Diane, A Shaded View on Fashion

Kristin Barron - part of Graham Tabor's creative caldron at the festival d'Hyeres

Kristin at work at Hyeres
photo Miguel Villalobos
Dear Shaded Viewers,

DP: Can you give me a bit of your history?
KB: I was born and raised in MI where I was very sickly as a child. I grew up, and eventually went to school at NYU for a BA in Art history and Ceramic Sculpture and then to Pratt Institute for a Masters Degree in Interior Design. I spent some time studying in Paris and Copenhagen in the interim. I now live and work in NY.

DP: And about your work? From your website it looks like you do a multitude of things from art direction to packaging, to interiors?
KB: I am interested in creative problem solving and making things, I suppose the scale and nature of the materials used is always secondary to the former.

DP: Tell me about the Priests and Twins Sculpture Series and the Tokyo coca cola vending machines.
KB: The Priests & Twins come from dream imagery. I have very vivid dreams and I went to see a Jungian analyst some years ago and after that began to incorporate my dream imagery into my work. The vending machines were inspired by a Record sleeve from the mid 70's. It was released by a Paris based record label called Patchwork. The album was " 34. Energie." I envisioned the record sleeve animating and hatching a pixel man to ferry you through your purchase/consumption of a coke.

DP: How do you go from interiors to accessories?
KB: I always begin by asking myself what something should feel like and then I go from there.

DP: What has been your most challenging project?
KB: Designing for my own place and trying not destroy my studio in the process. It is imperative that I make a huge mess before I can reign it in.

DP: Do you have any architect or design icons?
KB: Gaetano Pesce and Eliel Saarinen

Kristin and Graham

DP: How did you meet Graham and what was your involvement in his Hyeres project? You know him since you were teenagers, right? Where did you grow up and did you both move tio NYC at about the same time?
KB: I designed the accessories for Graham's collection. We met when we were about 16, we were driving in between high school campuses and had a collision with a tree. No one was hurt. The only casualty was a rear view mirrror. We re-met in NYC years later and discovered that we share a very special creative sycronicity.

Chinatsu and Kristin

DP: WHat was the Hyeres experience like for you, ups and downs?
KB: Up, up, up.
The Villa Noilles was such a remarkable backdrop to the festival; it is an exquisitely conceived building, it's rhythm is like breathing, not to mention to have so many creative humans dashing about the medieval sized coridoors. Very good juju. Graham, Chinatsu, and Fumi are wizzards. I feel very privledged to have been part of such a creative caldron.

DP:If you were not doing what you are doing now, what would you dream to do?
KB: My dream is to live a creative life and make lots of different kinds of things and if I had to have another dream then I would be in big trouble.

Kristin Barron www.kriest.com

Later,

Diane

Imagine Nation in South Africa

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Imagine Nation is a global home ware store with products from South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Ethiopia, Morocco... Owner Adam Levin, the author of Aidsafari, is very excited about his new designs, here are a few, check his site for more. You can stop by his shop in Johannesburg South Africa or items can be sent to you anywhere in the world.

Thai jigsaw lamp-comes in almost every colour and you can change the shape of this design to create oblongs or any shape you like.

Gold ceramic bowls
http://www.globalhomewarestore.blogspot.com/

Later,

Diane

Gallery Room Service in Barcelona

Dear Shaded Viewers,

The gallery ROOMSERVICE presents the first exposition in Spain of the conceptual designer Richard Hutten. His austere and simple forms reflect the concept of absence of design and permit a free interpretation of its use.
His designs can be seen in the permanent collections in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Centraal Museum (Utrecht) or the Vitra Design Museum, among others.

Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek creates aesthetic and ecologically sustainable items of furniture from natural and humble materials. His handcrafted objects embody the idea of green design and show a discourse between tradition and modernity. His projects have been presented in the New York (MOMA), Milan Furniture Fair and Cïbone, Tokyo. The inauguration of Eek´s exhibition coincides with the Room Service showroom opening, a space devoted to promote the latest trends in contemporary design.

+ info: www.pietheineek.com

http://www.roomservicebcn.com/

Later,

Diane

Mario Salvucci at the furniture fair at the Tallulah Studio

Auroson Bystrom- furniture design

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Designer Auroson Bystrom is an anomaly. The Indian Born 37 year old of Swedish descent integrates not only his complex surroundings of India but melds them with his sense of minimalism which comes from his Northern European routes.

