The 10 Craziest Liquor Bottles

From: http://www.complex.com/
By Jian DeLeon

Milagro Tequila

Milagro celebrates the origins of tequila (the noble agave plant) in their premium hand blown bottles. These bottles house the brand's trio of Barrel Reserve offerings.

Remy Martin Cognac Louis XIII

Old world French luxury is the spirit of this bottle from Remy Martin. This cognac hits at around $500, so logically the bottle are appropriately opulent.

Medea Vodka

What's wild about this bottle? How about the fact that you can broadcast your favorite phrase (or ladies birthday, or whatever) via the LED screen? Medea claims it is the first interactive bottle. We can't think of any others.

Crystal Head Vodka

Crystal Head Voda is crazy for two reasons. 1. The skull bottle. 2. It is owned by Dan Aykroyd.

Jazz Vodka

Nothing wrong with literal design. Jazz Vodka, which comes from Poland, employs a trumpet shaped bottle. Fittingly, the brand debuted at the 1991 International Jazz Fest. Smooth.

Armenian Brandy

This brand has served up some really insane bottles over the years — dragons, bulls, ships, etc. The sword is the craziest. Brandish this at a party and be guarenteed some degree of drunken knighthood.

Tommy Guns

Again, literal design never hurt anyone. Tommy Guns works with a 1920s era gangsta feel (think Al Capone) and pushes that with its eyecatching bottle.

Hijos De Villa Pistol Reposado Tequila

Wild inappropriate or awesome? The brand claims this limited bottle represents the courage of the revolutionary era (and it was released on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution).

Kalashnikov Vodka

Two legendary Russian inventions combined in a single product. Bang! 

Brew Dog The End of History

Scotland's Brew Dog takes no shorts when crafting inventive drinks. Their "The End of History" was a limited edition 55% abv (CRAZE!) brew presented in bottles housed in road kill. The bottles were limited to just 11.

Awesome Vertical Garden With Recycled PET Bottles At Poor Family Home In Sao Paulo

by Paula Alvarado
from http://www.treehugger.com/

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Photos: Rosenbaum.

Brazilian design studio Rosenbaum collaborates with TV show Caldeirao do Huck in a segment called Lar doce lar (Home Sweet Home), which helps families in need re-designing their homes to improve their lives and self-esteem.

In its latest work for a family living in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, the firm included this neat vertical garden made from recycled PET bottles.



Although the idea is cool in itself, it's so much better knowing that it's part of a project to improve the lives of three women (mother and two daughters) that live in a one bedroom home with an income of 200 Reais (130 US Dollars) a month.

Putting together an urban farm was not the designer's whim either: the women already had an eco conscience and grew in small containers made from recovered food packaging.



The arrangement is of course thought for vegetables that don't take a lot of space to grow, like spices and medicinal herbs.

Its structure is pretty self-explanatory from the pictures, but the response from the public was so positive that the designer published a little tutorial showing how to cut and hang the bottles.


The whole design for the house is gorgeous, more pics of the reformed kitchen, room and living room can be seen at the designer's website.
Just like mentioned in my previous article about Adobe for women, it's encouraging to see designers' skills used for these types of purposes instead of focused in creating more stuff.

Star Wars Movie Mashup Posters

From: http://www.geekinheels.com/

Artist Matthew Ranzetta has re-created the posters of five popular movies using the typography and imagery of Star Wars. Beautifully thought-out and rendered!

Via Geekosystem.

Take a Seat on a Bench Made from 5,000 Recycled Metrocards

by Alex Davies

from: http://www.treehugger.com/

Photos Courtesy of Stephen Shaheen

In New York's subways, you see a lot of discarded Metrocards. It's sad, not only because most people drop them on the floor rather than in a trash can, but because the cards are rechargeable, and there's no good reason to dispose of them in the first place. But NYC-based artist and designer Stephen Shaheen has come up with a unique way to recycle old cards, or at least 5,000 of them: he's made a one of a kind bench.

Measuring 48" x 18" x 18" and made of the cards, various types of glue, and an armature of 1/8" steel, the aptly-named Metrobench is an homage to the Big Apple's public transportation system and an outstanding example of how everyday objects can be recycled instead of thrown away. To collect the cards, Shaheen used Craigslist to assemble a team to help him; they had all 5,000 in just a week. Of his work, Shaheen says:

I was inspired to use these discarded objects--at once very personal and expendable--in a way that reflects the manner in which mass transit joins many diverse lives into a single moment or path together.

And as New York begins to introduce smart, contact-less cards to replace the Metrocards (which are swiped), Shaheen will have a lot more raw material to produce more benches.

