Photo: Stanley & Sons

Because a good thing needs to be mentioned twice or maybe three times. Spotted over at Reference Library and How To Change a Flat, is Stanley & Sons, an apron and bag company based out of Brooklyn. The founder, Chris Grodzki followed in his grandfather's footsteps and extended the family trade by launching the company in 2008 producing everyone of its products by hand. Though familiar fabrics are used like wax and unwaxed canvas along with recycled materials, there's still a distinction to the line considering the limit in quantity. It's not mass produced. Stanley & Sons is currently only available in three locations, Luddite, Eleven, and Save Khaki United but can also be ordered through their website.

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Photo: Staff

Porter, the Japanese bag company founded in 1962 by Yoshida & Co., based its business on the fundamental principal that passion is required in every stitch. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that you would be hard-pressed to find a Porter bag in the United States. As common and successful as the brand is in Japan, it was slow to arrive here. Though based in the U.K., Porter's collaboration with Monocle gave the company more recognition in the west, and little by little, stores like Steven Alan and Opening Ceremony began to carry a selection of designs from its vast catalog. We were able to preview Porter's Fall/Winter 2010 collection this morning which includes over 11 lines with several older lines (Tanker and Smokey) from past seasons. The collection carries on the tradition of durability and functionalism without compromising style. Ever conscious of its construction, Porter uses various traditional and non-traditional techniques including stitching cotton conventionally used for silk to create intricate patterns, hand dyeing, and mixing fabrics complementing and contrasting its final product. We were especially drawn towards the Deep Blue line which uses traditional techniques in dyeing its fabric from Kyoto which are then stonewashed giving it a natural texture. It also ages really well. 2010 may prove to be the year that Porter sees a wider distribution as they plan to collaborate on exclusive items with brands from Barneys to Bloomingdales. More photos after the jump.

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Photo: Heath Ceramics

Heath Ceramics in LA will be celebrating Mardi Gras with Louisiana native Clare Crespo. The artist, chef, writer, and TV personality has been inspiring kids and adults to be creative in the kitchen for some time now. She's also the mastermind behind Treat Street, a roving bake sale based in LA. For the jamboree at Heath Ceramics, Crespo will be serving gumbo, oysters, shrimp cocktail, soft-shell crab, and catfish po'boys. However, none of it will be edible, Crespo will be crocheting every food item which all will be lovingly displayed on Heath dinnerware. A reception will be held tomorrow evening from 6-8pm.

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Photo: BMW

For the past 35 years, BMW has been inviting artists to reinterpret the designs of their cars, beginning in 1975 with Alexander Calder. Only 16 artists have been selected for this project, including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, and Olafur Eliasson. Many of the past artists have used the vehicles as a canvas, except for Eliasson. Eliasson's reinterpretation of BMW's H2R's car is unrecognizable. He replaces its original frame with a new skin that resembles a metallic cocoon. BMW announced a couple of days ago that Jeff Koons will be its 17th artist. No information has been released yet on which car Koons has selected or what the designs will look like. The car is expected to be revealed later on this year. (via mediabistro)

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Photo: House Industries

It's a rare opportunity for one to walk through the interior of the Eames house, only patrons of the Eames Foundation is offered a tour. In celebration of the release of House Industries' Eames font collection, the type foundry and foundation have launched a contest for a chance at winning an exclusive Eames house sunset tour. It's good to see that people are still organizing benefits for Haiti. The San Francisco Community Art Show is a silent auction held on March 12th with all profits going towards Architecture for Humanity's work in Haiti. Over 40 artists will be participating including Barry McGee. Gordon Gekko returns, in the sequel to Wall Street with Oliver Stone directing. Money Never Sleeps opens April 22nd.

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Photo: Tiago Petinga

No other director is capable of romanticizing New York City like Woody Allen. His love affair with the city on film began in 1977 with Annie Hall but it was in Manhattan where Allen paid homage. From the opening shot of the film, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue builds from the introductory note of the clarinet and swells to a crescendo while the Manhattan skyline stands at the forefront. Allen embraces all its grittiness in lovely black and white. His appreciation for the music goes beyond its enjoyment, Allen is an extremely talented clarinet player as well. Barbara Kopple's 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues displays much of this as the camera follows Allen through a European tour. Good news for New Yorkers, its hometown auteur will be performing at The Carlyle every Monday night till May 31st with The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band.

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Photo: Herzog & de Meuron

Vitra's campus is situated in the small town of Weil am Rhein in Germany bordering Switzerland and France. The campus is a mecca for all design geeks, drawing professionals and enthusiast alike. Nowhere in the world is there such a large concentration of celebrated architects all in one location. The grounds inhabit buildings and structures designed by Tadao Ando, Buckminster Fuller, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Jasper Morrison, Jean Prouve, SANNA, and Herzog & de Meuron. Five of the eleven architects have been awarded the Pritzker prize, architecture's most prestigious award. As impressive as this collection of buildings are, it is even more stunning to realize that all of this began in 1981 after a fire devastated the campus. CEO, Rolf Feldbaum used this disaster as a turning point to rebuild. The latest in the succession of development is VitraHaus designed by Herzog & de Meuron. The building uses familiar elements such as the pitched roofs but mixes it in an unconventional way by randomly stacking the elongated structures on top of one another. The museum will house Vitra's home collection and is expected to open in March according to a recent post on their website.

