Material Archive

Grace Coddington: A Memoir

So – what did I think?

It's an interesting read.

She's led a full life with many big fashion moments and collaborations. Some of which inspire massive eye rolls, and surprise at how much smaller the industry seemed in her early days, and others that are more quietly poignant and charming. The book is packed with name dropping and celebrities, so it's juicy enough on that front.

The idea of writing a memoir does make one pause though. It seems like an incredibly hard task to pull off without glossing over truly seminal events or over-indulging in others. The result can seem like a bit of a vain mess and not terribly dignified in the end. I sympathize, as I love the idea of a good biography, but they are rarely done well.

All that aside, if you're looking for a fun and light "fashion" book, this super quick read, will do ya. Took me one day to finish it.

 

Today I Bought: The Unknown Hipster Diaries

Love Jean-Philippe Delhomme. 

Only a 1000 copies of the book were printed, each numbered. Go to Amazon to purchase your copy. 

Faux Books from The Royal Tenenbaums

Criterion releases the books featured in The Royal Tenenbaums. Super fun.

Rings (the sparkly kind for your fingers) by Thames & Hudson

 

If you love antique jewelry as much as do, I highly recommend picking up this great Thames & Hudson book by Diana Scarisbrick.

The styles they span are comprehensive and the photography is nice and detailed. It kills any desire to buy a generic, assembly line Tiffany ring again!

Penguin's Great Food Series

If you enjoy reading about food – this series should be on your radar. I just picked up several books from it and am in the midst of reading "Murder in the Kitchen" – which is more my speed since I enjoy a great story versus just straight up cook book. Here's a synopsis:

"In this memoir-turned-cookbook, Alice B. Toklas describes her life with partner Gertrude Stein and their famed Paris salon, which entertained the great avant-garde and literary figures of their day.

With dry wit and characteristic understatement Toklas ponders the ethics of killing a carp in her kitchen before stuffing it with chestnuts; decorating a fish to amuse Picasso at lunch; and travelling across France during the First World War in an old delivery truck, gathering local recipes along the way. She includes a friend's playful recipe for 'Haschiche Fudge', which promises 'brilliant storms of laughter and ecstatic reveries', much like her book."

 

Modernist Cuisine – mostly no Photoshop

When I first saw this series of books, I assumed it was almost all retouching that produced the amazing cut-away photograpy – but alas, as this Ted talk shows, the majority of imagery is a result of actually sawing dishware and appliances in half! Pretty cool.

Watch several other videos on the book here.

Read a great article about Nathan Myhrvold, the book's co-author, and the former CTO of Microsoft, here.

Alexander McQueen : Savage Beauty

With an absolutely eerie and haunting cover of McQueen morphing from portrait to skull, Savage Beauty is a must own for any lover of fashion – a beautiful book.

Jeni's Splendid Ice-Creams At Home: The Book

The last two weeks have been a bit rough at work and so @itbitme decided to cheer me up with a wee preezie when I arrived home today. How lucky am I? :)

Jeni's Splendid Ice-Creams At Home is a book that catalogues Jeni's 15 year history of making all manner of ice-creams in her bakery / creamery.

I'm super excited to try:

♥  Grapefruit Hibiscus Frozen Yogurt

♥  Wildberry Lavender Ice Cream

♥  Toasted Rice Ice Cream with a Wiff of Coconut & Black Tea

♥  Earl Grey & Cherries Ice Cream

♥  Cucumber, Honeydew & Cayenne Frozen Yogurt

♥  Star Anise Ice Cream with Candied Fennel Seeds

♥  Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Torched Marshmallows

 
Stay tuned – experiments will be documented!

In the meantime, here's a cute video about JSIC:

 

 

Louis Vuittton Travel Guides: The Perfect Gift

 

 

 

 

 

Faced with finding a fun gift for a friend this weekend, I remembered an old stand-by that always pleases. Louis Vuitton City Guides are a fool proof option for friends that love to travel in style – concise, compact, reliable, useful and so pretty.

