HOME
We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.
The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.
For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.
Float On
Purveyors of a Portland float center turn us on to salt water meditation
Ever since seeing “Altered States” back in the day, we’ve held off on trying sensory deprivation tanks. Watching Willam Hurt’s character devolve into a primitive man through repeated psychedelic experiments seemed like a red flag for curious newcomers. A recent trip to Portland’s Float On has changed all that. The supremely chilled-out center invites visitors to come and enjoy the health benefits of a good float, which run from dopamine rushes to skin rejuvenation.
With four tanks, Float On holds the distinction of being the largest tank center on the West Coast. We opted to try one of the two “ocean” tanks, which are built with six feet of head room for anyone with claustrophobic tendencies. The team behind the center, Quinn Zepeda, Graham Talley and Christopher Messer have created a haven of calm with an inclusive ethos—cash-strapped customers may work shifts to earn float time, and artists are allowed to float free of charge.
After stripping down and showering, you enter the tank, where the water is warmed to match the ambient air at 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The 40% salt content makes the water extremely buoyant, keeping you afloat in a mere 14 inches of water. The environment is pitch black and silent, thanks to wax over-ear earplugs. You are encouraged to lay in whatever position feels most comfortable for the 90-minute sessions and, if the tank isn’t booked, they’ll let you stay in for as long as you please.
After a little more than an hour in suspended gravity—which they claim releases enough pressure on your spine to lengthen your body by an inch—the mind gives over to theta brainwaves, oscillating between consciousness and unconsciousness. It is in this state that practitioners report mental breakthroughs of a creative and psychedelic nature due to decreased level of cortisol, the chemical in the brain that causes stress. Once the initial “What the hell am I doing?” feeling passes, all sense of time and environment gives over to pleasant calm as the loss of sensation shuts down most survival-related brain functions. Sensory deprivation makes the body lose track of time, too, so the float seems to last just a few minutes.
The session ends when music pipes into the tank to wake you if you’ve fallen asleep (I didn’t), although you are encouraged to take your time when re-entering reality. While I didn’t have what I would call a mental breakthrough during the float, it seemed to clear the way for my creativity to take a jump in the days to follow.
Float On
4530 Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 9721
Nikon D4
Over four years in the making, the new flagship DSLR promises to deliver
Just announced, the Nikon D4 is an update to the brand’s flagship DSLR, over four years in the making. Boasting a 16.2MP full-frame sensor capable of low-light capture at ISO levels as high as 204,800 as well as high speed shooting of up to 11 frames-per-second, this professional camera promises the versatility to cover everything from action-packed sporting events to candle-lit moments. While those improvements might be incremental, perhaps the biggest leap forward is the new metering sensor with is 100-times more sensitive than its predecessor. This greater level of detail detection offers features beyond simple light metering—face detection for up to 16 people, subject tracking in still and video mode and dynamic white balance adjustment are just a few benefits.
Offering Canon serious competition, the D4 has several new features making it a video powerhouse. Full HD recording at 60, 30 and 24 frames-per-second, clip recording times up to 20 minutes and professional audio in and out bring DSLR recording features closer to what should be baseline. To increase creative control, the shutter speed, aperture and ISO can be manually adjusted while recording. Though most shooters will still prefer to focus by hand, there are four modes of auto focus available during video recording—normal, wide area, face detection and subject tracking.
As a Nikon shooter since I was 8 years old, I can’t wait to check out the D4 in person at CES next week. In the meantime, DPReview has already posted an initial hands-on. The Nikon D4 will retail for $6000 beginning in late February 2012
Eleven Silk Scarves
Wrap yourself up in something nice to ward off the winter blue
When the bleak winter months really hit full swing, a scarf becomes an essential element for staying warm. Rather than walk around with your eyes poking out of a massive knitted muffler, we’ve found wrapping a silk scarf around your neck before zipping up your parka provides an elegant base layer and a light touch to the season’s heavy ensembles. Below are 11 silk scarves guaranteed to brighten up the doldrums of cold weather months.
Charlotte Linton
The London-based illustrator and print designer Charlotte Linton brings her sketches to life with an assortment of 100% silk double georgette scarves, found across three collections named for exotic locales like Java, Himalayas and Madagascar. “Mineralogy” packs a colorful punch with rocks bursting from geometric shapes. To order (£270) contact Linton.
