TRANZIT MAGAZINE FALL 2010

The Ultimate Guide to Living Well

Hottest

New Cars

2 0 11 Green Living

L a dy Gaga

monsters attack!

Revenge Websites

Emerging

new

rock artist International

Fall 2010

Travel

Trendy

Night Spots

Make your home extraordinary.

TheKohlerStore.com CHICAGO MERCHANDISE MART GLENVIEW & BURR RIDGE

Bath & Kitchen Products. Tile & Stone. Design Consultation.

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CONTENTS 14

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Fall 2010

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Editor’s Note

10

Michelberger Hotel

14

Tranzit Auto Review

18

Amber Rose

20 Trendy Night Spots

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24 Tranzit Restaurant Review 27 Revenge Websites 30 Lady Gaga: Monsters Attack!

36 On the Runway 40 The Art of European Fashion Photography 44 Tranzit Product Review 46 Emerging New Artists

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48 Natural Fashion 50 Le Carré Hermès 52 Green Living 53 Scorch the Road in Style 48

54 Tranzit Shopping Directory Fall 2010

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MAGAZINE Publisher Design Space Media Group, LLC

Contributors

Founder and Editorial Director Adolphus K. Shannon Jr.

Alex Roger

Executive Publisher Jim Cheng

David Gluckman

Advertising Director Kimberly Johnson

Todd Gerald

Marketing Executive Nathan Myers Art Director Nevena Durlova

4

Michelberger Staff

Peter Ryan

Gil Kaufman Christopher Bailey

Place a Display Advertisement media@tranzitmagazine.com (312) 823-6385

Anthony Keegan Josh Collins

Copy Editor Jason Coleman

Marlene Ohllsson

Advertising Sales Manager Sara Wells

Hans Silvester

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Tranzit Magazine 1620 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 908 Chicago, IL 60616 (312) 823-6385 Tranzitmagazine.com

Serafina Sprightly Order copies by visiting our website

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editor’s note: W

hat a milestone this is! A little over a year ago, while working on an issue of Design Space Magazine, the idea came into fruition to publish a sister lifestyle magazine called TRANZIT. Excited to share my new found wisdom (no pun intended), I immediately ran the idea across a couple of my friends and colleagues. Based on a variety of viewpoints and opinions received, it became certain that if I choose to proceed, TRANZIT Magazine would have to be a project that I strongly believe, and against all odds, I would have to be persistent in order to enable it to happen.

F

ast forward— About a year later, we have arrived with a solid purpose; A mission to serve as “The Ultimate Guide to Living Well”.

Our focus is diligently exploring different

cultures around the globe, and to serve as a unisex source for all that is considered to be modish and chic. TRANZIT Magazine is published bi-annually, and our goal is to indulge our readers with articles pertaining to the latest in fine living, art, travel, style, cars, electronics, and much more. We aim to consistently provide our readers with innovative and sophisticated editorial in each issue!

Welcome aboard.

Adolphus K. Shannon Jr. Editorial Director

Fall 2010

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MICHELBERGER

H O T E L By: Michelberger Staff

The Core East Berlin is unlike any other major tourist destination in Europe: it’s raw, creative, rebellious and constantly recreating itself. Now, finally, a hotel is coming into shape that celebrates Berlin’s rough edges and creative spirit. The Michelberger Hotel extends the Berlin experience within the hotel, in a freewheeling, low-cost solution that nonetheless features professional service and administration.

Tom Michelberger is the 31-year-old organizer, owner and central figure in a patchwork of young friends who came together to create the hotel.

Michelberger and his crew are new to the hotel world, bringing a fresh approach to how guests experience a hotel. The result of their collaboration is a funky, communally organized social space that blends the best elements of hostel and hotel.

It’s a budget hotel in price only: the amount of imagination and innovation involved exceeds the category’s expectations in almost every area.

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Rather than pour their energies into design for design’s sake, the Michelberger brain trust has also done a rethink of what constitutes modern hospitality, from the point of view of the guest: what do guests actually want, as opposed to what hotels want to sell to them. Guests are truly guests, staying at the house of a group of friends – a house that happens to have been designed by the world-class designer Werner Aisslinger, but a house of friends all the same. Everywhere there’s a sense of play, rebelliousness, new textures, ingenious combinations, humour, using budget pricing as a creative tool to make things happen. As Tom Michelberger says, “Perfection does not create memories, because memories only result from movement, from a lively experience of interaction – with people, the surroundings and the atmosphere.”

