Rima Suqi

I’m giving y’all a six hour foot up on a very cool thing I found while doing a story for the New York Times (that story will appear in the Home section tomorrow). It’s an outdoor table that’s also a cooler or, depending on how you look at it, a cooler that’s also a table. Looks like something Starck might’ve done (if the legs were pointier) ten years ago or Magis, but it’s actually by a company I’d never heard of and, it seems, only available in this country throught Ace Hardware. It’s a lot of style for $79.99
Here are the pictures. Buy the “Cool Bar” on Ace’s website.

Not cheap but definitely cool with a wood-and-tinted glass design that reminded some of us of 1970s eyewear. Side table, $3500; coffee table, $4800 and dining table, $5600

I saw this in the U+ booth at ICFF and didn’t get it. I was like, um, it’s a shelf – how is this THE winner?

Turns out, it’s not the shelf, it’s the die-cut plastic that COVERS the shelf, and it can be cut to accomodate different widths. Now that’s kinda genius. It was designed by Pratt student Michael Weaker and will be produced and sold by Umbra later this month.

I’m not sure what this says about my taste, or the general state of design, but one of the best overall booths at the ICFF was IKEA. This was the sixth PS collection introduced by IKEA – it’s a selection of much more design-y items than what you might usually see in the store. Below are some of my favorites, which hit stores on August 1st (this is just a sampling, there’s a lot more).

Saga chair, also in red, $69.99

IKEA PS Veranda outdoor bed, $499 (without mattress)

My favorite item, IKEA PS August chaise. Very narrow, with adjustable back so you can sit up or lay back. $499

IKEA PS Sinka cabinet with drawers, $249

IKEA PS Bruse coffee table, $149

Added 5/20 – finally going through ICFF photos and found these that I took in the IKEA booth -

Check out these prices – good until Wednesday May 20th or until they run out -

. Prada originally $350, now $50-75
. Tom Ford $450, now $225
. Mikli $ 375, now $100
. Armani $275 now $100
. Valentino, Chloe $300 now $150
. Cutler & Gross $ 475 now to $100
. Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Ray Ban…50% off,
. Selected Selima frames $300 now $100

now go here to get the goods:
Selima Optique Madison
899 Madison Avenue Between 72nd & 73rd Streets.
ph: 212 988 6690

It’s possibly the ultimate, outdoor, all-in-one. Please note I have not test-driven this item, just throwing it out there as a who knew sorta thing -

Some basic info from the company:
Active Engineering LLC proudly introduces the JakPak™, the world’s first all-in-one waterproof jacket, tent and sleeping bag. Created by Active Engineering to provide safety and comfort in an unpredictable world, JakPak is the only alternative personal shelter on the market designed for outdoors and sports enthusiasts, as well as emergency preparedness.

The patent pending JakPak design incorporates a waterproof sleeping bag, minimally-structured [RIMA COMMENT: NO KIDDING] tent and insect netting into a comfortable jacket, creating an instant dry habitat that is ideal for outdoor sports enthusiasts, people living in areas prone to natural disaster, sports fans who will not be held back by a little rain, and anyone else in need of shelter. Cost: $299. More info here.

Here it is as a jacket -

And here it is as the sleeping bag – tent combo. Or basically a sleeping bag with an odd roof-like attachment:

Well, sort of. I recently went to a press preview of Krups‘ new items for late summer/fall retail release. One of them was a – I’m going to be diplomatic here – “whimsically designed” pod coffee system (is it just me or is it kind of Michael Graves-y?) called the Nescafe Dolce Gusto. I’m not touching that either.
Anyway, another pod/capsule system isn’t earth shattering news, but what is news is that this machine brews coffee that’s hot, but also gives you the option of brewing coffee that comes out at room temperature. If you’re an iced coffee drinker, this is a miracle. Just add ice. The ice won’t melt, won’t make your coffee some gross watered-down version of its former self. I tested it, and it really does work.
It’s almost enough to make me ignore the design and name. $169.99, available now, at Sur La Table.

Last weekend I took a class taught by Adour’s pastry chef Sandro Micheli. Now, I’m not big on baking, but my friend Peter is REALLY into it and opportunity knocked. So off to Adour Alain Ducasse we went for a two-hour class which involved making everything from Madeleines de Commercy to Absinthe Marshmallows. All told, we made — count ‘em — SIX items in that two hour period. This was made possible by Sandro, the human KitchenAid. Some pictures of our adventure are below.
Note that the next class will be on Saturday, September 26th and will focus on pies and tarts, include the ever-elusive perfect crust.
Cost is $75 per person, call Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis to reserve your spot. 212-710-2277.

Here’s Peter – who was chosen to make the “Chouquettes.” Although experienced using that bag thingie, he seemed a bit nervous.

When finished, they look like this, and are super light and fluffy. That is not salt, by the way, on top. Those are candied sugar beads.

Making marshmallows or “Guimauve A L’Absinthe”

I don’t like marshmallows but these were incredible. I was tempted to lick the mixing tool -

Finished marshmallows and also the “Pate de Fruit a la Fraise” or strawberry jellies. Both incredibly delicious and not as sweet as you’d think.

Lutz & Patmos is having a huge 50% off sale. There’s a few catches, though. First, you must buy the stuff off their website. Second, none of the items in the “Basics” category are included, but sale items are (love!) and Third, all sales using the discount are final.
I would say – be careful. If you’ve already worn L&P things, by all means shop away. If not, be aware that (in my experience anyway) their gorgeous knit items do run small.
Coupon code to use at checkout is “finalsale50″
Some of my favorites from the site are shown below, with retail prices.

Mariner boatneck in featherweight cashmere, $375 retail:

Beach shell cardigan, $525:

And the perfect-for-overly-air-conditioned-office/train/bus item, a gorgeous organic ruffle cardigan, only $195 BEFORE the discount. Which is basically free afterwards.