Tuesday, April 30

10E2162: Happy Birthday Willie


The Demo Sessions, recorded to showcase Willie's songwriting rather than his singing, is still a favorite in the 10E kitchen - simply for its stripped down style and the fact that you CAN hear him so well - as opposed to the overlush 80's recordings. Happy 80th Birthday Willie.

Ton of other WN stuff here.

Monday, April 29

10E2161: RAW - Logo Red Socks


Somerville (MA) skate brand RAW have released some packs of basic products to support several funds connected with Boston marathon survivors - further reading.

One of the offerings are these deceptively simple red socks (for those just joining, the baseball team here in Boston is called the Red Sox - thus the iconic repro from these local guys).

- 100% Acrylic
- Custom Woven Pattern
- Reinforced Mid For Quality Fit
- Contrast Toe And Heel
- $12.

Also available in black or white - but the red are genius.

Friday, April 26

10E2160: Johnny Cupcakes at Somerville Library - May 10


Paging teens, 20somethings and those young at heart. As the fifth in a series of design talks at the Somerville (MA) Public Library, I am psyched to announce the next speaker - streetwear impresario Johnny Earle aka Johnny Cupcakes. On May 10th he will be telling his career story; focusing on the importance of branding, starting the business (both web based and retail) with little-to-no start up money, entrepreneurship, small business management, product development, marketing and communication, and graphic design. Pop-up shop and social hour to follow.

Huge thanks to the Johnny Cupcakes team for making this happen - he is a busy guy and any young business person (even beyond the apparel realm) would be well served by attending this event. 4pm. After-school special!

Please note: This event is free but seating is strictly limited to 60 attendees - secure your spot by picking up a ticket in advance from the circulation desk at the Somerville (Central) Library, 79 Highland Ave. Bus 88 or 90 from Davis Square or walk over after your brunch at Highland Kitchen... or up from Union Square for the Indo' fans. And these ain't no ordinary tickets... We were very lucky to work with Eli Epstein of Union Press who created these fantastic letterpressed, numbered cards as a ticket and takeaway.

Some process shots below from the Union Press studio... cause they never get old. Hand cranked! Stamp-cut corners! Only 60 folks. Go get yers from the library.   







Tuesday, April 23

10E2159: Giveaway - Green Mountain Tick Repellent

UPDATE 5pm - winners picked - Tuff Family and Devon Hanofski - email me - james@10engines.com.
Congrats.

A few years ago 10e friend Victoria Demonda created Green Mountain Tick Repellent; mixed and bottled in Dorset, Vermont. She uses all-natural essential oils as the active ingredients; including Rose Geranium, Lemongrass and Cedarwood for an extremely effective repellent against ticks. Sidenote, smells fantastic to humans.

Big fan of this product and recently asked Vic a bit more about it. She also agreed to give away a bottle to two 10engines readers. Check the facebook.com/GreenMountainTickRepellent and simply confirm done in the comments here - will pull a winner at 5pm.  If you don't win, can always buy direct.
"The idea for Green Mountain Tick Repellent originated about 3 years ago. My then 4 year old daughter came inside after playing, to tell me she had a “bump” in her head. When I investigated, the bump turned out to be a half engorged tick. I was unable to remove the entire blood-filled insect, resulting in the head remaining burrowed in her scalp. The doctor couldn’t get us in until afternoon, so I had to spend the entire morning knowing she had a disgusting piece of a tick under her skin.  
Then, in the Spring of 2011, my children and I welcomed our newest addition: an 8 week old yellow lab puppy named Ruby. The first walk resulted in 3 ticks crawling around on her tiny little body, and 1 trying to burrow into her snout. I knew there had to be something out there that I could put on not only my dog, but my kids, without chemicals or 25% poison. I started to search. Nothing. So I decided to make my own.  
Green Mountain Tick Repellent is a Vermont Local*, all-natural alternative to conventional methods of repelling ticks from humans and canines. It contains a combination of natural essential oils that work together to repel ticks. It works great for hunters, hikers, fisherman, loggers, outdoorsmen, dogs and the people who love them! AND IT WORKS!"
*meaning available at select independent stores in Vermont including;
  • Mach's General Store, Pawlet, VT
  • Wallingford Country Store & Deli, Wallingford,VT
  • Wells Country Store, Wells,VT
  • Southern Vermont Glass, Spruce St. Manchester, VT
  • New Morning Natural Food Store, Depot St., Manchester, VT
  • Pets, Etc., Depot St. Manchester, VT
  • Fresh Market, Manchester, VT
  • Equinox Valley Nursery, Manchester, VT
  • The Golf Club at Equinox, Manchester, VT
  • H.N. Williams Store, Route 30, Dorset, VT
  • Mettowee Mill Nursery, Route 30, Dorset,VT
  • Dorset Town Office, Mad Tom Rd, East Dorset, VT
  • The Vermont Country Store, Weston, VT and Rockingham, VT
  • Wayside Country Store, Route 313, W. Arlington,VT
  • Heritage Deli and Bakery, Route 103, Chester, VT
  • Handsome Hound, Rt 7, Bennington, VT
  • Shaftsbury Country Store, Rt 7, Shaftsbury, VT

