Cool Hunting
| 12 May 2008view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Best of the Brooklyn Flea: Keep It Moving Knit Plants
by Tim Yu
A small booth headed up by a woman as nice as her creations are clever, Keep It Moving Design sells knit plants. Each hand-knit specimen comes in a pot with its own name. Most are flexible due to wire armature and some even have moss. She has some great vintage-like jewelry pieces and some embroidered men's ties too. All depends on what she's been up to that week. If you can't make it to the Flea Market you can find some of her work on her her Etsy site.
Best of the Brooklyn Flea: Counter Evolution Bowling Alley Furniture
by Ami Kealoha
by Laurice Parkin
After several visits by our small army of NY-based contributors, today we bring you a few of the best we found at the new Sunday morning ritual of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Flea. Be sure to check back throughout the day to see more of what the new church has to offer.
Bowling Alleys, icons of both Americana and funny shoes, have not been known to be the source of inspired design. But, Jim Malone's Counter Evolution might just have you looking at the home of cheap beer and gutter balls in a whole new light. Malone, in need of a new kitchen counter, found some vintage wood from a bowling alley and became enamored with the continuous grain of the wood and the rich, honey colored heartwood pine. Not only did he create a counter for himself, but a design business was born. Recycling the wood, he created a collection of modern tables, benches and countertops, with names reminiscent of the material's origins: the Spare, the 7-10 split and the Love Tap to name a few. Many pieces still show the telltale signs of the alley—the little directional arrows that guide you where to roll the ball—a cool, knowing wink to the wood's former life.
Malone, a self-claimed "inept bowler" is actually a musician and songwriter by trade. "But, I've always loved turning old found objects into something unexpected, and I've always built things. When I decided to build a log home several years ago, I loved the look of real logs on the interior walls, but I didn't want to make it too rustic. So, I decided to add elements of modern design to the interior—concrete, stainless steel, etc. That's what I'm trying to accomplish with my bowling alley pieces—giving this great old wood a new, contemporary look."
In addition the the Brooklyn Flea, you can see the Counter Evolution http://counterevolutionnyc.com/ Collection at the DUMBO showroom by appointment (call +1 718 512 5285). Custom work is also available.
sponsored by
Ryan Wolfe: Branching System and Study for Lit from Within
by Doug Black
Two of the current installations at Brooklyn's Dam, Stuhltrager gallery come from Seattle-based multi-media artist Ryan Wolfe. Self-described as a "device artist and interaction designer," Wolfe offers technological studies of organic materials that force viewers to reimagine their perception of plants.
"Branching System" is based in the theories of Edward Lorenz, who created the "butterfly effect" concept of Chaos Theory (and who died one week before the show opened). The installation covers the gallery walls with robotic leaves that independently flutter like mechanical butterflies (pictured above). Viewers presence is reflected in the leaves' motion, creating a fully interactive experience.
Also showing is Wolfe's "Study for Lit from Within," (pictured at right) which pairs living plants with LED lights in a dark room. The lights are surgically embedded into the actual plants and operate on a programmed schedule of sunrise and sunset. Each plant's "internal sunshine" allows for photosynthesis, thus keeping it alive while creating a striking, futuristic display. Both exhibitions—as well as a pair of video installations from Russian artist Anna Frants—have been extended for another month until 29 June 2008.
Dam, Stuhltrager
38 Marcy Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211 maps
tel. 718-387-9818
'Sup Magazine Issue 18
by Phuong-Cac Nguyen
U.K.-based music publication 'Sup Magazine's 18th issue featuring cover stars The Kills has just landed at specialty retailers. The release coincides with the publication's 10-year anniversary and boasts profiles on two dozen other indie bands like Map of Africa, Tigercity and Le Loup (see last week's video for a sample), all done with no filler (i.e. Q & A style with thankfully short intros), plus a section on fresh-faced newcomers like our São Paulo friends M.O.N.O.4. Accompanying each feature are exclusive lifestyle-type photographs shot especially for the issue.
You can read the issue 18 online or buy it in boutiques like Opening Ceremony, Turntable Lab and Colette.
