As the LES gentrifies and landlords realize how valuable their properties are, I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot more situations like this. Fried Dumpling at 99 Allen Street has been a staple in our weekly meal rotation since we moved into the neighborhood. The reason? You can get 5 fried dumplings, 4 pork buns, 2 spring rolls or hot and sour soup – all for $1. It didn’t matter that the spot was dirty and received multiple health violations… all of those reservations went out the door as soon as you bit into a juicy pork & chive dumpling fresh out of the pan.
Upon seeing this sign a few weeks ago, I was tempted to write something on there to express my discontent but thought better of it. I did some searching and it appears as though someone already beat me to the punch. Goodbye, Fried Dumpling. You will be dearly missed.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts how it’s great to see our clothing in unexpected places. Here’s a prime example of that – ESPN the magazine used a few of our pieces in this shoot they did for their NFL draft preview issue. The piece is really interesting in that they give background information and coverage to players that won’t be drafted in the first round… I like stories about underdogs and will definitely be on the lookout for them come NFL season now that I’ve read about them.
In this photo Graham Harrell (QB, Texas Tech) wears our Double Breasted Peacoat and Mitch King (DL, Iowa) has our pinstriped Fleece Cardigan on. Thanks go to our friend Aria for getting us involved.
I met Tim Chan – managing editor at Corduroy Magazine – at Capsule NY earlier this year. I was already familiar with his magazine, having seen previous issues at The Reed Space… I remember being extremely impressed with the writing, the photography and even the quality of the paper that it was printed on. We caught lunch a few weeks later and Tim was able to explain their vision for the publication in depth, and their desire for timeless, classic work resonated with me. When he asked me to do an interview for their website, I was happy to oblige. His talented partner, Peter Ash Lee, is responsible for the photos. Click here to read it.
Our good friend Jeff Hamada (Booooooom) is in town for a few days to attend the F5 Re:fresh conference and graciously offered to bring me along. Although I’m no motion graphics connoisseur, I definitely had an appreciation for the people who made presentations today and the work they do. I started to realize how much I take this type of work for granted and how far-reaching it is in our daily lives, from commercials to movie title sequences and everything in between. Some of the more inspiring works I saw:
The Blackheart Gang, who hail from South Africa, created a fictional world and made “The Tale of How” as one of a trilogy of short films to display their work. Even the music score was composed by them.
Although they made the film as art (they all held day jobs at the time), it led to them being commissioned by United Airlines for this sea orchestra commercial – you can definitely see their creative stamp carried forward:
Another guy whose work I really enjoyed was Asif Mian. He directed this Aesop Rock video back in 2005:
And more recently, this Woodhands video:
He, along with the rest of the team at 1st Avenue Machine, recently completed work on Mute Math‘s newest video, “Spotlight.” We got to see a sneak peek of the video as well as the actual machines they built for it. (The video is going to be released tomorrow on their Myspace page.)
I’m looking forward to seeing and learning more tomorrow.
Max at All Plaidout has put together a very thorough recap of a recent visit he made to Quoddy Trail’s manufacturing facilities in Perry, ME – complete with tons of great photos. It’s a very well written post that goes beyond simply throwing pictures up… it offers insight into the company’s history as well as Max’s personal insight on the journey of the moccasin from its Native American roots to its unlikely fashion appeal today.
Although I haven’t had the pleasure of making the trip up to Quoddy yet, I plan to do so in the near future – for now I will be content to finally meet Kevin Shorey, the VP of Quoddy Trail, here in NYC next week after months of phone conversations.
