Written by Florence RolandoPosted in CultureMarch 25, 2011
I like this book because the images are beautiful with many colors. The women, who are models of the painter Klimt, have very long and thick hair, and there is gold on their dresses. The story is full of adventures and travels and it is also about brushes and paints which I like very much. I like to copy the drawings of this book.
Klimt and his cat – Written by Berenice Capatti, illustrated by Octavia Monaco
Commented by Iris, 5 years old
If your child wants to present a book, submit pictures and text to pirouetteblog@gmail.com
Written by Florence RolandoPosted in CultureFebruary 23, 2011
It’s half term here in the UK, time for mums and nannies to find crafty ideas to entertain the children (it’s raining, but it’s London after all…). Here’s a wonderful book, perfect to fit the purpose : Beasties – How to Make 22 Mischievous Monsters That Go Bump in the Night (Perigee Books). This fun craft book teaches readers how to sew a collection of monsters from around the world. Some swim in the sea, others live on land, and a few fly through the air. The book came from the author’s interest in monsters from folklore, mythology, and cryptozoology. Readers may recognize familiar characters such as a Fairy, Yeti, and Werewolf as well as some lesser-known characters such as the Chonchon and Eloko. Each Beastie is photographed in their environment so you can see where they live. The book also includes an overview of sewing stitches, a description of the characters, instructions, and patterns for sewing. Very Exciting.
About Diana Schoenbrun, the author : “I am a published illustrator, writer, and crafter living in Brooklyn, NY. I received my BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. I have worked as an art assistant in publishing, taught writing and puppetry workshops, for children, and worked as a freelance illustrator. I currently work as a puppet builder at Puppet Heap Studio”.
Beasties is available on amazon (Click here)
Written by Florence RolandoPosted in CultureFebruary 19, 2011
I have become addicted to Kidsroomzoom’s website, very fun and original. A good way to know what’s cooking for Milano Mobile, the Italian furniture fair that will take place in April. Designers, stylists, photographers, editors are featured and there are fun little interviews. Here’s the one with artist Martine Camillieri, someone who’s been on my list of interesting people to write about on Pirouette for way too long. Have a look at her food installations and projects on http://www.martinecamillieri.com.
How is your bed?and your cradle when you were baby? I sleep in a cube (in Viet-Nam, 4 sticks, one at each corner of the bed, put up a rectangular mosquito net, as a cube). You have to open a delicate door to come in, like in a real house. It is a very personal space, It is also a screen for my dreams. Everything seen through, becomes soft and nice and poetic. For my craddle, as I was born in France, I only remember the sweet warmth of my blanket when it was cold.
Which kind of meal you do not like? which is your favourite dish that your mom prepare to you? Beeerk, I hate spinach, I don’t want to be Popeye !
Your favorite book to read? It’s my pupil’s textbook, it is so wonderful to see that all this black drawings mean something !! I kept this book, called La joie de lire“, as I become an adult.
Have you got an imaginary friend? The friend of my dreams is a husky. As in my country, it never snow, I like to dream to white and frozen landscape. I have seen in a book a wonderful dog with a great blue regard in his russet coat. Now Husky is my friend… in my snowy mind !
What did you draw first?A lot and a lot of towns, or city, or villages… on all over the sheet. I like to imagine small or large houses for everybody, streets and roads, church, school, bakery… Life.
I played with these toys when I was a little girl… sewing machine and washing machine “comme maman“, cash register like a real merchant. So much fun! They are all available at Bianca and family, and I am sure that they are still fun for our children. I still occasionally read some good old “Martine” to my girls and they love it. A real piece of French culture…
Ninetonine
Nonjetable
Great news for all the Design lovers : some smart people are cooking up an exclusive project around children’s design, to be displayed during Milano Mobile in April. Exactly what that vibrant, exciting and very international furniture fair was missing.
“Kids room – ZOOM! is a special home exclusively designed for children, staged and curated by unduetrestella founder Paola Noé together with Austrian children’s furniture designer Thomas Maitz. The project provides a snapshot of contemporary design for children and aims at moving this young, emerging creative scene into the center of public attention. An elegant apartment on the third floor of a residential building, located in an exclusive area in the heart of Milan, will open its doors to international design for children as well as to contemporary artists, publishers and food installations“.
The exhibitors, carefully selected, come from all over the world; some well established, some less known. The list includes byBODesign, Collect Furniture, Jaell und Tofta, Kalon Studios, Kidsonroof, Liliane, Momoll, Ninetonine, Nonjetable, Perludi, White Elephant Design Lab.
http://kidsroomzoom.com
Liliane
Kalon Studios
Collect Furniture
National Geographic photo contest is an endless trip around the world; it’s fun to browse through the archive with children. For those who share a passion for photography, there is a kid’s contest and they can submit their best shots to http://kids-myshot.nationalgeographic.com/. Above, from the adult’s contest, below from the kid’s section.
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Written by Florence RolandoPosted in CultureDecember 21, 2010
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Smart Urban Stage is a nomad exhibit and contest which theme is the future of the city. Ten national projects related to society, design architecture, media and science have been submitted to the smart urban stage who selected the three most innovative. One of them, «BLUUB» by IC² ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS is children’s related : “Everyone lives in a space that contains architecture and yet, the public is not sensibilised in this subject. It makes sense to start with children, to give them an understanding of the city, architecture and arts. Bluub is designed by two architects, ines Camacho and isabelle Cornet, in order to take an independent path within the universe of architecture and arts. it will catch the public’s attention with its unusual shape and bright color. Since September 2010 Bluub is executed and can be moved, not only in Belgium but also abroad. Bluub is a tool perfectly designed for children, containing all the necessary elements to organize workshops and transform itself accordingly to the activity (a projection room, a music lab, a submarine in an utopian city…)“. After Berlin, Rome, Zurich, Paris,Madrid, and before London and Amsterdam, smart urban stage is making a stop in Brussels (December 4th – January 9th). If you can’t make it to Brussels, London ar Amsterdam, check the event online : smart-urban-stage.com.
