I.D. Magazine's 54th Annual Review came out this week. And its with great excitement that I can finally announce that we've been awarded Best Packaging of the Year for the PT3 Ultramagnetic Collection.
Who would have thought that a goofy idea that sparked off over some Thai food (and was taken from sketch to final product in less that 2 months) would have beaten the big budgets of Apple's iPhone, Band-Aid, and Marc Jacobs.
"Puma's table tennis set all but won at first sight. The case-- two form-fitting pieces of milky-white PVC held together by magnets-- clearly expresses what's inside, and it took the jurors' every ounce of self-control not to drop their checklists and start playing immediately."
Its also great to see the continued momentum behind table tennis, and the judges recognition that Puma has been a big part of this recent buzz. "Seeking its own sport to colonize and accessorize, the shoemaker hit, improbably, upon Ping-Pong." It looks like others have taken notice, as you'll see the release of Nike's new TT shoe.
Dustin Ross
In summary, Judge Stephen Burks stated, "You're not trying to show off the brand. You're just carrying this useful thing. And maybe that's why I like it. It's Puma, but it doesn't have to scream it. It's confident about what's inside."
Thanks to all the judges and I.D. magazine. Its such an honor to be featured alongside such winning projects like Pentagram's Saks Identity and Yves Behar's Y Water. Also, a big shout to my mate Tom at Exposure, who pulled down an honorable mention for his Nike RunNYC Project. I had fun helping him a little bit with that too.
Thanks again to the folks at Puma: Khairi, Theo and Barney, and to the ever-growing team at Aruliden. To my man Jeff Staple, co-creator of PT3. And Dustin Ross, for his photography and a few late nights to make this happen. The cases will be on display at Parson's as part of an exhibit beginning July 9, and hopefully to Puma retail spaces in the near future.
My Favorite Things was a great success last week. Despite all the confusion in the music industry and clubland, the parties seem to be getting better and better. With music being so accessible these days, its harder to differentiate from all of the other nights out there. Its not enough to simply have a niche or underground selection anymore. Thanks to our positive, loyal and ever evolving crowd, which makes our nights more about the experience. Also big thanks to our guests-- Just One, Leroy Bugress and the man like Wonford St. James.
Jay Lew battled jetlag throughout the night and came up with some great shots.
Stay tuned for the full gallery to be posted at www.mft-nyc.com.
After 5+ years without a proper music setup (and very limited access to my vinyl), I finally went and bought one of these USB turntables. At only $150, its not a bad look if you just want something quick and easy to convert your records. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kim Jones is the guest blogger at The Moment this week. He discussing his new role as Creative Director for Dunhill, and previews some of the new products like this Shagreen Macbook Air case.
The Highline designs were unveiled yesterday by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. This should fully complete the transformation of the Meatpacking District, where the Highline begins. The first phase should be finished by the end of this year. Take a look.
One of the best things about living in NYC is that everyone eventually comes to you.
Over the years, I've enjoyed playing host to all of my favorite DJs.
This past weekend, Daz-I-Kue of Bugz In The Attic was back in the area for a quick gig. Beats, beats and more beats. Daz is constantly making new music, as evidenced by his position here only moments after landing.
Mad Mats was also back in town from Stockholm to launch his Raw Fusion party at APT. We've been planning a table tennis rematch ever since his last visit a few years ago. Apparently, Khairi has been practicing. Also, big up to Freddie Crugar & Pure P of Up Hygh-- look for new material soon.
While Colette Paris prepares to shut its doors for renovations by Wonderwall, New Yorker's get ready for a pop-up shop coming to midtown on September 6.
Lots of great music being shared by Gilb-r and the crew at Versatile Records...
An interesting piece by Steven Heller on "Al Gore's New Logo" from a few months back.
Look out for American Mixtape... coming soon.
One of my musical heroes, Dego from 4 Hero, has recently moved to Brooklyn from London. My iPhone camera went a little buckwild and managed to produce this photoshop-looking image. Dego has a new EP on Neroli records under the name Nutmeg that's really good.
Another big night in the club. Photos to follow.
I've managed to visit Florent twice in its final weeks. This has been our favorite late-night spot for a while - always an adventure. It's a real shame.
Rolled with the crew to check the opening of a new group show featuring Kaws.
The new Jil Sander store in Soho is worth checking. I like what Raf Simons is doing with the brand.
Javi and Julia run a cool design studio / brand in Madrid called SuTurno.
One of their latest creations, the Bolasco tote bag, is made by cutting up old sacks they stumbled upon in a warehouse. Each bag is constructed from different parts of the sack, giving each one unique qualities (think Freitag). They were recently spotted by Robert Duffy of Marc Jacobs, and are now featured in a limited run of 100 in the US shops. There are no more sacks to speak of, so once they're gone, they're really gone.
