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.

Click here to see more.

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.

Click here to read more.

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.

It's spiderman. It's batman. It's superman. No wait it's all three of them!

This series of eye-catching artworks depicting popular culture figures are the works of London-based illustrator, Liam Brazier. Using a range of angular geometries, Brazier successfully creates dynamic scenes that really provoke feelings of action and movement. No doubt, his effective choice of colour palette also contributes to the overall effect.

We love the way simple polygons can combine to form such remarkable illustrations. Certainly comic lovers will adore these!

Click here to read more.

Gjon Mili is a photographer recognised for his inventive use of light and Picasso is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. The meeting of these two brilliant minds was bound to result in something unusual, something beyond belief. And, it did … a remarkable series of light paintings. With a mind sparking with excitement, Picasso traced through the air one intriguing shape after another and whilst he drew with light, Mili captured the drawings.

His light paintings very much reflect the style of his works. They are so fluid and beautiful.

Click here to read more.

We’ve talked about paper art, pencil art, jelly art and now we bring you tape art!

Brooklyn based artist Rebecca Ward pushes the commonly held notions of adhesive tape and creates brightly coloured three-dimensional installations out of this sticky medium. Her intricate and thoughtful body of work explores the unique structures of her chosen sites. Ward’s work, often seen radiating up and down bare concrete walls uses overlaying simple shapes, patterns and lines. This juxtaposition of illusory and geometrical complexities has no doubt challenged the way people perceive and interact with the built environment.

We are in absolute awe of her work.

www.rebeccasward.com

Paris based Caroline Andrieu creates beautiful pen and ink illustrations for an extremely chic client list.

Andrieu has illustrated for Vogue, Diesel and Burberry in her distinctly delicate style. She has an amazing skill for recreating realistic fine details and also the ability to know when to leave something out.

Such a talented lady, have a peek at her online portfolio.

www.untitled-07.com

The MegaPhone amplifier by Italian design firm en&is is a gorgeous example of old mixed with new technology.

The handmade ceramic form is designed to hold an iPhone and then with natural acoustics amplify and optimise the sound for the best output. No batteries needed! The amplifier sits on a wooden frame that allows the object to float off the table and decrease the vibration of the object.

It’s perfect for listening to music without headphones and whilst not in use is an intriguing sculptural form. Not surprising the duo who created it, Enrico Bosa and Isabella Lovero, have a history in interior and jewellery design.

http://enandis.com/

New York based designer and musician Andy Gilmore creates work best described as hypnotic and almost kaleidoscopic. The master of colour and geometry is inspired by the physics of sound and acoustics, applying his understanding of harmony to form and colour. Gilmore’s thoughtful intertwining of simple geometry to form complex masterpieces feels almost surreal, futuristic and out of this world.

http://crowquills.com/

With articles like how to be loved by your friends’ folks and the power of secret crushes, Rookie is the ultimate teen girls survival guide. Created by Tavi Gevinson, a very youthful internet phenomenon, Rookie promises honest, funny and insightful takes on teen life, with monthly themed content, and millions of bad puns (as stated by Rookie itself). And people over the world have taken notice, including those at Vogue New York.

We may not be teens anymore but we love it for the memories and the insight! Pass this one on to the young ones you know.

http://rookiemag.com/

This July saw the opening of a new pastry shop in the heart of Santa Monica Boulevard! Fruute is a mouth-watering concept store that creates a variety of colourful and intricately designed tarts using only the freshest ingredients. These bite-sized tarts are all made from scratch and flavours change over the season. In addition to their classic flavours of fruit toppings and nuts, they have also come up with flavours for the curious like black pepper and wasabi.

These desserts inspire on so many levels beyond food. Ferro Concrete, a US based branding and design studio is responsible for this mini tart revolution. The minimal yet whimsical branding system is seen across Fruute’s company collateral, from store design right down to each individual pastry.

