The Pop-Up Flea 2009

by Ami Kealoha

photos by James Ryang

Our weekend activities included a stop by the second annual Pop-Up Flea where we found a trove of Americana-inspired clothing and accessories (read: lots of plaid). UrbanDaddy's Randy Goldberg and Michael Williams (of A Continuous Lean) curated the vendors, from vintage Navy blankets to No Mas' boxing-themed booth. The good news is that while the flea's over, several of these retailers sell online too. Read on to learn more.

Greeting customers at the entrance, Billykirk set up a few artisans to work on their leather goods during the duration of the event.

We love pretty much everything in their range of handmade accessories, but we keep going back to the trim bike bag that neatly secures to frames ($125) as an excellent gift.

Selling deadstock, "heartland made" knitwear, Ohio Knitting Mills allows you to relive that Christmas sweater from the '80s.

J. Crew's concept men's store occupied their corner well with their beautifully displayed clothes, accessories and coffee table books.

More than a few of our most stylish friends own this denim shirt.

Purveyer of mid-century and industrial furniture Sit and Read taught us the phrase "cabin modern."

Describing the Mr. Mort brand challenges the best of silver-tongued wordsmiths. All we know is that flashy suspenders, tartan yamulkes, cryptic ties and witty baseball caps will always have a place in our hearts.

If we had to pick one, the "Blah" Dodgers hat wins.

Also embracing a particularly American pastime, No Mas stuck pretty close to boxing with a table full of their clean and clever tees, as well as memorabilia. We're still thinking about screening vintage Ali films and the 10-ounce (as opposed to the U.S.'s eight-ounce) Mexican boxing gloves.

Jack Spade set up an outpost of their quirky stuff that you want.

Among the baubles of jewelers Digby & Iona, selections of petrified wood caught our eye.

Epitomizing today's "vintage modern" look, The Hill-Side makes ties and handkerchiefs out of selvedge fabrics. They also make a pretty sweet version of a mason's bag.

Brooklyn retailer Epaulet exported their store to Manhattan for the weekend. Their eponymous line of ties (especially in jumbo pixel fabric) undoubtedly got the most attention.

With nary an offensive pattern in the bunch, Alexander Olch's ties and bow-ties also make a popular choice.

Drawing on Native American and their nautical Portland, Maine heritage, Rogues Gallery's booth presented their line of accessories and clothes.

Standouts include totes made from vinyl and rope, anchor charms and high-top boat shoes.

Névé Luxury Ice

by CH Contributor

by Julie Wolfson

Preferring the word barsmith over bartender, Michel Dozois takes the mixed drink to a whole new level with his invention of Névé luxury ice. On hand for the opening of major L.A. bars such as Church and State, Seven Grand and Comme Ça, Dozois knows a good drink, and his philosophy is that truly great cocktails begins with perfect ice.

After machine ice didn't offer the right combination of dilution and chill, Dozois embarked on a journey to create his own frosty cube. This search for icy perfection gave birth to Névé Luxury Ice, cubes made with twice-filtered water and put through a reverse osmosis system, then infused with minerals. Drinks may never be the same again.

We asked Dozois to tell us more about why people need this pure, slow-melting ice to make their cocktails just right.

What is the difference between Névé Ice and the ice in my freezer?
The ice in your freezer will have taste contamination. As water freezes, it pulls everything in the environment around it and condenses it in the center.

What products do you have available for bars?
We make Collins cubes for the hi-ball glasses. We make rocks cubes for the small glasses. We make a shaking cube to shake with. The shaking cube is my favorite cube because it is specifically designed not to break. When you take square cubes the corner will hit a flat side of the shaker and the cube will explode, causing more surface area in your shaker.

You want less surface area. Our shaking cube has no corners. We age it for a bare minimum of 48 hours. Most bartenders will tell you they don't believe in aging, but we do it because it gives it the necessary hardness. You could drop it on this marble floor right here and it won't explode. It might crack but it won't explode. We also make spheres and get special orders for rocks cubes and Collins cube with things in them, like rosemary, flowers, strawberries and cherries.