Written by Florence RolandoPosted in Culture,ProductsDecember 9, 2010
Yes, there is now a Foodie Bible for Kids: Food is Fun by Anorak. It’s the healthy option this Christmas for all foodies and artists in the kitchen, the bible you will need to get inspired and excited about food. Fun recipes (“Super Easy Cake a Monkey could Make”), foodie games (“Spot how many ‘chews’ you can find in Chew-Ville”), vegetable profiles (“I am not a maniac, I am a celeriac!”), a brief history of the fork, what to do with tarts and toasts, yummy word searches and plenty plenty more. Designed by award winning artist Supermundane (Anorak’s art director) and written by not-award-winning-yet Cathy Olmedillas (Anorak’s mum). Suitable for the whole family and for little foodies over 5. 160 pages- £15. Check it here.
Written by Florence RolandoPosted in CultureDecember 4, 2010
A blog that everyone should check when it comes to going around the planet with children, BozAround is worth bookmarking for good tips about anything related to travel including products, itinerary, addresses and interviews. Check out Munster Kids on Vietnam, Nui Organics on New Zeeland, Wovenplay on New York, Fournier on Bolivia…and also Pirouette on the Swiss Mountains. A mine of precious information and a pleasant way to travel vicariously through other family experiences, most of them in the children’s industry.
It is a premiere : a glossy fashion magazine loaded with articles about family; a bit like an auction house (PBA, Pierre Berge&Associates) focusing on Kids design…signs of the times!
“We are a family” writes Stefano Tonchi in the editor’s letter of the December issue of W Magazine. “A quick scan of the newsstand confirms what trend experts have been forecasting for years now : America is in love with babies.” Tonchi, who spent a few years as the chief editor of the NY Times Styles Magazine, has a lot of nose and great talent. Since he took over W magazine, the large glossy format has turned into a bible loaded with food for thought, exciting fashion and cultural news; a place to meet the trendiest people and products. Tonchi reminds that W is not in the business of social research, but that the magazine attempts to mirror what’s happening in the culture at large (which is what I personally expect from the magazines I read, even fashion ones…). This wonderful issue is a great reflexion of what family means today, featuring Jeff Koons, Madonna, The Fendis, the Freuds, Sofia Coppola, as well as inspiring pictures from Paolo Roversi styled by Alex White (photos above and below).
I am coming back to THE event of the year : a first-time auction fully dedicated to kids’ design and furniture, held by PBA Auctions in Brussels on December 16th. On a post from October 27th, I featured some of the amazing vintage pieces that will be on sale (see it here). Those include pieces from design masters such as Jean Prouve, Luigi Colani, Arne Jacobsen, Harry Bertoia, Hans Wegner or Charles Eames, as well as anonymous pieces. Apart from its focus on children’s pieces, what makes this auction sale so attractive is the window on contemporary pieces, from a younger generation of designers, some well established (Richard Hutten, Maarten Baas, Yoshitomo Nara) and others quite new on the design scene (design of the XXI century). Project pieces and prototypes by Nika Zupanc, Alain Berteau, Karen Ryan, Nicolas Destino, Lucas Massen are particularly innovative and fun. Above, the humorous and playful chairs by Guy Brown.
I have to say that one lot really caught my attention: “7 Porcelain dolls with imperfections“, the Graduation project of Daphna Isaacs at the Design Academy of Eindhoven (2006).
“As a little girl I got one of the first dolls with long brown hair. Identifying with her she became my favourite doll. Dolls represent the way we view babies, children and adults. They brigde the gap between reality and fantasy and are as such very popular. Shape and colour are the main ingredients determing the emotions, dolls evoke. The susceptible child however is subjected to an idealized beauty concept, which doesn’t always match reality. The seven porcelain dolls represent imperfections, commonly ignored in our over-idealized concept of beauty. The way we are marked in real life, is reflected in the complexity of doll processing: in particular unpredictable mouldseams, deformations, shrinkage, cracks and uncontrolled colouring. These very occurences are exploited to characterize each doll uniquely“.
Toys manufacturers have made recent efforts to bring a better representation of ethnic groups to the market. It would be interesting to know if Daphna’s questioning will have a resonance on the toys of the XXI century.
www.pba-auctions.com – www.daphnaisaacs.nl
Three little booklets accordion folded, one for a child’s birth, one for ideas and one for travels. You can draw pictures, write little notes and memories, add stickers or stamps, decorate and color the pages and then keep them in their lovely box for future reading. This Plibook collection is a great gift idea for young parents or for children in age to draw and write. Dim 9 x 18 cm | 38 pages, 14,00 €. By Carole Daprey, founder of Piqpoq Editions and author of Mobilier design pour enfants.
Available here, and at the following stores : Boucle D’Or Brussels, Little Circus Brussels, Balouga Paris, Lieu Commun Paris, Serendipity Paris, V&A Museum of childhood, London, Marre des Epinards, Montreux.
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