Formula One have recently announced a new invention in the form of a 100% sustainable fuel of the future, and it’s being hailed as a ‘global game changer’. The creators of our favourite fast and furious racing competition are pioneering a full on green revolution.
This is very exciting news, along with the launch of the new generation of Formula One engines. The idea is to help develop a 100% sustainable fuel, and they are looking at the logistics as we speak with international fuel companies to make this a reality…
Since NFTs – Non-Fungible Tokens – came on the scene, they have redefined art. The largest groundbreaking development for the art industry of the last 100 years, it is a digitally owned piece of art that represents real-world objects like images, music, in-game items and videos. Held in the blockchain, it cannot be copied or deleted and, one could argue, offers a safer alternative to storing art in a vault as well as introducing a new way to buy and sell it.
A few days ago, Sotheby’s unveiled a replica of its London H.Q. in the blockchain world Decentraland. A Sotheby’s first, it even has an avatar of commissionaire Hans Lomulder who welcomes visitors to the virtual gallery. Created in 2015, Decentraland is a virtual reality blockchain platform where users create avatars to interact with one another, purchase goods and services, and create art.
Sotheby’s are embracing this new digital art realm. On redefining digital ownership and scarcity, Sotheby’s recently said: “For an asset to be non-fungible, it requires some form of scarcity or uniqueness. This has never been possible online in a sustainable, scalable way 一 until NFTs. Scarcity is notoriously difficult online. Content flows too freely; it is too easily copied, replicated, shared, and distributed. This is something we can recognise first hand. It is remarkably simple to distribute content 一 including artwork 一 online, creating an abundance of media that exposes us to digital art but hinders us from attaching value to it.”
Art, but not as we know it
For art galleries suffering the aftermath of a global lockdown, NFTs have created profit raised out of nowhere that has helped recover some of the losses. Like a rabbit pulled out of a hat. The Uffizi have recently sold famous art assets on the wall uploaded in the form of a digital facsimile, such as Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, for a hefty sum of $170,000. The work was purchased by an Italian lady as a birthday gift for her art collector husband, as reported by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
For the NFT sale, the Uffizi is working with Cinello, an Italy based company who create solutions for the digital sale of masterpieces, known as DAW (Digital Art Work). Each DAW is designed in the exact same proportions as the original work and encrypted so it’s impossible to duplicate. It is also accompanied by its NFT token and a certificate awarded by the gallery to certify its authenticity. Inspired by such a lucrative, and financially necessary move, the Uffizi is hoping to sell even more masterpieces as NFTs, including Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
Imagine the lucrative NFT profits for art galleries around the world, including the Louvre, MOMA and The Vatican Museums. If it means raising funds to save the livelihood of art galleries and associated staff, surely it’s a good thing.
When you think of Monaco, admittedly fast cars come to mind, but bicycle paths, insect hotels, lush gardens and sustainability are the hashtag of its latest initiative. At the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, H.S.H. Prince Albert II announced that Monaco would increase its greenhouse gas reduction target by 55% as part of an ongoing goal to go green. A fifteen acre eco-district is also set to be completed by 2025, one step forward for his aim of being carbon neutral by 2050.
‘Green is the new Glam’
“Monaco is undoubtedly one of the world’s most iconic destinations, and we look forward to introducing visitors to a side of our principality they may not have known about before; the destination of choice for the indulgent traveller conscious of leaving a positive impact behind when they leave.” said a Visit Monaco spokeswoman.
The Île de Ré is a relaxing haven on the west coast of France, only a few hours from London. A flight from London to La Rochelle and a short drive over the connecting bridge, Ponte de Ré, will have you ordering fresh oysters and sipping local white wine in no time, as well as discovering many hidden luxuries. It’s the St Tropez of the west, so a rich niche in the Charente Maritime department…
The beauty industry means business, $500 billion worth of business to be precise and expected to reach $800 billion by 2023, making it a hot topic for investors and M&A activities. Beauty was once described by Chanel as a weapon, when armed with our best lipstick we can take on the world….
At long, long last Rome’s historical centre reopens, and the Spanish steps are in sight and looking as lovely as ever.
The long anticipated softening, so to speak, of the Covid 19 stay indoors lockdown rules began in Rome on the 4th of May, which means one step forward and a very much welcome resemblance of life as it once upon a time was. Michelangelo wasn’t wrong when he said “Genius is eternal patience.”
Slowly, the coffee bars are also following suit and reopening. Soon enough, it’ll be time to click those heels three times and be transported back to your favourite Roman roads.
Nicola Ferlei Brown 