We met Phil Cuttance almost a year ago in Milan where he was presenting some of his new work to the design glitterati and immediately fell in love with his Trophy Hangers. We adored them so much that we wanted to run them as a Soupe the very next day, but much to our dismay, Phil told us that we were looking at prototypes and they are waiting for a manufacturer. Well, as if that wasn’t a hint, we started talking and after a couple of months started production of these wonderful and charming little clothes hangers.
It took almost 9 months, but now they are here, the container has arrived and it is the first time that they are available anywhere. We presented them in New York and over in Europe a couple weeks back and the reception was fabulous – everybody simply loved them - so we were pretty confident that we made the right choice. So now, without much further ado, here are the Trophy Hangers by Phil Cuttance, a very very talented designer from New Zealand.
The concept is quite obvious, traditional animal trophies are a pretty ridiculous thing, so Phil’s hangers turns the trophy notion on its head, well actually on its butt… Whichever animal you choose, it always comes in a set of 2 - with every front bit you will get the rear as well. They are made out of poly resin and are 7 cm wide and 11 cm high (2.75″ x 3.5″) and extend out roughly 3″ or 8 cm.
Now all you have to do is suppress the big game hunter in you…
Price: $50 / 38€

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

We adore the fabulous products the guys over at Norman Copenhagen churn out year after year! One of their earliest products, was their reduced to the max dustpan and broom that was designed by Ole Jensen and was awarded the prestiguous Formlandprisen. Here’s the story to the amazingly simplistic product: Ole Jensen was irritated by all the dust and clay that was in his workshop one day, took his erasing brush and a piece of newspaper and swept everything together in on easy motion. He liked the idea of a hand held dust blade so much, that he turned it into a product.
The dustpan is made out of polypropylene allowing it to be bent and flexed with any which way you desire and the broom is made out of specially treated beech wood and natural bristles – unlike modern bristles, which are usually inserted from the back of a brush, these bristles are bent around a rod and glued into a wedge in the handle. This traditional technique creates an extremely durable brush and passes through eight pairs of hands in the production process – the epitome of traditional craftsmanship and industrial production.
The hole in the back of the pan allows it to be stored on the handle and hung when not in use. Who knew cleaning could be so much fun?
Size: 9.5″ x 12″ / 24 x 31 cm
Price: $25 / 20€

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

By now it shouldn’t be a secret anymore that we really like to have some fun here at the C&M HQ, so when our dear friends over at Jimmy Jane sent us the first email about their latest product launch we were pretty excited to get our fingers on it. We had to be patient though as it wasn’t available yet, but now it is and we are sooo happy to have it as one great Soupe.
Wondering what we are talking about? Well, here’s a brief intro: Remember ‘Spin the Bottle’? Yes, we are talking about that game of our youth that was so intriguing then but is a bit passé now… Well, it is back again, and trust us, the stakes are high now and whatever the game lacked in variety, it has been added and there are a couple very very nice plot twists. Let’s just say so much: Some of those twists are G-Rated, others are closer to R or even, well let’s just call it NC-17…
It comes in an elegant custom bottle, not the choice of yore and contains a fabulous assortment of provocative adventure strips to guide your play. Perfect for two, or more if you dare…
The rules haven’t changed though, all you have to do is: Spin, Read, Obey and obviously Repeat!
Price: $35 / 30€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, games, Modern Living, sexy, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

You know how much we adore the Sun Jar by our friends over at Suck UK. This is the perfect accessory for all of you who can’t get enough of the moon! Another great idea by Tobias Wong, this jar stores the moon light. No kidding, it really does…
Have it sit in the sun during the day and see it radiate at night. All made possible by modern technology – some LED’s, a solar panel and some ingenious thinking. The kind of thinking Tobi is famous for.
This is a wonderful effect and the sandblasted glass makes it glow in an eerie shade of blue. It is a great little idea for a dinner table, where you have the jars scattered around the table, or an evening at the beach where they will provide just the right amount of light, or as garden illumination, just position them at strategic points in your garden or rooftop terrace or balcony – they work equally well in either location.
Granted, the time for outdoor parties might not have arrived all over the world yet, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be planning ahead, right? In the mean time you might want to use it as a night light, at 4×4x6.5″ (10 x 10 x 16 cm) it is just perfect in size for a subtle illumination in the dark.
Price: $44 / 36€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, design, hip home, lighting, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour, Tragically Hip

Designer extraordinaire Michael Young has done it once again – no, not another fantastic watch, but a super sexy vibe. Not that a vibe isn’t sexy in itself, but this is also just plain gorgeous. The shapes allow for exploration in all the right places and the size is – let us quote one of the testers here: ‘just perfect’… Let’s not even try to add anything here. We had this beauty for the first time last November, when we received the first batch, now it is finally available in larger numbers and so we are adding it to our already beautiful collection!
The controls are amazingly simple – you wouldn’t want something complicated when playing with this one – gentle or strong, just as you desire – simply by lightly touching the button at the bottom. And it wouldn’t be Michael Young if there isn’t some technical marvel used, and this special treat uses the principle of nodes and anti-nodes, explaining the gently scooped sides, resulting in maximum vibration, which you won’t find in any other toy…
This is definitely the best looking vibe we have seen in quite a long time.
Price: $115 / 80€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, design, Marie’s closet, massage, sexy, Soupe du Jour, toys, vibrator

