2012 feature: Champagne

Who knew I'd ever fall for Dutch champagne? Head over heals, even. Zarb is a completely new champagne brand developed but a year ago by THEY (see at theyhaveawebsite.com). 'Zarb' means bizarre in French slang and Zarb is exactly how I want to travel to 2012.
I welcome any concept that makes champagne 'an everyday tradition, like brushing your teeth or losing your car keys'. The website kindly reassures us that Zarb champagne is best served everywhere, anywhere, here, now: may it be at our ex-partner's wedding, at confession or while riding a mermaid.
Napoleon said it all: in victory you deserve champagne, in defeat, you need it.
The two bottles featured above are from Zarb's special art edition: the latter was designed by Tjep. and the former by La Bolleur. [Press here in order to see the other inspiring bottles from this edition.]
If interested in buying, you are best advised to do so on Thursdays. That is when Ivan is working, Zarb's 'employee of the month and fastest bottle picker'.

Tjep.

The 'Lucky Building' in New York City: "[a]nd who would want to crash a plane into such a friendly looking building...," indeed.
New York City skyline received this makeover from Tjep., a Dutch design studio formed by Frank Tjepkema.
(A while ago, Gem featured another Tjep.'s project.)
Note that dot: not 'Tjep', but Tjep. is the name of this studio with a dot on elegance, technology and poetry.

Harvest

Having first developed self-sustaining Dutch farming projects for 1 and then 100 persons, Tjep. recently developed a concept for a self-sufficient farm sustaining 1000 people per day. The farm includes a restaurant, a hotel and an amusement park.
In Oogst 1000 Wonderland, all food is to be grown on site and hotel guests are the ones that would do the farming (and earn themselves a free stay).
Waste is to be used to generate more energy through bio-gas; visitors would get to be paid for using the toilet. Visitors' profit? 0.50 euros per visit.