The chattering classes may have deemed John Lewis’s seasonal effort a fail but here’s Banana Republic showing that it is possible to create a Christmas campaign that is unashamedly consumerist yet fantastically festive. Featuring the lovely Karen Elson and the (even lovelier?) Andrew Cooper, the campaign was shot by Carter Smith and depicts a Christmas to covet. And there’s no bastardised Smiths tune to assault the ears either. Bravo
Argentinian photographer Irina Werning has produced a second series of her famous Back to the Future portraits which recreate childhood photos with the subjects as adults. Some of the first series are also included below in case you missed them first time around. The images are unnervingly exact in recreating the original, often period, details. To some the pictures may be melancholic but ultimately they are heartwarming; people change less than
These signs could be a thing of the past if CLOO, a new phone app, takes off. On first reading you wonder if it might be a spoof but eventually the world could become your toilet if Hilary Young and Deanna McDonald of CLOO get the investment they are looking for. Social networking is taken to new levels as people register to allow others in their city to use their bathroom.
The latest pointless yet weirdly compelling meme sweeping Reddit and the rest of the internet is the money face mash up. Images posted from all around the world using a range of currencies show how unchanging and stateless the human face is. They are also quite funny.
The beautiful building dancing (video below) is by Project Bandaloop, a San Francisco-based dance company founded by Amelia Rudolph. Their repertoire includes natural landmarks such as Yosemite as well as very tall buildings around the world. Their new show, Boundless was premiered in San Francisco in September 2011 and included parts of the dance, Caprice which is filmed below and which was first shown at Orange County Center. "Caprice" OCPAC from
One of the many revelations of the internet has been the fact that Americans are better at nerdy humour than the Brits. Curated by Jason Oberholttzer, I Love Charts is a collection of graphs, pies and diagrams which at first glance look perfectly respectable and possibly even informative. Closer inspections shows that they are nothing of the sort. They are funny though. Ben Greenman, who devised most of the charts
If the literary internet resembles the school playground – and it does – McSweeney’s is the class wit who’s got all the answers and is ready for cocktails while you’re still learning to tie your shoelaces. Launched by novelist Dave Eggers in 1998 as a literary journal dedicated to rejected work, McSweeneys is now a sort of alternative publishing empire with a loyal subscriber base and a strong independent bookstore
After forty years of being represented by men; favourably by good friend David Hockney in Mrs and Mrs Clark and Percy (above), and later, less flatteringly in ex-husband, Ossie Clark’s diaries, designer Celia Birtwell is publishing her own story. She chose style writer, Dominic Lutyens to help write about her life and work. In a refreshing contrast to the current trend in autobiographies she has avoided sensational revelations and has
When, seven years ago, Grace Bonney fired up her computer to start tapping out thoughts about her passion for design, the mighty, opinion-forming blog did not exist and people still sought their ideas and inspiration from print media and television. Soon however Bonney, a southern belle of exquisite sensibilities sharpened by a little New York grit, had attracted – Pied Piper like – an avid following eager to take part
Postcard above: Image by photographer, Mickey Smith and text by writer, John Lamb. Abe's Penny is a micro-magazine which combines the brevity of the digital age with the charm of the 19th century. Two hundred years ago novels were mailed to readers in instalments. Abe's Penny, an art and literary journal on a postcard is mailed to readers four times a month. Each month's issue is a collaboration between writer