A nod to the hallowed symbol of that most treasured of American institutions; a symbol without which the spiritual, physical, and fallen world would have no meaning or salvation:
The Easter basket.
Happy Easter, frolickers.
Allow us to display our favorite shoes of all time, the red, low-cut, Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars.
Love the look, love the design, love the color. Love the associations with the bygone days of the NBA, neighborhoods with decorated telephone wires, and punk music. Gimme.
Yes, we shun the high tops when it comes to personal choice, but they, too, look rather fresh:
Of course, some of us are classicists.
Do you know what the trouble with a classicist is? We’ll let Lou Reed and John Cale fill ya’ll in on that one:
The trouble with a classicist, he looks at a tree;
That’s all he sees, he paints a tree.
The trouble with a classicist, he looks at the sky;
He doesn’t ask why, he just paints a sky.
Digression!
On March 17, 2010, In Branding, By Wes
On March 11, 2010, In Branding, By Wes
Has anyone else seen those insufferable Pepsi ads with Will.i.am re-mixing Bob Dylan? May You Stay Forever Young by drinking our artificially sweetened, calorie-rich, teeth-staining swill. Pepsi has consistently tried to brand themselves as the cola the yung’uns drink, the new generation of cola. Pepsi is what you drink whilst listening to the latest Black Eyed Peas mediocrity, updating your Facebook page and digitally uploading your thoughts on the latest TMZ scoop. Whatever. Hat tip to graphicdesignblog.org, who took the time to put this chart together:
Notice who stayed consistently classy (with the exception of New Coke) and who relentlessly undermined their historical brand by pathetically and unsuccessfully worshiping at the altar of youth. Coca-Cola for life, brah.
On March 10, 2010, In furniture, By Wes
The techno-wizards over at Smart Furniture in Chattanooga, TN, have done it again, bring their previously noted Smart Designer online tool to chairs like the world-famous, world-class, world-traveled, world-weary Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, seen here:
At Smart Furniture, customization is king, and you can choose between a wide range of wood and leather to get the right chair for you. Use their online Smart Designer to order a chair that looks like this (black leather, natural cherry finish):
Or this (ivory leather, natural cherry finish):
Or maybe this (indigo leather, natural cherry finish – look, I like natural cherry, aight?):
Or my personal favorite, and what you may buy me for Christmas, this (canyon leather, cherry):
The Eames Lounge Chair isn’t the only chair or product you can customize at Smart Furniture; that list grows by the day. But some of the highlights are the Embody Chair and the Aeron Chair, both by Herman Miller.
Till next time.
On January 4, 2010, In furniture, By Wes
Apropos of nothing, really, here is the mythical Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mies van der Rohe was possibly the greatest designer of furniture ever to live, if that’s enough for you. Florence Knoll, having left the office of a somewhat dunder-headed executive, joked to her companion: “Where would they be without us?” “My dear,” he said, “Where would we be without Mies?”
Pictured with the Barcelona Table, Couch, and Ottoman
All Mies did was school sucka punks what thought they knew.
On December 26, 2009, In furniture, By Wes
If you happen to be anywhere near north Georgia, do yourself a favor and get to the Museum of Design Atlanta. They have an exhibition featuring the work of one of the 20th century’s great industrial designers, Marcel Breuer.
Some of his work:
And:
Finally:
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York
Check it out.