Nestled beside an Art Gallery on a typical Parisian street, resides a creative shop like no other. A place where you become the designer and the artist, tailor-making your very own wardrobe from jackets, to sweaters, to shirts, to sneakers. From N°11 Blue Lagoon and N°22 Paradise Pink to flannel jackets and cashmere scarves, you can have your article hand painted in 180g’s  atelier in over 100 rich, nuanced, luminous colors.

Owner and co-founder of 180g, Nicolas Chevalier first came up with the concept during an exhibition for Donna Karan in New York City with a desire to push his art to the next level, to make it dynamic and surprising. His paintings however, ended up on clothing rather than canvas. From there it didn’t take long before the unique pieces were being well received and launched in high-end shops like Isetan in Tokyo & Harrods in London.

From all that, 180grammes was born. A creative boutique that mixes tailor-made clothing and hand-dyed pieces where people can feel truly connected to their clothing. Most may recall 180g and Chevalier’s work on a collaboration with Nike whereby the Tennis Classic, Air Flytop, and Flash were given the 180grammes treatment. The process allowed for the materials on the models to be custom dyed, achieving a tailor-made type of aesthetic with various premium textiles and custom detailing. The result was an array of metallic and earthy monochromes with a slightly worn and unfinished look.

We recently caught up with artist, designer and owner of 180g Nicolas Chevalier, and toured the workshop.

Nestled along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, Zach Johnsen is quietly making a name for himself in the art world through his distinctive illustrations. Give him a micron pen and he’ll show you a world you thought only existed in your wildest dreams, or perhaps only in your nightmares. His style of frenetic pen lines and splashy water-based media evokes a serious critique on Suburbia and the overpowering consumerism in America today. But don’t let politics get you down, Johnsen’s art is inspiring and colorful, and has even used commercially many times – from a collaboration with the New York Times, to skateboards & snowboards, to work for NY/CA-based apparel company Tank Theory which he co-founded. His most recent collection, “Dancing Nun” is currently showing at the MOHS Gallery in Copenhagen. We caught up with Zach in his studio in Portland, a little hungover but still very much inspired.

LH: For those who aren’t familiar with you and your work, give them the low-down… who is Zach Johnsen?

ZJ: Zach Johnsen is a 31 year old artist, designer, illustrator and all around visual conductor living in Portland, Oregon.  I do fine artwork for gallery settings. I do commercial illustration. I work in wood and fabric and photo and I also work in print and apparel. I dabble in all types of media and have much to learn.

LH: How did you get your start as an artist… when did you realize you had what it takes to make it professionally?

ZJ: I probably got my first artistic push from my mom who is also a fine artist and graphic designer.  At 18, I decided to attend the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and that’s when I started to really take seriously art making and art as a profession.

I first got wind of Kyle Ng and his label Farm Tactics on a recent trip through to Craft in LA and name drop from Eddie Cruz. While repurposed materials are anything but new, Ng’s choices of materials for Farm Tactics certainly are. Among our favorites are bags made from materials such as 1960’s Dutch military bags, 1940’s gas masks and Oil Filson Tin cloth and other military webbing. On the clothing side of things, you can expect to find a similar aesthetic with pieces inspired by Ng’s grandfather who was an industrial designer in the 50’s and 60’s, but with a self-described “neoclassical” twist. Intrigued, we wanted to know more and caught up with Ng to talk about his idea, the process and Mayer Hawthorne.

LH: So Kyle, tell us about yourself. What’s your background?

KYLE NG: I am an artist designer based out of Los Angeles. I’m originally from  the San Francisco Bay Area, and moved down to Los Angeles to work as a filmmaker. When I First moved to la When i was 18, i met a lot of amazing influential people who helped guide me. People like Darren Romanelli and Nathan Cabrera took me under their wings and taught me about art and fashion. They  were really important in my life because they made me realize that  you shouldn’t just limit your creativity to one field.

LH: OK, Farm Tactics. Let’s talk about your reasons for starting it and what you’re trying to achieve…

KYLE NG: I originally started Farm Tactics as just a t shirt line in 2006. I had a partner who really fucked me over, and I stopped making clothing all together.  In 2009 I started to have an itch to make clothing again. This time I wanted to do something totally different. I was very interested in creating a line that represented my American Heritage. I am sixth Generation Chinese American! My family were one of the first Chinese in Texas! I wanted to create a narrative that reminded people of what this country is all about. Its ridiculous to see more Americana brands being made out of Japan then here. Americans really need to step up and take back our heritage.

