doc by clei - modern beds series #1

*this is the first in the series of articles featuring odd but creatively designed modern beds

doc isn't for "doctor" nor is it a short form of "document." rather, doc refers to a super sleek sofa bed from clei, with a technological edge. basically, it is a sofa that can turn into a bunk bed via a special patented mechanism. safety wasn't overlooked in the design of this smart stylish bed as it is complete with a supporting side ladder and protection guard for safety. not only is the sofa bed the epitome of "cup of red", it is practical for small spaces like dorm rooms. the small space can be transformed into hangout space or sleeping space with just a flip. with doc, you no longer have to "pull out" the bed when a visitor is over, instead you will "pull up" the bed.

*all photos courtesy of clei

*where you can learn more about doc from clei: http://www.clei.co.uk/clei/doc.htm

- cup of red

twilight, schmwilight - a review of "Twilight"

by guest writer: Tian Jiang

*DISCLAIMER: I have never read any of the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer, nor do I ever intend to – I was dragged to see the movie with my girlfriend. Consider this review invalid, if you feel that the movie should be reviewed by a fan of the book, as after all it is an adaptation. Spoilers alert!


If you’re a fan, a girl, or a fangirl, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Twilight. If you’re anybody else, don’t go.

The first question to any adaptation of an existing literary work is going to be, “is the movie faithful to the novel”? Well, my girlfriend read all the books, and she liked the movie. So, there you go. I can then tell you that Twilight the movie will probably be enjoyed by fans of the book; but really, that sentence could also be stated “Twilight will probably be enjoyed by fans of Twilight”, a piercing insight I’m sure I don’t have to explain further. If you were a fan of the books you can probably stop reading this right here.

For the rest of you, let’s move on.

The plot of Twilight is fairly straightforward. Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart), the new girl in town falls in love with mysterious and attractive Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson), who tries unsuccessfully to not love her. He saves her from danger several times with his superpowers, so she starts asking questions. After an anticlimactic identity reveal and some decidedly non-sexual intimacy, they seem to get along with each others’ families (Bella’s dad is divorced, while Edward’s adopted in a clan of vampires). Just when they were set to be the hot item at the school prom, a hastily introduced villain threatens Bella’s life, and Edward saves her. Cue happy ending and a sequel setup.

Twilight is a teen life drama through and through. Sure, they tossed in a couple of immortal 17-year old superhumans, but all the typical elements are there: high school setting, something different about our protagonist, dysfunctional family life, prom dance, forbidden love, a handsome and inexplicably single guy, no sex, the emotional range of a pink piece of balsa wood, and enough angst to drown in.

There is even a scene where Bella and her girl friends pick out prom dresses. I guess the part where they discuss Johnny Depp while painting each others’ toenails was cut out but will be included in the DVD. The director, Catherine Hardwicke actually had to periodically throw in scenes of people getting attacked to remind the viewers that there are vampires in this movie.

Also, remember that Asian comic-relief guy, Justin Chon, from the movie, 21? He’s back, cast as an Asian comic relief guy – Eric Yorkie.

Action scenes and set pieces look low budget. There’s little character development because the time span of the movie is 4 months of events condensed into 2 hours. Supporting characters are
predictably one-dimensional, while the main characters have scarcely more depth. Literally nothing in this movie is anything to write home about—except maybe the male lead, who is apparently super sexy. The female lead meanwhile looks like an angsty Youtube vlogger (video blogger), obliterating the last reason for a guy to watch this.

So it’s a bad movie, I guess. But then, it’s bad in such a way that it can’t really be faulted. You can see through occasional witty dialogue and the lack of overacting (except for the Asian guy, I guess) that the director tried her best to work with the material at hand. I can’t rail against the movie because I honestly don’t care that much—it doesn’t tickle my happy places, but it doesn’t punch me in the face either.

When I sat down to write this review, I was prepared to deliver at least 1000 words of bile and jokes. As you can see I have failed in that endeavor; the movie is a big uniform pile of “ehhh”. Not recommendable on any grounds but the obvious one, but not enough of an assault on sensibilities to provoke a negative reaction, either. Since I didn’t pay for my ticket—or the large drink and nachos—I can’t even pull the “what a waste of money” card.