Ikou Tschüss
The 100% “Carmen Foulard” silk scarf in slightly muted, but still juicy hues, comes with a crocheted border made from recycled twine. The Swiss-made wrap is the upshot of a longstanding friendship between two Italian women who share a desire to create social- and environmentally-friendly garments. The scarf sells from Ikou Tschüss for 300 SFr.
Viron Vert
Intentional or not, Berlin-based artist Viron Vert‘s “By Aidmail” scarf series is likely to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Inspired by the socio-politics of contemporary culture, if worn over your head they appear as an identity-changing wig. The series sells exclusively fromColette, each is €205.
Bless
Bless’ “Berlinmexico” silk scarf features a digital print designed by the Berlin-based concept shop. This breezy edition sells online from Ssaw for €79
Anntian
Celebrated for their spirited graphics and unusual silhouettes, Anntian is the work of Berlin-based designers Anne Hilken and Christian Kurt. Each piece is a hand-printed labor of love, designed to reveal a story within a certain theme. This double-sided silk scarf sells online from Creatures of Comfort for $290.
Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre
From the “φοῖνιξ” collection by Amelie Charroin and Marie Colin-Madan—the young duo behind the French label Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre—the “Rideau Antichambre” silk scarf features a vibrant surrealistic scene that feels like a study on perspective. The painting propped against the wall is a cheeky nod to another scarf, their “Orion” scarf from the the preceding “Desertshore” collection. “Rideau Antichambre” sells from Boticca for $111.
Eskayel
Conjuring up thoughts of long, serene summer afternoons, the watercolor design on the aptly named Poolside Scarf is soft on both body and mind. The piece is available from Eskayel for $209.
Scarfshop
Hand-dyed by trained architect Martha McQuade in her Minneapolis studio, each Scarfshop scarf is created in small batches using water-based dyes. This sublime colorblock cotton-and-silk scarf sells from Spartan for $80.
Swash
The gold leopard and dashing zebra prints on this extravagantly fringed silk topper puts a modern twist on the traditional accessory. The scarf, which is handmade in Spain, would be an investment piece for most, justified by an all-seasons appeal and a dramatic look that’s easy to throw on and go. Buy one at Beklina for $780.
Richard Weston
For a moodier option, Richard Weston has designed this silk and wool-blend scarf with a forest scene under blue dusk. The winter-perfect accessory goes for £205 at Liberty of London.
Philippe Roucou
Known for his Polaroid scarves, Philippe Roucou‘s cinematic scarves pre-date any Instagram-inspired concepts. Gorgeously printed on 100% silk, the scarf sells from Reborn for $CAD 350.
Tsumori Chisato
The Japanese designer’s signature painterly patterns come to life in a contrast-print gingham and spotted Animal Gingham Scarf. The graphics have a childlike whimsy while offering a sophisticated punch of color to a dark winter outfit. The wrap is available from Opening Ceremony for $255
Standard Goods
Our interview with Garrett Colton on the new Guest Buyer Series
Nestled among the nail salons, kosher bakeries and breakfast joints on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, Garrett Colton has set up St&ndard Goods, a general store for shoppers who love high-quality goods with clean design. Step inside the small shop and the eye is immediately drawn to Colton’s favorite paintings of two brothers clad in suit and tie. Colton found these paintings, dated 1960, at an Oklahoma City garage sale. Though he has had many offers, these dapper and slightly creepy gents set the tone for the shop and are not for sale.
Offerings include Sierra Designs parkas, vintage belts, MAKR wallets and iPad cases, West Sweet Preserves, Tourne ceramic vessels, skateboard decks and much more. A shelf of items features picks from the St&ndard Goods’ inaugural Guest Buyer Series, which kicks off with pieces picked by photographer Brian Ferry, from a vintage L.L. Bean shirt to a Minot 35 GT Analog Camera. We asked Colton to tell us about his new store, the St&ndard Goods Guest Buyer Series and upcoming collaborations.
What are three words that would best describe St&ndard Goods?
Timeless, basic, clean.
How did spelling standard with an ampersand come about?
My friend Carlos Morera works at Commune Design here in LA and is one of the most creative people I have ever met. I asked him to come up with some logos and what not for the store. When he added the “&” I knew it was right.
How did the idea for the Guest Buyer Series come about?
This idea is somewhat of a hybrid of a couple things. I really loved the idea of the Selby and going into various creative people’s homes, but I also liked the idea of GQ’s 10 Essentials with designers. The Guest Buyer Series is something kind of in the middle. When I worked at Band of Outsiders, I would sometimes go the flea market with my boss to pick out stuff for his home. The consumer in me would think, what if ______ was here shopping. What would he/she buy?