Bystrom was raised in Auroville, India. For Bystrom opposites play a role constantly pushing against one another to create an integrated baseline– his work is an ordering of chaos, an emission, a message and ultimately manifest aesthetic. “There is an elemental language in the stone, wood and metals. The process is the transformation into a new language of form.” states Bystrom.

His first piece was a commissioned series of stone and wood. This quickly led to international attention in key magazines such as Elle Décor and i-D as well as sold out gallery shows in his native country and abroad.

Press: Peoples Revolution

Later,

Diane

NEW LICENCE FOR GIULIANO FUJIWARA

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Giuliano Fujiwara, the Japanese brand established in Milan in the mid-Eighties, has signed a new licence agreement for the manufacturing and distribution of a home furnishing and home design collection. The venture has been undertaken in partnership with Formitalia.

The 27 year old designer behind the brand, Masaka Matsumura was keen to add another element towards the creation of an overall Giuliano Fujiwara lifestyle. The philosophy - a blend of Japanese identity and Italian handicraft, creating pieces that are as sophisticated as they are essential.

The new Giuliano Fujiwara home furnishing collection will preview at Milan’s Salone del Mobile 2008, with a special event due to take place on Friday 18 April.

Later,

Diane

SIR EDWARD JAMES' CASTLE AND HIS HIDDEN MAGIC GARDEN

"Look, we move among a bunch of ' pseudo-realists ' who.... produce nothing but junk. So they try to act like mad men to justify themselves. On the other hand, you who are real labor to act sane....." Salvador Dali to Edward James

XILITLA :

Deep within the tropical Huasteca jungle, surrounded by waterfalls, springs and natural aquamarine pools, a surrealist's dream greets the viewer.
Seventy years ago, Sir Edward James, the disenchanted heir of British nobility, was on a road trip through rural Mexico when he heard about a place where orchids grew wild in the forest. He took a road trip through the backcountry of these lush highlands and fell in love with them.
Las Pozas, as he named this moss-covered concrete fantasy rising from the jungle, became his life's work, and changed the character of this remote corner of Mexico's Sierra Madre forever. Xilitla (pronounced He-LEET-la) would have likely continued as a tiny, picturesque but unremarkable mountain village like any of the others in these parts had it not been for the presence of James, the eccentric Englishman who took up residence here in the 1940s and created a surrealist's dream in the botanical garden of Las Pozas. His creation and the flamboyant lifestyle he lived here, drawing international attention and visits from the likes of Salvador Dali, have left an indelible mark on this town, which still draws visitors from around the world.
It took 35 years to construct, with 150 workmen at its height, filling the concrete molds and erecting the wild constructions that bloomed in James' fecund imagination throughout the 80-acre garden.

AND I WAS VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE....
XX
EGR

The mystical madness of Gaudi by Glenn Belverio

Dear Shaded Viewers,

When in Barcelona, it is an absolute necessity to visit some of Antoni Gaudi's fantastic buildings. During the break in between shows at 080 Barcelona Fashion on Thursday and Friday, we (Lillie from Preen magazine, Anh Tuan from Hintmag, Frederic from Modem, Godfrey from FWD et al) raced around the city, squeezing in as much Gaudi gawking as we could. First stop was Casa Mila aka La Pedrera. This was the one I was most interested in as it is featured in Michelangelo Antonioni's brilliant film, "The Passenger" (1975) starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider. Two years ago when I interviewed Dario Argento in Rome, we talked about his and Antonioni's use of architecture as actual characters in their films. La Pedrera, with its humanoid chimney stacks and undulating facade, certainly comes across as a strong character on film and in real life.

I loved this Gaudi tea set inside the house.

Above: Scene from The Passenger. Please note that this music does not appear in the film. Also note the drying laundry that Maria Schneider walks through on the roof! You won't see that now, as the roof is overrun with thousands of tourists every day. I wish I  could have been there in 1975.

One thing I noticed while walking through the exhibition section of the building is that the music they were playing in the background was from Ingmar Bergman's "Persona"! Interesting, since "The Passenger" and "Persona" are both films about identity.

Next stop was Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia...

It was fascinating to watch work going on within the church. It may take another 50 years to finish but as Gaudi himself said, "My client is not in a hurry." (That would be God.)