I bought my first set in 2000 and carried the Paris edition in my handbag the whole time I lived in France.

Found some charming video excerpts here about Paris & New York:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Koto Bolofo’s book "La Maison" is finally available

 

 

 After six years of detailed documentation of everything Hermès, Koto's book is finally available for purchase.

Here's more info:

Koto Bolofo’s dream came true in 2004 when he started working for Monde d’Hermès, the Hermès magazine, and when he met the Chairman: “Mr Dumas asked where I came from. I said South Africa. He asked what part. I said Lesotho. He was shocked and very excited. He explained that his great great great grandfather was a missionary in Lesotho and that the Zulus used to attack his mission, but the Sothos – my tribe – protected him. I was very happy to be a Lesothan in Mr Dumas’s office that day. He called me his cousin and said that his cousin was welcome any time and I had carte blanche to photograph what I liked in Hermès”.

Over the next six years, Koto Bolofo worked his way through all the workshops of the Maison Hermès, getting to know the craftsmen and discovering how everything is made: from handbags, perfumes, scarves, prêt-à-porter, and shoes to the original objects of the house, saddles. Nothing escaped his lens, even the most secret places, such as the museum, a treasure trove of history and all things Hermès tucked away in the midst of the Maison on rue du faubourg St Honoré.

Romance Novel Covers Recreated

"Sometimes we sit for hours staring at a sea shell. Other times he'll hold me by the neck in front of the Pyramids. But there's nothing we like more than NEARLY kissing each other near some horses. I always try to look hot in front of him so he doesn't leave me."

See the series here.

Kafka Editions from Schocken

Amazingly wonderful. By Peter Mendelsund

Debbie Millman's "Look Both Ways"

 

Just finished reading Debbie Millman's "Look Both Ways" – a collection of essays that surprised me by their intensely personal connection to the author. A quick read that took me a couple of hours one lazy afternoon, the book covers a series of reflections Debbie has about certain brands or even city landmarks that she has come across in her life. In the book she recounts how profoundly humans connect to stories and ideas that brands represent and how we can create entire worlds around these things, places or concepts. Essentially, this idea, is the cornerstone of all branding and advertising and she punctuates this repeatedly by giving examples of her strong ties to the ideas specific brands embody.

All told the book is engaging because the voice of the author is sincere and authentic and the presentation of the text as handwritten pages is charming.

That said, I was disappointed that after her long successful career, that she felt the need to end the series by saying that anyone that pursues our line of work (commercial art / advertising / branding) has somewhat sold out just because it's a secure living. I think I would have reframed the path she was heading with this idea (because she clearly states she is looking for the next professional chapter/challenge in her life) and simply stated that humans cannot do one thing for their entire lives and expect to be satisfied. Sure, that's how things are structured so you can climb the ladder, build credibility and make more money – granted. But humans, in my humble opinion, are only truly happy when there is a steady and consistent opportunity to grow and learn something new. After 20+ years in any business, a person could get restless – sure. Does this mean one should suddenly discount their career choice and abandon it? Or should they just acknowledge that maybe it's time for a change?

Our industry gets so much flack for not being real, or artistic or worthy of respect. Sure, if you want to judge an entire industry by the lowest common denominator, you can label it crap pretty easily. But given that Debbie chose not only to devote her professional life and career to it, but also create a book with countless stories about the strong connection of her love for various brands – surely there is something of value there to her that transcends merely selling buying and stuff? As I see it, her questioning of her next professional step causes her to undermine the whole point she is making in the book.

Branding and advertising is modern day story telling. Yes, it's littered with bullshit and crap, but there is also work out there that changes not just what people buy – but how they think, act and treat one another. The transformational power of brands is big, real and can be awe inspiring and can change the world. So why call yourself (and the rest of us) a sell-out? Was Tibor a sell-out? I wish people in our industry would stop apologizing for what they do and own it – celebrate it.  We work hard and sometimes, we get projects and clients that provide the most marvelous opportunities to change perceptions.

