We know that today’s task is a difficult one. Amidst all the hype for the iPhone we are launching one of the hottest new bluetooth headsets, that will be available exclusively through yours truly starting today!
Maybe it’s the perfect iPhone accessory? Or the perfect piece of shopping therapy because you didn’t get an iPhone? Whatever it might be, it is one hot showstopper. Brand new tech outfit Argard has stepped up to create the smallest and easiest to use bluetooth headset we have seen so far and we are their exclusive launch pad!
It’s tiny, a mere 22×23x32.5 mm (that’s 0.78×0.90×1.22″) – that’s smaller than a quarter in case you wanted to check – and only weighs an amazing 5 grams. Nevertheless it sports 3 hours of talk time and goes up to 100 hours on standby. So whilst size does matter – it doesn’t mean that this little beauty needs to suffer because it’s so small.
Another detail we like is that it doesn’t require a behind the ear clip, mainly because its unique shape ’sticks’ in the ear… You put it on with one turning movement (yes, somewhat like a screw) and it just stays in your ear. And it obviously comes with three different sized silicone covers to adjust it to your earsize…
What more do we like about the M10? Well for starters it’s the big button with the cool blue glow that is used to turn the unit on, take a call, end a call and to turn it off – it’s easy and not as flimsy as other buttons on other devices and it looks beautifully integrated into the overall design. Secondly the fact that the volume can be controlled with your hand held device, and with the easy to reach volume buttons that are on top of the ear piece. And lastly the cool little stand it sits on whilst it charges, it makes the whole unit look so–grand? Grand or not, it looks pretty spectacular and we love our new favorite accessory to our new iPhone…
Price: $149 / 129€

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, Charles & Marie, gadget hip, headset, mobile phone, Soupe du Jour, telephone, Tragically Hip

We met Sandra Bautista a couple weeks back alongside ICFF and were immediately taken by her beautiful work. Now whilst we think that Marie’s Closet will be the perfect home for her, we couldn’t resist and have her wonderful lace bracelets as today’s Soupe. In fact, we liked her work so much that you’ll be seeing more of her work very soon. But let’s focus on what’s on the menu today:
Fragile bracelets, hand made out of lace, in 4 different colors (only the black comes in a different width as well) they are trimmed with a super thin leather strip that ends in a metal bracelet and a glass bead allowing the width of the bracelet to be adjusted individually…
What’s left to say? Nothing really except that they are a wonderful accessory…
Colors: Black, Green, Gold, Silver, Black (Thin)
Price: $40 / 26€

Technorati Tags: bracelet, Charles & Marie, jewelry, Marie’s closet, Soupe du Jour

Ok, so you need a bag to carry your daily stuff. Your wallet, your copy of the New Yorker, your Video iPod, your new Prada sunglasses, your new favorite book - the usual stuff. But if you even remotely think you can get away with that awful backpack or your girlfriend’s tote and think that’s going to work, you are definitely on the wrong track.
Tim Johl - descendant of Germany’s famous leather dynasty Seeger - and Swiss uber designer Alfredo Haeberli have teamed up to create a series of leather bags and accessories, that defy the ordinary and create something very unique in an otherwise traditional market and their Everyday Bag might just be what you are looking for. The softest leather, the most exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful details (like the subtle green stitching) make this not just visually stunning, but also a masterpiece in terms of functionality. Enough space and internal pockets to hold your devices without being overly bulky or - even worse - geeky. Outside pockets for your magazines or the paperwork you need quick access to and zippered compartments to keep all your goodies away from the outside world. Like any other Colin’s product, this too has a turquoise lining that adds a refreshing dash of color to a otherwise understated accessory. A couple words about the quality of the leather: The leather used for the Colin’s collection is highest quality Cownapa, that is drum dyed with various oils to create a soft yet durable leather in a process that is similar to the italian tanning process. Through this labour intensive process the leather ends up with a subtle sheen and a wonderful touch that is a pleasure to hold and will keep it’s shape for many years to come.
This limited edition was literally dropped on our desk yesterday, and we couldn’t wait but turn it into our SDJ as soon as possible. It is a gorgeous piece of crafts man ship and the color is just plain stunning, so get your hands on them fast, Tim only made a handful…
Size: 11.5″ x 14″ x 3″ (29 x 36 x 7 cm)
Price: $310 / 250€

