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Home > Fashion> Beauty > Beautiful and bizarre things to buy: From serious toys to wearable art

Beautiful and bizarre things to buy: From serious toys to wearable art

In this weekly compendium of objects of desire, also a Vanities column by Swapan Seth

Silver jewellery by Lara Morakhia.
Silver jewellery by Lara Morakhia.

Wearable Art: Silver jewellery by Lara Morakhia

In collaboration with Bungalow 8, Morakhia has designed a 56-piece collection of eclectic necklaces, earrings and rings, drawing from themes of royalty, tribal art and architecture. The silver cuff ring is crafted with gold leaves and beads.

At Bungalow 8, Mumbai; Rs41,200.

Serious Toys: VerveLoop + Wireless Bluetooth sports earbuds by Motorola

VerveLoop + Wireless Bluetooth sports earbuds
VerveLoop + Wireless Bluetooth sports earbuds

Super light and designed for high-impact activities, these earbuds can withstand water and sweat and are ideal for intense workouts. They come with a Bluetooth range of up to 150ft so that you can move around easily and stay connected to your device too.

At Amazon.in; Rs3,790.

Dine Right: Kintsu Breakfast Set by Nicobar

Kintsu Breakfast Set

In the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi, ceramics that break or chip are mended with gold, silver or lacquer. The flaw, instead of being hidden, is highlighted as a thing of beauty. Nicobar’s set of three—mug, bowl, plate—is speckled with a hint of gold and red, bringing some Japanese aesthetic to the breakfast table. At Nicobar.com; Rs2,250.

Hot Stand: Kettle Table by Arpan Patel

Kettle Table
Kettle Table

In a tongue-in-cheek marriage of art and design, Arpan Patel combines wood and bronze to create a table setting that’s functional as well as sculptural, bringing in whimsy to the dining area.

At Thehouseofthings.com; Rs1.05 lakh.

Tracking Titles: Love Travel Guides by Fiona Caulfield

Love Travel Guides: By Fiona Caulfield

‘Made In Kolkata’ was the first edition in the series. The second, ’Made In Bengaluru’, a 92-page insider’s guide to the makers of Bengaluru, by authors Fiona Caulfield and Maegan Dobson Sippy, has just been released. Printed on handmade paper, with a Khadi cover, it comes with bookmarks handmade by fashion designer Aneeth Arora’s label péro, and a journal covered in Bengali handloom checks—it’s quite a collectible.

At Lovetravelguides.com; Rs2,000.

Compiled by Komal Sharma and Nitin Sreedhar.

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By Invitation: Vanities

An ode to things you don’t need but must have

Baker-Miller Pink Hoodie

THIS WEEK: Baker-Miller Pink Hoodie by Vollebak

Recently, I have embraced fitness as enthusiastically as Kardashian would embrace plastic. My regimen covers TRX, the Bulgarian Bag and Battle Ropes. Evidently then, one needs to unwind post a vicious workout.

After having cracked the “floating house" idea for Airbnb, twins Nick and Steve Tidball decided to show advertising the middle finger and launch their adventure apparel brand, Vollebak.

The first nugget from them is The Baker-Miller Pink Hoodie. This is not your average Joe jacket. It is the ultimate “ calm down". The hoodie is an experimental, high-performance mid-layer that is designed to activate the part of your nervous system that helps you rest and recover.

But first, the extensive research behind the name. In a series of psychological experiments conducted between 1979-87, it was conclusively proven that by merely spending 15 minutes in a cell painted entirely in a colour named Baker-Miller Pink, the mind would be calmed, the muscles would be tranquillized and the heart rate would slow down. Indeed, the Hoodie works like a private isolation tank. It has a visor made of breathable mesh that allows you to see out but no one to see in. The light coming through the visor simply turns your vision to the same shade of pink.

The hoodie keeps you warm. It is breathable and hydrophobic. Its two large asymmetrical pockets act like slings. Sliding your arms deep into them positions your forearms over the base of your stomach allowing you to track its rise and fall with each breath.

Finally, it comes with its own soundtrack. No, not one of those cheap chill-out monstrosities. The Baker-Miller Soundtrack has been designed to further lull you into luxurious relaxation. Constructed entirely out of the elements of Pink Noise, it acts as a lullaby. Now Pink Noise, as we all don’t know, contains every frequency that the human ear is capable of hearing. You find it in crashing waves, in the sounds of rain falling on a floor and in the sound of wind blowing through the trees. That very same frequency, called 1/f, is found in the currents on an ocean floor and the wobble of the earth’s axis.

The Tidball twins are on to even greater things. They are already manufacturing The 100 Year Hoodie that is designed to outlive all of us. And while you are on www.vollebak.com, check out their Blood Camo T-Shirt.

Vollebak ships to India. The Baker-Miller Pink Hoodie costs $285 (around Rs18,240).

By Swapan Seth, CEO, Equus.

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