Danish design company VIPP and supermodel Helena Christensen have
teamed up to hold a charity auction of Vipp pedal bins that have been given a fashionable makeover by fashion, design, art, and entertainment leaders. The bins have been made over by the likes of
Bono,
Michael Stipe,
Mario Batali,
Michael Bastian,
Simon Doonan,
Frederic Fekkai,
Karim Rashid,
Jason Miller,
Todd Oldham,
Alice Temperley,
Mena Suvari, and more, and will be sold in a silent auction benefiting the Food Bank For New York City and Chernobyl Children’s Project International. An installation of the bins will be on display for public viewing and pre-bidding at The Conran Shop in New York through Thursday, Sept.
British industrial designer and head of design at Finnish company Artek
Tom Dixon, who has been designing furniture for 30-some years, and whose lighting designs are all the rage, has decided to channel his design talents into the world of fashion. On Monday, Dixon launched a new bimonthly fashion digest magazine, Distill, targeted towards creative professionals,
according to Design Week. The new glossy is published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., which also publishes one of my faves, Craft:, as well as Make:.
Olympic golden boy
Michael Phelps has just acquired a crave worthy pad, paying $1.69 million for a 4,080-square-foot condo overlooking Baltimore's revitalized Harborfront,
according to the Maryland Leader. The pad features amenities sure to win over any young Olympian, such as a rooftop terrace with fireplace, a private screening room, a state-of-the-art gym, a clubhouse with pool tables, and a Jacuzzi. He also recently purchased the Meadowbrook Swim Club and Northwest Ice Rink in Baltimore, which he and his coach plan to turn into an elite Olympic training center, and on the car front, he has been looking at "some Aston Martins and some Maseratis." Ohhh, new money.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. has announced that it will pull the plug on its struggling shelter magazine, Home, due to "sharp declines in the 'mid-market home sector',"
according to the Wall Street Journal. Home will join the ranks of fellow folded shelter titles, Conde Nast's
House & Garden and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's
Blueprint.
The
London house of Sienna Miller — who has recently been getting slack for
dating married actor Balthazar Getty and appearing
topless in photos with him — has been vandalized, spray-painted with the word "SLUT" and a pseudo-Satanic circular symbol,
according to the Sun. The vandalism apparently occurred despite a burglar alarm system and security lights at the house. We all can think what we want about the couple's relationship, but I think it's pretty terrible that this should happen at Miller's own home.
Tonight at 8 p.m. (CDT), the Sundance channel will premiere an original six-part documentary series, Architecture School, which follows a group of students from Tulane University's prestigious School of Architecture as they compete for the chance to design an affordable home in Katrina-devastated
New Orleans. The winning model will be built during the school year and put on the market, giving one recent grad one whopping résume bullet point at the start of his career.
Denise Richards has put her traditional 5,600-square-foot house in Hidden Hills, a luxury gated community in Los Angeles, on the market for $4.25 million,
according to the LA Times. It has five bedrooms, including a master retreat with a sitting area. The property description lists: Graceful foyer entry with sweeping staircase, gleaming wood floors, rustic stone floors, expansive living room with soaring ceilings and cast stone fireplace, great room accented by fireplace and library bookshelves, gourmet country kitchen with imported tiles and Carrera marble, state of the art stainless steel appliances, sun-filled breakfast room opens to kitchen, stately formal dining room features charming bay window and wainscotting, master retreat with comfortable sitting area, large walk-in closet, spa-like master bath with island tub and fireplace, five spacious bedrooms with private baths, inviting upstairs office, expansive grounds over an acre of mature landscaping and trees, [and] pebble textured pool and spa.
Richards has apparently listed the property for about $100,000 less than she paid for it — further evidence of
this uncertain real estate market.
Charges against Beverly Hills real estate agent Josh Flagg, star of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing, who was recently
arrested for allegedly swiping high-priced art that was part of the estates he was handling, have been dropped due to insufficient evidence,
according to TMZ. While it's a relief to hear that our trusty real estate agents may actually be trust-worthy after all, somehow I'm feeling like this guy is just getting off easy (see artwork behind him) . .
Rumor has it that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have been wooed "by developer John Bersci to purchase a freshly rehabbed house" in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles in the neighborhood of $22 million,
according to Real Estalker. The 1930s Hollywood Georgian features "nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms including a 2,500 square foot master bedroom with a private sitting room, four fireplaces, sauna, a humongous terrace with outdoor fireplace and two tremendous bathrooms," as well as "a large motor court with a front facing three-car garage, a paneled library with hidden wine cellar, screening room, staff quarters, and a two bedroom guest house adjacent to the rectangular shaped cement pond." The property, which is currently listed at $27.5 million, hasn't yet been closed on, but time will soon tell whether the Garner-Afflecks will call the gorgeous digs home. Sounds like there would be lots of room for
Violet and her future sibling to play!
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Entertainment Weekly recently quizzed the two presidential hopefuls on their pop culture preferences and routines, and
found that the Obama household favors HGTV when it comes to what's on the tube. Here's an excerpt from the interview:
EW: So neither [you nor your wife, Michelle] are fascists when it comes to the remote . .
