Amelia’s Magazine | Fantastic Flaçons: A look at iconic perfume bottles


‘Chanel No.5′ designed by Jean Helleau. Illustration by Sandra Contreras

When Freud pondered the question of ‘what women want, pharmacy ’ someone should have told him that there are few things more desirable than a beautiful bottle of scent. Since the early 20th century, viagra 100mg the perfume flaçon (small bottle) has taken on many weird and wonderful guises – some of which have gone on to become cultural artefacts and artist’s muses. By no means a comprehensive list, here is a small selection of some of the most jaw-dropping flaçons you’ll ever encounter – some of which even manage to upstage the scents they contain.

Chanel Nº 5
“I always launch my collection on the 5th day of the 5th month, so the number 5 seems to bring me luck – therefore, I will name it Nº 5,” proclaimed Mademoiselle Chanel after putting her initial doubts to one side and deciding to branch out into fragrance. The name itself summed up the scent’s abstract nature, and was a two-fingered salute to the other flowery perfume names at the time. Launched in 1921, No. 5 made greater use of synthetic ingredients, resulting in a blend of rose and ylang ylang that is rich, intoxicating but decidedly ‘unfloral.’ The first bottle was designed by the lady herself, modelled on the Charvet toiletry bottle that once belonged to her then-lover Captain Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. The resulting flaçon we know and love was created in 1924 by Jean Helleau, and went on to become the subject of Andy Warhol’s famous ‘pop art’ prints, as well as being on permenant display in New York’s Musuem of Modern Art (MOMA) since 1959. The rich gold coloured liquid seen vividly through the glass of the minimalist square bottle, with its simple black letters and jewel-like stopper simply screams luxury. 86 years on, it is still capable of stopping women’s hearts – my fair own included.

Shalimar by Guerlain

‘Shalimar’ designed by Raymond Guerlain. Illustration by Stéphanie Thieullent

Named after the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and meaning ‘temple of love’ in Sanskrit, you could half expect a genie to emerge from this fan-shaped bottle with sapphire-coloured stopper, but the sweet vanilla fragrance inside is just as mesmerising. Designed by Raymond Guerlain in 1925 and manufactured by Cristal Baccarat (who along with Lalique, first turned the perfume flaçon into an objet d’art) the design of Shalimar was inspired by the fountains one might find in Indian palaces, and was displayed at the Decorative Arts Exhibition in the same year. The bottle has recently been given a modern make-over by jewellery designer/socialite Jade Jagger, who hasn’t strayed that far from the original, and produced a slightly sleeker version that Raymond himself would have been happy with.

Flower by Kenzo

‘Flower by Kenzo’ designed by Serge Mansau. Illustration by Kayleigh Bluck

I love the beautiful simplicity of Flower by Kenzo – how the tall thin glass leans gracefully to one side like a delicate stem in a summer breeze, echoing the sweet floral fragrance within – with a trompe l’oeil image of a flower appearing as if it were inside the bottle itself. Launched in 2000, the flaçon was designed by Serge Mansau, a French glass sculptor and stage decorator, who had already honed his craft designing flaçons for the likes of Dior and Hermés. He was given the concept of a flower by Kenzo’s artistic director Patrick Geudj, who wanted to highlight it as a powerful symbol for peace, and was particularly inspired by photographer Marc Ribaud’s image March in Washington (21st of October 1967) in which a girl holds a flower in front of a gun that is being pointed at her. Who knew a perfume could be political?

Shocking by Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli’s ‘Shocking’ designed by Leonor Fini. Illustration by Joana Faria

Inspired by a bust of Mae West, who was one of Schiaparelli’s major clients, 1937’s “Shocking” was designed by Argentine painter Leonor Fini, and best exemplifies Schiaparelli’s role in the surrealist movement (her designs included her famous lobster dress, and a hat in the shape of high heeled shoe.) The name was inspired by Cartier’s famous ‘shocking pink’ diamond the Tête de Belier (Ram’s Head) and Shocking’s encasing box was dyed in the same pink shade to match. In an era where few fashion houses were releasing perfume, ‘Shocking’ was Schiaparelli’s attempt to compete with her nemesis Chanel (although sadly unlike her rival, the label did not adapt to the changes brought about by WWII and closed in 1954.) The scent itself – a rather dry powdery bouquet of honey rose and jasmine – may not be to everyone’s taste, but the bottle still remains a little piece of perfume history.