Understanding human desire and motivation is fascinating and it drives and inspires me daily to create new ways of communicating. Whether it's for potato chips, phones, handbags or oatmeal, landmine awareness or protecting freedom of speech – there is value in all of it. No regrets over here.

Vanity Fair: A new edition

Love the combination of pink and green. More here.

Carl Kleiner for Ikea's Cookbook: Hembakat är Bäst

 

    



Genius. See more here.

Beautiful Book Design: The Geometry of Pasta

Came arcoss this lovely book jacket design at TYPE last weekend. See more here.

 

 

66 Drives By Andrew Bush

"Andrew Bush (b. 1956) examines this tension between private and public in his remarkable series of photographs of individuals driving cars in and around Los Angeles—a city famous for its car culture. By attaching a camera to the passenger side window, Bush made these pictures while driving alongside his subjects—often traveling at 60 mph. Taking notes on the speed and direction he was going, Bush created extended captions for the images and called the series Vector Portraits."  See the whole series here.

Bookshelf Porn

The secret bookshelf and the swivel bookcase wall are amazing aren't they? I'm addicted to Bookshelf Porn. Another great find via SM.

Next on my book shopping list: "I Wonder" by Marian Bantjes

Marian is like the Eddie Van Halen of modern typography – I'm excited to get my sticky fingers on this volume!

Jean Philippe Delhomme

One of my favourite books that I bought last year was Jean-Philippe Delhomme's The Cultivated Life. Today, after reading an article in Interview magazine, I was delighted to discover that he has a marvelous new blog under the nom de plume “The Unknown Hipster”. I think I love this man.

BookBook: nifty case for your laptop

 

Kinda cute eh? Buy it here and found here at DailyPoetics.

J. D. Salinger: "Holden Caulfield is unactable."

 

Here's the transcript:

R. D. 2
Windsor, Vt.
July 19, 1957

Dear Mr. Herbert,

I'll try to tell you what my attitude is to the stage and screen rights of The Catcher in the Rye. I've sung this tune quite a few times, so if my heart doesn't seem to be in it, try to be tolerant....Firstly, it is possible that one day the rights will be sold. Since there's an ever-looming possibility that I won't die rich, I toy very seriously with the idea of leaving the unsold rights to my wife and daughter as a kind of insurance policy. It pleasures me no end, though, I might quickly add, to know that I won't have to see the results of the transaction. I keep saying this and nobody seems to agree, but The Catcher in the Rye is a very novelistic novel. There are readymade "scenes" - only a fool would deny that - but, for me, the weight of the book is in the narrator's voice, the non-stop peculiarities of it, his personal, extremely discriminating attitude to his reader-listener, his asides about gasoline rainbows in street puddles, his philosophy or way of looking at cowhide suitcases and empty toothpaste cartons - in a word, his thoughts. He can't legitimately be separated from his own first-person technique. True, if the separation is forcibly made, there is enough material left over for something called an Exciting (or maybe just Interesting) Evening in the Theater. But I find that idea if not odious, at least odious enough to keep me from selling the rights. There are many of his thoughts, of course, that could be labored into dialogue - or into some sort of stream-of-consciousness loud-speaker device - but labored is exactly the right word. What he thinks and does so naturally in his solitude in the novel, on the stage could at best only be pseudo-simulated, if there is such a word (and I hope not). Not to mention, God help us all, the immeasurably risky business of using actors. Have you ever seen a child actress sitting crosslegged on a bed and looking right? I'm sure not. And Holden Caulfield himself, in my undoubtedly super-biassed opinion, is essentially unactable. A Sensitive, Intelligent, Talented Young Actor in a Reversible Coat wouldn't nearly be enough. It would take someone with X to bring it off, and no very young man even if he has X quite knows what to do with it. And, I might add, I don't think any director can tell him.

I'll stop there. I'm afraid I can only tell you, to end with, that I feel very firm about all this, if you haven't already guessed.

Thank you, though, for your friendly and highly readable letter. My mail from producers has mostly been hell.

Sincerely,

(Signed, 'J. D. Salinger')

J. D. Salinger

Here's the link to the original post: Holden Caulfield is unactable.

