Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Kanye cartoons, touch-screen watches, licorice-nectarine bitters, black market goods and more in our weekly look at the web
1. #kanyenewyorkertweets
Kanye West has close to a half million followers on Twitter, hanging onto every ridiculous Tweet. Inspired by his words, musical comedic group Paul and Storm had the idea to mash-up Kanye’s Tweets with classic New Yorker cartoons, resulting in a genius collection of newfangled cartoons found on the website #kanyenewyorkertweets.
2. 3sixteen+
American menswear label 3sixteen already sets itself apart by being the only U.S.-made jean that uses high quality Japanese denim. The new 3sixteen+ line, a collaboration with Self Edge, uses even better rope-dyed fabric and tweaked certain key details—like a dual red selvedge line—for another step above the competition. The jeans are available through Self Edge.
3. Core 77/Hand-Eye Supply
Leading industrial design site Core77 recently opened up shop with their first flagship store in Portland. Hand-Eye Supply contributes to the city’s thriving culture of creativity and craft offering basic tools like colorful Copic markers alongside hammers, safety glasses and coveralls.
4. Scott Pilgrim v. The World
Hitting theaters next week, Scott Pilgrim v. The World features the impossibly adorable Michael Cera, who must defeat seven evil ex-boyfriends to win the heart of his beloved Ramona in a video game-meets-film hybrid format.
5. The Sketchbook Project
Share your doodles or thoughts with the world through The Sketchbook Project, a traveling art exhibit showcasing creatively completed Moleskines. After its U.S. tour the collection will remain permanently at The Brooklyn Art Library.
6. Pinel & Pinel x La Forge Laguiole
A culinary dream team, French brands La Forge Laguiole and Pinel & Pinel collaborated on a gorgeous steak knife, highlighted on Selectism.
7. Stephen Doyle’s Language Art
Influenced by the power of words, designer Stephen Doyle created paper sculptures from real pieces of literature. In an interview with Felt & Wire, Doyle discusses his inspirations, materials and more.
8. Mutewatch
Engadget recently featured Mutewatch, a vibrating watch that appears as a blank white bracelet, concealing the clock face until it’s touched. Once activated, you can swipe the screen to scroll between the timer, clock and alarm.
9. Contraband
An excerpt from her upcoming book “Contraband” (due out Fall 2010), T Magazine displayed artist Taryn Simon‘s disturbing photos of items confiscated at New York’s JFK airport. The assortment spans dead animals to cow dung toothpaste, for a book that aims to reveal what is considered “threatening to economies, to personal safety and to a nation.”
10. The V8 Hotel
For those who love nothing more than a good engine, the Stuttgart, Germany V8 Hotel offers rooms that Plastolux points out are “geared” for the driving enthusiast but are also well-appointed.
11. Jonas Damon iPad Case
Motivated to create things from materials lying around his house, industrial designer Jonas Damon created an iPad case that’s like no other. Encased in a retro arcade console and another in a gutted Mac, the iPad mimics an old-school cathode-ray television complete with a grainy-snow screensaver for a full ’80s effect.
12. A.B. Smeby Bitters
A waiter at NYC restaurant The Modern, Louis Smeby tapped his true talent with a line of bitters crafted in his Brooklyn kitchen from local ingredients. Shown on Tasting Table, A.B. Smeby Bittering Co. takes careful consideration of seasonal flavors when creating the limited run of all natural bitters, such as this summer’s range which includes lemon verbena, licorice-nectarine, hibiscus-rose and celery-lovage.