These tarts are so precious to look at, we wish we could also taste. We are hoping any of you LA goers could taste for us and send us your feedback!

http://www.fruute.com

 São Paola based architect and artist, Lucas Simões has redefined the art of collage through his latest series of works. In this series, Simoes invited close friends to tell him a secret as he took their portraits. His intentions were not to learn about the secret, but to capture their expressions as the secrets were being told. As he photographs their behaviours, he listens to a song chosen for him by each model. From this photo shoot he eventually chooses 10 different portraits of each person to cut up and carefully overlap. His intricate layering of images and thorough attention to detail is extraordinary. It sure has inspired us to create something so beautiful.

www.lucassimoes.com.br/

Just when you thought the ancient computer graphics of the 8-bit and pixel were gone, Hong Kong based fashion devotee Penter Yip of Fashionary has brought them back into vogue. Yip’s pixelated interpretations of designs by names like Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garçons and Viktor & Rolf are so simple yet invoke the style of each house they reference. We are so in love with these prints!

fashionary.org/

The next time you’re out on the streets in London, bring a magnifying glass with you! You never know when you might come across one of Slinkachu’s little people.

This London-based artist creates miniature street installations to encourage city dwellers to be more aware of their surroundings. What’s so inspiring is how he alters each of his little people to arrange them in real urban scenarios on the streets. He then photographs the scenes and leaves them for passer-bys to stumble upon. Slinkachu’s ultimate result, the photographs are so impressive; the close-ups make you feel like you’re part of the scene while the distant shots leave you feeling like a spectator.

Slinkachu has created installations in and around Europe. We hope that in the near future he decides to use the vast Australian outback as a backdrop for one of his mini projects.

slinkachu.com/

You’re on holiday, roaming in an unfamiliar but beautiful city, you’ve gone astray and you need your map. You search everywhere for it only to realise you have either misplaced it or have wrinkled and abused it so much you have thrown it away.

Well, this vexing scene could have been avoided if you had a Crumpled City Map designed by Milan based industrial designer, Emanuele Pizzolorusso. These maps are soft, light, waterproof and can be easily crumpled and thrown into its own carry pouch. These maps are now available for most major cities around the world including our very own Sydney (and soon to come Melbourne!) Along with the usual sightseeing spots, which are all listed, each map also provides a selection of 10 soul-sights selected to thrill visitors. Such a brilliant idea for those planning to travel light!

www.pizzolorusso.com/

The ability to organise isn’t exactly something most artists possess, but this is not the case for Swiss artist-comedian Ursus Wehrli. Wehrli through his borderline OCD behaviour finds everyday situations of chaos and compulsively organises them into neat rows according to color, size, shape and type. His art of tidying up sees him organising elements from famous artworks by the likes of Seraut and Van Gogh to everyday objects, like foliage and alphabet soups.

The scale of Wehrli’s work has not been restrained by what he can physically put his hands on, some of his more recent work has seen him reorganising a lawn full of towels, beach umbrellas and people. A somewhat comical vision, like a giant has come along and tidied up the poolside. I dare not imagine what he would do if buildings could detach from the ground!

www.kunstaufraeumen.ch/

When it comes to handing out your business card, how often do you get an overwhelming reaction? Well the creative team at LEGO sure has everyone talking about theirs!

Not actually a stack of cards but the staff at LEGO are given little LEGO figurines to hand out to their clients. These mini figurines are designed to actually resemble their owners right down to their gender and hair colour. Whilst the names go on the front of the figurines, the additional details are printed on the back. Sadly, due to the hefty production costs, these mini figurines are exclusive to Lego’s Executive Officers and those is the PR department.

Creating a conversation around your business card, what a great way to leave a good first impression.

gu.com/p/26c5k

When you think of fishmongers, you think of someone who sells fish. What about jelly mongers? Well, jelly of course!

Recognised as the UK’s jelly mongers, the remarkable duo, Bompas & Parr have combined art and food taking their particular commodity to new heights, perceptions and flavours. They have gone beyond ordinary flavours to inventing their own like elderflower, bacon and even trifles dusted in gold. Thanks to Parr’s architectural expertise they have moved from modest takeaway containers to producing very impressive architectural moulds.

Nonetheless, the scale of their work has not been constrained by how big the mould is. This incredible pair has the most infectious enthusiasm; they constantly challenge the conventional and believe anything is possible. Subsequently, they have produced glow-in-the-dark jelly installations and held an Architectural Jelly Banquet.

We are completely obsessed by their creations and it sure has inspired us to hold a jelly banquet in our own homes!

www.jellymongers.co.uk