The Michelberger Way A cosmopolitan yet street-savvy hangout that expands on the formula of single and double rooms, giving people more options in the way they want to sleep. A Hotel that offers great bang for the buck. Created by a collaborative team who have built a hotel where they would love to stay – they know their guests, because they themselves are part of the target group. Every detail is thought through with playful execution and an abundance of personal, human elements from flea markets and antique stores are combined with a high level of room style.

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The Architecture A landmark building from the turn of the last century, the Michelberger’s shell is a former factory with details typical of the period. These include a clinker brick façade, a generous courtyard, high ceilings, stone archways and massive paned windows. Repurposed as a hotel, the natural advantages of all these features are obvious: space and light to allow easy interaction and a sense of ease and play.

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The Looks The Looks originated not out of a single vision, but rather through the collaboration of a group of strong characters, all with different talents, all bringing their personal vision to the project. For example, the local building squad, bar and club builder heroes, who build everything from tables to reception desks, from rubbish bins to the courtyard stage. Everything in the hotel, from the beds to the lights has been built, created or hand-picked especially for it. “My approach was to do a collage world, not a clean, designed world”, says Werner Aisslinger.“ It shouldn’t be something where everything is clean and perfect, but rather one with something family-like in it, a bit of chaos. It’s not so much ambitious architecture or interiors stuffed with details.” Aisslinger, the creator of the world-famous Loft Cube living concept, was excited to join in creating what he calls a “new typology of hotel”. “Tom and his team wanted community at every level, not an anonymous place where you just check in”, he says. Aisslinger has created a relentlessly personal space that combines mix-and-match, flea market finds with thoroughly thought-out, innovative use of space. The interior places an emphasis on a cosmopolitan, forward-looking use of materials at an extremely reasonable price point,

so that backpackers and business and leisure travelers alike can enjoy a special social space. Stylists Anja Knauer and Sibylle Oellerich worked with Aisslinger to decorate rooms in a personal way that connects to the history without relying on kitsch. “The thing people in East Berlin do now is to take old stuff, put it together and get something new”, says Knauer. She and Oellerich scoured flea markets and antique shops, finding sugar bowls to mount on the wall for use as towel racks, flower vases that are transformed into soap dishes, different books for each room. “These elements have a story behind them”, says Knauer, “a connection to the past of this city. You typically see this around Berlin, but not in hotel rooms!”

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auto review

Hottest

New Cars 14

tranzitmagazine.com

2011 Porsche Panamera By: David Gluckman

Just as one team at Porsche was readying the most powerful production 911 ever—the 2011 911 Turbo S—another was creating the company’s least powerful sedan. Model year 2011 will bring two flavors of the long-foretold V-6 Panamera, a rear-wheel-drive model simply named Panamera and an all-wheeldrive version dubbed Panamera 4.

The V-6 in question is said to be an all-new Porsche design featuring direct injection, and is the same one that will be installed in the next Cayenne. It displaces

3.6 liters and produces 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, and Porsche claims it is 66 pounds lighter than the V-8 in the Panamera S. Like all U.S.-market Panameras, the V-6 is paired exclusively with a seven-speed PDK transmission and gets an engine stop/start system.

After their formal debut at the Beijing auto show, the Panamera and Panamera 4 will join the V-8–powered Panamera S, 4S, and Turbo in U.S. showrooms this June. Prices will start at $75,375 for the Panamera and $79,875 for the Panamera 4.

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2011 Alpha Romeo Giulietta By: Peter Ryan Fans of Italian styling are anxiously awaiting Fiat and Alfa Romeo’s full scale return to the U.S. now that the alliance deal between the Italian auto giant and Chrysler has been well and truly signed off but sadly, the wait may have to last a few more years still.

According to Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne, Alfa Romeo is unlikely to return to the U.S. until the end of 2012 and even then models like the MiTo and new Giulietta may be off the cards.

While other markets are already enjoying the MiTo and will soon be able to experience the Giulietta, which is making its debut this week at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the U.S. is expected to only receive the larger Giulia 159-replacement and another large sedan based on the Chrysler 300 platform plus several sports models.

