Lineaus Athletic Company

by Tim Yu

Lineaus Athletic Company, based out of the artist's enclave of Marfa, Texas, makes old world-style leather sporting equipment. Handmade by Lineaus himself using the best materials, his beautiful work will last a lifetime.

To test their durability Lineaus puts his work up to the trials of prison life. For the first medicine bag he made (pictured below), he explains, "I gave it to the Oregon State Penitentiary in 1987 because they have a famous boxing program and I wanted to find out if it would last. I recently visited to check up on it and it looks great. If you want to find out if something will last forever, that's a good test."

The medicine bag uses triple locked-stitching with five cords of polyester thread and five-ounce leather. Stuffing, composed of waste-thread, fills an interior bag and Kapok makes up a middle layer between the inner and outer bags. Weighing in at 150 pounds, it's heavy but soft and naturally balances itself using a continuous rope hanging mechanism for minimal swing.

Like with the entire Lineaus line, the medicine bag gets better the more you use it, softening the leather and breaking in the stuffing. At $4,800 it's an investment, but one that lasts for generations to come.

In addition to the medicine bags, Lineaus crafts medicine balls (pictured above), foot and rugby balls and squat bars. He makes them all to order with an Alden sewing machine, numbering them and fire-branding them with the Lineaus name. Wisconsin chrome tanned leather (essentially the same as full-grain baseball glove cow hide) makes the products extremely durable but soft to the touch. Unlike vegetable-tanned leather, chrome tanning leather leaves it porous, softer and longer-lasting when cared for appropriately. Lineaus recommends regular oiling with R.M. Williams Saddle Dressing.

For more info and to purchase any of the products visit Lineaus Athletic.

Check out more images after the jump.

Kraus Custom Motorcycles and Choppers

by Jacob Resneck

Whether making birthday cakes or a 600-pound motorcycle, working from scratch like Kraus Motor Co. makes it better. Nestled among the towering redwood trees in rain-soaked northern California, this young upstart brings an independent-minded approach and incorporates skills like sculpting and gunsmithing into the five models featured on its website.

But it's clear that these craftsmen—who start in the perfect realm of ideas and leave the gritty details last—thrive on building to suit. Kraus gives the chance to turn a back-of-the-envelope sketch a reality. A custom-built bike doesn't come cheap, of course, and if they have an idea how one of these bikes will set you back, they're not saying. At least not outright. Best get in touch directly about that.

Catch them in Las Vegas this October to see these behemoths in the flesh at that city's annual Bike Fest.

See more images, including workshop shots, after the jump.

Harry Allen x Johnson & Johnson: First Aid Kit and Panel

by CH Contributor

by Tisha Leung

Winner of I.D. magazine's best packaging design in their Annual Design Review, industrial designer Harry Allen's take on Johnson & Johnson's ubiquitous first aid kit reshapes it into a modern figure-eight form. The design stands on end for easy storage, has a built-in handle for quick grab-and-go, and makes for the slimmest profile possible, with the recognizable red cross front and center.

To learn more about the collaboration, an upcoming panel discussion at Material Connexion brings the NYC-based Allen, Chris Hacker, chief design officer at Johnson & Johnson, and I.D. editor-in-chief Jesse Ashlock together. Other topics include material innovation and the business of design, followed by a Q & A session. Attendees will also have the chance to check out the First Aid kit in person at the I.D.'s Design Review exhibit, which is showing at Material Connexion's gallery and has been extended through 8 September 2009.

Pick up the kit online from Drugstore.com, Target and Diapers.com. (Prices range from around $18-26.)

Harry Allen, Johnson & Johnson and I.D. Magazine in Conversation
8 September 2009, 6-8:30pm
Material Connexion Showroom
60 Madison Avenue, 2nd floor
New York, New York 10010 map
tel. +1 212 842 1509
RSVP: rsvp [at] materialconnexion [dot] com

Sara Varon x Ayumi Horie Pottery

by Lost At E Minor

Comedian and children's book artist Sara Varon teamed up with potter Ayumi Horie to create a one-of-a-kind series for Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana. The dinosaur-embellished pieces sold out already, but the show runs through the end of the month. (See details below.)

Dinosaurs
Through 31 August 2009
Red Lodge Clay Center
123 South Broadway
Red Lodge, MT 59068 map
tel. +1 406 446 3993