It’s interesting times out there if you’re in the market for a canvas bag. With the growing acceptance among men for totes for everyday use and duffles for carry-on travel, more and more brands have been entering the market, each with a claim of putting their own spin on canvas. Small, but quickly growing, Danish brand Mismo’s spin on canvas almost qualifies of a lack of spin. And that’s a good thing. Instead, Mismo brings it back to basics by championing simplicity in design and construction, with superior quality materials in the form of rugged, water resistant canvas and full grain leather accents. Behind Mismo’s products is the philosophy that real luxury arises from the choices made – about what to subtract, and what would should remain. While we’re currently in the midst of being unkind to a MS Shopper bag (shown above) to see how it fares overtime, we had a quick chat with Mismo founder Adam Alexander Bach about Danish design, collaborations and the worst part about his job, along with a peak inside his operation.

Before Mismo I did not have so many worries, nor did I have so many thrills….

The name Mismo comes from Spain…. Mismo has two meanings; “the same” or “something that refers to yourself”, which we liked as reference to the personal marks each person leave on their bag because of the natural materials we use.

Relative new comer in the game, Volta Footwear has been taking the dressier elements of your typical Italian-designed shoe and fusing them with a casual sneaker spirit, all in a unique Chukka-esque silhouette. While it’s rare that new comers specialize in only one model, in only their second year, Volta balances their mono-product approach with a wide array of different color options straight from Milan. These hybrid boot-sneakers were inspired by the footwear development of the last 50 years, which is why you’ll instantly get their retro vibe and timeless (yet very modern) lines. These are shoes simple, refined, made to be worn everyday and self-described as an “instant classic”.

We caught up with Volta’s Brand Director and one of their designers, Mauro Simionato, to find out more.

LH: What is the main inspiration behind the brand and the designs?

MS: We wanted to create some footwear to replace sneakers and boots. Better yet, we aimed for an evolution in footwear. Something to come after sneakers and boots. A third, new choice if you will. After so many years of “sneakers everyday and everyway”, we all got kind of sick of them, and started to look back to casual ankle boots, to our old pairs of Clark’s and Doc Marten’s. But at the same time, we got used to trainers, to the comfort and feeling. So we said to ourselves, “let’s make a pair of boots that look and wear like sneakers”. Anyways, we were not the first to have such a goal; Clarks did it already some 50 years ago.

READ MORE

Well it’s that time of the year again. Time for Christmas…Gift Guides. Sure this is another one, but it’s from us, meaning it’s sort of the best of 2009. In some ways it’s our personal wish list, in other ways, they’re the only items that were memorable enough. In any case, it’s all in the name of love. Here’s to hoping you get yours. Enjoy.

Click READ MORE to discover our picks.

We recently had the opportunity to go to Seattle and check out the latest iteration of the Volkswagen Golf TDI, a car with a rich history and doing it’s part to stay relevant to modern consumers.

The Golf first appeared in 1974 and very quickly became a car that found roots as both an economical city car and as a vehicle which removes a lot of the frivolities in lieu of simplistic elegance. It quickly found it’s way into drivers hearts, drivers who appreciated a connection with their vehicles and also enjoyed the ability to personalize and tweak. This point made it especially popular to the weekend racer, the person who would take their daily driver to the track on the weekends for some friendly competition.

Read more after the jump.

As much as we appreciate particular aesthetics, design, and quality in the brands you normally find here, one area we rarely venture into is skincare products aside from the occasional visit to Honeyee. Part of the reason being most of us either stick to what we know and don’t experiment with other/newer brands, the other being we simply don’t have the time or want to spend the time researching, shopping, trying and deciding. The recent launch of Bread & Butter Skincare however, has  removed that entire process while killing it with their aesthetics in the form of their branding design and quality.

To break it down simply, you pay once and you’re done skincare product shopping for the year with two mail-order deliveries. The Winter Kit includes a 180 day supply in the form of 2 face cleansers, 2 face moisturizers, 1 body moisturizer and 1 lip balm. In the first week of June, you’ll automatically receive the Summer Kit which includes another 180 day supply in the form of 2 face cleaners, 2 face moisturizers with SPF 15 and a shave gel. Everything is carry-on approved.

