All posts filed under: Things for Charity

Dream of Venice

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Dream of Venice is a beautiful new book for Venetophiles and dreamers alike edited by JoAnn Locktov with photography by Charles Christopher, a New York native who currently works in Hollywood as a motion picture and TV still photographer. Printed on luxe Italian Garda Silk paper, the 96-page hardcover includes photographs by Christopher that have been carefully paired by Locktov with the words of writers, actors, poets, singers, and others who have fallen in love with this near-mythical city. I am one of them in fact. My poem Leaving Venice appears in the book alongside a forward by novelist Frances Mayes, and contributions by Woody Allen, opera soprano Sylvia Sass, and Venetian cookbook author Marcella Hazan, among others. I first visited Venice as a undergraduate in the early ’90s with a group of Italian language students attending a three week mini-session during our winter break. It was my first trip out of the country and the longest I had ever been away from my family. It was January, a time when the city belongs to the Venetians rather than tourists. One misty afternoon I remember walking through a campo (a …

Q&Q Solar-Powered Watches

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I spotted these watches from Japanese brand Q&Q during NYCxDesign at the SightUnseen Offsite exhibition downtown. Q&Q (Quest & Quality) is a new line of solar-powered watches for the U.S. marketplace. At just $40, the waterproof watches never require a battery replacement. Around the large watch face is a thin band of photovoltaics that recharges the watch for up to three and a half months after a single charge. I’ve been testing out a free watch given out during the show, and I find it lightweight and modern, though the all-white band picks up dirt easily (this is why I don’t wear white pants). If you want to see the watch in action, you can check out Katy Perry wearing it in her new Birthday music video. The watch also tries to give back. For every purchase, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Table for Two, a non-profit that helps deliver school meals to children in Africa and Asia.      

Coffee Beer Bottle Design

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Coffee Beer is a collaboration between Anchor Coffee in Kesennuma, a small city in Northern Japan, and the Japanese sake and beer brewery Sekinoichi in Ichinoseki. The beer, which is brewed with coffee beans, is a charity project to raise money for the 2011 earthquake and tsunami (both Sekinoichi and Ichinoseki were devastated during the tragedy). Nendo reused existing beer bottles in order to keep costs low, and covered them with small labels in the shape of coffee beans. As the labels are applied by hand, each bottle is unique, a trait that Japanese consumers will most likely find even more desirable. If you’d like to order some craft beer while supporting a good cause, here is the link. Photos by Hiroshi Iwaski