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Amber Rose

By: Todd Gerald

why is she famous?

Like most future tabloid targets, Amber Rose started her life living hard, fighting and being an attractive center of attention.

Raised in South Philadelphia, she was an immediate outcast at school and was frequently singled out for her appearance.

With a lighter skin tone than many of her classmates, Amber Rose was forced to fight other girls regularly, which only made her tougher, more confident and thickerskinned in the process. It also made for a group of brokenhearted and jealous Kanye West fans much later on.

While her early introductions to insults and fighting could have led to a childhood of mistakes, Amber Rose kept her miscues to a

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Who is she, and why exactly is she famous? minimum. One of those miscues was named Ernest, her first love and the man who got her an underage tattoo bearing his name -- all at the age of 15. To this day, Rose keeps Ernest tattooed on her arm, not as a fond memory, but as a reminder of what kind of man she doesn’t want. It was an impressive grudge, to be sure, and also a simple expression of Rose’s fiery personality.

amber rose heads to the big apple Amber Rose initially wanted to own a restaurant as an adult. While it’s something she could still do in the future, she found that her love of food was eclipsed by her desire to be sexually open and expressive.

As a result, exotic dancing came into her life at the Philadelphia strip joint, Delilah’s.

Now more comfortable in her own skin and equally adept at dancing, Amber Rose sought out better digs and moved to New York in 2007 after a chance encounter with an agent served as her introduction to life as a professional model. Now paid to look pretty while keeping her clothes on, Rose promptly shook up a storm in music videos, with two gigs for Young Jeezy (“Vacation” and “Put On”) followed by a higher profile spot as a token hottie in “What Them Girls Like” by Ludacris. She would also come to be great pals with Rihanna.

and spandex down below. Can we make fun of her outfits? Maybe. What about her fame?

Nope. Amber Rose’s fate as Kanye’s lady friend was sealed with a revealing Louis Vuitton ad that featured her comfortably nude next to the big man himself. In Rose, Kanye West has found an equal — someone who is just as fashion-conscious, over-the-top and brazenly charismatic as he is — and for the time being, it will no doubt change his own image and propel Amber Rose’s popularity in the process. A little less about love and more about fame? Maybe that’s why their relationship is onagain, off-again says critics.

The best sex I have is with myself, to be honest.

– Amber Rose

amber rose meets kanye west In 2009, Amber Rose took a big splash into the celebrity pool by hooking up with crooner/fashion expert Kanye West. Initially spotted at Fashion Week in New York, they have been frequently photographed doing things that “famous people do,” like expensive shopping and partying up around the world. A fashion aficionado herself, Rose is now synonymous with wearing dark sunglasses up above, denim over her shoulders,

So what does the future actually hold for Amber Rose? Diversity. Trained in acting, she’s aching to play a role that is completely removed from her public persona. She’s also a foodie who would love to own her own restaurant. Lastly, she wants travel around the world and work to improve the lives of women and children afflicted with HIV. Like many observers, we’re not quite sure what to make of Ms. Amber Rose, but we are divinely curious to see exactly which direction she chooses. Come on, surprise us!

Fall 2010

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Trendy Night Spots

Coast to Coast!

From coast to coast across the country, there are a number of A list night spots where you want to be seen! Whether it’s the music, ambiance, or your crave for delicious martinis, these selections are some of TRANZIT’s top picks.

—Alex Roger 20

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Los Angeles, CA CABANA CLUB Address: 1439 Ivar Ave. Neighborhood: Hollywood Website: cabanaclubhollywood.com ELEMENT Address: 1642 Las Palmas Ave. Neighborhood: Hollywood Website: elementhollywood.com MOOD Address: 6623 Hollywood Blvd.

Neighborhood: Hollywood Website: moodla.com

Chicago, IL LUMEN Address: 839 West Fulton Market Neighborhood: West Loop Website: lumen-chicago.com BON V Address: 1100 West Randolph St. Neighborhood: West Loop Website: bonvchicago.com THE WIT HOTEL Address: 201 North State Neighborhood: The Loop Website: thewithotel.com

New York City, NY 40/40 CLUB Address: 6 West 25th St. Neighborhood: Manhattan Website: the4040club.com

San Francisco, CA Vessel Address:85 Campton Pl.

