Making a mini-me

My fiancé is always teasing me about my diminutive height (I am a paltry 5'3 to his statuesque 6'6), so I don't think it ever occurred to him that I could possibly get any smaller. It was his birthday yesterday, and I came across a novel way of surprising him: with a miniature model of me! I had heard about my3Dtwin (http://www.levavo.com/my3dtwin) through one of my best friends, Sophie, who was planning to get a 15cm model of herself made to put on her parents' mantelpiece now that she has left home. I was intrigued, and excited; in addition to his joking jibes about my size, my fiancé is uncannily gifted at guessing gifts. He has correctly conjectured the contents of most of the presents I have given him over the past five years, and takes gleeful delight in his spot-on divinations. One of the only occasions on which I managed to fox him was when I took photographs of the intersection of Gerald Road and Elizabeth Street (our names!) in Belgravia, and framed them. He was totally taken aback - he had no idea that the two roads existed, let alone the fact that they transected. After that triumph, however, I have really struggled to find an original, unanticipated present. 

So, in search of this elusive gift, I booked my appointment with my3dtwin to make a tiny version of myself. One Sunday afternoon I schlepped over to Shoreditch to meet the founder-owners of Levavo, the company that produces my3dtwin and to have my micro clone made. The concept is the brainchild of 32-year old Marcin Piosik, a former computer engineer, who specialised in architectural scanning, producing 3D models of buildings. It occurred to him that the technology could be applied in an alternative context: "I thought, why not scan people, too, and then produce replicas of them," he says. Marcin spent four years honing his idea with his business partner, Tom Krok. Marcin was certain the concept would take off: "people are bored of photos," he declares. A figurine is a natural progression - a tangible way of capturing oneself. 

Tom Krok (far left) Marcin Piosik (second from left), founder and owner of Levavo, in miniature form. 

I love the fact that the result is virtually instantaneous: anyone can walk into Levavo's shop on Leyden street and have a mini-reproduction of themselves that promises total verisimilitude in under seven days. My model is going to make a great present for my fiancé, but there's a whole host of reasons why you might want to get one made. Marcin told me that the idea has been highly popular with businessmen and women (many have had them made for their kids to play with a mini mummy or daddy in their absence on business trips or long hours at the office). Marcin also showed me a model of a man in a wet suit with a mono waterski (he wanted to be reminded of his favourite hobby), and a pregnant lady, who plans to return for another model when her baby is born. The models are also extremely popular with proud parents who want to immortalise their cherubic infants at their most cute. 

My cloning experience takes place in the basement studio - a bright white room crammed full of Canon cameras - 85 at the last count (this number is increasing gradually - the more cameras, the greater the accuracy). I was advised to steer clear of wearing head-to-toe black, but apart from that, there are no real clothing guidelines - I picked my favourite frock du jour, a black and white number from Karen Millen and a pair of Louboutins. Marcin positions me on a small square in the centre of the room and asks me to strike a pose. When I'm ready, the cameras take my picture simultaneously; it's so quick. Marcin then leads me next door to check that I'm happy with the resultant images (all 85 of them), which have appeared on his screen. How on earth do these images transmute into a model? Marcin explains that a technique based on photogrammetry is use to extract the measurements from the photos and to create a 3D model, and the figurine is subsequently printed with a state-of-the-art 3D printer than can create 390,000 colours. 

Mini me: a 20cm my3Dtwin version of myself.

A week later a box arrives, marked fragile. I am skittish with excitement. I tear open the box, peel open the bubble wrap gingerly, and come face-to-face with myself! I am delighted, and slightly awestruck: I am so unused to seeing myself from all angles, and it is quite a shock. Every detail is preserved, down to the last toenail and strand of hair. 

Me, and mini-me.

On Gerald's birthday, I dressed in the same outfit that I was wearing when the model was made. Before he opened the box, I asked him to observe me carefully. He looked at me quizzically, and shook the box, which he declared was empty (the models are ultra light). I had my camera ready to capture his expression when he discovered the miniaturised "me" inside; he was entirely taken aback, and extremely impressed by the originality of the gift. 

 Gerald, my fiance, with his even tinier than usual version of me.

 What next for Levavo? Marcin and Tom are developing a mobile unit which may be hired by festivals and private clients - a perfect way to create a living tableaux of guests at a special event. Marcin says they can also make taller 3D twins on request. At present, a 15cm doll costs £102, a 20cm doll £147 and the 25cm £234. On the pricey side, certainly, but the process of creating a figurine is both material and  labour-intensive; it takes around six man hours and 48 hours of constant spraying in the photocopier to replicate a person in miniature form. For me, the price is justified by the sheer novelty of the concept and the fantastically lifelike little outcome. My3Dtwin is the most ingenious idea, and I wholeheartedly recommend it both as  a unique experience and the ultimate unguessable gift.

