Journal

A chronicle of people, places, happenings, and creations we admire.

The Month of March

A Recap of our discoveries in March.

Krona o Stjärna to partner with Royal Swedish Space Institute to increase supply of Crowns and Stars

Stockholm, April 1, 2015-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lifestyle and Design company Krona o Stjärna have signed a 3-year agreement with the Royal Swedish Space Institute (Kungliga Svenska Rymdinstitutet) to explore outer space and keep secure the world's supply of Crowns and Stars.

"This is an ambitious undertaking, but the Institute's partnership with KoS will ensure a steady supply and further exploration of Crowns and Stars for decades to come." - Bengt Bengtsson, press secretary, KSRI, Stockholm

We at Krona o Stjärna are proud to be involved in such a worthwhile, important, and for that matter, rather stylish endeavor and look forward to bringing these precious gems, jewels, experiences and objects safely back to Earth and our ever-growing following around the world.

-Krona o Stjärna | Life, Style, Outerspace.™

WESC Alastair Trench | Spring 2015

Swedish brand WESC (WEaretheSuperlativeConspiracy) are back with a fresh take on the spring trench coat.  Done up in the color they call "wood thrush", the Alastair trench coat is compact, lightweight, well detailed and snappy enough to dress up or down.

Follow @wesc1999

Eton of Sweden

The Swedish shirtmaker, begun in 1928 by David and Annie Pettersson, to this day, remains one of the world's leading  producers of fine shirts, suiting and accessories.  At the "Syfabriken' in Gånghester, near Borås in southern Sweden, a happy accident of sorts occurred at the beginning of the Great Depression, after the Pettersson's were forced to close their sawmill.  They retooled their factory to create shirts, and sublet surplus space to local shoemakers and manufacturers to keep the lights on, the company was renamed "Skjortfabriken Special", or 'Special Shirt factory'. 

With steady production until the end of WWII, the premium fabrics ban was eventually lifted, compelling the Pettersson's to venture out to find still finer and more varied fabrics for their products.  They eventually made it to London, eventually opened a shop there and the Eton name was established.  This was a result of finding a name that would be easy for English-speakers to pronounce, while at the same time adding prestige, naming the company after the exclusive men's college.

Upcoming at MoMA: Björk Retrospective

Last night's party at MoMA to kick off the Björk retrospective (opening March 8th) was a heady mixture of art world cognizenti, designers, press, society mavens and those dozens of diehard fans and followers that came dressed in full costumes of their own creation.  Open bars were humming on all floors with friendly and attentive staff; bowls of beef jerky and deep fried potato chips were a welcome and imaginative offering for the evening.

Spanning from 1993's "Debut" after the breakup of the Sugarcubes to the present with her latest album, "Vulnicura", the retrospective covers (most) of her body of work, with the exception of, oddly, the soundtrack from "Dancer in the Dark".  The many (let's just say wacky) costumes and concepts exhibited spoke loudly to her commitment to pushing her ever-morphing envelope at the intersection of music, sound, fashion and film.  

Shown in a black-box felt volcano-lined viewing room, the short film "Black Lake", an ode to love, pain and lament, (presumably based on her breakup with artist Matthew Barney) filmed in and around Iceland's many volcanoes and caves, shows Björk at one point cracking open, bleeding blue lava to aching violins and heavy percussion.  In another viewing room, the extended film includes everything from "Debut" to "Biophilia", with arresting, beautiful and sometimes disturbing imagery that could never be accused of being derivative.

The retrospective runs from March 8-June 7, 2015

www.moma.org

Follow @bjork

Images ©2015 KoS

The Month of February

A Recap of our discoveries in February.

(Left to right from top)

1.1971 Lamborghini Miura SV at RMSotheby's / 2. MONOCLE Quality of Life Conference, Lisbon 2015 / 3. Formfreu.de Photo Blog / 4. MONCLER Grenoble 'Evry' Jacket FW15 / 5. Corner Pack Shipping Boxes / 6. Enrico Marone-Cinzano Furniture Collection / 7. The New Yorker '90 for 90' / 8. The Cliff Vaughs Story / 9. Pia Mouwitz / 10. Ice Hotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden / 11. The Terroir Project /  12. How to be a Proper New Yorker

Ice Hotel No.25, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

This year marks the 25th iteration of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, about 17km outside Kiruna, located in Lapland.  The venue is constructed by master ice carvers as a global vacation destination.  The Ice Hotel is a seasonal destination open typically between November and March, the coldest time of the year above the Arctic Circle; it is rebuilt annually as it is composed mainly of ice and snow or "snice" used to bond the solid blocks together.  Themed rooms and spaces are booked in advance for a unique and truly once in a lifetime experience.  While the hotel is geared to those adventurous travelers that can put up with the (sub-zero degree celsius) interior temperature, the rooms are supplied with furs, animal skins and extreme-cold sleeping bags.  It also has many amenities of a traditional hotel, including a chapel, the ICE BAR a sauna and a restaurant.