One of my favorite artists and designers, Geoff McFetridge, has teamed up with one of the finest bag and accessory crafters, Makr, to create a tote bag that will grab people’s attention. Based on the prints that Geoff created for his wallpaper company Pottok, Makr has crafted a limited series of farm tote bags with a couple of extremely graphic prints, which are personally two of my favorite images that Geoff’s created. I feel like they’re made for two kinds of people, the minimalists and maximalists. I guess if you lie somewhere in between those mindsets you’ll have a tough decision to make.

Click here to grab one of yourself, there are only 30 of each available.

Bobby

When I started watching the video above, I immediately thought to myself, “This is like a cartoon version of Monocle.” Well sure enough, I wasn’t too far off. This new spot for Persol sunglasses was put together by an A-list team put together by Winkreative, with Tyler Brûlé heading things up as creative director alongside the boys of Fleet Street Scandal, Kevin Dart and Chris Turnham, for direction and design. The color, light and sound of this pot is perfect and idyllic, making the brand seem like the perfect sunglasses for an extraordinary life. Kevin Dart did fantastic job at directing the spot, you can see some of the behind-the-scenes work he did over on his blog, and the backgrounds created by Chris Turnham are also quite spectacular to see. To see a full list of everyone who worked on the spot, click here.

Bobby

Simplifying my life has been another big goal, and I think I’ve been pretty successful at this in most areas. One place I have managed to trim down is my keychain, which you can see above. There’s not a whole lot there – two keys, the sensor to get into my building and a pocket knife. The other two things are what I wanted to point out, my bottle opener by Makr, and my leather key ring by Me and Arrow.

First, the bottle opener by Makr, which is technically a “bottle key”, is something I bought in SF when I was there in September. It’s simple, it’s brass, it doesn’t look like a bottle opener, and that’s why I love it. You could even have this carved into a real key if you wanted to. That’s the beauty of an object like this, that it doesn’t stand out.

The leather key ring by Me and Arrow was something I picked up over the weekend. I realized I didn’t have a proper key ring, just one of those flimsy rings that was sure to break at any time. It’s not fancy, just a bit of leather in the shape of the end of an arrow, but I love having a beautiful material like leather in my pocket.

Hopefully this inspires you to lighten your keychain load.

Bobby

Launched today by Chris Kaskie & my studiomate Mike Renaud, Nothing Major is a cheeky & irreverent line of artist-commissioned, gender neutral tees & accessories made with careful attention to quality, responsible production & aesthetic integrity. So many small details to fall in love with: surprising typography elements, a random pocket, or specific illustration style. I love the logo too, those chunky round serifs fell me every damn time. The website is well worth the trip, especially the extra-thoughtful section that features interviews with each of the contributing artists. I’m eagle eyeing that smart little tote bag! So many pockets it has!

Margot

Last August I wrote a small watch brand called Uniform Wares to see if they had a black model of their 100 Series watch in stock. It was a simple watch that had a minimal face and band, and that’s why it was so great. Cut to just about a year later and now Uniform Wares is all over the place, becoming a watch that designers like myself see as a modern icon. I thought it would be interesting to post this interview that Crane.tv did interviewing Patrick Bek and Oliver Fowles, the designers and co-founders of Uniform Wares.

What’s interesting is that they started out as furniture designers, getting the idea to start crafting watches in the beginning of 2009. Their goal was to design a watch that appealed to themselves and their peers, creating a watch that could be dressed up or down. It’s also great to see how young these guys are, I honestly thought they’d be stuffy old men!

Bobby

Bobby and I spent a few hours this past weekend at The Grove, a Los Angeles glorified, slightly overhyped, open air mall. We found a few cool things happening, namely a really amazing Tommy Hilfiger pop-up shop that was a house from The Hamptons. But, we also popped into Crate and Barrel to find a really, really splendid treat: The Marimekko Shop at Crate and Barrel.

