Lux Tips

Holiday Entertaining Tips from Designer Kim Seybert

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) — Dec 16th 2010 at 9:31AM

Kim Seybert, designer of lifestyle and tabletop accessories, offers her best tips for holiday entertaining.

Kim Seybert, a world-renowned designer spoke to Luxist and gave us her six favorite tips for throwing the perfect holiday gathering.

Seybert is widely credited with being the creator of "fashion for the table". She successfully translated her skills as an evening gown and cocktail dress designer to the home with the creation of Kim Seybert, her namesake company, for which she designs gorgeous and elegant placemats, napkins, napkin rings, table runners, tablecloths, glasses, bath accessories and home decor accessories. Seybert's extensive line of table wear and home accessories is available for purchase on the Kim Seybert website as well as at such luxury retailers as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barneys New York, and Horchow.

Seybert's designs often feature the same techniques she used when designing glamorous evening gowns. As a result, her designs are so stunning, they present an easy alternative to re-decorating a home. Seybert's spectacular napkin rings (see image below), for example, feature extensive beading and are so gorgeous they are often referred to as "jewelry for the table".

Tags: awards-main, decor-pedia, decorating ideas, decorating tips, holiday entertaining, how to decorate a holiday table, Kim Seybert, luxist-awards, main-pedia, napkin rings, table decor, table decorations

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Luxist Gets an Education in Flowers at Camelback Flowershop

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) — Jul 30th 2010 at 10:02AM

While ~~enduring~~ basking in the solarific heat of a Phoenix summer we stumbled upon the Camelback Flowershop. Tucked in between a cafe and a Cuban restaurant there was little on the outside to give away the splendor within, but once inside we knew we had found another portal through the looking glass. After the first bouquet we gifted earned us unheard of accolades, we had returned to the florist to find out exactly how she makes her magic. Armed with a cappuccino from the shop's own maker, we sat down with owner Teresa Wilson, and in addition to learning a few things about sepals and stems we also learned that Camelback Flowershop doesn't sell flowers – it sells fragrant high fashion.

Gallery: Luxist Visits Camelback Flowershop

Tags: arizona, camelback flowershop, florists, flowers, phoenix

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What Is Luxury Health Care? A Visit To Switzerland's Clinique La Prairie

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Jul 19th 2010 at 8:02AM

Luxury health care? You don't hear the term very often. From a social perspective it is a bit of a tricky concept. To imply that some types of health care and medical treatments are 'excessive' and for the well-to-do only seems to contrast with the humanitarian concepts of treating the ill or injured. In fact, luxury heath care has been around for eons. The tonics a king would drinks, the ointments of an emperor. Things not necessarily meant to cure, but enhance or enliven.

Today luxury health care often falls under the category of "elective procedures." A rather tedious concept probably coined by insurance companies. It implies that you don't need it, or rather that the patient, versus the doctor is prescribing the treatment or procedure. We often look down upon things like cosmetic surgery publicly - although it is so much a common practice world wide. So back to the initial question - are such 'elective procedures' all that is encompassed under the umbrella of luxury health care? No. In fact luxury health care is probably what health care should be in an ideal world. Proper attention, good doctors, and the time taken to properly diagnose and treat, whatever the problem may be - whether it is necessary to sustain life, or elective to enhance it.

I travel to Switzerland and visit the Clinique La Prairie (CLP) to see if I can answer my question about luxury and health care. The Clinique is a rather famous (if you swing in the right circles) "wellness center" that has been around for about 80 years. Located right on Lake Geneva in Montreux Switzerland, CLP is nestled away in a small, but highly desirable location near France. The beginnings of the Clinique are rather retro sci-fi in concept. I will let CLP give you its full history, but a doctor had an interesting idea of injecting people with young organ cells collected from sheep. The theory was that these early organ cells would stimulate cellular rejuvenation and offer a series of "wellness" benefits meant to make you feel younger and stimulate the immune system. Sounds a bit mad scientist-ish, but people much more picky than I swear by it.

