home improvement

Two neat tricks some friends in VT incorporated into their home; 1) use sections of USGS maps connected together to fill an odd wallspace, and 2) make banisters out of old hexagonal drilling rods from the local quarry. Slate inserts from said quarry take it to 11. V smooth. Should also mention, WIP.

the gilbert scott

Putting this on the list now. The Gilbert Scott is a restaurant inside the immense, marvel of Victoriana, the refurbished St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. An eye-popping listed building.

The menu is a modernized take on historic, regional British dishes -not insane modern though. Been enjoying host Tim Hayward's clips for The Guardian, (his background is in photography and advertising w/ v genial interview style) and he also edits a food writing journal called Fire & Knives; not available online... nice touch. Take a 7 minute desktop vacation below...

eventually -venturi antartica electric snow cat

Entirely managed by "Drive by Wire", the joy sticks of the Venturi Antarctica are designed to control the 2 electric motors with a high degree of precision. Weighing 1,200 kilos, the Venturi Antarctica is a light tracked vehicle which exerts extremely low pressure on the ground. Capable of carrying 1 ton of personnel and equipment over a distance exceeding 150 km...
-via Venturi

2 words; sledding party. Further reading on Venturi plans to open a facility in Columbus, OH. They have a slick dune buggy too. Leave it to the French to have a car called Fetish...

eventually -veep

Have a 'ton of jackets? You need a VEEP.

eventually -buckshot brogues

Joe Casely-Hayford [creative director of Gieves&Hawkes] experimented with shoes and shotgun shells until he found the perfect buckshot pattern. The resulting pattern was transferred to a computer which then adapted the asymmetrical pattern to left and right shoes. It debuted in the F/W06 line.
-via refinedrougue

Saved search; know what I mean...

eventually -hair on hide chairs

Will need a few of these for the bolthole. Benchmade in the USA from Crate&Bazz.

eventually -the bolthole

Above, the boys' clubhouse from LockStock (1998). In 2006 Paul Smith cheekily nabbed the space on the left (the baddies clubhouse in the film); more diffusiony stuff there than the heavy hitting menswear of his Covent Garden store -he does not miss a trick that guy [nor does Banksy who tagged by the door "this is not a photo opportunity" -ed.] Anyway, love the shambolic-chic (damn, thought i just invented that...) of the LS&2SB bolthole... nautical relics, stolen antiques, lo-fi audio-tech, 60's modern furniture and pony-hides over broken-in leather chairs. I'd put a block and tackle at the peak, but you can imagine the upstairs is wood floored and wide open. You can see Borough Market from here apparently.

eventually -adirondack basket

As usual at 10e, this is not a definitive history (feel free to jump in/correct), just some data-mining and a desktop vacation. Did find this nice potted history as below;

The Adirondack basket, or "Split" basket as it is sometimes called, has been around for many decades. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Iroquoian-Mohawk and the Algonquin Native Americans perfected the making of these Black Ash baskets to use in their everyday life. These baskets were made not only for themselves, but also for the "city sportsmen", the loggers and hunters. The basket's hard shape made it a favorite among trappers being easy to load and unload traps and pelts.

...made in the traditional method, unlike the majority of baskets made today, which use imported reed...they are made of Black Ash, soaked in water and hand pounded to loosen a layer of annual growth. Ten foot wooden strips are formed and woven to create the baskets. At the top opening is a bent wooden ash handle.
-via ArdenCreek

Great article recently by ArchivalClothing on the international use of pack baskets. As they mention, in New England they are generally known as Adirondack baskets. Pops has a bunch. [For the non-US types, the Adirondacks is a series of mountains and lakes/waterways in north-east New York State -ed.] The small packs fit a case of beer perfectly, even while cross country skiiing, *ahem* so I hear... Anyway, to get one woven with ash (rather than reed) and having leather straps or even cotton webbing, whether old or new is pretty much 2bills (see the basket lady... great find by ArchivalClothing). Old example below from Maine Country Classics. Sidenote: anyone seen the rest of the W.C. Leonard & Co. catalog as above... bet it is good.





