Monday, December 7, 2015

Limited Edition Art selection for those hard to buy for



Pascale Marthine Tayou, LOVER £3,000


Roy Lichtenstein, Landscape Mobile (Limoges) Contact for Pricing info


Selgascano, Pavilion Model I £96, Model II £96, Model III £96, Model IV £96


Sarah Morris, Big Ben 2012 (2011) $1,650


Sam Taylor-Johnson, Second Floor (2014) $8,400


Rachel Whiteread, Secondhand (2004) $1,100


Herzog & de Meuron, Tate Modern Brick £1,450


Yves Klein, Table Or Contact for Pricing info

 


Josef Albers, Homage to the Square Rug, $995


Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker Vase, $5,000


Wayne Thiebaud, Little Red Sukers, $8,500


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Recommendations for men's fashion sales

Now that we are in the first inning of markdowns, I'm going to break it down for ya!

Barney's New York arguably has the best sale as things are marked 40% off instead of 30-33.3%... although I have to say their online inventory controller had done a good job.  Not much interesting items left.
I like the Thom Browne Rugby Stripe scarf.  But it's made of 100% cotton so it's probably more of a spring thing than winter.  $359.
I also like the Valentino Open sneakers.  Only size 9,10, 10.5 left.  It's essentially a slip on which is easy to wear especially at airport security!  $439.
The oh so hard to come by Saint Laurent Paris moto jeans is actually on sale! This pair of jeans had been carried over for few seasons now.  Amazing design.  I remember when it first came out, it was gone in a nano seconds!  Only size 28 left.  $949.
I love me some leather especially from Valextra!  This card case is a very good buy.  The descriptions just said leather but it looks to me like lizard.  The same card case in different leather is half the price so I have to assume this one is real lizard?!  White is obviously not easy to keep clean and probably why they put this on sale.  $239.

Matches Fashion sale isn't as good at 30% off (with few exception at 40% off).  But perhaps selection is a tab bit better.
Tons of Bottega Veneta!  But the rare star is the Intrecciato leather backpack.  One rarely sees men's large BV leather goods go on sale.  Crossing fingers this one drops to 50% off!!  $1806.
Quite a bit of Saint Laurent Paris selection as well.  My fav is the Zip-detail jersey sweatshirt.  Available in M, L.  Simple and clean design.  $455.

I have to say this season I feel the designs are a bit underwhelming.  Maybe I'll feel better about it once we go 50% off!  LOL.




  

  


Friday, November 13, 2015

Adventure of trying to buy a piece of H&M Balmain collaboration.

Took me awhile to recover from #HMBalmaination craziness.  But I finally have the time to document my experience.

I knew it was going to be crazy.  But I didn't realize it was going to be this crazy.  After reading the disaster Hermes sample sale in NYC few weeks ago on Racked NY, I decided the smartest way to get something from this collection was to hire a line sitter.  In the mean time, a friend of mine got in the press line in NYC and was suppose to go the night before the launch to pick up a thing or two.  He had promised me to get a leather hoodie in L or leather jogger in L for me.  I thought about cancelling my line sitter but thought I should just double down.


Around 3PM on November 4th Pacific time, I got a text from my friend saying the line is insane!!!  I was like but I thought you were in VIP line!  Are you sure you are not in the regular line for tomorrow?  He assured me he was in the right line and that it was insane.



Then a little bit later, he texted me a picture of empty racks....  That was a bust.  Well, at least I have the option of getting something online and thank god I did not cancel my line sitter.

I decided to go to my local H&M to see how long the line is.  This was 8:30 Pacific time.  I would say there were about 30 people in line.  I was getting a little bit nervous.  I thought about calling my line sitter to come early as she was suppose to come around 1AM to wait inline on my behalf.  I also thought about maybe I should get in line now and wait for her to show up at 1AM.  But then I thought maybe I'm getting too carry away and this is kinda crazy.  So I just figure the ones there are die hard ones and I doubt more will show up until maybe 3 or 4AM.  So I didn't bother to call my line sitter.

