Chic and Basic Hotel product packaging

Barcelona’s Hotel Omm

There’s something to be said for staying in a hotel room that’s bigger than your Brooklyn apartment. Yup, it happens so rarely that when you come across it, you kinda want to hang inside, bask in the space, and imagine that this really is your life. 365 days a year. Ah ha, then you wake up. Anyway, I stayed recently at the beautifully designed Hotel Omm in the Eixample district of Barcelona, surrounded by the glitzy, sparkling shops that dot the landscape and by the disarmingly original Gaudi buildings that tower spectacularly above the skyline. It’s quite a sight. [photo by Alison Zavos] Read more

Barcelona’s Chic and Basic Born Hotel

My wife and I have just returned from a week lapping up the culture and exploring the long winding alleyways that run off the main streets in the center of Barcelona. What a magnificent city! The seamless blend of old and new in the architecture, food, and sounds, which float out of the bars and cafes, combine with a very distinct design aesthetic, which permeates the stores and hotels to create a thriving modern city with one eye firmly on the future and the other on the artifacts of its past. While in Barcelona, we spent a few nights staying at the sublime Chic and Basic Hotel [photographed above and below], located in the Born area. This hotel symbolized so much of what we considered Barcelona to be about. Read more

Olive: Delicatessen del Mediterraneo

Situated between the hip El Born and Barceloneta neighborhoods in always stylish Barcelona, Spain is an unassuming narrow boutique where shelves are lined with all things olive. Here at aptly named OLIVE, Delicatessen del Mediterraneo, an awe-inspiring collection of olive oils sit beside a plethora of olive-oil based cosmetics, soaps, creams, gels, and any other olive-related product one can dream up. Sourced mainly from Spain, in addition to France and Italy, this olive smorgasbord is headed up by a charming Frenchman who also pushes organic cosmetics and chic kitchen design goods. So next time you’re keen on taking up a Mediterranean diet, make a b-line to Barcelona to stock up at OLIVE’s.

Oh Happy Day and Oh Crappy Day rings

Ring out the bad, and ring in the good, Yessir, these Happy Day and Crappy Day rings are just that: a jolt of brutal realism cloaked in saccharine sweet colourings.

Luxirare Edible Crayons

Look very closely as your eyes are deceiving you. These are not innocent crayons, fit for small fingers. No, they are instead luxury health bars, made from a complex combination of flavours but featuring at their core chocolate covered sunflower seeds, fruity pebbles and melted marshmellow. They are Luxirare Edible Crayons, and they are amazing! Read more

Brightness Dawn collection by Setareh Mohtarez

Wow, wow, wow! These fashion designs by Setareh Mohtarez are part of her 2009 Brightness Dawn collection. Read more