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"Vivre" means "living" in French which I find kind of ironic because this is made from dead coyotes.

I would question the source of these hides.

I thought Kanye was supposed to be one of those "conscientious" rappers/hip hop artists.

I LOVE KANYE WEST! but I don't know if i really like the hammock... it does look comfortable.

I had no idea that coyotes were used for their fur. I did some research after reading about the above hammock and was truly disgusted with what I found. Placing a wild animal into captivity for their fur is cruel and completely unnecessary in today's world. It's one thing to kill an animal that has roomed freely in the wild and to then use all of the animal for food and clothing, it's another to use animals for design or fashion.
Coyotes run freely in Vancouver, BC and I can't imagine these poor creatures living in cages. I wonder how much Kanye West would like living in a box?

I am not at all surprised that you found something like this on Kanye's blog.

I'd definitely question the source of these hides!

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Fur-Test-Results-Public-Factsheet-25-results-FINAL.pdf

raccoon dog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tanuki01_960.jpg

This makes me want to vomit.

Sick!
Where is the compassion and empathy in design these days? This saddens me.

If it were a leather hammock, or a leather chair, would people still have the same problem? One has the hair left on, and the other doesn't.

Although I have no idea if they treat the coyotes worse than cows. Who knows?

regardless of all this fur hoopla, it's just barfy looking

Forget controversial how about downright unethical. Disappointed you would feature this kind of item.

controversy aside, this thing is HIDEOUS.

also, Kanye West has a blog?

disgusting. and creepy

Did you read the blog? The comments are, well....not too bright.
I think Kah has a point, the only thing I'd say about cow farming is that cows normally get roaming time in the fields. I'm guessing they don't allow the coyotes to wander about freely, I believe they live their lives in pens/cages. I don't agree with mass animal farming, but that's another issue all together. I guess it comes down to respecting the life of an animal and if you're using animal products then make sure you know the creature was raised ethically and killed humanely.

This thing is disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach. You should be ashamed for even giving it publicity. Please take down this picture now. What if it were human skin?

To the person who asked about whether I'd have the same reaction to leather, the answer is a resounding yes.

I didn't believe Kanye would be down with something like this because I remember the amazing tour of his LA home with sophisticated art and sculpture.

However, it looks like he's a big fan of the furry pelt:
http://www.interiordesign.net/id_article/CA6469699/id
as evidenced by the photo of his bed bedazzled in luxurious fur pillows and pelts.

There's a big difference between furs of animals that are eaten and furs that are taken off of wild animals whose carcasses are considered garbage.

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

That is all I have to say about that.

I don't have a problem with fur. I feel if you're ok with leather, than you really shouldn't have much to say about fur. However, ugly is ugly, and that is what this is. It does look comfortable though.

The fact that Kanye has this doesn't surprise me. It's sort of reeks of someone who has a lot of money and not a lot of class.

this is in no way necessary for anyone's quality of life. it's like a parasail crafted of drowned kittens and children's stolen dreams.

Shame on you, Apartment Therapy! Why in the WORLD would ANYONE at the staff of AT highlight this??? Shame shame shame... (hello, PETA...???)

Disgusting...

Where can I buy that drowned kitten parasail? Just what I've been looking for since my old electrocuted puppy dog one wore out!

great, so people actually opt to support capturing/breeding, killing, and skinning coyotes just so they can have the 'luxury' of spending 8K on something to nap their own meat sacks in once in a while. just great. real classy. gee, do you think kanye believes he's finally 'arrived' based buying ridiculous items such as this? btw, in case anyone wants to snarkily ask, i'm vegan and don't wear leather or fur. vile.

just had to look at their site... the horror doesn't stop with the hammock.. they've got a black mink CHAIR too. argh! how does a company called Bless get the nerve to make such cruel products?

Ummm... I take it that none of you have anything made of leather or eat meat/dairy??

"I don't have a problem with fur. I feel if you're ok with leather, than you really shouldn't have much to say about fur."

Well said. Those of you who are horrified by this should really research where your meat, dairy and shoes all come from.

Simmering rage, vented spleen . . . what fun!

Nowhere on that site does it say that Kanye owns, likes or endorses that hammock. He might, I don't know, but it could also be a conversation starter. If you look at his blog, he posts photos of things that he finds, interesting, different, or worth discussing.

I haven't read all the comments, but here's a link to a woman who adopted a baby coyote, in case no one's posted this:

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

Coyotes are like dogs. Would you make a hammock out of dog pelts?

Whoops, someone did already post it, but it bears repeating.

@Strivers Row,

I posted a link to Kanye's LA home tour. I had the same thought as you do, that the blog has nothing to do with Kanye personally because he is very stylish and the blog looks like crap.

Unfortunately, it is quite likely Kanye would endorse something like this because the photo of his bedroom shows exotic fur pillows on his bed as well as a plush red fur pelt of some sort.

@every else who says if you eat meat or wear leather you shouldn't have a problem with this,
That's anarchic.

@jenny!,
your words are very poetic.

Since "green is the future" on AT, I take it this hammock is a way of recycling coyote furs that would otherwise go to the landfill. Kudos to Kanye for creatively reducing waste!

His blog site is dope!

i am all for killing coyotes

not PC but boy does that look cozy.

last year there were a bunch of articles about how, in china, the fur of domestic DOGS and CATS are being sold to the US and europe under the guise of being rabbit and fox fur. its utterly heartbreaking. and animals unfortunate enough to be caught in the fur trade are NOT treated as humanely as cows and other animals we use for food. its completely different and absolutely disgusting.
interestingly enough, those articles about china disappeared pretty fast. but paul mccartney knows all about the atrocities.
shame on you, kanye west.

oh, and shame on you, apartment therapy.

Oh, Kanye...you so crazy.
Shame about the coyotes that were skinned for this hammock, but it DOES look comfortable and warm. Same effect could be achieved with higher quality fake fur.
Please, people, get off your soapboxes.

jaytee,

I posted a pdf listing situations where officials tested various clothing brands (baby phat, calvin klein, hillfiger et al.) from various stores (nordstrom's, macy's, burlington coat factory et al.) and found exactly what you are talking about.

My wife, who would never buy exotic fur, bought a coat with "faux fur" on it and every time she would get it dry cleaned she was charged for the cleaning of a fur coat! How funny. "It's fake!" "No, no, no it's real!" Sounds like a Seinfeld episode. It's kind of like slipping a little beef tallow or deodorized pig lard into vegetarian baked beans.

I'm vegetarian, anti-fur (I was attending anti-fur rallies at age 12), and don't wear leather, yet I think these negative comments are pretty extreme. It doesn't seem to me that AT is endorsing the hammock; I thought you posted it because it was so ridiculous!

Gross!

I can't imagine this is really very comfy, coyotes' fur is akin to a German Shepherd's - a bit wiry and scratchy.

They are widely considered vermin in most suburban and even urban areas - the only predator in North America to actually increase its territory in the last couple of hundred years. Hammock or no, they will have the last laugh.

You people do realize you are talking about coyotes right? They are mostly nuisance/pest animals, not happy little domesticated dogs. Thousands are routinely killed by farmers to keep them from hurting livestock, as they prefer to prey on domestic animals as they are easier targets than wary wild critters. I say it's good they finally found a use for the pelts, so at least some will get some use and not be wasted.

However, on the topic of how that hammock looks, it's disgusting. Seriously, itchy dog fur on a hammock? Give me comfy breathable leather or maybe sheepskin. Or even better, my silnylon travel hammock that packs into a softball sized bag and I can take everywhere =)

AT, I have really lost respect for you after being a fan for a few years.