May I introduce our new and already-beloved cameras:
The Blackbird
The Kodak Pocket Instamatic
Does this not immediately make you want to go out and (re)buy a pair of jams and a HyperColor muscle shirt? We found this baby during a recent work trip (no jetskiing, I swear) to Newport Beach at this truly awesome camera store. They also sell fixed gear bikes, which I mention because one in particular (gold. all gold) has been haunting me. We're working on our new look book and it's put us on a serious camera gear kick. All we need is a flash cube to get the real photo party started.
We couldn't agree more! Kora is based on this philosophy... the word "Kora" means "work" in Kinyarwandan. Click here to read more from Nicholas Kristof.
We are loving the gorgeousness of Goldyn's Fall 2010 look book. Our Studded Azbeg Cuff and Aluminum Bangles make a guest appearance (photo below) and we must say, with much gratitude and little modesty, man do they look good. Check out their full look book here and their store here.
Also enamored with these (the sky! the colors!):
We're hugely excited to announce that TenOverSix, one of our favorite stores in LA, is now carrying Kora. It's a beautiful space with an incredibly well-curated selection of gorgeous accessories. The mini Book Soup pop-up shop and the store's own brilliant line of shoes and bags are particularly note-worthy.
TenOverSix is located at 7427 Beverly Blvd, corner of Vista. Los Angeles.
Our brass wrapped pieces have always been close to our hearts. But our newest shipment has some particularly black and white versions and these babies will be hard to part with.
Oh, the incomparable Diana Vreeland! This photo captures all of her incomparability and originality and style. Although 'style' is too weak a word since she operated in an entirely different aesthetic realm, one all her own. And her jewelry! Beyond words. Of the many things that enrapture us about Ms Vreeland, we're most captivated by her habit of wearing pairs of matching cuffs, one on each arm. An INCREDIBLE, stunningly original look that was the inspiration for some of our newest pieces. Our wide metal cuffs, designed to be worn as a pair (for maximum impact, natch), come in both a gold-toned brass or a darkened aluminum. They are rendered from recycled brass and hammered aluminum, respectively, and made by an incredibly talented artisan at a workshop in Nairobi. We can't wait to show off these beauties in public. Try a pair, why don't you??
Kitengela headquarters blew my mind. It’s like something out of a Tim Burton film-- a fantastical world contained entirely within itself—but minus the macabre and with the added plus that this place EXISTS and is REAL. Set off by itself in the dusty Athi Plain about 7 km from any paved road, the first thing you see is the top of its giant brick dome. Nani Croze, one of Kitengela’s founders, gave me a tour of the studio/gallery/residence/zoo. They make everything you can think of out of glass- from beads and glassware to mosaics, chandeliers, and large-scale sculpture. Everything is recycled and they train and employ people from the local community for both the experimental and commercial parts of the business. Truly incredible. Here's what greets you at the start of the driveway. Note the top of the dome, which houses Kitengela's roaring furnace, in the background to the right of the sculpture.
The recycling ethos extends to the bio-gas contraption far beyond the house, past the vegetable garden and the pig pens, which turns let’s say waste matter of all kinds (and they HAVE all kinds- turkey, duck, cow, pig, dog, vulture, chicken, hyrax) into natural gas that they cook and light the kilns with.
One of the many little hidden walkways. Embellishment everywhere.
Beautiful mirrored glass mosaic floor.