Fantastic images below via AdirondackHistory.org

furniture -grommit edition

Have been scouting out furniture at the current American Library Association conference here in Boston; but most of it so new for the vendors they have not updated their sites... Suffice to say, bent plywood is trickling down to the small people furniture. Design firm Offi, based in California make some functional stuff; sucker for roll-top-desks, so the rollertop seat grabbed me. They even have a chalkboard intergrated into a table -via Playgrounder.







P.S. Honorable mention to Cherner as well for perfectly executed modernist repros for kids.



P.P.S. Honorable mention to Knoll for their child's version Risom web-back chair.

eventually -woodstove

There are so many makes and models; traditional American woodstoves, parlour stoves, more modern Scandinavian stoves... just a ton, but eventually want to get my own woodstove. Pops has a Vermont Castings, the mitten rods on the side are key. Watch a hands-on below with a rebuild of an Elm model stove from Vermont Iron Stove Works. Looks like a serious/fun project. (Men&WomenOfIndustry had a post on stovin' a while ago. Funny stuff)

barn lights

Pops has a classic dark green ceramic gooseneck-radial barn light as above, love it. Barn Light Electric reproduces these and many other industrial/rustic/russian-oil-platform (can I just use fencepost??) styles. I'm a sucker for galvanized steel too, so in trouble here. Data mining below.

eventually -white's farmer rancher boot

Used to live in logger boots. These are the Farmer/Rancher model from White's but would not say no. Not as crazy a sole or heel as logger boots and better on ice than crepe soled boots. White's will rebuild the boot once it gives up on you, but I would imagine getting 8-10 years out of them first time around... $400. Would def' keep these oiled and cleaned. The kids love helping out w/ the shoe shining anyway, good family activity hahaha.

Whites also make a semi-formal dress boot, like a George boot. Gaffle that as well...
"The Semi-Dress is White's answer to a light utility shoe for active workers who are constantly on their feet. The hand-sewn, stitch-down construction shapes the shoe to your foot to ensure superb comfort. A single, flexible, oak leather sole, combined with a 5 inch mid-weight leather upper, provides the same tough trademark qualities of a White's work boot, yet in a shorter shoe height.

Completely rebuildable for years of extended life and value" -via White's Boots

eventually -ge monitor top

"Christian Steenstrup (1873-1955) of General Electric (GE) was responsible for the widespread introduction of domestic refrigeration when, in 1927, he designed the first all-steel refrigerator with a hermetically-sealed compressor mounted in a circular unit on top. The 14 cubic-foot refrigerator sold for 525 dollars in the United States, half the price of its competitors..." -via The Science Museum, London.

"Many of the Monitor Top cabinets were fitted with a foot pedal that would let you open the door with a touch of the foot. This came in really handy when you had just come from the hen house with your arms loaded with fresh eggs! Just a touch of your foot and the door popped open (usually busting your knee in the process)." -via Antique Appliances

A bunch of places refurb these fridges, some by disconnecting the top and adding a refrigeration unit on the back, others restore the top unit as well. They even have their own flickr group. Just rewatched The 39 Steps (1935). Interior of Mr. Hannay's flat below, Portland Place.

eventually -double butter

When our Blofeld-esque modernist lair is constructed, it will then need to be furnished. Enter DoubleButter. (Furniture design and manufacturing company of David Larabee and Dexter Thornton, based in Denver, Colorado. The products are made entirely in Denver and can be ordered directly from their site.)

"ABOUT THE MATERIALS
Our production case goods and dining tables are available in either solid American black walnut or in forming plywood. The black walnut is always domestically sourced. The insides of our solid walnut pieces are finished with natural shellac and the outsides with a natural linseed oil and pine-resin varnish blend." -via DoubleButter.