Laura Laine and her ethereal illustrations

The young Scandinavian Finnish Fashion Illustrator Laura Laine has a fascination with hair, movement, femininity and sensuality. She is only 25 years old. Studied fashion design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki where she currently lives. Her work has been published in Elle Girl, Muse, NY Times T Magazine among others and had done illustrations for Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, H&M and Escada. Visit her site at www.lauralaine.net

"My drawing style is something I’m not so conscious about, I just do what I feel like at the moment. Lately it’s been twisted-bodied girls with a melancholy attitude.”- Laura Laine.

A crystallized Christmas with Swarovski

Daniel Swarovski, born in northern Bohemia in 1862 (now the Czech Republic), son of a glass cutter who owned a small glass factory, became skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass. Today Swarovski is the luxury brand name for the range of precision-cut crystal glass and related products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria. Visit their site at  www.crystallized.com and www.swarovski.com

The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal sculptures and miniatures, jewelry and couture, home decor and chandeliers. In order to create a crystal that allows light to refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its crystals with special metallic chemical coatings. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow oil slick appearance. Other coatings include Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, and Dorado.

The Swarovski company also offers architectural and design services in crystal for special projects, visit their website at http://architecture.swarovski.com/Content.Node/main.php#/en/home

Watch the promotional videos of their collection Sands of Time, Spring 07 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvJHalLdTSU&feature=related and the making of at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tVusB9nwhY&feature=related, State of Grace  at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqIwCDcQEzQ&feature=related and some interesting events and shows below.

In 2007 Swarovski formed a partnership with electronics giant Philips to produce the "Active-Crystals" consumer electronics range. This includes four USB Memory keys and four in-ear headphones, and in 2008 they included Bluetooth wireless earpieces for the brand, all with some form of Swarovski crystal on them as decoration.

Swarovski has opened a new flagship store in Tokyo in the renowned Ginza district. The store better known for its Crystal Forest has been designed in collaboration of Swarovski and famous Japanese designer Tokujin Yashioka. Visit his website and browse his beautiful projects at www.tokujin.com

Watch "Lake of Shimmer" , the Swarovski stand at Basel World 2009 designed by Tokujin Yoshioka.

And this Christmas linger in a winter wonderland with Swarovski...

Li Edelkoort and her influence in Design

Born in Holland in 1950, Li Edelkoort studied fashion and design at the School of Fine Arts in Arnhem, and upon graduation became a trend forecaster at the leading Dutch department store, De Bijenkorf. There, she discovered her talent for sensing upcoming trends and her unique ability to predict what consumers would want to buy several seasons ahead of time. This brought her to Paris in 1975, working first as an independent trend consultant and soon creating Trend Union http://www.trendunion.com  She is also the art director and co-publisher of the magazines View on Colour (color trend forecasting magazine) and Bloom, A Horti-Cultural View (artistic horticultural magazine).

Li is Chairwoman of the renowned Design Academy in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Visit their website at www.designacademy.nl Dutch by birth, Parisienne by choice, international in outlook, futurist Li Edelkoort knows what the needs, lifestyles and choices of the global community will be two years from now and beyond. Leading manufacturers of products for the environment, automotive, home, office, garden, textile, fashion and beauty industries seek out her advice, creative ideas, and intuition in developing their own lines, services and marketing strategies. Always promoting design, watch her in this video supporting European Design.

In 2005, Aid to Artisans honoured Li Edelkoort with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her support of craft and design. Li is now part of the founding board Aid to Artisans’ European division.
Aid to Artisans, a non-for-profit organization, offers practical assistance to artisan groups worldwide, working in partnership to foster artistic traditions, cultural vitality, improved livelihoods and community well-being. Through collaborations in product development, business skills training and the development of new markets, Aid to Artisans (ATA) provides sustainable economic and social benefits for crafts people in an environmentally sensitive and culturally respectful manner.

In February 2006, Li Edelkoort also opened her first restaurant together with the famous Cypriot restaurateur Andréas Mavrommatis at Galeries Lafayette in Paris. With its refined mediterranean food and concept store, Laurier offers a whole new concept in dining and is a well-being experience. www.laurier.fr From June 2008 on, Laurier is organizes each month a photo exhibition around art & food. The first exhibition 'Toxifood' by photographer 'Sabine Pigalle' shows small culinairy digressions around human nature, see book bellow.

Watch her talking about design in a very forward Dutch way. Be ready... Dutch are always ahead.