Tags: care, Clinique La Prairie, CLP, health, luxury, medical, review, swiss, switzerland

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How to Throw the Perfect Party

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Jan 29th 2010 at 8:01AM

Whether its just friends getting together for drinks or a big soiree full of people you want to impress, the trick to throwing a truly perfect party is to plan out the details in advance so you can relax and have fun at the event. The mood of the host or hostess sets the tone for the whole party, so being stressed and uncomfortable around the guests is not an option. In order to create the perfect atmosphere here a few good rules of thumb appropriate for any party.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Plan and prepare the little details till your heart's content (they can really make a party) but if something goes wrong or doesn't turn out just right don't panic. If you stay relaxed and happy your guests will be that much more comfortable (and a few imperfections can be endearing).
Know your guests If you're serving food find out ahead of time if there are any special guest requirements (vegetarian diet, allergies, etc). Also make sure the music is appropriate for everyone, and plan ahead for special guest groups like the elderly (plenty of seating) and children (places to play). You don't want to be scrambling for extra chairs as the guests arrive.

Tags: entertainment-pedia, hostess, hosting, main-pedia, parties, party, party planning, PartyPlanning

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Twitter-Only Valentine's Day Specials

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) — Jan 26th 2010 at 4:01PM

Technology can enhance your love life. Just ask anyone whose ever had text sex. (Phone sex is so old millennium.) Twitter, on the other hand, can do more than excite, it can land you deals on Valentine's Day hotel packages.

In the coming weeks, several hotels and resorts plan to release romance packages and other specials exclusively to the Twittisphere. The savings range from an $800 off three nights at Florida's five-star ONE Bal Harbour resort to a 25 percent reduction at the gorgeous Rock Resorts' The Landings St. Lucia (pictured). Your sweetheart never needs to know.

Here are four Valentine's Day specials and how to track them down on Twitter:

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An Insider's, Insider's Guide to Luxury Travel

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) — Jan 26th 2010 at 8:03AM

The luxury traveler is awash in options – when even Yangon, Myanmar has two (!) 5-star hotels, you know that the forward scouts of the voluptuary have planted flags just about everywhere. Now the question is: how do you find the best of the best? While numerous sites swear numerous oaths about being the finest in sybaritic escapes, as is always the case in these matters, only a few have a worthy insider's eye on luxury destinations. What's more, some of them offer insider deals so you can do more with your time away – or maybe do less and feel better about it. We had a chat with three of them, Gilt Groupe's Jetsetter, TabletHotels.com, and Urban Daddy's Jetset to see what they had to say about their offerings.

Tags: awards-main, deal, deals, gilt groupe, gilt jetsetter, GiltGroupe, GiltJetsetter, jetsetter.com, luxist-awards, savings, tablet hotel, TabletHotel, urban daddy, UrbanDaddy, winter-travel-main, winter-travel-pedia

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Stock up on Jewelry: Hyperinflation on the Way

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) — Nov 13th 2009 at 7:00PM

If the fears of hyperinflation are realized, you'll look back with pride on your luxury purchases. All that money you've sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line stones will make you look like an absolute genius. Well, that's the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and I'd take the advice of a guy who can be described that way.

According to Bloomberg News, the told investors, "If we enter hyperinflation, you're going to be so glad that you bought that stuff two months or six months ago." He added, "If inflation picks up, you're going to see people running into your stores, buying high jewelry."

Will inflation cause a mob to form outside the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue? Well, I don't think I'd worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow probably isn't a bad idea.

Of course, Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world's second largest luxury goods maker (behind LVMH). In his talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted "normal growth" with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next.

Tags: billionaire, billionaires, cartier, Fifth Avenue, FifthAvenue, hyperinflation, inflation, luxury goods, LuxuryGoods, lvmh, LvmhMoetHennessyLouisVuitton, Richemont, wealthy

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Herman Miller Setu Review: The Easy Ergonomic Chair

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Oct 23rd 2009 at 4:03PM

What are you doing right now? Are you sitting down? What do you think about the chair you are in? Is it stylish, supportive? Have you ever really thought about it before? I didn't until a couple of years ago when I realized I was doing myself a disservice by sitting in the chair equivalent of a backache. "Ergonomic stuff is for the weak and elderly," being the type of perception I used to have. I eventually realized that sitting in a "nice" chair helped comfort and productivity a lot, but it wasn't easy finding the right seat. Most "ergonomic" items these days are gimmicks, and finding something specially designed for your comfort and health is hard. Well here is one item you don't have to stress-out about.

Here is my personal review of the new Herman Miller Setu task and desk chair. The brand well know for the universally popular Aeron desk chair has a few other products you should know about. One of them is right for you. In short, in the Herman Miller line of chairs, the Setu is made for simplicity and ease of use. No complex or frustrating levers and micro adjustments. The chair is designed to naturally fit to you, without having to adjust it. An added bonus is that multiple people can enjoy the same seat (no, not at the same time), without having to disturb your unique ergonomic settings.

To continue reading, click on the link below.

