Campari’s End of the World

cicciablog — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00:16 +0000

For their 2012 Calendar, Campari celebrates hypothetical scenes, starring Milla Jovovich, of ways the world would come to an end. From drought and global warming, to the ice age, each photo is absolutely breathtaking, taken by world-famous Dimitri Daniloff.
To read more: http://popsop.com/50562
All Photos courtesy of Lucire.com, Campari 2012 Calendar

L’attesa (The Expectation)

cicciablog — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:33:58 +0000

This new Campari ad, directed by Joel Shumacher, has been airing in Italy since November 21^st. It was also presented at the 2011 Rome Cinema Festival.

A feast for the eyes, in a Baroque setting is all I’m going to say about this. You really just have to watch it for yourselves! And do it on full-screen!

* Creative idea developed by BCube under the direction of Simon Ferrari and executive creative director Luca Zamboni. Original music was written by Music Production.

* Video courtesy of youtube.com

Shhh… Don’t Tell Rome!

cicciablog — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:00:25 +0000

Rome; the eternal city of beauty, culture, food, wine and gorgeous men in suits on their motorini during rush hour. I had the fortunate experience of living in Italy for 2 ½ years; and for half that time, I lived in Latina, just outside of Rome. What I soon learned while living there, and not as a tourist, was the ways of the Romans, and how steadfast they are about certain rules. Especially when it comes to food!

So here are a few rules, I learned the hard way:

• No Cappuccino after 12pm. Huh? You might say? Right, you heard me. Italians don’t believe in ingesting milk after noon unless you are a “bambino”!

• No wine with pizza! Beer is the accepted accompaniment. Oh, and only pizza “al taglio” (by the slice) during the day and a pizzeria at night. They wouldn’t dream of going to a pizzeria during daylight hours. They leave that for the tourists.

• At coffee bars, you usually pay first, order second and enjoy your beverage at the bar. So, when entering “un bar” look for the cashier first and keep you receipt to present to the “barista”. You might even be forced to join the other Romans and yell and scream your order to get some attention! Once, I made the mistake by choosing to politely wait my turn. Ended up missing my bus (which only comes every hour, by the way) and late for work! So remember, if you’re not loud enough, you get lost in the shuffle.

Usually, I abide by these rules, but I have to admit, not all the time!

So, shhh…don’t tell Rome, but I’ve been sneaking in cappuccinos after 12pm and have once or twice been known to have a glass of red with my pizza Napoli!

The Puck Drops At 7

cicciablog — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:34 +0000

…This is what I was told when asked what time I should be ready to my first Leafs game ever!!

Okay, so as a Canadian, I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never been to a hockey game before, let alone Platinum seats to see the Leafs play!

What the heck took me so long? It was amazing…. It really wasn’t anything like you see on television. Two things immediately impressed me; how fast these guys were skating and how small the rink seemed in real life!

I was also kicking myself, for dismissing this amazing sport all my life. I even had a chance to see one of the Olympic games in Torino while I was living and working in Italy. What a fool I’d been!

Here are some highlights:

View from our seats. We were sitting right behind the penalty box!

Bound To Please

cicciablog — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:30:51 +0000

It was a big day in my friend, Alison’s, new hometown of Bridport, England at their annual hat festival. I met Alison 4 years ago, when I first arrived in London. Two things stand out in my memory of her; how well adjusted she was to living in England; and how amazingly creative she was. And I wasn’t wrong! Alison won first prize at Bridport’s Hat Festival for her unique creation of a hat made out of the town’s local rope. Stunning, to say the least! Apparently Alison was on the cover of the town’s weekly paper, bumping the top story of “woman hurt falling up toilet steps in town centre”!

Here are some links to read more and see who won second prize!

http://www.bridporthatfest.org/winners/ http://www.thebullhotel.co.uk/blog/id:72

A Tribute to Saul Leiter

cicciablog — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:00:29 +0000

Saul Leiter, American-born artist and photographer has always been an inspiration to us. Here are some of our favourites we turn to whenever we get into a creative “funk”. His series on the streets of New York in the fifties is so truly amazing.

Photos courtesy of: Retronaut

Ho-Ho-Hot!

cicciablog — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:00:36 +0000

Christmas in July? That’s right. Our client, Canadian Tire, asked Ciccia to develop high-level creative concepts for their annual media event, unveiling their Christmas products for 2011. We had so much fun working on this project! The event took place at the SOHO Metropolitan Hotel in their penthouse suite. We helped the stylists and the Canadian Tire team dress the three floors of the penthouse, as well as design banners, signage and gift tags.

Take a look at some of the stuff we did!

Domesticate Your Space

cicciablog — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:00:31 +0000

My good friend was visiting last week from Italy, and over a couple glasses of prosecco, we shared some design inspirations with each other. This is where I discovered, Domestic, a french site that primarily focuses on home furnishings stickers. Now, I’ve seen my share of other sticker designs, but nothing really compares to this. The site has been a steadily growing collection of objects designed by designers, graphic artists and artists from around the world. I’ve been looking for something the past six months to take space on my living room wall, and now I think I’ve found it! Hope you enjoy these works of art as much as I do!

To see more: http://www.domestic.fr

CNJPUS

cicciablog — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:23:50 +0000

This is why I love Twitter so much. After being so engrossed in my own little world, working away for clients, from time to time, I like take a break and see what’s been tweeted in the design world. Today, I came across this amazing Japanese artist, Ryo Shimizu, whose installation piece, “CNJPUS Text” is utterly breath-taking! Ryo created the installation from an entire museum wall, of laser-cut typographical characters comprising over 2,500 words. It is called CNJPUS, because he only used “cn”, “jp” and “us” that represent the country codes for China, Japan and the US.

Near the base of the wall, the characters start falling off the wall, onto the floor below. It is beautiful, delicate and inspiring!

Photos courtesy of http://ryoshimizu.jp

Bocconcini di frutta

cicciablog — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:01:00 +0000

A few weeks back I had the chance to try these little treats at a tea party. Bocconcini of pure sweetness and fruit. Packed in dry ice, they present themselves with a frosted coating that makes them even more pretty. A fast search found that one can order them from two places. Connecticut( USA) and Toronto (Canada). As history has it the name and the ice cream were inspired by an ice cream parlour here in Toronto, of course on St.Clair Avenue.

I can’t wait to find the perfect excuse to order some…..

How adorable.

To order in Toronto call 416 694-5811

Shop on line from the US at www.stclairicecream.com

Rose