Come 5AM November 5th, I tried desperately to get online to buy a piece of the collaboration.  I had my ipad, iphone, iMac refreshing like crazy....  It just wasn't happening.  I was not able to get online at all for well over 45 minutes.  Few friends told me they were able to get online and that pretty much men's stuff were all wiped out.  Ok, two chips are down and I still have one....


I went to H&M around 6:30AM as I know most likely bracelets will be handed out around 7 and I want to be there to get the bracelet on my wrist than to have my line sitter wearing my bracelet.  So when I got there, I realized that I was like 100 people back from the front door.  I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to get anything from then on.  But since I already spent the money to have a line sitter waiting, I might as well wait.

 
By 7AM, they started to give out bracelets.  My time slot was 9:45AM.  The lady behind me kept on saying "it's all dudes in front of us".  She was absolutely correct, it was like 95% dudes and 5% girls so I knew men's stuff would most likely be gone by the time I got in.

Finally my time slot was let in at 9:45AM.  I was exhausted having wait in line since 6:30 and obviously up since 4AM to try to get online to buy.  I think I may have gotten 2-3 hours of sleep.  I was the last third or fourth person in my group and they had all of us in a single file line so by the time I got to the men's section, there were several black tank tops, few henley, and couple long sleeve t-shirts left.  I was pretty irked by then as there really wasn't anything I wanted to buy.  But of course I purchased few obligated items since I didn't come all the way to here to leave empty handed.  So I got a tank top, couple small blue leather bags for gifts, couple sunglasses.  And for the ladies section, there were plenty of selection except the most desirable beaded items.

I got home and checked Ebay...of course all the East Coast stuff are already posted online for sale.  I was annoyed to say the least and knowing that the closest I'll get to buy that black leather jacket I want is to either buy the real thing and not eat for several month or pay an Ebay reseller.


November 6th, I read on Racked SF the night before that they will be selling the clothes on the mannequin on the first come first serve basis.  I thought this will be my only chance to get something.  I knew the mall wasn't going to open until 10AM so I figure I'll go there around 9:30AM and see if I can find a way to get to H&M first.  I got to the parking lot and went straight across the street.  The door was open to several elevators (which goes to the theater/ spa level).  I guess some people want to use spa early so the backside of the mall is actually open to allow people to go to the spa.  I thought I was pretty smart to get into the building early.  But by the time I got to H&M, there were already 15 people in front of me!!!!  Ok... let's see what will be left by the time I get to the front counter....  Then by 10AM, mall door opened and a group of people rushed to H&M.  They were all shocked to see us waiting in line!!!  They thought they were the first ones!

Of course by the time I got to the front counter, there were only one henley left which I could have gotten yesterday.  I decided to buy it anyway as I couldn't leave empty handed!!!!

Feeling dejected, I thought I would never get my hand on the pieces I want.  Then by 4:00PM, I decided to pay up on Ebay for the black leather jacket I really wanted.  The seller had zero feedback and actually lives in Oakland.  He/she also had several other men's pieces.  There were very few people bidding on the jacket and I ended up winning.  I guess people just didn't like to buy from sellers with zero feedback.  I figured I could either pay with paypal or in person so I would be protected.  I tried to pay with paypal and Ebay informs me that I need to get in contact with the seller as that option somehow wasn't working (and seller indicated that he/she takes Paypal).  I never encounter that before.  So I message the seller and told him/her the paypal thing isn't working and I'm happy to come to Oakland to pay in cash or meet up in SF.  Never heard a single peep from the seller.


In the same afternoon around 4:45PM, a friend of mine messaged me saying she saw a black leather jacket at the Stonestown H&M!!!  I was like excuse me?!!!!  She put it on hold for me and let's just say I never got to Stonestown that fast!!!  This particular H&M does not carry Balmain so must be someone who bought it at Powell and decided to return.  I was very surprised to see it though as he/she could have easily doubled his/her money on Ebay or Craigslist and I'm sure he/she was there waiting in line around 8:30PM the night before launch.  Anyway, I'm not complaining!  So glad I didn't ended up buying from Ebay (a week later and seller still has not messaged me so I sure ain't gonna contact the seller).  While the jacket is a tad tight on my arms, I'm soooo thrill to have it.  It was my most wanted item from this collection.  I'm sooo lucky to get it.  Hope you are as lucky as me!

