Kara's Blog – April 2009 Archive (8)

GM today has made it official: The Pontiac brand will cease to exist by the end of 2010. The automaker announced its plans for Pontiac today during a press conference outlining dramatic updates to its restructuring efforts.



In addition to its Pontiac announcement, GM has also announced that it will cease building Saturn and Hummer brand vehicles after the 2009 model year. The previous viability plan had indicated that… Continue

Marcio Kogan’s Panama House is a residence designed for art. Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the house makes a powerful but subdued statement in its low, open, elongated elegance — a hallmark of Kogan’s architecture.

In the past few years, the award-winning, Brazilian-born architect’s Studio MK27 has produced a steady stream of low-rise, boxy work – all with an uncanny intimacy, yet without any of the usual… Continue

Designed by the Berlin-based studio böttcher+henssler, Coen lamps are a white version of the designers’ dark prototype lamp, Troll. Although Troll is made of sheet metal, it brings back images of an upturned wooden ancient sauna accessory – a pail with two handles – called “kiulu” in Finnish. In contrast, the slim, white (and silver) Coen lamps are supremely stylish, quite at home next to an Alvar Aalto Paimio chair.…

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Just when technology couldn’t get much easier, it suddenly does, thanks to some handy new devices from IPEVO – a company specialising in enhancing experiences over the internet.



Take the TR-10i for example, your new desktop pal. It’s the ultimate accomplice for anyone who uses Skype and iChat as much as we have been lately.



So what exactly does it do? It works as a desktop mic, a speakerphone and also as a handset for when… Continue

On April 15 (today) , Ivan Kane’s Café Wa s is offering a free tax day for lunch from 11 AM – 3 PM. Choose from a SPECIAL MENU including French Onion Soup with Comte, Emmental and baguette croutons and The Classic French Dip with house-roasted prime rib, horseradish crème and au jus on a crusty French baguette.



Also, Café Wa s introduces lunch service on April 13, featuring baguette sandwiches, soups and Café Wa signature plates like the… Continue

Giorgio Borruso Design of Marina Del Rey, California, designed the new airy and fluid headquarters for Milano’s Fornari SpA (Fornari Group).



Located in the Navigli section of Milan, the 35,000 square-foot building was converted from the historic porcelain workshop of the centuries-old Richard Ginori brand.

The Fornari family’s road to fashion fame started in the mid 1940s from footwear… Continue

Sometimes you come across an environment that really lets the merchandise or content (such as people, merchandise or furnishings) stand out. This 2,000 square-meter jewelry-case — the head office of the venerable fashion house Escada in Munich, Germany — is a luxurious example of this.

Completed in late 2008, the location hosts the international fashion media and buyers who gather here to view the latest… Continue

If you carry a Blackberry, iPod or iPhone, do you have to look like you have no style at all? Cute accessory bags are fine for weekend hiking trips, just like boring “business like” cases are fine for, well, boring people, but for the power lunch with the merger guys or cocktails in high places, you’ll want this bag made of gold python-print Italian leather.

Grab you platinum credit cards, a few large… Continue