Taschen's Barcelona

 

Since I've been doing research on Barcelona, I thought I would share the lovely series of books from Taschen that I like to refer to when visiting certain cities. All of the books (Paris, London, Berlin, New York & Barcelona) are so well designed and thought out and have beautifully illustrated covers and maps.

 

My Wonderful World of Fashion by Nina Chakrabarti

I know a couple tweens (and queens) that will be getting this great fashion colouring book for xmas! ;-)

The Book on Prada

Here is an exerpt from the Wall Street Journal:

"This month, Prada moved dresses around its store to make room for a new arrival: the Prada book. Clocking in at over 700 pages, the new tome was designed by architecture firm 2×4 and retails for $125 at Prada stores and select bookshops. The book, which features a few words by enigmatic designer Miuccia Prada, makes its case via glossy photos and seductive graphic design. While that’s expected for what’s ostensibly a fashion book, the publication also flashes its architectural pedigree. Sections on past runway show spaces are illustrated with floor plans. A chapter entitled “Place” presents form development, zoning guidelines and photos of building models as well as circulation plans. It’s an intellectual approach to fashion, which is in keeping with Prada’s sensibilities. But the book also makes the case for a subtly immersive brand experience. The Prada brand is no longer limited to clothing and personal space. Branding, at least Prada’s take on it, assumes a place in the media ether, of course, but its extrapolation leads to an engagement with bigger and bigger public spheres. Where other labels might stop at a boutique, Prada has commissioned “epicenters” by Herzog & de Meuron in Tokyo and Rem Koolhaas’ OMA in Los Angeles.  In Tokyo, the epicenter includes a public gathering space, while LA’s store is notable for a facade that bears no logo or name on the building. These epicenters, Rem Koolhaas writes in the book, “function as a conceptual window - a medium to broadcast future directions that positively charges the larger mass of stores.”

Just reserved my copy. See more here.

A must buy: Pictorial Webster's

Wow - this video of how the handmade Pictorial Webster's is printed and assembled is truly inspiring and a real labour of love.

If you're not familiar with the book or project here's a little intro from Drawn and a link to the book site.

"Fans and students of engraving, traditional printing processes, art history, and 19th-century ephemera alike should, like I did, fall instantly in love with Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities. Bookmaker John M. Carrera meticulously restored thousands of engravings from the pages of 19th-century Webster’s dictionaries, and has compiled an extraordinary visual account of Victorian history. In his introduction to the book, Carrrera suggests that the very juxtapositions of the illustrations tell a story: "The conceptual underpinning is that this book can act as a springboard for individual creativity. It was printed with a belief that the human compulsion to find meaning would lead readers to create stories that explain whole pages and perhaps even inspire some to derive unifying threads that might, in a Joycean fashion, enable a narration of the entire book."

It is a creative and romantic way to look at what amounts to a collection of images very purposefully arranged in alphabetical order, but he continues to admit the book is invaluable even just as pure reference: "The surface function of the book as a visual reference needs little explanation. The book contains many great examples of how to solve problems of illustration. … By virtue of the magnitude of engravings, their varying density and size, the book also becomes a study in design."

In this video I found on Vimeo, John Carrera gives us a detailed tour of the process, tools, and machinery used to print and bind the hand-made jaw-dropping deluxe edition of the book. It is nothing short of book-making porn."

It's all about self-initiated projects

This book looks like an inspiration in the right direction for any designers looking to market their own ideas outside of their agency jobs.

