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Tags: Travel Contests / Design Travel / Australia Travel / → All Tags

If You Can Design A T-Shirt, You Can Win 11 Days In Australia

Tired of the colder temperatures and all the leaves to be raked already? It's spring in Australia! But of course, heading Down Under costs a pretty penny, and for creatives it most likely remains a dream destination. That's where Threadless and STA Travel step in with their "Threadless Loves Travel II" contest. Last year's winner got a trip to Iceland, $2,000 in cash, and slew of other perks. This year they're looking to a warmer destination by giving away an 11-day trip to Australia, new luggage, headphones, a $500 Threadless gift card, and the $2,000 in cash.

So how do you enter and win? Break out your best graphic design, drawing, or photoshopping skills to create a T-shirt inspired by travel. If it wins the most votes, it's Australia here you come. So far only six designs have been submitted, so the odds are good. Here's the design that won last year, for a little inspiration, but we know you can do better with Australia at stake. Submissions are accepted until December 2, so get brainstorming!

Related Stories:
· Threadless Loves Travel II [Threadless]
· Threadless Loves Travel I (Winner) [Threadless]
· Travel Contests coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: winning design for Threadless Loves Travel I]

Tags: Starbucks Alternatives / Coffee Travel / Stockholm / Stockholm Travel / Stockholm Restaurants / Retro Travel / Design Travel / → All Tags

Stockholm Kicks Starbucks To The Curb With The Retro 'Konditori Valand'

Starbucks might be attempting to create more of a cafe with their concept "15th Street Coffee & Tea" restaurant, but it will simply never equal the awesomeness of truly great, very authentic cafes that still exist and serve up homemade goods around the world. One such spot, which might not last too much longer as the owners grow old, is Stockholm's Konditori Valand.

The cafe, in the Surbrunnsgatan section of town, is run by Magdalena Åström, who has maintained the original interior of the cafe since it was begun and designed by her husband in 1954. The result is a mid-century modern stunner, with well-worn teak furniture and an imported black stone floor from Italy. The cafe is a fixture in German guidebooks and on the lists of retro furniture enthusiasts, but that doesn't mean that a regular old, design-appreciating tourist can't enjoy a coffee and slice of cake here.

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Tags: Design Travel / Milan / Italy Travel / Events / → All Tags

Milan's 'Salone del Mobile' Makes Way for Freak Furniture

This week in Milan, lamps will looks like water droplets and couches will resemble dropcloths; that's right, it's the modern furniture show called Salone del Mobile, which attracts design gurus and international press through the 27th of April. An annual event which could be called the Fashion Week of the interior furnishings world, the Salone turns the city itself into something of a canvas, as artists as well as brands use major streets, like the swish Via Montenapoleone pictured above, to broadcast their presence.

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Tags: Architecture Travel / Beer Travel / Tokyo / Design Travel / → All Tags

Where to Tipple in Tokyo: The Asahi Beer Hall

Twenty years old and still partying like any good Philippe Starck structure should, Tokyo's Asahi Beer Hall is known as more than just a hot piece of architectural history on the banks of the Sumida River, but also for being a damned good place to eat and imbibe. So long as you can down Asahi with the best of the office workers, some of whom wander over from the Asahi headquarters next door, then you'll feel right at home.

Outside of the beer hall, the striking modern lines of the Starck design remain an attraction, made all the more interesting by "La Fiamma," the flame, perched atop the roof like froth in a beer glass. Over the years, this gold swish, a trademark form of Starck which can be seen throughout his other works, has gained nicknames such as "the golden turd," while Asahi executives think of it as the burning soul of the company.

We tend to take a positive view of the architectural flair of it, as it truly stands out from the other grey and black office buildings that dominate Tokyo's skyline. Next time you take a drinking tour of Japan, be sure to send us a postcard; we appreciate a hearty foreign bonding experience over booze just as much as the next salaryman.

Related Stories:
· Asahi Super Dry Hall [GlassandSteelandStone]
· Japan's New Asahi Betters With Age [Jaunted]
· Architecture Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: naoyafujii]

Tags: Design Travel / Serbia Travel / Belgrade / Communist Travel / → All Tags

Belgrade Opens a Communist Supermarket Redux

Oh, goodie! Someone has resurrected the sparse and depressing concept of a Communist-era supermarket in Belgrade. Everyone, off to Serbia! Inside of what was the first discount supermarket in Communist Yugoslavia, a Belgrade design firm has arranged various relics of cold war life and reopened the space as a concept shop.

With repurposed refrigerators, a VW bus, whole hospital examination rooms, and even bathroom doors ripped from a derelict freight elevator, the ReMiks Supermarket reinterprets the ascetic aesthetics of the "Golden Years of Communism" in order to show off spectacularly designed consumer products for modern living. Cracked cement floors and white warehouse lights dominate the space, in order to serve as an "imperfect background for the educated consumers' perfect fetishes." Sounds naughty!

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Tags: Art Travel / Design Travel / Washington / Museum Travel / → All Tags

Washington DC Knows About the Light At the End of the Tunnel

For all of you who headed out in the middle of winter for the Washington DC party of the year, also known as the presidential election, but didn't have enough time or personal space to enjoy the rest of the sites of the city, spring may just be the perfect time to plot a return.