First off, I had no idea Marimekko was doing anything with anyone, more or less Crate and Barrel. The collaboration didn’t really make a lot of sense to me, but–once encountered–things made total sense. Marimekko’s patterns and prints are perfect for home items, things like shower curtains, pillows, bags and kitchen items. The collaboration also yielded a few clothing and furniture items, which are truly breathtaking: bright, over-the-top pieces that would be the perfect Finnish accent piece to any household. The glassware (plates, mugs, tumblers, teapots) are also fantastically designed with beautiful artwork, both of which combine to create these pieces that are somewhere in between Danish Modern and Japanese Stoneware.

Moreover, the shop highlighted that Crate and Barrel and Marimekko have had a relationship since the 60′s. The store has carried their fabrics for sometime in every store. Similarly, they mentioned that every store features a “dramatic, suspended sweep of Marimekko textiles radiating bold color and pure joy.” While this seems somewhat conceptual, it’s actually quite literal: next time you are in a Crate and Barrel, look up and notice the hanging fabric panels because they are in fact fun, candy colored, beautiful Marimekko pieces. Who knew?!

Sadly, there are only five of these shop-within-the-shop locations: two in New York, one in Chicago, one in San Francisco, and one in Los Angeles, at The Grove. But, you can pick up the products online, which I highly suggest you do.

The little shop was so exciting because it seemed to be limitless: there were so many hidden treasures, camouflaged in patterns. One little finders piece was a small (free!) newspaper by Marimekko about pattern and the Marimekko lifestyle. Take a look below at an inside peek at the paper!

KYLE

Bobby and I have recently been quite olfactory obsessed. We visit Scent Bar as often as we can and even eye items you can snatch up at a local Sephora. Smart scents are in for us and, although both of us are attracted to and retain scents differently, we both enjoy finding cool, new colognes and sharing them with people we know.

Thus, we’d like to share five (gender neutral!) scents you may or may not have heard of that you should definitely be on the lookout for!

Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens is what I like to describe as “Sexy Church” smell. It reminds me of being an altar boy as a kid, having to swing around the thurible, smelling up the church with strong incense to bless things. Unlike the church thurible, Fille en Aiguilles is not smokey but maintains a strong, woodsy tone while simultaneously being incredibly sweet. It carries notes of cinnamon and dark rum, while remaining incredibly natural in tone.

Monocle x Commes de Garcon Scent One: Hinoki is a lighter step-brother to the aforementioned scent. While Fille en Aiguilles is “Sexy Church,” Monocle’s scent is “Sexy Library”: it is similarly woodsy, but spiced in a different way. Whereas Fille en Aiguilles evoked bright reds of cinnamon, Monocle’s scent drifts toward a greener, leafier territory. Both are reminiscent of wandering through a forest, but Monocle stops to stare at a squirrel burrowing a hole into the side of a Pine tree while Fille en Aiguilles is preoccupied finding natural spices in the ground.

Philosykos by Diptyque has to be one of my all time favorite scents: it’s rich, light, woodsy, and figgy. Now, normally, I like a fig as much as the next person, but Philosykos makes me crazy for the fruits: the cologne is incredibly fig driven–but, more like a fig that has been left in the sun for the few days, nestled in fresh dirt. May not sound appealing, but it most definitely is. The cologne is very light and may be better suited for a woman, but lends an interesting hand when combined with the male essence. Another note about the fragrance: since it is so delicate, it takes a lot of reapplication to make it “stick.” I urge you to try it in person to see if it works with your chemistry, since it is such a subtle scent.

Bobby stumbled upon Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne at Steven Alan and has been obsessed ever since. As the name suggests, the cologne is a very, very citrusy summer scent that is not overpoweringly orangey but rather is the idea of orange zest combined with a stabilizing flower. Although I cannot put my finger on what the floral mark is, I can definitely point toward a Gardenia or Honeysuckle, both understated sweetnesses that play the role of the backbone in this situation. Like Philosykos, Orange Sanguine is a light little fruit romp that turns a commonly used scent item into a complicated cologne.