PACHA NYC

Neighborhood: Union Square

Address: 618 West 46th St.

Website: vesselsf.com

Neighborhood: Manhattan Website: pachanyc.com

Club Six Address: 60 6th St.

FORTY 6 GRAND

Neighborhood: SOMA

Address: 46 Grand St.

Website: Clubsix1.com

Neighborhood: Tribeca Website: forty6grandnyc.com

330 Ritch Address: 330 Ritch St. Neighborhood: SOMA Website: 330ritch.com

Fall 2010

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Products of distinction that define the uniqueness of Graff.

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Jennings Client ads.indd 3

Milwaukee, WI 53215

Toll Free: 800-954-4723

www.graff-faucets.com

12/23/08 3:05:55 PM

restaurant review

Blackbird By: Josh Collins

T

his high-flyer on Chicago’s West Side restaurant row draws patrons as chic as its austerely architectural storefront. They crowd the sleek bar, waiting to settle down on high-tech chairs or high-backed banquettes at tables so close together only someone who eats like a bird can squeeze between them.

But no one who eats like a bird could fully appreciate executive chef Paul Kahan’s sophisticated eats.

Backed by Mike Sheerin, chef de cuisine with a penchant for simple, sophisticated preparations, and pastry chef Patrick Fahy (ex-The French Laundry), who focuses on elevating 24

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singular flavors, Kahan taps both local producers and the world for ingredients. This translates into an ever-changing array of delightful appetizers, lush salads and intriguing entrĂŠes, such as chilled cuttlefish noodles with green garlic, red onion jam, trout caviar, nasturtiums and buttermilk.

One meal, you’ll swoon over lamb ith fava beans and red miso financier; the next, Maine diver scallops with cattails and lovage generate buzz. The thoughtful, interesting wine list holds musts, though you shouldn’t be surprised when a tasting course perfectly pairs with an aromatic Belgian ale. When it comes to finales, expect the unexpected.

Professional (but friendly) service helps compensate for the cramped, high-volume (and rather sterile) surroundings.

Fall 2010

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REVENGE RULES By: Parker Matteson

Ever wonder how to get back at an ex, or do something to serve as a payback? Surprisingly, there is a fast growing new trend called “Revenge Websites” which are popping up over the internet. Now one might ask, why this phenomenon? Well, let’s just say you can get advice on using the ancient art of revenge to bring humor and happiness back to your life and rediscover this traditional code of honor! Remember, for one thing it’s justice, plain and simple.

1.Get

mad....then get even. justice, plain and simple.

It’s

2.Revenge

is healthy. Don’t listen to those mealy mouths who tell you otherwise. You’re teaching people to behave better. At the same time you’re getting icky poisonous feelings out of your system once and for all. What could be healthier?

3.Remember, Karma is a good thing.

Be sure everyone gets his or hers... in this lifetime. You’re helping to bring the scales of justice back into balance and restore order to the universe.

4.Revenge

is excellent self-therapy.

It’s far cheaper than a therapist and much healthier than pigging out on a box of donuts.

5.The

punishment should always fit the crime. In other words, don’t go nuclear over something trivial.

6.Always

aim your revenge where it hurts the most. Go right for the jugular.

7.Let your creativity blossom.

Don’t go for clichés like slashing tires.

Yawn. Be original. Enjoy yourself.

Give your mark an experience they’ll never ever forget.

8. Don’t break the law.

9.If you have to do something you’re

not proud of, be sure to cover your tracks well.

10.Have

fun. If you can end up laughing at the jerk who wronged you, you’re well on your way to being over it.

11.Once revenge is consummated,

move on. It’s over.

Fall 2010

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NATIVE SON

Lady | Gaga ! k c a t t A s r e Monst

By: Gil Kaufman

A

side from her meteoric rise to worldwide fame from seemingly nowhere, one of the most fascinating aspects of Lady Gaga’s ascension to the pop stratosphere is how formerly unknown New York rock-club singer Stefani Germanotta seems to have known all along that this was her destiny.

A just-published profile in New York magazine, written

by Vanessa Grigoriadis and including an interview conducted in March 2009 — supplemented by recent quotes from people she knew during her early days, including songwriter/producer Rob Fusari, who sued Gaga earlier this year — the self-assured singer is depicted as already carrying herself like the pop icon she would soon become today.

