Diamond Supply Co. put itself on the map with their tiffany colorway dunks with Nike. And they continue to put out nice shirts too, like the Mathematics T-shirt.

But way before they were streetwear-approved, they made bolts. Specifically, it was a stop nut that had an allen key head, so the ends of the bolts wouldn’t get damaged threading from grinds and slides. That way there was never a problem taking your trucks off to replace a deck. A cool invention, but their gear has quickly eclipsed their innovation.

Apartment Therapy found these interesting photos by John Olson in LIFE’s archives. John photographed some of the 70′s biggest stars with their parents or grandparents. It’s interesting to see the generation gap, but would be even more interesting if these were their childhood homes – to get a peek into the environments these iconic musicians grew up in, and to see how that might have influenced their craft. I love the image of Eric Clapton with his grandma Rose, above.

Below (from the top left):
David Crosby with his father, Floyd, in Ojai.
Grace Slick with her mom, Virginia Wing, in Palo Alto (yes, she is holding her daughter upside down!).
Ritchie Havens with his parents, Richard and Mildred, in Brooklyn.
Frank Zappa with his parents Francis and Rosemary in LA.
Elton John, Donovan, and the Jackson Five.

Propaganda was the first real skate video I ever watched. My friend Rick had it and we watched it over and over again. The first part went to Frankie Hill and it blew me away. And in an era when ‘enders’ didn’t exist, his mute grab over the huge grass gap will always be one of my favorite best last tricks.

Powell Peralta is re-releasing old decks from that era. Above are some of the ones I remember best. L to R: Frankie Hill, Ray Barbee, and Mike McGill. The decks wouldn’t really mean anything to someone who didn’t grow up with them. But I love them, with their weird shapes and graphics. They help me remember what skating was like back when I was 11 years old – pure fun.

We’re excited to present the first installment of our 2008 gift guide! Over the next few weeks we’ll be showcasing our favorite picks for the holidays – by color, because we thought it’d be more fun that way…Due to the current financial climate, we tried really hard to keep all gifts under $!00. Anything that is more expensive than that has been marked with an asterisk. So, without further ado, we present the best gifts in black! Click through the images to get to the products themselves.

Saks Fifth Avenue asked Marian Bantjes to draw them some snowflakes, which were translated into a series of jewelry. Some of the drawings were translated into fairly gaudy pieces, but there are some really nice ones in the mix, especially the red enamel piece by Roberto Coin. Love it! Warning – the jewelry isn’t priced for the faint of heart…

Top: a pendant by Chopard for $77,200.
Middle: pendant by Marco Bicego for $27,230 and a red enamel necklace by Roberto Coin for $12,500.
Bottom: pendant by Graff, $38,000.

Yowza!

Since The Watchmen (one of TIME’s all-time 100 novels) is coming out in movie form next spring, the internet is full of links for the trailers. Having never read it, I picked up a copy for the flight back after Thanksgiving and it is definitely worth reading. Published in 1986-1987, the multi-layered story weaves a grand conspiracy centered around a group of vigilante-heroes in a semi-fictional cold war dystopian USA on the brink of WW3.

Watching the Watchmen (above), a new companion book, chronicles the process of its creation. From anecdotes from the author and artists to storyboards and character sketches, the book shows just how much effort and love went into The Watchmen. It’s worth a spot on your shelf, or at least a flip through it, if you see it on someone else’s.

I like these Pot Covers by Imegadito – felt pot covers to dress up your house plants and to protect furniture from scratches.

To all of our American readers – enjoy thanksgiving! For everyone who’s not celebrating – we’ll be back on Monday. We’re headed off to Raleigh, North Carolina, to visit my brother and to see what the South has to offer. Thank you all for your great comments and emails – it keeps blogging fun!

The title sequence for Les Dents de Nuit has great character drawings, colors and exude a fun yet creepy atmosphere. It’s fitting, as the movie is a horror-comedy about a soiree full of vampires and their unsuspecting guests. Watch the title sequence at Submarine Channel and an interview with Olivier Marquézy, 1/2 of Studio Deubal.