Cool Hunting
| 28 April 2008view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Lee Stoetzel
by Seth Brau
Juxtaposing nature with man-made objects, Pennsylvania-based artist Lee Stoetzel uses woods chosen for their natural flaws to make large-scale sculptures. In this video we visit Lee at his home studio where he's disassembling his life-size replica of a VW bus to transport to an art fair. He also shows us his latest work—giant models of fixed-gear bikes—and his workshop.
Mastihashop
by Letizia Rossi
Recently opened on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the Mastihashop is the Greek company's first U.S. boutique. The shop specializes in all manner of products made with Mastiha, an all natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial resin which can only be harvested from the sap of evergreen bushes found exclusively in the southern part of the Greek Island of Chios. In use for 2,500 years as a nutritional supplement and beauty product, the resin freshens breath, fights plaque and gingivitis, heals and regenerates skin, relieves ulcers, eases digestion and strengthens hair and nails. Found in everything from pasta sauce, wine and chewing gum to scented candles, lotions and cosmetics, Mastiha has over 300 known applications.
Headed by sisters Kalliopi and Artemis Kohas who grew up with Mastiha as a staple, the Orchard Street shop carries a wide variety of products. Some of our favorites include the Korres line of beauty products, the Mastiha toothpaste with chamomile and spearmint and the chocolate-covered pistachio bonbons.
Mastihashop
145 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10079 map
tel. 1 212 253 0895
Roden Gray Boutique
by Jonah Samson
One of my new favorite stores in Vancouver (well one of my new favorites anywhere, actually) is Roden Gray, a recent addition to Vancouver's trendy Gastown neighborhood.
Roden Gray maintains a carefully-selected range of clothing, shoes, bags and accessories from labels that bring sophistication to casual menswear such as Wings + Horns, Filson, Nice Collective and Obedient Sons. My particular favorites on a recent visit were the plain (but extremely well-cut) t-shirts in sexy black boxes and the white leather high-tops with side zippers, both from Wings + Horns.
Apart from the great products, I'm also loving the local Douglas Fir logs that have been burned and then transformed into displays, as well as the customized lighting by Canadian industrial designer Omer Arbel.
Dossier Journal
by Letizia Rossi
Combining creative writing, photography, fashion and art Dossier, an independent arts and culture journal based in Brooklyn, is set to launch 15 May 2008. Founded by childhood friends and collaborators Editorial Director Katherine Krause and photographer Skye Parrott (who acts as a Creative Director), Dossier is their effort to create a dialogue between fashion and visual culture and the world of letters and even food.
After collaborating on a story for a 2006 issue of Lula magazine in which the duo documented a cross country road trip, Krause and Parrott decided to embark on their own publication, one without guidelines, features or themes where contributors would be free to submit the craziest projects they could dream up. Their concept is that the journal would be a dossier of things they found interesting and inspiring.
Packed with amazing contributions, the premier issue features a Robert Longo retrospective, previously unpublished photographs by David Armstrong from the early '80s and drawings by Francesco Clemente, as well as by Nan Goldin and James Welling. There's also interviews with chef and organic cuisine pioneer Alice Waters, writer Yiyun Li, producer Mark Ronson on the British music invasion he helped create, organic architect Robert Harvey Oshatz and singer-songwriter Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. Creative writing selections include a short story by Dan Pope, a recipe from Chef Mario Batali (accompanied by a quartet of haikus inspired by seasonal cooking) and Sharon Mesmer's "flarf" poems culled from Google searches. Rounding it all out, Zac Posen styled his own designs in a fashion story shot by Selfportrait.net founder Theo Wenner. (See a sneak preview of the issue after the jump.
Visit Dossier's website to buy limited edition prints by several emerging photographers (pictured above) and pre-order the first issue.
Margiela Currency Wallets
by Jacob Resneck
Famed Belgian fashion recluse Martin Margiela's wallets fashioned on the two leading currencies are the perfect wry accessory for these brink-of-recession times. Investing in either might even be a safer choice than playing the currency market.
Retailing at £195, they're available in both Euro and Greenback styles from Oki-Ni.
Tip: See Refinery29's recent wallet round-up for less conceptual and more, um, wallet-friendly options.
