Several months ago, we about lost our crap when we heard that Beautiful Losers – the museum exhibit-turned-most brilliant coffee table book ever bound by mechanical means – would soon be joined by another extension of arty rectitude. Beautiful Losers, the documentary, would relate to the book and exhibit by way of subject matter, but would differ from the previous installments through one defining characteristic: The punk, skate, hip hop and graffiti subcultures it traced would take the literal form of the men and women that led the movement.

Now, over six months after we started getting excited about it (and several years after the film's creators starting working on it), Beautiful Losers, the doc, has arrived. Thanks to the hard work, creativity, passion, and rule breaking of the same group of individuals who drove this creative crusade, the film was enthusiastically debuted and received and at this year's SXSW.

This August, Beautiful Losers will open in theatres nationwide. We feel strongly that our readers should go see it – because we're of the opinion that this movement is more significant than most other things the past thirty years have given us – but since we know you're a rebellious bunch, we brought in someone else to spread the word. Readers, meet Aaron Rose; artist, writer, curator, co-editor of ANP Magazine, owner of Alleged Gallery, and the man driving the Beautiful Losers trilogy.

Joshspear.com: Can you walk us through the history of Beautiful Losers, from the exhibit up until now?

Aaron Rose: It started as an exhibition that opened at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati in 2003. The book (catalog) was released as the same time as the first exhibition. Since then, the exhibition has traveled throughout the US and is currently touring Europe. It will open in Madrid this fall. (Read More…)

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I've had the pleasure of editing this site for the past year. In that time I've seen our team expand, watched others leave (while wishing they weren't) and, most importantly, tried to bring fresh, exciting and high quality content here to the best of my ability. I've enjoyed it all thoroughly but as of Monday, I'll no longer be editing this site, and will hand the reins over to the very capable Jonathan Stern (more on him soon), who I've had the privilege of working with the past few months. I'm sure he'll continue in the same vein as I have, as well as adding his own flavor along the way.

This change in roles will hopefully afford me the time to contribute here more frequently. For the next few months, I'll be traveling — first to California for the majority of May, then back to Australia to spend some much overdue quality time with my family and friends. I couldn't be more excited about this and I hope to share some of my finds and experiences with you. (If the more mundane details of such interest you, you can find me at Tumblr or on Twitter.) I've loved hearing from everyone– what you think of the site, always appreciated your tips, submissions and feedback when you thought something was off. I hope you'll continue this dialogue with the new guard here. In my opinion, you couldn't be in safer hands than Josh, Jonathan and the rest of the editorial team.

Thanks for reading. You guys have been great.

–Heather

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Who knew that coming up with the perfect idea for making the perfect outdoor stool was as simple as replacing the letter ‘T’ in Stool with the letter ‘P’. Okay, so maybe that’s not how the Gillia Brothers, the driving force behind Bottega Montana came up with the idea for their outdoor Spool Stool, but what’s important is that they came up with it. This wonderfully practical seating option designed specifically for outdoor use, may look like it could possibly roll away on you, but in actuality it’s designed with sturdiness in mind. The grooved base allows for helps to maintain stability on uneven surfaces and along with the cylindrical hole give this cedar stool an ample design for aeration. The design also ensures ample drainage so that even after a hard rain falls, your underside won’t get all wet. We like a design that takes our wellbeing into consideration.

Related: Bottega + Paul Smith Skateboards

Tags: Chairs (18), Design (1546), Furniture (110), Outdoors (33)

As an artist continues to evolve, so must the way said artist represents him or herself. In order to accurately reflect his own evolving work, long time friend of the site and Spear Collective member, Grant Barnhart has given his website the once over, revamping it to display much of his newer work. The new look homepage has a simple design that is easy to navigate allowing web surfing art addicts to a wonderful opportunity to focus on just how much this Seattle bred’s work has grown. If you find yourself gallavanting through Europe and would like to see that evolution in person we recommend checking out Grant’s exhibition at Leslie’s Art Gallery in Luxembourg from May 2nd to May 31st.

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When we got the e-mail from Sharon Paris over at Paris House in New Zealand, she said, “we create products that make people smile.” Then we thought, “we’re consumers, and we like to smile.” Also, we were in the market for a new wallet, which is exactly what Paris’ handmade works of art are. She has a few ranges (or lines), but our favorite is “Johnny Rotten,” which incorporate punk psychology like, “Punk Killed Disco,” or “It’s 1980, Everyone Wants To Be A Rockstar / I’m Taking Umbrage / How Great It Was / Get Rich Quick.” Her products come in wallets, billfolds, card holders, and change purses…kind of an eclectic assortment of monetary keepers. Now if only the punk rock lifestyle actually filled this wallet.

Tags: Accessories (212), Art (703), Design (1546), Trends (806)

I went to visit my best friend last night. She still lives in the apartment we lived in together for eighteen months, and despite the fact that it’s a lot cleaner now than it was when I was there — three girls in 700 square feet is plain frightening, if a little sorority-esque — her kitchen is out of commission due to an overzealous exterminator. Ironically, when I got home, a book that the guys from Method wrote, Squeaky Green: The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home was waiting for me on the kitchen table, in all its green, non-toxic glory. In parts it seems a little advert-y, but all in all it’s packed to the spine with great tips on how you can keep your life clean without using brutal chemicals that are a hazard to not only yourself, but your pets and the environment. Good one, guys.

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LA-based artist Jorge Pardo turns us on mostly because his design looks delicious. Sure it has a fresh breath of a minimalist modern aesthetic that evokes a…blah, blah, blah. But honestly, his pendant lamp fixtures kind of look like marzipan. You can catch a glimpse of all his work in his first monograph, coming out on Phaidon imprint. Or, you can see Pardo’s work, such as Pier, (built for the 1997 Skulpture Projekte in Munster, Germany) and Mountain Bar (designed in 2003 for L.A.’s Chinatown). We’d mostly like to see his stuff hanging above our kitchen table.

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Most of your friends probably don’t have paparazzi following them around every day trying to get a sneak peak of the garments covering their unmentionables — unless, of course, their first names are Paris, Britney, and Lindsey. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make your friends feel famous by letting them know someone just might be trying to get a peak of what they wear down there. This hand-woven coconut fiber welcome mat from Uncommon Goods emblazoned with the message “Nice Underwear” ought to do the trick, because hey, they probably wore that thong under their kilt for a reason, it would be a shame if someone didn’t appreciate it.

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From Urban Outfitters, the nice folks who gave you Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters, comes a new concept in home and garden. Terrain is setting out to be your younger, fresher cousin to the staid blandness of a Lowe’s or Home Depot gardening center. Their first location, at the 11-acre Styer Nursery in Concordville, PA (it’s right outside of Philly) looks like it carries an assortment of well-edited potted shrubbery (yes, the kind that you’d give to your aunt, or a knight who says ‘Ni’) and gardening supplies that don’t make you want to put your head in a wood chipper. And, like the companies other retail outlets, if you wait a little less than a year, we’re sure one will spring up in your neighborhood.

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