Surfing and tattoos, a ride culture lifestyle

by Master Trigger
from: http://triggerpit.com/

The recently launched WSTRNCV Magazine concerns itself with "ride culture", featuring the best of "boards & wheels." They cover topics such as surfing, skateboarding , snowboarding, vintage motorcycles, custom cars and the music and art that immerses these cultures.

Included here is a selection of surf culture images from their launch issue. Also check their short video featuring the rather stunning Indonesian actress/designer Fahrani Empel.

WSTRNCV Magazine was kind enough to let us use their images and we thought we should share them with our readers as we think that not only is the imagery stunning but we get to experience a bit of a hidden lifestyle, as we are taken on a wild journey. Enjoy.

1

Actress/designer/tatoo artist Fahrani Empel
shot in Los Angeles. WSTRNCV Magazine photo:
©Kiino Villand.

2

Luke action shot (next to cliff)
ASP world tour surfer Luke Stedman displaying his unique drop in technique. WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Nathan Smith

3

Actress/designer/tatoo artist Fahrani Empel
shot in Los Angeles. WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Kiino Villand.

4

Board shaper/wetsuit designer Jill Hansen
Shot in Hawaii. WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Imani Lanier

5

North Sumatra, Front Side Air
WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Steven Brisick

6

Actress/designer/tatoo artist Fahrani Empel
WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Kiino Villand.

7

ASP world tour surfer Luke Stedman shot in Hawaii
WSTRNCV Magazine Photo: ©Imani Lanier

8

ASP world tour surfer Luke Stedman shot in Hawaii
WSTRNCV Magazine Photo: ©Imani Lanier

9

Board shaper/wetsuit designer Jill Hansen
Shot in Hawaii. WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Imani Lanier

10

Actress/designer/tatoo artist Fahrani Empel

©Kiino Villand.

11

Legendary pro skater Steve Olson riding to the beach
WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Mike Miller.

12

ASP world tour surfer Luke Stedman shot in Hawaii
WSTRNCV Magazine Photo: ©Imani Lanier

13

Photographer/director/surfer Steven Lippman
shot in Malibu. WSTRNCV Magazine photo: ©Kiino Villand

Tags: extreme, Featured, lifestyle

The Coolest Locksmith Shop in New York City

Posted by Scout

From http://www.scoutingny.com/

 

Chances are, you’ve noticed Greenwich Locksmiths in your travels through the West Village. It occupies a small storefront just south of Commerce Street on one of the stranger parcels of land in Manhattan…

And though it’s been in business since 1968, it really hasn’t changed all that much. Compare the recent picture above to one taken in the 1980′s…

Then, last week, I received a letter from attentive reader Jonathan Burr, urging me to take a closer look at the building, as something had changed. I went by today – and was absolutely blown away.

From a distance, it looks like a bunch of golden squiggles and spirals have been added, snaking whimsically across the facade. But get a little closer and you’ll find the real magic…

The new design is made up entirely of keys:

Literally thousands…

…and thousands…

…and thousands of keys, twisting into wonderful assortment of swoops and twirls.

The key facade was designed and installed entirely by owner Phil Mortillaro back in October, and I can’t tell you how beautiful it is up close.

It almost feels like the locksmith version of a Pollock painting – tens of thousands of keys seemingly strewn about haphazardly, yet in the mess, patterns emerge.

More spirals by the awning:

In the top corner:

Even the inside of the door got the key treatment…

I love the spiral below, almost like a bronze-colored licorice wheel -

…around the mailbox…

One enormous key overhead…

…and more on the side:

Feeling tired? Have a seat on Mortillaro’s hand-made chair out front…

…which has gotta be one of the coolest chairs in New York (if not necessarily the most comfortable!):

The seat:

Mortillaro has apparently been looking to make his building more distinct for quite some time. On the Greenwich Locksmiths website, I came across a NY Times article revealing that, in 1991, Mortillaro reached out to an architect to redesign the facade. “What can I do with this place? It looks like any building on Queens Boulevard, I’m proud to be an American, I’d like you to make this a real American building.”

The architect came up with this:

Holy…crap. The Landmarks Preservation Commission gave its unanimous approval, and according to the article, Mortillaro was set to begin construction in 1992…but ultimately, he decided against it. “It would have been more Disney World,” he said in an interview.

I for one would have loved to see that transformation, but I’m just as happy with Mr. Mortillaro’s gorgeous key art. I urge you to check it out next time you’re in the West Village.

And while there, why not get a key made? Now more than 40 years at it, Mr. Mortillaro is a Village institution, and is said to be one of the best in the business. Apparently, a sunglasses store offered to buy the building to “help him retire,” but he declined. “This is retirement to me…When I die, this will go too.”

Special thanks again to reader Jonathan Burr for pointing this out. Be sure to check out his writings on beer for TheDailyMeal.com.

-SCOUT