweries hopes to contribute to awareness-raising about the space as well as the advancement of space science and children's education and continue to pursue possibilities of food and drink in space.



History of "space barley"

April 2006
Haruna Nijo malting barley developed by Sapporo Breweries through collaborative research with Okayama University and the Russian Academy of Sciences was kept aboard the Zvezda Service Module, a component of the International Space Station (ISS), for five months (first-generation "space barley").

April 2007
Seeded the first-generation "space barley".

November 2007
Harvested the second-generation "space barley"; seeded the second-generation "space barley".

May 2008
Harvested the third-generation "space barley".

October 2008
Trial brewing of the world's first beer made from the third-generation "space barley".

November 2008
Seeded the third-generation "space barley".

January 2009
Tasting events held at breweries nationwide for beer made from the third-generation "space barley".

May 2009
Harvested the fourth-generation "space barley".

August 2009
Hop seeds from Furano, Hokkaido launched into space.

September 2009
Tasting events held at five breweries nationwide for barley tea made from "space barley".

November 2009
Seeded the fourth-generation "space barley".

December 2009
Applications accepted to buy SAPPORO Space Barley-the beer brewed from the fourth-generation "space barley".

Sapporo Breweries Limited (PINK:SOOBF) was established in 1949 and is the foremost brewing company in Japan with a 120-year brewing history.

All information and images courtesy of Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Public Relations Section