Limited Edition Two Tone Posters

by Mike Frank

As influential as the music they supported, the Two Tone Records graphic system created an iconic look for British bands that fused Jamaican ska and rocksteady with contemporary punk and pop in the late '70s. Known for the black and white checkerboard and crisp, bold elements, the treatment unified the fashion and music of the period and remains a highly referenced theme today.

Two Tone was the brainchild of Specials keyboard player, Jerry Dammers, who's intention was to create a label with its own identity and sound. Between 1979 to 1985, Two Tone released 31 singles and 13 albums for bands like The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers.

Working under the close creative direction of Dammers, David Storey and John ‘Teflon’ Sims developed the Two Tone style through the creation of sleeves and hundreds of promotional items. After 30 years, Storey pays tribute to the look by re-releasing six limited edition posters of 100 glicèe prints.

The posters are available through Storey for £88 or £450 for all six.

Alden x Context Tanker Boot

by Tim Yu

Dropping today, Context recently teamed up with established gentleman's footwear authority Alden of New England to create the Tanker Boot. The sleek boot offers the expected durability of its namesake with an infusion of style and comfort resulting in a versatile shoe that can be worn with denim or a suit.

The Tanker Boot's silhouette is modeled after the WWI / WW2 U.S military issued boot which features a "Combination Last," meaning "the heel is two widths narrower than the toe box" providing a comfortable fit for most feet. The upper is made from Alden's signature black Novo Calfskin polished for a brighter finish and Alden's super soft glove leather lines the inside of the boot. More durable and better looking, I also love the use of flat waxed laces.

Alden performs all stitching by hand, upholding their reputation as the last American shoemaker to perform by-hand skin stitching. Furthermore, this precision stitching only penetrates the first layer of the calfskin ensuring maximum comfort. A triple ribbed tempered steel shank completes the Tanker's build with exemplary support and structure.

The Tanker is a limited edition commodity, available for $495 exclusively from our friends at Context Clothing. Please note that sizes run about 1/2 size big.

Additional images after the jump

BlueTrack Wireless Mobile Mouse

by Doug Black

With computer technology becoming more mobile, the same applies to its accessories. When on the move, a mobile mouse often needs to perform in less-than-hospitable circumstances and on surfaces other than a mousepad. BlueTrack technology is Microsoft's panacea, which aims to improve mouse response beyond the existing laser and optical methods.

The light beam on a BlueTrack mouse uses a wider, more uniform beam and improves on the contrasting mechanism of previous mice. The resulting mouse can work on any surface that isn't mirrored or transparent, including carpets and granite countertops. This way, it performs just as reliably on an office mousepad or a Greyhound bus seat.

The Mobile Mouse 6000 (pictured above) was recently released in conjunction with a similar 5000 model. Both use BlueTrack and are comfortably sized without being too bulky to cart around. The 6000 features Microsoft's first nano transceiver, which extends only 0.8 centimeters from the computer's USB and stores handily inside the mouse itself (picture above).

The Mobile Mouse 4000 (above) will hit the market in August and has much of the same features as its predecessors in a spectrum of five colors. Powered by a single AA-battery for 10 months, the 2.4GHz wireless ensures connection up to 15-feet.

The Mobile Mouse 6000 retails for $50 on Amazon while the 4000 will cost $40.

Papergirl Street Art Project

by CH Contributor

by Ariston Anderson

When it comes to street art, it’s difficult not to reinvent the wheel. We often see the same wheatpaste graphics or stencil styles over and over. That’s why we were thrilled that our friend, Berlin artist Aisha Ronniger’s pet project, Papergirl, is starting to gain traction. Ronniger started the project in 2005 when there was still debate over whether or not to punish wheatpasters the same way in which graffiti artists were punished. While most Berliners saw it as a lesser crime, the police force was intent on cracking down on street art.

Ronniger started brainstorming about new ways to show and distribute art in public spaces. A friend told her, “You should be throwing your art around, like the paperboys in America do.” She realized it would be an easy and fun way to distribute great works of art on a large scale, and thus the project was born.

Four years later, Ronniger and the Papergirls and Paperboys of Berlin are still collecting art and distributing it throughout the streets. They ride their bikes, carrying rolls filled with collections of art, throwing them to lucky catchers on the street, in their cars, other bikers, people who might not normally be exposed to urban art. In addition a Papergirl USA project recently launched and new projects are sprouting up in over a dozen cities around the world. We spoke with Ronniger to find out more about the project and how you can get involved.

Tell me about some of the artists who contribute work.
The project is open for everyone! We want to show a wide range of works and we think you can’t tell anyone what he’s aloud to give away as a present. Papergirl comes from the streets and thus it is the recipient that decides what he likes!

In the first year I contacted artist friends and colleagues from school. The core group of artists came from a streetart background—people that are used to giving away their art for free and understand the pleasure of it! Some of them take part almost every year, for example artists like Kowalski, Boxi, Evol, Tower/Klub7, Gould, Solovei, Cake, Nepomuk and many more.

Now, since we posted open calls on several blogs, there are more and more people coming from all over the world that want to start a Papergirl project in their hometown too! We will also start a Papergirl World-Blog, to connect these people, tell them how it works and let everybody check if there’s a Papergirl where they live too!

Read the rest of the interview and see more images after the jump.

Lighting Artist Marcus Tremonto: New Works

by Brian Fichtner

Since we last covered the work of Marcus Tremonto, the New York-based lighting magician has been busy with a host of new projects including collaborations with the Swarovski Crystal Palace and an exhibition at Spazio Rossana Orlandi during this year's Milan Furniture Fair (images after the jump). Recently, Tremonto completed an installation for his first exhibition in Switzerland at the Franziska Kessler Gallery in Zurich.

Part of a two-person show entitled "Between Lines," Tremonto fills a stark white room with his mind-bending creations. Of considerable note is the new series, Paper Landscapes (pictured at top), a flexible, razor thin luminous surface that the artist has been experimenting with for two years.

The Paper Landscapes series draws inspiration from an outdated technology used to generate topographic digital landscapes and was conceived so that users can connect multiples and alter the height of the sheet at select points, allowing for a near infinite set of undulating variations.

Other pieces on view include the illusive Stitch Lamp (right) and the Dali-esque Spill Lamp (below).

"Between Lines" through 30 August, 2009
Franziska Kessler Gallery
Neumarkt 11
CH-8001 Zurich map
Tel +41 79 279 01 01
By Appointment Only