1. The Multicolored Murano Glass Christmas Tree (Italy):
Giovanni and Simone Cenedese, motivated by a great passion for their work and for their own city, created this monumental installation for Christmas together with the Architects Studio DDF. This gigantic project stands 24 feet tall and is made with 1,000 multicolored handmade and mouth blown glass tubes.
2. The Swarovski Crystal Color Changing Christmas Tree (Paris):
Housed inside the classic Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, the 70-foot-tall tree is dripping in 120 Swarovski crystals and rests on a chandelier base with 5,000 smaller crystals. The large round crystals actually change colors from white to blue to red to gold.
3. The Porcelain Plates and Mugs Tree (Belgium):
The Taste Tree is a Christmas tree made up of upcycled plates and cups sourced from local families by Inge Vanluyd and Stefan Vanbergen of the creative firm MOOZ. The tree stands 9 meters high and 6 meters in diameter and features around 5,000 items of crockery. The plates and cups were sourced from Hassalt residents who raided their cupboards for odd plates and cups of white porcelain that may or may not include a gold or blue design.
above images courtesy of inhabitat
4. The Heineken Beer Bottle Tree (Shanghai):
Made with 1,000 bottles of Heineken beer, this tree stands in Shanghai's commercial center of Nanjing Road.
images courtesy of Chine Informations
5. The Pac Man Christmas Tree (Spain):
This Pac-Man Christmas Tree can be seen at Nuevos Ministerios in Madrid, Spain. It uses thousands of multicolored LEDs to display an animated tribute to the popular classic 80s arcade video game from Japan.
above photo by Antonio Garcia Rodriguez.
From Pac Man To Porcelain, Five of The Most Spectacular and Unusual Christmas Trees From All Over The World.
Highland Park 50 Year Old Whisky Limited Edition Bottle Wins 2012 Design Award.
Recently, the stunning, and extraordinarily expensive (just over $15,000) , limited edition bottle designed for Highland Park’s oldest ever island single malt whisky – Highland Park 50 year old, won the award for Best Design at the World Whiskies Award 2012. What's inside the stunning bottle was also named Best Single Malt Scotch 41 Years and Over (Multiple Casks), at the 2012 Whisky Bible Awards.
Bottle front:
Bottle back:
With only 275 bottles produced, this prestigious edition has become an exclusive collectors’ item. Each bottle is unique, encased in an intricate ‘net cage’ of hand-crafted ornate sterling silver created by Scottish jewellery designer Maeve Gillies, who took inspiration from Orkney’s elemental forces. Maeve’s bottle design celebrates Orkney: its seas, island life, wild elements, incredible natural light and the passage of time.
The "50" has black enameling on the sterling silver and is subtly integrated into the silverwork:
Inspired by the wild and rugged natural elements of the Scottish island of Orkney, Maeve aimed to create a bottle that would visually communicate what made Highland Park unique without any words, as well as an object that was precious enough to be worthy of the oldest island single malt in the world.
The details are stamped into the sterling silver at the base on the back of the bottle:
A visitor to the beautiful Orkney islands since a child, Maeve conveyed a natural and nautical theme in her Sterling silver bottle, evoking ropes, twisted seaweed and a metal finish that looked like it could have been a very old and precious object, discovered washed up on the beach.
above: Silversmith and jeweler Maeve Gillies with her award-winning bottle design (photograph by hans offringa)
Set on the front is a disc of genuine Orcadian pink sandstone carved with Highland Park's logo, sourced from the original quarry that built the incredible 12th century St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
The St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall:
On the backside of the bottle, the medallion is replaced with a translucent glass cabochon:
Behind this, viewable through the glass when the whisky has been finished (although in the composited image below, the bottle is still full), is an ethereal silver replica of the beautiful rose window inside the Cathedral.
The actual Rosette Window in St. Magnus' Cathedral:
The bottle is presented in a hand-carved Scottish oak box, also shaped to feel worn by wild elements, and set with a silver and glass porthole, through which the Highland Park logo on the bottle inside can just be viewed.
The special edition of Highland Park 50 year old was initially launched at Harrods in London as a Limited Edition of 275 bottles for 10,000 GBP per bottle and is now available for purchase for at that same price: $15,811.00 USD or £10,000.00 (Size: 70cl 44.8% ABV) here
Glass Sink Basin Options With Fish Or Objects Of Your Choice.
above: Kosta Boda's glass Lagoon Sink Basin with fish
The Lagoon basin, designed by Kjell Engman, one of Kosta Boda´s glass artists, are made with meticulous care. Each one is unique with decorative air bubbles creating an image of water. Available with the little blown glass encased fishy or not.
above: Kosta Boda's glass Lagoon Sink Basin without fish
One thing to note: The basin does not have an overfill protection, the valve in the bottom does not close tight, so you can not fill up water in the sink.
Hand made in glass.
Size: H 300 mm W 500 mm.
Volume: 103 cl.
Buy it here
Glass Basins With Space for Photo or Objects
Another option for those who like decorative clear sinks are these tempered glass basins which have room beneath them for items of photos.
price: $1000, available at Opulent Items.