How do you hand cut your ice?
It is frozen in a big pan. Hand cutting can be done in a few ways. You can do it like the Japanese with a long sushi knife. For me, no thank you, I have fingers I would like to keep them. The sushi knife is hard, sharp and dangerous. Ice can be cut with a chisels and picks, like most ice sculptors do.

You can also cut ice with a spoon. The Milk & Honey family does it with a spoon. They are the current origins of much of the mixology you are seeing. They are all in New York like the Pegu Club family with Dale DeGroffe. He taught Audrey Saunders and Sasha Petrovsky. Sasha taught Sam Ross and Sam taught me. It is like a family tree that keeps going.

All of those families hand cut most of their ice with a four prong ice pick and a mallet. Then they shape the large cubes with a bar spoon by chipping away at it. I can't tell you how we cut our ice, but that is how everyone else does it.

What is your recipe for your signature Old Fashioned?

Continue reading...

Flurry Pop-Up Shop

by CH Contributor

by Adrienne So

Portland pop-up shop Flurry takes the ingenious retail trend sweeping much of the globe a step further. Re-imagined as a designer boutique, the former shoe store now houses fifteen local designers in an airy, elegantly-appointed showroom.

Glittering window displays and one-of-a-kind items entice shoppers to the downtown shop, providing an alternative to the typical chain stores in the area and giving new life to an empty storefront. The space makes a great way for smaller designers to come together for wide exposure, but keeps the experience it manageable thanks to vendors curated by nonprofit Portland Fashion Synergy.

Some CH favorites include Looptworks, a company using 100% pre-consumer waste fabrics to create limited edition jackets, skirts, shorts and T-shirts as well as the work of Sahlia Michelle, a Portland-based jewelry maker creating delicate hand-pounded molten silver accessories.

Also at Flurry, RYZ's crowd-sourced shoes. Founded by Rob Langstaff, a former Adidas employee, RYZ uses weekly online submissions by local artists to produce and sell custom sneaker designs. (Pictured above.)

See more images after the jump.

Flurry Pop-Up Shop
Through 31 December 2009
401 SW Morrison Street
Portland, OR 97204 map

Oscar Tuazon: Bend It Till It Breaks

by Jacob Resneck

Oscar Tuazon understands the aesthetic power of tension. The Seattle-born sculptor's latest exhibition, using primarily industrial and found materials, Bend It Till It Breaks builds on this theme with an ambitious installation in France.

Having opened this month, "Bend It" consists of a four-part exhibit area plus the outdoor "sculpture wood." Tuazon designed his creation to awe visitors with an enormous "nave," a structure consisting of a heavy concrete slab resting on a foundation of wood and steel that exists in a precarious equilibrium.

The remaining three pieces are a collection of incongruous objects and materials. A tree trunk encased in steel evoking industry's subjugation of nature is just one of the more obvious examples.

It's a curious undertaking even if Tuazon's attempts at explaining the meaning behind his choice of objects in the exhibit is confusing, even nonsensical.

"They can be left outside, all alone," he says of his sculptures. "They don’t even need to be watched. They don't need anybody, they can function quite well all alone, useless and inexplicable."

Despite having attracted rave reviews in his hometown, Tuazon now lives in Paris. This installation requires a short trek out of the city at the Centre international d’art et du paysage in l'île de Vassivière, France.

Check out more images after the jump.

Bend It Till It Breaks
Through 7 February 2010
Centre international d’art et du paysage
87120 Ile de Vassivière
Beaumont du Lac, France map
tel. +33 05 55 69 27 27

Limited Edition Cashmere Freehands Gloves

by Maggie York-Worth

The latest, most luxurious and the first limited edition in the Freehands line, these cashmere gloves keep hands cozy while allowing unencumbered gadget use. Like all styles of Freehands (conceived by our own Josh Rubin and his expert glove-maker father), flaps on the forefinger and thumb of each glove fold back, exposing only fingertips so for answering iPhones, typing texts and more.

Designed for both and women, Freehands cashmere gloves run $70 per pair and sell from their online store.

See more images after the jump.

This post brought to you by: