DAITO MANABE/ 真鍋 大度 is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

My English gentleman friend brought me a pair of handmade ankle boots by n.d.c.  I took them for a stroll around our Beijing office…oh yes and my straw hat.

Arnaud Zannier and Enrique Corbi launched n.d.c 1o years ago, beloved by fashion editors, celebrities, and quality enthusiasts who have them as best-kept shoe secrets.  Most days I wear AirMax or Marni killer heels, I think my park life has tided me to this pair of simple, understated n.d.c with uncompromising material and craftsmanship.

Love and Respect to the duo!

www.ndcmadebyhand.com

Me and a pair of the smallest n.d.c. out for a stroll… is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

“Another amusement park in China?”  The Shanghai Expo could be the last Expo that anyone actually cares about…

Hai Bao- the mascot, chosen from a quarter of a million entries…   a fat and blue version of Gumby?

Sorry I’m not sharing the best side, but I guess you’ve seen the good side elsewhere. This is a very odd banana body suit, worn by not so professional dancers.

This guy is… so fresh so clean clean …

Julian Opie in China? The Chinese Pavilion is an experience, here you would experience the incredible eyesore as the result of lazy linear thinking, inappropriate scale, and artistically irrelevant.

Seems like none of the countries would like to have their flags out to indicate their own pavilions…

Koran Pavilion is the world’s largest nail salon…

Russian Pavilion, it looks like one the sample books I got from my metal supplier.

Finally Thomas Heatherwick’s British Pavilion, it’s the most powerful statement.

I would come twice just to see this building.

It is worth just coming to see how the locals react to it.

They said this is the second best, the Spanish Pavilion by Benedetta Tagliabue.

I am not a hater, I just wish this could be less predictable. We know our country loves to build,  but who and what are we building for? Like the Olympics and the millions of sky-high developments that are built and demolished, can we build to last? How many times you can go through face-lift before you completely loose your face?

Better Think Better Think Twice.

Better City Better Life – Shanghai Expo is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

After a year of hard work preparation, we are officially open in the beautiful Tuan Jie Hu Park in the heart of Beijing CBD Chao Yang District. While our Shanghai studio is in a small lane with a garden, a spooky well and our local pink massage joint. Our Beijing studio over-looks people practicing Taichi, calligraphy and senior citizen blind-dating.

The lake in front of  our studio – Tuan Jie Hu (United Lake).

Old people gambling and some blind-dating… or simply moan about grand children…

Fish in the lake…Ninagawa Mika Style…

We were checking on progress… with the big daddy!

Shine, Wright, Mori, Lulu, Yokai (left-right). My Shanghai team fresh off the train… I can’t do it in Beijing without them!

We had a little opening party, little that I remembered other than being really happy to have my whole team and friends in town from thousand miles away!

Nick B,Sammy (the other half of Jellymon Shanghai), Queenie

Shine (Manager, Jellymon Shanghai), Mori (Designer, Jellymon Shanghai)

Meili (My Hawaiian Sweetheart), Lenny aka Futura.

Thank you all for spreading the love! WE ARE OPENED FOR BUSINESS!

Jellymon Beijing In The Park is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

I have not yet own anything from Kappa, recently my friend Kevin Tallon from St Martin’s Design Laboratory in London just finished a new season for Robe di Kappa (RDK).

Uncompromisingly bright orange, London pigeon grey, neo yellow and Aubergine purple are usual for design specifically China market. The silhouettes reminded me a lot of Stella McCartney and Yoji Yamamoto, but it is still a pleasant surprise to see the daringly creative outcome from Kappa to its own China market.

RDK is a high end performance lifestyle apparel line created by a small off-shoot Kappa team.

Kevin and Anna – the talented accessory designer, at RDKappa 2011 Fall/Winter fashion show.

Anna is fierce:)

Robe Di Kappa for China is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

We recently did two handkerchief designs for WWF to promote the Earth Hour. It was a chilly evening  by the Imperial Palace last Saturday. Actress Li Bing Bing announced the “Lights Off” ceremony. The spirit is high although it was minor degrees outside.

Big thanks to Linda for inviting us to participate this year’s Earth Hour!

Jellymon for Earth Hour China is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

During my recent visit to Hong Kong, I was agitated after the perfect “8-hour-rest” in the hotel. I decided to pay Tom Hung a visit, I was told this man will take me to everything I would be interested. A little stroll in Milk magazine’s HQ, there stood Tom Hung, a noble gentleman, a brilliant writer, an uncompromising collector.

Tom Hung spent 18 months traveled across China in search of objects that represent what I called the “Made In China for Chinese People” era. There is a long period of time I was sick of hearing the -“ Made In China” cliché. Tom made this beautiful book that brought me to the time when products were designed and made for Chinese people. It is very different from some foreign brand came to a Chinese factory and made exactly what they are selling in its home country, using possibly less quality materials and assume Chinese people will be aspired to anything western.

Tom Hung’s “ Made in China” book is a collection of product that was produced from the 50s to 80s. From everyday household products, toys, and fashion to music instruments. Each chapter tells you the historical significant of the object.

Tom’s office is cluttered with magazines and some of his objection of heritage objects.

I wish I can buy this very first issue of Japanese magazine “Relax” off him, dated back September 1999 with its original name “ Relucks”.

Thank you for the kind words Tom!

For more on Tom Hung check out his blog: http://www.milk.com.hk/milkblog/Tom/index.php

Once Upon A Time…“Made In China” is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

A 119-room hotel in an old factory building, was said to build for “built for Austrian carpenters, Swedish models, English rockstars, Japanese businessmen, German racing car drivers and American dudes.” I guess that’s just about every kind of people we know.

The 119 rooms offer a wide range choices for every visitor:

“Cozy”: Special for in-love couple;

“Loft” : A super-kingsize high bed with a sofa which could also be an extra bed. For a couple who want a bit more space for their lovin’, or two people who want to sleep in separate beds, or for three girlfriends;

“Band”: 4-5 Single Beds for your Families, Rockstars or Carpenters on the road;

“Michelberger WG”: the most economic choice and also an excited adventure, as you will never know who will be your roommates and spend nights with you~

Michelberger Hotel is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

I can’t remember when was the last time I received a postcard, I still buy postcard sets when I see some interesting ones, but I can’t remember when was the last time I send one neither, drop me an email if you want to receive on from me!

Harvey Nichols has one of the best food halls in London, and I really like their recent postcard collection of “Celerybities” , they are done by by Ruan Milborrow and Mark Nightingale from Mr H.

Bread Pitt, Pea Diddy… is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

secret London megashed. His current project is custom paint

applications and finishes and the results are great.

Check out his site HERE to see some great works

and maybe hit him up for a commission.

The Nitto LOVE/HATE bars are the latest addition..

The Monocle Audax frame is super crisp.

And the Racelite is Deathsprays personal daily ride.

[ deathsprayCustom ] is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

It’s not easy to get hold of foreign art and design books & magazines in China, there are often too expensive or outdated. A friend hooked us up with his illegal book dealer that sells a good selection of cheap “fake” art books. We brought two yesterday for the first time, we were in the middle of an interview, so totally judged the books by their covers and paid for them. One of them has some interesting cover graphics on fancy paper, we brought it for RMB120.

Soon we found out two familiar pages… there were our own work!!!!!!

Left page: stuff we did for Nike. Right page: 3 watches we did for Casio, 1 watch we definitely didn’t do and the graphic on the bottom right of the page we didn’t design and some babbling nonsense.

Unsurprisingly published by ‘unknown publisher’. We had no idea about this book and definitely didn’t give permission for our work to be used. They just took some images/text from our site and then added a few random things we didn’t even do and some strange nonsensical text, we took a closer look, “Jellymon” name was on the cover too!

Sigh… I think I’ll stay away from fake books for a while.

Fake Books is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Today it brings a tear to my eyes to see “Shanghai through the lens of his pencil”.

“Shanghai can be a visually overwhelming city. Drawing it forces me to slow down and delight in the richness of its detail – magazine at a newsstand, a traffic warden, tea flask, duct tape around a rusty drain pipe etc. After observing such elements, I am free to stylize, reconfigure, omit and accentuate them as I rebuild my own scene. The aim of this series is to give the viewer something intimately familiar, and yet the impression of seeing it for the first time.”
- Nial O’ Connor (aka Zeldz Magnoonis)

Shanghai 8:60am by Liao Yang

Shudra, by Wang Chao.
The exhibition also showcases two young Chinese artists’ work, Wang Chao from Jiang Xi was the youngest one. Born in 1985, he is still doing his final year in China Academy of Arts majoring in traditional Chinese painting. Wang Chao named his work “ Shudra” (the lowest form of the four Varnas, Hinduism categorizes the people into four “Varnas”), Shudras were essentially rural labours who served the three higher ranking of Varnas. The Shudra series is comprised of mixed media pieces and animation which shows his interpretation and confrontation of hierarchy in the modern China city. One’s status in society determines whether you will be prosperous in respect, wealth and rights.

Wang Chao told me he’s opening up his own studio doing animation and drawings with fearless confidence, his optimistic view made me feel sorry for my jaded self yet relived he’s not going to waste his talent in some rubbish 4A advertising company in order to climb the conventional social ladder.

We all sat down for a spicy meal at Di Sui Dong…

Stunning young talents at Draw.ing n @ Art Plus gallery is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

I met Hang Feng through our mutual friend Alex. We kept bumping into each other over past two years, we even exhibited at the same DMY show in Berlin so after Chinese new year we arranged a dinner to share our love for good old Cantonese food, and I got to know a bit more on his work and recent exhibition at Art Labour Gallery in Shanghai. The show was entitled ‘Daily Prosperity’.

Hang Feng spent the last few years creating playful but serious works about the impact of consumerism on Chinese culture. His Logomania series includes intricate Chinese traditional paper cutting folk art, luxury rugs and mix media installations.

I love this video art piece that Hang Feng made, it’s called:

The Last Supper: Fast Food

About 30 free range chickens at the Braziers International Artists Workshop in London which were supposed to be slaughtered the next day to feed the artists. Hang Feng fed them their last supper of rice by drawing the head of colonel Sanders on the ground. It took 2 hours 50 minutes for the chicken to finish their rice grain effigy.

The Last Supper

Love & Respect.

Cheng Hang Feng – Daily Prosperity is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Six years well-spent once you take a look at the collaboration list:

Kook keith and Tom Waits!! David Byne, Chalie 2na, Gift of Gab and Z-trip!!!! Blimey… also Method Man, Spank Rock, MIA alike…It’s like a wicked dream that you can’t wait to go to bed for. North American DJ & producer Squeak E Clean and Brazilliant DJ Zegon are responsible for such extraordinary collaborative music project. Six years musical effort well-deserved the six album covers, designed by artists such as The Date Farmers, Shepard Fairey, Sage Vaughan etc.

Today I want to be in America.

N.A.S.A Dream is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Dear Mr Pantone, I would also like some Pantone lips, cheek, nail colours, hair, food colours, … I’ll sew a few extra heads to mine so I can put on more colours… Shanghai is muddy shade of grey today…

Dear Mr Pantone is a post from: SLAMXHYPE