Alien by Thierry Mugler

‘Alien’ designed by Thierry Mugler. Illustration by Karolina Burdon

Designed by Mugler himself, Alien is a bright amethyst and gold flaçon, made to appear like a ‘sacred stone’ and bringing to mind 1980’s sci-fi films such as Blade Runner and Tron –  and is a good example of the designer’s flamboyant, theatrical style (check out Beyoncé’s motorcycle corset for a better idea). Alien was Mugler’s second fragrance, which he described as a nod to ‘ultra-feminity’ and contains notes of sambac jasmine and cashmeran wood, creating a soft woody- amber bouquet. The flaçon according to the designer “symbolises thoughtfulness and peace of mind” despite appearing as if it’s going to hatch a new life form on a mission to destroy all humanity as we know it, HG Wells-style.

Categories ,1980s, ,Alien, ,Andy Warhol, ,Balde Runner, ,beyonce, ,Bottle, ,Cartier, ,chanel, ,Cristal Baccarat, ,Decorative Arts, ,Flaçon, ,Flower, ,Guerlain, ,Jade Jagger, ,Jean Helleau, ,Joana Faria, ,Karolina Burdon, ,Kenzo, ,Lahore, ,Lalique, ,Leonor Fini, ,Mae West, ,Marc Ribaud, ,MOMA, ,No.5, ,Patrick Geudj, ,Perfume, ,Pop Art, ,Raymond Guerlain, ,Sandra Contreras, ,Schiaparelli, ,Serge Mansau, ,Shalimar, ,Shocking, ,Stéphanie Thieullent, ,Thierry Mugler, ,Tron, ,Viola Levy, ,WWII

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Amelia’s Magazine | COP15 rapped up

80s leather jacketAll imagery throughout courtesy of The Stellar Boutique

Stella McCartney and Kate Moss know a thing or two about good style. Both are fans of Stella McClure, shop owner of newly opened internet shop, The Stellar Boutique. Previously running a vintage-customised stall at Portobello Market, McClure packed up shop in 2004 to travel the world in a campervan. Now settled in the Spanish countryside, she has decided to give it another go. This time though from the comfort of her own home via the power of the internet.

v125The Stellar Boutique is a great concept. McClure travels the hippy-luxe trail across Europe to Marrakech in order to bring you vintage treasures. Everybody loves a one-off, and that is certainly what The Stellar Boutique provides. Featuring vintage bags, designer garments, customised pieces and exquisitely exotic homeware, there’s something for everyone.

squareingtrq231Unlike many other fashion businesses at the moment, McClure is keen to promote new designers and ethnic artisans. (Instead of ‘Marc Jacobs’ think ‘Marc who?’) McClure insists that real style is best grown from within, instead of stealing magazine looks or following trend advice. The Stellar Boutique offers the freedom to do this.

NWfeathfrBut does it deliver? Standout pieces are endless. Let’s start with the accessories. There are the Moroccan style leather handbags.Then there are the mountains of unique jewellery to choose from. Pieces by Bora Bora, Lei Rose and Norwegian Wood are to die for. I love the porcelain tea-cup necklace and the silver postcard trinket by Lei Rose, as well as the feathered and fringed pieces by Norwegian Wood, and wow, have you seen the skull charm bracelet by Bora Bora? Even more for the Christmas list!

vintage shoes goldnsilverNext up, vintage. There’s second-hand, slightly grubby, vintage fashion, and then there’s nice ‘I’m so glad only I have this’ vintage fashion. The Stellar Boutique falls into the latter category. The vintage section of the site is easily the big winner. With clothing separated into 60s, 70s, 80s, handbags, scarves, boots and boho, it couldn’t be easier to navigate towards your era or item of choice.

