IPath Footwear

IPath has been making some nice natural fiber skate shoes for a bunch of years. Great chillers. Their styles are more mature and than the lighter sides of eS and lakai. I'm not sure why, but they make a lot of mid-tops. I guess older skaters need the ankle support.

Eero Saarinen's Womb chair

I was surveying an apartment for work a few days ago. Our client inherited the apartment from her grandfather and there was some seriously great furniture in the apartment!

My favorite piece, in a beautiful, light blue:



Eero Saarinen's Womb chair, designed in 1948 exclusively for Knoll. The base is made of polished chrome and the chair is a fiberglass shell with fabric upholstering. I covet.

Blend Creations

Pretty stationary from Blend Creations. I wanted to show more of their work but the images on their website are so small!

Via Modish.

Sigg Aluminum Bottles

Sigg is a Swiss company that makes the swiss version of the ubiquitous American Nalgene water bottle. The Swiss do it a little bit better. The aluminum bottles have some sort of crazy inner coating that resists fruit acids and booze. And they're a little bit lighter than plastic. They make all types of bottles, thermoses, kids versions, even old school looking ones with aluminum cups built into them.

Ryan Frank

This chair was made from a single sheet of birch plywood. It is put together without any adhesives (though they use screws to make connections). Ryan Frank is a South African designer currently based in London.

I don't know why I like these, but I just do. Loot lights:

Thelermont Hupton

While I would never buy this, I like the playfulness of the light fixture. Ah, gone are the days of fairs and balloon sculptures. Designed by Thelermont Hupton.

Nike Dunk Collecting

Nike Dunk SB Premium - Net/Maize Golfer Colorway

Why I think Dunk Collecting Sucks:
So there is this huge contingent of sneaker heads that collect Nike Dunks, specifically. Now the Dunk has been around since 1985 and deserves some recognition because it is a pretty slick piece of sneaker. However, the collector's market for the shoe is completely wack. Why? As with any collectible, the value of the object as a true collectible comes from its level of rarity. The rarest objects are those that are mass produced and then thrown away, leaving only a few to remain to the true collectors. Think of rare coins, stamps and comic books.

Nike understands that there is this subculture of sneaker collectors and begins to tailor colorways and special editions to that market. These sneakers might run $100-$300 for their initial retail release, depending on the run count. By limiting the number of that edition produced, Nike artificially creates the 'rare-ness' and collectability of the sneaker. In my mind, these collectable Dunks are not really collector's items in the true sense of the term. They are merely exclusive editions that have an artificially and instantly created value within the sneaker collector market. But would I think that someone who has the most ultra-rare-special-dookie-edition Dunks a true collector? Probably not. They probably just have deep pockets.

Mike Mignola

Mike Mignola is another one of my favorite artists. His very minimal and chiaroscuro style of drawing gives the drawings a woodcut print quality. They feel like they were pressed onto the page and not simply drawn. Mignola is best know for his work on his creations Hellboy and BPRD. The image is taken from 'Hellboy: Odder Jobs', published in 2004.

Mike Mignola's Wiki

Design Classics 1

The Eames Eiffel Side Chair, and its variants, is my favorite chair of all time. But the armless side chair is my favorite of the different shell types. The simple curved lines of the shell combine with the geometric eiffel base to compliment each other quite well.

The Eiffel Side Chair is available (as a reproduction) from Design Within Reach for a mere $199 each.

Eriko Sukegawa

A curvaceous magazine rack for your wall that doesn't look bad when there isn't anything in it. And you can fit alot of magazines in the rack as well, which is good if you take a long time to throw things out like I do. Eriko Sukegawa is the designer. You can find him exhibiting at 100% Design this year.

Knife Tech

Above there are two examples of beautiful design and similar functions in low and high-tech fabrication techniques. On the left is one of Noa Bembibre's hand-carved glass knives. On the right, Spyderco's Poliwog pocketknife. Noa's represents a modern version of the first cutting implements ever created, the hand-formed flint knife. On the right, the Spyderco Poliwog represents the massive leap in design and fabrication that computer technology has afforded the human creative mind. Both achieve the simplest of tasks, cutting. Yet both do it with incredible thought and attention to detail. Unfortunately, only one is small enough to fit comfortably into a pocket.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Everyone who went to architecture school is familiar with leadholders, and almost everyone had one of the Caran D'Ache fixpencils (above) at one time or another. It is just a sexy pencil. Understated and simple, the Caran D'Ache fixpencil is a classic sketching pencil. Unfortunately, because of its hexagonal shape, it does not work as well for final drawings as it doesn't roll/twirl very well. The red-capped black fixpencil 77 I've had since college will always have a reserved spot in my bag.

