2010/08/09

Rococo - 洛可可

設計也有風格之分, 例如後現代(Post modernism), 巴洛克(Baroque), Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Hi-tech, Neo-classicism...等等, 但總離不開古典(Classic)與現代(Modern)兩個大範圍. 而在十八世紀文藝復興時代(註1), 不同的設計風格在歐洲甚延至美國更是百花齊放.也許你會說這與我們有什麽關係呢? 

事實上我們生活在現今所接觸到的, 不論是建築丶時裝丶手飾、音樂、繪畫丶雕塑丶室內裝飾品丶家具、各種生活產品等...都受到這些設計風格所影響. 只是設計師巧妙地把當時的風格元素放入現代的設計罷了.                                                                              
我們是Cocoa Design Life, 當然是先介紹十七世紀"洛可可風格- Rococo" 一個具有古典裝飾性, 卻又不失實用及舒適的設計風格.

What's next?

火車上前往日本長野
It's not a problem for us to relax inside a train because we know what is the next station and what is our destination. But in our life, we always have the same question : What's next?

It is normal, say, for a student to start working in a company after graduate; an adult to get marry after dating and find his loved; to start a new job after quit the existing one; to be promoted after dedicating to a company for a certain years...but sometimes the next page of our life can be unexpected and out of our plan.

Relationship between friends/ lovers can be broken when both gets to know each other more,  instead of becoming steady and closer. No more job is waiting for us due to our age issue after quit the existing one; our dream that make us to work so hard day by day, hour after hour, cannot be achieved & suspended due to the sudden health attack, but the goal is nearly there, so close...all should not happen in our next step, there must be something wrong ?! And what's next, what shall we do?

Take a break -  I will say, then ready to face for another day. Life is the meaning of "happening", full of surprise no matter you enjoy it or not, if everything are well planned and happen as it is scheduled, what we've experience will only be a story of another person, not the life of our own - the unique creature in this planet.



2010/08/06

Internet without boundary ?!

I am starting a Chinese blog in this few weeks talking about Design Life, you may know it is always been a difficult decision for me to blog in Chinese or English, I prefer using latter as it is more international, meaning more people can have a chance to read what I wrote. But during the research, I've finally discovered that, Internet world are not always connected in some countries, like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Japan.

Besides of the political reason, it will be the language and cultural difference. Most of the bloggers in H.K. & Taiwan blogging in Yahoo (Chinese) instead of Blogger, we have only 1-2 active forums here, even worst than Taiwan. China condition is self explanatory, whereas Japan has their own specific language...that's why, as those experience bloggers said " we need to do a lot of work behind for the exposure of our blogs", or even MORE in Asian world.

I had an experience while scrolling blogs randomly, the first visit was my last because the author was so frustrated to continue blogging due to no or less followers/ readers. I feel sad and hope they can continue after recovery. 

Internet world makes our life so difference and it is affecting our emotion, too. We feel the joy and sad of others, no matter they are true or not; when you find others is working hard for their living or life, you gain energy,too; but if someone quit, you feel the "pain".

There are so much time and effort we need to dedicate into our blog world, is it worth at the end? I can hear from you...definitely, yes! At least I am sure it will be a learning experience in our life to share and to hear.

O.K. finally, if you do have interest to view our Cocoa Design Life, be my guest. But I didn't put a translator there because it is not working in Cantonese (hopefully I can find a better one in future), just let me know if you what to understand any of it, I will translate it manually and re-post here for you. No matter how, your click will be my treasure, thank you all.


2010/08/03

新產品 - Milliken Fretwork Collections

Milliken Fretwork Collections
Image from Contract Magazine
最近從雜誌看到Milliken有新系列的方塊地毡名為Fretwork Collections. 

從廣告上看似顏色不怎樣吸引, 但從圖案的設計及製作上, 肯定是精準、較含蓄和耐看, 比起已往用於辦公室系列的設計來得細緻及高雅. 用在會客室或接待處也是一個不錯的選擇.


由於產品仍然是頗新, 如果要多一點資料, 便要向Milliken查詢了.

http://www.millikencontract.com 



創意無限- 日本Tokyu Hands (下)

上回題到的日本 Tokyu Hands, 其實己經於2003年在本土以外登陸......
我一直希望是香港, 但可能是我們的 DIY 土壤不夠肥沃, 所以她們還是選擇了在台灣開設第一間海外分店,
名為:台隆手創館.
Tokyu Hands website

2010/08/02

做個設計師(下)

上回談了一些關於做設計師要考慮的狀况, 你可能會發覺我所說的是圍繞着一個室內設計師而言, 其實除了工作範圍會因應個別設計類型而有所分別之外, 大家所面對的壓力和困難也是大同小異的, 所以我還是以比較熟識的一行作為範本.

準備好了嗎?

City on the rock

Building on the slope in Chongqing

Chongqing is one of the most special city in Sichuan Province of China that I've ever visited.

In Summer, it is so hot up to 40 degree C, as what people said it is one of the "Three Furnaces" in China; but in Winter & early Spring, it is cold and humid, so damp that everywhere are covered up by a sheer of fog, so it is also know as the "Fog Capital".
 
I had a chance to visit it in both seasons, although it was only a one day business trip, I loved this city, what I've saw were so unforgettable.

There was only 20 minutes distance from airport to downtown (by taxi), very convenience; the first picture I've saw after leaving the airport was a highway on Jialing River, the highway was running in a South to North direction, where the river was from East to West. I had an amazing experience during the dry season, when the water level was so low that I barely saw the river bed and then while looking outside from the window, I discovered that the river was in a valley shape, so deep and I ...together with the taxi was so tiny...Wow! this was the "craftsmanship of nature".

Not a second, we were in the entrance of the Fog Capital, the buildings of downtown were almost right in front of us, but suddenly they all vanished...and appeared again...and vanished. I knew, we were in Sichuan now, where lots of mysterious stories created here, then a music tune of "X-file" appeared in my head.

My taxi driver brought me to reality...I reached Hilton Hotel, it was located in a commercial area along the mountain slope.  Yes! there were mountains everywhere, what I've saw the residential building around us, they were constructed on the hill slope, so interesting and special; if compared with those modern high rise, these were more harmonize to this city.

To keep this post short, I have to stop by telling you the "morning walk in the mist" in the morning after breakfast, must do and don't rush. They are definitely the best "distilled water" for our mind after a busy day. Hope you can feel all these one day, trust me, an unforgettable experience that can't be expressed in my text.