Escentric 01 by Escentric Molecules was gifted to me recently because “[you] love figs and pepper.” And, no joke, Escentric 01 smells of heavy pepper and hints of fig! Like Fille en Aiguilles and Philosykos’ love child, Escentric 01 seems to have originated from a pepper grinder because it absolutely reeks (in a good way) of pepper. A more complete Demeter Black Pepper, Escentric 01 hints at the same Earthen lightness that Fille en Alguilles hits but to a lesser, not-cinnamon-but-light-fig degree. Escentric 01 is a captivating full scent that adapts easily to it’s wearer and definitely can fill a room with its personality.

If you know of any other cool scents, please send them our way! We love hearing about new olfactory delights that may be seasonal, hard to find, or just plain extraordinary.

KYLE

Since we have been talking about iPads and Smart Covers, I thought I would throw another good alternative for protecting your ‘Pad and other tech items. Sweedish company Unit Portables have a whole slew of things to protect all of your Apple products in a cool, compact, nesting package.

The Unit Portables System covers a few things: your main bag, your accessory bags, and your iPad tote. The main bag, which is very, very similar in design to the Chester Wallace bag, is the home base for all of your items. You can latch your accessory bags to it, slide your laptop in, maybe a few magazines, and any other items you have that are too small to be an accessory and too big to be an iPad. The accessory bags attach to the front of the main bag and are intended for all your cords, iPods, iPhones, and any other technological loose end you have. Seems pretty obvious, but marketing an area specifically for your cords and phone is pretty smart because one might actually *do* that (because, I for one, just throw my cords wherever my laptop is, which provides for a wonderful ball of tangled cords). Finally, the iPad bag is pretty great and is perfect considering it segregates your laptop from your ‘Pad, in turn protecting both. It’s very sleek and small and has handles, which may or may not be silly to tote around individually.

The Unit Portables System is a pretty great way to tie in all of your electronic children into one group, nesting them together so compactly. They don’t seem to be for sale just yet, but do keep checking in with them to see when they’re ready for buying. And, in the mean time, get acquainted with their cool, highly visual user manual!

KYLE

I’ve said many times in the past that I’m not a fan of big watches. I prefer to own objects that are sleek and light, not bulky or garish. Then one day, I completely randomly got a big watch in the mail from a company called TW Steel, a Dutch company that I’d never heard of. Inside a box was one of the craziest, most well-made watches I’ve ever touched. It’s called the Grandeur Tech, and has a black coated steel case which feels like it could withstand the impact of a truck. But to counter balance this heft, they’ve attached a silicon rubber strap that feels almost weightless. So what it ends up feeling like is that you have this heavier weight watch firmly strapped to the top of your wrist. For being made of solid steel, it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing a bulky watch.

I’ve been wearing the watch for a couple weeks now, so that I could get a sense of it. I wasn’t going to write about this watch if it sucked, obviously. But after two weeks I’ve really grown to love it. When I wear it I kind of feel like James Bond, like a laser could possibly shoot of the damn thing. And the all black face and strap make it totally sexy and perfect for day or night wearing. This watch isn’t for everyone though, it’s got a pretty big price tag, but what you’re paying for is quality of design and materials.

A huge thanks to my homie Nalden for unknowingly hooking me up with this watch. He makes me feel like a rock star. And another big thanks to the folks at TW Steel, this is one of the craziest things I’ve ever received in the mail.

Bobby

Every now and then I pop onto Jack Spade’s site to see what’s new. They always have an eclectic blend of interesting items, but and now and then I find an amazing gem like this one. It’s called the Icon Printed Banker’s Envelope, which is a large, leather pouch that’s been printed with images of objects around the Jack Spade studio. It’s roomy 15.75″ x 11.25″ size should allow you to hold documents or even a small laptop like a Macbook Air. If you’re looking for a unique laptop case or an envelope to carry paperwork this would be a great choice.

Bobby