Monday, April 22

10E2158: Boston


After last week in Boston I felt very lucky to have spent Sunday w our kids, outside on a sunny day tooling around Charlestown.

On the way to Bunker Hill we passed the Teamster's Local 25 building and saw the 100+ guys (and 18 wheelers) meeting in prep for today's Medford service to honor and mourn marathon-bombing victim Krystle Campbell.

We hiked the steps inside the monument -294 incase you wondered - a fantastic activity and of course felt that connection to Boston's past. The freshness of the Watertown chase, The Boat, everything still pretty fresh here. Some gorge on the updates, while others try to move along. At 2:50 today Boston will go quiet in remembrance of the victims.

Thursday, April 18

10E2157: Iron Patches




Huge fan of the iron-on denim patch. Repair, reduce, reuse etc. Usually fix-it internal (as above). For the kids used to iron on the outside - until they said stop.

Recently found Iron Patches (great name); bunch of denims, internal/invisible options, brown duck canvas, or thicker tent canvas patches. Made in USA and free shipping. $6.00 for 8"x5".    Meant to add... patch yer damn jeans...  

Wednesday, April 17

10E2156: National Bookmobile Day


Change of pace... Today is National Bookmobile Day and though the Somerville library does not currently have one it used to have a bookmobile. Love those; as here. Rock fan, Bathtub Mary photographer and SPL librarian Cathy P. (above) drove the yellow beast for some time and has some epic memories as below. If you need a smile today this might do it...
"Our bookmobile was decommissioned several years ago but I was the backup bookmobile driver for a time, when it had to be backed into the Teele Square Fire Station by the librarian, surrounded by shiny red fire trucks and annoyed fire fighters. Also, I sideswiped a car on Willow Ave, taking off its side mirror and the bookmobile's railing.

AND, perhaps the best worst memory: scattering several bags of brand new books I was delivering to the branches all over McGrath Highway because I took the sharp turn and the door wasn't latched. Fetched books littered with gravel, cigarette butts and tire marks between red lights..."
Can't imagine why they got rid of it... ha! Thx Cathy. Needed that...

Friday, April 12

10E2155: David Utiger

Sugarbush (detail), Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic

Moonshine 13" x 6", Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic


Fertile Crescent 18" x 12" Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic

Artist, maple-sugar man and volunteer firefighter/pigroaster David Utiger is a resident of our town Peru, VT. He keeps the fine art part a little quiet, but do check the color and relief work he has agreed to show on 10E and much more on his site. Taking inspiration from moonlit hiking, and the surrounding maple trees and landscape through the seasons there is a lot to chew on. Maybe my limited thinking but I would love to see one of those vertical pieces as a snowboard graphic...  Thx David.






10E2154: Keith Jennison - Publisher, Vermonter


Keith Jennison became a respected publisher midcareer but may be best remembered as a writer and humorist producing stark, dry-as-a-bone (in a good way) books about New England, and especially his home state of Vermont. My cousin loaned me the 1941 release Vermont Is Where You Find It and Green Mountains And Rock Ribs (1954). Outtakes below, you'll get the idea. Thx Mike!





These titles not hard to find online, and something for every flavor of yankee.






Wednesday, April 10

10E2153: Jaws "Filmumentary"




Huge JAWS nerds here at 10engines; from the costuming to the making-of-lore. British filmmaker/editor Jaime Benning has been working on one of his filmumentaries called Inside Jaws. These are supra-layered making-of's mixed with the movie... watch the above you'll get it. Notes and interviews from everyone involved (Carl Gottlieb, writer for the Odd Couple tasked with adding some humor - check. Tales of Robert Shaw's legendary drinking - done). The full thing wont be done for months but really looking forward to it. Even have a soft yes from Jaime to screen it at the Somerville Library... we'll see.

