There Is No Innocent Room

When I attempted to live in London town, Donlon Books, run by a tasteful chap named Connor (and located within Herald Street Gallery) was a thoughtful place to spend spare beans. Seems the store is moving to a new space, around the corner. Independent bookstores-long may you run. Details here.

photo via Homework.

Shirts Big & Small Pockets

After seeing the last round of Workers shirts on Reference Library and ACL, I gave in.You order your size/style via their site (they always sell out), pay when the stitches are complete and wait for the package to arrive from Japan two months later...a program I've taken part in before with Sonomitsu. Workers concentrate...really concentrate on quality reproductions of extinct American workwear items, and the website also acts as a mini archive with vintage items and advertisements posted. Here's the latest Workers items, and here's to a company doing one thing at a time, and doing it well.

Life Without Bansaws

Back to the block, keeping the slow saw movement alive and bypassing the bandsaw for the Japanese pull saw (Nokogiri). More news from the block in around two months.

Higher Ground

New green Treehouse designs from Tom Chudleigh (Canada), Dré Wapenaar (Holland) and Tadashi Kawamata (Japan), more here. Thanks BCR for the linkage.

Happy Thanksgiving

Our first home cooked turkey, sourced from Healthy Family Farms stand at Hollywood Farmers Market (who also have the best eggs and smaller fowl)... perfectly crisp skin, and juicy meat, thanks to the roast salted turkey recipee Les found on the LA times.

Season Of The Owl

I spent a few Sundays carving these Owls into Jed and Jess's tree in Silverlake this summer, and now they've finally seasoned and feel a little more settled into their nooks. With the only brief being 'think Topanga Canyon Tree Wizard', the results are, well suitably wizardy.

Reference Library "Gets A Room"

Andy Beach, behind the controls at Reference Library, has been making an art out of losing for the past two years, with his awesome 'Items I Didn't Win' (from ebay) posts, which have proven to be a winning formula and daily stimuli for followers of the blog. So what's he been winning?...find out this Friday when Reference Library gets a room, as part of Kiosk's mini exhibition series, and if you live in New York bring your wallet!...full details here.

Photos:
American Workwear buttons
Andy's limited edition Denim Work Apron, made by Workers, Japan
Half a Fink's Workwear Advertisement sign (and part of a larger collection)

Home Is In My Head

Deadstock Hood, Small for the M-1943 Field Jacket, some nice details and functional tricks to this one, pretty much turns the M43 jacket into a one man tent.

What Would Paul Thek Do?

*There's a great Paul Thek article on Dennis Cooper's blog from last Dec...something of a reader. Word is, there's to be a long overdue survey exhibition at LACMA next year. Photo: Peter Hujar, 1976.

South Willard Sale

Dries, Band Of Outsiders, Patrik Ervell, Raf Simons, A.P.C are all on sale at South Willard, Los Angeles, as of today...merch online...I'm planning on dropping in on the Cardigan Pushers in person...things go fast. Shop Local!

James Castle

A Retrospective of James Castle's Drawings and Objects is up at The Philadelphia Art Museum, and will be traveling to The Berkeley Art Museum (yes!), and the Art Institute of Chicago during 2009. Castle (1899-1977) who was deaf, mute and untrained as an artist, produced a rich archive of drawings and assemblages, using found materials from his parents Post Office in Boise, Idaho. There's a dedication and intimacy to these works that's really beautiful, a measured appreciation for space, inside and out. Details here, Publication here.

Birthday Loot 08

Some reading, looking, listening, carving, swimming, fishing, ceramics, note taking and drawing suggestions from friends in LA...the rightness of it all is killing me, many thanks!

Green Room

Ryan Conder, has finally buckled and posted some Surfing footage on the South Willard page...some classic clips of living legend George Greenough at one with the Dolphins and Waves. Yes Mr Conder, I need one on these inflatable mattress rides (read:shark biscuits) in preparation for my summer spell in Byron Bay, Australia.

Cowichan Sweater

Why so serious?, you just made the most incredible sweater ever...

Tag Porn

Raising Hell In Heaven

It's been a year since Okie Adams passed on, and it's still hard to resolve the loss of such a charitable, wise and hilarious man. The night we first met Okie, my friends Mike, Ross and I, sat in his living room, in the few available spaces not covered in boxes (of an unsorted living), and watched as he performed a divining ritual with hand made instruments, locating a stream deep below the house. He then introduced us to his incredible hand made Banjo's, and a condensed (and imbelished) narrative of his life...part of which involved being the only man that could truely satisfy Rita Hayworth!...they just don't make them like Okie Adams anymore.x

Photo's of Okie and Myka, by Ross McLain, 2005.

San Francisco's Victorian Houses, as photographed by Garry Patterson poster published by Celestial Arts, Calif, 1977. 50 cents at an estate sale in Pasadena this morning, along with two sealed Woody Guthrie records on Smithsonian Folkways.

Capsized Storage

With all the discussions around the return of the small dwelling of late, I got to thinking about these awesome photographs Jed Lind shot in the Shetland Islands in 2006. More huts/sheds from Jed's series Small is Beautiful, and other great work here.

Musings From A Muddy Island for related boat sheds.

And Materialicious for all your shelter needs, large or small.

Don, The Wolfking Of Cannes

Captain Beefheart perform Electricity, on the beach at Cannes in 1968, Don Van Vliet, out Wolfing John Phillips by a few years with his look here.

*Rich Aldrich just told me he used this footage in his debut show in NY way back when.

Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young spells out a plan to save the American Automotive Industry...use existing tooling. Full article from huffington post here.

Veterans Day

Rich Aldrich

Richard Aldrich, Narrative With 5 Characters, at Corvi-Mora, London. Rich will also be in the upcoming group exhibition Sphinx, curated by Alexis Vaillant at Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London.