Barking Irons

Even before the movie Gangs of New York was put out, designer brothers Daniel and Michael Casarella evoked a passion for 19th century New York history. They have a remarkable personal collection of clothing and other memorabilia that dates back to that era. From that stemmed their desire to create fashion label which includes t-shirts, cut and sew pieces, as well as jewelry for both men and women that take influence from 19th century New York. The label, Barking Irons, does a terrific job of sticking to their philosophy and theme for each and every product that they produce. As a result, they have garnered the attention of GQ, Nylon for Guys and The New York Times Magazine. Check out their collection at Barking Irons.

The Tap Project by UNICEF

The Tap Project did such a great job designing the bottle. The bottle clearly caught my attention due to the great aesthetics attributed to it. It goes to show how influential designs can be to any product or cause.

The Tap Project is a very interesting project coming from UNICEF. On March 22, 2007, the United Nations’ World Water Day, hundreds of restaurants in New York City, will invite their patrons to pay $1 for something they normally get for free. Tap water. Although one would wonder why they would paid for tap water, the funds collected will support UNICEF water programs, which provide safe drinking water to children around the world.

There are over 21% of children living in developing countries (most of them in Africa) do not have access to clean water. That’s more than one billion people. 80% of all illness and infant mortality is due to waterborne disease. The lack of clean water is the second largest killer of children under the age of 5.

With just $1 UNICEF can provide 40 litres of safe drinking water, enough to give one child safe drinking water for 40 days or 40 children safe for one day.With just a dollar, UNICEF can provide 100 water purification tablets to provide clean water for children in crisis situations.

On March 22, 2007, there are several dozen Manhattan restaurants participating in this project so make sure you go out to eat and buy a couple of bottles of tap water via The Tap Project to support the cause. I know its pretty early to mention this cause but its better to be informed early rather than not to be informed at all. Spread the word and remember on March 22, 2007.

[The Tap Project]

– Jon