We took the elevator up to the bridge for dizzying views of the church and the city. Frederic from Modem was scared, saying "In a way, I feel like there is nothing stopping me from throwing myself over the edge." I thought, "Wow, that is so existential." Luckily, his superego prevailed.

On my last day in Barcelona I visited the Casa Batllo.

 

Christopher Franko and Miguel Villalobos on the Yohji Yamamoto /Y-3 store opening in NYC

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Last night there was a joint opening at Yohji Yamamoto and the Y 3 store.

It was like a gentle inch worm making it's way across the cobblestones. Residents and onlookers were fascinated.

One of the crew took me up on a crane for this night shot. Inside there were more than 400 guests. The actual store is a nearly perfect brick triangle.

Here are Carla from YY and Lee from Y-3 giving things the final once-over. The blue box in the distance is the Y-3 store.

the view from inside the Y-3 ice bar.

All photos and text by Chris Franko.

Photos below are by Miguel Villalobos.

Geo from the Misshapes.com, Sophia Lamari, Chris Franco and Graham Tabor and an inside shot of the shop.

Zaldy and Dimitri

ann demeulemeester shop in seoul

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I thought you would enjoy a few images of Ann Demeulemeester's shop in Seoul. If you are in the neighborhood the address is: 650-14 Sinsa-Dong, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-896.

Architects: Minsuk CHo + Kisu Park
Design Team: Mass Studies

Later,

Diane

MASSIMILIANO LOCATELLI chats with Beniamino Marini

MASSIMILIANO LOCATELLI
ARCHITECT
PARTNER OF CLS ARCHITETTI (Giovanna Cornelio, Massmiliano Locatelli, Anna-Maria Scevola), MILAN AND NEW YORK CITY

B: What did you study?

M: First of all, I always studied hard...

B: This is not true. Ok, what did you take at college?

M: Architecture in Milan and Dublin, then I went to NYC for a PhD in Interiors at Columbia University.

B: How old were you when you started working?

M: I was 23, working in the firm of one of my teachers. At 25, with Giovanna Cornelio and Anna-Maria Scevola I founded my own firm, CLS Architetti.

B: You were very young! Which was your first job as an independent architect?

M: An apartment in Milan.

B: And the first "big" job?

M: That was with Trussardi, the leather fashion company, when they redid the entire brand image. We did the layout and some shops.

B: What are your specialties as an architect?

M: I make people's dreams come true.

B: Even in fashion stores?

M: Dreams can be in a shop too. For I Pinco Pallino, a children's fashion brand, we wrote fairy tales on the floor, hung fantastic chandeliers on the ceilings, we gave dreams an actual form.

B: The shop you loved the most?

M: The first one I designed. It was in Corso Venezia in Milan, a fashion store. It was 1995.

B: Why was it so special?

M: We designed a stage structure on the ceiling where you could hang almost everything in every possible way. For the opening we invited a special design exhibition from London's 100% Design. In a time when nobody knew what London's design was.

B: Is it better to work for big fashion companies or for small ones? Which ones give you more freedom?

M: It depends. I had a lot of freedom with big brands too. For Missoni Sport, for example, I was able to use very innovative materials, like printed concrete to give softness to stiff textures.

B: And what about houses? Who are your clients? Can you name names?

M: Unfortunately I can't but in general we work with the owners of the fashion companies and their friends. For some brands I did shops, showrooms, offices, factories in Italy and abroad. And the private homes of the owners or designers.

B: What type of houses do you design?

M: From the château of a 28 years old industrial princess with no budget constraints, to a small studio on a rooftop for a dj in Milan. Or a top class apartment in Paris in the most typical immeuble haussmanien.

B: In which cities do you work most often?

M: I am based in Milan and New York City, where I have an office since 1996. I have projects going on in Rome, of course, then Paris and Dubai, now Moscow and London are growing too. Oh, and I have a project in San Francisco too.

B: What did you do in Paris?

M: Beyond private homes, I did the Gibo and Iris showroom at rue Simon Lefranc in the Marais, a boutique I Pinco Pallino on the Champs Elysées, a few Missoni and Michael Kors corners at Printemps.

B: Which are you favorite shops in Paris?

M: There's a porcelain shop under the porches of the Jardins du Palais Royal that I really love. Everything is so messy but the china is very old and special. Looks like being in the kitchens of a real palace.

B: And a fashion store you like?

M: The old Pierre Cardin in Fbg. St Honoré. It is so démodé that it becomes cool.

