Sapa

Some pics taken on a trek through the H'mong villages outside Sapa, a remote mountain town in northern Vietnam.

The Fashion Show at the Action Sports Show

 

More ASR

 

Cardboard Tradeshow Displays at ASR

Burton, Merrill, Crumpler, and about 3-4 other companies has tradeshow booths made from corrugated cardboard or other recyclable/sustainable materials.

Sustainable Shoes from Simple @ ASR

 

Action Sports Retailer Show - San Diego

Hair Dialogue: Hong Kong Museum of Art

Last week, despite the really shitty chinese rapper performing on a stage near the entrance, I went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art and checked out the Hair Dialogue installation art exhibit. I was pulled between the awe and fascination of the medium, and feeling like I was going to throw up. Artists Gu Wenda and Leung Mee-ping created everything from tiny dutch clogs and a room draped in texts from all over the world, from human hair. In the room of words, which included english, kanji, chinese, hebrew, arabic, and a few others, it looked as if the hair was matted down and held together by a dried, mucus substance, like they just cut the hair from a hippie's head and molded it into shape. They really didn't need to install the "Don't Touch" signs on this exhibit, at least for me. Fascinating nonetheless, and all for $10HKD (a little over a buck).

Crank Brothers

My new favorite bike component company, Crank Brothers, has some of the tightest design language around. Their basic form-equals-function mentality permeates throughout their industrial design, online marketing, merchandise, and even their industry order forms (thank you, pro-deal). Gotta love their inspiration page.

Mix Master Mike Video

Here's that crappy phone video I promised... (Quicktime 713k)

Nike6.0 spitball fights with itself.

Brilliant. Create a sports-centric, competitive culture that dominates the world athletic market for decades, and when the alternative sports counter-culture naturally arises to rebel against it, create a prefectly matched campaign that reels in dollars from them, too. I have to say, their Jocks Suck apparel is pretty catchy.

Got' Damn that DJ Make my Day.

Not only did I go surfing in California for the first time last Saturday (finally), I saw Mix Master Mike (of Beastie Boys fame) cut a ridiculous set at Mighty. Surprisingly, at least to me, even Mix Master Mike has given up crate digging between tracks for scrolling on the touchpad of an Apple MacBook Pro, which fed mp3's directly to his hybrid turntables, brand unknown.

Phone video clip coming soon...

CleanButt.com

I first came across a similar contraption in my hotel bathroom in Tokyo last year (and my curiosity got me squirted in the face), but what this company has actually decided to call their product had me rolling on the ground. There are some interfaces I would rather not, um, tackle.

Oh, and in case you were interested: 866-460-BUTT (2888)

Googlicious

Thanks for the Google lunch yesterday, Joe. Seared sturgeon and pheasant definitely beats pho and tacos for the 100th day in a row.

Naked and Angry

I was forwarded the link to the Naked and Angry website by a co-worker today, showcasing a collection of hip pattern designs.

7-11 with Style

I got to check out the new Famima!! upscale convenience store on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood last weekend. It's a japanese chain that's making it's way stateside with a very design concious layout, graphic identity, and product selection. It's reminiscient of some of the convenience stores I've seen in Tokyo, down to the large japanese product selection and red bean buns at the counter. One of the details I liked was the selection of stylish japanese pen and paper items, a nice departure from the Meads and Bics of the world.

More Imagery from Europe

Fashion "ride" at Bread & Butter

ISPO party, Munich

Wall at the empty Nike booth at Bread & Butter

Stencil graffiti in Berlin

More graffiti in Berlin

Berlin manhole cover

Das ist so Gile!

Translation: "That is so cool!"

Our European design inspiration trip was all I expected and more; from accidentally stumbling onto (and into) 1.2 million ravers at Love Parade in Berlin, to viewing the French Alps from an impossible summit house, to "surfing" a moving carpet at ISPO, to finding some products I designed in a shop in Milan, it was the trip of trips (I am leaving out the daily meetings and 4am airport shuttles to our 9 planes in 10 days, but it's hard to complain). Oh, and never forget: Eingang und se Ausgang! Pics, in reverse order:

Bregenz, Austria
(European OutDoor Show)

Milan

Nuremburg

Chamonix, Mont Blanc (French Alps)

Munich
(ISPO)

Berlin
(Bread & Butter, Premium)