Can't Pay 20k For Jeff Koons and Dom Pérignon's Balloon Venus? Get The Limited Gift Box Versions Instead.

The news broke last June that artist Jeff Koons and Dom Pérignon collaborated on a limited number (650 worldwide) of manually assembled and hand polished champagne holders inspired by Koons' Balloon Venus.



The two-foot tall polyurethane resin version (shown above) of the artist's bulbous take on the 25,000 year old fertility symbol, Venus of Willendorf, was designed to cradle a bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 and is offered in a limited edition of 650 worldwide costing $20,000 a piece.


above: Jeff Koons and Dom Pérignon's Richard Geoffroy with Koons' Balloon Venus for Dom Pérignon design and the hot pink full-sized sculpture that inspired it.



If you can't afford the $20,000 Balloon Venus bottle holder (and if you can, I'd like to be your friend) than perhaps the limited edition gift box is a better choice.



The Limited Edition gift box was designed by Jeff Koons himself for both Dom Pérignon Vintage 2004 and Dom Perignon Rose Vintage 2003. The exterior of the boxes feature silk-screened spot-varnished images of a yellow Balloon Venus and a hot pink Balloon Venus (to match the respective cuvees) on a dark background.


above: Koons' full-sized Balloon Venus in yellow

From the outside, the gift box extends the feeling of being in the presence of Balloon Venus, as the reproduction features a 360 degree view of the sculpture.



A view of the artist’s studio is visible on the reflective surface of the Balloon Venus, a reference to the place where Jeff Koons takes his inspiration, just as the Abbey of Hautvillers is where Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon, creates the Dom Pérignon vintages.

The gift box opens to expose the bottle, unveiling first an elaborate design that simulates the iridescent interior of the original sculpture made of high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating dress. The iconic Dom Pérignon bottle erupts, exactly as it does from the body of the Balloon Venus for Dom Pérignon.



Similar to the boxes, the bottle foils give a pop twist to the color of its cuvée, Blanc or Rose, interpreting the tension between the colors and the dark bottle. It bears a metallic shield with the same color layout as the foil and the box.



The label plays with colored surface on the depth of the shield, emphasizing its allure, playful and yet mysterious.



Richard Geoffroy of Dom Pérignon said that the label first approached Koons with the idea two years ago, and gave the artist free rein on the end design of the package.



The limited edition boxes can be found at select specialty liquor and wine stores all over the world.

Dom Pérignon has previously collaborated with such artists as David Lynch, Marc Newsom, Martin Szekely, and the estate of Andy Warhol for limited edition champagne buckets and bottles.

Dom Pérignon
images courtesy of Dom Perignon and Jeff Koons

Fabulous Design, Illustration and Packaging by Veronika Kieneke for the GÖRTZ brand.

Hamburg-based creative and design agency Gürtlerbachmann has created many beautiful in-store promotional pieces for German shoe store chain GÖRTZ. From designing sock puppets and wearable bags to promote their children's section to beautiful packaging for wool socks. Such a slew of well-designed pieces and all of the art direction and concepts were created by the talented (now freelance) illustrator and designer Veronika Kieneke. Every in-store promotional piece and package design in this post has received at least one design award - and in most cases multiple awards.

Dioramas made from Shoe Boxes as in-store display:










Packaging for fashion brand CLOSED Wool Socks:








Wearable bags for Children's shoes:









Sock Puppets to Promote Their Children's Section:





images courtesy of the designer and Gürtlerbachmann

See more of the talented Veronika Kieneke's work here

Architect Zaha Hadid Designs Unique Bottle & Box For Leo Hillinger's Icon Hill Wine.

Leo Hillinger presents an iconic wine with packaging created by an icon herself. On October 4th of this year, at the Albertina in Vienna, Austrian winemaker Leo Hillinger unveiled his exceptional red wine blend, the 2009 Icon Hill in a precious bottle and box created by Pritzker-winning architect Zaha Hadid.

"With the unique design and the ICON HILL ​​is optimally presented. Powerful and intense it is drawn from the creation in its spell. Zaha has perfectly embodied in the wine bottle shape."-- Leo Hillinger

Zaha Hadid, above, says of the design:
"The elongated volume of the bottle has been derived from the profile of liquid droplets. A continuous spatial curve was then projected onto the bottle’s surface, defining areas for the concave indentation and suggesting the waves created when droplets break a liquid’s surface.

