A small shop packed with books, magazines and good coffee sounds like heaven to us. It’s the ideal formula. And it’s one that Slovakia’s Alexis Books and Coffee Bar have nailed perfectly. Creatively offering more than your typical big box retailer, Alexis matches substance with ingenuity. Enormous book shelves line the walls brimming with a range of titles. While their amphitheater style flooring and low level coffee tables provide visitors with a place to sit anywhere. The shop also doubles as a great location for talks, community panels and readings. We’d love to see more places like this pop up state side. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

» Read More

We have a serious coffee addiction. We’ll travel anywhere, no matter how far, to experience delicious coffee and espresso. So when we heard about Tokyo’s Bear Pond Espresso we were elated. After 18 years of being a certified barista in New York, Katsu enlisted the help of his wife Chisa to open Bear Pond in 2009. Housed in a small unassuming building, Bear Pond is all about serving the best coffee and espresso possible. There’s a skillful artistry to growing coffee beans, roasting them and ultimately preparing the drink that is thoughtfully planned and perfectly executed by the owners. To ensure consistent taste, Bear Pond not only works closely with roaster Noriaki Yoshime, but the espresso is only made by Katsu – no one else – and is served only during the hours of 10am to 2pm. Bear Pond’s espresso has a distinctive taste with a hint of chocolate, spice and salt that is raved about by many. Not for the faint at heart, the taste is bold and hits you like a ton of bricks. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

» Read More

Four friends scattered across the globe come together to form a creative agency focused on beautiful and inspiring design – Kinfolk Studios is born. Known mostly for their award winning bicycle company and excellent client-work with brands like Nike, they’ve entered the field with resounding success. Their latest venture is no different. Kinfolk Brooklyn is an event space and venue that takes on many roles for the city’s creative community. Part café, part bar and part gallery, Kinfolk Brooklyn is a fantastic spot to relax with friends, see art and enjoy a great cup of coffee. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by. We have a few images posted below. Click Read More for additional information.

» Read More

Photographer Stefan Fürtbauer captures the strange beauty and isolation of Viennese fast-food culture with his on-going series Eiterquellen. Each image has a mesmerizing UFO quality that pulls you in. As he describes it, “Isolated both in the sense of appearance as well as in resisting global operating fast-food chains, Viennese wurstel diners have become an essential part of urban culture not only by supplying snacks but also being the place of the distinctive Viennese working class.” We’ve posted a few images from the series below. Click Read More to view.

» Read More

Restaurant design plays a pivotal role in the experience. You can’t underestimate it. Sometimes it’s as important as the food served. Rather then settling with the typical modern aesthetic, Pied à Terre goes a step beyond. The Central London restaurant merges the artistry of cooking with an unexpected and creative project entitled Artist in Restaurant. This clever initiative aims to give emerging artists a platform to showcase their talents in one of the most highly regarded London restaurants around. Through a collaborative relationship with Pied à Terre, artists use the dining area as inspiration to create one of a kind pieces of art that are then displayed in the restaurant.

Currently, ten sculptural installations by Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva are on display. Using raw and unusual materials from the restaurant’s kitchen like scallop skirts, quail carcasses, fish skins and bones, the exhibition is all about the balance of opposing forces – ‘the beautiful and the brutal, recomposing decomposition into beautiful forms’. Click Read More for additional information and to view photos from the exhibit.

» Read More

A delicious pastry shop is the cornerstone of all great cities. Located in the market district of Fukuoka City in Japan, Suzukake Honten treats pastries and tea as sacred items. The process, the ingredients, the presentation all equal a great experience built on simplicity. This is evidenced by the shop’s interior design decisions. Clean lines and very little distraction help focus customers to what’s important, the pastry and tea. Click Read More to take a closer look at Suzukake Honten designed by Case Real.

» Read More

Coffee and art collide at London’s Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes – an eccentrically named bar, cafe and exhibition space. The shop is named after a 1980’s bag and shoe wholesaler that once occupied their building in Shoreditch when the area was more industrial and less hotspot. Instead of gutting the place, they decided to keep the original sign hanging above the shop so people passing would remember the area’s past.

Currently, Jaguar Shoes is hosting a brilliant art installation entitled La Selva by Francesco Rugi and Silvia Quintanilla. Using an RGB effect, they layered intricate scenes that can only be seen through Red, Green or Blue color filters. La Selva is on view until September 21, 2011. Below we’ve posted a few images from the installation. Click Read More for a closer look.

» Read More