Gallery: Herman Miller Setu Chair

Tags: chair, desk, ergonomic, experience, herman miller, HermanMiller, office, opinion, review, setu

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Royal Court: Federer's Suite at the Carlyle Hotel

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) — Aug 6th 2009 at 7:01AM

After completing his work each day on the hard, sun-baked courts of the U.S. Open in Flushing, Queens, Roger Federer will rest his head on plush monogrammed pillows (above) at the Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the New York Observer reports. Federer, winner of the most grand slam titles in the history of men's tennis, will be staying for the third consecutive year in a $3,000-a-night suite on the 16th floor.

As the Observer dutifully details, Federer's suite has a long, formal living room furnished in black and white and hung with a large "quasi-Picasso." The bathroom is bedecked in black marble and gold trim. The polite and soft-spoken Swiss, the newspaper reports, prefers the smaller of the two bedrooms, eschewing the master chamber, with its mirrored bedposts and leopard-print rug. His focus during the fortnight will be on capturing his 16th major title, two more than the less artistic, though coldly efficient, Pete Sampras.

Gallery: Roger Federer's Lair at the Carlyle Hotel

Tags: carlyle hotel, CarlyleHotel, roger federer, RogerFederer

Virgin Galactic and the 40th Anniversary of That Other Moonwalk

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) — Jul 3rd 2009 at 10:01AM

The untimely death of Michael Jackson has adults of a certain generation remembering the days of the moonwalk craze. But for those with a few more candles to blow out on the birthday cake, the term "moonwalk" conjures up the name of a different iconic American entirely: Neil Armstrong.

The 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk is swiftly approaching: July 20, 2009. And although it's been long in the making, Virgin Galactic moves ever closer to making a space journey a reality for private citizens willing to spend $200,000. (A bargain, really, considering that arranging private space travel today costs about $20 million.) On May 28, 2009, Virgin Galactic announced the successful completion of the first phase of tests of the rocket motor that will propel space tourists up, up and away.

There are still more tests to go, but at this point, the plan is to start sending passengers into space as soon as late 2010. (Delays are very likely, so no need to go into an oxygen-free environment just yet -- don't hold your breath.) There's no moonwalking in the cards, but there is traveling at 3,000 miles an hour to 70 miles above the earth's surface, experiencing weightlessness and a view of more than 1,000 miles in all directions.

If you want to get to this before the been-there-done-that's set in -- at current tally, there are 300 people from 42 countries waiting for their turn -- it's worth signing up early. You can accomplish this exclusively through luxury travel pros Virtuoso, who are the first "Accredited Space Agents."

In fact, Virtuoso founder Matthew D. Upchurch is a candidate to be among the first to make the trip. Whether he's on the very first flight will be determined by a lottery -- he's got a 1 in 14 chance. But hey, the odds of reaching the moon at all forty years ago had to be longer than that.

Tags: space, travel, virgin, virgin galactic, VirginGalactic

Simplifying the Schlep: Club Glove's Smart New Attachable Luggage

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) — Jun 12th 2009 at 10:01AM

Who among us hasn't tried this: You're schlepping through the airport with multiple pieces of luggage but only one of them has wheels, so you stack your other bags on top of it and/or hook them around the handle, hoping to lighten your load. It works for about twenty paces or so and then becomes a tangled mess that only slows you down even more. Seeking a solution to this traveler's nightmare, West Coast Trends Inc., maker of popular Club Glove products, has introduced a line of attachable luggage called Train Reaction.

The line consists of three-piece luggage sets ($667–$757) that include a shoulder bag, a carry-on and large duffle or golf travel bag. The two largest pieces in each set have wheels and are designed to hook together. The third bag fits on top, and all three share a handle that can be pulled with one arm. Sounds confusing? Actually, it's rather simple, as you can see in this somewhat breathless promotional video.

Tags: Club Glove, ClubGlove, luggage, Train Reaction, TrainReaction

Seeing Through a Mystery Boutique in Berlin

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) — Jun 4th 2009 at 10:02AM

"Look into the window and guess what this store sells," said Henrik Tidefjärd, who runs Berlinagenten, a tour company focused on urban insider experiences in Berlin.

We were standing in the Mitte in trendy East Berlin, and although I'm a maestro in the art of parting with my money at retail, I was pretty much stumped.

The only object in the window display was a bike, so that was my first guess, but no. Beyond that, I could see a couple of comfortable black leather couches, some wooden cabinets, a mannequin head and a sign that said The Whitest Boy Alive. (Sorry about the glare in the picture there, it was a cloudy day. Check out the gallery below if you want to see what other evidence I had to consider.)

