Tag Archives: New

Vans Brushed Twill Colorways from the Vans California Collection

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spring-2013-brushed-twill-vans-california

The Vans California Collection rings in spring with six new colorways from the Brushed Twill pack. Featuring the Era and Prison Issue, each waffle-soled silhouette from the assortment is dressed in supple twill and lined with micro herringbone materials. The Era presents a two-tone aesthetic across a quartet of color-ups; Biking Red/Stellar, Blue/Aluminum, Ermine/Ginger and Pearl/Green to debut this season. Leather laces cross white eyelets to secure the fit of each pair. The Velcro-strapped Prison Issue rounds off the pack with two tonal takes in Cayenne and Tea. The Brushed Twill editions of the Era and Prison Issue are available now at select Vans California Collection dealers.

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Kain: “So Sincere”

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BIG 2

Rappers have a tendency to continuously push the bar & press the issue in order to get heard, and sometimes their determination doesn’t transfer in the same vain as intended. Either way, that drive is what sets some apart, especially if you have talent. Kain recently sent me a new track “So Sincere”, a very well crafted PSA from the Chicago lyricist, i’m currently getting hip to. Off upcoming debut project titled, Sincerely Kain. 

Retro Redial: 8 Creative Phone Booth Conversion Projects

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[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vintage & Retro. ]

phone booth banksy art

As you may recall (and please, forgive the pun), pay phones used to be ubiquitous – in many places they remain a physical presence, but without a use. As Banksy‘s work (above) points out, their primary purpose is arguably quite dead – but, on the upside, that leaves room for all kinds of radical rebirths.

phone booth data hub

Around the world, old phone booths are also becoming high-tech data hubs. Consider New York City, which has just unrolled a pilot program to turn 250 old phone booths into information centers, providing basic maps, directions and directories to tourists, but also up-to-the-minute emergency information and safety alerts in case of serious storms or other natural disasters.

phone booth library nyc

Local architect John Locke has come up with another, lower-tech, even-easier reuse project for some of the 10,000+ remaining unused public phones on the streets of Manhattan – easily-fabricated micro-libraries that can be slotted into existing boxes, taking advantage of their robust framework and shelter. No fasteners needed for this efficient and inexepensive flat-pack solution.

phone booth media swap

Across the pond, iconic red-box phone booths of England may be even more well-suited to this particular kind of conversion, being closeable and thus, while not 100% weatherproof, still more completely sealed from the elements. The result is one of “the country’s smallest lending libraries – stocking 100 books. Villagers from Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset can use the library around the clock, selecting books, DVDs and CDs. Users simply stock it with a book they have read, swapping it for one they have not.”

phone booth charging station

Turning back toward the high-tech, Telekom Austria is tackling over ten thousand disused phone booths, turning them into recharging stations for the nation’s estimated growth toward over a half-million electric vehicles in the next decade. But enough about functional conversions – what about the artistic side? See below for homeless shelters, aquariums, even outhouses made of old phone booths.

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Retro Redial 8 Creative Phone Booth Conversion Projects

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Floating Islands Add 100,000 Square Feet to Downtown Seoul

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Many of the most densely-populated cities in the world reside along bodies of water, from canals and sounds to seas and oceans. Beyond merely extending solid ground, this three-island project creates new mobile infrastructure right out on the waves.

In the case of Seoul, the Han River (spanned only by periodic fast-paced bridges) splits the city down the middle. To bridge the gap, this bold new project by New York firm H Architecture establishes institutional uses stunning in architectural style and engineering audacity. Each island  floats on pontoons, carefully anchored against gravity, wind and water loads, capable of withstanding monsoons.

ArchDaily summarizes the scope of the project: “Programmatically, the islands contain several cultural, educational, and recreational functions. They will be the venue for many featured events in the city. The design concept stems from the stages of a blooming flower: a seed, bud, and blossom. Each of the islands take on the form of one of these stages, manifesting as delicate yet bold structures of glass, wood, and steel.”

The smallest island (Terra) revolves around water sports, with club rooms, rooftop terraces and water slides. The next island (Viva) takes entertainment up a level, with performance and exhibit spaces. The largest (Vista) features a huge indoor space for festivals, concerts and plays. Together, they also add visual interest, both day and night, to this heretofore untapped source of potential skyline.

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Stair Rover: Smooth-Ride Skateboard Glides Down Steps

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[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

If you thought biking down stairs was hard, try skating a stairwell – or better yet: don’t. At least not without this nifty device, that is. Designed by Po-Chih Lai (movie by Juriaan Booij), this next-generation skateboard slots an extra set of wheels alongside the existing ones with a flexible chassis to bend from one step to the next.

