old / new sign

Foodmaster got a new sign a few weeks ago. Liked the older one better but what can you do.

And this place on route 2... think it was a nursery or farm stand of some kind. Helveti-tastic.

the historic shops & restaurants of boston

You can read most of The Historic Shops & Restaurants of Boston via googlebooks. Snapshots of some 10e faves below.

ttsp posters -by paul smith

Paul Smith has designed 4 posters for the upcoming adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. "Smith collaborated with film's director, Tomas Alfredson, in the early development stages of the movie, offering his insights on 1970s London. He advised on the mood, colour and photographic approach to take." Limited edition natch'. Profits go to Maggie's Centers. See them all at Design Review.

a can of beans -interviews at b&m in portland, me

The filmmaker is Gabriella Kessler, a French-American documentarian. A Can of Beans (2003) is a "glimpse inside the B&M [Burnham & Morrill Co. -ed.] baked bean factory in Portland, Maine... As the production of food becomes increasingly global and mechanized, how long can a small, local Maine company survive?"

Video is part factory tour and part social snapshot. It reveals conundrum of the north east; as people from "here" move out and from "away" move in, prices go up, tourism becomes more crucial, reliance on tourism drives up prices for the natives, repeat. The B&M workers may not have the answers themselves but worth watching. Also, I love baked beans... mmmm. If B&M would maybe not use HFCS I could categorically cosign here.

decoys for decor

If your place is sparse, a row of decoys might seem a little OTT. Pushing it. If your house already is jammed with dust collectors collectables then they are just one more way to start a conversation. Each one has a story; where it was bought/found, who used it, who made it, remember that time when... For extra points you keep the decoys seasonally aligned, that is in the winter you face them to the south. No, not kidding.

You can find them all over but the cork bodied ones from LLBean look and feel great. If you are using these as the manufacturer intended (ie waterfowling), the compressed cork allows them to float even in rough water, but better still they are not absorbant -so won't rot. Last for years. Nice little potted history of the product below.




Duck hunting seson is next month in VT. Full details here, greatest hits above.

A lot of parephernalia associated with the all this. Good excuse to buy a decoy bag...

turn the collar

Great photo right? Turning the collar on a shirt used to be common practice. Unstitch blown out collar, flip it over, restitch. Any right thinking person could/should be able to do this themselves... on a rough work shirt maybe. This first time I took it to a local magician, who turned the collar and went the extra mile with some stitched tape backing on the (now) underside. 10bucks well spent I think; included a heavy starch press. Bingo.