*where you can learn more about Twilight: http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

-cup of red

murder, merder - duran, VFW tees night part 4

*all photos courtesy of Eugene Flores (http://www.highendphotography.ca/)

Duran’s “merder tees” spiced up the tees night. from the name, you can probably induce that the theme is about the subject of murder. the show began with a projection of a jumble fuzzy old school black box tv screen where images of prominent people who were assassinated were shown. large graphic prints of the famously murdered such as Lady Diana, Kennedy and twin towers were creatively splashed across the Duran’s tees. there was a shirt printed with Martin Luther King Jr. that had a caption of “I Had a Dream.” when asked about that quote, the designer said that it is “had” not “have” because MLK Jr. is dead now, so it’s past tense. each of these t-shirts are sold in a forensic inspection bag and $5 of each sale goes to a unique charity related to the murdered person on the tshirt. for example, the $5 proceed from the 9/11 tee will be donated to the fire fighters fund. the designer, the models and most importantly the t-shirts was full of character, extremely edgy and dangerously fun. Duran in, merder mystery out!

*where you can view more of Eugene Flores’ work: http://www.highendphotography.ca/
-cup of red

"meh" - RU Style, VFW tees night part 3

R U in Style?
*all photos courtesy of Eugene Flores (http://www.highendphotography.ca/)

there isn’t much to say about RU Style as that their t-shirts and their show were mostly forgettable. RU Style’s t-shirts contained elaborate prints like spades, virgin mary, rock and roll roses and golden tigers. they felt too much like Ed Hardy wannabes. however, there was one shirt that was memorable - a male tee imprinted with a Chinese take-out box with a caption of “take me out” followed by a phone number. there were some BeBe-like hoodies that shouted out “R U Style” with huge imprinted logos.

male photographers whistled on a model who strutted her stuff down the runway in nothing but a hoodie and black tights. isn’t it a underlying fashion rule that wearing tights alone is a definite fashion crime? certainly, it’s unarguable that these shirts are practical and wearable, but there was a shortness of creativity. otherwise, thanks to the models for adding some interest to the show with their often unique poses to make up for the more or less unmemorable designs.

*where you can view more of Eugene Flores’ work: http://www.highendphotography.ca/

-cup of red

"slingshots, body tattoos, ripped jeans and the american flag" - pacific thorn, VFW tees night part 2

*all photos courtesy of Eugene Flores (http://www.highendphotorgraphy.ca/)

a man and a woman walked out the runway in rough torn jeans and bear feet. the woman was in a ripped shirt revealing her elaborate tattoos while the man wore nothing but a small grey scarf around his neck. they bent down and picked up a wooden box that was hidden in the centre of the runway. like robots they walked silently to the end of the runway, sat down and opened the box. in it were books, a slingshot, pencils and a chalkboard. they started ripping out pages of the books and threw the crumpled pieces in the air…

ok…wait a moment! they’re not the models. spectators looked back and there was a model who came strutting out with a graphic tee by Pacific Thorn. unlike Alpha Ursus, the t-shirts for females were fitted to show off curves on the body. there were a few side-fringed mini shirt dresses which desperately called for shorts or tights…

the man sitting at the front of the runway started to aimlessly shoot elastic bands in the air with his huge sling shot. the woman coarsely made out the letters of “PACIFITHORN” on the mini chalkboard.

wait…the show wasn’t about them…on the men’s side were casual graphic tees in black, greys and dull greens. all the models had on the signature pinhole ripped jeans creating random constellation-like patterns…

now it’s the man turn to carve the brand’s name on the board while the woman marked up a torn notebook with her pencil. more crumpled paper and elastic bands flew around in the air as the audience members gasped in disbelief and winced for their safety’s sake.

BAM! a model came out in a pleated skirt made from the glorious American flag, but what? on top, she was wearing nothing but a life jacket created from the same flag - God save America from the economic crisis? “maybe she should’ve worn one of those nude leotards to cover up her breasts” someone whispered. the mascot model didn’t care, she lifted her fingers and made a cute peace sign to the confused photographers – peace to America?


the woman and the man packed up their items and slammed the box shut. they silently carried the box down the runway as their bear feet brushed the ground.

the inspiration for Pacific Thorn's show was Atlantis.


ps. i was just as confused.