80s vintage tiger topBoho features peasant tops and kaftans Sienna would covet. The 70s section showcases (unusually beautiful) standout dresses at massively cut-down prices, and 80s can tailor to all your glam rock needs. There are sparkly 80s style heels and some killer red leather stilettos in the shoe department, as well as the standard biker or cowgirl boot. With menswear and more accessories coming soon, you’ve got to keep checking back for more goodies!

boomboxAs if it needed to be said; everything is quality assured, hand-picked and highly loved. Check out the site to update your wardrobe for 2010 with fresh, exotic pieces your friends can drool over. For Christmas, they are spreading the holiday joy with a 20% off discount sale on all vintage and womenswear, as well as homeware! So why not pick up something for your Christmas shindigs or New Year’s bashes now instead of waiting for the mania of the January sales?!

home pageAll imagery throughout courtesy of The Stellar Boutique

Stella McCartney and Kate Moss know a thing or two about good style. Both are fans of Stella McClure, click owner of newly opened internet shop, price The Stellar Boutique. Previously running a vintage-customised stall at Portobello Market, McClure packed up shop in 2004 to travel the world in a campervan. Now settled in the Spanish countryside, she has decided to give it another go. This time though from the comfort of her own home via the power of the internet.

v125The Stellar Boutique is a great concept. McClure travels the hippy-luxe trail across Europe to Marrakech in order to bring you vintage treasures. Everybody loves a one-off, and that is certainly what The Stellar Boutique provides. Featuring vintage bags, designer garments, customised pieces and exquisitely exotic homeware, there’s something for everyone.

squareingtrq231Unlike many other fashion businesses at the moment, McClure is keen to promote new designers and ethnic artisans. (Instead of ‘Marc Jacobs’ think ‘Marc who?’) McClure insists that real style is best grown from within, instead of stealing magazine looks or following trend advice. The Stellar Boutique offers the freedom to do this.

NWfeathfrBut does it deliver? Standout pieces are endless. Let’s start with the accessories. There are the Moroccan style leather handbags.Then there are the mountains of unique jewellery to choose from. Pieces by Bora Bora, Lei Rose and Norwegian Wood are to die for. I love the porcelain tea-cup necklace and the silver postcard trinket by Lei Rose, as well as the feathered and fringed pieces by Norwegian Wood, and wow, have you seen the skull charm bracelet by Bora Bora? Even more for the Christmas list!

vintage shoes goldnsilverNext up, vintage. There’s second-hand, slightly grubby, vintage fashion, and then there’s nice ‘I’m so glad only I have this’ vintage fashion. The Stellar Boutique falls into the latter category. The vintage section of the site is easily the big winner. With clothing separated into 60s, 70s, 80s, handbags, scarves, boots and boho, it couldn’t be easier to navigate towards your era or item of choice.

80s vintage tiger topBoho features peasant tops and kaftans Sienna would covet. The 70s section showcases (unusually beautiful) standout dresses at massively cut-down prices, and 80s can tailor to all your glam rock needs. There are sparkly 80s style heels and some killer red leather stilettos in the shoe department, as well as the standard biker or cowgirl boot. With menswear and more accessories coming soon, you’ve got to keep checking back for more goodies!

boomboxAs if it needed to be said; everything is quality assured, hand-picked and highly loved. Check out the site to update your wardrobe for 2010 with fresh, exotic pieces your friends can drool over. For Christmas, they are spreading the holiday joy with a 20% off discount sale on all vintage and womenswear, as well as homeware! So why not pick up something for your Christmas shindigs or New Year’s bashes now instead of waiting for the mania of the January sales?!
kdg
I was making my way through my e-mails one morning at Amelia’s HQ and I came across one from a lady called Kate Daisy Grant. This caught my eye as it is the name of my old boss…and her daughter… merged? Confused. I know she is not the most technologically gifted of folk so I was miffed to see an e-mail from her. I had no doubt that it was going to be about how much she missed me and my mocha making skills, illness However it wasn’t her at all. It was another lady, viagra approved who perhaps is a distant relative (we explored the idea at one point). Anyway, I checked out her myspace and “I liked it” as Louis Walsh would say. So Kate and I arranged to meet in a blind date stylee in Brixton.
“…What do you look like so I know how to spot you?…”
“…Im wearing a tan faux fur jacket, pale blue jeggings…”
I sounded like a compete tit. Fake fur and “JEGGINGS” I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t bother turning up. sound like I have been rolling around in Coleen Rooneys wardrobe. I didn’t mention my diamond head band, I think if I did it perhaps that would have been too much. The beautiful young thing came bouncing up to me at the station with a pretty pixie crop, I was expecting something like this when she said she had cut her own hair. We bonded over our love of the “luscious motion” of gel pens then Kate began by telling me about her musical upbringing…

Kate: My Granny was a concert pianist, but she gave up due to performance nerves, and she got married instead. It was the 30s or 40s and it’s a shame that in that era the advise was “Your too nervous, You should just give up!” My mum was a ballet dancer and I played the piano before I could even reach it!

