Fifi Fashion

Okay, probably the most genius blog I've seen yet is Fifi Lapin's fashion blog @ http://fifi-lapin.blogspot.com

Fifi blog features drawings of a really cute bunny dressed up in the latest runway looks from Chanel, Missoni, D&G, Karen Walker, etc... These illustrations are wonderfully kitschy, yet ever-stylish. Most of all, Fifi's a good resource for being in the know with the latest runway shows.

-S

Fifi Fashion

Okay, probably the most genius blog I've seen yet is Fifi Lapin's fashion blog @ http://fifi-lapin.blogspot.com

Fifi blog features drawings of a really cute bunny dressed up in the latest runway looks from Chanel, Missoni, D&G, Karen Walker, etc... These illustrations are wonderfully kitschy, yet ever-stylish. Most of all, Fifi's a good resource for being in the know with the latest runway shows.

-S

YSL's Bottle Rocket

L'Homme, YSL


Torre Agbar, Barcelona Spain.

This sleek test tube is actually YSL's new starchitect-designed fragrance bottle. Torre Agbar architect Jean Nouvel is the designer, and from the looks of it, the Frenchman hasn't strayed too far from his tower-erecting formula. The limited-edition bottle is for the brand's popular Chinese-ginger-meets-citron-zest scent, L'Homme. "It's phallic, but then you turn it upside down and it's not," Nouvel said at last night's NYC launch. "I wanted it to be very ergonomic, so you can put it in your coat pocket." Nouvel also included a "sparkle of light" bobber (with an iridescent YSL logo) inside.

L'Homme Yves Saint Laurent available this May, $79.50, at yslbeautyus.com

YSL's Bottle Rocket

L'Homme, YSL


Torre Agbar, Barcelona Spain.

This sleek test tube is actually YSL's new starchitect-designed fragrance bottle. Torre Agbar architect Jean Nouvel is the designer, and from the looks of it, the Frenchman hasn't strayed too far from his tower-erecting formula. The limited-edition bottle is for the brand's popular Chinese-ginger-meets-citron-zest scent, L'Homme. "It's phallic, but then you turn it upside down and it's not," Nouvel said at last night's NYC launch. "I wanted it to be very ergonomic, so you can put it in your coat pocket." Nouvel also included a "sparkle of light" bobber (with an iridescent YSL logo) inside.

L'Homme Yves Saint Laurent available this May, $79.50, at yslbeautyus.com

The Real C. Jeré

No mid-century modern home is complete without a wall sculpture by C. Jeré. The works by the artist are so quintessentially 1960's modern art, and they're pretty good investments too (very desirable in the art auction world).

The story behind C. Jeré is quite interesting. You see, to most everyone C. Jeré is known to be a single prolific artist working in metal, but in fact, there was never an artist named C. Jeré at all... the name C. Jeré is a pseudonym front for a large manufacturer of metal based decorative accessories!

C. Jeré is a play on the names of Jerry Fels and Kurt Freiler, founders of the Los Angeles based metal working company "Artisan House". Legend has it that the two combined their first names to form the name of the imaginary artist, and added the accent so the artist sounded french. The company, Artisan House, behind the name was actually composed of many metal workers, some of whom were indeed artists in their own right, but many of whom were merely welders and machinists. While many of the items produced by Artisan House are indeed "art", the goal of artisan house was never really about fine art, but more about commerce. Some of the items produced by "C. Jeré" are really quite unique and stunning and do rise to the level of fine art and high design, but lots of the items produced were more in the line of "dogs playing poker".

Artisan House is still in existence (and online), but no longer owned by Jerry and Kurt or based in southern California.

-S

SYI: The truth shall set you free

The Real C. Jeré

No mid-century modern home is complete without a wall sculpture by C. Jeré. The works by the artist are so quintessentially 1960's modern art, and they're pretty good investments too (very desirable in the art auction world).

The story behind C. Jeré is quite interesting. You see, to most everyone C. Jeré is known to be a single prolific artist working in metal, but in fact, there was never an artist named C. Jeré at all... the name C. Jeré is a pseudonym front for a large manufacturer of metal based decorative accessories!

C. Jeré is a play on the names of Jerry Fels and Kurt Freiler, founders of the Los Angeles based metal working company "Artisan House". Legend has it that the two combined their first names to form the name of the imaginary artist, and added the accent so the artist sounded french. The company, Artisan House, behind the name was actually composed of many metal workers, some of whom were indeed artists in their own right, but many of whom were merely welders and machinists. While many of the items produced by Artisan House are indeed "art", the goal of artisan house was never really about fine art, but more about commerce. Some of the items produced by "C. Jeré" are really quite unique and stunning and do rise to the level of fine art and high design, but lots of the items produced were more in the line of "dogs playing poker".

Artisan House is still in existence (and online), but no longer owned by Jerry and Kurt or based in southern California.

-S

SYI: The truth shall set you free

Fire Jumper

If you see fire jumping tonight, let me explain:

The last Tuesday of the Iranian year is celebrated with a bonfire. This day is called Charshanbeh Suri. Literally, this means Wednesday's eve of joy. Therefore, it is celebrated on the last Tuesday night of the year.

The main activity on this day is setting up a fire with kindle and jumping over it while chanting a song. The song goes "Zardî-ye man az to, sorkhî-ye to az man." This literally means my yellowness to you, your redness to me. Figuratively, this means my ilness and paleness to the fire, the flames strength and vitality to me. While the tradition brings health for the new year, the fire also guides the spirits of old relatives to your home. It was believed that these spirits were to visit the living at the end of every year.

The ceremony goes back to Zoroaster who introduced fire as a cleansing and purifying element on the globe. The idea is to burn bad habits, weakness, sin, and such in the new year, which coincides with the coming of Spring in the Iranian calendar.

-S

SYI - Iranians are good!