Vitra Design Museum’s “Chair Times: A History of Seating” Film by Heinz Bütler

Free to watch for the duration of quarantine, courtesy of the Vitra Design Museum, filmmaker Heinz Bütler’s 90-minute film Chair Times: A History of Seating – From 1800 to Today documents the chronological development of 125 iconic chairs. This timeline and the items within reveal far more than structural tinkering. “We are able to perceive and comprehend an era—its social organization, its materials and technology, …

Test Drive: 2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave

Barreling over the mud and rocks of the Poconos in this fun new truck

Barreling through a mud pit filled with dark, soupy water is a bad idea. Particularly if you’re in a convertible. While that’s common knowledge, the particular convertible we do this in is a Jeep pickup: the 2020 Gladiator Mojave, a special model designed to blast over ruts and rough ground at high speeds. And like its close cousin, the Wrangler, the top comes off. From …

Japan’s Hidaka Washi Produces the World’s Thinnest Paper

From their factory in the Kochi prefecture of Japan, Hidaka Washi produces tengujo, the world’s thinnest paper, which has been produced for more than 1000 years in the region. Hidaka Washi has done so since first opening their doors in 1949. There, workers soak the stems of mulberry trees (kozo) and then pound them into lumps of fibers. With the addition of all-natural neri, and …