*where you can view more of Eugene Flores’ work: http://www.highendphotography.ca/

-cup of red

"i'm a hipster!" - alpha ursus, vfw tees day part 1

*all photos courtesy of Eugene Flores (http://www.highendphotography.ca/)

“life should be cute, playful and very very sexy”

inspired from the ursa major constellation, the mother bear has been brought down from the heavens and imprinted on to t-shirts as alpha ursus. alpha ursus is a street ware graphic apparel company whose t-shirts looks like they were composed of two entirely separate shirts divided by a slant at one shoulder. spectators were hit again and again by the bold solid coloured bear logos on graphic tees and hoodies. hipster models walked down the runway with their nerdy plastic neon shades, skinny jeans and keffiyeh scarves which were wrapped around the models’ bodies in every place possible. oddly, there was a model wearing an intrinsic black scarf with black stilletos who’d seemed out of place from the collection if it weren’t the Ursus hoodie she was wearing. the tees weren’t cute or sexy and only arguably playful because of the neon glasses. maybe a more suitable motto for the collection would have been “life should be like a hipster’s.”

by the way, check out some interesting articles on hipsters ("fuck hipsters" - http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=5495) and the keffiyeh scarves ("the keffiyeh kerfuffle" - http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=5501) from The Ubyssey.

*where you can view more of Eugene Flores' work: http://www.highendphotography.ca/

-cup of red

superhuman - johan lorbeer

a man is hanging in mid-air with only one hand on the wall. would you call it an emergency? or would you call it art? Johan Lorbeer is a German artist who dazzles the world with his "still life" art installations. he's been seen hanging off public walls of germany and egypt where he seemingly defies gravity. there are no strings attached to the artists body nor any platform for him to stand on. dare to even walk underneath his levitated body. his most famous installations are ""proletarian mural" and "tarzan." this isn't street magician David Blaine's levitation trick anymore. Lorbeer becomes a still life structure, a sculpture - he is his own art piece. don't be surprised if we see the superhuman hanging off the the walls of downtown one day.

*where you can learn more about johan lorbeer: http://www.johanlorbeer.com/

-cup of red

seriously? vancouver fashion week?

*photo courteosy of Eugene Flores (http://www.highendphotography.ca/)

hastings and cordova…does that ring a alarm as the most sketchiest area in town? now walk into a woodworking studio that still has metal rods and machinery lying around. add an irregularly shaped runway carved out of a 120 year old tree with a rumpled white projection screen as a backdrop. surrounding the runway are old pieces of yaletown serving as makeshift benches for media and those lucky few who managed to steal a seat. otherwise, bystanders who paid the $25 admission fee were left huddling together near a garage door opening that invited the chilly november wind. 'tis the dunlevy studio - host of vancouver fashion week spring/summer '09.

right, right, you say that Vancouver is supposed to an eco-friendly city that’s one with mother nature. yes, we should recycle, reuse and not burn fossil fuels. sounds good on paper, but does that mean we have to host a poorly planned fashion week in a warehouse venue?

and the models. it’s true that there are many unhealthily skinny models nowadays, but some of the vfw’s models were flabby or overly buffed with poor catwalks. don’t expect to see many of them gracing the pages of vogue or runways of Milan anytime soon. at the least, they could’ve put the flabbier models in looser clothing… fashion week is supposed to about everything glam and beautiful – that includes the runway and the models.

at least the shows and collections were pretty decent to make up for the rest of it. look out for highlights from the t-shirt collection themed shows in the following days.



*where you can view more of Eugene Flores' work: http://www.highendphotography.com/



-cup of red

pot, porn, baseball and trains - hot box turns 2!

pot, porn, baseball and trains – that’s what hotbox accessories is about. november 7th was hotbox’s birthday bash marking their second anniversary of raciness on main st. the boutique was founded by Kameyo Melina and Brenda Mcguire who wanted to keep main st. fresh and hot with its sexy accessories, legwear and underwear. a larger-than-life print of a sexy abs-racked male model seduces customers at the entrance while flirty pink underwear invites you to put a smile on. there’s fur, lace, golf caps and even nipple coverings. and for the not so rowdy crowd, hot box also offers beautiful unique hand crafted jewellery for your timid soul. these are all products of local and Canadian designers so that the hot little secrets are kept all in the family. hotbox runs on an ethical policy which includes seeking out fashion made of sustainable fabrics and donating to vancouver charities and art groups. look out everyone, hotbox is here to push some buttons to keep main st. on the edge!