B: What about stores in the rest of the world?

M: I like old shops. They are always better. Like Brigatti in Corso Venezia (disappeared for a Dolce & Gabbana megastore) and Lorenzi in Montenapoleone street. Or the one that sells espadrilles in Barcelona...

B: But if you like traditional interiors your work is not useful anymore!

M: I can re-create that atmosphere. It is beautiful and makes you feel safe, home.

B: When you go back into the past, isn’t that more like working as a set designer? Isn't it too theatrical? Or fake?

M: One should always be aware of our times merging traditional elements with new materials or techniques. But a store is a store and the main traditional features don't change.

Beniamino Marini

All images from the archives of CLS ARCHITETTI (Giovanna Cornelio, Massmiliano Locatelli, Anna-Maria Scevola), MILAN AND NEW YORK CITY

The interview will appear in IQONS Magazine in February

DINO DINCO : ER in EK in EP

Me: "Elias, are those shoes from Eley Kishimoto?"

Elias: "Why, yes, they are."

Elias Redstone
Curator, The Architecture Foundation, London
Elysian Park, Los Angeles

- Dino

Tony Duquette by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson

Tony Duquette is the title of a luxurious interior design book written about the multi-talented interiors magician, set and stage designer, and artist that was the first American to have been honored with a one man show at the Louvre. Tony Duquette was discovered by Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl, the international interior designer who is credited with giving the business it's name and direction. He was also a set designer, costume designer, artist, sculptor, jewelry designer, painter, fantasist who lived most of his life in Los Angeles. Duquette also received commissions from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and the Alsatian industrialist Commandant Paul Louis Weiller.

Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson, who worked with Duquette since the age of 17, dedicated ten years of their lives to writing about this American design icon. The intoduction is written by Dominick Dunne and the book is published by Abrams. The first printing was sold out within the first three weeks of delivery and now is going into it's second printing which will put it back on the shelves in either February or March.

Tony Duquette died at the age of 85 in 1999 as per his wishes, his design business continues under the direction of his business partner Hutton Wilkinson, President and Artistic Director for Tony Duquette Studios, Inc.

The book is 364 pages with spectacular photographs, reproduced documents, and personal remembrances.
All images are taken from the book, if you click on them you can locate the chapter and the page number
.
Later,

Diane

s

Christmas chez Beniamino and Max

Dear Shaded Viewers,

A nativity scene flying over Milan chez Beniamino and Max.

Later,

Diane

At home in London with Roksanda Ilincic

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Today I went with Mandi Lennard to visit the beautiful Roksanda Ilincic. Before Roksanda was a designer she studied architecture, her lovely home was designed by her and her husband. Mandi and I stayed for green tea and organic toffee biscuits shaped like the hare and the tortoise.

The indoor pool is amazing, very Lost Highway. Something about this beautiful house made me think of James Goldstein's house in LA except here it felt like Dan Flavin did the lighting.

Mandi and her black tipped nails

The frame of the couch is made of concrete.

Roksanda's atelier and pieces of shredded organza.

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Roksanda and her sculpture and her beautiful Jil Sander boots.

It was too dark to show you the Japanese style patio. Roksanda's star is rising, amazing projects in the works....I'll keep you posted.

Later,

Diane

designers' Xmas trees for charity "100 alberi d'autore"

Dear Shaded Viewers,

There was a big party tonight at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, the reason? A charity sale of designers' Xmas trees called "100 alberi d'autore" http://www.ilnataledei100alberidautore.net/

Beniamino Marini designed the leather button tree, next to him is Clorinda Covino, the company heiress.

Beniamino Marini's leather Christmas tree (360 hand made buttons in leather and a base that is made of upholstered suede white soft leather). Beniamino created this for an italian fashion brand called .it (they also do a show catwalk during milan fashion week).

If you want to place your order, bids start at 2,600 EUROS and the money goes to cancer research for children.

Later,

Diane

PIN-UP Magazine

Dear Shaded Viewers,

This says it all: magazine for architectual entertainment. The magazine is available now in France and will be in the rest of Europe and the USA over the next few weeks. Check the website for more details.

www.pinupmagazine.org

Later,

Diane

Julien Bertic reports in from Dubai on the Burj Dubai, the highest tower in the world

Dear Diane, Dear Shaded Viewers,

Happy to share with you an update on the Dubai skyline. The highest tower in the world Burj Dubai is on its way to the clouds as the pollution is growing.