So far, we’ve been enjoying the Winter Kit immensely and without getting into the specifics of what makes the product quality (you can check the site for an ingredients break down), we can tell you they borderline on odorless and fresh smelling, are non-greasy and shine-free. We’re also particularly fond of the package design matching perfectly with the simple, no-nonsense brand name.

Bread & Butter Skincare is currently the in-house product line for The Gladstone and sold at The Drake, both in Toronto. You can order your kits here.

Surface To Air has either conceived or been a part of some of the most creative projects you’ve no doubt come across in the past few years. In the late 90’s Surface To Air consisted of a group of friends in Paris who wanted to work on projects they liked and since then, the team has grown into a multidisciplinary company spanning across creative domains such as fashion, graphics, photography, design, music, and films. They are part creative agency, part clothing label and part studio. Past projects have included but are not limited to music videos for Justice and Chromeo, art directing the Blason shoot for Pharrell’s line of jewelery for Louis Vuitton, commercials for Diesel, Sony and Louis Vuitton and more recently, launching UNIQLO in France and a capsule collection with Kings of Leon. And we’re just getting to the clothing side of things.

Since 2004 and before the clothing collaborations with the likes of Justice and Chromeo, S2A has been widely recognized for their modern interpretations of classic and technical garments along with a separate line of S2A accessories. Breathable, fully waterproof outerwear pieces with taped seams; superfine Merino cardigans with leather patches; calf leather bags; fine leather ankle boots; porcelain dipped and dirty gold jewelery are among some of best pieces going at the moment. Being long times fans of the line and creative exports, we felt it was only appropriate to start from the beginning and chat for a few minutes with S2A founder Jérémie Rozan in between shoots, creative directing, and putting the final touches on his latest music video for Chromeo – Night By Night.

My name is Jérémie Georges Louis Joseph Rozan, my role at Surface To Air is founder and Creative director.

Before Surface To Air I had a life.

In keeping with our theme of wanting to share discoveries and experiences with you, we jumped at the chance to test drive the all-new 2010 Toyota 4Runner before it hit the showroom floors.  Admittedly, we’re used to reviewing ideas, design and wardrobe pieces, so you’ll have to forgive us if this review lacks the usual technical jargon of typical auto reviews but that having been said, we felt it would be good to share our own personal take of the ride and keep things accessible to those less familiar with lateral rods and dual-pistons. Having been previous owners of old-school Toyota Land Cruisers, G-Wagons and Defenders and well aware of their capabilities, we took the 2010 4Runner off-roading in the Nevada desert outside of Las Vegas to see how it fared.

READ MORE

////CONTEST WINNERS AFTER THE JUMP////

T-shirt brands are a dime-a-dozen, yet we can’t ignore the fact that so many of the great, influential brands of today have evolved from designing Tees out of a basement. NY-based label CXXVI are doing things differently. Using their strong portfolio of work for design studio Onetwentysix, Matt Gorton and Jon Contino craft one-of-a-kind Tee’s; all are hand-printed, individually hand numbered and made of soft 100% combed cotton. It’s all about details with CXXVI. Just look at the attention to detail in their labels – each with a date of when it was printed and packaged. This goes a long way in creating a link between the artists and those who wear their art.

The 2009 Fall collection revolves around a nautical theme, inspired by the harbormasters, fishermen and blue-collar workers of small American Fishing Towns. We caught up with the guys at CXXVI to get a behind-the-scenes look.

My name is CXXVI and I’m currently made by Matt Gorton and Jon Contino.

CXXVI is all about the American working man because that’s who we are, and that’s who we care about.

If we hadn’t started CXXVI, we would not be doing this interview.

The name CXXVI comes from Rome. Well, technically CXXVI is a nice way to reference our design studio without directly mentioning the name “Onetwentysix”.

We recently made it down to Waterloo, Wisconsin to Trek Bicycles to begin our bike collaboration and while there, we got a firsthand look at Trek’s inner workings. Everything from the design studio to Project One to the manufacturing floor was at the mercy of our camera. While we couldn’t show you everything, here’s a look at what went down and what we saw on day one. There will be more developments on our collaboration in the coming weeks.

Hit the jump for the rest of the story…