The hard times have struck all businesses, be it the regular ones or those in the ultra-luxe category. But yes, there are a couple of names like Gucci, Cartier and Armani that have opened new stores in different regions all over the world. But Hermes is not one of them. Empire expansion is not on the brand’s priority list. The company rep was heard saying that the financial turbulence will last another year or two. Watches and jewelry are not so popular but looks like certain exotic-skin Hermes bags is running waiting lists for several years.

Now to meet with the growing demands of the fashion world, Hermes has started breeding its own crocodiles on farms in Australia. Ouch! Now, this might hurt the animal lover within but we are told that some three to four crocodiles make one Hermes bag.

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A new concept is ready to hit your mind and its elite theory aim s at not only hitting but dominating it. Called the Local River, it is a creation by a French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and stands upon the theory of domestic “refrigerator-aquarium” that raises freshwater fish for eating and grows vegetables simultaneously. In layman terms, it can be defined as aquaponic kitchen gardens with integrated fish tank. It can be seen as a perfect replacement of ornamental ‘TV aquarium’ by a life-sized ‘refrigerator-aquarium’. For this particular design, Mathieu takes inspiration from a San Francisco based group known as the Locavores who eat foods grown within a 100-mile radius of their city to diminish their impact on the surroundings.

The project enables people to grow their own food at home and thus the growing vegetables in floating pots assures purification of water by eliminating nitrates and other reserves. The concept will be demonstrated at the Artists Space Gallery in New York from 25 April. Well, saying how early it can be devised is not possible now but we are hoping seeing it installed in various homes in near future.

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Via Dezeen