In 2009 Paul Smith opened this incredible store in Seoul, South-Korea, which still is one of the most interesting designs we've seen in a long time. Considering the fact that the store is located in Seoul's densely built Gangnam-gu district, Paul Smith has succeeded gracefully in making a lasting imprint within the urban environment. The extraordinary shape of the building is open to all interpretations, depending on the unique perspective of each customer or even by-passer. The suggested figure, intended to create different stories depending on people`s perspectives and interpretations, was actually the result of a design that was constrained by legal regulations and the ever-demanding Paul Smith, who at times must have driven the architects, Chanjoong Kim of the Kyung Hee University and Taek Hong of The__System Lab, insane by being just as demanding as the state's strict rules. The result is nonetheless or because of these extremely difficult preconditions an incredible building, reminding of the work of the master Antoni Gaudí or even the Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout. Unfortunately the store is now closed, but its beauty and story remain. [ Continue reading ]

We have written about the very gifted Austrian artist and illustrator Stefan Zsaitsis, when we discovered his fascinating work earlier, in October of this year. Zsaitsis has an extraordinary signature running through all his work. He creates highly fascinating dark pencil drawings of childlike figures in which he oftenly seems to hybridize particular thoughts and emotions directly on or with the body part which is involved, mostly the head. One can always observe that sense of astonishment combined with a touch of fear, with the results surrealistic and sometimes even slightly repulsive raw images, which evoke a sense of unsettlement. Last week the very talented artist presented his second publication with work stretching all the way back to 2012 until this year. The artist published the beautiful book himself, like the predecessor 'Headsongs', with his second publication given the name 'Homunculi'. The hardcover specimen consists of 180 pages with 82 images, basically forming an elaborate catalogue of almost all drawings Zsaitsis created in the past three years.  [ Continue reading ]

The Offenbach am Main-based David Schiesser is a very talented (tattoo-)artist of only 25 years old. He recently opened a small private tattoo studio where he works at least two days in the week, with the rest of the days focussed on his free work and preparations for exhibitions. After graduating in visual communication at the HfG of Main in the city of Offenbach he’s been working hard and slowly getting his work out, through his two main outlets. And even now he still follows the advice from renowned mentors, famous artist Manfred Stumpf and like-wise known graphic designer Eike König, who support Schiesser in his endeavors. His drawings show typical tattoo-aesthetic elements although in some work one even gets a sense of medieval artwork. Schiesser draws in ligne claire, reducing his work to the bare essentials, in which the artist succeeds to infuse a lot of personality through his unconventional juxtapositioning and overal subject choices. His main inspiration in these choices are the human body and its coexistence with technical expansion: how the sense of body have or will transform in the future. [ Continue reading ]

Although we celebrate his overal tasteful vision and have been following Erik Schedin since the beginning of Another Something & Company, the Swedish designer is most known for his iconic minimalist sneaker, of which the first sketch was made in his final year at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. Last year he, together with Comme des Garçons Shirt, celebrated the 10 year existence of his sneaker with a special edition, which recently was also released in a black colorway. But there was much more we loved in these last years, in which Erik ran one of the most exciting and elegant minimal webstores to be found on the internet. He for instance collaborated with Tegnässkidan AB to re-create their classical ski model Rajd and Schedin was the first one to reintroduce the first ever designed Gore-Tex boot, the Danner Light to the European market. We now ask Erik what has been inspirational for him in all these years in which he consistently was an inspiration for us. [ Continue reading ]

CITIx60 is a new pocket-sized collection of travel guides by Hong Kong-based viction:ary, the publishing brand of leading publisher viction workshop ltd, founded by Victor Cheung 13 years ago. The guides feature an artistic edge with a handpicked list of hotspots loved by 60 stars of the cities' creative scene, wrapped in a city map drawn by talented artists. Recently viction:ary presented, as an addition to the maps, a collection of collectors items in the form of beautifully illustrated maps, which were specially commissioned for the CITIx60 City Guides. The maps are produced as high quality art prints, in a limited edition of 60 respectively at A1 and A2 formats. Exaggerated details produced at gallery quality enable its collectors to re-explore the distinctive and elegantly portrayed landscapes of  Tokyo, which was illustrated by Masako Kubo, Paris by Allan Deas and finally Berlin, by the talented Finnish illustrator Vesa Sammalisto. [ Continue reading ]

We've been following the great Inventory Magazine since it grew out of the late h(y)r collective back in 2010. For the all new issue 11, which has been launched on several locations worldwide during the last week, the magazine has updated its look trough minor elegant touches. Both the design and format are renewed beautifully, without losing the Inventory feel, with the first cover feature in the new form focussing on the legendary Visvim founder and designer Hiroki Nakamura. Nakamura was shot by Mark Borthwick, volume 4's cover star, in a new distinctive style that uses two contrasting images of the designer, rather than the single, oversized shot that typically fronted the magazine in its former style. The new issue also includes pieces on Margaret Howell, Yohji Yamamoto, Oliver Payne, and John Gluckow. There's also a contribution from Russian multitalented designer and photographer Gosha Rubchinskiy​, who designs his exciting eponymous line assisted by Comme des Garçons since last year and recently worked with Supreme. Inventory never disappoints. [ Continue reading ]

Recently we were introduced to an extraordinary new premium members-only webstore named Dymant. The initiative brings together beauty and utility, tradition and innovation, know-how and design, heritage and future. Each creation is made following the idea of 'temps juste': the time needed to achieve perfection. As a result, every object offered requires many hours of patient and precise work, which can't be rushed. Everything one finds in the elegant Dymant environment is the product of passion and the expertise of gesture mastered by talented craftsmen such as a cabinetmaker, a jeweler, engraver, lace-maker, glass blower. All limited-edition creations, combining traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design. On top of that, the fine products are reserved for Dymant’s private club members only, which are introduced by invitation only. When you become a member, you can welcome five persons to the club, making it potentially the perfect destination for incredible products, just for you and your personal circle. [ Continue reading ]