*where you can learn more about hotbox: http://www.hotboxbc.com/index.php

-cup of red

next door style

*olie designs

*all photos courteosy of martin prihoda from lumondo photography (http://www.lumondo.com/)

flip through the pages of vogue, fashion, W or any of the glossy fashion magazines and we are bombarded with large name labels like LV, prada, gucci and more. their opulence fulfills our fashion savvy spirit like candy for our eyes. but have you thought of your neighbours? maybe they are also the creators of unique, beautiful and wearable items. this is why Vanessa Fors founded the grassroots organization called “next door style” which shines the spotlight on local fashion and jewellery designers found next door. Like most of us, she thought she knew all the local designers as a children’s wear designer herself, but there’s really more creativeness in the city than one could imagine. “next door style” is an chic online store which invites designers and consumers to connect together in one central hub. true that there are online “esty stores”, but in it, vancouver’s creative bunch soon become lost in a sea of international designers. instead, “next door style” is focused on vancouver’s fashion with an assortment of designers in accessories, sports, native wear and more. with its current representation of 16 local artists, such as jolie mack accessories, olie designs and nixxi, the site is rapidly growing since its founding only a mere four weeks ago.

*jolie mack designs

as a BCIT marketing student and self-made designer, Fors understands the struggles of being a designer and the need of having a business sense in the competitive market. in filling the need, “next door style” helps market vancouver designers as a whole and foster their growth by offering weekly business tips sent to their email inbox. the current goal is to increase brand recognition and customer reach in the local scene, but with potential exposure to the international market.

*jolie couture

the launch party at the hip Raw Canvas showed tremendous local support to the cause. when asked why she chose Raw Canvas as the venue for “next door style’s” launch party, Fors thought it represented the unity of art and design. with live music in the air, attendees were invited to try their hand at painting on the canvas while mingling with the designers. a resident artist of Raw Canvas, Jillmarie Stokes was seen painting away at her abstract tears for cherry blossom. although there were “next door style” based fashion photos from Martin Prihoda and scarce display of some designers’ items, the party would have been even more outstanding if there was larger showcase of the designers creations. perhaps in the future we should look out for a possible “next door style” fashion show! ending on a good note, all donations from the night are going to Art’s Umbrella to foster creativity in the young.

*where you can learn more about “next door style”: http://www.nextdoorstyle.com/

*where you can view more of martin prihoda's work: http://www.lumondo.com/

*where you can view jillmarie stokes work: http://www.paintingsbyjillmarie.blogspot.com/

-cup of red

obakki

tucked in the little corner of gastown, obakki is an international design house offering “rustic luxury” garments without the fuss. the clothing is all made in vancouver, canada with great attention to superior craftsmanship and details. run your hands through the material and you’ll see why it is so. the boutique itself is a restful meditative place with solid woods, white orchids and matching modern chandeliers. as you look through the racks of clothing, you’ll notice the unfinished wooden clothes hanger imprinted with the house’s signature. on the opposite side of the garnment wall, the house offers a tea and tonic bar which offers herbs incorporated fruit beverages with traditional chinese medicine in mind. obakki’s has not created just a trendy clothing boutique but a lifestyle clearly reflecting west coast chic.

founded by Treana Peake, obakki’s concept is to bring emerging canadian designers up to an global level and it has done just that. their spring/ summer collection ’09 preview brought in a crowd from all different backgrounds and even representatives from Fashion Television. the female collection was true to its original concept with soft and light laid-back structured dresses in solid neutrals. here and there were strong oranges and blues, but the collection overall was very streamlined towards neutrality, comfort and luxury. although much smaller, the male collection featured tailored jackets and knee high shorts with similar palette of colours. no matter how hard one tries to search for faults in obakki, whether in their clothing or their image in general, there really isn’t any – except maybe that the boutique is a little too small for a crowd of 70.

*where you can learn more about obakki: http://obakki.com/
*where you can visit obakki: 44 water st., gastown, vancouver

-cup of red

bon chic, bon genre - BCBG Max Azria

a few years ago, the little BCBG store on Robson St. was the heaven for prom queens and princess. i still remember that day when i gawked at this oversized magenta gown made purely of feathers. those days of BCBG are no longer here, this American brand has revived itself of butterflies and cotton candy with chic sophisticated city wear. the newly refurbished boutique featured a natural backdrop of polished stones and wood paneled floors. accents of neon drew attention to featured items such as a peculiar shoe or hat. the clothes carried a neutral palette throughout with shaded blues, purples and reds. there were still dresses dotting the upper floor, but they were for the sophisticated woman out in town. as the first designer to ever produce three unique shows and collections at the New York fashion week, Max Azria’s designs are flaunted in a small collection of runway garments in the store. BCBG is now truly living up to its name of “bon chic, bon genre” – good style, good attitude.

*where you can view BCBG's collection: http://www.bcbg.com/