Lost AT E Minor

Le Labo: ’cause perfume is yummy!

Aphrodisiacs are one of life’s little pleasures and pheromones play a big part in the show: tease or be teased! Le Labo, the hot new fragrance line exclusively sold at Liberty in London, lends itself to upping the stakes when it comes to mystifying the audience. Creating ten scents, each with an ode to primary natural essence, you are sure imbue a whole new experience when it comes to frolicking in the grass.

Retrouvius

If words like twentieth century, architecture, salvage, furniture and hodgepodge turn you on, then Retrouvius will enter into The Hall of Fame when it comes to showing off your new digs. I am quite partial to the Central Line Tube Table, being that I take the line everyday. ’Dining on’ instead of ’schlepping in’ could expand relations with the city. You also might enjoy poking through their project page for home inspirations.

Britain’s poshest squat

I’m all for squatting. The thought of hundreds of houses standing empty in London, because the owners can’t be bothered either to fix it up and sell it, or lease it, or because they’ve got too much wonga to limit themselves to one house, just sounds plain greedy. So it was with delight that I learned that a group calling themselves Da! Collective had made their home in a £6 million mansion in London’s uber-exclusive Mayfair area, and are (allegedly) in the process of turning it into a walk-in art installation. It’s been reported all over the UK news, but still no word from its owners who are holed up in the Virgin Islands. Poor them. Similarly, I was equally chuffed to hear of these guys who are turning squatting in London into a conscientious business.

Urs Fischer’s installations

New York and Zurich-based artist Urs Fischer’s entropic sculptures and installations blows apart people’s expectations of what to expect at a gallery. Last year’s installation, You, at Gavin Brown was a 38-foot-by-30-foot crater dug into the gallery floor. His huge, ambitious works seem frantic and impulsive despite the immense planning and meticulous execution they often require. His mockery of physics, and the enormous scale and shock-and-awe quality of his work suggest the god-like potency of an artist, at least within a gallery space. Read more

Paper Water Bottle

Design company BrandImage has just come out with their line of paper water bottles made out of renewable resources. The bottles themselves are recyclable, and while not as reusable as a plastic bottle, can still be reused a few times. These are cool designs, even if they still pander to our on-the-go, single-serving, throw-away culture. Their environmental friendliness is also dubious, considering most people will still choose to throw these things in the trash rather than taking the time to find a recycling bin.

Faith No More reunion

Very few band reunions get me excited, but I’ve consistently loved Faith No More since I was 13. I loved their pre-Mike Patton era, I loved King for a Day, and I even loved their track with Boo Yah Tribe on the Judgment Night soundtrack. Kerrang recently hinted that a FNM reformation is in the works for ‘09, and though bassist Billy Gould has emphatically denied the rumors, the general consensus is that the reunion is on.