Deer Frida

I stumbled across this fantastic portrait of Frida Kahlo on http://www.whokilledbambi.co.uk/. It's such an amazingly serene image - consider this my belated Christmas gift to you...

Arrr! Pete and the Pirates!

I went to a great gig the other night - it was the homecoming bash for The Young Knives. The Young Knives were ok, but the support band was excellent! Pete and the Pirates are a Reading based band formed in 2002. They have been receiving a lot of press and praise for their fun sounds - and rightly so! They properly had me bopping along. You can check them out on the amazing fabchannel - playing live at Paradiso in Amsterdam. Enjoy!

Twilight - Not Just for Teenage Girls

I've just got back from the cinema after watching Twilight - the teenage girl vampire fantasy film, based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer. I haven't read the books, and I have to say I went into the film thinking it was all going to be a bit Harry Potter. It turned out that the only thing Harry Potter about the whole thing was the fact that Robert Pattinson (who plays Edward Cullen in the film) also played Cedric Diggory in the Potter films. I actually really enjoyed the film - it's a long one at over 2 hours, but I really got into it. The filming was very beautiful, and the sound track was well put together. Definitely worth a watch if you get the chance.

Magical Polaroid Immortalised In Film

I love this documentary put together by Charles and Ray Eames capturing the magical (but now unfortunately obsolete) Polaroid SX-70 camera. Such amazing design and functionality...

Ties Are Back!

My posts are like buses today - three at once - I bet you can't believe your little eyes! Now, here is a good reason to start wearing shirts again. You knew they might come in useful at some point...

Cyberoptix Tie Lab are doing everything they can to banish ties that suck. They make unusual, screenprinted silk ties which I'm guessing they hope you will want to buy to replace all those ties you have at the back of your wardrobe that you bought in the 80s. There are loads to choose from, and for an extra $10 you can have your neck wear delivered it a lovely wooden tie lab box. Check out their web site, or their Etsy store to see what's going on.

Barnaby Barford Ceramics

Now this rocks! I came across an article about Barnaby Barford while I was looking for Christmas presents this year. The above object (titled 'Anything you can do I can do better') was listed in The Independent's 50 best gifts for women. It certainly stood out from the other items being paraded. Apparently Barnaby selects found objects and turns them into modified sculptures. I love the quirkiness and bright colours in the above work! You can find out more about his other projects on his website and designboom. Just so you know - I didn't buy it for anyone. I couldn't find a price - so I'm guessing it was therefore out of my £50 budget...

Plushtache the Mustache

Firstly (and I know I've said this before), I'm back on the blogging wagon. The wheels fell off for a second there, but I've greased up that axle and installed a turbo (or something).

Secondly, I love Etsy. That's a fact. It's a treasure trove of things you never knew you needed - including the amazing Plushtache. This is pure wool and polyfill dream material! Shannon (the lady who makes them, and other wondrous things) suggests you attach a plushtache to your lapel for easy twiddling during conversational lulls... What an accessory!

Mast Brothers - Pretty Chocolate

I was trawling round the web looking for Christmas presents (I know It's getting a bit too late) and I found these super pretty chocolate bars created by the Mast Brothers of Brooklyn. They make the chocolate in small batches - doing everything from cleaning and roasting the beans, to wrapping the final product in the most amazing paper! Unfortunately you can only buy it online if you are in the US from shopcomposition.com. Everyone else will have to make a special effort to do a trip over there!

MonkeyLectric - Be Seen, Be Safe, Be Ace!

US based company MonkeyLectric have released a revolutionary bike light featuring 32 super bright LEDs. It attaches to your wheels and it looks amazing, and is another great reason to buy a bike if you don't already have one. You can buy 2 for only $64.99. This has got more LEDs than my PC - and that's saying something! Check out the video in the gallery on the site for an idea of what it looks like in action.