Ladies' golf glove and pouch maker Fairway Skins Co. introduced its new line of butterfly-design gloves, made from the finest cabretta leather ($36). In keeping with the company's signature floral designs, each of the six new species rests on a colorful botanical, creating gloves that seems almost too nice to use on the course. Six classic floral designs also are available. Fairway Skins won a "Best New Product" award at the 2007 PGA Fall Expo and last year the company was awarded the GolfTest USA "Seal of Excellence" for the superior quality, value and performance of its products. See the gallery for a few of the new designs as well as classic styles and pouches.

[Via BunkerShot]

If you are -- or long to be -- part of the NYC social and moneyed scene, Quest is a must-read. Distributed around NYC, seemingly for free (though it has a $5 cover price), this sometimes snooty publication tracks the party scene with pages of pages of photos of dressed-up socialites and tuxedoed men, snapped by editor David Patrick Columbia at fetes and charity events. The magazine occasionally has a feature of some depth but mainly has light articles. For Luxist readers who love our "Estate of the Day" feature, Quest's Web site is great -- it is in magazine format and includes ads. That means you can scan ads featuring home listings in NYC, Connecticut, the Hamptons and so on, plus see ads for high-end jewelry, handbags, clothing, shoes, art galleries, luxury home accessories and cultural events. Click once on the page you want to view to make it bigger. You also can subscribe (tab at top of home page) if you want the hard copy ($36/one year/12 issues or $47.97/two years/24 issues).

Tonic Generation offers just one product in many styles (T-shirts) but donates on average 40 percent of its revenue. The organization partners with designers and causes to create limited edition products in these areas: the environment, education, social welfare and poverty. Luella Bartley recently designed four T-shirts with names like Stag, Scary Douglas, Pagan Sun, and Robin. Each has been designed especially for Tonic. Made of a 70-30 bamboo/cotton blend, the fabric does not harm the environment and has been produced according to ethical practices. Tonic is similar to iGive in that you can choose your cause and track your impact. Read the FAQs for more info on how it works!

With "staycations" becoming popular in this tough economy, you might opt to stay in more often and watch a good movie. But as a Luxist reader, you know that we don't mean using on-demand ... instead, we bring you the cool new Epson Ensemble HD Home Cinema System, via Uncrate. Priced from $5,000 - $7,000, this real home theater in a box includes a 100-inch motorized screen, an Epson PowerLite 3LCD projector with either 720p or 1080p resolution, an Atlantic Technology speaker system with a 150-watt sub, an A/V controller with HDMI handling and an upconverting DVD player and a universal remote. This PDF tells you all you need to know, or go here.

Nordstrom has a bit of this and that -- uptown to downtown, and great shoes. But did you know that it also has a "Designer Collections" shop on its site? I just discovered its handbag shop. As I write, there are 195 designer handbags offered, in brands that include Burberry, D&G, Kooba, Roberto Cavalli, Versace and a select few others. Fall styles are out -- get shopping! And/or see the gallery * for a few styles I picked at random.

* Note: Gallery pictures open to full size once you click on them.

Summertime is ice cream time. But for some of us, all year long is ice cream time. So naturally I was excited when I saw this handsome Cuisinart Supreme Commercial Quality Ice Cream Maker on Williams-Sonoma. For not much money and in just a few steps, you can whip up homemade ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt or even a frozen drink. This fully automatic machine can prepare up to 1.5 quarts in less than an hour. It features a built-in compressor freezer, so no prefreezing is required -- just add the ingredients and set the timer. Adding mix-ins is easy, thanks to an ingredient spout in the lid. The lid, paddle and bowl are removable for hand-washing. The brushed stainless steel housing means it's nice enough to match today's renovated kitchens. 150W; 15 1/2" x 10 3/4" x 10 1/2"; $299 on Cuisinart or Williams-Sonoma.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported on a trend that's already hit some other big cities: the napping spa. An egg-shaped, computerized sleeping pod inside Rejuvenate, an atrium-level storefront spa at one of downtown Atlanta's busiest buildings, provides a haven in which to take a 20-minute, or longer, nap. The spa, which opened in November 2007, offers five snooze suites, each separated by chocolate-colored curtains. Nappers can adjust the temperature, add lavender or citrus aromatherapy and a cool breeze for their necks. Some pods vibrate and calculate the number of calories burned while catching 40 winks.