Technorati Tags: bags, Charles & Marie, design, leather goods, luggage

Joe told us a great story how and why he developed the Crit Bun: “During my time studying Industrial and Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, I experienced some very uncomfortable art critiques. These ‘crits’ as we called them would last up to 8 hours, with students sitting on hard floors, plastic chairs, and metal stools. Recognizing a problem, I sought to design a seat cushion that would: (1) keep us comfortable, and (2) keep us clean.”
Well, here it is, the Crit Bun – and today, it’s the original special edition, which was first created at and for Rhode Island School of Design. The images show the original blue Crit Buns in use and we’ve been trying to get our hands on the blue version for the longest time, so now we are very happy that we now have a bunch of these great buns…
Color: blue
Price: $20 / 15€

Technorati Tags: chairs, Charles & Marie, design, gadget hip, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

Well hello there! After the wonderful and unexpected success of the InsideOut Collection Champagne Glasses we are introducing the second in a series of 4 designed BY:AMT now and it is a liqueur glass. Whether you prefer a sip of Port or a sip of Genever or maybe an extra dry Sherry, this is the perfect glass for the vast array of liqueurs that need this type of shape to properly expose its bouquet and enhance the experience.
BY:AMT was formerly known as AlissiaMT, and should be known to all of you design aficionados out there for her wonderful collection of ‘diamond’ rings and her unique nested appetizer plates ‘A Handful of Plates’.
The InsideOut Collection of barware turns the common knowledge of what a drinking glass should look like on its head. In BY:AMT’s collection of barware, the well known and oftentimes iconic shapes of glasses are hidden behind a neutral and discreet outer shape, unassuming and simple. But once you pour the drink, the glass’ inner identity appears creating an unusual and highly fascinating effect.
The glasses are all mouth blown, are 1.5″ wide and 4.75″ high (4 x 12 cm) and come in a set of 2.
Price: $48 / 48€

Technorati Tags: barware, beverage, Charles & Marie, Epicurean delight, glassware, InnsideOut Collection, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

This is the week where long anticipated products are now finally arriving! We had Jonas Damon’s excellent new LED Clock earlier this week which you can see here.
If you missed it and for the weekend we have a really tasty Soupe:
Michael Young’s PXR 5 is finally available for fragile women’s wrists and if you pre-ordered them, you’d be wearing them for a while already, but if you didn’t, well here you are!
For those of you not quite as familiar with one of our favorite products, here’s a formal introduction: The PXR-5 is designed by Michael Young, designer extraordinaire from the UK and part of the Established & Sons group around Zaha Hadid. The watch itself is wonderfully simple, it shows the time, the date and seconds–what more do you need–and has a beautiful blue light with cast an elegant glow at night. The case is about an inch and a quarter wide and the inner height is 3/4 of an inch (2 cm) and the total height is an inch and a half (3,8 cm). The interchangeable velcro bracelet is 3/4″ wide and can be set to a minimum of 6.5″ (16,5 cm) and a max of 8″ (20 cm), leaving you with plenty of options to wear it. The bands are NOT the same as the men’s version, so they can’t be shared…
Currently only the steel versions are available, but we will update you as soon as we hear about the Ultranoir and the Gold versions as well!
Price: $90 / 75€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, design, Marie’s closet, Soupe du Jour, watch

