Cool Hunting
| 27 September 2005view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Theme 3
by Ami Kealoha
Theme, the new quarterly pan-Asian magazine just came out with their 3rd issue filled with the lush photos, unique content, and compelling profiles that made us fans in the first place. The brainchild of publishers Jiae Kim and John Lee, Theme's attention to detail shows up in extremely well-edited product pages, clean design, and stories you wouldn't expect to see in a glossy, like a profile of a Borneo tattooist and, in keeping with #3's topic, a piece called, "Skin Facts." Innovative concept-based spreads, like "Silhouettes," Second Skin," and "Sunday Morning" result in cohesive sections that feel fresh and full of potential and also break up the magazine nicely.
Luis Pons
by Ami Kealoha
Four years ago, Luis Pons was farming and tending to his cows in Venezuela's Amazon jungle. Forced from the country due to political strife, these days the architect leads quite a different life as the principal owner and designer of his preeminent firm in Miami. Already well-known for his imaginative architecture, interiors, and objects, his latest foray is into jewelry. This week, his Magnetik Distractions, a piece based on a simple ball chain and a magnetized bearing, debuts in the online Moma Design Store (pictured right and after the jump). The mutable object (it can be a necklace, bracelet, anklet, belt, etc.) has the kind of inspiration engineered into it that makes it as much a compulsive plaything as elegant ornamentation. Combining these two elements - a sense of wonder and sleek aesthetics - defines Pons' work. It's this kind of uncomplicated interactivity that, as Pons puts it, "pretty much defines my philosophy. You become your own designer. We just provide the frame. It's a very simple concept."
Etsu Meusy
by Ami Kealoha
Gum Ball machines, Axl Rose, and ice skaters - sometimes all within one composition- are among the many subjects in Japanese-born Etsu Meusy's work. The Vancouver-based artist's nostalgia-tinged 70s and 80s pop cultural pastiches have found a home in the pages of Nylon, Tokion, and Faesthetic among others, but her take on the Tenugui, available through Giant Robot is what captivated us recently. Her design for the multi-use Japanese cloths (they've been in use since the 8th century) is a dreamy, fairytale-like scene that includes a girl peering out a window, a bowl of soup, and a volcano. The result is a flowing free-form aesthetic that looks something like an updated woodblock print. Printed by a traditional Tenugui maker in Japan, only a very limited number of these were made.
Digital prints of her work are available on her site and you can get her tees via 2k. Watch out for a new tropical looking "Lilikoi" tee within the next month.
