LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

ADVERTISING - At joes[a]fiend we always look forward to the Christmas period, mulled wine is great, secret santa and office parties are even better. The thing that really gets us going is advertising agencies unleashing their creativity, not to mention the one-upmanship that comes with Advertising Agency Christmas cards, or websites and now apps.

Last year was a good, we loved the AKQA microwave song. However, this year our favourite so far has to be the Ogilvy 'White Xmas' app. It's a simple iPhone camera app that adds snow fall when you take a picture within the app.

Click here to download the app [iTune link].

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MINCE PIES & VERSACE TIES

FASHION - Zone7Style will be showcasing ‘the hottest forgotten brands’ in their Pop Up Shop in Kingly Court, London. We’re looking for the selection of Pendleton, Christian Dior, Persol and Valentino. Not to mention the Nike deadstock, which seems to be our Achilles heal.

The Shop will be open from Friday 11^th December, just in time for your Christmas shopping needs. Click here to find more info about the brands on offer at the store.

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CHOCOLATE-WALL

INTERIOR DESIGN - The Japanese interior design firm Wonderwall, renowned for their work with streetwear label A Bathing Ape have worked their magic on a new store for Godiva located in Harajuku.

As Wonderwall put it themselves:

"This is Godiva’s new concept flagship store. Godiva’s idea was “treat thyself”. Wonderwall’s intention was to add a breath of fresh air to the more traditional image Godiva instill. The shop features humorous design details such as “melting chocolate” ceiling combined with the primarily classsical interior design. The boutique’s popular and fashionable location of Harajuku has also been considered in the overall design. Passers-by can view both its entrance as well as the costumers enjoying their time with chocolate on the second floor cafe."

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THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY 2009

GRAPHIC DESIGN - Simon Page is a self-taught graphic designer from the UK. He's really good and we like him a lot.

He's so good, in fact, that these posters were originally made up for purely self-promotional purposes that is was until the IYA themselves got in touch asking if they could use the series for their promotional work.

A limited print run are available through Simons website.

[J] ALLAN of Losing Face

HENDRICK'S ETIQUETTE FOR GENTLEMEN BY HERE DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGN - Here design are without a shadow of a doubt one of the best, if not the best graphic design studio in London. Their work spans all industry sectors, yet retains a sense of integrity few studios can maintain when undertaking such a broad range of work.

Here designed The Hendrick's book of manners, which is a facsimile of the original published around 1900 and is no larger than a credit card.

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FIRE & KNIVES

PUBLISHING - This new food mag, edited by The Guardian's Tim Hayward and designed by Supermundane looks good enough to eat...

Bill Freeman

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT ALL BACK IN?

A proper plumber never brings more than he needs.

ADVERTISING - Print campaign by Bates United, Oslo.

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SIGHT UNSEEN

Sight Unseen 'takes readers inside the worlds of design, art, fashion, food, photography, and other creative disciplines. Through revealing interviews, first-person accounts, and behind-the-scenes documentation of process, Sight Unseen uncovers the stories, inspirations, and obsessions of people who love to make things'.

The photography on the site is just as pleasing as the editorial content - www.sightunseen.com

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FOR ALL YOUR HEAVYWEIGHT SHIPMENTS

ADVERTISING - DHL billboard by Ogilvy & Mather, Makati City, Philippines.

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THE FIVE DOLLAR COMPARISON

FINANCE - The Nokia design team poses the interesting question, 'What can you buy for $5?' The project aims to "explore the relative value of five dollars we are collecting examples from around the world by asking people to submit photos of objects or services that cost the equivalent of $5".

There are some really interesting examples of what $5 can get you. Above, a two colour screen by entitled 'Free' by Mike Perry. Below, Strawberries going cheap in a grocery store in Japan as they're too ripe to keep any longer.

Click here to go to The Five Dollar Comparison site.

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MINI ME - DOVER STREET MARKET GOES POCKET SIZED

RETAIL - Our favourite retail space Dover Street Market (DSM) has teamed up with the Reload space within the St. Martins Lane hotel. The space has been dubbed Dover Street Market Xtra Small. What we like most about the space is how they have used photographs of the full size DSM to decorate the space and recreated to feel of the full size DSM.

Products that will be stocked in the space are Comme des Garçons Shirt, Dover Street Market label, Comme des Garçons’ perfume, Wallet and PLAY collections and other little goodies. The space will be open from 12.00 to 22.00 until 7th January 2010.

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THE FIELD HOUSE

RETAIL - One of our favourite retailers has extended their network of retail spaces. Blackbird has recently opened The Field House, located in Seattle. The store will be stocking the likes of Pendleton, Woolrich Woolen Mills, April 77, Filson, Bee Raw Honey and Cire Trudon.

The story behind the space is:

"the field house is reminiscent of general stores that were once at the heart of rural towns across America. Its shelves are stocked with a wide variety of merchandise, including classic work wear, vintage goods, basic groceries and candies, flowers, and perfumes and candles. It captures the history, geography, and folklore of times past, when goods were less disposable and had more meaning, a time when people canned their own food and took a moment to converse with strangers."

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WHERE DID GOOGLE COME FROM?

TECHNOLOGY - This 2minute 13 second video takes you on a whistle stop tour of the history of the little known company called Google. If you watch the video you can find out what Google was first called... I have no doubt that it will be a question in a pub quiz, if it isn't already.

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FAO SCHWARZ

Better rewards, better kid.

Better rewards, better kid.

ADVERTISING - New York based advertising agency Gang Of One created these fantastic print campaigns for FAO Schwarz the American toy retailer.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUNGE BOHEMIA

GRAPHIC DESIGN - When the owner of my favourite bar in London, Lounge Bohemia, called to let me know about their second birthday party, I couldn't wait for the invite to follow.

Without doubt, Lounge Bohemia serves the best cocktails in London; they vary from the best Old Fashioned you could ever imagine passing your lips to molecular concoctions.

The invite arrived, delivered by hand, which was a great touch. Given the postal strikes most invites that we have been sent are arriving about two weeks late. It came in a Czechoslovakian urine sample tube. I'm not sure how this relates to the party... maybe I don't want to know.

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