Founded by Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson in 2012, the New York-based design studio Apparatus has a specialty in creating elegantly robust lighting fixtures. At the time of the foundation Hendifar, a former fashion designer, and Anderson, who worked in PR, had just moved in together in Los Angeles and were unsatisfied with what was available on the market. After relocating the company to New York, Apparatus took off. Design-wise the created aesthetic by Apparatus is the product of playful experimentation with vintage components as well as taking inspiration from the time honored method of American industrial design, aiming to mary both form and function. We particularly love the Pendant and Sconce lamps out of their horsehair series. In the beautiful designs which were presented at last International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in May wefts of horsehair are combined with brass and etched glass to create these amazing and extraordinary lamps. [ Continue reading ]
We have a long history (and friendship) with German interview-magazine Freunde von Freunden, and therefore finding Joachim's interview online this morning almost feels like coming full circle. After first writing about Freunde von Freunden as early as 2011 and for instance creating the Another Someting x FvF mixtape in 2012; it is clear to say that it is a very special honor to be part of the Freunde von Freunden Workplaces profiles. On a sunny Saturday some weeks ago, Felicitas Olschewski and photographer Jordi Huisman visited the new studio at the edge of Amsterdam's city center in the historical Nieuwmarkt area - almost feeling like a little village within the village of Amsterdam - in which we find ourselves in a beautiful spot right at the mouth of what becomes the Herengracht canal. The conversation starts at the beginning of Joachim's career, dropping out of art school, the love for collecting, favorite projects that were created over the years and finally the exciting projects that lay ahead. [ Continue reading ]
When the concept for the inspiring fragrance innovator Commodity came up, the goal was to offer something new, or in a sense bringing back the traditional personalized, reminiscent of the French and English aristocracy, way of finding your personal fragrance, rather then smelling like everybody else. After a year of preparation a Kickstarter campaign was started in April 2013 and with a final backing that far exceeded the goal that was set a new exciting company was born. Over a year now, Commodity has online been offering premium scents without the usual markup, nicely tailored to your style and preferences, delivered all the way to your door, leaving that sincere mark that was intended on a rather generic industry, dominated by big luxury brands and marketing instead of intrinsic products. [ Continue reading ]
In 2012 Rapha initiated this inspiring factory visit to Italian knitting company Manifattura Italiana Tessuti Indemagliabili or in short Miti shot by the talented English photographer Gavin Karl Campbell. Miti has been an innovator in the knitting industry since its foundation in 1931 and is located in the Northern Italian town of Urgnano, not far from Bergamo. The first and foremost innovation made by the company was the nationwide introduction of wrap knitting techniques, which allows for the construction of durable and stretchy fabrics, introduced by founder Vincenzo Polli through his fascination with the technology and his decision to acquire the German-made machines which would carry it out; establishing Italy’s premier fabric mill. Today the raw fabric is milled six hours away in Hungary, near the border with Slovenia, close enough to monitor total consistency in the highest possible quality after which processing, dyeing and finishing takes place in Urgnano by this major supplier for almost all the cycling brands. [ Continue reading ]
We love this amazing collaboration between Alexander Wang and Australian Haydenshapes to outfit the latest Soho flagship store's Cage installation. The project features five marble print surfboards, exclusively created by the leading Australian surfboard brand Haydenshapes for this installation. The insanely beautiful marble boards, being also a typical element within Wang’s aesthetic, are suspended from the cage wall, while a monolithic, large black wave sculpted from black sand looms occupies the other area of the space. We just can't keep our eyes of the tremendous boards and their graphic patterns, photographs of unique marble slabs developed by Haydenshapes founder Hayden Cox and Wang himself, which were digitally printed onto silk, then onto the award winning 'Hypto Krypto' boards; to create one of a kind visual art pieces of exquisite beauty. [ Continue reading ]
Tipped by the good people of OPENHOUSE Magazine we recently found out about the new triennial magazine named Alphabet Family Journal, published in Sydney, Australia. The magazine explores the heart and soul of what it means to make a home together, giving an unfiltered snapshot of modern families, in all its guises. It is a magazine that celebrates the beauty of the everyday: from the loud chaos, to the quiet times, and all the unscripted moments in-between that merge to form a memory, a home and a family. It is this approach combined with a beautiful aesthetic that sets Alphabet Family Journal apart from a lot of other publications, truly adding something to the printed world. [ Continue reading ]
The 'Water – Colour' project by artist Katherine May was an impressive and beautiful textile installation that aimed to raise awareness of water consumption in the production and use of textiles. A sensory environment was designed around the dye process to reconnect the spectator physically to water through a direct experience of handling water in a dye vat. Every year the textile industry uses in excess of 370 billion litres of water. Fibre crops like cotton require significant artificial irrigation after which the water isn't fit for consumption or agricultural use anymore. Furthermore, the coloring of textile diverts water into mills, expelling toxic waste into local water supplies. These are the macro issues of a global industry, however the micro habits of laundering textiles is now known to use more water than growing fibre, processing yarn, and all other phases of a textile’s life-cycle, which was beautifully condensed by May into this aesthetic project making one actively reflect on society's harmful habits. [ Continue reading ]