Category: WOW

There are always outliers in nature—anomalies that don’t seem real. The all-white reindeer is one oddity that takes you by surprise because it’s a far cry from the creature’s typical dark-brown fur. One of these elusive caribou, antlers and all, was recently spotted roaming Malå, Sweden in early September. Redditor nlsoy posted the picture of the colorless reindeer on the side of the road, but this is a serendipitous spotting—this variation is very rare.

The cause of the all-white fur could be from a genetic mutation that strips the pigmentation from the hair. Despite the lack of color, this creature is not an albino because it doesn’t have red eyes—a tell-tale characteristic. Nsloy’s post, rather, showcases an enchanting creature who perfectly blends in with the snow. Check out some more of these magical-seeming caribou, below.

Above photo source: Reddit

Photo source: MooseOnTheLoose

Photo credit: Martin Jendrichowski

Photo credit: Hamid Sardar-Afkhami

via [Twisted Sifter, reddit]

Edie Simms is a stand-up citizen of St. Louis, Missouri. She has volunteered for the past few years at the Five Star Senior Center, creating and donating handmade eyeglass cases, pillows, and scarves for the center’s residents. So why in the world was such a wonderful woman like Simms arrested by the St. Louis Police Department last Friday? Because she asked for it… literally.

Like most people, the 102-year-old has kept a running bucket list of all the things she wants to do before she dies. However, her list had one very unusual item that was yet to be done—get arrested and ride in a police car. One of the volunteers at the Senior Center happened to have a friend who was a police officer, and passed the request along. It wasn’t long before the police department offered Simms the opportunity to check this unusual wish off her bucket list by sending a police cruiser to put on a show for the senior residents. Simms was overjoyed at the chance to not only ride in the speedy sirening mobile, but to also wear handcuffs for the first time. She showed them off proudly, holding them up to the windows so all could see.

Once she was inside the Senior Center, Simms played bingo with residents and gave everybody some of her homemade goodies. It was a special day for everyone, even the police officers. “We love doing [these types of things] and we get more out of it than the seniors do,” Sgt. John McLaughlin of the St. Louis Police Department told KPLR 11. More importantly, Simms can now cross off one more item on her list of “things experienced” in this life, proving that you’re never too old to keep trying new things as long as you enjoy the ride—handcuffs and all.

Simms was such a good criminal—she was even given an honorary St. Louis Police cap.  

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7h7QqwkA_E?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=750&h=480]

via [Bored Panda, Reddit]

All images via ABC News.

Philadelphia-based artisans Margaux and Walter Kent create tiny-yet-functional books that you can wear around your neck. Through their shop Peg and Awl, the husband-and-wife team hand-tear and hand-stitch the intricate miniature texts and line them with reclaimed leather covers worn soft from age. The result is a playful and rustic accessory that you can proudly display and really use. Now, your next great idea won’t go unwritten because you’ll always have a piece of paper handy.

Peg and Awl offers three sizes of books to hang off their 19-inch necklace chains. The smallest measures at just over half an inch tall while the largest is one and a quarter inches in height. These incredible formats are in line with the couple’s overall design philosophy and aesthetic. “Our work is made from olde things,” they explain, continuing “…cut and pulled and built into wearable curiosities, inscribable keepsakes and useable, long-lasting treasures.”

These accessories, along with conventionally-sized handmade books, are available through the Peg and Awl Etsy shop.

Peg and Awl: Website | Etsy | Facebook | Instagram
via [My Modern Met Selects]

Acclaimed Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola is celebrated for her eye-catching aesthetic and modern approach to interiors. Recently, she has collaborated with cc-tapis, a manufacturer of handmade rugs based in Milan, to create Visioni, a gorgeous series of unique rugs. 

Reminiscent of reimagined De Stijl masterpieces, the striking pieces—named Visioni A and Visioni B—are each formed by identical, geometric shapes and bold, black lines. The twin rugs differ only in color scheme and, even still, feature similar palettes of subdued tones and splashes of red. Each rug has an asymmetrical, abstract silhouette, giving it an undeniably avant-garde feel. The fascinating forms allude to the designer’s architectural—and experimental—eye, as they play with perspective to imply a sense of three-dimensionality. 

Hand-made in Nepal by Tibetan artisans, the beautiful rugs are crafted in both silk and Himalayan wool. Using this “new approach to the traditional method,” cc-tapis manufactures rugs that, like Urquiola’s oeurvre, add a modern feel to a timeless art form.

Visioni A

Visioni B

Visioni A (silk)

Visioni B (silk)

Patricia Urquiola: Website 
via [Design Milk]

All images via Lorenzo Gironi. 

