EXP

by Evan Orensten

Cool Hunting is excited to introduce our new partnership with EXP, a new blog edited by Craig Kanarick. A technologist, designer, entrepreneur and artist, Craig co-founded the pioneering Internet services firm Razorfish and launched Studio RED at Rockwell Group. His new site looks at the innovative ways brands express themselves through the integration of digital technologies into objects and spaces, sustainable actions, real-time communications and open innovation.

We'll be featuring stories from EXP that inspire us, welcome Craig to the CH family, and look forward to sharing his insights.

Embrocation Cycling Journal

by Brian Fichtner

Striking a deft balance between sports mag, arts journal and lovingly-crafted 'zine, Embrocation Cycling Journal addresses the world of bicycling like never before. Founded in January 2008 by avid racer Jeremy Dunn, the bi-annual journal covers road racing, touring, cyclocross and urban riding through surprising layout and typography, well-crafted storytelling and splendid photojournalism. (Click all images for detail.)

The most recent issue, Volume four, includes a humorous look at racing jerseys, the importance of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (it's the people not the bikes), a profile on the legendary framebuilder Dario Pegoretti, and a grueling account of nine days riding in Belgium (click images for expanded views). Dunn fills the journal with many more "reflections" and "distractions," to borrow headers, but to discover those you should buy the issue ($25) on the Embrocation site.

We took a moment to ask Jeremy a few questions about making a sports journal in the (supposed) ice age of print. His answers prove that passion in the face of adversity—whether in creative pursuits or the punishment of racing—is an unstoppable force.

For those who don't know, what's an embrocation?
My easy answer to this is "any of the balms, liniments or oils that cyclists apply to their legs." Traditionally, embrocations were used as a sort of muscle relief (similar to Tiger Balm or Icy Hot) however they can also be used to help keep muscles warm during activity. Not only that but they also add a little bit of shine to the legs, which never hurts anything.

What led you to create Embrocation? Why publish a physical magazine when everything is going digital?
I grew up in a household without television. Both of my parents were teachers and a love of books was impressed upon me at an early age. So, I have to think that is where the love for printed materials came from. A few years ago I was helping run a cycling team out of a shop that I worked for (Harris Cyclery). We put together a little rag-tag band of bike messengers who were also into racing Cyclocross. Along the way I realized that not only was I surrounded by all these great people—artists, photographers shooting the races, graphic designers helping out with the kits, framebuilders making beautiful bicycles—that I was trying to think of a way to pay tribute to all of these things. Initially, I intended to keep it small and was hoping for more of a 'zine feel, something that was produced relatively quickly and cheaply. Very quickly that theory went out the window for what you see now.

Interview continues with more spreads after the jump.

Ospop Migration Series Travel Bags

by Karen Day

Paying homage to the integrity of the working class, Ospop today added a new set of travel bags to their collection of durable goods, aptly called the Migration Series. Referencing the ubiquitous plaid She Pi Dai bags commonly carried by Chinese people in transit, the water-resistant Migration series includes three styles all lined with that same industrial material and marked with the Ospop crest—the Gong symbol, meaning labor.

The collection comprises three essential types found most useful when traveling—a messenger bag, a one-handle day bag and a toiletry bag. Smartly designed, "ear flaps" on the messenger bag (pictured below) keep rain or dirt from making its way inside, while the one-handle incorporates a clever opening system and secure pockets.

The launch of the Migration bags coincides with an updated version of Ospop's classic shoe, worn by the working population in China. The Steppe collection fills out the initial Skywolf series, adding a 100% wool padded lining to its structure and a more rugged bottom suitable for taking off road. Available in a variety of colors (including camouflage), each pair comes with two sets of shoestrings and arrives in brown paper bag packaging—a nod to how they sell in China.

The bags range from $22-80, the shoes cost $93, and all sell online from the Ospop website. See more images after the jump.

Read more about Ospop in Cool Hunting's 2007 profile on the benevolent brand.

Kelly Gorham: The Stones Have Memories

by Jacob Resneck

Commemorating the 9 November 2009 unifying of Berlin, photojournalist Kelly Gorham's newest show, The Stones Have Memories studies the wall, looking at the structure as a modern architectural ruin.

While much of the infamous barrier has since been razed, the Berlin of today still bears the scars of its former partition. Brilliantly captured by Gorham, the photographer portrays a city once divided between the principal victors of World War II and that erased institutions that were built upon fear and violence.

Last year the Montana-based photographer—whose professional work has appeared in the New York Times and several major magazines—explored the urban neighborhoods of former East Berlin. Prior to his visit, Gorham did his homework, spending two years researching the city. The resulting subjects represent his careful selection of the starkest and most provocative symbols of a society that no longer exists.

"My guiding creative principal was to let the architecture speak for itself," he says. "Is it possible to document emotion without photographing a human face?"

The answer appears to be yes. Images of the towering Fernseherturm—a needle-like TV tower that dwarfed its counterpart in West Berlin—demonstrates how a city can use architecture to inspire as well as intimidate its denizens. Lighter subjects include remaining murals that extol the virtues of living in a planned socialist society, in which the state rationalizes every facet of a citizen's life.

Gorham had help from his friend Dan Wise, a photojournalism instructor at Montana State University, who helped distill the more than 1,000 images from more than 50 locations captured during the whirlwind trip.

"The photos meet fine art criteria of composition and aesthetics very well, but they also document a piece of history," Wise says.
 This month—as the world marks the twentieth anniversary of the wall's demise—Gorham will unveil his exhibition at the tiny 7444 Gallery in Saranac Lake, a former sanitarium town in the frozen Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.

More images after the jump.

The Stones Have Memories
9-30 November 2009
7444 Gallery
28 Depot Street
Saranac Lake, NY 12983 map
tel. +1 518 282 4743

Contour Blinds

by CH Contributor

by Richard Prime

The humble window blind usually ranks low when it comes to exciting interior design, but Contour Blinds reinvent the concept by making them gorgeous and tweaking their function. The project of London-based designer Helena Karelson, she debuted them at London's latest Design Festival.

Born of a fascination with light and "the relationship between form and shadow," in full show the blinds fan like a strutting peacock. In the horizontal position, light filters through the irregular gaps of the slats, providing an undulation similar to that of a topographical map. When vertical, the light emanating from the window behind blends into a subtle warm glow due to the light wood used in the construction of the blinds.

Karelson designed each of the Contour Blinds to leave minimum waste post-production. With many different options and bespoke production available, Karelson's Contour series add an incredible and strong alternative to the tired, conventional blinds covering most window frames.

The Estonian designer already received some impressive awards for her blinds, including D&AD's Best New Blood Award and an award from the sustainably-focused natural resource supplier Coillte for Best Use of Materials.