Rules for My Unborn Son

The blog is now a book! You can pre-order at Amazon. Here are some of my favourite rules:

393. Never eat lunch at your desk.
389. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
376. If you need music on the beach, you're missing the point.
375. Don't pose with booze.
335. If you're good at something, never do it for free
334. Unless you served, no fatigues.
330. Give credit. Take the blame.
328. Write down your dreams.
325. When excusing yourself from the table, you need not give a reason.
321. When it comes to opening presents, no one likes a good guesser
301. Dress for the job you want, not for the one you have.
296. Never turn down an invitation to speak in public.
290. Order dessert.
287. Make your own costume.
285. Sleep with the window open.
279. Take her picture.
270. Stand up to bullies. You'll only have to do it once.
249. Identify your most commonly used word or phrase, and eliminate it.
245. Look people in the eye when you thank them, especially waiters.
242. Hang artwork at eye-level.
239. Never post a picture online you wouldn't feel comfortable showing your mother, your boss, and the dean of admissions.
232. There is exactly one place where it is acceptable to wear gym clothes.
229. Write letters. On paper.
226. Never ask about another person's grades or salary.
224. Cite your sources, even online.
208. Don't salt your food until you have tasted it.
201. Order the local specialty.
171. Know the proper time to wear a tuxedo. It's more often than you think.
169. Be nice to your sister. You are her confidante, cheerleader, and bodyguard.
144. Offer your name when greeting someone. Even good friends have lousy memories.
123. Don't poke fun at contemporary art. Put it in context.
117. Be a good listener. Don't just wait your turn to talk.
113. When in doubt, wear a tie.
103. Offer to carry a woman's bags. Especially your mother's.
90. Push-ups and sit-ups are all you'll ever need to build muscle.
78. Keep your word.
72. Never go out of your way to be on TV.
65. Read the good majority of a newspaper everyday.
63. Send postcards.
59. Socks are not necessary in the summer, no matter how formal the occasion
57. Befriend your local butcher.
53. Offer your seat to a woman, no matter how old she is.
49. Call your mom.
48. In the long run, loyalty trumps ambition every time.
45. Wrap your own presents.
44. Remember birthdays and give thoughtful gifts.
37. If you can afford it, buy your own tuxedo.
29. Absolutely no piercings or tattoos, unless you are in the armed forces.
26. Never talk during a movie. Arrive early and go for center seats.
24. Write thank you notes promptly on personalized correspondence cards.
16. You are what you do, not what you say.
13. Avoid gossip.
9. Stand up for the little guy
5. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
1. You Can Never Overdress

Wonderful Design Resource: Counter-Print

 

In their own words: "Counter-print.co.uk is dedicated to the promotion and sale of Art and Design related material. Often out of print or hard to find, we aim to celebrate both forgotten gems as well as those heralded designers that we all admire."

Store Front – The Disappearing Face of New York

I saw this incredible book a while ago at Magic Pony and fell in love – but as usual – I didn't buy it because it was too heavy! This happens all too frequently to me... I see a great book but can't cope with the idea of schlepping it all around the city for the rest of the afternoon and so I don't ever get it. I will have to make a trip especially for it  – along with the Lanvin and Valentino tomes on my list!

Anyhow, now that I have bored you with the logistics of my book shopping habits – can you believe how great these shots are? This collection of New York's beautiful, decaying old store front facades are like precious little windows in to the past. The signage design, lettering and materials are all eye-candy. Read more about the book from it's authors here.

Stéphane Reynaud's French Feasts

I saw this book at Good Egg on the weekend and have added it to my Christmas wish list! If you've seen Stéphane Reynaud's previous book Pork & Sons, then you can expect the same standard of fare in this edition with equally beautiful styling and photography .

 


 

Vintage Language Book Illustrations

Aren't these amazing? Click to see larger. via Pillipat

Neat!

Eat Pray Love – The Movie

I must have been asleep when they announced this, I had no idea Julia Roberts was cast to play Elizabth Gilbert. Not that I should be surprised by the choice, Julia didn't exactly look anything like Erin Brockovich either! Above are some stills from Julia shooting on location now.

Vintage Country Fair Magazine Covers

Aren't these book covers amazing? The jacket colours are so lovely. Beautifully illustrated by John Hanna in 1954-57.
Found at Full Table & Uppercase

Great illustration book

One of my absolute favourite books on illustration –The Age of Feminine Drawing is essentially a showcase of some the best illustrators out there currently that focus on feminine themes. It is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. (Images from Amazon and SweetNee)

The Sartorialist finally has his book

Buy it here

Penguin Classics: Coralie Bickford-Smith does it again

 

In the bottom row here – I merged the first set, released last year, with the new volumes so that you could see how lovely they would all look on your shelf at once.

