Morgans Hotel's Vending machine throws out exclusive items

Since I do business with Morgans Hotel group, I am happy to let everyone know that they are pushing the limits check this out. This is one of the most novel vending machine's I've seen in recent times. The Semi-Automatic has been designed by Mari Balestrazzy for the Morgans Hotel Group. It's a compact luxe shop in a machine, so don't expect it to throw out candies and sodas. What it sells is exclusive and luxurious items curated by Kim Walker, the hotel group’s creative director. The unique products range from 24-karat gold handcuffs from Kiki de Montparnasse, luxury cars for rent (a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow or 2000 Bentley Azure convertible), Fred Flare heart sunglasses, a 14-karat gold necklace by Kiel Mead, and Atari classics for PlayStation. Sounds like a lot of fun. If you want to go and get something from this innovative vending machine, you will have to head to the Marcel Wanders-design Mondrian South Beach hotel in Miami it just opened in December 2008.

Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire

The latest in the long line of special edition Bugatti Veyrons to be showcased at the Geneva Motor Show is called the Bleu Centenaire, and it has been introduced to commemorate the brand’s 100th anniversary. The shade of blue dabbed onto the Veyron is similar to that on the late EB 110. Although the application of color on its body panels is combination of matte as well as glossy, which is a tad uncanny for a shade. The Veyron has a quad turbo W16 engine, there are rumors doing the rounds that Bugatti has exceeded the engine’s current power rating of 1000 hp to such a great extent that the car’s top speed will ridge to a 270 mph.

Quote For Today!

“Do as little harm to others as you can; make any sacrifice for your true friends; be responsible for yourself and ask nothing of others; and grab all the fun you can. Don’t give much thought to yesterday, don’t worry about tomorrow, live in the moment, and trust that your existence has meaning even when the world seems to be all blind chance and chaos. When life lands a hammer blow in your face, do your best to respond to the hammer as if it had been a cream pie. Sometimes humor is the remedy, Don’t take life too seriously.”
-Dean Koontz

Bentley to Raise Prices by 5% in the UK

Just in case every one thought automakers were cutting prices beginning in April, Bentley will raise prices by 5% in the United Kingdom, citing the pound’s weakness as compared to the Euro (about an 18% depreciation in the past year). The UK populous will now be paying between around £120,000 and £245,000. There is no expected price increase beyond Great Britain. Thank God!!! I thought I was going to have to pay more then I expected, LOL!

Saks Is Down $99 Million, But Are They Ready For A ComeBack?

We knew Saks wasn’t doing well, but we didn’t expect them to lose $99 million in the fourth quarter. That brings the net losses for the year to $154.9 million. So most of the losses occurred over the holiday season when Saks aggressively marked down merchandise to get people to shop. The 70 percent off sales angered designers, including CFDA president Diane Von Furstenberg, who had no say in the markdowns and had to figure out how to get customers to pay full price for goods in freestanding stores when they were getting things at Saks practically for free. Saks chairman Stephen I. Sadove finally addressed rumors that the chain is nearing bankruptcy:

“Although it is policy not to comment on bankruptcy rumors, all of the actions [Saks is taking] are ensuring we are free cash flow positive in 2009. Bankruptcy would destroy shareholder value. Our intent is to insure and enhance shareholder value.”

So they intend not to go bankrupt. Who knew? Sadove also addressed the obscene 70 percent off sales. He said they had no choice because they had to reduce inventory, and they feel good about the results. WWD reports:

“In hindsight, I think we had to be more promotional,” Sadove said. “We bought these products nine months in advance when we were growing double digits. We didn’t jump the competition. We made the decision we would follow, but we would be much more aggressive once we followed.”

He added that he thought they could have “gotten away with” marking shoes and handbags 55 to 60 percent off instead of 70. Saks also contends that relationships with designers remain good, and now that inventories are down, Saks doesn’t expect to have to discount as deeply in the coming year.

Although they lost $99 million in the fourth quarter and laid off 1,100 employees, Saks is working on opening an upscale men’s store in Palm Beach (to replace an old one) and spending “tens of millions” of dollars to renovate the third floor of the Fifth Avenue flagship. This is meant to, as WWD puts it, “underscore its continuing stake in luxury.” Tens of millions on one floor of one store. And they’re $155 million in the hole.

via(WWD)

Casio x DQM G-Shock Watch

I have to get one of these when it hits the streets, I just love G-Shocks for the sporty look! FYI, I have been wearing G-Shocks for 12 years so I'm not jumping on a trend. Its a Lifestyle to me!

Lil Wayne's Prom Queen

Say what you want about Lil Wayne, he's getting it in and taking names. He is pushing what boundaries the industry has set up, far far away from what they were. He is a Maven, RESPECT IT!

Cupcakes Anyone?

I was looking around and happened to come across this AD, not sure how I feel about the message. But I do like the image!!! LOL

"G"

Quote For Today!

“Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.”

-Og Mandino

via(JD)

Italy Plans Fashion-Industry Bailout

While the Obama administration cooks up (boring) bank and auto bailouts, Italy is planning a bailout of its fashion industry. Italian minister of economic development Claudio Scajola promised to present the “first interventions” to help Italy’s fashion industry by the middle of the month. Last month the Italian government approved a stimulus package of about $2.54 billion to help the auto and domestic-appliance sectors, ignoring the fashion industry. Head of Italy’s Chamber of Fashion Mario Boselli would not stand for this and called out the injustice. “I can understand helping the automotive industry but wouldn’t fashion deserve the same, if not more, consideration than the furniture industry?” Boselli told WWD. The fashion industry in Italy employs around 80,000 people and is home to 30,000 distribution companies. Revenues in the Italian fashion industries were down 4 percent for 2008, with things getting especially bad at the end of the year. It’s also sort of an image booster, only proving that Europe is infallibly more glamorous than we are. Even their bailouts are chic.