We know, we’ve had this on the site forever and it’s been a favorite of us here for the longest time, but they simply have been impossible to get a hold of. As you all know we enjoy working with small design companies who bring us beautiful, unusual and often times items that are impossible to get your hands on. Case in point this great mug, made in the UK in small batches and usually sold out. In case of the last shipment though the delay was two-fold: Not just was the factory behind, but once they were done, the woman who successfully runs Mocha in the UK gave birth to a baby boy and that put even more of a delay on things. Now we couldn’t really complain, so we waited patiently until mom and baby boy were ready to go back to running the company. So now they are here, in stock and ready to go. Everybody who placed a Pre-Order should have received it by now, for everybody else, here’s the low-down:
The dual purpose Dunk Mug is a C&M favorite and a fun addition to any bedtime snack ritual! The Sunday Express calls this clever mug “a must-have for every cookie lover.” We concur. A hidden cookie compartment allows you to sip coffee or tea and nibble on your favorite sweets with minimal cleanup. Cookie plates are a thing of the past for us. Take special notice of the white earthenware which lends a solid feel and attractive appearance.
Color: Pink, White
Size: Left Handed, Right Handed
Price: $23 / 19€

Technorati Tags: Charles & Marie, coffee, contraptions, Epicurean delight, mug, Soupe du Jour, tea

We promised you the latest and greatest from the fairs, now whilst this definitely isn’t the latest, but it’s most definitely still the greatest doorbell around, whether you are a wine fan or not and we just had to bring it to you again!
Don’t know what we are talking about? Well how about a formal introduction: Designed by Peter van der Jagt in 1994 this is the complete opposite of the usual doorbell. Here everything is visible, two crystal wineglasses provide impeccable sound that is initiated by the electromagnet that is positioned between them. The rest is a stainless steel base (25 x 9 x 24 cm) that holds everything in place, no matter whether you prefer them attached to the wall or the ceiling. The two different sized glasses ensure the usual twotone (ding dong) ring…
Simply gorgeous! Oh and it was just awarded the Red Dot Design Excellence award last year, we told you it’s fabulous!
Price: $220 / 130€ plus shipping

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

Here’s something fun we saw in Paris a few days ago that made us chuckle. Our friends over at Atypyk were of the opinion that Paris is in need of more sights and swiftly added another Eiffel Tower to the Paris skyline.
This could have been really silly, but this composition is so well done, down to the people walking below it and the trees and shadows of the structure and the reflections that we simply adored it…
It’s a fun little postcard - they come in a set of 6 - to give to all your Francophile friends, c’est magnifique!
Price: $20 / 13€ plus shipping

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, Paris, postcard, Soupe du Jour, stationary, Tragically Hip

We’ve only got a handful of these goodies left and we don’t want them to be orphans and not enjoy a ‘real’ home, so here they are at 25% off! The Pentagram 2008 Typography Calendar is a special one, because it is designed by Graphic Design legend Kit Hinrichs, a partner in the San Francisco Pentagram design office. He has designed Pentagram’s 2008 Classic Typographic Calendar using twelve typefaces designed by typographer Matthew Carter including Walker (originally designed in 1995 for the Walker Art Center), Snell Roundhand (a 1966 revival of 17th century English writing master Charles Snell) and Galliard (a 1978 anthology of Roman and Italian styles of French punch-cutter Robert Granjon). “I wanted to bring a new awareness of typographic design through this calendar,” said Hinrichs. “Typefaces are pervasive in our daily lives in everything we read and see around us and yet most people are oblivious of them or the circumstances in which they were created. We can gain a new perspective on our world by studying the origin of typefaces. I hope the calendar will encourage a new sensitivity to the importance of typeface usage and the work of Matthew Carter.” What should we add to that? Simply nothing!
The calendar is available in 18-by-12 inch (46 x 30 cm) version appropriate for desk or wall use.
Price: $16.50 / 15€ plus shipping

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

Whilst we are currently enjoying the effects of global warming here in San Francisco, it is freezing in many other parts of the world. Inherent with freezing is dark, gray, miserable weather that makes everybody around us feel miserable and down…
So we figured, what about a little pick me upper to conquer this yucky weather? And what a fun Soupe it is today:
Designed by Suseela Gorter in the Netherlands, these are vinyl stickers that are printed with images of flower bouquets on both sides. All you have to do is stick them onto your windows and voila – they’ll put a smile on your face. We especially like the fact that there is no adhesive involved as the vinyl sticks by static cling. Oh and they are a good size as well, not too big, not too small, roughly a foot (30 x 30 cm) and a bit, perfect size for our small windows!
Now if only the temperature would change as well…
Color: Chrysanthemum, Poppies, Red Poppies, Rose
Price: $18 / 12€

Technorati Tags: accessories, Charles & Marie, decoration, design, flowers, Modern Living, Soupe du Jour