London's most conspicuously cool landmark?

It’s come a long way since its original conception around 12 years ago, but today The Shard will be officially opened to the public.An extraordinary feat of engineering has taken place to create the mega-monolith - just take a look at the photo gallery of the construction project at Wikipedia (see link above). During the course of the building works, I’ve also taken quite a few photographs from various angles and locations, several of which can be seen here:

Despite what the advertisement hoarding next to the Shard says, there’s no longer any need to travel to America - at least not to see the towering, shimmering glass of colossal high rise buildings.What’s more - the Shard is so conspicuous, it’s difficult to escape from, wherever you are in London...

With penthouses on offer at around £50 million apiece, the residential accomodation on offer is a tad pricey, but if you’re looking for something tall, with a bit of English provenance, how about these curiously collectable twisted wood antique candlesticks from ShopCurious? I’m not sure how well they'd suit a contemporary apartment in The Shard, but if you love old fashioned British style and subtle lighting (as opposed to laser light displays), these may be just what you’re looking for.

 

Are you?

Collecting green glass

Bored with the monotony of mass production, Dutch designer, Klaas Kuiken, has developed a new technique for glassblowing, using a specially adapted oven and a compressor. With his method, glass bulges more where the bottle walls are thinner and less where they are thicker. This results in a totally unique shape for each bottle, using exactly the same raw materials and process.






Kuiken’s green glass collection, shown above right, looks even better when the bottles are lit from behind, producing a mysterious, watery reflection (left).












If you’re interested in starting your own glass collection, we’ve a rare curiosity at ShopCurious. This collectable malachite glass scent bottle, made in 1930s Bohemia, is something of a vintage treasure. The Lalique style flacon is beautifully moulded with a depiction of a young girl and a fawn.




The image and colour of the glass are curiously appropriate for spring. This would make a totally unique seasonal gift – as well as being a prized heirloom. And, like so many things, it looks even more beautiful in the sunshine…

I just hope we get a few rays over the holiday weekend.

Do you?