School was a musical time?
Yeah, total geek! The only thing I have ever nicked are choir music sheets!

The only thing I really played at school was recorder, Did you go down that route?
Yeah, all routes; cello, piano, singing… Now I have a collection of toy instruments, toy bells, tiny piano, autoharp…

Your home is like a musical museum then?
Yeah, Totally! And puppets as well. I’m making lots of puppets for a video. Usings lots of pompoms and wool! I’m trying to knit a baby at the moment!

fp

I have a big bag of pompoms that my sister used for a project and I wouldn’t let her throw them away, would you like them?
Yes! That would be great! I would actually because I want to make a panda and I could make sheep out of them!

I knew I was keeping them for something!
This is to accompany your music?
Yeah, this is the single I guess from the film so I’m doing a video for it. It’s based on a 50’s film called “Lili” which is about a girl who follows around a travelling circus and she falls in love with a puppeteer who is a bit of a bastard, but he is really nice to her through the puppets, and she becomes part of the act, So it’s a reworking of that.

When shall this be released?
January, then I’m going to do a whole spate of videos in January.

So this first video is for “One Thing You Should Know About Me”? Is this available now?
It’s on the film soundtrack and its available on itunes at the moment. I haven’t done a big push yet because I’m going to wait until I can do it through some kind of label or my own, to properly shunt it out there! I am published by Sony but we record independently so we have more freedom.

It must be nice to have that creative control?
Yeah defiantly, I know people that are singed to the wrong label who aren’t even aloud to gig- they just put you on the shelf so thank god I’m not like that.

So where since school has your musical journey taken you?
I dropped out of theatre at university because I wanted to gig and not be told if I was good enough to write or perform, I just needed to get on with it.

Where did you study?
Bristol, I spent about 5 weeks there! I’m from London, Hammersmith. So since then I have been gigging, I’ve been at The Edinburgh fringe, Written a children’s book which is being turned into a ballet next year!

fp1

What’s the kids book about?
It’s called “The Fox and the Pig”, have you read the little prince?

No…

Love it! It’s tiny! It’s a French book…

Yes!! I have! I bought a clock in a charity shop like 2 weeks ago, that so weird!
That’s so lucky! What a great thing to have! The book is great! Get it! It’s a fable about a man who comes form another planet and visits all these planets on the way to earth and he tells an airman who is stranded in the desert all about these silly adults he meets…and he dies at the end so he can go back to his own planet. So our book is like that- a tragic love story between a fox and a pig. We did models like Bagpuss style, Victoriana style models, a toy stage from an orange crate, made everything like flowers out of glacier cherries and stuff like that. And so somebody wants to make it into this ballet puppetry!

So, where shall this be?
In London, somewhere we are looking at venues but it might still be a while but we are defiantly going to do it. Hell of a lot to do. We are going to use shadow puppetry, and I have written the soundtrack too….

I understand that you’re a fan of toys, Last time I went to the dentist, I saw these toys in the waiting room, They are straight from my childhood! Do you recognise them at all?
That would be big bird- you wind him up? I defiantly recognise him!

I think the bear could be a great instrument…

toyz

Your right, I’m going to go into Argos and charity to see what hey have got. I have a speak and spell! Around the corner they have a Qur’an, You press a button its chants! And I have a robot that plays the double bass. I use instruments in weird ways, like the way I create a tambourine sound is I fill a toy drum with pennies and it makes a nicer sound than an actual tambourine, cheese graters with a loosely held handful of spoons! I’m just desperate for new sounds!

Do they come to you in the middle of the night or is it just from stuff lying around?
When I was doing the sounds for the children’s book, I realised that my budget was totally limited and I went round just knocking chairs and walls and various filled glasses all around my room! Toy wise- I used to have bells- they are really out of tune, but they sound amazing! A toy piano from the 50s that I dismantled, it sounds better now! I just wanted to see inside what goes on!

