iDale

On my recent trip to Botswana, I decided to put together a small collection of tree bark textures for all the designers who read my blog.

Genuine Botswanan Tree Bark

The images were all shot on my iPhone 4 while taking a walk through the African wild – it was fascinating to see how many different types of trees there were in such a small space.

Click here to see all 10 textures plus 2 bonus ground textures too!

From 26 – 28 November 2010 it’s the first Food Wine Design Fair on the roof-top of the Hyde Park Shopping Centre – celebrating and showcasing what top South Africans are producing in these three fields.

Food. Wine. Design. These are the things that excite me!

I’m told that the 5000 square metre roof-surface (that has views over the east and north of Joburg), will be transformed with tents, theatre lighting, a massive dining area and landscaping to compliment!

How is this event different?

For starters it’s the first event to combine food, wine and design – all lifestyle areas that converge on high quality production and craftsmanship. Second, each producer has been hand-picked and the number of participants has been limited to focus on the best and most unique. In the third instance, by creating the venue on the roof of the Hyde Park Shopping centre we can all do some night-time shopping with an atmosphere that no convention centre could ever achieve.

Event Highlight!

Jorgensen’s Distillery, run by Roger and Dawn Jorgensen, will be launching South Africa’s first absinthe!

Our Field of Dreams Absinthe which is set for release in mid November 2010, is distilled in small batches from home grown organic herbs, especially wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) together with anise, fennel and angelica in the finest traditions of the French masters – to an 1871 recipe. The colouring herbs used to create the vibrant green hue and complete the complex flavour profile feature hyssop, melissa and roman wormwood.

Sadly Roger & Dawns Field of Dreams Absinthe doesn’t make you hallucinate, see green fairies, paint like Degar, write like Hemingway or be as wild as Oscar Wilde – but who know what it will unleash?!

Enter our Jorgensen’s Distillery Giveaway Now!

Luggage is so boring! But with these great stickers, you can liven up your old bag and get some raised eyebrows from the airport officials (even if they are for the wrong reasons)…

If you’re not that risky and naughty, you could try the cash route…

Else, get your Pablo on…

If all else fails, smuggle an air hostess…

If you’re into covering things up with stickers, check out the range of Garage Doors to Die For.

Cars and pianos are more similar than we would initially think: they both have pedals, hood-ish mechanisms, they make noise, and someone has to control them. Perhaps these are some of the reasons that urged the Audi Design Team to collaborate with piano maker Bosendorfer to construct this grand piano, commissioned to celebrate Audi’s centennial:

Here is their philosophy:

Generous surface areas ensure formal clarity; there are no decorative applications, the edges and lines are sharply drawn, the joints logically positioned. All these are important aspects of the Audi design.

And coincidentally, none are important aspects of piano design. The piano-brushed aluminum pedals, hood-like stand, wraparound body and all will be debuted at the July 16th Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany, and is priced at around $140,000 (about R1.2m).

Have you seen the Racing Red Kitchen Inspired by Ferrari?

It seems that fitness professionals have got the art of amazing business cards down! Remember the incredible Stretchy Business Card Design we featured a while back for the yoga trainer? Well, this one is even better in my opinion…

You’re getting a workout (regardless of how small) before you’ve even called this guy. Good form!

I love music and I love cars. So when someone creates a piano that resembles a supercar it’s bound to hit the right high note with me.

Don’t you think this would would look great parked alongside my 599GTB?

My old friend Arthur Goldstuck recently presented the findings of World Wide Worx’s Internet Access study.

In addition to revealing a 12.5% growth in 2008, he shared a summary of trends including an indication that Cellphone Internet usage contributed significantly to the base.

Inline with the research and ahead of the game, the gorgeous geeks at younique have launched a revolutionary plugin that will give your blog a mobile makeover.

Let me show you how to expose your blog to a new world of cellphone spectators…

Read More…

Content is king. But lets be real, we’re all a little shallow which means we want our blog to look as good as it reads (that’s assuming is reads beautifully)!

Enter themes, which like clothes, come in different sizes and colours. And if you’re willing to spend a little money you can even go couture!

However, the main difference between themes and clothes, is that there are thousands of themes for free, even the equivalent of a tailored Armani Suit. I’m going to tell you where to find em, how to pick em and how to install them… Read More…