Kinfolk Tokyo
19 October 2009
Whilst in Tokyo I was introduced to John and Ryan from Kinfolk. John is Australian and lives in Tokyo, Ryan is American and lives in LA. Together they run a bar / bike frame company. Everyone had been asking me if I’d been to the “Bicycle Bar” in Nakameguro, and I thought some booze joint in that part of town had been named like that. In fact it’s called The Kinfolk Lounge and sits on the first floor of a traditional Japanese house. The place is amazing, cozy and uniquely welcoming, with bike frames hanging from the ceiling but not a overload of bike-related decor:
Ryan and John seen from their bar:
The Kinfolk frames are hand-built in Japan, very very sweet details:
Definitely a must-see if you’re in Tokyo!
Friends and their wheels / pt.16: Fos
16 October 2009
The legendary British Skateboarding World stalwart Fos passed by our London office a week ago.
Fos – real name Mark Foster – is not only a gnarly and creative skater (I remember epic sessions on short, rough and steep transitions) , he also owns and runs two skateboarding brands, Heroin and Landscape, does his own art, both for his companies and for others, and is the art director for Altamont.
Tokyo Graphic Passport
9 October 2009
I’ve just arrived in Tokyo for a magazine design conference, Tokyo Graphic Passport, organized by the people from +81 Magazine. I’m here with Gert and Jop from Fantastic Man, Hideki Nakajima, Jorg from 032C, Christophe Brunnquell, Theseus Chan from Werk, and the crew from NewWork magazine.
Took one of my bikes with me, as usual. Riding in Tokyo is the best:
The poster:
Theseus from Werk:
The NewWork crew:
More to come later…
Bremont Watches + vintage plane flight
7 October 2009
Yesterday I went to have lunch with Nick English, one of the co-founders of Bremont Watches. Nick started Bremont with his brother Giles in 2007, after a childhood and early life spent in the world of aviation and vintage aircraft. We went to eat at a small airfield just outside London, so I should have seen it coming: straight after coffee he suggested we get onboard one of his vintage planes and fly for a bit, under threatening and windy skies… But Nick seemed to know exactly what he was doing with his 1954 Max Holste Broussard, and I had a thrilling time up in the sky in a machine almost twice my age.
The plane:
Loving the old pipe left in the cockpit by the first owner:
Nick:
Nick getting the plane ready for take-off:
And off we went:
The watches are really nice, classic and sober with very modern touches and technical details:
The MB1 has been developed in partnership with Martin-Baker, the inventors of the ejector seat, and the leaders in their field. If you are one of the few pilots lucky enough (or unlucky?) to have been ejected from a flying plane, you can order this watch with a red case as opposed to orange:
Bremont are also launching a watch in collaboration with Norton motorcycles:
Prism Glasses
5 October 2009
As usual during fashion week, I bumped into the lovely Anna Laub, who designs Prism Glasses and always sports some of her creations:
The glasses come in amazing transparent cases, which – you guessed it – have prism-like shapes:
Atalanta Weller
5 October 2009
Passed by Atalanta Weller’s showroom during Paris Fashion week to see her striking new shoe collection.
Atalanta did a great stiletto for Intersection a few years ago, built exclusively from BMW 1 Series car parts:
And recently she designed cubic shoes for our cover shoot with the Nissan Cube:
Bicycle Film Festival in London
26 September 2009
I posted about this year’s BFF recently. Now the festival is in town, and I already saw quite a lot of great movies. More screenings today, and a bike polo tournament tomorrow which my team will compete in, hoping to reclaim the crown we won 2 years ago…
Here is the new BFF trailer:
Black Crows skis – new season
24 September 2009
Our new Black Crows collection has just gone online, and I’m really happy with how the designs came out, strong colors & simple graphics help us define a clear identity with each new season.
The new advert, shot – as usual – by Gregoire Alexandre:
A pile of skis, tops and bases:
Our new recruit, Chris Booth, in action:
And one of the founders, Bruno Compagnet:
Goodwood Revival
20 September 2009
As every year in September, I went to the Goodwood Revival, undoubtedly the best weekend event in the world. This may sound hyperbolic but I seriously think not much comes close. I haven’t been to Burning Man, to the Lumberjack World Championships or to some obscure music festivals in the remote Norwegian isles, but the mix of classic cars, bikes, planes, and the well-enforced dress code make the Revival a true step back in time.
We cycled from a nearby train station:
Everyone (including infants) makes the effort of dressing up in period clothing:
You have to anyway:
Some cars:
The planes take off and land from the airfield in the middle of the race track:
Motorbikes are there aplenty:
Loved the race transporters:
There was even a vintage bicycle store:
Make sure you click on the link I posted above and watch the short intro movie, which shows how hard all the vehicles get driven during the weekend!
Men’s File magazine
18 September 2009
Yesterday was the launch of Men’s File, “A Modern Magazine Tracing The Roots Of Style”. They had a party at the Dray Walk Gallery in London, and quite a lot of my friends were there, either showing pictures or just rocking up with their classic motorbikes. What a great scene, with real enthusiasts, miles away from the brain-dead fashion crowd, and yet extremely stylish and refined.
Our longtime collaborator Nick Clements was exhibiting some stunning images such as this one:
More images of the show:
Matt Hind had good stuff there too:
Lewis Leathers, Barbour and Royal Enfield did a collaboration:
