| World’s First Official Barbie Cafe Is as Pink as You’d Expect Posted: 31 Jan 2013 04:54 AM PST As if Asians didn’t have enough pink in their lives, from all those crazy Hello-Kitty-themed venues, now there’s an official Barbie Cafe in Taipei, Taiwan. And yes, it has dolls, themed foods and more pink than most men can bare. January 30th witnessed the inauguration of the world’s first official Barbie Cafe, in one of the busiest shopping districts in Taipei. The iconic doll’s maker, Mattel, licensed Taiwanese restaurant chain Sinlaku to open the themed cafe in hopes that it will promote Barbie as a fashion brand. Iggy Yip, senior manager of Mattel's Greater China division, commented: ”We picked Taiwan because theme restaurants are very popular and successful here. We are very confident that the Barbie Cafe can promote our brand image.” Indeed, the island is home to a number of unique restaurants and cafes, including one modeled after an A380 airplane, a cardboard restaurant, and even a popular toilet restaurant. But there is a special relationship between Taiwan and Barbie, as this was where the popular doll was originally manufactured, before production lines were moved to mainland China and other parts, to lower costs. In 2009, another Barbie restaurant was opened in Shanghai, China, but it closed down two years later, after it proved unsuccessful. 
Taipei’s Barbie Cafe measures 660 square meters almost all of which are covered in bright pink. The walls are adorned with illustrations of Barbie in various outfits, tables are styled like high-heels and the chairs are decorated with red corsets and pink tutus around the seats. As if there wasn’t enough pink in the place, the waiters also wear pink Barbie logo T-shirts, matching tutus, Barbie armbands, glitter and tiaras on their heads. But what about the foods, right? What is anyone supposed to eat in a restaurant themed after a character with an unreal figure? There are plenty of tasty-looking dishes on the menu, from soups to salads and steaks, and even sweets, but they all come with a calorie counter, so girls know how much they risk to gain. Charming, isn’t it? Shiao Yu, one of the first patrons to visit the cafe, said: “I feel like a Barbie doll in a fairy-tale world, and I feel like a princess. It’s very dreamy.” I’d like to make a suggestion – bring the real-life Barbie here for a truly complete package. 
The Barbie Cafe cost a reported $1,7 million, but investors are confident it will pay off in the long run. If there’s one good thing about this place it’s that it won’t put a too big a den in Barbie fans’ budgets. A meal here costs just $10 and you can find plenty of dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now, if you’ll excuse, I’have to go and find a way to wash all this pink off my retina. 
Photos: Tsung Chi Hwei/Facebook World’s First Official Barbie Cafe Is as Pink as You’d Expect was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Kelvin Okafor’s Photo-Realistic Drawings Are Simply Mind-Blowing Posted: 31 Jan 2013 02:48 AM PST Look closely at the images below, and tell you don’t see artistic black and white photos? Well, they’re really just incredibly detailed pencil and charcoal drawings by talented British artist Kelvin Okafor. Mind blown, I know. It’s safe to say some of the world’s most talented photographs couldn’t capture all the details in Kevin Okafor’s portraits, and instead of high-resolution cameras, his only tools are a set of pencils, a piece of paper and sometimes a stick of charcoal. But then again, not many people have his amazing talent. Like other new-generation artists like 22-year-old Diego Fazo, or the incredible Dirk Dzimirsky, London-based Kelvin Okafor works wonders with his pencils. Too poor to leave the house and socialize, the gifted artist spent most of his childhood and teenage years improving his drawing skills. Instead of partying and clubbing like other kids his age, he found refuge in drawing, and is now reaping his rewards – he charges between £800 ($1,300) to £3,000 ($4,750) for commission works, and some of his best portraits are already being sold for as much £10,000 ($16,000). It might seem like a lot of money, but considering the quality of his work and the amount and time and patience that go into each piece, I’d say it’s worth even more. 
Mother Teresa Kelvin’s parents came to England from Nigeria, in the hopes that their children could grow up to reach their full potential there. They struggled to raise him, his brother and two sister and made sure “they instilled the message that hard work pays off”. “Most teenagers experiment a lot with their life. They have their experiences” the 27-year-old artist told Daily Mail. “I didn't have that. But, to be honest, I didn't want it anyway. I was too busy trying to focus on my craft.” In fact, he was always so absorbed by his work that he didn’t even notice the terrible riots that occurred right in his neighborhood, in 2011. But Kelvin also believes he wouldn’t have become an artist had he not needed a distraction from all the hardships he and his family had to endure during his childhood years. When he was just 11 years old, they came home from a vacation only to find their home had been repossessed. They didn’t have a home for the next three years, which they spent moving “from place to place, from cousin to cousin.” “'It was a struggle. That's why I spent a lot of time by myself, drawing. I didn't have the luxury of going out and spending money” the artist explains. 
Beyonce As you can probably imagine, Kelvin Okafor puts a lot of time into every one of his works. “Before I start drawing, I spend a few hours — even a few days — analyzing the face from every angle,”he says. “I usually start with the eyes. From there, I make the whole shape of the face and I work in the detail. I draw in sections. I'm right-handed so I work from left to right. After I've finished the left eye, I work the nostrils, then the left side of the cheek, then the lips. I always work in that order. I work for four hours in one go, take a half-hour break, work another four to five hours, then have another half-hour break. After that I'll work for as long as I can. Sometimes I might work ten to 15 hours in one day. It takes me on average 80 to 100 hours to do a portrait.” It’s painstaking work, but the end result is simply breath-taking. 
Tinie Tempah 
Zoe Saldana 
King Hussein of Jordan 
Lauren Hill For more of Kelvin Okafor’s ultra-realistic drawings, check out his Blogspot art blog and Flickr stream. Source: Daily Mail All photos are © Kelvin Okafor Kelvin Okafor’s Photo-Realistic Drawings Are Simply Mind-Blowing was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Artist Hides $12,600 Check in Art Gallery to Raise Public Interest Posted: 31 Jan 2013 01:24 AM PST Tomas Georgeson, an artist from Buckinghamshire, England, has come up with an ingenious way of getting people to visit the local Milton Keynes Gallery – he placed an advert in the local paper informing town folk that he has hidden a blank check for £8,000 ($12,600) somewhere in the gallery and that they are invited to claim it by March 1. There are a number of ways to get people interested in art galleries. Some people bury themselves in a tiny hole for a whole week, others give birth in front of a live audience, but probably the most effective way is to actually offer visitors financial incentives. That’s what English artist Tomas Georgeson decided to do, in a desperate attempt to raise local interest in Milton Keynes’ gallery. He has apparently hidden a blank check for £8,000 somewhere inside the small venue, which visitors are invited to look for and claim as their own. Although the bold artist says it’s pretty much all the money he has, treasure hunters can be sure it won’t bounce. He describes his unusual gesture as a statement of support for the galley, and a way to”get people through the door and change the mood of the place." 
Photo: Derek Wales Photography "It almost doesn't matter what happens, it's the fact that it's there”, Georgeson said. “If somebody chooses to spend it on mortgage payments, then those mortgage payments would become art, which is quite miraculous to me." Anticipating that some people might actually damage the artworks on display at the Milton Keynes Gallery, he wanted to ask everyone to respect the art on display while hunting for the check, and made sure to let them know the precious piece of paper isn’t hidden behind any of the works. "It won't bounce if somebody finds the check and cashes it. I'm prepared to live with the consequences of that happening, and I could only be prepared if I thought it would really do some good" he added. 
Apparently, not even representatives of the gallery knew about Tomas Georgeson’s idea before it appeared in the papers. A representative told members of the press that his colleagues "have made a careful search of the gallery's public spaces and found no trace of a blank check for £8,000." Still, the gallery has brought in extra staff to guard the displays, and says the number of visitors has definitely increased since articles about Georgeson’s stunt appeared in newspapers around England. “They haven’t been queuing around the block but there have been about 30 extra people in the first two hours and some have not been to the gallery before so that is fantastic” gallery director Anthony Spira told the BBC. ”So far so good, nothing has been destroyed but we have had people rifling through our bookcases, looking for clever titles which might be hiding it.” If unclaimed by March 1, the blank check will be collected. Until then, happy treasure hunting! Sources: The Telegraph, BBC Artist Hides $12,600 Check in Art Gallery to Raise Public Interest was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