 


Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Tea time! Marc Newson style.


If only I have the money to buy this beautiful tea set.... Georg Jensen has partnered up with Marc Newson to produce a limited edition tea set.... ten total.  You know one of these sets will ended up in MOMA and the other one at Victoria & Albert Museum.  Given that a Modigliani painting just sold for $170,000,000, what's a mere $125,000?  I'm sure these are pennies for those 0.001%.  If I were in their shoes, buying this tea set is a no brainer. 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Next Stop: #HMBalmaiNation

I have been a Balmain fan for awhile.  Balmain women's collection had always been more of a party clothes vibe whereas Balmain men's collection had always been more of a clothes that you can wear daily.  Balmain for H&M is exactly that: women's clothes is very sexy and more night time than day while men's is more of a day time affair.

This men's collection is essentially best of Balmain from the past decade.  It had few pieces that were from the Decarnin era but most of them are designed by Olivier Rousteing.  For those who don't know the recent history of Balmain... essentially Christophe Decarnin revived Balmain in 2006 from a sleepy brand to the IT brand in 2006.  Decarnin's biker look was the rage all over Paris.  His biker jeans were insanely expensive (and the new ones still are very expensive); most started at $1,000 and some were as high as $2,500 for cotton jeans.  Depend who you talk to /read, Decarnin couldn't handle the pressure and resigned in 2011.  Olivier was his assistant and took over as Design Director when Decarnin left.  Initially I thought he was just way too young/ inexperienced to be in charge for such a venerable house but some of his pieces have definitely captured my heart.

Here are my favorite pieces from the H&M x Balmain collaboration.  The embroidery jacket looks amazing.  While I'm not sure if it is wearable especially during daytime, I would be open to snatching it if the price is right as regular Balmain embroidery jackets are well into 5 figures.   

The biker jacket is absolutely the IT piece for me.  It's a classic Balmain staple and when you unzip the front flaps, the jacket becomes a more traditional biker jacket shape.  The leather jogger is also another must for me.  I can't get enough leather joggers! 
Hoodies are all the rage in SF Bay Area and this shape takes it up another notch.  I like the leather padding at the shoulder to give it an unexpected twist.  Can't wait to see it in person.
Lastly, this olive military jacket was designed by Decarnin.  I believe it was his last season.  I love the clean line of the silhouette.  This coat is a must in my book!
What is your favorite Balmain for H&M piece?  Or more importantly, how many hours will you wait in line to ensure you get the pieces you want on November 5th?

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Soccer Mom's revenge!


Michelle Grabner is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and one of the curators for 2014 Whitney Biennial.  End of last year, she had an exhibition at James Cohan Gallery. 

This is what Michelle said about her art: "These works were based on particular materials such as washcloths, blankets and window screens. As in Scarry's quote, the work evolved away from the particular toward the universal. Although the process of employing found material as a template continued, the material--a simple cotton weave blanket--now provided only a roving grid pattern that did not reveal itself as a specific item. Local color evidenced in the previous bodies of work gave way to full spectrum bands of radiating pastel color, again making a shift toward Scarry's "distributional." This relationship to beauty is also underscored in Plato's requirement that we move from eros to caritas, from the interest in the beauty of one person toward the beauty of all. "Being good, bearing knowledge and acting fairly" are classical virtues I would like to reinvestigate via abstraction within the contemporary discourse of painting. I am most concerned with metaphorically conveying beauty as compassionate and good-hearted, that which is very distinct from the sublime." 

Ken Johnson's, art critic at NY Times, reviewed Michelle Grabner exhibition and this is what he had to say about her art: "Nothing in all this is more interesting than the unexamined sociological background of the whole. If the show were a satire of the artist as a comfortably middle-class tenured professor and soccer mom, it would be funny and possibly illuminating, but it’s not."

In 2015, this is Michelle Grabner's rebuttal.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Ansel Adam on the cheap!