Along with the millions of blooming cherry blossoms on the Mall, the National Gallery of Art will have the "Multiverse," a light show with 41,000 LEDs rocking out to rhythmic patterns in a 200-foot-long tunnel between the museum's wings.

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Tags: Design Travel / Architecture Travel / Modernism Week / → All Tags

Palm Springs Kicks It Mid-Century Style With Modernism Week

This goes out to all you Atomic Ranch readers and melamine fiends: set your George Nelson starburst clocks for 2pm on Friday, February 13, as Palm Springs is due to kick off its annual Modernism Week, celebrating all things mid-century (yes, even avocado-color appliances).

With a week solid of vintage shows, exhibitions, and even double-decker bus tours, Palm Springs is pulling out all the stops to attract everyone from the hardcore retro collectors to the curious.

$75 will get you access to everything, including highlights such as the screening of two films about designers Charles and Ray Eames, a vintage car show, and all-day house tours of some masterpieces of modernist design that will easily put the Brady Bunch's swinging pad to shame.

Even if you've never before considered a multicolor mobile to be a necessary living room element, Modernism Week is sure to delight. After all, you're out in the California sun getting sneak peeks into people's eclectic homes and observing the icons of mid-century design in their natural elements. We guarantee that it will only take you a few A-frame houses before you're obsessing over plastic tables and Osterizer blenders with the best of them.

Related Stories:
· Palm Springs' Modernism Week [Official Site]
· A Palm Springs Event Chock-full of Minimalism [NYT]
· Design Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: NYT]

Tags: Design Travel / Art / → All Tags

The Royal Mail Has Your Concorde Fix

This month is the perfect time for the design-inclined to be in London. The Tate Modern has Mark Rothko's work hanging the wrong way, the city is in love with old Chinese artifacts and the Royal Mail has just released a limited series of "British Design Classics" stamps.

Since a healthy stamp collection is a time-honored form of armchair travel, it's not surprising that half of the stamps in the British Design collection pay homage to legendary forms of transportation. We're talking everything from the Concorde to the map of the London Underground and even a little dose of the double-decker Routemaster bus.

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Tags: Public Art / Design Travel / Art / → All Tags

Yes We Can Edition

New York's economy could use a boost from another giant waterfall-style public art exhibit. And while this one might not quite bring in the billions, it's still pretty awesome.

Now on display at the World Financial Center, Canstruction is a competition from the Society for Design Administration, which invited architectural firms to create massive, Legoland-like exhibits, all made entirely from canned goods.

The 40 pieces, from a can Mona Lisa to the AlasCAN Bridge to Nowhere, are on exhibit through December 8. And don't worry about waste; after the show, all the cans get donated to the hungry.

Related Stories:
· Canstruction [Official Site]
· Canstruction Exhibit in New York City [Serious Eats]
· Design Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Canstruction]

Tags: Photography / Art / Design Travel / Flickr / Contests / → All Tags

A Design Cities Update

Since we last reported on the Design Cities contest at Flickr, tons of photos have been submitted that capture the essence of design in cities. Many of the images frame everyday things like door locks, lighting, signage and architectural details as hidden works of art, laying dormant until the photographer captures them. Color, shapes and lighting come together to bring out the abstract beauty spread throughout city landscapes.

So get busy documenting your city's unique design--or the stuff you notice on your travels, as the contest is accepting entries until December 1. The winning photograph will will be printed on 80,000 specially commissioned posters, and a selection of photographs will be displayed at the London's Design Museum in January 2009.

Related Stories:
· Your Design City Update [Flickr]
· Design Cities Exhibition [Official Site]
· Design Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: 2016 Olympics / Design Travel / → All Tags

2016 Is Right Around The Corner

Didn't the Summer Olympics just happen? Yeah, but elsewhere, cities are already gearing up for 2010, 2012 and even 2014. So, asks Good magazine, why not take a look at the logos under consideration for the games in 2016. They're just around the corner!

Chicago, Madrid, Rio and Tokyo are all in the running, after beating out Doha, Prauge and Baku in the first phase of Olympic competition. Though some cities have already lost out, all the potential logos are, in our view, Olympic in caliber. And none are (thankfully) as wacky and experimental as the infamous London 2012 logo.

Related Stories:
· Olympics 2016 Logos [GOOD Magazine]
· Summer Olympic Bids [Games Bids]
· Beijing Olympics [Jaunted]

Tags: Travel Gear / Design Travel / Tea / → All Tags

The Low Budget, High Class Tea Time Set

Now any time can be the right time to live out a low-budget British cultural fantasy. TeaFix is an interesting but totally impractical "tea time" kit that's designed with life on the go in mind.

Housed in a plastic snap-out frame, TeaFix has all the components you need to have a cup of tea wherever you are--just add hot water. A tea bag and 3 lumps of sugar are provided along with dainty white plastic versions of a china cup, saucer and spoon; there's even a lace doily.

Nice idea, this attempt to add a bit of class to the clunky old travel mug, but they'd better get back to the drawing board. Not only does the TeaFix seem like it may melt at any moment, it also looks like a one-time-use kind of deal, an epic eco-fail.

Related Stories:
· Proper Tea Anyone? [Yanko Design]
· Travel Gear coverage [Jaunted]
· High Tea Hotels [HC]