In NYC, Yelo opened in 2007, promising brief power naps and cashmere blankets. But many spas across the country, especially getaway ones, are introducing sleep treatments, including everything from feather beds and lavender mists to overnight sleep observation. I find the whole "pod" idea claustrophobia-inducing, but the environment at a spa seems so much nicer than what the ladies at my office have -- a sofa in the bathroom. Ick. Pass the lavender, here's my cash and wake me in 20.

Rejuvenate offers timed naps (you're wakened by a gentle chime) at $14 for 20 minutes, $19 for 30 minutes and $35 for an hour. Employers can purchase bulk packages.

British designer John Galliano is introducing his debut scent some 20 years after launching his fashion brand. "We had about 360 tests -- more than for a couture collection," he noted in Women's Wear Daily.

Galliano was involved with every step of the scent's development. Its outer box is designed to look like a collage or a book, reminiscent of travel tomes he makes following fact-finding voyages undertaken before creating fashion collections. The bottle's neck was inspired by collars appearing in Galliano's first fashion collection, Les Incroyables, and the flacon is topped with a Gothic G. Model Guinevere Van Seenus is the face on the box.

Galliano, who also is the couturier at Christian Dior, had thoughts of flowers, particularly of rose, peony, iris with its powdery side, and violet. The scent will be launched at the end of September in the U.K., through an exclusive with Harrods, and in Germany. On October 11, it is to be introduced in France, exclusively at Sephora, and then a few days later in Switzerland. The launch in the rest of the world will take place in 2009.

Prices vary: 90-ml. eau de parfum spray, 100 euros, or $158; 60-ml. edp spray, 80 euros, or $126; 40-ml. edp spray, 60 euros, or $95; 200-ml. body milk for 38 euros, or $60; and a 200-ml. shower gel, 33 euros, or $52, will be available at launch. A 150-ml. body scrub, 39 euros, or $62, will come out after the initial fragrance introduction.

The second "Pinot Lovers' Cruise" is scheduled for May 31 - June 12, 2009, and combines the wines of August West with Freeman Vineyard & Winery. The 12-day trip on Oceania Cruises' Insignia makes stops in 12 cities, starting in Rome and ending in Istanbul. Oceania only carries 650 passengers and is known for its relaxed, no-tie policy, and gourmet cuisine, overseen by Executive Chef Jacques Pepin. The cruise includes a private winemakers' dinner, wine tastings and discussions, tours of top Italian wine-estates and plenty of Pinot parties.

Freeman has been named as one of the Magnificent 30 "Hottest Pinots" by the Wine Spectator, while the San Francisco Chronicle recognized August West as one of its top 10 wineries of 2005. Both wineries have received multiple 90+ scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and the Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine.

Cruise prices range from $3,649 - $7,049 per person double, including free airfare from 20 major U.S. airports. Book by September 1 and receive prepaid gratuities, worth up to $300 per cabin.

The blog Jewelry Insider hit upon a great item that combines jewels and chocolate -- perfection! A Swiss chocolate company, Cocoa Gourmet, has created what its calls its "Royal Collection," which features 12 chocolates made with safe-to-eat gold or silver, or sprinkled with diamonds. Priced at $1,250, the collection has four 22-carat gold chocolates, four pure silver chocolates and four sweet diamond pieces. There's also a $520 Gemstone Collection. Lovely, and an unusual gift idea, but I'm not convinced that ingesting metal is such a hot idea, though I guess if you have dental work you're ingesting it all the time ... Order here, if you're braver than I. Free worldwide shipping!

