December 2011

Holiday Cookies (and have a Merry Christmas)

December 24, 2011

I’m not much good with the whole shaped and decorated cookie thing, but I still get into the holiday spirit in a roundabout way. My concession to Christmas cookies this year was to make Chocolate Cherry cookies from a recipe by “Mr. Chocolate” himself (Jacques Torres) that I found in the book, ‘One Sweet Cookie‘ [...]

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Playing Hooky: White Rabbit Cacao, Muffins and Saul Bass

December 17, 2011

Instead of working on a Luxury & Fashion News post today, I instead took some time away from the news front to sample some New Zealand artisan bean to bar chocolate, bake some muffins, and read the Saul Bass book I bought myself for Christmas. 1.) White Rabbit Cacao: One thing I miss about not [...]

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Luxury & Fashion Biz News: December 9th, 2011 (Art & Artisan, Dior vs. the star designer system, and What is luxury anyway?)

December 10, 2011

1.) The Artisan Craft Revival Influences the World of Fine Art: “Artisanal techniques, once deemed the opposite of cool, are making their way back into art fairs and galleries, particularly in Europe. Dedicated spaces and university programs are contributing to the renewed recognition of these trades — albeit with modern twists and messages — while [...]

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Here Comes Santa Claus: The 2011 Edition (Pt 3)

December 6, 2011

In Part 1 we covered ideas for Food gifts, in Part 2 it was all about the Sparklies, and now for Part 3, it’s time to do a run-down of some hopefully intriguing small brand, artisan crafted, upcycled, repurposed or maybe just plain left-of-center stuff that might be *perfectly* perfect for the person on your [...]

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Here Comes Santa Claus: The 2011 Edition (Pt 2)

December 2, 2011

So now that Part 1: Food Fight! is dispatched and out of the way, we can concentrate on the meat and potatoes of holiday gift giving guides — Sparklies! *NOTE 1: You know how I mentioned in Part 1 that I can’t see a pot of jam on a store shelf without thinking of “Six [...]

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