A shopper I am, but a detective I am not. I gave up, and Henrick pointed out the telling clue on the mannequin head: glasses. We were standing at the Berlin home of ic! Berlin the trendy high-end German glasses manufacturer. (I see Berlin, get it?) A further clue that I'd missed was a sheet of stamped metal propped in the window, as the company manufactures its incredibly lightweight glasses without screws. (Screwless-spring-hinge-insert-system, says the company's quirky literature -- as best as I can piece it together from it, the whole enterprise got started in 1996.) ic Berlin! regularly wins design awards for its hand-crafted eyewear, which are all made in the city, and run in the $400-$600 price range.

Just a few blocks down Henrik led me to another store whose product I was able to figure out immediately: Mykita. In 2003, there was apparently a great schism between the five founders of ic! Berlin, and two, Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling went on to found Mykita, which also hand-creates lightweight glasses without screws. Find either company's screwless specs at their East Berlin locations, through fine opticians or, in the case of Mykita at a second retail store just opened in Vienna.

Gallery: Glasses Made in Berlin

Tags: berlin, cool summer, coolsummer, sunglasses

Cool Summer: Does Thread Count, Count?

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) — May 27th 2009 at 10:01AM

Now that Memorial Day has passed, and it's unofficially, officially summer, it's time to think about switching bed linens from winter coziness to summer crispness. If you're going to freshen your linen closet, the folks that make the fine linens at SFERRA have a message for you: stop obsessing about thread count.

Most of us use thread count -- that is, the number of threads per square inch of fabric -- as a proxy for quality. And it is definitely important -- just go to any good linen department and give the samples of different thread count a good stroke and scrunch. But it's not the only thing that matters, nor is it what matters most: the quality of the fiber matters more. (You could have a sheet of densely woven straw, for example, and you wouldn't want to sleep on it.) Egyptian cotton is most used in luxury linens because it produces a long fiber, or staple, which means it's easier to spin into smooth, fine yarn.

After that, the weave that's used influences the feel of the sheet. For summer consider linen, a loose weave of long flax fibers, like SFERRA's Classico line fitted queen sheet for $210, king flat sheet for $315. Or go with percale, a tight uniform cotton weave that results in a matte look and a smooth, crisp feel. For example, pictured here is SFERRA's Sereno line, fitted queen sheet for $410, king duvet for $1,080. But okay, just because you're not obsessing about thread count doesn't mean you have to forget it entirely: the Sereno line has a very luxey thread count of 800.

Learn more about SFERRA's "Lose Count" campaign by friending the company on Facebook.

Tags: bedroom, cool summer, CoolSummer, cotton, decor, linen, linens, sheets

Discounts Abound at Luxury Ski Resorts

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) — Feb 2nd 2009 at 8:03AM

Flagging bookings at many of the finest winter resorts in the country have created a boon for skiers in search of bargains. As the New York Times reports, enticing deals are to be found at such popular -- and typically pricey -- ski areas as Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole and Lake Tahoe.

Vail Resorts is providing three nights' lodging and three days of lift tickets for the cost of two at its four ski areas in Colorado (Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone) and Tahoe's Heavenly Mountain Resort. In Jackson, rates for the four-night Skier's Dream package at Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa have been reduced by $100 per night. Aspen/Snowmass has partnered with Frontier Airlines to offer a free flight, among other incentives, to group and family travelers. For a blizzard of more special offers, check out ski.com.

Tags: Aspen, Heavenly Mountain Resort, HeavenlyMountainResort, Jackson Hole, Lake Tahoe, skiing, Teton Mountain Lodge, TetonMountainLodge, Vail

Lux Tip: Drive a Luxury Car for Less

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Oct 21st 2008 at 4:05PM

Want to drive a luxury brand automobile but can't afford it? You might be surprised to find that many luxury brands (like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Lincoln) offer vehicles that start in the low 30s. Just by foregoing a few extras like a bigger engine and built-in GPS you could be driving a new luxury car for about the same as you'd expect to pay for a nice Toyota or Honda. It really comes down to deciding if the term "fully loaded" is really that important to you -- do you have to have that gas-guzzling V8? If the answer is 'no' then you suddenly have a lot more options.

Tags: audi, auto, automobile, automobiles, autos, bmw, car, cars, lincoln, lux tip, lux tips, LuxTip, LuxTips, mercedes, mercedes-benz, tip, tips, wheels