When we visited Los Angeles in 2012 we first found out about the beautiful Kickstarter funded magazine named Atlas. The project, founded by New York-based writer and editor Laura Palmer and art director Jenna Yankun, is a print publication that curates American craft and curio. Each page of the elegant magazine tells the story of dedicated craftsmen and precious objects from the past. Last summer the third beautiful issue of Atlas was released. The latest edition charts new waters by crossing the great grey seas, far beyond the border of the United States and shares the stories of craftsmen and curio collectors from around the world. Among the inspirational stories one finds the story about salt harvesting along the Oregon coast, secrets of single-malt Scotch making and tips from vintage denim hounds. The little gift added to this particular issue is a clip from a vintage sea chart completing another wonderful issue by Laura and Jenna. [ Continue reading ]

We are highly inspired by the online platform of writer Darrell Hartman and his brother Oliver Hartman, which they founded last year and named Jungles in Paris. The extraordinary project aims to redefine armchair travel using a global network of professional photographers and filmmakers, producing and presenting short, focused stories on culture, craft, geography, and wildlife around the world. Instead of splendor the Hartman brothers aim to go small and observe with an highly critical eye by focusing on the unexpected surprises uncovered by the careful traveler, from ritual skin-piercing in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, the beautiful aesthetic of the colorful house fences one finds in Rwanda, to the Ranch Rodeo in a small town in Wyoming, USA. As Darrell is such an inspiration for both his vision and his dogmatic approach in these rather superficial times, we've asked him some questions on what has and still inspires him in life. [ Continue reading ]

In this first chapter of a little series together with the fine tailors of Utrecht- and Amsterdam-based New Tailor, we're exploring some of the perfect garments offered by the tailoring house. Recently a whole new horizon was opened to us, when we were lucky enough to obtain one of their immaculate bespoke pieces; a perfect black jacket, which overshadows any other jacket we have worn before. Our perfect black jacket was cut from an extraordinary cloth produced by the famous Fox Brothers, who own one of the few working cloth mills still producing cloth entirely in England. Many Fox fabrics are exclusively developed for fashion designers, while other styles are inspired by the extensive Fox archives. The cloth used for the perfect black jacket is a pretty heavy one, weighing about 370 grams. After weaving the cloths is cleaned, shaved and then brushed in such a way that you get the perfect flannel. The jacket looks tremendous and is extraordinary to wear. Moreover everybody wants to touch the jacket due to its extreme softness, giving a natural warmth and making us not want to wear anything else, anymore. [ Continue reading ]

The collaboration between Our Current Obsessions and our friend Raymond Lemstra was established early in the creation of NOIR. Being fans of Raymond’s vision for years now, both within his graphic work and the few sculptures he had made in the past, it was decided quickly to create another one of those fascinating creatures, but now in jet black instead of his usual strong colors, exclusively for NOIR. Raymond introduced Sybren Karst, specialized in woodwork, early in the proces, who proved to be the perfect partner for Lemstra, and together they created, all from old wooden play blocks, the extraordinary sculpture which is clearly marked with Raymond’s signature aesthetic and named ‚Eng’, which means scary in Dutch. We are extremely pleased with the result and hope for more beautiful collaborations by Raymond and Sybren in the future. [ Continue reading ]

'Mid-Century Modern Complete' by Dominic Bradbury, published through Thames & Hudson can be seen as the definitive survey of one of the most popular, collectable and dynamic periods of international design. With over a 1000 illustrations, it is a must-have for any design aficionado, collector or reader seeking inspiration for their home. It offers a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the subject: furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles, product design, industrial design, graphics and posters, as well as architecture and interior design, use of innovative and affordable materials and forms of mass manufacture, and newly developed precepts of ‘good design’. Nearly 100 major and influential creators of the mid-century period are highlighted from Scandinavia, Western Europe, America, Japan, Brazil and Australia. They include icons such as Saul Bass, Robin Day, Charles and Ray Eames, Marimekko, Isamu Noguchi, Dieter Rams, Lucie Rie and Paolo Venini, as well as architects Alvar Aalto, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra and Oscar Niemeyer. Very inspirational! [ Continue reading ]

We are very grateful for everyone who had a share within the very first Our Current Obsession as without them we couldn't have realized it. Having introduced the main collaborator GERTRUD & GEORGE, some of the artists involved (with more to come), and ,The World of Black' in our space has been extended long and wide onto the online Our Current Obsessions environment, now it is time to give a proper insight into the other partners with which we’ve created the core of the extraordinary black selection of products for sale in our space on the Schippersgracht in Amsterdam. As these stores offer only the finest in their particular specialty we’ve named them Holland’s Finest, to which we owe a sincere debt of gratitude and feel honored to have collaborated with. [ Continue reading ]

We have written about the incredible Athens-based webstore named Daphnis and Chloe when we found out about it in July of this year. The elegant and exquisite project was founded by Evangelia Koutsovoulou who divides her time between between Athens, Milan and Barcelona. The webstore which was funded through Kickstarter focusses on culinary herbs and spices for chefs and home cooks who are looking for Mediterranean ingredients of the finest quality. Last week Evangelia and her team released an all new offering in the form of their caffeine-free alternative to normal tea which they named ‚The Office Blend’. Next to the new premium tea, which comes in a colorful all new container, the store has released this new packaging for all its herbs ensuring the best possible use for their fine herbs in the area where it matters most: the kitchen. [ Continue reading ]