Since 2007, 20x200 has been selling gorgeous prints online.  Their motto is "It's Art for Everyone".  And they do mean every one.... whether you make 20k a year or 2M a year.  Every print they make, they make them in several different sizes.  In this case, The Tetons, Snake River by Ansel Adams, they have 8"x10", 11"x14", 16"x20", 20"x24", and 30"x40".  Each size has different editions.  For example, 11"x14" has 500 editions available whereas 30"x40" only has 10 editions available.  The starting price range from $24 to $1800.  So for price of a cheap dinner out ($24), you can buy an original limited edition print by Ansel Adams!  How awesome is that?! 

Monday, July 27, 2015

New Jeff Koon Balloon Dog!


If you have been following Jeff Koon's limited edition artwork, then surely you know of balloon dog plates that were published by MOCA back in 2002.  I remember seeing the dog plates in red and blue and didn't think much of them.  I believe they were asking $595 each.  Well, unfortunately for me, I did not stock up on those plates (more like I didn't get any).  Today, those balloon dog plates regularly sells for $16,000-$20,000.  Pretty good investment if you ask me!  MOCA together with Jeff Koons had decided to publish a different color balloon dog plate recently (all net proceeds will be dedicated to MOCA's endowment).  This time in yellow.  Unfortunately the price is no longer $595....Now it's a princely sum of $8,000.  I guess that's still a bargain considering red or blue dog plates routinely sells for $16,000 and up.  So for those readers with deep pockets, you may want to buy up these "cheap" plates since I'm sure once they are sold out, you will start to see them popping up at Christie's or Sotheby's for $16,000 and up.  One per customer per MOCA website.  Start to get your aunt Betty and nephew John calling MOCA.  LOL.   

Friday, July 10, 2015

Raffle Winner!

And we have a winner for the Ermenegildo Zegna toiletry bag giveaway!  The winner is Shakeia R.!  Please send me your US address within a week so I can send the prize to you.  Please note, I will repick another winner if I don't hear from you by next Friday (7/17/15).  Thank you everyone else for entering and have a great summer!  Until next time.  :)

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Limited Edition Herzog & de Meuron architecture model

If you have someone who loves starchitects or who collects architecture model (I know, what's the difference?  LOL), this may be the most economical gift yet.  This limited edition PAMM model by Herzog & de Meuron is priced at $295 and there are only 50 of them exist in the world.  Compare this to Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern limited edition model of the new addition which is cost about $2200 and there is 250 of them.

PAMM, which stands for Perez Art Museum Miami, overlooks Biscayne Bay in Miami.  Founded in 1984, the museum was called Center for the Fine Arts.  Then in 1996, it was renamed as Miami Art Museum.  In 2013, the museum moved to Museum Park (formerly Bicentennial Park) and renamed again as Perez Art Museum in honor of the $40 million gift by Jorge M. Perez.  The museum focuses on 20th century and contemporary art.  PAMM had anticipated 200,000 visitors in its first year but it got over 150,000 visitors in its first four months!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Happy July 4th Giveaway!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  To celebrate this holiday, I'm giving away an Ermenegildo Zegna toiletry bag!  This sleek black toiletry bag is perfect for traveling or for gathering all nicknacks in one single place.  Great as a gift as well!

Please note: apologies to my international friends - I wish I could extend these giveaways to you but legal restrictions prevent it. Thanks for understanding. 

Monday, June 29, 2015

Takashi Murakami + Vans = Love!


This past Saturday had been one of the busiest day for sneaker heads across US.  Apparently two collaborations decided to drop on the same date: Yeezy for Adidas and Takashi Murakami for Vans.  Naturally both were sold out instantly online and in stores.  I thought one can only get Murakami for Vans in stores so I had planned out which ones I would go to first.  But later I found out that they were also being sold online from various outlets!  Wish I had known!!!   

There were a total of 6 designs for women and men.  The shoes were unisex.  But basically they have two distinct patterns.  One is smiley flowers and the other is skulls.  The flower ones came in multi-color, blue, and silver on white.  The skull ones came in yellow, blue, and gold on white.  He also did three different skateboard decks: skulls, smiley flowers, and self portrait.  Additionally, there is three different t-shirts and three different toddler shoes.  Sounds like tons of stuff to buy!   

I found there were only three stores in SF bay area that had them.  And only the Berkeley store carried the skateboard decks.  I made the decision to go to the SF ones instead because the Berkeley one did not carry silver flower on white vans which is the one I wanted the most.  Although I would be very happy to settle for a pair of blue flower or multi-color flower.