Just north of Acapulco, in Juluchuca, Mexico, the Playa Viva sustainable resort has unveiled a treehouse suite surrounded by lush palms. Taking sustainable vacationing to another level, the bilevel, beachfront treehouse sprawls over 700 square feet and was designed by Deture Culsign. The firm aimed to “visually intrigue and highlight sustainable strategies to deliver a natural immersive guest experience.” To that end the treehouse, which was completed in just six months from initial design meeting to first guest checkin, is made of bamboo with electricity and hot water provided by solar power.

The concept of the design is for guests to experience indoor and outdoor living within one seamless space. The locally sourced wood blends into the surroundings, with an open air sitting room and private bathroom located on the ground floor. The ceiling of the bathroom is intentionally curved away, opening up to the sky and creating an outdoor shower sensation. The upper sleeping area, or perch, contains a king bed and two person hammock—perfect for gazing out the open cylinder onto the private beach. 

Guests are asked to leave their inhibitions behind, embracing the au naturel vibe of the treehouse, which was built by California-based Artistree. The suite can sleep three people with prices ranging from $445 to $620, depending on the season, meals, and yoga classes included. The resort itself sits on 200 acres and includes an estuary, an Aztec archeological site, turtle sanctuary, and a coastal forest and mangrove ecosystem which supports an array of wildlife.  

Above image via Playa Viva

Image via Playa Viva

Image via The Cubic Studio

Image via The Cubic Studio

  Image via Leonardo Palafox / The Cubic Studio

 Image via Leonardo Palafox

 Image via Leonardo Palafox

 Image via Leonardo Palafox

Image via The Cubic Studio

Deture Culsign: Website | Facebook
Playa Viva: Website | Facebook | Instagram

via [Inhabitat, ArchDaily]

It may take a village to raise a child, but at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) in Nairobi, Kenya, it takes an ostrich to raise an elephant herd. A very special ostrich named Pea was rescued in 2014 and immediately found her place as the elephants’ personal entertainer and friend. According to DSWT, the bird became an “integral part of the nursery family there” and was loved by the elephants who would hug her, play with her, and “positively maul [her] with affection.” Although Pea quickly had many friends at the elephant sanctuary, there was one elephant in particular with whom she’d create an everlasting friendship—Jotto.

Jotto the elephant was just a one-month-old baby when he was discovered at the bottom of a well. His rescue report states that he tumbled in while his keepers had taken the herd for water, and had been abandoned. Jotto was rescued and brought in to the DSWT elephant orphanage, where he could recover his health and grow strong for his release back to the wild. It’s at this very sanctuary that Jotto met Pea. The ostrich and the baby elephant instantly bonded, often cuddling, taking naps, and just enjoying each other’s company. DSWT writes in a post: “It is safe to say orphaned ostrich Pea most definitely believes she is part of the elephant herd and little Jotto is more than happy to enjoy a cuddle with his feathered friend.”

Scroll down to see the beautifully tender moments that come when two unlikely orphans are given the opportunity to feel the healing power of friendship.

Pea and Jotto became friends immediately.

Pea has now grown…

…and so has their friendship!

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Website | Facebook | Twitter
via [The Dodo]

What do you do if you have a wooden office building from the 1950s on your property next to a former coach house from 1895? If you’re architect and designer Rolf Bruggink, you see an opportunity to transform an historical building using materials from another space. With the help of fellow architect and designer Niek Wagemans, Bruggink refitted the coach house using materials from the 1950s building, which he’d knocked down after purchasing the property in 2011.

Dubbing it House of Rolf, Bruggink had a specific mission with this home and workspace located in Utrecht. “The principle of transformation is most important to me,” he says. “The notion that an existing building can be adapted so as to take on an entirely new countenance is something that fascinates me.”

Within a limited area of 538 square feet, the architects have packed in a large amount of functionality. By entering into the large open salon, people are invited to take in the spacious architecture of the coach house. A free standing middle section houses a kitchen downstairs and bedroom, bathroom, and office upstairs. It also serves to divide the space, leaving a back section that connects into the free standing middle. The back wall also features a panoramic window that was cut out to allow natural light to flood the space.

Every element of the design was carefully chosen, with Wagemans also creating a furniture piece for the coach house as part of his Confused Furniture series. Painter Jans Muskee and sculptors Handmade Industrials provided artwork to compliment the interiors, and an upcycled rug by Atelier Remy&Veenhuizen carries the spirit of reuse throughout the project.

Studio Rolf: Website 
via [Contemporist, Wallpaper]

All images via Christel Derksen & Rolf Bruggink.

 Although it formally closed its cast iron gates 40 years ago, Paris’ Bachaumont Hotel has recently made its grand (re)debut after undergoing a glitzy art-deco redesign.

The hotel—initially deemed Le Grand Hôtel de Bachaumont—first opened in the 1920s. Ideally located in the heart of Paris, the institution quickly became an avant-garde hub for celebrities, socialites, and—due to its close proximity to Les Halles, a major marketplace—the general public. The historic hotel continued to buzz until the 1970s, when Les Halles moved out of the quartier and took the inn’s clientele with it. The neighborhood quickly became passé, and Le Grand Hôtel de Bachaumont was forced to close. 

The beautiful building was turned into Clinique Bachaumont, a medical clinic. While most simply saw another picturesque Parisian property past its glory days, Samy Marciano—a local entrepreneur and founder of La Clé Group—saw a golden opportunity. Marciano decided to restore the hotel, describing the project as a way “to give something back to a neighborhood which has given me so much.” He collaborated with Dorothée Meilichzon, a celebrated interior designer and founder of CHZON, to revamp and rejuvenate the legendary lodging.

To evoke the glitz and glamor of the roaring twenties, the duo opted for an art-deco aesthetic throughout the entire hotel. On the main floor, this stylistic approach manifests as a grand hallway—lined by mirrors and grounded by black-and-white marble flooring—as well as both an elegant restaurant with a glass ceiling and a cozy cocktail bar with a classic wooden counter. The time-traveling theme continues into the guests’ rooms, where muted tones of black, grey, and deep blue are accented by pops of gold and the simple, minimalist style of the beds is juxtaposed by the intricate and geometric tiles of the bathroom.  Large windows let in a lot of light, and cast iron balconies allow guests to get a bird’s-eye view of the Parisian streets below.

Whether you’re preparing for a trip to Paris or simply longing for a trip down memory lane, the Bachaumont Hotel is the perfect place to experience the city’s glimmering past. 

Image credit: Hotel Bachaumont

CHZON: Website | Facebook
Hotel Bachaumont: Website
via [Yatzer]

All images via Paul Bowyer unless otherwise stated. 

For those struck with a permanent sense of wanderlust, Estonian design collective Kodasema has created a tiny prefabricated home concept that can move with you. Called KODA, this minimalist-style structure can be disassembled and prepped to travel in about four hours. Better yet, it has off-road capabilities—KODA is made primarily of concrete and has a sturdy design that can be assembled on a variety of surfaces.

Utilizing an open floor plan, this 269-square-foot space is lined with a full-height window. As light pours into the lofted space, it bathes a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom in a warm glow. Although this allows you to have a unobstructed view of the outdoors, you can still have privacy when you want it. These areas are placed near the back of the home, and there are also floor-to-ceiling blinds that can conceal the interior from the rest of the world.

While KODA is marketed as a home, the creators see it as an architectural blank slate. “In our minds KODA can become whatever you want: a city center home, a lakeside summer house, a cozy café, an office, workshop or studio or even a classroom,” explains Kodasema. “Its clever design provides the inspiration to make best use of every square inch of space and envisage how the built-in components, even the walls, can be adjusted to meet their purpose most effectively.”

Kodasema: Website
via [Inhabitat]

The world loves bicycles. They cut down on carbon emission and they help keep us fit. In fact, 2.5 billion people get their gears on the road each year. That’s some major pedaling, but accidents do happen. According to Bicycle Helmet Statistics, 45,000 American cyclists were injured in traffic during 2015. An activity that’s so beneficial for our bodies and the planet shouldn’t have to be so dangerous. Luckily, there’s a new bike that could change the way we get to work.

In order to make cycling a safer form of transportation, inventor John Aldridge has designed The Bird of Prey concept bicycle. Rather than riding in a seat, cyclists lean forward with their weight resting on their hips and arms. The semi-prone position enhances spinning ease, and allows the rider to “push and pull on the pedals as if he were running with legs fully extended.” The Bird of Prey promotes itself as the fastest racing bike in the world, thanks to its low center of gravity, high speed gears, and ability to overcome wind resistance. 

The most important attribute that Aldridge wanted to change about cycling was safety. “I have flipped over the handlebars on my sit down bike many dangerous and life threatening times. This can’t happen on a Bird of Prey,” Aldridge writes on the product’s website. “In a panic stop, the rider will simply stop and not flip over the handlebars. The Bird of Prey will stop in a shorter distance than a sit-down bike. If everyone rode a Bird of Prey, accidents from going over the handlebars would cease—saving serious injuries and death.”

Check out the video below to see the Bird of Prey in action and to see all of its innovative features.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K24dHLA8zpw?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=750&h=480]

Bird of Prey Bicycles: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
via [Laughing Squid, Toxel]

All images via Derek Plank for Bird of Prey Bicycles.