Fashion Thursday: Brasil Desigual

The international fashion brands have been hitting hard on the Brazilian market. If you follow the retail scene, or simply shops in a mall, you are well aware of that. The big news, which I found out while browsing the stands of Salão Bossa Nova looking for trends, is the arrival of the Spanish brand Desigual along this shores.

It is possible that you have already stumbled in front of one of their stores during a trip. Desigual, a brand born and bred in Barcelona, can now be found all over Europe and on the US. More than clothes, those Spanish trendsetters are selling us ideas. Every single collection is divided in three themes: sex, fun and love. Those three pillars solidify the brand's identity, catering to free spirited women. 

Up until this moment, there is no concrete plans about opening actual physical stores in the country. They do, however, plan to invest in an e-commerce very soon. When they decide to take the next step and make their presence on the streets, Brazilian women, free spirited by nature, will surely embrace them. 

Travel Wednesday: Montenegro

Montenegro, a tiny piece of land that was once part of the Republic of Yugoslavia, joined Serbia after the country's break down and is now a sovereign State, has already started to be discovered by tourists al over Europe (probably due to the guest appearance in 007: Cassino Royale). The country is still less hyped than it's neighbour, Croatia, but it's attractions goes far beyond the usual Mediterranean fare.





Although Montenegro is also served with the beautiful beaches of the area, there is a huge amount of parks and ecological areas, as well as lakes and cities that look like they stayed frozen in time. It is said that up there, you can easily get to know radically different landscapes such as alpine mountains, canyons, lakes, beaches, forests, medieval palaces and old villages, all crammed on a space smaller than Wales. Maybe that's the reason why the country is now a popular destination among bike lovers. The cycling trips along the coast are ever more frequent.

There are many ways to get there, by land, air or sea. The best way to enjoy the landscape, however, is to catch a ferry in Italy. The ride costs about 60 euros from the Italian city of Bari to Montenegro. You must remember that, because the topography is so widely varied, it's impossible to predict the climatic changes. However, as a rule of the thumb, wintertime tends to be really cold. The main city in the country is Kotor. Staying there, you are able to visit the other attractions such as the Black Lake and Lake Skadar, Biogradska National Park, among others. The local currency is the euro and you must keep in mind that stores, restaurants and small hotels might nor accept credit cards. 

Other posts from Travel Wednesday:

Mianmar

Style Tuesday: Playing house with Qubis

If you have small children at home, you know how hard it is to keep your house tidy and the kids entertained at the same time. In order to give a solution to a seemingly impossible task, a British design company called Qubis came up with the idea to put together the aesthetics of modern architecture and the functionality of toys.





The theory behind it is that children enjoy sitting on the floor. Due to their small sizes, their field of vision is no higher that half a meter. Nothing better than to adapt a place for their toys at the bottom of your home furniture.





Although it looks like an old fashioned toy, it is possible to keep the kids entertained with the addition of a few extras. The walls of the doll house, for instance, can be changes. So can the furniture and decor.





The population of the tiny houses is also provided by Qubis. When the playtime is over, the kids must simply stuff everything inside a bag. Attention moms that are fond of that idea: it's perfectly OK to join the playtime. It's not OK, however, to obsess about cleaning the doll house. That space doen not belong to you!

Other posts from Style Tuesday:

MYcord

Eco Monday: A DIY Project

The Do it Yourself (DIY) trend has been gaining power over the last couple of years. Today, we're able to find many websites to teach us how to make every little project under the sun. Last week, my niece Jade Lopes came up with a project herself and I was totally in awe. It's a small plant vase created with burned out light bulbs. She showed us the step-by-step process to recreating it.

You'll need:

Light bulbs 

A piece of string (preferably nylon)

Pliers

Wire

Straws and tiny flowers

1- Remove the back part of the lightbulb using the pliers to get rid of the middle of it. If you need to, use a serrated knife to break the seal. 

2- The complicated part comes now: removing the interior of the light bulb. Since the common pliers are too thick, try working with one special for nails. Have some patience. 

3- When you're able to break the interior of the bulb, get rid of the broken glass. 

4- Now you'll be able to have an idea of the final result. With a piece a wire, create a strap (just like a bag). Place it safely around the top of the bulb. Remember that we'll place water inside. 

5- Tie a piece of the string to the wire and the other piece to the straw. Fill the bulb with water being careful to pour the right amount in order for the container to stay in the right position. 

 

Jade worked with pieces of string of different lengths in order to obtain asymmetric results.  