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“I don’t like Los Angeles,” she told the reporter, insisting that she be addressed by her stage name and recoiling from the camera flashes of tourists taking pictures of each other that she assumed were meant for her. “The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.”

Though her path to seven #1 singles, millions of album sales and a massive stage show appears to have happened in a blink of an eye, Gaga, 24, said the process took longer than it appears. “I went through a great deal of creative and artistic revelation, learning, and marination to become who I am,” she said in the article. “Tiny little lie? I wanted to become the artist I am today, and it took years.”

Even as a kid I always had eyes on me, like bees on honey.

I was always outrageous and I was always very smart.

It began on the Upper West Side of New York, where she grew up in a duplex with her dad, whose company installed Wi-Fi systems in hotels, her mother, who was a vice president at Verizon for a time and younger sister Natali, now 18, who has a cameo in the “Telephone” video. The sisters attended the small Sacred Heart Catholic girls school near the Guggenheim museum, where the Germanottas were a solidly middle-class pair mixed in with the outrageously wealthy and those attending on scholarships. She began taking day-long acting classes on Saturdays at age 11 and by eighth grade was landing the leads in shows such as “Guys and Dolls” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at Sacred Heart’s brother school, Regis High. Friends told New York that she insisted on being called by her characters’ names even then, refusing to answer to Stefani backstage during rehearsals and performances.

Gaga also held down a job as a waitress at a diner on the Upper West Side during her school years, using one of her first paychecks to guy a $600 Gucci purse, a preview of her later dive into high fashion. Though some jealous older girls sometimes referred to her as “the Germ,” the article says, most classmates remember her as being popular and not the awkward outcast she has painted herself to be in interviews.

In addition to being a theater nerd, Gaga began her musical experimentation, starting a classic-rock cover band, performing at open-mic songwriter nights and cutting a demo tape of love ballads that her parents gave out as party favors at her sweet-16 party at a New York club.

“Everyone was playing her demo, like, ‘Whoa, she’s going to be a star,’ “ Justin Rodriguez, who attended Regis, told the magazine. “She was by far the most talented person in high school, but she’d do so many random acts of kindness, like saying, ‘Your singing has gotten so much better, you’re working hard and I’ve noticed.’ She wasn’t a diva at all.”

Like many of her peers, the article says Gaga had obtained a fake ID by the time she was 15, around the time she started dating a 26-year-old waiter and got her first tattoo, a musical G clef on her lower back. About 15-20 pounds heavier at the Fall 2010

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time, Gaga would often get into trouble at school for wearing inappropriately low-cut shirts, which reportedly earned her the high school nickname “Big Boobs McGee.”

After feeling uninspired by her rock-singer direction, Fusari said he decided to re-invent Gaga as a dance-pop artist and encouraged her to ditch her leggings and sweatshirt look in favor of something flashier. So Gaga began studying how to be a

I believe that everyone can do what I’m doing.

After graduation, she briefly attended New York University, but feeling she was more advanced than the other students, she dropped out during her second semester to pursue her dreams of rock stardom. Her dad agreed to pay her rent for a year if she promised to go back to school if things didn’t work out. “I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate sh-- until somebody would listen,” she told the magazine of her early days. An EP of ballads as the Stefani Germanotta Band soon followed, with a dedicated fanbase of 15-20 people showing up at her shows.

A week before her one-year deal with Dad was up, Gaga performed on a bill with Wendy Starland, who introduced Germanotta to producer Rob Fusari, an early collaborator who recently filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against Gaga over claims he hasn’t been properly compensated for the work he did establishing the Gaga sound and persona.

star by reading a biography of Prince, shopping at American Apparel, reading the new age-y self-help bible “The Secret” and cutting her skirts shorter and shorter until they basically disappeared.

A short-lived, $850,000 deal with the Island Def Jam label followed in 2006, after which she went back to square one and performing in small New York venues and go-go dancing at the club Pianos while wearing a bikini and fingerless gloves and opening for the band that is now her opening act, Semi-Precious Weapons. By the spring of 2007 she auditioned for Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine, who signed her, and after a makeover that resulted in her signature blonde hair and space-age-discodiva look, the Gaga we now in 2010 was born.

