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Famed Japanese stationery brand Midori and American menswear titan Nigel Cabourn have come together to release a special Traveler’s Notebook edition. A Midori staple for over 50 years, the Traveler’s Notebook is a leather-bound journal that can hold notebooks or a range of different inserts. Its design is simple, yet unmistakably effective, and is loved by many for its character and worn-in aesthetic.

The collaboration version is passport-sized with a Broad Arrow emblem embossed on the front, a symbol famously used by the British Army and thus also Nigel Cabourn. The package also includes a bullet-shaped, military matte green brass pencil, complete with branded pencil holder.

The Midori x Nigel Cabourn Army Edition Traveler’s Notebook is available at Miscellaneous for €89.90.

From 1971-1972, just around the time he was serving some of the first plates of sushi in New York at Gordon Matta-Clark's conceptual Food restaurant, artist Hisachika Takahashi had a habit of asking fellow artists to draw a map of the United States from memory. Takahashi provided each artist with a piece of handmade Japanese paper and collected the sketches, drawings, and paintings in his personal archives. That collection, featuring maps from Takahashi himself, Jasper Johns, Joseph Kosuth, and Juan Downey, opens for the first time in New York this week as part of Takahashi's "From Memory" show. [via Animal]

Check out Joseph Kosuth's coastal-centric rendering, and a few more memory maps below.

"From Memory: Draw A Map of the United States" opens September 13 and runs until October 19 at the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York.


 

Photo by: Robert Motherwell | A Cold War weapon?

It sounds like a Ben Affleck script, as improbable as secret agents making a faux sci-fi flick in Iran. It's even weirder, if one considers how influential modern painters of abstract expressionism (de Kooning, Motherwell, Pollock) have been on visual culture. But it's true. The CIA, through its IOD, secretly promoted America's avant-garde art abroad as a way to counter perceptions of Americans as philistines in global intellectual circles. The CIA's secret patronage of the lefty avant-garde was kept quiet for decades, but it seems the architects of the plan (which, it must be said, helped make giant art stars of more than a few midcentury painters) have confirmed that it took place. 

Read the complete story at The Guardian.

The side project of Melody's Echo Chamber guitarist Pablo Padovani, Moodoïd invites extra attention to its new EP, and that's not just with the slick mix courtesy of Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. The video for "De Folie Pure" delights even as it makes us a smidge uncomfortable in its wild mix of international sounds and dress. We'd hope its meant in the best way. 

The Moodoïd EP is out this week on Les Disques Enterprise.

In order to convert a small market in Vienna into a coffee shop or bar depending on the time of day, designer Lukas Galehr of MadameMohr used the humble 10cm x 10cm white tile as the basis for his interior. Using a system of easily concealable or interchangeable shelves, the owner of the small Super Mari' shop can tailor the store for morning coffee crowds, afternoon grocery shoppers, and evening drinkers. According to a statement from Galehr, the owner also requested, "that there should not be any fancy designer furniture nor any modern patterns or materials which would give the impression of something new and stylish." The space's flexibility has an added benefit, concealing the inventory adds some extra security. [via Dezeen]




We're pleased to say that Jack/Knife, a little-known brand making custom wares out of San Francisco in small production runs, is more accessible now thanks to its newly opened online store.

The Jack/Knife team, a trio of very able makers, share a focused aesthetic that has garnered a following from denim enthusiasts and quality-seekers, or anyone who has a soft spot for old world production techniques and the detail and craftsmanship that go along with such a commitment.

Among the label’s current ready-to-wear offerings is this handsome Barn Coat made of deadstock duck canvas from South Carolina’s Graniteville Mill. From its design and fabric cutting, to the hand-hammered copper rivets and clean single-needle lockstitch construction, every aspect of the Barn Coat production is completed in Jack/Knife’s San Francisco workshop. 

Visit Jack/Knife to view the entire collection. The Barn Coat can be yours for $350.

This month Vanity Fair released a new serif logo for the magazine's 100th anniversary issue. We reached out to Bas Jacobs from the Underware type foundry for his thoughts.

Jacobs wrote us back:

Although the new logo looks very different from the old one, they are both very classical magazine mastheads. No remarks on the workmanship of the design; that looks very solid, well made. Of course you could question if a magazine like Vanity Fair wouldn't require a different, more progressive, more risky or challenging direction for their covers. My answer would be ‘no’, because such a magazine requires a traditional approach. They can use this new masthead for quite a while in the future.

Wouldn't it be ideal if a magazine like Vanity Fair has such a strong masthead which is traditional, but at the same time one-of-a-kind? Let me explain what I mean. In general you should maybe more question if changing a masthead too often is a good thing by itself. It can be a missed chance of creating a hard-to-avoid publication which becomes part of collective memory. Wouldn't it be better if a magazine keeps their masthead for decades, and let their masthead become their magazine? The masthead equals the publication. However, that requires lots of guts. There are just a few examples of such a lucky situation. Think of the self-willed New Yorker, or maybe even Rolling Stone magazine for example. Their mastheads are not perfect, but obstinate. Newspapers are mostly much more conservative in this aspect, which I believe is a good thing.

Maybe this is more a general observation about publication design instead of a comment on the Vanity Fair redesign, but I believe it’s an essential discussion which needs to be held at every intelligent, self-examining publication.

Visit Underware online. 

One of the many benefits of being Richard Prince is that art book stores are willing to host your garage sales. Earlier in the summer, the Long Island branch of the Karma bookstore held a one-day sale of erotic books, prints, and paintings, and an ironing board Prince was willing to part with. While the yard sale was light on Prince's own work, it offered one more chance to grab a few cans of Richard Prince's Lemon Fizz, his soda collaboration with the Arizona Iced Tea company. If you missed out on the last few cans, apparently, Arizona still has a few T-shirts for sale.

See more photos from Kava Gorna at Nowness.






For Engineered Garments designer Daiki Suzuki, inspiration can come from many sources. Sometimes, this results in unexpected collaborations, like the Engineered Garments x Vault by Vans capsule, set to release at Nepenthes NYC on Tuesday, September 10.

So what you’re looking at are classic Vans silhouettes from the Dogtown ‘70s skate era—the Authentic LX and the Classic Slip-on LX. Engineered Garments gives the silhouettes a clean update with premium fabrics from the vault, so to speak. The Authentic LX will be available in a heavyweight sunforger duck canvas and olive reversed sateen. The more daring choice, though, are the slip-ons, which will come in mismatched leathers—smooth for the left and roughed-out for the right. It’s a peculiar detail that falls right in line with both Engineered Garments and Vans old school skateboarding culture.

The shoes will be available only at Nepenthes NYC September 10 and 11. Phone and email orders will be available starting Tuesday, September 12. Prices range from $65 to $85.  

In embellishments, mix-matched colors, oddly shaped silhouettes, and more, nail designs have been a crucial beauty trend to watch for the past few seasons. Add cuticle tattoos to this nail frenzy. Rad Nails, the nail design brand known for its nail wraps, has created a line of temporary nail cuticle tattoos. The cuticle tattoos can act as an extension of your basic manicure or enhance an already crazy nail design. Just like the temporary tattoos favored by kiddies, the cuticle tattoos are transferred by placing the tattoo on your desired finger, dabbing your finger with water then slowly peeling back the paper. The tattoos run at $6 for a set of two and come in various designs.

You can purchase Rad Nail cuticle tattoos on radnails.com and surf #CUTICLEART on instagram to see how others are sporting the look.