Visit http://www.levavo.com/my3dtwin to book your my3Dtwin experience.

Zermatt

I have been skiing since I was old enough to walk, and I have been lucky enough to visit numerous European and American resorts - St Moritz, Courcheval, Kitzbuehel, Verbier, Val d'Isere, Obergurgl, Stowe, Chamonix, Lech...the list goes on. One place that had, until this month, eluded me, was Zermatt. I had seen enough pictures of the Matterhorn, to convince me that a trip to see this mountain in the flesh was absolutely necessary.

My ski-mad fiance barely needed persuading. Like me, he had never been and was ueber keen to go.

And so we found ourselves in the Swiss Alps, ogling the Matterhorn for several hours a day. We also found time for some skiing:

CUT, Park Lane

CUT

The London restaurant scene is so effervescent and so varied; you might wonder what a Californian chef has to bring to the table, other than a splash of sunshine.

In the case of Wolfgang Puck, the answer is a lot. Though less well known in Europe, Puck is one of the titans of the American food world. Even his Shakespeare-meets-Mozart moniker is redolent of his culinary prodigy. Puck presides over about 20 fine-dining restaurants, including one at the revamped Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, and he’s best known for movie-star spangled Spago and his Oscar after-parties. He owns over 50 Wolfgang Puck Express venues, and he peddles everything from ready meals to cookware. Forbes estimates that his food empire is worth over $400m.

CUT, at 45 Park Lane, is Puck’s first European outpost, and I am here one April afternoon for lunch with my old pal Phil. When menus are heavily flesh-focused (as CUT’s is), Phil is my number one partner-in-crime; the experience would be wasted on my vegetarian fiancé.

Meat – more particularly beef – may be the menu’s mainstay, but steakhouse this is not. Steak palace more accurately describes the opulent, high-ceilinged space that CUT inhabits. A Damien Hirst sits behind us, whilst shimmering blimp-like chandeliers droop down gracefully from above.Puck and McIntyre

Décor pales into insignificance once the food arrives. My companion’s crab and lobster cocktail was much the best dish of its kind I have tasted. The portion was colossal; the vibrantly fresh seafood mingled happily with great avocado, the Marie Rose sauce and the ensemble was hugely enlivened by fresh basil and a spicy tomato horseradish. My Austrian oxtail bouillon, chervil, bone marrow dumplings, was a hearty and authentic nod to Puck’s central European roots, and a nice segue to the steak.

The steaks are as fine as any you will find in London. They are right up there with Hawksmoor and Goodman: not necessarily better but more refined -- posh and almost ladylike in their elegance. If you want a bit of spice, the Armagnac and green peppercorn sauce will give you a little body heat. If you’re feeling more butch, the house-made steak sauce is as assertive as a drunk in a pub.

The seasoning is spot on, dish after dish, and the meat arrives well charred and as pink as you like in the middle.

On your behalf, I also tried the top-priced New York steak 6 ounce Australian Wagyu, Black Angus. This is soft and buttery and might melt your heart as well as your wallet; I cannot recall ever having cut steak with a spoon.

The sides of tempura onion rings are brilliant -- crisp as a cash-machine fiver -- the French fries with herbs are exemplary, and the wild field mushrooms, Japanese shishito peppers are tops. The desserts are big and American and inventive; though somewhat conquered by the feast we’d just enjoyed, we elected to share a chocolate brownie with peanut butter and white chocolate ganache and yoghurt sorbet; it was a triumph.

The wine list offers the best American options I have come across in London and they are not all expensive. Vanessa Cinti is a sommelier I would trust with my cash. She’s a Puck veteran, as are most of the chef’s team, headed by Executive Chef David McIntyre.

Excitingly, breakfast and brunch, offering contemporary interpretations of classic breakfast fare both from England and the United States are available, for the first time at a CUT restaurant, in the London establishment.  With delectable fried brioche and slow poached organic eggs lavishly topped with rich black truffle emulsion juxtaposed with healthier options such as grapefruit granite; CUT is arguably the new power breakfast hotspot in London for both business and pleasure.

CUT serves some of the finest food in the UK, with great ingredients perfectly cooked and expertly seasoned. It’s the kind of quality achieved only with a lifetime of experience and months of practice.

CUT at 45 Park Lane, W1K 1QA.

To book, call +44-20-7493-4554

http://www.45parklane.com/cut-at-45-park-lane

 

 

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