Cool Hunting
| 26 June 2008view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Tretorn NY Store and Gullwing Collection
by Josh Rubin
Along with the recent opening of Tretorn's first NYC store, their recently announced Autumn/Winter 2008 collection, called Gullwing, is full of shoes riffing on the preppy classic in ways we can get behind. The Skymra, for example, swaps out laces for asymmetrical elastic bands, transforming the classic silhouette of the tennis shoe into an avant-slip-on. The canvas version ($70) in bright yellow with a gray band is one of those perfectly harmonious colorways and will likely become a summer wardrobe staple.
The 1300 square-foot new Soho shop, only the second flagship worldwide (the first opened in D.C. last year), is something to get excited about too, featuring Tretorn's apparel and footwear lines, as well as bikes, boats and other "lifestyle" products. See more images (store photos by Dustin Ross) after the jump.
Ísbjörn / Ice Bear Rug
by Doug Black
This imitation polar bear-skin rug is designed by Reykjavik-based designer Sruli Recht for Birkiland. Limited to a single run of 10, the Ice Bear is not just the cute-and-cuddly accessory it appears. The designer hopes to pack a dose of symbolism into the classic man-over-beast accessory.
Cobbled together from 15 different Icelandic sheepskins, it's meant to resemble the classic butcher's diagram poster that labels the different cuts of meat for purchase. Recht also wants it to reflect an expensive fur coat, which when observed closely, is actually made of many tiny scraps sewn together. Thus, he's commenting on how luxury products are merely a compendiums of waste, all with a lovable, teddy bear appearance.
The irony-heavy Ice Bear is "full-sized" at three meters. The majority will be arctic white, with variations in black, brown and albino. They'll be available on the Birkiland site beginning 1 July 2008 and are packed and ready to ship around the world.
Also on Cool Hunting: ~Elt Buckle-less Belt, Sruli Recht Shoes
Fifty Designers' Current Favorite Typefaces
by Brian Fichtner
With his Fifty Designer's Current Favorite Typefaces book, James West of the Essex design studio Create/Reject has come up with a simple and useful project in response to the Myanmar Cyclone disaster.
Enlisting the participation of fifty graphic designers and typographers from around the world, West has put together a timely snapshot of the creative predilections of today's best talents. Participants include Stefan Sagmeister, Why Not Associates, eBoy, Experimental Jetset, Wim Crouwel, and a host of other big names. According to his site, he sold over 700 copies within 48 hours of launching the project. Naturally, all proceeds go directly to UNICEF to help in the disaster relief.
The book sells for £3 and can be ordered online or purchased directly from Koenig Books in Charing Cross Road, London or Artwords Bookshop in Shoreditch, London.
More images after the jump.
Keyboard Choir: Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound
by Ami Kealoha
by Mat Lyon
An electronic ensemble from the thriving Oxford music scene, Keyboard Choir could be described as a journey through the history of electronic music. Liberally scattered amongst the fluid electronic soundscapes and massive rib-imploding beats are samples from genres as diverse as contemporary classical composition and hip hop.
Their debut album, Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound, boasts expansive electronic sounds that fire the imagination. For a largely instrumental record, it manages to convey a strong sense of narrative—from the rumbling bombs of the blitz in the opening track, "Drone Of The Hearse," through the post-nuclear war radio samples of "Bugs," to the peaceful wonder of finale "Electrical Unity"—this album is a story of the 20th Century and beyond. (You can hear tracks on their MySpace page, as well as on Last.fm.)
Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound is available digitally now at emusic and out this summer on CD. See Brainlove Records (their label) for stockists.
Catch Keyboard Choir live on the main stage at Woolfire Festival and at The Luminaire, London in August, as well as at Brainlove's Club NME DJ residency at KOKO in Camden, London.
Plant Sense and the GardenGro Sensor
by Evan Orensten
Plant Sense, a start up announced in 2006, is just entering public beta testing of its GardenGro Sensor. Think of it as Nike+ for your plants. After connecting the sensor to your computer and telling it whether you want to monitor an existing plant or analyze soil for a new plant, place the sensor (pictured above) in the soil/next to the plant for 24 hours. Remove the USB part of the sensor and connect it to your computer. The data (which includes moisture, light and soil composition among others) is sent to Plant Sense where it is analyzed, and you receive all the information you could want about the health of your plant or the ideal plant for the soil conditions it has monitored.
Beta test kits currently available for $60, which is the expected price of the GardenGro Sensor and initial subscription to the Plant Sense service. Launch seems to be set for Fall 2008.
via Silicon Valley, an article with details about the history of the company, founders, and their recent venture funding.