Best
Julien

serguei povaguin

Dear Shaded Viewers:

I fell in love with this rug the first time that I saw it. It reminds me of my grandmother' s house. Last week when I was talking with my friend Matteo he told me that he had taken some pictures in Serguei' s house, I asked him if could I post them here and he sent me these images. I think that Serguei made two or three rugs by hand, one for him and the rest for Rossana Orlandi,

but if you are interested, you can see one of them in Milan in Spazio Rossana Orlandi or contact directly with Serguei.

www.sergueipovaguin.com

www.rossanaorlandi.com

photos by http://matteocolombo.viewbook.com

Thank you Diane,

lenfanterrible.

A visit chez Christian Astuguevieille

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Yesterday I went to visit Christian Astuguevieille at his studio. I wanted to introduce him to my friend Michael James O'Brien. In fact they are planning a rather amazing collaboration but you will have to wait a while for that.

Among other things, Christian likes to create imaginary civilizations and then inhabit them with strange creatures.

This particular creature is near extinction so he has been put in a glass jar in order to preserve his race.

Christian offered me this mesh necklace filled with black babies.

Later,

Diane

Haringe Slott

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Yesterday I told you that we went location scouting with Sonny. Ben has a friend that owns a few castles about 30 minutes outside of Stockholm.

Greta Garbo's bedroom- it was always ready for her when she decided to come for a visit. There also was a room for Josephine Baker. She had a double bed.

We were invited to stay for lunch. Ben Gorham, BYREDO and Sonny Vandevelde and David from David & Martin. David & Martin are two Swedish accessory designers that show at Tranoi and that I like very much. I wear their chicken feet and geisha ball necklaces.

www.haringeslott.se

Later,

Diane

All photos by Sonny Vandevelde

Ronald Van der Hilst and his tulip gazebos

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Are you looking for a 5 meter high tulip gazebo? Are you searaching for the perfect person to design your garden? If so, Ronald Van der Hilst, the Tulip Master, is your man.

Later,

Diane

Josh Jakus and his eggflat

Dear Shaded Viewers,

<

Trained as an architect, California based Josh Jakus has spent his lifetime following his interest in the nature of structure, space and materials.

All designs are made from industrial felt.

http://www.joshjakus.com

The collection is represented by:

randa massot
5, rue de l’Echelle 75001, Paris, France
T 00 33 (0)1 43 67 32 99 M 00 33(0)6 15 14 81 35 E randa@randamassot.com
www.randamassot.com

Later,

Diane

Nonspheres IV - Luis Berrios-Negron July 19th - August 18th PROGRAM Berlin

Dear Shaded Viewers,

When I was in Berlin earlier this month I visited PROGRAM.

PROGRAM is a nonprofit project aimed at testing the disciplinary boundaries of architecture through collaborations with other fields. Initiated in 2006 by Carson Chan and Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga, PROGRAM provides a discursive platform for artists, architects, critics and curators to explore ideas through exhibitions, performances, workshops, lectures, and residencies.

Nonspheres IV is the latest iteration of Luis Berríos-Negrón’s ongoing investigation into the contemporary tension between nature and technology. This project takes the built shape of a digitally generated lattice. This simulation of a carbon tetrahedral lattice fills the entire gallery, suggesting a continuous yet remote set of relationships intended to incite what Freud calls oceanic feelings, or the infantile sensation of boundlessness between the ego and the outside world.

Still, living displaces false sentiments
And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown,
I just shrug, 'Bloody Pups'. It makes sense:
'Prevention of cruelty' talk cut ice in town
Where they consider death unnatural
But on well-run farms pets have to be kept down.

Excerpt from Early Purges, Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney 1966

Later,

Diane

News from Alan Rosenberg - Works of Art

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I met Alan Rosenberg years ago when Mario Testino was enchanted with him and his twin brother Charles and used to like to photograph the two of them. I think that they were about 21 years old at the time. Now Alan is a collector and has an outstanding inventory of 20th century design and art, some of which is listed below. For more information about these and more new acquisitions you can go directly to his catalogue page:

http://www.arwoa.com/catalogue.php

Below are some new additions to his inventory of vintage books on design and style which you can view on his books page:

http://www.arwoa.com/books.php.

