Planet Earth Green Label

by Ami Kealoha

The Surfrider Foundation, SurfAid and less toxic surfboard building techniques have made the surf community one of the pioneers in protecting the planet and the oceans. However, as a business, the backbone of the surf industry is apparel. With cotton accounting for an estimated 25% of all insecticide use, Planet Earth decided to take a step in the right direction and launched the Green Label Collection in October 2006. After receiving great response, it has evolved into a complete line for Fall 2007 that they introduced at the recent ASR/Agenda Tradeshow. Made from natural, organic or sustainable fibers, the collection includes denim, cut and sew tops, boardshorts and accessories. The collection has botanical detailing and colors mostly stick to a subtle earthtone palette, befitting the collections natural roots.

A couple standouts include the Sprout boardshort (pictured above left) and the Horizon fleece (above right). The Sprout boardshort is made from a 55% hemp and 45% PET (recycled plastic bottles) blend. This eco-friendly blend had a unique texture unlike any usually found on boardshorts. A zip-up hooded sweater, on first glance the Horizon appears similar to a traditional hoodie, however closer inspection reveals much more. Featuring a tailored slim fit, it is made from 100% organic cotton, a sweater-like material that's amazingly soft, just as you’d imagine a fiber free of harsh chemicals to be.

Planet Earth plans on slowly expanding the line as they can find more ways to incorporate eco-friendly materials into this street collection. In an industry dependent on the ocean, Planet Earth is setting an example that hopefully more companies will follow.

by Andrew Potash

Interface Space

by Ami Kealoha

Exploring the intimate relationships people have with their computers, Design Observer takes a look at art that comments on the two-dimensional interfaces of modern life. Some work, like Hans Gremmen and Monique Gofer's Empty Trashcan (pictured), translate the screen into sculpture, while others, like Danh Vo's email exchange with artist Robert Gober, makes the everyday design of Hotmail into an art piece. The works Design Observer presents are a thoughtful summation of the influences that the digital world has on our lives, on art and on ourselves. The Kevin Zucker-curated 2004 group show Emoticons is also a good place to look at the ways computers are changing visual language itself.

via Core77

Moonblood Superhero Tees

by Ami Kealoha

Philadelphia t-shirt makers Moonblood's latest features angular shapes that evoke the lightning bolts of action hero costumes. The hand-drawn graphics are filled in with finely-detailed patterns that look as if they were culled from around the world. Not unlike their first collection of Egyptian-inspired motifs and Native American imagery, the result is a modern tribal look that takes the tee beyond predictable centered-graphic designs. Hand-printed and hand-dyed on soft tees in great cuts, they start at $42 from Moonblood.

Loiste II

by Watchismo

"The idea was to make something simple and a bit brutal, but beautiful…like life in Finland.”—Stepan Sarpaneva (QP magazine interview).

Originally inspired by a Harley Davidson kickstart pinion, Sarpaneva's Loiste II made from Stavax ESR steel is actually a cog itself. The first variation was built as a pocket watch, followed by the Loiste and now the Loiste II. Customizing functions like the foreboding looking double black moonphase complication, it measures both northern and southern hemispheres and the display can be used to represent the physical moon on top (12 o'clock) or by its shadow on the bottom (6 o'clock). The other ingenious feature is his own 'Turbini' winding mass, an optional turbine style rotor that spins with guillotine efficiency while revealing the movement. The metallic icing of this ticking cake is the intricately machined three-dimensional dial in brass or aluminum. Go here for more info and pictures.

Nostalgia 77: Everything Under The Sun

by Ami Kealoha

Swirling waves of jangling bells, shells, bamboo and other eclectic sounds weave a soothing texture behind the chords, melodies and words of Everything Under The Sun, the latest record from prolific Oxford, England native Benedic Lamdin, aka Nostalgia 77. His “Nostalgia” is for the Soul-, Spiritual-, Cosmic-, and Free-Jazz of the 60s and 70s. And his music fuses an homage to these classic forms with subtle modern touches.

Lamdin (who lives in Brighton alongside Tru Thoughts label mates Alice Russell, Quantic and TM Juke) found his way to jazz, like many of his contemporaries, through early 90s hip-hop. He went from record collector to post hip-hop jazz-influenced beatmaker to award-winning composer/producer. Everything is his foray into the world of vocal jazz.

Lizzy Parks fronts four of the album’s nine songs, dropping psychedelic soul-esque vocals on “Eastwind,” and precise straight ahead maneuvers on the vocalese-influenced acrobatic melody of “Stop to make a change.” But Beth Rowley, who only appears on these two cuts, outshines her with perfectly sweet whispery finesse on “Quiet dawn” and “Steps to the sun.”

The tunes are performed by varying ensembles of five to eight musicians (none of them Lamdin), including Tenor player Mark Hanslip, who graces “Quiet Dawn” and the best of the album’s three intrumental tracks, “Arora,” with beautiful solos.

Due out in March 2007, you can request it from Dusty Groove or pre-order from Amazon U.K.

by DJ Scribe