Holiday Matinee Artist Series T-Shirts for a Cause

by Mike Giles

Sure I may be a bit biased towards this tee because the art features my dog Branson (named after multimillionaire Richard Branson) and was done by my good buddy Evan at Curse of the Multiples but there's no arguing that the gents over at Holiday Matinee are onto something good. Their current artist series sees monthly releases of some great t-shirts for a great cause, you buy a shirt and they will donate 100% of the proceeds to Plant-It 2020, an awesome non-profit (founded by late country legend John Denver) that helps plant and maintain indigenous trees worldwide. All shirts are organic, tag-free and purchasing just one will help plant twenty trees. They are available from Holiday Matinee for $20.

Leto & Ariadne Scarves

by Brian Fichtner

Always on the lookout for a handsome scarf, I was delighted to discover Londoner Nick Ozanne's studio label, Leto & Ariadne. With keen attention to drape, weight, and comfort, Nick's handwoven mufflers, comprised of 100% silk or silk and wool, are downright dapper. Leto & Ariadne currently offers four collections, each drawing inspiration from sources as varied as Brideshead Revisited to glazed pastries, with prices ranging from £140 to £180.

A selection of Leto & Ariadne scarves is currently on display at the Vitsœ showroom in London through 17 January 2009.

Photographer Amy Stein

by Lost At E Minor

New York photographer Amy Stein's work "explores our evolving isolation from community, culture and the environment." Her recently released book, "Domesticated", began when she was in grad school. "I was simply trying to make compelling images that wouldn't get eviscerated in critique," she says of the project. "As the series progressed, I began to become interested in exhibiting the work and have had many opportunities to do so this year. The Critical Mass book is the icing on the cake."

There's an extended interview with Amy Stein on the Feature Shoot photo blog.

Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera

by Karen Day

For those down to their last cartridge of Polaroid Instamatic film after desperately seeking out every package they could find upon hearing the news it was going out of production, well there's hope yet. Unfortunately, it's not the vintage classic, but seeing the error of their ways, Polaroid has come out with a new instant digital camera, the PoGo.

One positive aspect is the new version's compact size, weighing in at 10 ounces and only taking up 4.7 inches x 3 inches of space. While it takes about the same amount of time to print a picture as it did to wait for an image to appear on the old Instamatic film (depending on how long spent shaking it), there's no doubt the quality is going to be better.

Look for the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera beginning in March 2009 for $200.

via Gizmodo

Mantis: Recycled Cigarette Butt Clothing

by CH Contributor

by Ariston Anderson

Eco-designers are constantly exploring new materials to incorporate into fabrics. Just look at Pharrell Williams recent acquisition of Bionic Yarn, a company known for making items like luggage and blue jeans out of recycled plastic bottles. But what about seeking to recycle items that would be the last thing you'd think of to turn into clothing?

Well that's what fashion designer Alexandra Guerrero did what she sought to recycle cigarette butts into sustainable clothing, through her new company Mantis. "This project began as an idea for my thesis," she tells CH. "We always wanted to do sustainable design but we didn't want to do something that was already seen, so we started thinking of a waste that was unnoticed and then we thought of cigarette butts."

After seeing the positive results and large interest generated, Alexandra decided to turn the project into a business. After purifying the butts (she collects them from the streets), the material is combined with wool to form a raw, textured wool, which can be knit into a variety of garments.

For now, the clothes, can only be purchased through email, at mantis [dot] yea [at] gmail [dot] com. Prices range from $50 for a beret, $125 for the adorable sweater and, our favorite, $110 for the dress.