You know the scene inside and out: You spend hours baking a fabulous and amazing cake, your friends are seated and then it starts: ‘Oh, I’ll have a small piece please’, says Chloe next to you. ‘Could I get an extra large one?’, says Mildred who really shouldn’t. ‘Could I get that medium sized piece please?’, asks Pete who is always so balanced. In any case, you know what we are talking about…
Put an end to it all! Our dear friends over at Konstantin Slawinski have just released their newest product: A silicone Cake Mold (11.8″ or 30 cm diameter) that ‘pre-shapes’ any cake into 15 separate pieces, in a variation of ’sizes’. From Small, to Extra Large. Now how much easier could life be?
Price: $33 / 24€

Technorati Tags: cake, Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean delight, kitchen, Soupe du Jour

This was one of last years top SDJ’s and a true favorite amongst all of us here at the HQ and today we are proud to present a brand new addition to the already fabulous line up. But if you don’t know what we are talking about, here’s a little intro:
Extratapete is a small company in Berlin that specializes in bespoke – custom made – wall papers. And in 2006 they launched a fabulous new wallpaper – well actually more like a border – and we were very happy to get our hands on a few of the first ones…
Panoramic views, taken at normal eye level of Paris or Berlin – 2 of our favorite cities – in one continuous print, over 13 feet (4 m) long, and roughly 5 inches (13 cm) wide. The technology involved is fabulous and it is amazing how detailed these views are and how much ground they cover. This is so incredibly detailed and intricate it is fascinating. We have spent countless hours looking at it and looking for the details and had a blast recognizing places and sights.
Designed by artist Esther Neumann, these mega panoramic views come with an adhesive foil, that allows you to easily attach them anywhere you want.
Their latest addition takes you to Los Angeles, and just like Paris and Berlin before, this is a trip to look at. The amount of detail is once again staggering and as before you can spend hours just looking and searching for things you know. And – it was taken on a perfectly clear day – so there is a ton to see.
So if you want to take a quick trip to Los Angeles, Paris or Berlin, this is probably the cheapest way to feel immersed in these great cities…
Cities: Los Angeles, Berlin, Paris
Price: $21 / 16€

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

You’ve heard of Nooka watches, right? Yes? No? Maybe? Well if you have, then you’ll really like today’s brand new addition to the original line. If you haven’t heard of Nooka, then we shall tell you what the hype here at the HQ is all about…
Nooka, brainchild of artist/designer, Matthew Waldman. The story goes that in 1997 he had a flash-back while staring at a large wall clock in a London hotel. Apparently the experience transported him back to his first grade math class and he was struck by the limited options in time display. Like most great minds, he sketched his innovative ideas on a napkin and brought them back to New York as quick as the hands of time would take him.
Nooka watches offer an intuitive way to view time using linear and graphic representation. The visual mass increases as time passes, giving weight to an ephemeral and abstract concept. Once you’re used to this new visual paradigm, you may never go back to standard analog and digital time displays for the wrist.
So much for the introduction. So what are we so excited about? Well, this beautiful piece is now available in gold, and you know how much we are distracted by shiny things…
So if you are looking to add a little intelligence to your wrist, do it in gold!
Colors: Zoo_V, Zot_V, Zen_V, Zen_H
Price: $295 / 295€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, gadget hip, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip, watch

Man, were we happy to finally see this brilliant product available to a broad audience. Designed by Miami Hotshot Designer Louis Pons, we were introduced to this absolutely stunning piece of jewelry through our dear friends over at Citizen:Citizen. What is it? It’s a bracelet/necklace made out of hundreds of tiny connected nickel beads. But it has no closure. It is closed with a small super strong spherical magnet – though our Nickel isn’t (it’s copper), Nickel is a very magnetic material and now you can start playing.
Wrap it around your arm or neck, wrap it once or twice or as many times as it fits. Get two colors and start playing with contrast. Get 4 chains and start to really play with colors and different lengths. The beauty of this is the sheer never-ending array of possible combinations. Like it bold and bright? Go for pink and gold, like it traditional and elegant? Combine white, black and silver.
Do we need to say more? We think not. Stop, one more thing: If you think that color ways aren’t enough to play with, get some other magnets and start playing with those as well and really get creative…
Colors: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Gunmetal, Black, White, Lime, Green, Aqua Blue, Navy Blue, Baby Blue, Pink, Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow
Price: $16 / 16€

Technorati Tags: accessories, bracelet, Charles & Marie, fashion, jewelry, Marie’s closet, necklace, Tragically Hip