Where do you find them?

Brixton market! It is so rubbish!

So rubbish its good

There are a lot of kinda leftfield pop strong female songstresses around at the moment, which ones would you call yourself a fan off?
PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Bat for Lashes, Cat Power and Bjork.

Do you go to gigs a lot?
I saw The Yeah Yeah Yeahs not that long ago- so amazing- I’ve also been to The Correspondents and Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.

So, Instrument and toy wise your Influences are quite, retro lets say? Is this the same with your musical influences?
Yeah, well, Tom Waits, he uses sweet sounds pots and pans dustbin lids, he is an influence. I love how he can have a sweet sad melody with something creeeakin’ in the background like something being wound up and your not quite sure what it is!
I like film soundtracks and French films like Amelie

Have you seen “Love Me If You Dare”? That’s a French film- best film ever.
Oh god I have seen it! And they marry themselves! It’s got that purity and really clean story telling with a dark ending!

How did your work for the film “Mr Right” come about?

We met through a friend – he kept playing my music in his shop and the director heard it and decided that it was perfect for the end scene in the film. It’s about gay relationships with out having any characters that play to gay stereotypes, it’s really refreshing. I wrote a song as well for the opening scene and more.

Did you get quite a free reign for things?
It was amazing because she showed me the film and showed me the scene that she wanted the music for, it all came instantly into my head and it wasn’t a struggle at all and I did it all in about 2 days. She didn’t change anything that I had done it was a pretty blessed situation.

You record in London?
Sometimes I record straight onto a laptop- not even with a mic! So it has this kinda messy quality! But for the album- I use a studio in north London with my producer

Tell me about the relationship with your producer?
I have known him bout 2 years now-2 years working together, He is amazing, a total surf dude- in attitude- he doesn’t actually surf at all, he is amazing, drenches stuff out of you! He is like a Jewish Bob Dylan!

Jewish Bob Dylan surfer dude
And so he would play live with you also?
Yeah, his name is Ken Rose and we have an amazing cello player called Hannah and we are there with dustbin lids and bells.

Gigs in the new year?
Yeah there are in the pipeline!

Finally, If you could live any era when would it be…I am torn between the 20s and Victorian era- or the 40s?! Before climate catastrophe and people were inventing really exciting things. I think they are now- but in a different way. Everything was so fresh and there was a hunger for entertainment!

There are so many different layers to Kate Daisy Grants sound – when you listen to her its like visiting a fairground, like another world!
Amelia’s will keep you posted with her live dates in the New Year, In the meantime check out her myspace and the film “Mr Right” is out now. You can catch it at The Prince Charles Cinema.
Kates album is available on itunes.

PS.
This is my clock…
clock
goremonk

THIS JUST IN!
Copenhagen Climate Summit: Lord Monckton rap battles Al Gore

“It’s freedom they’re plundering, seek and you’re the scare-monger king!” cries global warming sceptic Lord Monckton to former American Vice President Al Gore, during their furious rap battle over climate change. Hold on… Lord Monckton and Al Gore in a rap battle?! It happened! Sort of. In this ingenious video by The Juice Media you can see how it might play out if Monckton and Gore were to get down wit da kids and engage in a juvenile debate over the issues of climate change and the Copenhagen summit. This video in particular is part of a series called Rap News – with Robert Foster, which was born in October this year, other titles in the series include ‘Nasa bombs the moon’ and ‘Obama receives Nobel War is Peace prize’. Rap News was spawned from the artistic and philosophical minds of Giordano and Hugo, who reside in Melborne Australia, where they met after moving from the UK and Italy. Together they write and produce the show; Hugo, an MC/spoken-word performer/poet and actor creates the rhymes and impersonates the various public figures featured in the shows. Giordano, a writer, historian, academic, music composer and founder of Juice Media directs using themes and narratives based on his deep-seated interests and ideas about history, the media, the environment, social justice, indigenous peoples and politics.

They’re an intriguing pair, over 1000 are subscribed to their You Tube channel, and amongst the comments on their page is “What a talent mate” and “You make me proud to be Australian”. With the Copenhagen summit underway I have a few questions for the madcap duo, who going by our email correspondence are not only talented but super friendly.