But such ideas are hardly born and built overnight – the prototyping process is in many ways as fascinating as the final design product, including various multi-wheel attempts to maximum stability and broad functionality.

Its purpose? “The piece aims to expanding the capability and possibility of extreme sports as we understand them. Inherited from our natural instincts, sliding as children and snowboarding as adults, the focus is on one of the most influential and stimulating sports – skateboading, aiming to push the boundaries further.”

Its Context? “The sub-culture of graffiti, free-running, skateboarding, street dance, and extreme sports are now accepted and a valid and valuable influence on our generation.” In short, with all of these becoming both accepted and broadly accessible, one could say the Stair Rover provides training wheels for the less adept – perhaps at least saving a broken leg or two, here and there.

The machine is on display at this year’s Show RCA – its creator, a recent graduate of the Royal College of Art, hopes to expand the notion of skateboarding as well as the places that can be accessed by its practitioners  - hopefully, pedestrians will understand.

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[Video] brandUn DeShay: “Chief KeeShay” (Feat. Calez & Alex Wiley)

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After recording his latest EP Your Favorite Mixtape 2 in 24 hours, Deshay nabs Calez and Alex Wiley for the visuals for their own rendition of “I Don’t Like” off the project. Definitely check this, as each attack’s Young Chops slapper in their own branded manner. Hit the jump for the video. Alex Wiley might find a new fanbase w/ this one.

 

Download: Your Favorite Mixtape 2

 

Art Around the USA: Week of April 30

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Yesterday we looked at a random mix of mph artists around the country and what they are up to. Today I thought we could catch a glimpse at the exciting shows that are happening around the USA… and I don’t want you to forget that myplasticheart’s next show is going to be a doozy! Intrinsic Value featuring the work of Donald “Scribe” Ross. Keep your eyes on this blog for more information and an exclusive interview with the man himself.

Mike Perry, the creative talent behind some of my favorite books, like Hand Job: A Catalog of Type and Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing, opened a show in Cincinnati, Ohio last night with Naomi Reis. If you are in Cincinnati or passing through sometime before July 20, I highly recommend you check it out! And if you are not familiar with Naomi Reis’s work, she creates really meticulous paintings with hand-cut drawings on mylar and pieces them back together. A lot of her work is architectural based, and I am interested to see what she has created for this show.

I am a big fan of Dabs and Myla’s work. After reading an interview with them where they described themselves as working so efficiently together and complementing each other’s skills so well that they had formed a super human, I was hooked. If you have ever had the chance to see them paint live, you’ll have had the opportunity to see this couple work better together than any live painters I have seen, fluidly switching off on different parts of the mural. They have a show opening tomorrow at Known Gallery in LA. Be there or feel bad about not being there on Sunday morning.

If you are in NYC for Cinco de Mayo, then head over to Williamsburg for a party with Jon Burgerman and Jim Avignon as they perform in their band Anxieteam! It might not be a gallery show, per say, but these two visual artists always incorporate and play with art in their music. The party goes on from 3-9pm at Moves Brooklyn (419 Graham Ave) and the band goes on at 5pm!

And looking to the future…

The Distillery, an artists’ living and working space in Boston, will be holding an opening reception for Friends with Benefits on May 10th. The show features a lot of my favorite Massachusetts-based artists, including Pat Falco, whose witty illustrations I can’t resist, having once purchased a painting he created that reads, “I TOOK YOU HERE, YOU SAID SOMETHING, AND THEN I TOUCHED YOUR BUTT”. The exhibition also features prolific toy designer MCA and artists from the Project Super Friends crew collaborating on pieces with their favorite artists.

Happy art-finding and Cinco de Mayo!

Look of the Week: T-Shirt Chic

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I find something very sexy about a casual tee paired with high heel shoes. If you’ve never done this, I recommend you try! It says “Yes, I’m hot” but still very down to earth… a.k.a., approachable. Let me show you how it’s done with Miss Leah’s outfit, and maybe you can take a stab at it this glorious long weekend!

We accessorized here with….

Blot on that red lip for an extra touch of badass and you’re done. Statement tees work best for me — it’s gives your crush a reason to come talk to you… (Maybe we should turn this into a how to get a the guy post?? I kid). At the end of the day, always dress up for yourself. You are more than worth it!

Model: Leah

Photographer: Mari Nishimura

Stylist: Jasmine Imani