Other posts from Eco Monday

A week eating fully raw

Best ideas of the week

Another Friday is here. In order to start the weekend on the right foot, let's get to the best ideas of the week.

If you're a fan of the old time chandelier but cannot put your pirate side to rest, this one is for you. Let's face it: it's not everyday that we can gaze upon an octopus hanging from your living room's ceiling. 

The 3D printing technology is admirable but also gives birth to all sorts of useless objects. Well, that's not the case in here. Those chess pieces are entirely made with a printer and the buyer can choose the pattern and the colour in order to create a tailor made board. 

Who said that plastic is a low end material, relegated to live it's life as pool furniture? Take a look at this side table: it's the living proof that all sort of materials are able to create great ideas. 

This is a product I can attest to the functionality since I own one. The corkcicle works this way: it's a cork attached to a plastic container filled with water. Once you freeze it, all you have to do it to put it inside your wine bottle in order to keep the ideal temperature, no bucket of ice needed. 

 

Those birds are pretty, yes, but they also have their utility. For those who were born with fingers attached to send button in your e-mail accounts, know that these are letter openers. See, not only writing letters is fun but it also comes with it's own great apparatus. 

Many people dream of owning their own herb gardens but, most of the time, they don't have the space for it. This board comes with the containers to plant a vertical garden and also a chalkboard for writing the name of your herbs. 

It seems that wine appreciators are a great market for innovations, right? I came across one of this machines some time ago in a restaurant. What I just found out is that it's now possible to buy them for the home. All you have to do is to place the bottles inside and a little tap dispenses the wine straight to your glass. It's like a water cooler, but fancier. 

 Best ideas of last week

Fashion Thursday: The new face of the tattoo

There are two types of tattoos: those that strand through the test of time and those that represent an era. A tribal picture around your arm? You probably lived through the 90's. A Japanese Kenji on your neck? Most definitely a gift from the 2000's. An eagle flying over an orange sunset? Oh my, the 80's were cruel.

Today, however, there is a strong search for the individual expression and this trend is already being felt in the segment of body art. One the names that has been gaining the spotlight right now is not one from a famous tattoo artist with his own TV show. Believe it or not, it's an artist with a preference of working with abstract figures.

Amanda Wachob creates conceptual figures, inspired by her work with painting, to be drawn over skin. For her, it's just another material to work with, a live canvas. The trend is catching on and today it's possible to find actual tattoo parlours doing that kind of work. How about you? Fancy carrying some modern art over your body?

 

Travel Wednesday: Myanmar, or Mianmar, or Burma...

Thailand and Vietnam were, once, exotic destinations. Now, it's an almost certain stop for those seeking adventure, a spiritual journey or a gastronomy feast. If you, on the other hand, is still looking for a more under the radar place for your vacations, you'll like to know a jewel hidden in Southeast Asia: Myanmar, or Mianmar, or Burma (the country has changed it's name and there are still doubts concerning the correct spelling).





Although the country is small, poor and far from a democratic government (there isn't the option of a journalists' visa for the international press) it's a safe place to visit. The capital, Yangon, has an international airport and several luxury hotels. In order to get there, most flights depart from Thailand (which makes it a good idea to visit both countries). The 5 stars hotels are in the "asian palace" category and in order to book a room during the high season (between November and March, wintertime, when is cooler and drier) you spend about 200 dollars at most.





During your visit, it's a good idea to get the know the local monasteries (the official religion of the country is Buddhism, although the constructions are far away from the Japanese austerity. The dome on the temples is built with layers of gold, ornamented with diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds). The beaches are also worth a visit, just as beautiful as any other in the Asian shoreline. Shopping must be made on the streets bazaars, where you can find a variety of good quality fabrics. One of the biggest attractions of the country, however, is it's culinary. Because of it's borders with both China and India, the Burmese cuisine is a mix of both and it's said to represent the best of each.

Other posts from Travel Wednesday:

New Caledonia

Amsterdam's Nine Streets

Style Tuesday: MYcord

Many people still don't know about it but one of the biggest trends we've been tracking around the globe is the Crowd Funding. It's about websites where new, creative minds, announce the ideas they're willing to put in practice and look for people to help fund it. In that way, if you come across a project that really interests you, you can contribute to it's developing so that the makers are able to complete it. For us, consumers, is a great way to learn about new products even before they hit the shelves. For the creators, is a great way to get their projects running. 

Crowd Supply is one of those Crowd Funding companies, and is the newest partner of the blog. Based on the profile of Around and About's readers, they send us tips of great projects that are still lokking for funds to be developed. That's how I got to know about MYcord. 

