The Comet Lamp by Tom Dixon for Veuve Clicquot

Veuve Clicquot, is hosting an exceptional 100 square-meter bar and presenting their special collaboration with Tom Dixon — the Comet Lamp — this week during Art Stage Singapore.

The Comet Lamp was designed from a simple, cardboard box transformed into a romantic, beneficent and sparkle — just like champagne — based on the universally attractive laws of geometry. The emblems of Veuve Clicquot and its five-branched star inspired Tom Dixon to reference the comet that was seen in the Champagne region of France in 1811, the year of an exceptional vintage and the first year of the “modern champagnes” that were pioneered by Veuve Clicquot. I’m a sucker for sparkly things designed by Tom Dixon.

The Comet with Tom Dixon

Photos courtesy of Veuve Clicquot.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Friday Five with Laura Day

Laura Day is a country girl that relocated to New York City to carry out her passion of becoming an Interior Designer. She has completed many spectacular residential and commercial design projects for rock stars and Grammy award winners alike. Her career has also included such highlights as designing for TLC’s hit series Trading Spaces, participating in DIFFA’s Dining By Design with Elle Decor, and being featured in such publications as The New York Times, Vogue, and Traditional Home. Her most recent venture, lauradayliving.com, is an on-line shelter magazine that has been described as “a blog on steroids.” Laura has also used her website and DAYly blog as a platform to advocate her love for green-design and healthy living.

Here are five items that benefit a great cause.

1. Falling Whistles
I purchased one of these necklaces in the Summer because I was so inspired by the story behind them. 100% of the proceeds are used to rehabilitate war-affected children in Congo and advocate for their freedom. I love their tagline: …”wear your protest and be a whistle blower for peace.“

2. Kahi Lee’s “Unlock the Cure” series
Interior Designer and HGTV personality Kahi Lee designed a line of furniture entitled “Unlock the Cure” series. It is focused on discovering the “right key” to cure cancer. The collection includes coffee tables, end tables, trays and lanterns with a cut-out key pattern. There are over 20 finishes to choose from. It’s so sleek and the shadows created from the cut-outs look magical!

3. Bebe Ravi
Former fashion model and designer Siamanda Chege is the brains behind the children’s clothing line Bebe Ravi. All of the clothing is made by women from Nakuru, Kenya (where the unemployment rate is as high as 40%.) Aside from providing these women the opportunity to become breadwinners within their family, a significant percentage of the revenue goes back into the Kenyan community through the Patrick Chege Memorial Orphanage.

4. Ten Thousand Villages
This website creates opportunities for artisans around the globe to earn fair wage by making their products readily available to be purchased on-line. They have SO much stuff , it’s hard not to find a handful of things you can’t live without. My personal favorites are the Essential Companion Tote and the Buffalo Horn Candle, pictured above.

5. Change For Kids-CFK “Stac(e)y” Bracelet
Jewelry designer and personal friend of mine, Stacy Helfstein partnered with another personal friend and trainer of mine, Stacey Griffith to design this bracelet made out of wood beads and paired with a diamond, sapphire, or ruby ball. 100% of the proceeds go to Change for Kids, a charity that partners with New York City public schools to empower underprivileged children by providing them with a broad range of innovative literacy, arts, and music programs. To order a CFK “Stac(e)y” bracelet visit changeforkids.org.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

EOps Noisezeor i+ and 0utercover by Michael Young

British-born and Hong Kong-based Michael Young has released two companion products, a cornstarch-built earbud and a multifunctional iPad case, to complement favorites in Apple’s portable product spectrum.

As the world’s first cornstarch ear buds, Young’s Noisezeor i+ employ bioplastics for the bud and microphone housing. The horn-shape chamber optimizes acoustics, while the slim form provides for increased utility. For more info, watch a video about the headphones and the iPad case.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

TokToki

TokToki is a new LA-based brand of jewelry. I like their big chunky graphic pieces — very mod.

Thanks, Kate!

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

Folly by Beth Katleman

Folly by Beth Katleman is a new show opening at Jane Hartsook Gallery that will showcase the artist’s installation of 3D porcelain “wallpaper.”

Inspired by and resembling 18th century wall coverings, the stories she tells in her figures are dark and humorous: bridesmaids end up in a pond, a poor duckling tumbles off a waterfall, and a reindeer answers nature’s porcelain call.

What: Folly from Beth Katleman
When: January 20, 2011 – February 17, 2011 / Opening Reception January 20, 6-8 PM
Where: Jane Hartsook Gallery, Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones Street, New York, NY

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

Mountain Opening House in Japan by EASTERN Design Office

EASTERN Design Office created a residence located in Takarazuka-city of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. Situated in an exclusive residential district on a hill slope, its view is that of the entire Osaka Plain. The site has an 8-meter difference in height allowing for a challenging slanted build, most of the home is practically invisible from the road above.

Two goals of the home were to 1) to be underground in the warmth of the earth and 2) to feel as though one were flying like a bird.

The upper floor creates — in a sense — the feeling of flight, flying high over Gulf of Osaka, high-rise buildings, Kobe port, Kansai Airport, Itami Airport, and shadowy blue mountains. One also gets the feeling of setting sail on a mountain ship voyage crossing mountains and plains instead of a sea.

Completed: December 2009
Location: Takarazuka Hyogo Japan
Usage: Office, house
Site area: 711.46 m2
Total floor area: 361.84m2
Architects: Anna Nakamura+Taiyo Jinno/EASTERN Design Office
Structural Engineering: Hojo Structure Research Institute
Constructor: Fukasaka Co., Ltd
Photographer: Koichi Torimura

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Upside Down by Adrien De Melo

Edited by Galerie BSL, and a special commission from the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Upside Down by young French designer Adrien De Melo is a landscape of suspended books, resembling a music score. Each piece is made of stainless steel frames covered with translucent polyurethane inflated cushions and hung using straps. Construct your own ideal floating bookcase using the five base modules.

Edited by Galerie BSL to eight examples and one prototype, Upside Down is, originally, a commission from Louis Vuitton Malletier to equip the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton (60 rue Bassano Paris 8th) where it will be definitively installed from February 2011.

The bookcase will be presented for the first time at the next edition of Meet My Project at Lieu du Design, 74 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine (Paris 12th) from January 21-25, 2011.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---