Ergonomic Bike to the Beach Bag

Popping up at Eastern Mountain Sports' NYC locale, San Francisco-based Alite Design brings their colorfully inventive camping gear to the East Coast. To celebrate, they've teamed up with the sophisticated cyclists at Outlier on an ergonomic Bike to the Beach Bag.

Inspired by a NYC seaside hotspot accessible only by bike, the bag is designed to carry a towel, sandals and food while staying securely strapped on in transit. Outlier's Abe Burmeister captures the bag's essence saying "A lazy hour of pedaling and you are there, relaxing on the clean sand, listening to the waves pound and letting the sun do it's thing."

The bag isn't ready yet for purchase, but it will be given away to a lucky recipient at the Alite Design pop-up shop launch party along with 100 survival guide posters and reference manuals created by Brooklyn-based design studio Swayspace.

The Alite Design temporary shop opens 24 June 2010 at Eastern Mountain Sports.

Apple iPhone 4 hitting market soon

iPhone 4 announcement has us counting the days until the beautifully-designed phone with myriad new features and an upgraded operating system comes out.
One underplayed part of the announcement furthers Apple's foray in to the case game. Bumpers, pictured here, are simple rubber protectors that hug the steel frame of the new iPhone 4. The front and back of the device are made from super-hard glass, so now only the frame—which doubles as the phone's antennae—needs protection.

Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but Bumpers will be available in white, black, blue, green, orange, or pink to offer a bit of minimal Apple-style personalization.

Crystal Dock : iPhone

Landed on my desk today, the Crystal Dock from Calypso is a handcrafted heavy block of lead crystal glass cut and polished to perfectly fit any iPhone or iTouch. Passing through 15 artisans during its creation, each dock is the upshot of 300 years of European glassworks experience and meticulous standards.

The Crystal Dock comes in three patterns—Beau, Celestial and Dune—as well as the Aurora, a limited edition run of 999 pieces. Each has been hand-polished to a stunning degree, displaying both an intense attention to detail and incredible prisms when the light strikes it. The classics sell online from Calypso for $199 and the Aurora for $349.

Creamier : Phaidon's newest exhibition-in-a-book

"Creamier," the latest volume in Phaidon's acclaimed "Cream" series, takes the pulse and forecasts the future of contemporary art. The book's 100 featured artists are the culmination of a carefully selected panel's survey of the most important contributors to the art world over the last five years.

This year's jury includes Debra Singer, director and chief curator of The Kitchen; Catherine Wood, curator of contemporary art and performance at Tate Modern; Yukie Kamiya, chief curator of the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Tirdad Zolghadr, who oversaw the United Arab Emirates Pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale; Adam Szymczyk, director of Kunsthalle Basel; and Kitty Scott, director of visual arts at the Banff Centre.

"Everyone knows that our curatorial choices are always about more than the artwork," explains Zolghadr in the book. "But I did want to offer a gesture, or impose an artificial limit of some sort. At the very least, my criteria pushed me to think beyond my usual suspects."

"Creamier" showcases an enterprising cross-section of breakthrough artists. Photographer Shannon Ebner's monochromatic prints occupy "a space where photography, sculpture and language intersect," Scott writes, such as "Raw War," which plays on the famous work of Bruce Nauman. 

Filmmaker Ryan Trecartin probes identity in the digital generation. His film "I-Be Area" finds Trecartin and his ensemble grappling with existence, visualizing "new ways of 'being' in the real and virtual worlds," Singer writes. 

Claire Fontaine, the creative pseudonym of Fulvia Carnevale and James Thornhill, appropriates conceptual art and political radicalism. "Change" turns American currency into weapons with hidden boxcutter blades.

A gallerist and performer, Reena Spaulings crosses the boundaries between artist and dealer with her wide-ranging body of work. Festooned with ham-fisted slogans of protest, "Wallpaper (After Merlin Carpenter)" was an installation featured in Tate Modern's "Pop Life" exhibition.

Shedding the weight of a coffee-table tome and packaged in a box, the newspaper-style format of "Creamier" makes for a lighter, pleasurably tactile reading experience. With its release slated for 14 July 2010, you can pre-order your copy online for $40.

My Grill Book by Pete Evans

An unconventional take on grilling, Australian chef Pete Evans shows how the backyard activity can produce some stunning spreads in his latest book "My Grill." From Portuguese burgers to calamari, Evans details how to barbecue almost anything and has everyone on the northern side of the hemisphere wishing summer was already here.

Organized into three main categories—Getting Away, Lazy Days and Into the Evening—the book is set up as a barbecue journey with the grill leading the way. Getting Away focuses on campfire cooking, featuring dishes like Rum'n'Coke Ribs or French Toast with Figs. Lazy Days highlights classic barbecue fare kicked up a notch, offering recipes like Vietnamese Barbecued Chicken Salad Baguettes or Corn with Chili and Lime. Into the Evening provides more sophisticated options but ultimately still keeps it casual with dishes like Spiced Lamb Skewers with Pomegranate Molasses or Baby Octopus with Smoked Spanish Paprika and Sweet & Sour Capsicum.

Sprinkled with alluring photos and some complimentary beverages, "My Grill" is the ultimate book for anyone with a penchant for barbecue.

Available in Australia for AU $50 or from various international retailers through Amazon.

A line of body-skimming basics : Parcel

The classic white tank top-worn for ages by everyone from business men to construction workers—is a wardrobe staple. While several brands already reinvent the original, like American Apparel, Petit Bateau, and Schiesser, we lately have our eye on Belgium's playfully seductive Le Fabuleux Marcel de Bruxelles to fulfill our nouveau wifebeater dreams.

Constructed out of strong yet comfortable cotton, each garment Marcel de Bruxelles produces—now including dresses and sweaters—is durable and easy-to-wear, modeled after the everyday clothing of previous generations. The label takes its inspiration (and name) from the classic Belgian equivalent of the white tank, the marcel.

Each Marcel features cuts designed to "make your upper-body immortal," fitting closely to the body but still allowing mobility. Fabuleux Marcel de Bruxelles applies their simplicity and reliable fabrics to a range of styles for men, women and children. 

Some styles are now available online for sale now from Yoox. 

Beautifully intricate stencils : Vinarþel

Australian illustrator Megan Herbert brings her sketches to coffee with a set of intricately laser-cut stencils intended for bedecking coffees and cakes, dubbed Vinarþel. With an image of knitting and a pastoral landscape, the Reykjavik-based designer enhances the Scandinavian custom of connecting over coffee and a nosh for a good—often juicy—heart to heart.

The two designs speak to Iceland's great landscape and heritage too and readily translate onto icing, froth or any other medium that Vinarþel inspires. 

Vinarþel stencils sell for €25 a set from Herbert's website or from Vopnabúrið, where you can pick up her conceptually beautiful wrapping paper or gift cards.