Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Snoop Dogg’s smokable songbook, a Simpsons style guide, George Lois’ damn good advice and more in our look at the web this week
1. Joinery in Jewels
Inspired by the intricate craftsmanship of ancient woodworkers, Chinese designer Octavia Xiaozi Yang created a series of beautifully curious necklaces using wood, silver, gold and modern materials molded by laser cutting and 3D printing. The basic structure design allows each modular piece to be redesigned to survive the latest trends.
2. Eat My Shorts
While the Simpsons family isn’t known for its inventive attire, the guys at GQ sifted through hundreds of episodes to find the most fashionable appearance by the people of Springfield. Each cartoon character is then brilliantly paired with its real life high fashion equivalent from the likes of Dior, YSL, Junya Watanabe and Alexander McQueen.
3. MAD Magazine App
For those who have been longing for a digital version of the classic wacky periodical, the time is now. This month MAD released their iPad application where users can buy digital versions. Following in line with other print pubs, it’s now easier than ever to take your comedy on the go.
4. I Will Never Change
Benga’s new music video “I Will Never Change” features a real-life waveform created by Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor of multidisciplinary studio Us. After calculating the number of records per second against the frame rate, the duo set about cutting 960 pieces of vinyl, a seven-day process that involved individually cutting each to a specific size, and then hand labeling and numbering them before adding a coat of polish.
5. Audio Jar
A furniture design student at RISD, Sarah Pease simply followed the the instructions for David A. Mellis’ open source Fab Speakers—posted on MIT Media Lab’s High-Low Tech page—to create Audio Jars. In a style reminiscent of Joey Roth’s ceramic speakers, Pease cleverly rests classic jam jars on bases whittled from cork for a handsome portable speaker set.
6. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche Dies at 76
In a blow to the world of automobile design, the creator of the Porsche 911 passed away this week. The landmark model debuted at the 1963 Frankfurt Auto Show, continuing the legacy started by Ferdinand Alexander’s grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche.
7. Rolling Words
It’s no secret Snoop Dogg loves to blaze. After decades of rapping about it, he’s finally put his penchant on paper in a new smokable songbook, debuting at Coachella. “Rolling Words” is made entirely from hemp, with pages doubling as rolling papers and a spine that serves as a striking surface for matches.
8. Jungle Yachts
Intrepid travel blogger Lauren Kilberg lets us live vicariously through her dreamy, design-focused finds and adventures across the globe on Double Takes and this time, she’s traveling by jungle yacht. Italian explorer Attilio Gatti traversed British East Africa in the 1930s in these sleek, silver luxury apartments on wheels, and suddenly it seems there’s no other way to go.
9. We Almost Lost Detroit
Finding inspiration in a city best known for its despairing decay, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s new music video highlights the hopeful future of their native city Detroit. From McClures pickles to local entrepreneurs, DJs and community members, director Andrew Smart focuses on the many individuals striving to bring the D back to life.
10. Mazda2 in the Wheel of Death
No stranger to riding motorcycles on the walls of the motordome, “Dynamite” Dave Seymore recently set about recreating the act with the Mazda2. The fantastic result owes as much to Seymore’s stellar handling as it does to the new model’s subcompact design.
11. VFILES
V Magazine and V MAN are working on an ambitious search engine geared toward the creative community, aiming to build a quality database of inspiration sources for editors, photographers, designers, artists, art directors, models, enthusiasts and friends. Based on their preliminary presence on social media, the content looks promising.
12. SS United States Redevelopment Project
Built in 1952 with the express intent of breaking the trans-Atlantic speed record, the iconic SS United States passenger ship is now the subject of a renovation effort to repurpose the vessel for public use. The ship sports visitor space that rivals that of the Chrysler Building, and the project has just released a “request for qualifications” from developers interested in revitalizing the historic vessel.
13. 1975 Volvo C303
It’s too late to buy it but it’s definitely still worth drooling over this crazy ex-military Volvo that was up on eBay this week. This C303 was imported from Sweden and completely revamped and over the years had been followed from owner to owner. Keep an eye out and maybe next time is goes up for sale you can snag the ultimate apocalypse vehicle.
14. Damn Good Advice
George Lois—the 80 year old former Esquire art director—has set out to school young creatives with his life experience. “Damn Good Advice (for people with talent)” is rife with personal anecdotes from a true icon of the “Mad Men” era.
15. Vintage Animated GIFs
For a healthy dose of dry German humor, FluxMachine makes playful animated GIFs with vintage photography. Each scene originally captured some undetermined time ago is welcomed into the 21st century with a bit humor, whit and in this case, bird poop.
16. Holga Hybrid
What happens when you merge the ultimate in old school plastic camera tech with modern photographic capabilities? You get this zombie-esque Holga hybrid. Photographer Mike Martens took the time to seal a Phase One digital back to a Holga body to create the most expensive plastic camera ever. If you have a Holga lying around this great DIY project will only run around $24,000.