The concave indentation and the bottle’s surface have the same curvature, enabling a set of bottles to interlock and be perceived as singular whole. A smaller indent and volume has been created at the base of the bottle for correct handling and to accommodate any tartrates.

To achieve the precision and accuracy required for production, the shape of the bottle was created using NURB-based CAD software. The bottle manufacturer directly implemented this 3D master geometry to produce the cast iron moulds for the glass forming process."

The Reviews
If you are wondering whether or not the wine is as good as the bottle, it has received a rating of 95/100 from Falstaff, the ultimate Austrian wine guide.



Falstaff chief Peter Moser who tasted the wine in advance and gave the following critique:
"Deep ruby ​​garnet with purple hues, subtle edge whitening. In the nose with fine Kräuterwürze backed mature heart cherry fruit, a hint of dark berries, spices in the background and nuances of fine wood, a delicate hint of nougat, multifaceted bouquet that develops well with air. On the palate, complex, extraktsüße dark fruit, prominent and well-integrated tannins that give the wine length, hints of blackberries and ripe plums, pleasant acidity that for vitality provides, salty minerality on the finish holds good, disposes of secure aging potential, fine cherry fruit in Rückgeschmack. If one were to fully enjoy this wine at this youthful stage, it is advisable to decant the bottle for a good two hours." (optimum eating ripeness 2016 - 2030)

and from René Gabriel:
"The color is a deep dark red with black core. On the nose the wine is fresh, cool and seems so very precise, fruit and seasoning are very harmonious with black berry fruit, smoky Brazil tobacco, licorice and black pepper. ICON HILL ​​displays a beautiful concentration. On the palate it is creamy, with dark caramel, prunes and ripe, balanced tannins stützende. This is not a wine that comes as a new multi-bomb wine, but considered his future and first in terms of class and harmony. Its beautiful balance we must here assume a potential that is loose and overheating of the first 10 years. His most beautiful ripe to eat I expect in about three to four years."



Only 999 bottles of ICON HILL are available. The ICON HILL ​​is available at 99 euros per bottle in all Leo Hillinger retailers and online www.leo-hillinger.at.

Elie Saab Designs a Lacy Limited Edition Evian Bottle for 2014

evian announces its collaboration with fashion designer Elie Saab, to create a limited edition glass bottle that is a joint celebration of both brands' pursuit of purity in design. The partnership between evian and Elie SAAB is the latest to follow six years of evian associating itself with international fashion brands. Previous collaborative designer bottles include those by Diane von Furstenberg(for 2013), Courreges (for 2012), Issey Miyake (for 2011), Paul Smith (for 2010), Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix (for 2009 and 2008)


And a special collection of 5 crystal evian bottles by Jean Paul Gaultier for Baccarat in 2008:


This year, the two brands unite with the common theme of purity. The bottle is decorated with a signature Elie Saab lace pattern that recalls the feminine and elegant designs featured so prominently in the brand's collections.



The delicate white lace has been applied with architectural accuracy, bringing added refinement to the clean lines of the bottles silhouette. The final creations symbolize the immaculate craftsmanship, and mutual sophistication that both Elie Saab and evian are renowned for.



The lace pattern, an ELIE SAAB signature, recalls the feminine and elegant designs featured so prominently in the brand's collections:


above top: bottle close up and below; actual lace used in Elie Saab fashions

The creation symbolizes the immaculate craftsmanship and the mutual sophistication that both ELIE SAAB and evian® are renowned for.



The 2014 Limited Edition bottle by ELIE SAAB will be available for purchase at shop.evian.us, and at select restaurants and hotels, including Sofitel Luxury Hotels nationwide beginning October 2013.


About the evian® Limited Edition Collection
The evian Limited Edition Collection first launched in 1992 with the Olympic Games Limited Edition bottle. evian has since partnered with the world's most esteemed designers, including Issey Miyake, Paul Smith, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix and Courreges, Diane von Furstenberg, and now Elie Saab. From bold and innovative designs to international fashion designer collaborations, each Limited Edition bottle design celebrates the perfectly pure water inside, evian Natural Spring Water, and maintains the evian Live young spirit: "Youth is not a matter of age, it is an attitude".