This is the week where long anticipated products are now finally arriving! We had Jonas Damon’s excellent new LED Clock earlier this week which you can see here.
If you missed it and for the weekend we have a really tasty Soupe:
Michael Young’s PXR 5 is finally available for fragile women’s wrists and if you pre-ordered them, you’d be wearing them for a while already, but if you didn’t, well here you are!
For those of you not quite as familiar with one of our favorite products, here’s a formal introduction: The PXR-5 is designed by Michael Young, designer extraordinaire from the UK and part of the Established & Sons group around Zaha Hadid. The watch itself is wonderfully simple, it shows the time, the date and seconds–what more do you need–and has a beautiful blue light with cast an elegant glow at night. The case is about an inch and a quarter wide and the inner height is 3/4 of an inch (2 cm) and the total height is an inch and a half (3,8 cm). The interchangeable velcro bracelet is 3/4″ wide and can be set to a minimum of 6.5″ (16,5 cm) and a max of 8″ (20 cm), leaving you with plenty of options to wear it. The bands are NOT the same as the men’s version, so they can’t be shared…
Currently only the steel versions are available, but we will update you as soon as we hear about the Ultranoir and the Gold versions as well!
Price: $90 / 75€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, design, Marie’s closet, Soupe du Jour, watch

Su Hyun Hwang designed a masterpiece. At least we think it’s fabulous.
It’s a ceiling lamp–nothing new about that–but rather than suspending it simply along a cable, which could look flimsy and weird, he encases the entire lamp including the shade and the fixture and the cable–literally everything–in a multi layered vinyl resin net. Now somehow that not seems familiar to you? It sure does, doesn’t it… Well that’s because it’s the same net you’ll find to hold oranges in winter or watermelons right now. Known for its flexibility the net is the over 5 meters long (more than 16ft) and arranged in several layers to create a wonderfully soothing effect, and with all that extra material, nothing will stop you. Unless you have 18ft ceilings…
But back to the actual lamp, the vinyl mesh creates a wonderful soft mood and seems to glow way beyond the soft white lampshade. The actual wire inside is color coordinated depending on the color you chose for the net, so orange net, orange cord, yellow net, yellow cord and so on. It comes with a 40W bulb and with that said, all that’s left for us to do is leave you to choose the right color…
Price: $120 / 120€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, lighting, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

Yes, grandma has a very peculiar taste when it comes to china… you know, those very intricate designs, ideally with lots of gold that she gets out for Thanksgiving and Christmas and well every other halfway festive occasion. But the reason it’s peculiar is because grandma’s china is pretty much as old as granny herself and thus might not be completely up to date.
But exactly that is what got Formfjord–3 extremely talented designers from Berlin, you’ll be seeing more of them here–so intrigued. The random saucers left over from granny’s china, what will happen to them? They will most likely end up as landfill, even though they are true artifacts of a design aesthetic that has long passed.
So today’s Soupe is a limited edition soap dish made out of exactly those saucers, 250 have been hand selected for their special–shall we dare say–beauty and have been treated and modified so that the water of the soap will be able to easily flow off the plate, not causing any mucky residue…
So, as many times before, today is somewhat left up to chance as you–or we–have no control over the look of your Soupe. How exciting an element of surprise while shopping!
Price: $35 / 24€

Technorati Tags: accessories, bath, Charles & Marie, hip home, Modern Living, porcelain, Soupe du Jour

All of you who have purchased Jonas Damon’s LED new Candy Apple Red Alarm Clock as a prelaunch have it sitting at home already… for everybody who missed it that day, it is now finally available!!! It is one of our favorite products in the curated selection, and you seem to like it a whole lot as well…
For those of you new to this cool clock, here’s the low down: The clock is a series of cubes, each displaying one glowing number and when placed in the correct order, it displays the current time. But you can put them in any order you want, you can even stack them on top of another, at which point the actual time becomes an abstract illustration. We liked the idea of abstracting time and breaking it up into a set of constantly changing numbers.
It works great as a playful desktop or bedside table accessory and once you arrange them in your favorite way, it’ll be easy for you to tell the time, for others, it might not be.
Each block is 2″ x 1.5″ x 1.5″ (5 x 4 x 4 cm)
Price: $90 / 90€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, clock, design, gadget hip, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip