Berlin ECMC09 bike polo

2 June 2009

I went to Berlin last weekend, partly to meet up with our local partners, who started publishing Intersection Germany last month, and partly to attend the bike polo tournament held as part of the 2009 European Cycle Messenger Championships.

I replaced a missing player at the last minute in an improvised team, and we managed to reach the quarter finals I think, where we got beaten by my friends from Paris, the Dans Ta Gueule Puceau:

Overall it was a nice weekend, and playing in such an amazing architectural landmark as the recently decommissioned Tempelhof airport was a nice bonus…

I also loved the local variation of roller racing: they had free-standing trainers (unlike the ones used at Rollapaluza events) connected to a race track, each roller powering a miniature car:

Marco Velardi & Apartamento n.3

25 May 2009

Marco was in London this weekend and we had a burger in the park. He brought me the (excellent as usual) new issue of Apartamento. Thanks!

Death Spray Custom

20 May 2009

A couple of years ago we did an special issue of Intersection about motorbikes with David Gwyther, graphic designer and bike fanatic. He’d suggested the theme and it turned out to be a great issue. We had kind of lost touch after that, only bumping into each other once in a while. So when he told me a while ago that he was taking pinstriping lessons I was quite surprised (out here in London it’s not really an art form as common as it can be in Southern California).

Well – he is now an expert, has launched his company, Death Spray Custom, and works on order, painting helmets, fuel tanks, snowboards, bike handlebars, and many more objects.

He passed by the office last week with his own scooter, a Yamaha  TMAX, painted by him of course…

Check his excellent blog too.

New Bag Day!!

20 May 2009

After about 4 years of repetitive abuse around the world, my trusted North Face bag was showing signs of imminent meltdown…

And today, just in time, my Incase skate messenger bag arrived! Thanks Damon.

Welcome Ramdane!

18 May 2009

Just found out that one of my closest friends is joining us on Arkitip! Be ready for quality posts and stuff you’ve never seen before. Since meeting Ramdane in Paris through the skateboarding scene about 12 years ago (although his skateboarding skills remain to be proven), we’ve had immense fun all around the world, he’s constantly amazed me with his creativity and relentless drive, and repeatedly made me roll on the floor laughing. Also he is clearly the best dressed man I’ve ever met. But probably the worst snowboarder I’ve had to ride with.

Here is a collection from my archive of shots…

On the Gumball maybe? can’t remember:

That Aston Martin DBS was quite something, but he used the fact that he let me drive it to get behind the wheel of a Vanquish S I had – and do a burnout in front of the police:

Photography by our friend Frederike Helwig:

The boss in his Cire Trudon office in Paris:

And looking dapper as usual:

Friends and their wheels / pt.14

11 May 2009

Christophe Eon started – and still runs – Janvier, probably the best and most respected photo retouching lab in Paris. I hadn’t been to his spectacular offices for a while, and last week I took the opportunity of a job I’m doing for the Venice Biennale (more on this soon) to get him to pose with the racing bikes he has on display through the floors. He has many more 2-wheeled toys, but these Yamaha TZ 250cc bikes (one from 1989 and one from 1992) look pretty good as part of the decor.

Intersection Bike Project: Step 2

8 May 2009

A while ago I previewed some details of the Intersection Magazine fixed-gear bike. The process has been way slower than I wished, and we finally got a first batch of bikes in recently. Lost of details still need to be fixed (no pun intended), but it’s a good base to work from.

Our steel track frame is a low-pro, but has a comfy geometry, and is coupled with a strong fork, with just enough clearance for bar-spins (not that I intend to indulge in this kind of foolish activity). We added gussets for strength near the head-tube, and threw in a private joke on the hubs…

We’re already working on a revised version, with longer dropouts, less toe overlap, a better logo, and a few other improvements.

If you’re interested and want to know more please contact us

Yes you can do pseudo-BMX tricks with it:

And my favorite bit – avid readers of Intersection will understand this:

Photography by Charles Helleu

Friends and their wheels / pt.13

2 May 2009

Whilst in Paris today I stumbled upon two rare cars parked in front of one of my local bars/temporary offices. One of them belongs to my fellow Greek expatriate: Alexandre “Maf”. Emeritus skateboarder with one of the biggest ollies in Paris, stylist, trend-setter and DJ, he has always been right on point when it comes to whatever he drives, rides or wears. In the 15 years I’ve known him he’s repeatedly pre-empted trends by a long time.

His BMW 2.5 CS is the only one registered in France:

Not a trend-setter on the nutrition side:

The wheels of his Buell bike in the trunk. Note the perfect classic typeface of the license plate, very hard to find these days, when the French government has got no clue about font standardization for plates:

The Car Launch series / pt.3: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé

30 April 2009

I just spent 2 days in Tuscany for the launch of the new E-Class Coupé from Mercedes-Benz. There was a slight feeling of déja-vu, not from the car itself, but from the magnificent hilltop converted farmhouse in which we stayed. Coincidentally I had already been there a few years ago for the press launch of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. In these untroubled economic times, our welcome present on arrival was a limited edition Nokia phone with the Aston Martin logo engraved into the back. To be honest I much preferred the path taken by Mercedes this year: instead of showering journalists with flashy gadgets, they gave a donation to charity. No guilt on either side, no heavy box to bring back on the plane, and full attention paid to the car.

So the new E-Class follows Mercedes’ new direction towards a more angular design, especially in the front, with aggressive edges and a muscular stance. The roof line stays smooth and curvy, reminiscent of the ground-breaking CLS. I’m no aerodynamics expert but I have to give respect to Mercedes for designing the supposedly most aerodynamic production car today (0.24 drag coefficient), and not making it look like a big melted pebble (although I wouldn’t mind seeing a pebble-shaped car from time to time).

Although the E-Class Coupe replaces the CLK model, Mercedes went deeper into their archives and had a classic Ponton model on display. I wish they could at least bring back the flat, non-metallic colors of their old ranges (but stop short of color-coding the rims).

The hotel was more than pleasant, although the pools were not yet open:

They built modern display structures in the dining room, one of them made to look like a photography lightbox. It reminded me of how few photographers I work with use these nowadays. I miss the gentle heat of the table, the loupe to check the sharpness, and the flickering neon tubes…

Look for our article in the next issue of Intersection….

MonLogo Workshop

26 April 2009

I was recently invited by my friend and fellow graphic designer Toffe to do a workshop with a class of 3rd year design students from the ESAD Art School in Strasbourg, France, and chose to make them work on a subject I care about immensely: logos. We had 4 days in total, with a week in between, to complete the workshop. I started by showing them what makes a logo good (timelessness, simplicity, impact at any size, in any color, flexibility of use, etc…), and what makes a bad logo (just think UPS redesign and you get the point).

Then I asked them to create a logo for themselves, using their name, their initials, or any symbol they thought would represent who they are in the most simple and efficient manner.

After the first 2 days pretty much everyone had come up with a neat pictogram, usable in black & white, devoid of shadows and swooshes, strong and simple. The next step was to put these logos in the trickiest of all situations, i.e. together with dozens of others on a small area.

So for the next week we got a Rover Metro Special from a scrapyard:

Cleaned it and repainted some bits:

Found a way to apply all the logos onto it, as if they were sponsors of a car racing team:

Got some vinyl stickers made, in 2 colors only, and positioned them on the car:

Then stuck them on carefully:

And finally got all the students to push me at the wheel of the car (it had no engine) in the school courtyard for a celebratory handbrake turn:

I am really happy with the final result:

We even did a screen printed poster to commemorate: