Something old, something new, something blue

Old Royal Naval College in front, Canary Wharf behind

A good pattern

The sound of her shoes

Yves Saint Laurent heels with hair details at Selfridres Shoe Galleries

I have a thing for shoes. I was more than delighted to hear that Selfridges, one of my favorite shopping spots in London, has opened a new department called The Shoe Galleries. The galleries consist of several halls with huge variety of shoes. Unfortunately it is only for ladies. I wonder when I will see men's shoe gallery?

Under construction

I spotted this guy on Friday on my building's gate. The terrible wind had torn his net into pieces and he was rebuilding in.

Europe according to Americans?

Picture from Alphadesigner

Bulgarian born and London based graphic designer Yanko Tsvetkov aka Alphadesigner has made interesting maps. He calls them The Geography of Prejudice. All his maps picture Europe from different points of view.

I like his design a lot - simple and fresh, yet witty. See all his maps here.

Cover story

I love this cover of Financial Times' Business Education issue.

A design classic

Fo some mysterious reason I am intrigued by matchboxes. They are nothing fancy or ultramodern, but nor are the products inside them. Actually it has proven to be difficult to find traditional matches these days as every kiosk and supermarket sells lighters. Now I got a box of Swan Vesta matches into my hands. The design is timeless, purely simple with classic and vibrant colors. I like!

Trend spotting

Military camouflage patterns are a big thing this autumn/winter season in fashion. I am not the biggest fan. My favorite is the third picture.

A weekend bag from Trussardi 1911

A 24h bag from Prada

A tree from Green Park

Weekend patterns

Pope in London

The Young Ones

Pictures from bbc.co.uk

Maybe I have become middle-aged, but I love BBC One's series The Young Ones. I have been nailed in front of my telly every evening this week to watch it. It is an innovative series where six British senior celebrities are put in a house for a week.

The house where they live is a replica from the 1970's, from the time when these people used to be most active and in their bloom. In their olden days they have become a bit crumpy and less fit. The house is an experiment to see if the 'housemates' become more active and gain back some their energy if they live in a place that looks like their former homes in the 70's.

The housemates also have all kinds of tasks to do that courage them to be more active. Only on the second day in the house the former celebs did things they had been avoiding to do in their normal life. I am eager to see how the rest of the week goes.

The series has an important message. It is never too late to start exercising and being healthy, but it is better to start it today. And most importantly, it is not good to be alone. One stays in better shape both mentally and physically when being among friends and family.

Bauhaus

Berlin is the home of Bauhaus style. Bauhaus is my favorite design approach with its functionality and simplicity. In fact, most of the current day design and architecture is more or less based on Bauhaus principles. It is fantastic how the principles from the early 1900's still influence the design today. Even the Nazis could not destroy the movement's legacy. Less is truly more as one can see from the Stadtmitte U-bahn station sign - it is pure Bauhaus. A perfect place to find out more about this style is to visit Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin.

Colorful gods

My visit to Berlin last weekend would not have been complete without visiting one of Berlin's most interesting museums, The Pergamon Museum. I have been there many times, but still it has something new to offer on every visit.

This time there was a micro exhibition called Colorful Gods. It showcased reproductions of ancient statues that were painted unlike we have used to see them before. Most of the found ancient Greek and Roman statues are white or they have only pale traces of paint. The ancient colors have faded away in many cases because the colors used in ancient times were organic and sand and water have made their best to polish the colors away. With modern technology it has been possible to trace back the colors that were originally used. It was fascinating to see the statues, although reproductions, in color instead of black and white. One could feel the ancient times coming back to life.

Berlin patterns

A color palette

A scary sign

Umbrellas

Umbrellas seem to be on trend. A while ago a posted pictures of an umbrella installation in Helsinki. Now I saw same kind of installation in the Hermés' New Bond Street store display window. Maybe it is the autumn.

On the tracks

Interior of platform area at London Paddington Station

Ceiling structures of London Paddington Station

Building patterns

A niche

This sign in Chelsea brought a smile on my face. A car repair workshop specializing on Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. Sounds a bit niche, but I guess there is demand for it in Chelsea.

Airline ad

Enjoyment. Glory. Achievement. With these words China Eastern airline advertises its flat bed seats. This would never happen with a western airline - although the words might describe the inner feelings of the passengers flying in upper class. I guess it is the Chinese straightforwardness.

Value for money

I had a dinner yesterday at a Japanese restaurant called Aki along Gray's Inn Road in Clerkenwell that is part of the London Borough of Islington. The restaurant is cozy and it has a feeling of a small alley restaurant in Kyoto. They serve a variety of Japanese dishes and have menus that give best value for one's money. We tried Aki Special Course Menu that offered surprisingly wide variety of dishes at only £46.50 for two. That is really a bargain when compared to YoSushi's prices. Another plus is the friendly and attentive service. The place is perfect just the way it is. I hope they will not change a thing.

Baklava

I have recently paid many visits to a Lebanese restaurant called Maroush Express along Edgware Road. Their Mediterranean dishes are extremely good and portions big. As a crown to each dinner they offer Ottoman dessert baklava. I love it. And just around the corner from the restaurant there is a Lebanese supermarket selling baklava. Last night I only did window shopping, maybe more next time...