German publisher, Taschen, is considered by many admirers to be the king of coffee table books. Their stylized art books are known to be the publishing equivalent of haute couture.

As you would imagine, their concept stores are just as stunning as the books they produce.

When you walk off the busy streets of Beverly Hills into the Taschen bookstore, you feel as though you have walked into a lavish private library. A place so contemporary, elegant and calm.

As you adventure further in the store, illuminated shelves are lined with sleek, large-scale volumes on artists, architects, photographers and designers. The floors are decked out with dark glossy wood panels and the ceiling and walls are covered by murals inspired by the books. This Philippe Starck designed interior creates the perfect setting for these works of art.

Special thanks to Theo Pettaras of Digitalpress for telling us about this exquisite place, and for the photos.

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Hidden among the thousands of rooftops that make up Hong Kong’s iconic cityscape are dozens of beehives that are being cared for by a community of beekeepers, artists and designers.

Hong Kong based designer Michael Leung founded HK Honey as a way to bring nature back to the metropolis one box at a time. The aim of this non-profit organization is to harvest the honey for use in local café’s, to promote local eating. This socio-cultural project aspires to create a community that connects the local people and beekeepers while communicating the value of bees to the human food chain.

This is truly an inspirational project, we can only wish we were in Hong Kong to have our own little box of bees.

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We are so excited to announce the launch of a new venture we have been working on, a collaboration with fashion/portrait photographer Julie Adams, An Affair with Italy.

Essentially it is an online magazine that captures people's intimate accounts of Italy and their secret travel tips, everything from restaurants to hotels to experiences. Subscribe for your chance to WIN 1 of 6 FREE SIGNED copies of Amanda Tabberer's book My Amalfi Coast.

Would love to hear what you think.

If you haven't already checked out The Design Kids, we highly recommend you do!

This Australian based online store has been supporting emerging talent since the summer of 2010. The Design Kids provide a platform for Australian design graduates, as well as those already in the industry, to design one off or limited edition pieces. From posters to jewellery to homewares, the products featured are always so chic and cool. Other than online, you can find them featured at the Finders Keepers markets.

We are so proud of Frankie and the team at The Design Kids, we wish them all the very best up in Byron Bay!

Click here to read more.

Happy 2012! It's been a big start to the new year for the Elks. We have moved our office into the city and gone live with a brand new website. And to celebrate we are offering one of our readers a free 2 hour strategy session with The Elk Group, designed to help you understand the essence of your brand, what it represents and how it should come to life.

Simply browse the new website and email Emma Scott with a response to the following question (you'll find the answer on our website) 'How do we judge a great idea?' The first 20 responses will receive a copy of The Love You Book, and each entry will go in the draw for a chance to win the strategy session. Winner will be announced Mon 6th February. Feel free to forward this to your friends.