So, why rap?

Chuck D once said that Rap was the CNN of the ghetto. We figure, why CNN? Why not a quality news channel like DemocracyNow.org?

How did you 2 first come to work together? What is your relationship like?

We met over common interests in politics, nature and medieval Italian poetry. Our relationship is great. We sit around in the garden and have brainstorming sessions over homegrown salads.

Your raps are driven by politics, environmental and social issues. Tell me more about your views and motivations?

Our view is that the mainstream media is manifestly almost completely failing in its duty to inform the populace of world events in a measured and contextualised manner, and our motivation is therefore to rectify that in a small way, helping people join the dots between the quotidian occurences, and the broader picture. We are putting into practice that wise adage, ‘become the media’, for, as Jello Biafra famously stated, ‘we demand fair and more accurate balanced news coverage – and if we don’t get it… we’ll make it ourselves!’

algore

Hugo, you impersonate various public figures in the video, who is your favourite person to be and why?

So far the only real public figures i’ve impersonated have been Lord Monckton and Al Gore. Out of those two, Lord Monckton came the most naturally – i finally got to use those skills from ‘Latin For Pseudo-Scientists 101′. Of all public figures to impersonate, my favourite has to be David Bowie when he does the Goblin King in Labyrinth: “Go back to your room… play with your toys!” and so on.

What are your hopes for COP15?

That it will be a turning point. Wherever we’re headed, the future’s not looking too good right now. This seems like a good opportunity to take a break from the reckless ride we’ve been on for the past few centuries and reassess our situation; a chance to consider that we may not have thought all this through that well from the outset: Civilization? – what self-respecting civilization would totally trash it’s own home? And climate is just one of the massive challenges we now face; yet it’s the surest sign that ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ and what better place to rectify this than in Copenhagen?!

Monckton

So, we hope it doesn’t become another Kyoto – with the little time we have left we simply don’t have that option. We hope it won’t legitimise false solutions and myths such as ‘clean coal’ or emission-trading schemes – these just encourage a business-as-usual mentality, and if it hadn’t taken as many as 15 COP’s since the ’92 Earth Summit in Rio, then perhaps these wouldn’t be a case of too little too late. We hope the media does its job and keeps its eye on the ball and doesn’t degenerate into coverage of smashed windows and protester arrests.

But above all we hope that COP15 won’t all come down to money and be limited to market-based solutions – we need a real supra-economic movement to spring from Copenhagen which will carry us through this. It can’t just be about hatching new technologies but also about regaining old knoweldge. We are going to have to finally remember that our economy and society has to adapt to the planet, to the law of the land, and not the other way around. This is the simple fundamental lesson which we are going to have to (re)learn. Whether we do so the easy or the hard way, is what will be decided in these coming days in Copenhagen.

rapnews

What are Juice Media’s future plans? What’s next?

Although this project has existed for several years in our imaginations, we’re really only just setting out on this journey and, well, we’re still figuring out what to pack in the suitcases.

TheJuiceMedia itself is a broader prtoject which seeks to facilitate access to the voices of Indigenous people – particularly from Aboriginal Australia, since that’s where we are. So we’ll carry on working on doing what we’re doing and look to keep the information flowing. As far as Rap News episodes, we are looking forward to covering many more topics, as they come up. First on the cards is a website where we can set up our little campfire in the world-wide-web, light up some hyperlinks and start foraging for new stories.

We’re quite clear about what won’t come next: we’re not hoping to get on TV! The way it is, we encourage people to turn off their sponsor-saturated, Murdoch/Berlusconi-owned mega-networks and tune in to alternative, independent media sources. The internet seems to be the only medium left to us to retain some form of global participation in the production of meaning in today’s society and we intend to dedicate all of our creativity to making the most of it – while we still have it. The more people use this vital medium, the less the likelihood of it being hijacked, like what’s happened to TV. That would truly leave us in the dark(ages), once again.

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Check out all Juice Media’s Videos here

Categories ,Al Gore, ,australia, ,Copenhagen summit, ,environment, ,Lord Monckton, ,Media, ,Rap, ,video, ,You Tube

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