DCODE MAGAZINE » Editor

Bohemian Dream Building at 190 Bowery

Editor — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:15:40 +0000

I just stumbled on this old article from New York Mag about this dreamy building located at 190 Bowery, and it’s funny because we were just talking about this building the other day. A staple of the downtown New York landscape, with it’s walls full of graffiti and posters, the six-story, 72-room, 35,000-square-foot building was bought by photographer Jay Maisel in 1966 for only $102,000 (which was a lot for that time), but see what is worth now !The building was the abandoned Germania Bank, built in 1898. As of 2005, 190 Bowery became an official landmark. Maisel says. “If you have a window that needs fixing, you fix it. If I have a window that is broken, I have to repair it, with approval, the way it was done in 1898.” The original safe-deposit vault, still in the basement, is the size of a generous studio apartment; the marks on the main floor where the teller booths once stood are still clearly visible.

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking

Editor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:51:51 +0000

Modernist Cuisine is a five-volume, set that is destined to reinvent cooking. The lavishly illustrated books use thousands of original images to make the science and technology clear and engaging.A revolution is underway in the art of cooking. Just as French Impressionists upended centuries of tradition, Modernist cuisine has in recent years blown through the boundaries of the culinary arts. Borrowing techniques from the laboratory, pioneering chefs at world-renowned restaurants such as elBulli, The Fat Duck, Alinea, and wd~50 have incorporated a deeper understanding of science and advances in cooking technology into their culinary art.

In Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet—scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks in their own right—have created a massive, five-volume 2,400-page set that reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food that ranges from the otherworldly to the sublime. The authors—and their 20-person team at The Cooking Lab—have achieved astounding new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. It is a work destined to reinvent cooking.

“This book will change the way we understand the kitchen.”
— Ferran Adrià

“A fascinating overview of the techniques of modern gastronomy.”
— Heston Blumenthal

The Furniture of Mad Men: Don Draper’s Office

Editor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:47:43 +0000

With the upcoming season of Mad Men, the Mid-Century Modernist has turned its eye on spotting some of the furniture that makes part of the set of one of the best dramas on television. The series is set in the 1960s and the designers have made every effort to depict what a Madison Avenue ad agency really looked like, starting with Don Draper’s Office.

We wanted to make sure it wasn’t a textbook study of mid-century modern America — as Matt specifically pointed out, look around your own house, does everything exist from 2007 or do you actually have stuff lying around from the ’80s?
- Dan Bishop, Production Designer

“One of the best references — we just used it this morning for the size of a baby blanket — is the Sears catalogs and the Montgomery Ward catalog,” she says. “They’re so specific, and they have all these items. And then I have every decorating book from the late ’40s through the mid-’60s. So Better Homes & Gardens — you know, all those decorating books that came out every year — I have all of those.”
- Amy Wells, Set Decorator

Apple TV 3

Editor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:22:53 +0000

Dropping the price by a third and cutting the size by even more, the new Apple TV ($99) should be in everyone’s living room before long. (And no, it’s still not an actual TV. Just an add-on.) They’re ditching movie and TV show purchasing altogether, instead going with a streaming rental model — $5 for HD movies and 99-cents for TV shows. The all-black-everything Apple TV also streams Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr, in addition to your music, photos and videos from your computer. It’s got built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply.

Dita Von Teese by BrakhaX2

Editor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:04:29 +0000

Dita Von Teese stars in the Green issue of Genlux Magazine in a bug crawling spread photographed by BrakhaX2. Toeing the line between the artificial and realistic, Dita tends her garden of love in retro ensembles styled by Shiffy Kegan.

Paul Smith Derby White Silver Watch

Editor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:37:50 +0000

Stay classy with this Derby watch in white silver from Paul Smith. The white silver gives this watch an understated sort of luxury, while the minimalistic art deco facing makes it an instant classic. The watch is finished with a sapphire glass facing, and linked steel Paul Smith watch bracelet. Available from Coggles now.

Hyper Crush – Ayo

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:16:10 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kfS-JV_ivM

Vain Glorious, Scents of a Woman

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:35:50 +0000

Inès de la Fressange is the kind of woman who gets what she wants. And, as the brand ambassador for the shoe designs of Roger Vivier, de la Fressange wanted a sultry signature fragrance — or five, to be exact. “Our goal was a perfume with personality, style and quality, not just a huge launch with lots of ads,” she says, “so we used very precious and rare ingredients, just like a couture collection.” She worked closely with the nose Rami Mekdachi, and the resulting scents — L’Iris, Le Néroli, La Rose, Le Santal and L’Ambre — are heady but not aggressive. Les Parfums Roger Vivier ($195 a bottle) will make their debut at Fashion’s Night Out on Sept. 10 at the New York boutique (750 Madison Avenue), and they will be available at all Roger Vivier boutiques in October.

The Ultimate Limited Edition Porsche Book & Photo Print

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:28:45 +0000

German luxury publisher teNeues is coming out with the ultimate collector’s item for Porsche enthusiasts: a $3,000 limited edition book on the famed sports car marque accompanied by a signed and numbered photographic print. The Porsche Book collector’s edition, limited to only 50 copies, features the world’s most beautiful Porsche images selected by photographer and graphic designer Frank M. Orel in collaboration with the Porsche Museum team in Stuttgart, Germany. Orel, who produces award-winning calendars for Porsche, is the editor of two other books dedicated to the legendary marque. The enormous volume features 24 chapters containing over 200 incredible full-color photographs. It spans the full measure of Porsche’s illustrious history from road cars to rare racers. The signed and numbered photo print is suitable for framing.

Indochino ‘Hedonist’ Collection

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:40:22 +0000

Online menswear retailer and tailor Indochino has just launched its Hedonist collection of suits – a tribute to the well dressed, badly behaved man.We can honestly say we’re largely skeptical to the notion of online tailoring – a made-to-measure suit should be cut by a tailor in person to ensure the best possible fit, value, and quality. However, reviews for Indochino have been promising, with customers reporting on easy to follow measuring instructions, and quality pieces for the price point with friendly and helpful customer service. It seems like the place to go if you’re set on buying your suit at a distance. The Hedonist collection features a return to opulence and luxury. Lapels are big (which should ease things for taller gents), and the cuts are all very sharp looking two-button affairs. They offer a velvet suit, which had us raising eyebrows at first, but could be carried off right by the right man. On the other hand, we have to admit that the Indochino three-piece Navy pinstripe manages to pull off a very tricky look very well. Three piece pinstripes are hard to carry off, and Indochino makes it look easy here. The whole collection is available here.