MADcrush

Cool idea-wine meets modern art. The event is called MADcrush in partnership with the Museum of Art and Design in New York, top chefs and wine professionals come together to share their craft.  This is a five week (thursday) pop up wine bar on now until July 30th at Columbus Circle.  Love the wine bar out of cardboard boxes.

via joonbug

via joonbug

popbar

As the summer heats up, and you are looking for something cool and refreshing to eat or to serve at an event, Popbar in New York (west village) has an interesting thing going:  gelato on a stick.  Using a unique process from Italy’s, Stick House, Popbar, rotates 25 flavours, all homemade in house and crafts beautiful looking “popsicles” out of gelato, sorbet and yogurt and covers them in toppings (almonds, hazelnut, granola, coconut).  The owners made a point to use top ingredients including hormone free milk, real fruit and no additives in the product.  

Two great things put together, custom and gelato!  Even with Popbar’s aim to keep these desserts, “kid friendly”  they look too beautiful to eat.  What’s better is that catering is available for special events- ahem anyone looking for something fresh and new in NYC.  Love it, love it!  Open in Toronto Popbar. For more pictures on how it’s done, you can check out Manila Review to see an example at StickHouse here.  

via popbar

via popbar

joya candles

I went on a five hour walk today with my boyfriend to do some window shopping, take photographs and take in fresh air and sun.  It is the first nice day in Toronto in a long time.  Mother nature must have known that today was a civic holiday and that people would want good weather on their day off.  The streets were teaming with dogs, families, little bike riders, big bike riders, and friends all shopping, browsing and socializing on Good Friday.

A couple good finds today while we poked our head in and out of the stores on Queen Street West between Dovercourt and Bathurst.

One in particular is a candle brand I discovered called Joya candles.  Joya is a New York based candle and fragrance company, or “creative collective” as the company website totes named after the Spanish word for jewel.  Their candles are hand crafted and environmentally friendly and caught my attention for the candle holder’s design and amazing smelling jasmine flavoured candle.  They produce a line of candles and fragrances under their own brand as well as for other retailers.   The candle that I saw was part of their special collection that was released in 2007 called the Joya + Sarah Cihat limited edition candle.   Sarah Cihat is a Brooklyn based ceramic artist best known for her line of rehabilitated dishware and she co-designs the Perfume in Porcelain line for Joya.   The holder comes in six styles (three white/three black) with motifs like octopuses, skulls, peacocks and a moth.     These candles would make a great hostess gift. 

via delight

via sarah cihat

lorena barrezueta bakeware

I love to bake.  That is no surprise to those of you who know me.  I have a cookbook collection that has been growing larger by the year, that I will one day take with me when I move out of my mother’s house.  What I don’t have is a set of bakeware to call my own.  Over the past couple years of taking baking lessons, I have picked up a cake pan here or a loaf tin there and love the non-stick, metal bakeware.  However, I would not say that this functional bakeware is at all pretty. 

Wait till you see Lorena Barrezueta ‘s colourful, bold, Gourmet Collection.  You’ll want one of everything.  I sure do!

Artist Note:  Lorena Barrezueta is a New York (Brooklyn) based artist who earned a BFA in Product Design from the Parsons School of Design.   Lorena’s porcelain dishware are cast from aluminum takeout containers and can be purchased online from the Curiosity Shoppe here.

via funky finds

via luxist

via design alphabet

via olive bunny

floral sculptures

Preston Bailey, who i’ve written about before, is rediculously talented!

Here is a shot of the three floral sculptures Preston created in the New York Public Library for the Monday night gala of Bridal Fashion Week held in October 2010.

via preston bailey

via preston bailey

baked

I am obsessed with Baked.

I paid the bakery a visit this past weekend en route to the Butter by Nadia sample sale all the way out in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  While I walked away dressless from the sample sale, boy was it worth the Ikea water taxi across the river for a cookie and a look around the charming industrial/residential area that is Red Hook.  I had the most scrumptuous ginger molasses chocolate chip cookie that I have ever tasted in my life.  This was a serious cookie.  Moist, flavourful, a balance between soft and chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges.  I liked the cookie so much, I even spent $30 on the Baked bakery cookbook, thereby making it one expensive cookie!  Well worth it. I’m just kidding.

If you are in New York and you are feeling a bit adventurous, get yourself down to Pier 11 by Wall Street, take the Ikea water taxi (a lovely 10 minute ride on the water where you get to listen to top 40 music and read Where magazine!) and then walk over to Baked.  You won’t regret this trek I promise!  From what I understand from digging around a bit (here) about the bakery, the owners also opened a baked in Charleston and there are some great pictures here.

via coolhunting.com

via austin chronicle

via lottie and doof