Pentagram Papers 39: SIGNS

by Doug Black

A completely independent publication, Pentagram Papers is the work of the eponymous design studio (a CH favorite and home of Michael Bierut, who spoke at our 99% Conference). Produced regularly since 1975, each issue takes one of their designers and lets them explore "curious, entertaining, stimulating, provocative and occasionally controversial points of view." Incredibly broad, past subjects have included Harlem's Savoy Ballroom, Australian mailboxes, Mao buttons and the architecture of Wildwood, New Jersey.

The latest issue — number 39 — was helmed by Texan designer DJ Stout and focuses on the plight of the homeless through the medium of their signs. Particularly topical on the current economic climate, SIGNS takes a Dickensian look at our society's least privileged through intimate portraits and their hand-scrawled signs.

The the large-format photography of Austin-based photographer Michael O'Brien turns an unforgiving lens on the destitute, where subjects look at once forlorn and innately peaceful. The portraits are interwoven with images of homeless people's signs, which were meticulously collected by Joe Ely, who offers a particularly illuminating introduction to the volume. Occasionally homeless himself, Ely has lead a vagabond's existence for much of his life. The author and musician has played with acts like Bruce Springsteen and the Clash, and also hitched rides on freight trains and cars across much of America and Europe, encountering the homeless along the way and oftentimes purchasing their signs for his personal collection.

Alternating between messages of humor, pride and sorrow, the signs are intensely personal mementos. Coupled with the faces of their creators, they make a powerful statement about the current state of homelessness. You can read an adapted version of Pentagram Papers 39 online, where the creators urge you to donate to a handful of homelessness charities.

View more images after the jump.

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens Interview

by CH Contributor

by Danielle Kosann

Born into a family of musicians, 66-year-old Naomi Shelton grew up singing gospel with her sisters at churches throughout Alabama. Eventually, she moved to New York, where she spent most of her life performing soul music in Brooklyn nightclubs. Now, more than forty years since her arrival in New York, Naomi recently released her first full length album, "What Have you Done, My Brother?" with her band, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. Produced and musically directed by Cliff Driver, with former James Brown bassist Fred Thomas and powerful vocals by Edna Johnson, Cynthia Langston and Bobbie Jean Gant, the album testifies to Naomi's deep roots in gospel and soul.

We sat down with Naomi to ask her a few questions about her band's new album and what motivates her as a performer.

You must be so excited about your new album. I know you've been doing this a long time and this is your first album. How does it compare to what you've done in the past? How does it feel to finally release it?
Well, we had two CDs before this, but this is the first on this record label [Daptone Records]. It was a dream I had years ago—and I knew I was going to make it. But, all these years went by before [we made it] because it just wasn't the time. I had to wait for my time.

You and the legendary pianist Cliff Driver collaborated on this album, but have been performing together for a long time, if I'm not mistaken. How did that relationship come about?
I was the house singer at The Night Cap in Brooklyn, and whatever band came in to play would back me up. So Driver came in one day, and that's how we connected. Then we ran into each other a few years later. He was inspired by my voice and we started rehearsing together and he got my voice together, helped me project, and we got a few gigs. We separated a few times but always stayed in touch.

Your music is deeply rooted in both gospel and soul. Who and what inspires you? Anyone in particular?
Sam Cooke, The Blind Boys of Alabama...I didn't really have a lot of other people I knew when I was coming up. Those were the majors. Aretha Franklin, the original Davis Sisters...

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

Le Gramole Olioteca

by Karen Day

The salubrious products found within olioteca Le Gramole are sure to please even the choosiest gastronome. Personally selected by owners Francesca and Norma—a duo who met while picking olives next to each other at a mill in Italy—the gourmet shop offers a plethora of refined goods on a street famously occupied by butchers during medieval times.

The standout shop includes an array of primarily local Ligurian specialties typical of Mediterranean cooking, such as pesto, organic olive oils, fresh pastas and rich sauces. While difficult to choose just a few, we've picked some products we feel are exceptional both for their quality and charm.