When did you first meet Brian Ferry? How did he approach his set of items?
I first met Brian in late December in New York. He found some things during his time in London and he also found some things in New York. I wanted him to pick out things that he gravitated to and I think Brian has great style and taste and didn’t need to guide him on what to buy. It’s really about letting the guest buyer pick out what they want. It’s not me pointing, “Hey, buy this.” Brian picked out things that he would really buy. He sent me an email hesitating on sending me this stuff because he wanted to keep it. That’s when I knew that he picked out great stuff.
Brian Ferry is including a photograph of the item with the purchase. Bonus art with purchase seems like an idea that should happen more often. Thoughts?
Brian came up with this idea so I can’t take full credit, but I loved it and knew it was a brilliant idea. Brian has a loyal following and we wanted to give those who buy one of his pick’s a special something. The fun thing about the Guest Buyer Series is really making each one unique. With Brian’s photography, we wanted to do something extra. The one thing I have really enjoyed the most about the GBS is that we are really telling a story. Christine Brown directs, edits, and produces the video, which interviews the guest buyer. We show pictures and footage of the buyer, the products, why they bought each item. Whenever I buy something, I always like to hear a good story behind an item, if there is one.
What other projects and collaborations are coming up at St&ndard Goods?
We’ve got some great things in the works. I’m currently making some more things with some really talented people. We are doing a collaboration with RTH that I am really excited about. That will hit both of our shops in mid February. We have some more great people lined up for the guest buyer series. Lastly, a show with Brian Ferry at our shop that will happen in late spring.
Standard Goods
7151 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Olly and Molly
Web-connected robots dispense custom scents and candy treats
When a creative brief tasked them to “make something connected to the Internet that doesn’t live on the screen,” Foundry, a small research team at Mint Digital, came up with Olly, a scent-based system rewarding social media activity or, as they describe it on their site, a “web-connected smelly robot.”Olly links up to web-based social applications and emits a fragrance—thankfully, one that you choose—when you receive emails, re-Tweets, instant messages, and various other pings across the channels of social media. Exploring the notion that smell is one of our most under-used senses in an over-stimulated world, Olly is a modular system that will have its own website from which the user can customize the way the smelly robot responds to web stimuli.
Joining Olly on Kickstarter is Molly, a robot Foundry will release today that graduates from scent to candy, dispensing one’s chosen sweets upon receipt of virtual notifications.
Molly operates in a similar way to Olly, which for scents stores a removable tray and a small interior fan to release the aroma. The user can customize various modules to assign different fragrances to different alerts—perhaps something sweet to soften the blow of a bill from your accountant, or a loved one’s perfume or cologne for their notes. According to the team at Foundry, “Olly wants to be fiddled with.”
While Olly works around a more cerebral sense, Molly is all about indulgence. Together, the robot pair might just serve as the ultimate carrot and stick for the digital generation. Olly and Molly (available later today) sell on Kickstarter for $50 each. The project will only come to fruition if they make the $35,000 goal, so pledge now.
The American Boy’s Handy Book
The 19th century reference guide for childhood remains a classic
While today’s youth are more likely to face a touch screen than a vast expanse of wilderness, the principles established in The American Boy’s Handy Book remain as valuable as ever. A comprehensive reference for the practical skills all boys (and girls) should still know, the guide has remained in circulation since the original 1882 publication, offering detailed, approachable instructions and diagrams on how to rig river boats, defend yourself in a snowball fight, choose a dog, use your finger as a match, put on a dramatic rendition of Puss-in-Boots and more.
Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America, originally published the tome as a guide for young men to learn essential skills that would carry them through adulthood. As a renaissance man of sorts, enchanted with the magic of childhood, Beard worked an author and illustrator when he wasn’t scouting. His drawings graced the pages of several works by Mark Twain, and in the Handy Book bring to life the skills he imparts with charm and practicality.