While reading my morning guilty-pleasure blog, Celebritology, I came across a post that referred readers to All Property Management, which recently listed, in its blog section, a number of celebs who own islands, along with a few details about each island. With the way the press hounds celebs, no wonder they want to get away from it all. According to the post, private islands really cost (um, we knew that), with the owner buying the land, supplying their own water and electricity, creating a waste disposal system and building a dock or an airstrip. Also, don't forget security -- if you're off filming or do-gooding or having twins in France, you can't leave the island unattended.

Here's the list of celebs the post cited as island-owners: John Lennon, Marlon Brando, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Gene Hackman, Robin Williams, Tony Curtis, Richard Branson, David Copperfield, Leonardo DiCaprio and Athena Onassis. See the gallery for a few of these retreat spots.

The cool design and home blog Apartment Therapy (AT) always has a fresh idea. I've been reading it periodically for a few years, and every time I do, I vow to completely redo my space. Anyway ... The site recently featured a summertime-appropriate post on the Disk Chair, designed by Karim Rashid and made by Ferlea to look like a "spoon folded." AT noted it would be great for poolside or patio, as it's made of fiberglass over a steel frame, but AT commenters had a good point: seems like a sweatfest waiting to happen on a hot day. I think it looks fun and comfortable, albeit maybe with a cushier seat or a towel. Available in black, yellow or white; includes a single foam and polyester cushion. Owo Italia has it for a bit more than $2,000 (European pricing).

The Wall Street Journal reported that Visionaire magazine -- a publication where design, marketing, style, trends and art intersect -- is charging $50,000 for a special Goyard trunk designed for its collectors. The handmade trunk will house the magazine's first 50 issues. This summer, Visionaire also will offer 10 complete sets of its first 50 issues in the Goyard trunks for $150,000. The customized steamer trunks, assembled by hand, will have shelves and insets designed for all 50 issues. Collectors also can buy an empty trunks for €34,500 ($54,000).

From its premiere issue in April 1991 (now up to 54 issues, with each issue typically priced between $150 - $350), Visionaire "challenged notions of what it meant to be an art and fashion publication and was conceived of as a venue for artists such as Mario Testino and Steven Meisel to publish personal work," WSJ stated. It has morphed into something more like a design challenge for its many contributors.

Each issue (which can take between nine months and three years to complete) is typically a mixed-media riff on a theme, posing an ongoing set of challenges to a small crew of designers. For example, White began with the question: How do you publish without using ink? Answer: a combination of Braille, embossing, varnish and paper-cut illustrations. Scent came with perfume capsules, Taste had specially-designed flavor-strips and Sound featured a Mini Cooper toy car that played record albums.

Sometimes I think the word "luxury" gets batted around a bit too much ("luxury water"), but I was curious when I saw a small ad for String, a luxury knitting boutique in NYC, in an NYC lifestyle magazine. While the Web site isn't the most refined, it seems the store itself has everything the serious knitter would want, and gets its luxury reputation for selling cashmere and other refined fibers (more than 80 kinds of yarn); needles; patterns for high-end, expensive projects, including clothing, accessories and even home decor; and perhaps its Upper East Side location. You can shop online for anything knit-necessary, including the store's new book, Luxury Knitting, by owner Linda Morse, or visit at 130 E. 82nd St. Also check out String's blog for store happenings, and the gallery below for a few of the items the store sells.

Since 1986, Rails to Trails Conservancy has been repurposing old railroad tracks into hiking and biking trails with its goal to create "nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people."

I'd heard about this group, but forgot about it until a few days ago, when taking a different route home, I noticed two nearby streets had dedicated bicycle lanes, and my memory was sparked. I think this group has more significance than ever, as more and more people are going green, and walking and biking more. The conservancy even has a pledge you can sign to "Burn Calories, Not Carbon!" I like that this group was ahead of its time, and isn't just jumping on the green bandwagon, or "greenwashing" its claims.

The conservancy has a strong political arm, defending the federal railbanking statute in Congress and the courts as an essential tool to preserve unused rail corridors. Read about how you can get involved.