His article Victoriana 1930 was recently published in Nineteenth Century and his article on silversmith Frederick Miller appears in the current issue of Silver magazine. You can see a complete list of his articles in the bibliography (please contact him if you would like photocopies of any of these articles):

http://www.arwoa.com/bibliography.php

Finally, he has added an archive where you can see works of art and design formerly in his inventory that are now in museums and private collections:

http://www.arwoa.com/catalogue_sold.php

He invites your inquiries -Alan Rosenberg
--
Alan Rosenberg-Works of Art
155 West 20 Street, 2G
New York, NY 10011-3612
212-989-4061
http://www.arwoa.com

Viewings by appointment

Later,

Diane

The 2nd edition of the Design Parade at the Villa Noailles in Hyeres

Dear Shaded Viewers,

The principal exhibition was the retrospective of Pierre Paulin, one of France's most famous living designers. Catherine Geel is the curator. The goal of the Design Parade is similar to that of the festival of Hyeres for fashion and photography, to create an exchange between new and established professionals and to make the public more aware of the work.

Le palmarès a récompensé :
- Grand Prix du jury : Sébastien Cordoleani et Franck Fontana (France)
;
- Prix SEB – 150 ans : Nacho Carbonell Ivars (Espagne) ;
- Prix du Public : Nadine Sterk (Pays-Bas)

Dutch designer, Hella Jongerius presided over the jury members: Martin
Berthenod (FIAC), Michèle Champenois (Le Monde), Thierry Gaugain (studio
Starck), Fiona Raby (chercheur) Pierre Loustic (Dyson) ou Isabelle de
Ponfilly (Vitra). (I cannot resist a personal note, I have never been happier than with my Vitra chair that I bought myself after filming the Gumball for Mark Eley. It was worth the 1,800 Euros for all of the comfort it provides me when sitting at my computer...)

The exhibition will be open to the public until 23 September.

VILLA NOAILLES
Montée de Noailles
83400 Hyères
Tous les jours sauf mardi et jours fériés de 10h à 12h30 et de 16h00 à
19h30.

Thank you to Serge Carreira for sending the images to us.

Later,

Diane

www.tagmypod.com and my Macbook

Dear Shaded Viewers,

illustration by Miguel Villalobos

I was the first client ever for Phuong Tran and his brand new company Tagmypod.

Phuong Tran

My friend Antoine Asseraf called me last night to see if I would be up for being the first person to get anything laser tagged by Phuong Tran. I thought about it for a minute and then I decided that I'd like to get my macbook tagged with the illustration that opens my site by Miguel Villalobos. I travel a lot and I always have my apple with me slipped into my Henrik Vibskov computer case with a digital pig print and my power cord is customized with Bless cable covers so why not customize the actual computer. These are the kinds of little things that give me pleasure when I travel.

Antoine Asseraf and Giorgio Martinoli are working on an animation for A Shaded TV. Being a true libra, I could not decide on one image for my Mac so I opted for both the sunglasses by Antoine and Giorgio and the illustration by Miguel Villalobos.

Pushing the button that starts the laser process Thomas Crampton and Phuong Tran

My life is full of taking risks but I have to admit that there was a moment of slight panic when Phuong Tran placed my computer into the laser machine. I don't know what I was worried about, the laser merely scratches the surface, it's not like it is going to penetrate through to the other side. None the less I had Phuong test out the laser sunglasses tag on Thomas Crampton's apple computer first. Remember, I was the first client... Thomas's parents came over with a flash light for their tagging adventure. We all had a good laugh over that.

In fact you can tag any surface including clothing, all electronic devices, glasses, you name it Phuong will tag it for you. How it works is you bring over the object that you want tagged. You also bring over the artwork which then gets put into the computer and then transferred into the tagmypod machine. You push the button and the laser goes to work.

My drawing was pretty detailed so the entire process took about 30 minutes. Visit the www.tagmypod.com website for more details. They made a little video of their first client which I will be positing as soon as they put it up on youtube.com. We are thinking about having a contest on my site for the best artwork for www.tagmypod.com. I will be one of the judges.

I love tattoos but I guess this is as close as I'll ever get to having one.

By appointment only:

Visit Espace L.U.V.

Tagmypod
68 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
75001 Paris
France
Tel. : 06 78 73 97 99
Email: phuong.tran@tagmypod.com

www.phuong-tran.com

Later,

Diane

The video:

Christian Astuguevieille and his portrait, work in progress, to be aired on Arte this October

Dear Shaded Viewers,