“I believe that everyone can do what I’m doing,” she said as things were starting to heat up. “Everyone can access the parts of themselves that are great.

I’m just a girl from New York City who decided to do this, after all. Rule the world! What’s life worth living if you don’t rule it?”

You go, GaGa!

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on the runway Burberry Collection: Burberry Prorsum - Womenswear Season: Autumn Winter 2010.11 Designed by: Christopher Bailey As you may already know Burberry gave its own historic look to the future, producing a first ever LIVE 3D Broadcast sent around the globe. When it came to the clothes, following the theme already set with the mens line, designer Christopher Bailey gave a womenswear version of already breathtaking winter jackets shown on Runways of Milan.

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Commonwealth Utilities Collection: Commonwealth Utilities - Menswear Season: Fall Winter 2010.11 Designed by: Anthony Keegan With Fall Winter collections, military inspiration could be followed from Milano to New York runways. Starting with their invitations, creators of Commonwealth Utilities did not want us to wonder what the root of their theme is. Comparing to the other similarly inspired designs, Commonwealth Utilities collection has the military theme only in the details, giving us the outfits for a strong and the most importantly, a well dressed man.

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marlene ohlsson photographers

berlin, germany

billy & hells

the art of european fashion photography

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demetri daniloff paris, france

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tasmania, australia

hung n’guen

ralph mecke paris, france

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product review Burberry Sport Burberry’s launching “Sport” is infused with tones of cedar, musk and dry amber the fragrance has a gentle woody scent. Uplifting topnotes of ginger, grapefruit and wheatgrass give the scent its fresh, innovative aroma. $57-$72

Hermes Voyage Based on musky and woody notes, Hermés Voyage is a unisex scent with a unique bottle design by Philippe Mouquet. $185-$250

Philip Lim Donahue Glasses Philip Lim’s new “Donahue” style glasses are equals parts retro and contemporary. The frames will be exclusive to Lim’s New York and Los Angeles boutiques and will be available in both sun and optical versions. $250

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Apple ipad Apple’s mythical device was officially revealed as the Apple iPad, an all-in-one multimedia tablet. The iPad is a super thin design that’s half an inch thin and features a 9.7 inch screen, 3G ($15 a month for 250MB, $30 a month for unlimited), 802.11 WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 16-64GBs of storage, and an incredible 10 hours of battery life. $500-$830

Samsung TL500 Photo enthusiasts looking for a capable pocket cam to complement their SLR may want to forgo the usual Canons and Nikons for a new heavy duty shooter from Samsung. The 10 megapixel camera has a 3’’ swiveling OLED screen, RAW support, and most impressively, a fast, low light-friendly wide angle 24mm f/1.8 lens. $450

Christian Loubouttin Freddy Shoes The “Freddy” shoe is a unisex design. We’ve seen the men’s version at their mount street store in London, retailing for about $2000. Although full of studs, it is still amazingly lightweight. The women’s version retails for around $1200.

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emerging new artists Gbanjah It was Shakespeare who said, “If music be the food of Love, play on.” And Gbanjah is an artist who definitely plays on. Born to a singer mother, Gbanjah has been on stage since he could walk. From West Africa to Europe to The Americas and beyond, his music has captivated and enthralled audiences everywhere. Starting out in New York City and traveling internationally his sound clearly displays the dimensions of his talent. From Rock to Blues to Pop to Soul to Jazz, Gbanjah revels in the joy of music.

Taking inspiration from artists like Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson, The Police, Matchbox 20, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, Gbanjah formulated a sound cascading with depth and emotion. www.myspace.com/gbanjah

Alpha Rev If you asked this seven-piece band from Austin, Texas what their sound is all about, Alpha Rev would say they’re just, “Seven people pouring their souls into rock ‘n’ roll music they truly believe in.” Apt description for a band whose name in half Greek, half Latin loosely means the start of something new, according to frontman Casey McPherson.