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Photo: Anything

After working at Vitra and Areaware, Kip Kotzen started his own company, Neo-Utility, to assists with distribution and brand strategy for independent product design companies from around the world. The products Neo-Utility represent range from the functional to the decorative. We first came across one of Kotzen's clients while visiting Brooklyn's Matter, drawn to the strikingly simple yet bold colored staplers and stationery supplies, manufactured by Anything - a design duo operating out of Osaka and London. Then last fall we read Monica Khemsurov's entry in T Magazine on Miller Goodman's PlayShapes. The colorful wooden block toys are reminiscent of Naef's classic designs that even adults can appreciate. Neo-Utility runs a tight ship and is currently only working with eight companies. We look forward to seeing more.

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Photo: Gagosian Gallery

Damien Hirst's "End of an Era" opens at the Gagosian Gallery this Saturday. Hirst will be exhibiting new paintings and sculptures including the piece that the show is named after. The sculpture consists of a solid gold disc resting on top of a severed bull's head encased in formaldehyde. "End of an Era" references Hirst's departure from several series that he is known for. Though one can imagine that Hirst may be alluding to the financial collapse that effected the art market and possibly his fortunate run. The exhibition will be on view till March 6th. (via Nowness)

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Photo: Generation Press

Generation Press is auctioning off their 10 year anniversary poster set to benefit Haiti. Designed by Sanna Annukka, Michael C. Place, John O'Reilly, and Timothy Saccenti. Letterheady is an incredible archive of letterheads from the past from the historical to the quirky. Our friends over at Grain Edit has released a limited edition t-shirt designed by Seattle's Invisible Creature. C'H'C'M' opens a pop up shop this weekend starting Thursday and running to Sunday at Audio Visual Arts, 34 East 1st Street. (via Secret Forts)

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Photo: Jenny Pfeiffer

While living on opposite ends of the coast, New York and San Francisco, Aaron Carambula and Erik Marinovich launched Friends of Type via iChat. It was a reservoir for both designers to share their love of illustrative type, whether it be hand drawn, digitized or found. Since its inception in September of last year, the duo have been diligently posting original and inspiring type explorations, while recruiting two other designers to add to the mix. Now the team of four have decided to release its first printed edition. By assigning a word to each of the designers, Friends of Type have created the letterpress set "Always Play Amongst Friends." Limited to 100 pieces, each set contains four prints meticulously produced by Jordan Provost of enormouschampion. The set goes on sale today over at Friends of Type. More photos after the jump.

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Photo: Bob Peak

You can see a bit of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt in Bob Peak's work, though his originality and influence on contemporary movie posters are unmistakable. Peak is best known for many of his stylized movie posters from the 60s and 70s. From schlocks like Rollerball and The Liquidator to classics like Camelot and Apocalypse Now. His career spanned over four decades, originally beginning in advertising. Browsing through his site, it's interesting to see the studies that came before the final, especially Apocalypse Now. Though you see the impact he's had on the industry, mainly the floating heads, one can't compare what is happening now with the mastery in Bob Peak's work.

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Photo: Bureau of Friends

So much about what we discuss on this site seem to be meaningless compared to the tragedies of what is happening in Haiti. But we try and do what we can, and little by little, we hope our efforts amount to something that will make a difference. Maria Moyer from Bureau of Friends is taking an initiative by assembling her friends together for a benefit auction, gathering a premium list of items and services from Heath Ceramics, Adam Silverman, Billy Reid for men, Lutz & Patmos, and Alabama Chanin. 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards Architecture for Humanity's work in Haiti. The auction started yesterday and will end on Monday. We commend Maria for her proactive spirit and her benevolent efforts.

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Photo: The Jazz Loft Project

From 1957 to 1965, legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith lived in a dilapidated five story loft in the floral district. He traded in the conventional comforts for musical culture. The building was a popular after hours hang out for jazz musicians. Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Alice Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Don Cherry were among the performers there. Smith was able to document that moment not only in photographs but through audio as well, recording 1,740 reels that totaled 4,000 hours of performance, street noise, and radio and television broadcast. The loft wasn't exclusive to musicians, Salvador Dali and Norman Mailer were among its patrons. On February 17, the The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will be presenting The Jazz Loft Project. Collecting 200 images and several hours of remastered audio from Smith's archive of that era. The exhibition will be on view till May 22. Thank you Erin for the heads up on this exhibit.

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Photo: SD26

From dinnerware and subway maps to interiors and furniture, Massimo Vignelli appears to have designed it all. Working with clients that span the spectrum that touches upon aspects of our daily life. Vignelli is a pure modernist, his designs are clean, pragmatic, and beautiful. The latest issue of Edible Manhattan interviews Vignelli about his love of food and design including the work he did for the three month old Italian restaurant SD26. Massimo Vignelli will be speaking in February on a panel discussing the "past, present and future of the New York City subway signage."

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