Lovely vintage book covers

 

 

You know what's really awesome?

If you have a child or know someone that does – go buy them a copy of this book by Shel Silverstein after you get one for yourself. A true classic that was very unusual for the time given that it did not have a fairytale ending. I still have the copy my father gave me when I was 7.

On the To Buy list:

So far, the reviews for this book are quite favourable. It's the first time chef Vefa Alexiadou's recipes have been compiled into one definitive collection of Greek cuisine. With 650 recipes and 200 photos it seems like a must-have for anyone that loves Greek food.

Great Book Jacket Design

I was just flipping through Penguin By Design and came across this great book jacket illustration done in 1958 by David Gentleman and was instantly smitten. I am constantly amazed by the power of great design to motivate action even when you don't want or need the item in question. In this case the subject matter is actually of interest – and I've ready found a few vintage copies online. ;-)

I ♥ Julia Child and am worried I'll hate the Julie & Julia movie...hmmm

I read Julia Child's memoir back in February while on vaca and loved every word. She was truly one of a kind and led an amazing life – a life that was certainly worthy of it's own bio-pic instead of some soft Hollywood hybrid. Julie & Julia opens this weekend and I'm weary but will go see it. Luckily, it has the remarkable Meryl Streep – so I know I'm guaranteed to enjoy her portion.

If you can bare it, here's my "book report" on My Life in France as originally published on The Pink Cannonball:

Title and author: My Life in France/Julia Child, 333 pages

One sentence summary of the book: Julia Child's metamorphosis into a French cooking wizard through her experiences with her husband Paul in France in the 1950s and 60s.

Something I learned: Julia only learned to cook in her late thirties. What I found remarkable was that she discovered a profound passion and her life’s calling at that age. One often thinks that that sort of discovery and mastery would happen earlier on in life but it didn’t for her and never slowed her down. It was as if once that door was opened – she sunk her teeth into it and never let go.

Best part: Her passion and curiosity for food knew no boundaries and leapt off the page. She sought out experts on everything and learned from them while her enthusiasm motivated those around her to help and get involved.

Worst part: It definitely would have been interesting to hear about her time in Germany and Norway as well and what happened during the McCarthy investigation done on her husband, but I also felt it wrapped everything up at the end a bit too abruptly. That said, she did die before the book was completed so that might account for it. ;-(

Yeah or Neah: Yeah! She’s an inspiring woman who worked extremely hard and earned her success. She researched, experimented and really pushed herself with no short cuts. Every recipe she’s ever put into a book was tested endlessly, refined, tested again and then given the Julia seal of approval. Her first book took 10 years to write because of this! She also was extremely disciplined – whenever she needed to demonstrate a segment on TV, she would rehearse several times beforehand to get the timing and coordination right.

Why this book? I love anything to do with France and good food. I also love biographies – so it was a winning combination. Also, when I was on a trip to D.C. with my beloved friends visiting the Smithsonian Institute, we saw her famous kitchen there re-assembled from her home base, where all of her cooking shows were taped. I thought it was so neat and charming.

Anything else? Julia had the conviction of self to stay the course and not change the format or length of her first ground-breaking book even though it was rejected several times. She believed that there were others out there like her that wanted to master French cooking in an accessible manner with the types of ingredients and tools found in the common American kitchen. She was innovative and had a singular focus which I admire. I also loved how utterly supportive and loving her relationship with her husband appeared to be. They were a real team.

To watch the old bird make an omelet, click here

Cheeky Musings on Fashion

Made me laugh out loud more than a few times. Mindless fun.

On my shopping list: Paris By Hand

It's heavy – literally

Every time I see this book at Chapters, I swoon and then realize it's too heavy to carry around during the rest of my errands for the day. Next month I will treat myself and make a special trip just because. :-)