cuddle worthy imaginations.

IKEA has teamed up with the marker-armed

kids around the world to help create this year's
'Soft Toys for Education' campaign.

        

In 2003, the furniture giant IKEA has introduced

a campaign called 'Soft Toys for Education' 

This campaign has raised over €77 million and supported 

over 99 projects in 46 countries. 

For every soft toy purchased between November-December

IKEA donates €1 to UNICEF & Save the Children.

The program targets children in poverty and helping them

receive a much deserved, better education.

The 10 winning entries were fabricated into actual

toys set for retail this coming November 2015.

Get your ammo ready, and start your Christmas shopping
started with these cute & thoughtful blobs of softness.

- - - 

'Soft Toys for Education' Campaign

by: IKEA

down for a student budget.

.. only if this is the place where I get to live.

The hospitality sector is probably the most reinvented

sector of all design.  It's changing faster than ever to adapt

 to the constant shifting of traveler needs.

 

Hotels/hostels/accommodation of all sorts 

are no longer just a place to just "rest your head"
(even though really that's all you should need).

It is now required to be a perfect cocktail of an easy-going escape,

a place where happening restaurants and engaging conversation occur, 

and topped of with highly personalized guest experiences.

The accommodation is also now a bragging point.

It needs to be a feature in your social media and 

required to be a highlight of your short/long-term escape.

The Student Hotel

is the blend of a hostel & service apartment 

created to suit the needs of the nomad culture 

prominent in youth & in Europe.  

Creative agency '...,staat'

were the minds that put together the hotel's entire

branding, from the physical exterior & interior of the building, 

it's visual identity and name, and their overall creative approach.

They have created a space that is an ideal haven for 

students, interns and simply travelers 

looking for affordable luxury.

All the spaces were create to support the vital and unique

time in a person's life: college/university

Its environment highlights & promotes

social and intellectual growth

all in the meantime creating an invigorating 

(and by no means stuffy)

academic breeding ground.

This spot is determined to be the home away from home.

Like student residence, you are able to choose rooms that

have large shared kitchens, or simply a private room with an ensuite bath.

All the communal spaces, including the study rooms & social areas

are equipped with 24-hour security service, similar to a hotel. 

The Student Hotel has been awarded:

• The Venuez Award - Best Hotel Concept, 2012, 
• The Worldwide Hospitality Awards- Best Hotel Innovation Award 2014
• Shortlisted for the WIN awards: Hotels, 2015. 

This is definitely a place to keep in mind the next time

you drop into the Netherlands

- - -

'The Student Hotel' -- Amsterdam

by: ...,staat

Arches & In-lays

It's been less than a week since my getaway in Dubai,
needless to say,
I am super reminiscent and am constantly
daydreaming about the past few weeks. 

In the spirit of quenching my Middle Eastern Thirst,

I decided to revisit photos of a genuinely exquisite hotel,

a space very much influenced by the intricate Arabian culture.

The Royal Mansour, Marrakech

Comissioned and owned by royalty themselves,

everything is this space is done by the hands of real craftsmen, not machine.

The Royal Mansour --Marrakech