Link About It: This Week’s Picks
David Lynch and lithography, Akomplice’s magic plants, the new Adidas Boost and more in our weekly look at the web
1. H&M + Brick Lane Bikes
While we’ve heard rumors of the H&M collaboration with London’s
Brick Lane Bikes for some time now, a rather insightful video popped up
this week to fuel our anticipation. Seemingly, the Swedish
super brand actually put a good deal of R&D into the
line, which is set to debut 7 March and include everything from cycling specific sport coats and
trousers to button-downs and shorts.
2. Watered-down Maker’s Mark
As global demand for bourbon outpaces production, Maker’s Mark responds by reducing the ABV by 3% to stretch supply—a move that automatically caused a conniption fit among its devoted drinkers. But COO Rob Samuels’ assures fans that the whiskey’s value lies in “the quality of the recipe and ingredients that go into it,” and there is no noticeable difference in lowering the Kentucky output from 90 to 84 proof.
3. The Year of The Snake
Last weekend ushered in the Chinese New Year, and with it came a new zodiac symbol for 2013. The year of the snake is before us, and the National Post uncovers what it all means with a brief roundupon characteristics of people born under this sign, as well as astrological information about this year’s particular species, which is a docile water snake.
4. NY Times vs. Tesla
Following an unfavorable review of the Tesla Model S from NY Times journalist John Broder, Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired back in an intriguing and super factual blog post. Musk analyzed the car’s vehicle log and discovered majored inconsistencies in Broder’s story. If the allegations are true, the exchange is a very telling reveal both of consumer bias and Musk’s stalwart faith in electric vehicles.
5. Lolita Redesign
As one of 60 designers invited to create a new conceptual cover for Vladimir
Nabokov’s famed book “Lolita,” Pentagram’s Michael Bierut is unsurprisingly one of the most riveting. Taking the book’s
controversial subject as inspiration, the hand-carved cover is
poignantly cut from the 1910 law prohibiting trafficking of women and
girls.
6. Light Show at Hayward Gallery
Surveying the last 50 years of light installations in contemporary art, Light Show looks to be one of the more exciting exhibitions in recent memory. It’s Nice That hails the show, explaining that “the work experiments with the fallibility of our senses, warping and distorting constructed spaces with complex ocular tricks.” This is definitely a must-see for London gallery-goers.
7. Magic Plant Collection
We’ve seen no shortage of weed-inspired apparel of late, and when done well it’s a print we never tire of. To take the magic plant concept a step further,
apparel brand Akomplice released a new collection paying homage to
nature’s most effective flora—poppy, absinth, ursala, psilocybin
mushrooms and more. Not only does the collection include the mandatory
5-panel hat alongside various fashions, but a botany handbook hangtag too.
8. The Magic of the Stones
David Lynch applies his distinct cinematic style to the world of machinery and lithography in his latest work, a black and white short film. Shot at the famous printshop, Idem Paris, the film follows the intricate process that goes into creating each print with close up shots of the complex machines.
9. Adidas Boost
Announced this week in an effort to keep up with the constantly
changing tech in the running shoe industry, Adidas unveiled the Boost, a running shoe boasting superior cushion
and stability. The sole’s solid granular material may look like
crushed packing peanuts, but it reportedly stores and unleashes
“energy” more efficiently than any shoe padding before it.
10. NYCxDESIGN
The inaugural NYCxDESIGN, a 12-day city-wide exposition of the city’s design community, was announced this week to our delight. Design group Base created the identity for the event with an “X” to represent the intersection of various design disciplines that will be included.
11. Java Jive
In an op-ed for the Sunday Review, New York Times contributor Ben Schott illustrates the complex vocabulary that has risen out of the wave of independent coffee shops and barista culture around the nation. Featuring outposts in the US, like Sterling Coffee Roasters of Portland, Oregon and Blue Bottle Coffee from San Francisco, Schott catalogues the barista’s behind-the-counter terms for everything from a hot customer (Marmot) to a French press with a shot (Floater).
12. Erik Marinovich
Famous lettering artist and cofounder of Title Case, Erik Marinovich sits down with the Great Discontent to discuss what attracted him to lettering, how he got his start and what his plans are for the future. In his interview, Marinovich goes into details about how his early childhood fascination with drawing and reading comics led him to pursue a career in art, and about his latest projects which include a move toward digital art.
13. Epiphany onE Puck
Charge your phone using the power of your morning cup of joe courtesy of the new gadget, the Epiphany onE Puck. In a demo video, the desktop machine is put to the test. With one side designed for cold beverages and the other designed for hot, the Epiphany onE Puck is run by a tiny Stirling engine that can translate enough juice from your morning mug of coffee into a full charge for your smartphone.
14. DeltaMaker
The latest 3D printer to hit Kickstarter puts aesthetics at the forefront. Based on a delta robot platform, Deltamaker is an elegant construction of symmetrical aluminum that uses three arms for precise movement and crisp printing—not to mention minimalistic, mouthwatering looks.
15. Gerber American Expedition
Native Portland knife makers Gerber recently underwent a cross country road trip to get to
know the hardworking folks that keep them in business, hook them up
with some reliable gear and hear their stories of trouble. Showing the
people and places they found, this creatively edited short video is a
solid example of a properly executed—and genuine—brand awareness
campaign.
16. Oversized Hand-Drawn Maze
When looking at a recently discovered, 33×23-inch hand-drawn maze, its not hard to see why it took even years to create. A weaving web of tiny lines, the maze was found by Japanese Twitter user Kya7y among her fathers possessions, who posted it online only to receive an array of requests for additional copies.