Inspired by experience and tragedy, McPherson mixes a range of musical influences from Beethoven to Pink Floyd. And singer/songwriter McPherson brings that vast musical taste to this pop-rock project. www.alpharev.com

Erika Shevon Before she could utilize her talents for her own solo endeavors, R&B singer, songwriter, and vocal arranger Erika Shevon paid a lot of dues developing both her musical and entertainment talents. More than just your typical girl next door, Erika is a part of a movement that focuses on bringing real singers back to the forefront much like the true talents of the 60s and 70s era. During 2002 Summer’s Big Jam, she captivated an audience of well over 20,000 music lovers! Erika has collaborated with major artist such as Kanye West, LL Cool J, Nelly, Twista, and Tyrese, just to name a few. Miss Shevon, as she is referred to by many, is also the singing voice of the Chicago based radio station Power 92.3, where she sings the hook (“It’s Trey the Choklit Jock , Yeah”), still airing today.

Just recently, Erika Shevon and her team (TheBridge) were honored with an ASCAP for their writing contribution to the Platinum selling hit “Wetter” by artist Twista. TheBridge accepted their award at a ceremony in June 2010.

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HOW TO

LIVE UNITED: JOIN HANDS. OPEN YOUR HEART. LEND YOUR MUSCLE.

FIND YOUR VOICE.

GIVE 10%. GIVE 100%.

GIVE 110%.

GIVE AN HOUR. GIVE A SATURDAY. THINK OF WE BEFORE ME. REACH OUT A HAND TO ONE AND

INFLUENCE

THE CONDITION OF ALL.

GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.

LIVE UNITED

™

Want to make a difference? Help create opportunities for everyone in your community. United Way is creating real, lasting change where you live, by focusing on the building blocks of a better life– education, income and health. That’s what it means to Live United. For more, visit LIVEUNITED.ORG.

Natural Fashion Tribal Decoration from Africa Images by: Hans Silvester

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Le Carré By: Serafina Sprightly

L

uxury brand Hermès is justly famous for its carrés, otherwise known as scarves. Now they’ve turned their remarkable collection of scarves into a book. Hermès calls it the scarf as a novel. In true poetic form, the brand also calls this new vision “the scarf as a world of shapes” and “the scarf as a philosophy of color.”

Each Hermès scarf tells a story: this volume is their anthology. Created as an artist’s book, it transposes the scarves instead of merely picturing them. It magnifies their charm while preserving their ethereal grace. It narrates, through images and text, the existence of the now mythical silk twill “carré”.

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The Ultimate Guide to Living Well

WELCOME.

visit us magazine com The Ultimate Guide to Living Well

HOTTEST

New Cars

2 0 11 GREEN LIVING

L A DY GAGA

monsters attack!

REVENGE Websites

Emerging

NEW

rock artist INTERNATIONAL

Fall 2010

Travel

TRENDY

NIGHT SPOTS

Fall 2010

51

Project: House Bierings By: Rocha Tombal Architecten

W

GREEN LIVING eco-friendly space Photography: Christian Richters

ood in design has made a major comeback in last few years, from patterns in graphic design to a more contemporary use in architecture. Dutch architects firm Rocha Tombal Architecten, gave their very own exterior approach for their Green House Bierings project.

From a basic form, defined by the municipal urban plan, sculptural “eyes” emerge with direct views to the varied countryside landscape. The form and orientation of the building avoid visual contact with the adjacent houses: at the ground floor the angled ceiling of the kitchen accentuates the intensive contact with the garden. On the first floor, the different shaped openings in the roof and façade offer, like “fingers of light”, varied daylight experiences.

The routing through the house starts in the hall, a section of the ground floor volume.

After experiencing the entrance area and passing the gigantic pivoted door, the visitor arrives at the “heart of the house”, the kitchen. Here he looks through the big glass wall straight into the garden, which suggests being outside again. Behind him, the stair cuts a wooden wall inviting to follow the route towards the first floor. Its angled form and extreme proportions (small and high) and the daylight entering from the ceiling, offer the feeling of walking in a medieval street.

At the end of it he discovers the living room, a quiet, north-lighted attic space, from which a big opening exposes the surrounding green like in a framed painting. - from Rocha Tombal Architecten.

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Black Widow Steampunk Chopper scorch the road in style

By: Naresh Steampunk has been an interesting form of art that just gives a classic look to average products and immortalize them with a unique design. You may have seen some of the most amazing Steampunk gadgets or vehicles in the past, but the “Black Widow” from Solifague Design is an amazing custom Steampunk chopper to take the onlookers by awe and wonder. Though, we don’t have much technical info of the motorcycle mod, however, the metal beast seems to scorch the road in style.