Russians Top Milans Top Shoppers List

Once upon a time, say about a decade ago, Milan was jammed with American tourists whose mighty dollar earned them bargain basement deals on luxury goods against Italy’s puny lira and, later, against the euro in its slumbering infancy. The Americans were easy to spot as they conspicuously swung Tod’s and Gucci shopping bags along Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone and jabbered away in their alien tones.

Now it would be difficult to find an American shopper in Milan’s luxury quadrilateral, apart from the four times each year when fashion shows lure editors and buyers from their desks in New York. The dollar, limping sadly since 2003, and the recent economic crisis, have all but eliminated their presence. Also dwindling noticeably are the Japanese, who once seemed poised to take over the world, one Prada store at a time.

Who’s buying, then? One need not look further than the airport office where tourists submit their receipts for a tax refund before heading home. This data, tracked by the company Global Refund, gives a snapshot of who bought how much: Russians are Milan’s largest national group of fashion shoppers, commanding 38 percent of the tax-free pie in 2008, despite their own economic woes back home. By contrast, the United States claimed a mere 4 percent.

Ukrainians make up 6 percent of Milan tax-free fashion sales and bear the distinction of being the biggest spenders per purchase: Their average receipt is €1,556 compared with €968 for Russian buyers, €925 for U.S. buyers and €789 for China buyers. But when the statistics are pared down to just jewelry, the Ukrainian average receipt is an impressive €12,000.

Russians, Arabs, Ukrainians and Chinese all posted healthy increases in fashion purchases in 2008 versus 2007. And, not surprisingly, the two countries that took nose dives were the United States and Japan - dropping by 38 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

Over all, Milan’s tax-free shopping increased 2 percent in 2008, despite the effects of the global economic crisis that deepened in the fourth quarter of the year.

Milan is by no means immune to the downturn, although the city’s stores are not resorting to the drastic discounting seen in New York and London.

Just before Christmas, the streets of Milan were blanketed with snow instead of shoppers, and it seemed that the locals were on a holiday fashion detox. There were, however a few notable exceptions, including the storefronts of Tiffany, Moncler and Hogan, all of which were swarmed with unusually high numbers of people. “Hogan has been a total phenomenon,” remarked Della Valle. “It’s a product that is really working well right now.”

Perhaps that is because, like Tiffany and Moncler, Hogan has a cachet name that is affordable. And those €300 rubber sole lace-ups (not to mention a fox-trimmed Moncler puffa jacket) sure come in handy when the streets are slick with slush. According to Della Valle, Italians are still buying but the days of frivolous spending are over. “Now they’re more attentive,” he said. “They’re looking at the product with different eyes.”

The Russians, it seems, also have a new viewpoint. A Fendi saleswoman said they are still big customers and display a continued appetite for big-time furs. “But they’re not dropping €150,000 on a sable like they used to,” she said. “Now it’s usually just a fox for around €70,000.”

Quote For Today!

“Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.”

-Samuel Johnson

Rare Comic Book worth $400,000?

I used to read comic books from time to time so this post makes sense to me. Action Comics issue #1 which is said to have launched Superman was auctioned off on Friday 27th. It's an extremely rare find and to own it would be very prestigious for any nerd/geek or just a comic lover! This is an 'unrestored' version. There are not more than a 100 known copies left of the original 1938 comic which sold for only 10-cents back then. However, to get an 'unrestored 'copy is almost next to impossible as over 80% of the 100 have been restored. This comic that the owner bought for a price of 35 cents is in excellent condition. Now hold your breath as it was expected to fetch a price of $400,000. I'm not sure yet who bought it and for how much but I'm sure it was close to the price above.

The Audi Shark

Hover cars always looked cool on Star Wars and Star Trek. But the Audi Shark looks even better than that! This magnificent baby is devised by Kazim Doku, who is known to have redesigned Audi’s usual sleek styling s into a flying sports car for the Desire Design Competition by the Italian Domus Academy. I’m guessing the two-seater shark uses compressed air mechanism or high powered fans and the Console is placed between the legs, which might seem a little shoddy for some. But then again, there is a fine distinction between a Hover car and a Sports car, so it ought to be compact in its design. It will look comfortable on a Sci-Fi set, but we’ve had enough of that. It’s time we grab one for ourselves!

Maven Moment: Hollywood!!

So I just got back from a great and fruitful trip to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and I have to say I had so much fun. I really did my thing, I went to the best clubs in town and I met a bunch of amazing and focused people like my self. Shout out to Jaiver and Jerry of JL Productions they are running the Hollywood club scene right now. Check out my girl Coco who's music is crazy and my friend D.Love who is a great actor and musician. Last but not least my stylist to the stars friend Malinda is another up and comer in the world wide fashion game. Young Hollywood is really a problem, cats are really on the grind and I have some projects in the pipeline out there as well. Be on the lookout !!

"G"

Quote For Today!

“You can’t ask for what you want unless you know what it is. A lot of people don’t know what they want or they want much less than they deserve. First you have figure out what you want. Second, you have to decide that you deserve it. Third, you have to believe you can get it. And, fourth, you have to have the guts to ask for it.”

-Barbara De Angelis