I'm pretty much over the camo-craze, but this monogramoflage bag from LV / Murakami is hard to deny.
Big up the CSC crew on the release of their shoe collaboration with Adidas. They have a nice blog too.
Crazy news today, as Tim Russert, journalist and host of "Meet The Press" passed away unexpectedly. I've enjoyed watching him religiously throughout the presidential race. Very sad.
Top designer and friend Patrick Li is the featured "Insider" over the NY Times blog. Look out for his new consultancy Li, Inc., coming soon.
Update: Check Bill's blog for more...
With the Beijing Olympics coming up, its a somewhat relevant time to reflect on one of my (and many others) favorite 'design programs' of all time-- the 1972 Munich Olympics by Otl Aicher and his team. The posters have become major collectibles, and someone has recently erected a site dedicated to the ephemera surrounding the event. Timeless.
Which other Olympic design programs do you remember?
I'm fond of the '84 Los Angeles games from my childhood, but it certainly wasn't one of the most memorable in history. Although for the USA we had the fortune of the Jordan-era dream team.
Brunch is one of my favorite times of the week, and a good time to catch up with your favorite people who you don't get to see enough of, in this city of hustle and bustle. Early congrats to Putri and Tetsuro, who are expanding their family this fall! Putri single-handedly sparked off the Singapore-Brooklyn connection a few years ago, and we've been having fun ever since.
Lookin' forward to this. Kaws takes over the July issue of i-D Magazine.
Nice work from Zamir Antonio & Antoine Choussat, otherwise known as Eat Sleep Work / Play.
I was sad to have missed Kanye's private performance for the G-Shock 25th anniversary. (See Jeff's report here.) But my crew at Exposure, who produced the event, were nice enough to lace me with one of the limited watches. Shouts to Tom and Sarah.
I'm usually a sucker for most of Pharrell's productions, but never really grew into the last N.E.R.D record.
The new one released on Tuesday, however, is super hot. Rolling Stone even gave it 4.5 stars.
Jam of the moment: "Yeah You"
Nice magazine out of Australia.
Also really feeling the Sydney-based style blog, Cultures In Between. Great layout.
Lots of good stuff to share this month... Big tunes from Leon King (look out), Sunburst Band, plus new singles from Sabrina Malheiros and Platinum Pied Pipers. Also, West London represents with new material from Dego, IG Culture, and Probe DMS feat Kaidi Tatham.
Get it. MFT Radio no.8, June 2008 (MP3, 79mb)
01 Kid Sublime / Pityful Times (Dopeness Galore)
02 Leon King / I Know (MFT)
03 Recloose / Catch a Leaf (Loop)
04 IG Culture / Girl U Need a Change of Mind (Freedom School)
05 Platinum Pied Pipers feat. Karma / On a Cloud (Ubiquity)
06 Sunburst Band / Our Lives Are Shaped (Z Records)
07 Hercules & the Love Affair / You Belong (DFA)
08 KZR / Floating (NDATL)
09 James Pants / We're Through (Stone's Throw)
10 Probe + Kaidi / Girl I'm Trying To Score (edit)
11 Nutmeg / Take Time (Neroli)
12 Reel People / Upside (Karizma mix) (Papa)
13 Audision / Red Sky (Roland Appel mix) (Clone)
14 Sabrina Malheiros / New Morning (Far Out)
MFT back in the basement on Tuesday June 17 at APT.
Joining us will be an old friend, producer/signer Justin Chapman aka Just One. Justin is also known for his house productions with Dj Kemit as KemeticJust, and through his vocals for other producers like Recloose.
Also joining us will be the legendary Leroy Burgess on the mic.
Upstairs we have the pleasure of welcoming the Disco Sandwich duo of Wonford St James and Los Robles.
You won't be disapointed.
RSVP for reduced admission.
Another good show in London worth checking is my man Ebon Heath's opening, "Stereo.Type: A Typographic Ballet" at Carte Blanche gallery from June 13. "Grown in opposition to urban 'noise' created through advertising mediums in the modern day landscape, Stereo.type explodes the written word."
Shout to the whole Tokyo jazz scene, who celebrate the closing of Club Yellow with this massive line-up. I remember first hearing about Yellow in the early 90s via the UFO parties. Luckily I managed to get there once (shout to Toshio), before its doors shut.
But with endings, comes new beginnings...
Congratulations to one of the original Japanese jazz warriors, Shuya Okino and Joan on their new marriage.
Delta reports that he'll open his solo show at London's Elms Lester gallery, with the opening reception on June 6.
Suzy Menkes remembers Yves Saint Laurent.
Plus, Malcolm McLaren starts blogging from Art Basel.
Here's a great talk from fuseproject founder Yves Behar, discussing his work and the importance of telling stories through design.