Is there a better way to start the week than sexy? Yeah, we know, you always think you’re sexy, but seriously, this is so hot, you might want to think again.
Brand new from our friends over at JimmyJane, Beyond is our favorite new massage lotion and we like it so much, it will soon be our favorite body lotion as well. But let’s start with some facts before we get too excited: It’s obviously formulated with natural ingredients, extra emollient (can you say superior slip), hydrating, nourishing and completely body friendly. As you can expect, these enriched lotions are Paraben and Glycerin free, contain no synthetic fragrances and have been tested on humans and not animals… But the real kicker is the three super fab fragrances or shall we say secret performance boosters? Euphoric – is filled with plant extracts that promote the release of Beta-Endorphins (and you know what those are good for, right?) Cooling – contains Willamette Peppermint oil and Cucumber extract to heighten your senses and Warming contains Citrus Bergamia Oil to calm the senses and other natural extracts that raise the temperature of touch. Yeah, that’s pretty hot, we know! So, what else? Maybe only that each tube contains 4 ounces, which should suffice for a moment or two, but we recommend getting all three, because you never know what mood you might be in tomorrow…
Now close your eyes and…
Colors: Cooling, Euphoric, Warming
Price: $24 / 24€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, Marie’s closet, massage, sexy, Soupe du Jour, wellness

Ok, so you are thinking: What have they found this time? But don’t jump to conclusions, let us explain:
Milan in May was filled with big furniture and huge brands and in the middle of all the pushing and shoving was this little display. Well actually it was quite big. It was in a corner at Designersblock and it was a lot of iPod-esque little devices singing. Well not really singing, more lip synching. Yes, it is true, we haven’t taken anything…
They were a bunch of prototypes, all designed by Mr Jones aka Crispin Jones and once we took a closer look, we saw cute little USB creatures (think Tamagochi all over again) that you plug into one of the many USB hubs you have sitting around, and when Tengu picks up music, it starts to sing (or sync) along… Tengu has 7 different facial (hmpf) expressions that it uses to lip sync, that are displayed in red LEDs over his white face… Well that was in May and now it’s August – almost September – and Tengu is finally available. It has just been launched in Japan where it was a massive hit and we are happy to have Tengu ready to go this weekend.
What else is left to say? Nothing much, it works on any kind of PC (as long as it has a USB port) it is roughly 4″ x 2.5″ x 1″ (10 x 6,5 x 2,5 cm) in size and requires no further maintenance or food. It will just entertain you whilst you are listening to whatever you fancy…
Oh, and if you want to see Tengu in action, click here and see some funny videos…
Price: $50 / 50€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, gadget hip, laptop, Soupe du Jour, toys, Tragically Hip

Arnout Visser might have designed this in 1993 for Dutch design powerhouse Droog already – yes last century – but this is still the reigning kitchen contraption when it comes to oil and vinegar vessels.
What’s so special about it? Just the simple fact that it uses physics to create a stunning accessory. If you’ve listened to your physics teacher in high school, then you should have a vague idea about the density of oil and water and why one floats on the other. The same principle is applied here. Oil is less dense than vinegar and as such floats on top. So if you need some oil, you use the spout on the left of the picture, and if you need some vinegar you use the one on the right.
Who knew that physics could be an accessory on your dinner table…
Price: $40 / 22€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean delight, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour

You know the scene: guests arrive, flower in hand, hugs and kisses, where is the vase? If you’ve ever lived in a shoebox sized NY apartment, you know that ‘think small’ is the name of the game or you won’t have any space to move around. In comes Designfenzider’s quintessential New York apartment accessory: The Vase Maker. Use this intelligent porcelain item with any glass or waterbottle you have sitting around and give the flower the presentation it deserves.
Brilliant! Oh, and in case you were wondering: the Vasemaker works equally well in any city around the world…
In case you want to look for some room for the vase maker, you need to find a space that’s at least 6″x6″x2.5″ (15 x 15 x 6 cm) and then you are good to go!
Price: $49 / 39€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, decoration, design, hip home, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, vases

Ahhh, we are such suckers for clever thinking, case in point: today’s Soupe. Another product from tastemaker Ron Gilad, the sterling silver necklace appears as the quintessential accessory–the pearl necklace. But wait. What’s this? It only mimics the pearl necklace; this beauty is made entirely out of clasps. Yes, we know, clasps are used to close a necklace, but who said that closures couldn’t BE the necklace?
Exactly. And so this deceptively simple necklace belies its historic influence. Oh, just to add the functional bit: the clasps are all made out of sterling silver and the diameter is 16″ (40 cm) but you get an inch (2.5 cm) extra in case you prefer it a little looser…
Now where is that clasp again?
Price: $120 / 99€

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

One can never have enough salt and pepper shakers in our opinion, so here’s a brand new one from Designfenzider Ron Gilad. We are sure you’ve seen his iconic work before, maybe even own some of his unique pieces. His work is so special that Forbes magazine included Ron in their annual tastemaker list, and if you know his products, you know why.
We’ll bring you three days of his work and to kick it off we’ll present his brand new salt and pepper shaker. You might wonder why it actually looks like a mortar and pestle? That’s the whole trick, the pestle is for the pepper and the mortar is for the salt and together they are a great set for any table…
Made out of porcelain and cork, the entire piece is 2.5″ x 2.5″ (6.5 cm x 6.5 cm) wide and 5″ (12.5 cm) high. – what’s left to say? Nothing really, well maybe only that we love it!
Price: $50 / 39€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, contraptions, Epicurean delight, porcelain, Soupe du Jour