GM wants to get rid of their Hummer. In Iraq the H3 is the new status. Especially government officials are interested in driving through Bagdad in these petrol slurping monsters. If GM wants to survive, may be they should move to Iraq? Artist Heidi Hesse investigated America’s history and identified a significant gap between the rhetoric of liberty and the practice of ‘exporting liberty’. She created this full-size Hummer out of gumballs in dedication to the soldiers who gave candy to children during the recent wars. 

Stella McCartney designed a really great 2009 sports collection for Adidas.

Ecco signaled that running injuries were not reduced in the last 20 years and so they created the Biom, that reactivates the footmuscles with its very low heel. The top is made of thin yakleather. Ecco made one big mistake: ladies sizes are just in pink…?

Ford did think of the future while developing Model U, but did not have the time or courage to produce it yet. It has a supercharged, intercooled hydrogen engine, coupled with a hybrid electric transmission with 300 miles of range. Made of cradle-to-cradle polyester, UV-cure clearcoating and many bio-materials, like soy-based foam, corn-based canvas for roof and mats, and sunflower seed-based oil. All materials go back to the soil or back to industry, forever.

We had dinner in Berlin’s dark restaurant unsicht-Bar. Dark dining is popular all over the world. The justification behind dark restaurants, is that dining without sight heightens the other senses. We did not think so. The food was yuck, but we had a really good laugh. My friend and copywriter Mo wrote this review (sorry only in Dutch).

Natascha Libbert is stewardess and student photography. In all of her series of pictures plants are involved. Sometimes just in a beautiful way, but most of the time there is something weird about them, like the photo on the right of the series ‘The Garden of Eden’.

Saks Fifth Avenue NYC asked the Canadian designer Marian Bantjes to draw some snowflakes for last Christmas window displays, wrapping paper, etc. To her great surprise Saks had also commissioned some great jewellers to interpret the drawings. Top right is a pendant by Chopard ($ 77,200!), bottom right a red enamel necklace by Roberto Coin.

Nice Indaba quote by Marcel Wanders: ‘Imperfection gives life to things’. Unfortunately Wander’s designs are quite slick. Other Indaba speaker Frank Tjepkema overruled Wanders with his Shock Proof Egg Vase. Tjep filled Wanders’ porcelain Egg Vase with a special rubber coating. When smashed, the cracks form a new superimposed decorative pattern. It is new archeology. And a memorable souvenir after a good fight. The same technique is applied to Heartbreak, also designed by Tjep. The cracks in the heart are symbol of imperfection.

At the Design Indaba one of the funniest stories was about this Smock Swivel Armchair by Patricia Urquiola. When she saw her new born in a diaper, she thought it would be hilarious to put managers in a nappy. Moroso manifactured it in 2008 and it is a great success.

Wonderful and almost from-planet-Mars-like photographs by Nadav Kander. These intuïtive pictures along the banks of the long Yantze river, have a sense of quiet and unease: the world stands still, lots of greys, the people disappear in their environment.