Tuesday, April 9

10E2152: Sam "Can"


Long/short, Sam Adams brewery will offer their first camper's favorite, fisherman's special, canned product this summer; Boston Lager. There is a lot of ink being spilled about a 2-year test period for the can shape and "set back opening", "larger lid for airflow" etc... isn't that what we call a widemouth? I kid, I kid... Will be a great addition to New England coolers.

Friday, April 5

10E2151: Carhartt - Holy Unicorn



Never saw a hickory striped Carhartt "Detroit" before... Yours for $399 on ebay.

Thursday, April 4

10E2150: N'East Style Interviews PowderJet

The fine art of the reblog is not lost at 10engines... At the end of February I took some friends to visit Jesse Loomis at his Vermont workshop where he handshapes wooden snowboards under the name Powderjet. Almost-neighbor Christine N'East Style Mitchell was there too and got Jesse talking about his snowcraft. Read it all here. One of the kicker quotes is below. Great stuff...
Q. What inspired you to start PowderJet? 
A. I saw the sport that I grew up with migrating farther and farther away from its roots. It’s a very accessible sport, to people who have the inclination towards winter sports. It’s pretty easy to learn, much easier than its cousins surfing and skateboarding. So I’ve been teaching my kids how to ride, and a bit about the history of the sport, it’s different evolutionary phases, talented riders, all of this snowboard history... I wanted my kids, and by extension new riders of any age, to see snowboarding not as a competitive sport, but a fun activity to pass the cold winter days with some friends. [hell yes -ed.]
If you like that, then geek out with his woodsy instagram feed.


Wednesday, April 3

10E2149: Raymond Blanc - Kitchen Secrets

Raymond Blanc is a star-powered French chef working in Britain and a well known tv face there too. He had a series called Kitchen Secrets a few years back detailing the construction of classic French dishes; chicken liver parfait, cherry clafoutis, pot au feu, and 46 more...  For some these may be overwrought as simply from another era (and hell of a lot of pans get dirtied...) but his whole manner and explication is very entertaining. Lots of tips thrown around. Good stuff. 

I can't eat mussels due to a past indecent w/ seafood lasagna at an inn in Scotland... but the broth is always great and maybe I'll just sub' littlenecks? Not you though...





In sort of Gallic Dudley Moore character mode ("...beating the h'air into it..."), he finished the series with a completely do-able lemon cake [no rising - good, lining the pan - great] plus giving one major tip on how to make it pro'. Fantastic.







Tuesday, April 2

10E2148: Utrecht University Library

Photo via WAA

Designed by Wiel Arets Architects (WAA), the Utrecht University Library in the Netherlands walks quietly and carries a big stick. Clad in glass etched with a papyrus motif (see what they did there...)  the library  incorporates "4.2 million books, 1,000 seats, 450 parking places, 300 workstations, 3 shops, 1 auditorium and 1 bar - the UBU [Utrecht University Library - ed.] comparable to a data recorder, is more than a place where people can consult books, it is a place where they can work in a concentrated fashion, but also one where they can meet other people without the need of any other stimulation except the atmosphere that the building radiates." -via Archinect.


Photo via WAA
"The walls and ceilings of the interior are black and matt, while the floors are white and shiny. The bookshelves are black, while the worktables are white. The predominant black color characterizing the interior is critical to creating the atmosphere of concentration, security, and silent communication essential to the function of the library. The black interior creates a feeling of local enclosure, allowing the inhabitants to conduct the private activity of concentrated study in a public place of collective identity. The only exceptions to this color scheme are the red rubber surfaces used in the book checkout area, the information desks, the auditorium, the bar, and the lounge, all of which are related to the itinerary of public movement through the building."  -via WAA
Photos via WAA

Photos via WAA
"A light, shiny floor provides enough reflection of natural or artificial light to illuminate some the million books that are on open shelves, while the long white tables make it possible to read a book or to consult electronic information without too much effort." -via Archinect.

Photo via RoryRory

Photo via Veerbeek

Photo via Baamshad

With a building such as this it would be tempting to show modern angles and black slab shots only - but that is a pet peeve of mine and a mistake I think for libraries. V glad to see so many shots with PEOPLE in them... Or was this designed solely to accommodate the punchline that books are black and white and red (read) all over...

Monday, April 1

10E2147: Harris Tweed - From The Land Comes The Cloth

note: unlike other posts today this is not a joke... #datecheck

From the Land Comes the Cloth, a photo essay on Harris Tweed making and the people of the Outer Hebrides by Ian Lawson. Diptychs pretty great, wish it was easier to find those tweeds in the wild.