The long and the short of it

Once upon a long time ago, I cut my hair to the shortest of lengths. It seemed on a whim, spur of the moment. But really it was the critical point where changing my world was badly needed to reaffirm me to me through the depths of my early 20s. I loved it but I loved the lush of long and so have been growing it since.

I'm so in a rut with it as I launch into 20's Part II and have been debating the cut off until seeing Erika Altosaar's art and seemingly hair obsession. The Montreal based artist gave me re-newed eyes to look at my hair in a different light when I found one of her beautiful drawings which reminded me of a pic someone once took of my hair.

Altosaar's zine "L’Étranger" (GB03 Price: $8 / Signed $20) is an unbound portfolio of 12 drawings printed on 35# newsprint, each copy is numbered by hand and is collectible. Expect bigger things from Altosaar - her latest project? Afterzine - curated by Hamish Robertson and filled with the stylings of Altosaar as well as contributors including Alexa Chung.

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The pretty and the dainty. Mixed in with the neutral, an over the taupe nail. Something that only those in the know really would know and easily pick up. Quality amongst an environment that is normally not very. These Mociun rings are to die for - mixing beautiful 14k gold with turquoise and white antique baguette diamonds.

Caitlin Mociun comes from a not so design background, but spent 4 years at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a BFA in textiles. Mociun has a simple Bauhaus and Karl Blossfeldt inspired design manta which combines art and craft and her fashion, print and ceramic works explore sustainability and environment.

Mociun
200 Livingston Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 USA
E: info@mociun.com

Moon and Stars Ring - 14K gold, turquoise, and antique diamonds - $1600

Hexagon Gold Ring - $240

Square Turquoise Ring - 14k gold tourquoise and white antique baguette diamonds - $1750

Bright like

I'm currently obsessed with neon against neutral. The bright lights against the big city - slicing things up in a unique and unexpected way. I find myself bower-birding towards threads in weaves, the book on the shelf, the glimpse of a handful of bright nails. And it was by pure coincidence that I found the site of current artist numero uno Leif Podhajsky. The man behind the psychedelic rapture of Tame Impala and Gypsy and the Cat record covers, also created an insanely gorgeous little paper of color theory - Spectral Paper. I'm in love.

In swirls and ribbons

Sometimes when you dream something hard enough, the thoughts materialise themselves into reality. The right people show up out of the blue and give you clarity, the right call comes just when you need it most, an opportunity puts itself right down in front of you. All of these things and more have left the last few weeks in a constant state of creativity overload, inspiring and driving, sucking me through a vortex of excitement.

Part of that has been the constant measure of art and advertising and looking for opportunities that were always there but just had to be grasped. Somewhere in the middle of that is this campaign, done to launch the Nike Free Run+ 2 City Pack series.

A collaboration between Nike, YesYesNo (an interactive projects company) and DualForces, software was developed allowing runners to create dynamic paintings with their feet – or more specifically their Nike+ GPS run data.
Over a two day workshop, participants recorded their runs and then fed these details into unique software. The output? A gorgeous visual based on the speed, consistency, and style – unique to each person. Taking personalisation one step further, each participant was given a customised shoebox - laser etched with their name, distance run and run path – containing a pair of City Pack shoes from their city of origin.

Nike City Pack is a collection of unique LunarGlide2+ designs that celebrate the world’s greatest running cities, and all those who charge through them.

Naked squared not square

Slamming headfirst into winter there often aren't as many secrets that float through the nights. When the sun has ducked away and the tanned limbs become cold to touch, when smokey eyes give way to copper hues, sullen cheeks and sniffs, it's easy to forget how those sweet little glances really keep you happy.

Unless of course you keep summer alive by spicing things up with your own little reasons to instigate glances over glasses and midnight meetings. In maybe not so subtle ways.

Carine Gilson Theme Egerie silk crepe de Chine bra £200.00

Calvin Klein Envy lace soft-cup triangle bra £321.28

Deborah Marquit French lace balconette bra £131.91

Jean Byu Eden silk chiffon triangle bra £226.09

La Perla Feuillage tulle triangle bra £374.47

Stella McCartney Isabelle Daydreaming stretch lace soft-cup bra £376.60

Naked

Now is the time to make grand impacts. All of us, in a positive way. Imparting a message onto the earth that we know and we care and that we want our children and the children of our children to see the world in the beautiful sense that we can.

A collection of origami works by Takayuki Hori, these translucent, skeletal forms were created to highlight the environmental threat of pollution on bird species along Japan's coast. Given the devastation and the nuclear waste released into the ocean at necessity these are unbelievably haunting.

Each sheet of paper is printed with the images of an animals skeleton, including ingested human-made objects and then assembled into a 3D model. Set atop light boxes, the exhibition tells a sad ecological story that has only just been made sadder.

Clean Up

It's so funny when you fully know yourself. When you know how one mood bleeds into another and then another and you can pick on Monday where you'll be on Thursday. I knew two days ago that Wednesday would be minimal. A clean slate from a Monday high and a Tuesday low. Introverted and sleepy eyed. Hazed. No surprise that Aalejandro Diazs' "The Human Project" posters have waited till today to appear on my blog. So simple and teamed with Kris Menace Love On Laserdisc Remix of Depeche Mode's "Fragile Tension" which is all high notes and haunting vocals.

The Human Project aims to the simple truth behind mankind - taking recognisable iconography and translating each meaning into an honest paragraph. Consisting of 10 x A2 posters, these personify why sometimes the page half empty is actually 2 x stronger.

An avant-garde, Dominican Republic based graphic designer Aalejandro Diaz focus is on great type, minimal and modern with solid conceptual thinking.

Depeche mode - Fragile Tension (Kris Menace Love On Laserdisc Remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CUT8n4s-5M

Freedom to Move

Try as I might but tight ain't right. Maybe 50/50 but never all out. And Peter Pilotto seems to agree. Clothes cut with a chance to move - panels, pleats and feather-light skirts, intricate sill-screen-print patterns tied in with clean yet complex lines. Reminiscent of '70s YSL (an inspiration) these clothes are made to collect and wear.

The best part of the collection however, are the shoes. Collaboration II with Nicholas Kirkwood, the range includes artist Donald Judd inspired sculptural heels - hollowed out, metal with lacquered finished inside minimal sculptures. Leather straps and Pilotto's incredible graphic prints - these are the things that dreams are made of.

Helmut my Helmut

There are staples. Staples that keep you on the straight path and narrow. Things that you rely on to give yourself a degree of sense and reality. The things that you go back too, time and time and time again.

Designer purchase numero uno was a pair of Helmut Lang jeans. It was 2000, when everyone was wearing denim blue Lee bootleg but mine where midnight blue, trimmed in along the legs (making them as cigarette as possible) rendered eternally relevant and destroyed with love.

Lang holds a place in my heart and the Spring Summer 11 collection reminds me again why that is the case. Classic minimalism, mostly mono with focus on cut and quality, it doesn't get much better than Lang.