More than Meets the Eye

As everyone around the office knows, I’m working on designing my patio- a simple white box, filled with light and myriad options. I’ve been vacillating on ideas, from how to reflect MORE light, infusing color with mosaic tile, trickling water features, graphic seating options and of course… plants.
 You simply can’t enjoy an outdoor patio without some lush vegetation…and according to Norwegian design Studio PUSHAK, art galleries could use a little flora and fauna as well.
I was green with envy upon seeing pictures of these moss-covered walls and arches designed for the Moss Your City installation at The Architecture Foundation’s London headquarters. It gives me great ideas for my patio walls!
PUSHAK believes that individuals should take responsibility for greening cities to create more amenable, vibrant and healthier places to live, not just leaving it to architects and city planners. In the spirit of this,  they’ve created a catalogue for this exhibition, showing people how to get involved in urban gardening projects in South London, and provide a  recipe for ‘moss graffiti’ so that they too can Moss Your City.

I might have to get my hands on that catalogue so I can first “Moss My Patio”…then deal with the rest of LA!

Flying.. it’s the one thing man just can’t do on his own: from Icarus, Linbergh, The Wright brothers and those crazy folks at Red Bull…man just keeps on the quest of flight.

As a kid- I dreamed of flying (and not much has changed as an adult!) and to that end, I love the book Mr. Vertigo, a novel written by Paul Auster. It’s the story of  Walter, a young orphaned boy from St. Louis, who happens upon a mysterious traveler named Master Yehudi, who  trains Walter to fly. The two then begin travel across the United States performing this feat at circus sideshows.

Capturing that feeling of flying, or falling… the same weightless sensation, is a specialty of my dear friend Margo Mortiz. Margo, a former dancer who spent a portion of her life flying and subsequently falling to a graceful landing, creates intimate photographs capturing this moment.

Her new series has won the Avant Guardian competition of Surface magazine and will be part of a great exhibition this fall in San Francisco call “Exquisite Abandon
Opening reception Thursday Sept 2nd from 5.30 to 7.30 and until Sept 30th
If you want to experience her captivating images immediately, her new works are exhibited at the Laguna Beach Art Festival through the end of August.

I was in Laguna Beach this weekend, which gave me the opportunity to visit an out-of-the-box store that I’ve been hearing about for quite a while now. 225 Forest is a concept store revolution, bringing together uniquely customizable Hurley, Nike and Converse products. This place, where merchandise plays second fiddle to art, is dominated by a mind-blowing 3 story painted “book wall” that encourages anyone who walks through the door to unleash their inner artist.
 
And the artist’s canvas? Sneakers of course!
“Converse Ink,” one of the custom services, allow visitors to print any one of dozens of artist designs available onto blank Chucks or t-shirts using a 3-D ink jet printer. The concept, which made its world debut at 225, also features exclusive footwear and apparel.
 
225 Forest <http://www.225forest.com/>
225 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA 92651 tel. +1 949 494 7907
 
Worth the trip, I snapped a few photos while I was there, and some landscape pics with my iPhone Hipstamatic app.

I just got my new iphone 4 and I love apps! It’s all the little things that make life easier, or just more fun.So here are some of my new favorite apps to get you set for the weekend.

 Hipstamatic: Digital Photography Never Looked So Analog

Shazam: Can’t live without music, just like our brands John Varvatos and Converse! Discover anything that you hear anywhere.

Hazel Mail: I never remember to send postcards! Buy them, write them address them, find a stamp…..find the postbox… FORGET IT! No longer will I get myself into trouble… Now I can just send any picture I take, and Hazel Mail will print it for me, post it for me. First one is free!

…and the last one is the funny one, I laugh a lot with this one…

Talking Tom: Make the cat repeat anything you say, record it and send it to people.

French architect Jean Nouvel has been selected to design the new Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London. A tradition in its 10^th year, these flexible auditoria will host Serpentine Gallery Park nights and of course, shield the public from London’s ever-present rain.

The dramatic cantilevered structure has been conceived in an incredible vivid red, which not only pops off the garden’s bright green lawns and brightens a gloomy day, but is the signature color of many everyday British icons, like double decker buses, post boxes, and world-recognized telephone booths.  The modern red chairs, ping pong tables, hammocks, the curtains…. appear to be all laser cut from the same pantone chip! Accommodating design, outrageously uncommon color!

