Month: March 2013

Kohler Original Recipe Chocolate Eggs

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One of the best kept secrets about plumbing giant Kohler Co. is that in addition to making toilets, showers, and tubs out of Kohler, Wisconsin, the company also makes incredible handmade chocolates. Available for a limited time, these speckled eggs come in milk and dark chocolate with ganache centers infused with flavors like cognac, strawberries and cream, and peanut butter. If you aren’t near Kohler’s Craverie Chocolatier Cafe don’t worry,  you can also order the eggs online. $29.95 for a 9 piece set; $15.95 for a four piece set.

Charley Harper by Motawi

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If you are desperate for signs of Spring, then take a look at this new line of hand-crafted glazed art tile from Motawi Tileworks in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Based on the work of wildlife artist Charley Harper (1922-2007), the line includes 11 designs including ladybugs, cardinals, rabbits, and other creatures that inspired Harper, who was an American minimal realist artist whose vibrant depictions of the natural world have illustrated books, posters, and magazines. The tiles range from $32 to $86 each and come in 4” x 4”, 4” x 8”,  6” x 8”, and 6” x 6” sizes.

“Colored-Pencil Table” Installation by Nendo

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At a quick glance, Nendo’s new installation for the upcoming Saint-Etienne International Design Biennial in France looks like a simple grouping of colorful plastic tables, but what’s going under the surface is more complex. To create the unusual pastel finish, Japanese design firm used a technique called udukuri to carve away the soft parts of cypress wood boards so that the harder curves and lines of the wood grain stand out.  Then, they covered the boards with paper and traced the relief in colored pencils to transfer the wood grain onto the paper. The strokes of the pencils and the wood grain pattern combine to create subtle shades and a unexpected sheen on the table surface. The installation will be on view at the biennial from March 14 through March 31st. All photos by Hiroshi Iwaski