For the past three years, Saks Fifth Avenue has published a children's book that serves as the basis for their holiday windows (above and below). This year's volume, A Flake Like Mike by The Simpsons writer Mike Reiss, tells the story of a lacy snowflake who is shunned by the mass of lookalike flakes but who eventually leads a bloodless revolution against conformity with a smile on his face. Honored with his own parade, Mike is featured on the cover of "The Daily Flake," the local tabloid. Today, thanks to Mike, snow now floats down to the earth, flake by flake, instead of dropping in one big whomp. The book and windows are illustrated by Chris Capuozzo, who runs Intergalactico, a multimedia firm, and teaches in the MFA Designer as Author program. He portrays an abstract past in New York City, one where today's parents are young, dinosaurs roam, and aliens regularly visit Earth.

I asked Chris how he got the job: Through a friend's recommendation, Saks loved the illustration work I did for Nike's "Join Bode" campaign a few years back (promoting the U.S. Olympic skier Bode Miller).

How he got the idea: Growing up in Staten Island, a stone's toss from one of the biggest garbage dumps in the world, had an influence. Ever see the stuff that washes up in the tide line on a Staten Island beach? Tons of weird stuff. I've used mixed media collage for years and I love orchestrating and manipulating disparate fragments into pictures (god bless Photoshop).

What was the most fun: When I showed some proofs of the book to a 5-year-old friend and his mother. He was instantly captivated. Now, I want to do more of this.

Core77 has done it again: They've unleashed their 3rd Annual Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide, "77 Design Gifts Under $77". (Blogger's note: 7 is my lucky number, so anything with 7s gets my thumbs up.)
    This year, SantaCore has put together the most unique guide ever, and are proud to feature items that span high- and low-tech, craft, books, philanthropy, DIY, fashion, food, utility, and some just-crazy-enough-to-work stuff too. They are also featuring two Core77 exclusives at the top of the list: Throwing Star Magnets and BottleBob, a device for magically inserting a straw into a soda bottle cap. Also cool is a Phuze Glass Cocktail Ring (hmmmm).
    As Core77's co-founder, Santa's li'l helpa, and resident re-gifter, Allan Chochinov, says: "So true that it's better to give than to receive, the fun we had in choosing the items for this year's list was the highlight for us. And while readers can indeed purchase these items from their sources, simply browsing through the set of 77 might provide just a little uplift in these tight times."
    Gift on, baby!!!


Design | Shopping

The other day, the School of Visual Arts Designer as Author students visited the Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art display in Central Park's Rumsey Playfield. It was a gorgeous fall morning, leaves falling from trees painted with oranges, reds, siennas, and fading greens. The 7,500 square foot orb is filled with installations inspired by the quilted Chanel bag (bottom) and perfume pervades the air. A personal tour is narrated by the deep yet dulcet tones of Jeanne Moreau "discussing everything from sex and love to the secrets at the bottom of a woman's handbag," writes The New York Times. However, with everyone listening to their own prompts (i.e. "now walk with me to the stairs, and turn left") on individualized MP3 devices, visitors became willing zombies, walking slowly, mindlessly to Moreau's resolute commands.
    Some of the artworks were clever (a series of cardboard boxes, below, with witty videos projected from above showing naked people frolicking and assaulting one another with Chanel bags) and some were more tritely surreal. There was also a hint of the 1964 New York World's Fair to be found in the space-age orb that seemed to be plunked down from the heavens in the anomalous surround.
    The students left with mixed feelings. The morning was blissful and beautiful enough, but this monument to high-end commercialism (guarded by Chanel-clad docents) at such a critical period of economic distress seemed a tad out of touch with reality. But maybe that's the point.