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shopping directory MAGNIFICENT MILE SHOPS Apple Computer 679 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 981-4104 apple.com

Bottega Veneta 800 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 664-3220 bottegaveneta.com

Hermes 110 E. Oak St. (312) 787-8175 hermes.com

Pottery Barn 734 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 587-9602 potterybarn.com

Banana Republic 744 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 642-0020 bananarepublic.com

Brooks Brothers 713 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 915-0060 brooksbrothers.com

Johnston & Murphy 625 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 751-1630 johnstonmurphy.com

Saks Fifth Ave. 700 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 944-6500 saksfifthAve.com

Bang & Olufsen Oak Street 15 E. Oak St. (312) 787-6006 bang-olufsen.com

Burberry 633 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 787-2500 burberry.com

LEGO Global Family Attractions 520 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 494-0760 lego.com

Tiffany & Co. 730 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 944-7500 tiffany.com

Barneys New York 25 E. Oak St. (312) 587-1700 barneys.com

Coach Store 625 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 587-3167 coach.com

Benetton 520 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 494-9161 benetton.com

Crate & Barrel 646 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 787-5900 crateandbarrel.com

Bloomingdale’s 900 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 440-4460 bloomingdales.com

Donald J. Pliner 106 E. Oak St. (312) 202-9600 donaldplinerchicago.com

Boss Hugo 520 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 660-0056 hugo.com

Gucci Shops Inc. 900 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 664-5504 gucci.com

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Louis Vuitton 919 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 944-2010 louisvuitton.com Macy’s 835 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 335-7700 macys.com Neiman Marcus 737 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 642-5900 neimanmarcus.com Niketown 669 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 642-6363 nikebiz.com

Tory Burch 66 E. Walton St. Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 280-0010 toryburch.com United Colors of Benetton 900 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 649-5873 benetton.com Victoria’s Secret 830 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 664-2773 victoriassecret.com Water Tower Place 835 N. Michigan Ave. (312) 440-3166 shopwatertower.com

OTHER SHOPS

CB2 88 W North Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 787-3829 cb2.com

Mars Gallery 1139 W. Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 226-7808 marsgallery.com

Orange Skin 223 W. Erie St. Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 335-1033 orangeskin.com

Verde 2100 WArmitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60647 (773) 486-7750 verdedesignstudio.com

Graff 3701 West Burnham St. Milwaukee, WI 53215 (800) 954-4723 Graff-faucets.com

MCA Museum Store 220 E. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 397-4000 mcachicagostore.org

Post 27 1819 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 829-6112 post27store.com

Vincent Grech 3000 North Allen Ave. Chicago, IL 60618 (773) 384-1313 vincentgrech.com

Harrington College of Design 200 West Madison St. Chicago, IL 60606 (866) 590 4423 interiordesign.edu

The Merchandise Mart 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza Chicago, IL 60654 (312) 527-4141 merchandisemart.com

Ouest Boutique 1751 W. Division St. Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 421-2799 shopouest.com

Watermark 350 Dewitt Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11207 (800) 842-7227 watermark-designs.com

Room & Board 55 E. Ohio St. Chicago, IL 60657 (312) 222-0970 roomandboard.com

Weber Furniture Services 5915 N Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL 60660 (773) 275-1832 weberfurniture.com

Le Magasin 408 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 396-0030 le-magasin.com

Mint Julep 3709 N. Southport Ave. Chicago, IL 60613 (773) 296-2997 mint-julepchicago.com

Lightology LLC 215 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 944-1000 lightology.com

Modlife 3061 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 868 0844 modlifehome.com

Luminaire 301 W. Superior St. Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 664-9585 luminaire.com

Morlen Sinoway Aetlier 1052 W. Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 432-0100 morlensinoway.com

Scandinavian Design 501 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 337-4200 Sweden Shop 3304 West Foster Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 (773) 478-0237 theswedenshop.com Urbanest 5228 North Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 271-1000 urbanestliving.com

Wow & Zen 1912 North Damen Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 (773) 269-2600 wowandzen.com Zella Brown 1444 N Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60642 (773) 276 1746 zellabrown.com

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