Any design trend involving a shotgun is a design trend I need to at least pay attention to. From the Gieves & Hawkes "buckshot brogue" (which I am actually a fan of) to that short-lived tee line which proudly attached the shell casing that delivered the sporadic hole pattern to every shirt. I can't help but to think the trend emerged more from the sheer desire to break and shoot things rather than the need to allow spontaneous design to appear organically. Although the thought of shooting a pair of shoes for design sake may seem a bit contrived and useless, the idea of utilizing the method in a functional way seems more novel.
The problem -- light doesn't pass through metal. The solution -- put holes in it. The method -- shoot the shit out of it with a pump-action 12 gauge. I'm sold. In fact, as I type this I can't help but to look around my house asking myself which possessions would look and function better with tiny holes in them. My answer -- most of them.
"Yes, that light would, in fact work better after unloading a Benelli into it." I couldn't agree more, John. Check out the rest of John's creations which he hand-makes over in his shop in Illinois, and support your local craftsman.
August 25, 2010
Made (And Shot) In America
August 23, 2010
It Starts After It Begins
Watch this movie even if you despise motorcycles, oil, steel and fire. He doesn't build bikes for the sake of building, Shinya Kimura builds them to ride, to use, to live. In a matter of mere minutes, Shinya seamlessly joins the art of motorcycle building with an optimistic philosophy of life and simply puts it all in perspective -- creation may be the beginning of life, but revelation is only realized through living it.
Thanks, Huf.
August 22, 2010
Charlie Don't Surf
The Rick Rubin of the surf/bike/design/motorcycle world, hit factory: Deus Ex Machina, appears to have once again re-upped their contract with the devil in order to bring you some of the freshest products you never knew you needed. As if their bicycles and motorbikes weren't enough, these guys had to go and make me want to brave the 60 degree Pacific and learning curve of single fin surfing.
Shaped and tender love made by Huntington-raised, Bali local, Luke Studer with Robert Moore turning the final boards into a canvas worthy of solo shows at the MOCA, these boards retain all the necessary ingredients for one tasty ride. I never knew I could be jealous of a surfboard -- men want to be them and women want to be with them. I'm not sure which cave they found the lamp in, or which dark road Deus dueled fiddles on, and I don't care. Keep 'em comin' and enjoy hell, boys.
Wha Happan?
I got pretty burned out on flea markets after having a job that required giving up weekends to scavenge them. However, since I have an old friend in town, I decided to hit the Fairfax Flea and see what there was to see... which as it turned out... wasn't much. It seems due to the ever-fluctuating and often unstable economy, most of the decent vendors have been replaced with men and women pursuing unconventional means of income via their creative passions in action-painting and jewelry assemblage. I get it, we all gotta do what we gotta do during these tough times, but damn, I'm not sure which I like to give up my Sunday mornings for more -- the shirtless hippie peddling his metal jewelry made from found car parts, claiming it to be "an LA thing," or the over-priced WWII garb that used to clutter the aisles. Hey, at least they're making something. Whatever, the paintings of dogs decked in full military dress are always worth the trip. A few other diamonds in the rough after the jump.
August 20, 2010
August 18, 2010
Clumsy, Excited, Young And Inexperienced
...But you always remember your first. After turning sixteen, I was given a choice -- my dad's old company car, an early 90s Ford Taurus (corporate-desert-sand-champagne-beige) or my mom's '91 Oldsmobile Silhouette (those futuristic beasts that look more like a dust buster than a shuttle). After quickly and quietly exploring the pros and cons, I chose the minivan. The lure of opportunities for teenage exploits involving a minivan were too powerful to ignore. After branding it with the X-Large, mock-Lakers sticker on the back window, I took the seats out, crammed as many friends as I could into the back and drove the car into infamy... and the ground.
This post could go on for paragraphs detailing the unwritten rules of "red light bumper cars" and describing the aftermath of alley-bowling on trash night, but I'll end it here -- with all of you fondly remembering your first set of wheels. Whether it was bought with the money saved up from mowing 347 lawns, or was neatly wrapped in a red bow on the morning of your 16th birthday, let me know which car it was that changed your young life.
*You got a picture of your first? Let me see it. I'll post it up.
NATHAN PUFFER
NICOLE CAMMORATA
DANIEL LUNA
ANDREAS
AARON VIDAS
RICHARD COPPING