The lessons of the book are organized by season to ensure that youngsters have year-round inspiration to pursue their interests, whether that be spear fishing, flying kites or reading minds. The instructions and illustrations are perfect for adventurous children or grown kids looking to recapture some of their lost youth. The most recent iteration of the book from Tuttle Publishingprints the vintage illustrations in a hardback edition wrapped in coated canvas
JMC Soundboard
Designed by master guitar-builder Jeanmichel Capt with the exceptional creativity and skill he employs to sculpt musical instruments, the JMC Soundboard creates a beautifully encased sound system that blends seamlessly into most any environment. Built with time-honored techniques used in making JMC guitars, the speaker blurs the line between art object and home audio system. The Soundboard has been around for some time now, but we only recently got to experience it in person—between the uncannily thin silhouette and masterful uniformity of sound, it certainly struck a chord.
JMC opts to use spruce that has been harvested of 350-year-old felled trees in the Swiss Risoud Forest, rather than more exotic woods that may cause deforestation. With the chosen wood of JMC’s legendary luthiers, the lightweight but rigid body—carved paper-thin—creates excellent response to vibrations, offering the listener a concert-like experience unique to the Soundboard.
The convex surface design disperses sound evenly throughout a room, as opposed to traditional speakers that need twice the number of units to achieve a similar effect. A sophisticatedomnidirectional wave creates what they call a “pervasive musical climate”, in which volume and resonance stay precisely uniform whether you’re standing across the room or with your ear up to the Soundboard.
While we’ve seen other home audio adaptations available on the market it seems the JMC Soundboard provides the most elegant solution to cumbersome speaker systems. Check JMC online for their expansive list of dealers worldwide.
Myrrhia Fine Knitwear
The rapidly expanding line of locally sourced, ecologically sound wool promotes individuality
A fledgling startup specializing in knitwear is now expanding from custom orders and art fairs into a full Fall 2012 product line. What had been Myrrhia Resneck’s one-woman operation at the 25th Street Collective and local business incubator in Oakland, Myrrhia Fine Knitwear has grown to supply wholesalers as demand spreads, so far mainly by word-of-mouth.
Aesthetics aside, the use of locally-sourced Merino wool and the rejection of the cut-and-sew technique yields virtually no waste, and the brand maintains a commitment to fair trade in every step of the production line. While more labor intensive—and expensive—the thoughtful process reinforces Myrrhia’s dedication to ecological practices and social responsibility. “A huge percentage of our landfills are fabric as well as the chemical pollution in our waterways from fabric dying processes,” says Resneck. “The carbon footprint of the apparel industry is significant.”
The 32-year-old entrepreneur from Santa Cruz, California abandoned a lucrative legal career to focus full-time on creating her own line of knitwear, drawing inspiration from creating pieces that emphasize individuality. “People’s form of expression is too often in what they buy and there are often limited options: Whether it’s the blue one or the black one on the rack,” she says. “I’d like to help foster self-expression and individuality if I can. And the products I make are trying to show the dynamic energy in each person.”
Her pieces continue to gain popularity. Aside from selling direct at Oakland’s monthly Art Murmurstreet exhibition she also sells internationally from her online store with a customer base already established across North America, Britain and Scandinavia.
The Holy Trinity
Our trio of basic accessories for your pocket mainstays
There are a few essentials you never leave home without: your keys, your phone, your wallet. These represent the survivalist accessories of modern life, and they should be carefully considered—after all, they remain the stronghold of minimalism and functionality in a world of excess. The following leather goods are handsomely spare selects that do everything required and nothing else.
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The size of your wallet can say a lot about you—overloaded back-pocket bricks indicate hoarder tendencies, and anything requiring a snap release signals high maintenance. This pliable option has three enclosure slots to keep cash and cards separate and the durable, American-made Korchmar leather is fully tanned with vegetable dyes, resulting in a rich color. The handcrafted wallet is available from Koyono for $129.
Hard Graft Phone Fold Wallet
In a world dominated by cards, it may seem excessive to carry a wallet at all. Besides providing stellar protection for your phone, this case comes with a slot to carry the shortlist of everyday cards along with space for cash. The felt liner is kind against scratch-prone screens while the tough leather outer amps up the heritage look. Made in Italy, the wallet is hand-finished by Florentine craftsmen and can be found at Hard Graft for $89.
Alice Park Lanyard
We’ve always felt that bulky fobs are unnecessary. Lanyards serve as the perfect key accessory, providing ease of access without adding too much weight. Alice Park‘s calfskin option comes in a rainbow of colors to fit your personality. The brass and nickel rings link with a detachable hook to prevent fiddling with key rings, while the generous length allows you to latch onto purse handles and belt loops if you don’t want to rock the drape. The lanyard is available at OK for $45.