I got to the store about 15 minutes before opening.  There were about 15 people in front of me so I was a bit nervous... thinking they may ran out of shoes.  Apparently some of those people were there to pick up their Yeezy shoes and not Murakami for Vans.  When I got into the store, they were sold out all the flower t-shirts (which I'm not sure I wanted one anyway) and self portrait t-shirt (only S left).    I was pretty sure I wasn't going to fit into the S so I let it pass.  They also sold out of multi-color flower vans.  I was able to get a pair of silver on white flower shoes in my size (woohoo) and a pair of blue flower shoes a half size bigger than I would normally wear (hurray).  Apparently that was the last pair of blue flower vans they have left. 

As I was leaving, I saw about another 10 people waiting in line.  I hope they get what they were looking for.  I did ended up trekking to Berkeley to see if they had anything left.  They were wiped clean and had only a pair of yellow skull vans (but a size too small for me) and a pair of blue skull vans (a size and a half too small for me).  I did see them put those two pair up the following day online which of course they were gone in a nano second.

I checked on Ebay and apparently that's where all the shoes went.  Although honestly they must have released very few pairs at each store as I checked for my size, there really isn't that many available.  The skateboard decks turned out to be the hottest item on Ebay as I expected they would be.  Most of them are selling for around $600 a deck at the low end (retailed for $80 each) and the most sought after multi-color flower ones are trending around $1000!   

Friday, June 26, 2015

Not another review of the Apple Watch?!


Well, I had one since like forever so I figure I should write something about it.  haha.  I got it at the end of April and honestly, I can't say everyone should run out to get one.  I think it's one of those working in progress type of thing that eventually it will be one of those must have item.  I'm one of those people who do not read manuals so my watch can probably do a lot more than I know of right now....

Pros:

The packaging.  I'm not one of those who go on youtube and watch other people unwrap their Apple phone so when I got mine, I was blown away by the presentation.  I know Apple is good at packaging since I have ipad, imac, macbookpro, iphone, etc etc but I guess the Apple watch packaging really takes it up a notch.  I was sooo impressed by the thought that went into packaging Apple watch.

Talk on the watch.  So while I was in my hotel room, all of a sudden my watch started to ring.  Turned out that I can talk to people on my watch! Very Inspector Gadget!

Give directions.  So the day after I got my watch, I traveled to Spain for the first time.  I input my hotel address on my iphone and put the phone away in my pocket.  I was surprised that my watch started to give me directions!  This is a big plus for me as I think it's more convenient to look at my watch than trying to read off a bigger screen while crossing streets.

Receiving and sending texts.  For the longest time, my watch wasn't receiving texts like I thought it would.... but all of a sudden once I returned to US, it stated to receive texts few weeks later.  Not sure what that's all about.  But I do find reading a quick text is easy off Apple Watch and replying is also very easy.  I just speak to my watch and it will either send a voice text or a written text.  So far, every time I speak the text, my watch had gotten every single word correct!  Very surprised since my iphone had not been able to!

Activity Monitor.  This thing has been somewhat cool.  I like that it tells you how many calories you had burned doing move, exercise, and stand.  It even gives you an hourly breakdown of calories burned which I think is helpful.  I don't have a fitbit so one of the reason I bought this watch is to keep track of my activities.

Remote control.  The watch can be used as a remote control for you to take selfies or turn on music on your phone.  If you take a lot of selfies, this is very helpful. 

Friends and family tab.  You can have 12 close friends and family tab.  The cool thing is you can hand write doodles to them. 

Cons:

Talk on the watch.  I have to say the quality of sound isn't that great and had I been walking on a busy road, I doubt I can hear much. 

Activity Monitor.  I wish I can wear this watch when I swim to monitor my heart rate.  Also this watch gets in the way when I lift weight and wear a glove.  The round circle nub on the side of the watch keeps on getting pressed by my glove when I lift weight and the watch would constantly goes on and off as I lift.  I ended up have to loosen up the strap so that my watch doesn't get activated constantly.

