In recent years, Penfield has become one of our go-to brands for outdoorsy outerwear such as down coats and 60/40 jackets. The label has built on the classics from its heritage as a New England camping and adventure outfitter and given them details and contemporary twists that make them a good fit for the style and budget-minded young man or woman. That said, its Spring 2013 lookbook has our heads spinning. It trends sportier—these threads seem to call for activity, more than carefree leisure. It features more contemporary detailing and style: just look at the patterns, the color choices, the camouflage, the flower-patterned pocket tee. Penfield seems to be taking more chances this season—question is, is it taking us along with it?
David Bowie is having quite a good 2013. And having recently discovered his scene in the 1981 German junkie film Christiane F. we're as obsessed as ever. We’re not alone. British designer Blam (AKA Mark Blamire) takes that OCD admiration to epic proportions with the "Changing Faces of Bowie Print" (2013). An array of 101 type styles, logos and symbols inspired by the former David Jones screen-printed onto 240gsm Mirri rainbow holographic paper, this 500x500 limited release print showcases the work of some very reputable artists, designers, and publications who are just as clearly enamoured of the legendary rocker. Pentagram, Stockholm Design Lab, Crispin Finn, Monocle, and Wallpaper are among the contributors. The print has been created exclusively for the David Bowie Is exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum which opens March 23.
"The Changing Faces of Bowie Print" is available for pre-order for £45 at vandashop.com.
Whether it’s the scent of her shampoo, a kiss on his incredibly beautiful nose, or a marathon weekend spent together in bed watching Twin Peaks—memories of a lover tend to skip and echo in our minds like a broken record. It’s like falling in love (or having your heart broken) over and over. Parisian design studio, Happiness Factory, wants to capture those poignant moments with the Happiness Brewery Project. Send HF your sentiments and they will memorialize them, for better or worse, with a labeled bottle so that you can share the good times and the bad times—without resorting to rapid-fire Facebook posts. Have a toast, put it on a shelf for safe-keeping, or throw it against the wall.
To submit one of your cherished flashbacks, email happinessisabeginning@gmail.com
The Strik chair combines clean, curved lines and an efficient, functional design that reduces clutter in the home. Kristina Jaer designed the Strik chair with a frame made from ash tree wood, a reversible wool blanket, and the concept that a chair should be able to "invite closeness." While the traditional wool blanket might seem like an obvious addition to the bare wood frame of the chair, the shape of the blanket actually provides the chair with a distinctive shape. And the chair offers the blanket a fitting place to rest.
The unwanted presence of garbage is a universal concern. That presence can mean anything from empty candy wrappers and packs of cigarettes tossed on the sidewalk, to massive landfill mountains made of trash. Artists Carly Fischer and Yau Lu have approached the concept of an unending stream of rubbish in two very different ways.
Fischer explores the idea in a way that might seem counterintuitive to most works about garbage: she actually recreates common litter like beer cans, old TVs, and neglected construction materials using only bright papers. She pays special attention to leave the original logos intact, almost as a way of addressing her sculptures. The work is also shown in charged postures: either in sealed glass cases, or scattered on the floors of galleries.
An early series by photographer Yao Lu recreated historical images from the Song dynasty by altering photos of trash. The new context managed to connect the landfill scenes with the industrialization of his home country of China, and his new work continues in a similar political direction. Not unlike Fischer's hyperrealistic sculptures, Lu's landscapes are not what they first appear. He swaps idyllic mist for inevitable smog, and the mountains that were often the subject of early Chinese art, with the massive piles of garbage he's used to seeing in landfills.
Christian Lange's mother kept obsessive family financial records. For the first 18 years of his life, every single dollar the family spent was recorded by his mother in meticulously maintained ledgers. Now, 16 years after the last entry, Lange uses this financial history as a framework to tell his family's story in his new book Lange Liste 79 97. In addition to the extensive notes by his mother, Christian Lange conducted interviews with relevant "characters" and dug up family artifacts like photos and possessions to give a clearer picture of his adolescence. But his story isn't limited to the immediate daily celebrations and dramas of the Lange clan. The unavoidable political consequences of living in Germany between 1979 and 1997 exist alongside all of the pregnancies, new shoes, and days spent tinkering in the garage.
[via manystuff]
Bored with your current social media and photosharing options? Then the new Tapestry storytelling app might become your go-to social network. The idea is to assemble short, illustrated, and clickable stories using the stockpiled photos on your cell phone's camera and animated text, then share them with whomever has a few seconds to tap through your work. The interface is surprisingly organic: tap to advance the story. That's it. There's no rewind, fast forward, or zoom, but the comedic timing of a well placed text animation might surprise you. See what Tapestry can do with this story about the anguish of being a two-year-old, for example.
Often converted industrial spaces are softened up with chic details for the sake of contrast. Longman & Eagle's latest addition, the 120 sq foot Off Site Bar revels in its cinderblock and industrial garage door construction. Land and Sea Dept., which headed up the renovation of the two bay garage into a bar, commercial kitchen, event space and tasting room writes, "We referenced its original use, and incorporated a variety of ‘garage’ elements into the overall aesthetic, the most prominent of which is a working seventies drag racing motorcycle. Other elements include a considered beverage program, tightly curated music and vintage audio equipment." That's to say it still looks like a garage space, one outfitted with McIntosh amplifiers, monster speakers and a gnarly yellow motorcycle, as well as art objects from the multi-talented Ryan Duggan.
OSB at Longman & Eagle is now open Thu-Sat.
Photos courtesy of Clayton Hauck
Luke Brown, Jordan Dolheguy, Totem Visual and photographer Dan Crawford collaborated on a flag-draped look for an EP cover and additional images for Melbourne industrial producer P C P. It's inspired work. And no wonder as P C P just happens to be Brown, himself.
Listen to PCP on SoundCloud and see more of Luke Brown's work at lukebrown.com.au.
French lux brand Hermès has us dreaming of picnics, croquet, and Birkin bags with its latest crop of leisure-themed stop-motion spots, “Vive Le Sport.” Touting its spring/summer 2013 accessories with a play on park life, four short videos directed by Simon Cahn showcase the brand with a burst of fresh spring air. Hermès ties loop into croquet hoops, pillows snooze with pétanque balls, shoes play leapfrog, and the oh so iconic Birkins watch the latest line of Hermès tableware play pingpong. And, of course, the brand's beloved silk scarves make an appearance as flags. Did you notice the lovely soundtrack of tweeting birds? Neither did we. We just wanna make out with those Birkins.
Hermès Vive Le Sport - Croquet from Bridget Jung on Vimeo.
Hermès Vive Le Sport - Pétanque from Bridget Jung on Vimeo.
Hermès Vive Le Sport - PingPong from Bridget Jung on Vimeo.
Hemès Vive Le Sport - Saute mouton from Bridget Jung on Vimeo.