The creator of this ear plug had his Eureka! moment while seating in the Brooklyn subway. He noticed that almost everyone was wearing colourful headphones and the all the wires were tangled. He, then, remembered a trend he has seen recently, called Yarn-bombing. It consists of covering any given object such as posts, benches, bike, in colourful knits. Why not covering head phones? Besides giving it an artisanal feel, it would also prevent them from tangling.  The project is still looking for money to start being produced, which means that you can either pre-order yours or fund the idea so that MYcord gets out of the paper quicker. 

Other posts from Style Tuesday:

Sofa, Bed or Cocoon

Design News

Eco Monday: A week away from the pots and pans

If you follow me on Instagram (@robertacastello) you probably know that my latest challenge was to stay a whole five days eating a fully raw vegan diet. Some people adopt this way of eating as their lifestyle, some just do it for a period of time in order to detoxify the body. I found out that I'm standing in middle ground, but let me explain to you how it works.

The raw food diet is also vegan, since no products from animal sources are allowed. You're also not allowed to eat anything that has been heated over 140 degrees. The reason is that, over that temperature, the enzymes are destroyed and food loses all it's nutritional value. The biggest advantage of that diet, in my opinion, is that you won't be eating any preservatives, since you'll be having everything raw and made from scratch. Is it easy to do it? Hell, no! Is it worthy, for some time? Definitely yes. 

The proof that your body is getting rid of all the gunk accumulated during years of abuse are the detox side effects (oh, yes, I forgot to mention those...) Those effects will be different for everyone, meaning that those who eat the worst diet will have the worst side effects (that's karma, people). I had headaches and an upset stomach for the first two days. My body eliminated toxins mostly through water and I lost a lot of water weight. At the end, my hair and skin were in much better condition and I have more energy than I ever did. I decided to live fully raw during the week and to cook on the weekends. 

Before you ask me what the hell was I eating, I'll give you some examples. I had a fruit shake every morning for breakfast. For lunch, I'd have a salad or some fruit and salad or a cold soup for dinners. Besides, I snacked as much as I wanted to and still lost weight. During the next weeks, I'll keep you informed on Instagram and Twitter. 

Best ideas of the week

Our Friday column, "Best ideas of the week", has been one of the blog's most successful. That only goes to prove that we are sick and tired of the same old, same old things and looking for something fresh. However, many readers come to me to ask where to find those featured products. Sometimes, there simply isn't a link I can connect you to: great ideas seems to simply flutter on the internet... If I happen to know where to find them, though, I'll post the link to the stores. If you enjoy this idea, please let me know in the comments.

Bikes are cool, bikes are trendy, bikes are a clean way to travel. However, cycling at night can be dangerous. How about a reflective tape glued to your wheels, in order for the others to spot you? It even frees you from wearing radioactive coloured shoes. 

Time are uncertain... times are violent. Sometimes, an honest chat with the burglar can be an effective way to save your home. If you don't have the guts to have that talk face to face, this door mat might come in handy. 

If you own a smartphone (who doesn't, by the way) you know that one of it's biggest issues is the short battery life. People went on to create the juicer, in order to save us from situations where a socket is not available. However, it looks and feels like a brick. The charge card works in the same way but has the size of a credit card and can be easily hidden in your back pocket. 

No need to travel to the Ice Hotel in order to sip your drinks from a cup made of ice. Now, all you have to do is to put a tray in the freezer with some water inside and enjoy your polar diversion. Notice the straw, though: you don't want to glue your fingers or lips, do you?

Have you ever had a fish tank? Have you lived through those despairing moments when the energy goes out and you don't know how much longer your fish are going to live? The No Clean Aquarium is the solution to this drama. It filters the water automatically, without the need of power or special chemicals, and throws the "garbage" away through that tiny faucet. 

Those paper tags the airline gives you just self destruct the moment a gentle worker throws your bag with lots of love in the baggage claim. Your own tags, protected by an elegant leather cover, are the safest way to get them lost (come on, nobody reads that!). The safest way to take your own bag home is to be straight forward with your message. 

This tiny device, called the Doorbot, has just been launched. A camera is installed on your door knob and the images it records are sent to your mobile phone. Now it's easier to know who's at the door, even if you're not at home. 

That's a great idea if you enjoy an al fresco meal. Have you ever tried to place a glass in a pic nic mat?

Savino is the evolution of the cork. Once you open a bottle of wine, it has a short life span, even with the cork on. Now, you simply pour the contents of your bottle into this decanter and your wine is safe for much longer. 

Best ideas of last week