Caran D'Ache took the classic hexagonal fixpencil and fancied it up a bit into the Ecridor XS series (below). The Ecridor XS shown has a ruby laid into the clip and an 'ammonite' pattern engraved silver body.

I appreciate that a few of the Caran D'Ache designs can be both very austere and utilitarian and others of the same design can be flamboyant and extravagant, while still preserving the same ease of use and function.

Vitamin, A Life Less Ordinary

Discovered these great product designers, Vitamin, A Life Less Ordinary via 100% Design. Check out their line of garden gnomes, some of which double as lights or speakers.

Archigram

Archigram, a British architectural collective, are the subject of a new book. Published by the MIT press, the book reviews the history and major projects of the group with many images not seen in most other books that feature Archigram's work.

I have always loved the unique quality the Archigram drawings contain. The Walking City and Plug-In City are the most interesting large-scale works. The Suitaloon is an interesting take on clothing-as-housing. The best part is that these ideas were cooked up in 1960's. Their ideas are often imitated by architects since then, but few can achieve the same results.

Ashley Wood

Ashley Wood is by far and away one of the most talented artists/illustrators in the world. He blends a good mix of painting and photoshop to achieve incredibly textured and well-worn images. He is most widely known for his work on the Popbot series. And the Lore #1 trade paperback was just released. Go get your copy before they sell out!

Check in on the Ashley Wood Blog now and then to see what is coming up.

Thumbtack Press

Thumbtack Press releases high-quality and affordable reprints of artists. Most prints run from $15-$35! On the left is one by Lilly Piri and on the right is one by Heiko. Both are very, very talented.

Jeremy Walton

To follow my last post about candles, here is a candle with an integrated matchbox from Jeremy Walton, available from the MOMA store.

Van Bömmel studio: Bravit Candle

Came across this via Design Milk - a very simple, clever candle. The wick meanders throughout the candle and splits off as it burns into multiple wicks. The novelty is in watching it burn (it's like tipping a line of dominoes!), making it more of a one-use candle - it wouldn't be nearly as fun to interrupt it and to re-light a bunch of wicks. Though the candle appears to come with some sort of base, I imagine it would make quite a mess when it was done burning!

Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis Architects - Ini Ani Coffee Shop

This is by no means a new project, but it's one of our favorites by New York architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis. We especially appreciate the Ini Ani Coffee Shop for LTL's innovative use of construction materials. The walls are made of strips of cardboard within a structural frame. Because it's a coffee shop, they collected hundreds of coffee cup tops and used them as a mold to cast a plaster wall. LTL built everything you see: chairs, lights, tables, door handles...



Disclosure: Both Sean and I were taught by David Lewis of Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis at Cornell University's School of Architecture.

Nixon Watches

Nixon makes nice watches, especially their women's line. The men's stuff is cool, but pretty standard as far as watches are concerned. The women's watches are a little more playful and funky. Pick one up as a gift for your current or potential lady-friend, she'll probably like it. 1. The Vega 2. The Lizzie 3. The Trips, all available at Nixon Online Store.

Modernlink

I came across Modernlink today via a Treehugger post. Modernlink make beautiful, multi-functional furniture primarily from bamboo. I feel like I am going overboard by posting so many of their pieces, but I am a sucker for their smart remakes of every day household furniture.



I love that the drawer is seamless so that it masquerades as a floating cube to lean and pile magazines and other pieces of junk on.



My favorite part of this desk is its integrated filing tray. Sadly, none of these are at all affordable, so I won't be owning any in the near future.

OMA at Cornell

OMA + Rem Koolhaas (love that wiki photo), the 3rd office to undertake the $40mil Milstein Hall at Cornell University, recently unveiled his design for the new building for the School of Architecture. I think it's a bad idea for the climate there, it's not easy-breezy California. Ithaca is a barren wasteland of snow and rain, so the sunken plaza is going to quickly fill with dead leaves, water, and slush. When Ithaca is nice out, it's pretty nice, so who would want to spend their time sitting on top of a building when you can sit out on the beautiful Arts Quad, only about 75 feet away?

Perch!

This is a nice little birdhouse from Perch!. If I didn't live in Manhattan, I would be more inclined to get one, but I just can't get excited about attracting pigeons to my fire escape. I also like the vessel line with the bird-footprint/flower decals. Amy Adams seems to have a thing for birds.

Instant Winner

The Instant Winner is a skate company started by Craig Metzger. They pull a lot of guest illustrators and artists in to design the board graphics. Nathan Fox did the above series for their current 2006 series. Please support your local skateshop!

Cosa Fina Jewelry

Gorgeous jewelry from Cosa Fina Jewelry. I recently have made a few pathetic attempts at jewelry making and I find myself very attracted to raw, uncut gemstones. I like Cosa Fina's very fine metalsmithing in contrast with the uncut stones they have chosen. Their other jewelry lines are nice as well, but this really caught my eye. Cosa Fina is run by sisters Karina Kuhary and Ninette Gambler.