Remote control.  Doesn't work nearly as well as a selfie stick.  You will have to station your phone somewhere and prop it up to take your selfie whereas a selfie stick can take a picture of you at any angle you want... but then you have to carry a selfie stick.

Friends and family tab.  The downside is they have to have an Apple Phone to receive the doodle. 

Habit.  I have stop wearing a watch several years back.  So it's a bit odd to be wearing one again.  I find myself wanting to unstrap my watch when I get home so that doesn't help if I want to keep track of my activity monitor.  While the watch is quite light, perhaps few generations out, it'll be so light that I would not mind having it on my wrist constantly even at home.

Overall I think it's a good effort on Apple's part.  Do I think it's the best thing ever?  Far from it. But do I regret getting it? Definitely not.  I got the Sports version as I figure they will most likely be updating it yearly... no point of getting the more expensive version IMO.  I may want to switch it out a few years from now.  The way I see it is this watch is costing me about $1.20 per day if I get the newer version in a year or $.60 per day if I get a new one every other year.  Sure, I don't need to spend that money but at the same time, I don't think I'm being extravagant.  And who knows... 50 years down the road, I may be able to sell this watch more than what I paid for it.  haha. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Meissen, the grand dame of European porcelain


Meissen has been around since 1708.  It is the first European manufacturer to figure out how to produce true porcelain.  Before the discovery, Europeans did produced white-colored porcelain.  However, it was soft by nature (hence the name soft-paste porcelain).

It's hard to believe, but porcelain in early 18th century is literally worth its weight in gold.  During this time, there were a lot of trials and errors.  Thus production was very limited and only upper classes can afford to have them.  Hence during early to middle 18th century, porcelain were given as diplomatic gifts among kings and queens.

The most well known pattern by Meissen is called the swan service (schwanenservice).  This service was ordered by and made for manufacture's director Count Heinrich von Bruhl.  Swan service was so large that it took 7 years to make and the result was more than a thousand pieces ranging from center pieces to plates and cups.  The molds still exist today and this pattern is still being actively produce by Meissen.  Most of the original pieces from swan service are in museums but occasionally one can find them at auction houses such as Christie's or Sotheby's. 

Another interesting offshoot of Meissen porcelain is called Hausmalerei which means home painting. During 18th century, entrepreneurial artists would buy blank porcelain, paint them, and sell them at marked up prices.  Thus they are partially original and yet partially not.  Today, they are actively sought out by collectors who specialize in collecting Meissen Hausmalerei-ware.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Alex Katz for everyday use

Nope, Alex Katz can't be your daily personal slave!  But you can buy his collab stuff from Barney's New York.  Alex is collaborating with Art Production Fund and BNY to create a limited edition collection of houseware and clothing accessories.  The home goods range from candles to napkins.  And accessories rang from scarf to tote.  All proceeds go to Art Production Fund which is a non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art.  I am all for creating art and I can't think of a better way to purchase fabulous stuff while supporting this great organization! 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Twirl away! The newest playground for your kids in Alameda!


With budget cuts left and right for education, art classes are always the first one to go.  But fear not, Twirl in Alameda has you covered!  This new art laboratory boutique that just opened a month ago is the best thing that happened to your kids.

This 3000 sqft play space is the ultimate fun place for your little ones to can frolic to their content!  There are tons of art supply at the space where your kids to be creative and learn.   They also offer up a private party room for your children's birthday bash where he/she can invite up to 17 of his/her closest buddies for a day of art fun.  And if you want to catch a romantic dinner on Friday night in downtown Alameda, drop off your kids in one of their evening classes and have a great date night alone just between two of you.  Did I mention those classes book up really fast....

   

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

2nd markdowns at department stores are the best!

Because usually there is still plenty of selections around while most of the stuff are at least 50% off. 
Case and point, this motorbike inspired Balmain Varsity jacket from Ssense is marked down from over $5k to $2k. While $2k isn't pocket change, but it's better than spending $5k!  ;)
When was the last time you buy something from Bottega Veneta with a price tag sub $200 mark?  Here's a lovely silk blend scarf from MatchesFashion for $165 from $330. 
Or this pair of classic Lanvin trainer from Bergdorf Goodman.  This gray color shoes practically goes with any outfit you put on.  From $580 to $289.  Best of all if you don't live in NY, it's tax free!
Or this Valentino bracelet from Saks Fifth Avenue.  This studded wrap bracelet will surely give your outfit an edgier look.  From $395 to $177.75.