 Color is powerful medicine.  There is no confusion about what an injection of red will do.It’s hot, powerful and passionate. It’s angry and devilish, it’s bursting with love and joy.It is undoubtedly a color of strength. 

Color is thoughtfully chosen when it comes to eyewear; from our perspective as designers we create a trio of tones for each frame. One cool, one conservative and one warm. Maybe it’s time to a shock of red to the system.

We’ve been adding some really colorful, playful details to our frames lately, mostly in the collections that can accommodate a little extra splash. Lipstick, Pop Corn and sometimes, Converse and Lucky, can support slashes of color and abstract detail.I work together with the factories, challenging them to create new color combinations and patterns that will become head-turning acetate temples. In order to get there they have to PLAY, one of the most crucial elements in the creative process.Someone else who’s playing? Artist Megan Geckler. Toy of choice? Flagging tape.The notions aren’t that dis-similar: As Geckler says,”Generally, I think about how the viewer is going to encounter the work. A ‘wow or WTF’ moment, followed by wandering around and experiencing the piece from all different angles. There is a sense of play, but also quiet.”

An interesting detail about the creation of the piece is that over 700 man-hours were required. That’s A LOT of playing- with inspiring, one-of-a-kind results!

The design and architecture firm of loenhart & mayr has recently designed a panoramic tower on the Mur River, in Austrian region of Styria. The structure’s shape is founded on the double spiral that Maximilian the Emperor utilized in nearby Graz Castle in 1499. The skyward bound stairway is made of two polygonal helicoid stairs connecting at the top, for the ultimate vista point.
It is interesting to consider how the tower, although geometric and metallic, establishes a harmonious relationship with the surrounding woody landscape. The relationship of man-made and nature keeping their own autonomy and personality, but complimenting each other.
How does this relate to eyewear? I’m not sure, it is incredible design!

Something that people rarely think about when it comes to eyewear design is feel. Glasses, by nature, revolve around sight: they correct your vision, and we tend focus on how they look on your face, with your wardrobe, and how they accentuate your outward personal image.

The sensation of touch is crucial to how we define an item: the high thread count in sheets or the smooth gloss on a new car translates universally into “luxury”.The same goes for eyewear. They may look great, but when it comes to something that is going to be on your face everyday, they have to feel great too. Glasses should feel strong, supple and most of all, personal.

To this end, I have been exploring textures, and I am really enjoying the tactile quality of wood grain right now.

I’ve employed it on these new Converse Heritage optical frames. Not only does it add a depth of interest visually, it has an organic personality to the touch. The color and design are thoroughly modern, while the texture speaks to handcrafted vintage: a dichotomy that creates eyewear with real character.

Converse Heritage Parquet and Marquis

It’s difficult to say which has more significance: a permanent piece of artwork, or something fleeting. While paintings like the Mona Lisa gather value and fame (and dust!) through the ages, instillations like Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates in New York’s central park become that of legend, living on in people’s personal history and storytelling. I am a great supporter of this execution and perspective on art, which was at the heart of my agency, “les Marrons” when I first arrived in New York.

In the spirit of enjoying art in the now, a new ephemeral installation has been completed in my hometown of Normandy France. Camille, the latest work by Arne Quinze spans the Seine in Rouen, on the bridge that divides the city. Named after Claude Monet’s wife and fellow artist Pisarro, the installation is signature Arne Quinze: an exuberant entanglement of colorful wooden beams and slats that are meant to provoke dialogue and bring people together. The piece is 120 meters in length and weighs in at 110 tons supported by eighteen concrete footings. Camille has been erected for the summer festival Rouen Impressionnée.

I’m in the middle of developing an incredible product and campaign for our Converse brand…but I am afraid I’ll have to keep you in the dark until we reveal it this fall. While we’ve been developing this frame, we’ve had the freedom to dream, explore and play with technologies and concepts.

Many members of my team, from art to communications, and of course product, have been whole-heartedly participating in this enchanting state of exploration. It’s wonderful to see my colleagues suddenly race across the room bursting with an idea, or overhear the escalating banter when a brainstorm really gets rolling.

As Marcel Wanders says… its MAGIC. Fantasy…magic… the intangible seed that inspires, awes and motivates us to create the new, the unseen, the impossible. But, let Marcel tell you- its better coming from the man himself…

http://www.marcelwanders.com/designer-people/