Not so many years ago, an Italian by the name of Simone Legno created a site from which he could display his artwork. A successful Rome-based illustrator, Legno had formed a love of Japanese culture in his early childhood, and his artwork reflected as much. Dark eyed women, equally shy and strong, gave the term "cute' new meaning — a meaning as dangerous as it was endearing, and as forceful as it was adorable.

The site was tokidoki, and before long, Legno's cute-oozing, Japan-blasted caricatures had attracted the attention of Hard Candy Cosmetic's co-founder Pooneh Mohajer and her husband, Ivan Arnold. In 2003, the pair flew the artist to Los Angeles, where talks were soon underway to turn Legno's tokidoki into a brand of it's own — a brand that would soon be bigger than what any of them expected.

Now, only a few years after that first meeting, the world of tokidoki covers everything from shoes, snowboards, and skate decks, to bags, walls, and tour busses. Legno's trademark mix of innocence and allure has won fans the world over — a side effect that seems to strike regardless of age, sex, race, or gender. We chatted with Legno about his inspiration, his long list of collaborations, and his plans for the future.

Joshspear.com: A lot has changed since you first came to L.A. in 2003 — did you ever dream that tokidoki would become what it is today?

Simone Legno: Yes; I dreamed so, I believed in it, and it happened. I was lucky, but I've worked very hard for it, day and night — weekends included. READ MORE…

Most electronics are not meant to be designed or customized by the consumer. In fact, besides for the PC, users had to hope and pray that the suits heard our cries for features and product ideas. Bug Labs, a startup based in New York, hopes to change all that with their completely customizable kit system. Starting with a foundation of Linux-based micro-PC, users can then add on pieces that provide things like GPS, small displays, cameras, speakers, etc. Custom JAVA code can then be developed to accomplish nearly anything they imagine. Think of it as Lego goes high-tech. Certainly a lofty goal but it’s this kind of toolkit that may empower the home tinkerer to realize his or her dreams.

Pharrell Williams may best be known as one of the most in-demand music producers and hip-hop artists around, but his sense of style has certainly not escaped notice either. As the driving force behind the Billionaire Boys Club-Ice Cream, Pharrell brings his pimped out prep sensibility to the fashion world. This urban country club flair is evident in the brand's hot new V-Neck Cable Knit Sweater available in navy, white, and yellow, with a sewn on monogram that flaunts the fact that while you may not have a lot of money in the bank, you're certainly rich in taste. Head on over to the BBC-IceCream store and drop some cash like it's hot, before they're all gone or before we run out of clichéd slang.

Via Format Magazine

Hear Ye, Hear Ye. The time has come for gamers to gather around. Mavens of Metroid, Guitar Heroes, and Big Game Buck Hunters, we are talking to you. You are charged with making a pilgrimage to San Francisco for the 4th Annual Into The Pixel Exhibition at the Art Hotel on February 20th. It's time you finally showed your appreciation for the creators of the characters who keep you glued to your game console for hours on end so that you may once in your life taste the thrill of victory and not the agony of defeat associated with the outside world.

Alas, this exhibition is not only for the dedicated gamers. We'd be remiss to not mention that this is the only juried event that invites enthusiasts from both the “fine art world and interactive entertainment industry to show their appreciation for the art of the video game”; the upcoming exhibition will also feature collection from the previous two years. If you haven't booked your flights to San Francisco while reading this post...we don't know what you're waiting for. However, if you must wait to ask your mom in you can go, the exhibition is displayed through March.

I should have realized how popular Miguel Migs was when I got a number of responses to a giveaway on my company’s mailing list; his latest CD is a collaborative effort by artists who worked hard to create unique interpretations for his 2007 album, “Those Things.” The remix album features a wide range of artists from Faze Action to Rasmus Faber. Primarily a house CD, Migs has been able to blur the lines between genres and is sure to satisfy even newcomers to the electronic scene, like myself. I immediately thought of 70’s disco when I put on my cans but later familiar elements of hip-hop , R&B, and reggae. The album drops April 22nd.

This made me happy. Maybe not for the reasons it intended to, but the end result was still joy. Bright laughing yellow-colored joy.

The iconic smiley face has expanded into the world of aromatherapy and fragrance with Smiley. Claiming to be the “very first anti-stress perfume,” Smiley offers a full range of olfactory uppers. Naturally derived from cocoa, the unisex fragrance is filled with an “olfactive substance with euphoriant bio-mechanics.” Containing Phenylethylamine (a hormonal joy booster) and Theobromine (an adrenaline blocker and stress reliever) to help get you pepped up and then keep you that way.

Smiley's website is a playground. Not only are they selling something called a “psycho-tonic,” but the English section of the site is a lost in translation dream (or nightmare, depending on how you look at it). It sounds like everyone working at Smiley mush be high. Even if a sniff of smiley does nothing for you, reading the line “these two cardio-tonics associated together dope the vitality and sets up the moral” should amuse pretty much anyone. I've totally been looking for a new way to dope my vitality. And of course, once your vitality is doped your moral is set up too.

Smiley's online store, called the "Happy Therapy Centre," sells the whole range of smiley products – including "epidermal stimulating massage oil with micro-nutrients to activate happiness." The site also ships worldwide and has a store locator in case you want to go pick up some happy in person.