The Brilliance!

Hmmm… I didn’t know what category to even put this in let alone what I should think of it. I thought the Vans collaboration was cool, a little odd, but I suppose that made it cool. And the old school Vans logo with ‘marc jacobs’ written in it was pretty fresh. But making skateboards? And they come with the grip-tape already on them? Those black trucks look very Kmart. It just feels a bit corny I suppose. At least they aren’t like $200 for a deck, they hit for $50… I can just see some corny dude in all marc jacobs ‘skating around’ on Mercer street looking all Derek Zoolander. Skating is one of things, everyone can buy a skateboard but not everyone can be a skateboarder. Either way, decent art on the boards and it’s cool to see a label like marc jacobs try something like this. Those ‘marc jackass’ store bags are genius too. Undecided.

Word of the KAWS glow-in-the-dark Companion has been floating around messageboards and a few sites here and there for a few weeks now…From what I know they are going to be available only in Japan which means there’s slight chances of eBay sightings…but my guess is, since they’re so limited, that they’ll be hard track down. Not that other KAWS stuff isn’t hard to get, but this seems exceptionally scarce. Either way, hot. There’s some pictures here and there of it in the dark, glowing green, and it looks sick. If anyone’s got any more info on these, let us know! Hello@TheBrilliance.com.

Update
“This is a Sense mag exclusive. With shipping to a Japanese address it will be about $200. No foreign orders accepted, Final order date is the 15th of April. Limited to 1 pc per magazine. So if you want 2 you gotta buy two magazines and the mag costs about $7. The mag is terrible.”
Source.

Thanks to Caleb for the tip.

I love girls, girls, girls, girls, …girls I do adore. Most people have already heard about this site. Whatever. Let me introduce you AGAIN. The whole theme of this site, it’s execution, styling, CONTENT, and all that is just perfect. Perfect. I don’t know about the trash thing though, creeps me out a bit. But the ‘Party Photo’ section is nothing short of brilliant. I’m not really one to ‘ogle’ women on the internet, but the girls on this site are so amazingly beautiful. Most of them at least. Check the site out, THE BRILLIANCE! loves it.

Another skin-care/body-care/hair-care post. Malin+Goetz is fresh. I suppose it’s the simplicity and execution of both the branding and the products that impresses me. They keep it real simple… Two product functions: cleansers and moisturizers and three applications for each function: hair, body, face. They also have a beautiful store to match their product located in Chelsea. Inspired packaging/branding from Anisa Suthayalai (www.bydefault.org), great products, decent prices, and as with any of this other designer skin-care stuff, it damn near increases the value of your house/loft/condo just by having it in your bathroom. Step you cleansers game up with Malin+Goetz.

OK so I know this album came out like a month ago, and I’m not really here to review it…I just want to say that whether you’re a fan of dance, electronic, hip hop, or Kenny Loggins, there’s a good chance that you can pop this album in, roll the windows down on the car, flip to the 3rd track “Robot Rock”, and look like a total badass as you drive through your suburban neighborhood in your mom’s minivan with your portable CD player hooked up through a tape adapter. If you turn it loud enough and are feelin it, dance a little and watch people look at you as you drive by. Also - check out the video for this song at Daftpunk.com. Glam rock meets spacemen meets awesome. Not quite as memorable as “Around the World” or “Da Funk” but still…hot.

This site is such an...interesting outlet. I hope you're not bored by this post...but if you are, my bad ha.

3rd place. Classic parquet, or "inlaid" parquet. Often found in the classic prewar buildings here in Chicago and NYC, etc. With one major caveat – it has to be stained super dark, even black, but not piano black, thats silly. In its natural, often yellowed color, it looks too complicated. I love it in super, super deep matte/satin walnut finish with all white walls, plaster crown-moulding, etc, etc.

2nd place. A new-comer to the scene: the long, wide, white-washed-oak "super wide" plank. I know, I know, its super tumblr, pinterest, instagram, etc - but come on - incredibly beautiful. And amazing what it does visually to a space. Its honestly the only trend I can think of that is quite modern but seems like it might be a future classic. With this one..."gallery" trimless/floating walls in, surprise, white...or maybe a venetian plaster finish on the walls in off-white.

1st place. Without question: chevron flooring. Its incredibly beautiful in effectively any finish, color, and even condition (I love the trashed ones in Paris apartments). Can do a super modern setup with it, overly regal/Versailles, Hamptons beach house vibe, condo, hotel room, etc. Thin, wide, average, etc, etc. Its almost always perfect. My personal preference is the photo at the link - natural and sanded perfectly flat. *And, and...to be specific – not herringbone! And, yes, I know chevron is technically a "parquet" as well - but no one calls it that...

Honorable, and affordable, mention: Cork engineered flooring. In general I'm not into engineered hardwoods - so clicky and hollow sounding. BUT, I had cork at my last condo and loved it. Soft, sound-dampening, never hot, never cold. Does hide dirt a bit too well though.

Yes! This is the kind of thing I like to see. Honestly - who has done a shower curtain this hot before? I might get this myself…I definitely want to be completely naked about 4 inches from a large green space monkey while I wash my back and he stares at me. All kidding aside, this is pretty sick and I urge you to buy it. Thanks to Matt for the tip.

Let me clear something up real quick… Songs with ‘da’ in the title usually don’t get much attention from me. But I made an exception in this case. This track is so damn smooth. It has that summer time flowing feel to it. Beautiful. I find R&B music to often be a bit stale in both production and vocals which makes this cut exceptionally refreshing. The video is just ok with the exception of that wild orchid/floral painting on Tweet’s back towards the end, very interesting. Also, quick note, apparently there are two versions of this track, one sped up and then the video version that is a bit more low-key. Nice track. Check the video at the link below….

THE BRILLIANCE! is Coolstop’s site of the day for April 11, 2005. This is due mostly in part to how incredibly interesting and funny Ben and I are, and because we deserve the damn site of the day thing. Hey, we can post whatever we want. Here’s to THE BRILLIANCE! for being in existence for less than a week and already making other people wish they thought of it first. Face!

THE BRILLIANCE! likes this site. Both from a buyers perspective and from its design and whole business model. Funny name too, I guess. The man behind PORCH MODERN (based in Toronto) is a vintage furniture collector by the name of Colen Colthurst. PORCH MODERN sells vintage furniture that is carefully collected by Colen himself, who is quite the connoisseur as it seems. He has a heavy focus on Eames pieces which is always nice. Awesome pieces, good prices, and the whole personal touch thing is cool. He also rents his pieces out for events, very nice. Get rid of your futon and check out PORCH MODERN.