Everyday Things

MOMA design store has two very nice keychains. First is Sven Wingquist's Self-Aligning Ball Bearing (left), an icon of the museum. They might not be Powell Ceramics, but they are just fine. Second is the Frank Lloyd Wright Thomas House keychain, no explanation needed.

Lamy Smile

Lamy is a German company that makes great modern pens. The pen shown is the new Lamy Smile, designed by German design firm Phoenix Design.

Lamy has always made very clean and modern writing instruments. The Smile is a more playful take on the fountain pen and uses a series of emoticon rings to relay personal codes and messages.

Timbuk2 since 1989

Timbuk2 has been making original messenger bags since 1989. I've owned the same one since 1998 and I still use it every single day. I've tried out other bags thinking it was time to try something new, but I always come back to the timbuk2 messenger because it really does function far better than any other bag I have owned, especially for city living.

They recently introduced the 'single speed' collection which are softer, crunchier versions of the bags. I checked it out at Paragon Sports and found that the single speed versions are much heavier than their cordura/nylon cousins. The big difference is that the single speed versions don't have the waterproof tarp layer!! One of the major pluses for the bags is that even without an umbrella, you can wear them out in the rain. I never worry that my lumix, psp, or sketchbook will ever see a drop of water.

I always think it's time to order a new custom messenger, but I don't know if it's time to retire my first Timbuk2 bag because it probably has another 10 years of life left in it.

The best place to pick up a stock version of the timbuk2 bags is eBags.com, keep an eye out for their 20% promotions and pickup a bag you'll feel weird without.

Sesame Letterpress

I came across Sesame Letterpress at IIKH this weekend. Beautiful stationary. Nice coasters, too, if I actually used them. Sesame Letterpress is a Brooklyn based design team - Breck Hostetter and Matt Heindl. From the Flickr stream I came across while doing a google search for Sesame Letterpress, it seems that Breck and Matt just had a baby. Congratulations!

Black Diamond Camalots

Black Diamond design and fabricate 'camalots', a type of active protection for rock climbing. The spring-loaded cams retract and expand into large cracks in the rock and serve as temporary anchors in the rock for lead climbing. they are an exceptional example of a beautifully designed object that serves a very specific and very important purpose.

Andrio Abero, 33 RPM Design

We love both Andrio Abero and his work...Andy has been putting out beautiful graphic design since he founded 33rpm in 2000. In 2004, Andy was received the Art Directors Club NYC Young Guns Award. Most recently, Andy designed the Bumbershoot 2006 Campaign. He'll be moving to NYC from Seattle early next year.

Two Create

Two Create is a London-based duo: Lucy Nunn and Tobie Snowdowne. They are a multi-disciplinary studio specializing in print and product design, though I think their best work falls within the 3-d design category.

Kikkerland Umbrella

This is too cute. A folding twin umbrella from Kikkerland.

Acronym Designs

Based in Kansas City, many of Acronym Designs' products are made not only from reclaimed wood, but from the cut-offs of reclaimed wood from another innovative company: Elmwood Reclaimed Timber. The dovetail joint between the concrete and wood is a nice detail that highlights the mix of raw and finished materials.

NASA's EIT Imagery

NASA's EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) records solar material at different wavelengths/temperatures. The images themselves are pretty beautiful and come in different resolutions. With a little photoshopping they make very nice desktop images.

NASA EIT Main Page

**on 9-13-06, they are doing a periodic 'ccd bakeout', which is a fancy term for heating the CCD to evaporate residual water vapor from the CCD components to reduce signal noise and interference.

Alien Workshop

alien workshop has been making incredible graphics since 1990 under the supervision of Mike Hill and Don Pendleton. Their boards are great, but the magazine ads are where the designers really shine. Unfortunately, Don recently moved over to Element to head their art department. I guess if you can't gain credibility by copying another company's graphics, you might as well buy-out their designer, right?

pattern : color

kr3w apparel's TK hoodie is an interesting take on the streetwear patterned hoodie. Steve Fordiani runs clothing design and merchandising at kr3w and they have consistently presented very affordable and wearable stuff with a boutique feel. It looks good for chilling, but I would hate to slam on it down at the banks.

iannone:sanderson

I want to get me one of these:



I love the way they use positive/negative space to make the graphic pop. The bee looks more like a fly to me, but either way, I love it.

Also very nice (though I wish it were concrete and not plastic laminate):


iannone:sanderson is a Philadelphia-based design studio run by partners Michael Iannone and James Sanderson.

Moontree Letterpress

Subtle stationary from Moontree Letterpress in Brooklyn, NY. Everything is printed on a Heidelberg Windmill press.