Oh and when you are ready to travel in style, don't forget to bring your new tomato red leather (because all other colors are just so boring) Serapian carry-on from Barney's New York.  The workmanship is exquisite.  Marked down from $1695 to $679.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum's Fabulous collection


Everyone has heard of small museums like Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston or Frick Collection in NYC.  But not many people have heard of Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in the US.  If you ever go to Lisbon, it's a must stop.  This museum is basically a personal collection for Calouste.  He was born in Constantinople but live mostly in United Kingdom and France.  Towards the end of his life, he moved to Lisbon.  He made his money in oil and was a major shareholder of Royal Dutch/Shall company.

This museum is divided into eight different concentrations: Egypt, Greek, Coin, Middle East, Far East, 18th Century French Furniture, Western paintings range from quattrocento to impressionist, and Rene Lalique. 

The best part of the museum is probably the 18th century French furniture.  The collection here is as good as any large American museum.  There is a huge collection of French silver which is very rare as most French silver were melted down during wars in 18th century.  I would say their French silver collection is better than Metropolitan Museum in NYC or Waddesdon Manor in London.

Another highlight may be the large jewelry collection by Rene Lalique.  Most people when they hear Lalique they think of crystal vases.  But during Art Nouveau period, Rene Lalique was arguably the best jeweler during that time.  Two of the best examples of Rene Lalique jewelry is actually housed at this museum: Dragonfly Broach and Serpents Pectoral.  The pieces are actually quite large in person and they are absolutely exquisitely made.  Like all artwork, you have to see them in person to appreciate them; photos do not do them justice.

      

Friday, June 12, 2015

Lilly Pulitzer for Target scarf winner!!

And the winner is Lani P!!!  Please contact me ASAP and claim your scarf.  Congrats and thank you everyone for entering.  Please continue to check back for random fun giveaways (past giveaways range from Marc Jacobs key pouch to Missoni scarf).  In the mean time, have a great summer and stay fabulous!  Until next time...  :)

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Entryway bench that looks good and easy on your wallet!

If you go to an Asian person's home, you will likely find an entryway bench prominently at foyer area as quite a few of us grew up having to take off our shoes before going inside anyone's home.  The logic behind that is you don't carry dirt into your home.  I think this concept may have originally came from Japan as I don't think you can ever go into a Japanese person's home without seeing an entryway bench.

Given my fondness of an entryway bench, I was delighted to see that Blu Dot now offers one on Target's website.  Blu Dot is a mid tier level home furnishing brand that offers great mid century modern style furniture.  I know every time I step into their boutique in the Mission District in San Francisco, I'm always tempted to buy a thing or two.  The collaboration between Target and Blu Dot had been going on for awhile.  The best part of the collaboration is economical price with great design.  This well priced bench also comes with storage beneath to store all your shoes and it is additional 10% off today with code: HOMESAVE10
   

Monday, June 8, 2015

Less is more when it comes to faucets

Sometimes less is more when it comes to faucets.  Currently one of my favorite faucet is AF/21 from Boffi designed by Naoto Fukasawa.  Japanese designers are known for their restrained aesthetics and this faucet is nothing short of elegance in a minimal package.  Many interiors fall into trap of being fashionable at the time of installation but often they look dated after 10 years.  I think a minimalist bathroom with AF/21 faucet will withstand test of time... but of course only time will tell.  ;)

Friday, June 5, 2015

Lilly Pulitzer for Target scarf giveaway!

It's summer time!  I'm giving away this light weight hard to find Lilly Pulitzer for Target scarf.  You may have heard that Target was wiped clean of LPfT over a month ago due to huge demand for Lilly Pulitzer's gorgeous prints.  Here's your chance of adding a little sparkle into your life! 

Thank you for entering and check back in a week to see if you won!

Please note: apologies to my international friends - I wish I could extend these giveaways to you but legal restrictions prevent it. Thanks for understanding.