In the guise of modern packaging, the nearly 100-year-old, family-run business Oliveri began with porcini mushrooms in the Piedmont region and now seasonally cultivates a vibrant assortment of fruits and vegetables, like chili peppers stuffed with capers and anchovies and olives stuffed with goat cheese.

Made using the traditional Ligurian recipe, the pesto Genovese is DOP certified (Denominazione di Origine Protetta), validating its ingredients and denoting that a strict set of rules was followed in its production. Also certified, but in this case for organic authenticity (Ogliarola Salentina), are the olive oils from the Caposella Farm in Lecce. Yielding small quantities of two varieties, both with intense earthy aromas, owner Elisa Petrucci has won numerous awards for the oils, including the prestigious Five Drops award from the Italian Sommelier Association.

Nestled in the hills of the Dolomites is Alpe Pragas, a company founded by two friends who realized that the climate of the Alps was perfect for cultivating fruit. Originating locally, today, Alpe Pragas' delicacies are adored from Vienna to Japan, respected for their high fruit content (70% in most products) and full flavor.

Unfortunately, Le Gramole does not sell their products online, but if you contact the delightful owners Francesca and Norma, they will be happy to help you.

Le Gramole
Via dei Macelli di Soziglia, 69/r
16123 Genoa, Italy map
tel. +39 010 2091686

Folk Clothing and Shofolk Footwear: Fall Winter 09 and Interview

by Doug Black

While perpetual reinvention and daring styles are at the core of the fashion industry, London-based Folk has bucked the trend by consistently produced unpretentious, everyday menswear since its inception in 2001. With the addition of the footwear branch Shofolk in 2004, the company has made its mark as meticulous purveyors of top-quality materials and distinctive designs, always with a subtle playfulness.

Folk literally covers the world looking for the perfect factories and source materials, producing knitwear in Uruguayan mills and shoes in Portugal, with accessories coming from their native England.

Their latest collection (Autumn/Winter 2009) comes at the heels of a complete website redesign perfectly frames the new offerings. We had chance to speak with designer and founder Cathal McAteer about Folk's inspirations and guiding principals. Interspersed you'll find images of the new line, which superimposes model shots onto close up shots from the biggest model railway in the UK.

You're based in London, do you consider your designs typically British?

Not particularly, we're actually sometimes confused for being a Scandinavian brand. But if we could give you a whirlwind tour of our London, come and meet the people that we live and breathe with, it will show you why Folk is what it is. It's very hard to describe the inspiration, but London is fantastically diverse — a multi-cultural explosion — and it provides a great setting for us.

What materials are you most excited to be working with on the new line?

At this very moment, it's wool and alpaca from a very small Peruvian factory that's making hand knits for us. There are also some great Japanese shirting materials that take our shirts to a whole new level. One in particular has a wool, linen and cotton mix in a selvedge finish. It's organic and puts the icing on these tripped-out plaid patterns that we took from an ancient archive in a Portuguese fabric mill.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

Extreme Architecture: Building For Challenging Environments

by Karen Day

Tough terrain doesn't make construction easy, but Ruth Slavid's upcoming book "Extreme Architecture: Building For Challenging Environments" proves that it's not only feasible, but the outcome is completely worth the effort.

A journey through the elements, the book covers the major environmental factors—hot, cold, high, wet and space—categorized into five chapters and led by a brief summary explaining the difficulties of each climate.

The range of impressive architectural feats includes a tropical summer home, a Swiss chairlift station, a floating sauna, a lunar hotel, African school buildings and an underground global seed vault, to name a few. With the photographs just as inspiring as their subjects, the book makes not only for a great reference point but also as an objet d'art.

Each structure is explained over a multiple-page layout, providing details on the complications of its location and a small rendering of the building. In addition, Slavid supplies the annual rainfall, average temperatures and the altitude for each of the case studies—just the jumping off point for the challenges faced by each of the architects.

Available in August, "Extreme Architecture" can be purchased from Laurence King Publishing and Chronicle Books.

See more images after the jump