I’ve been watching the evolution of Cypher13’s SOFT&FURRY with keen interest. It began with a contest to create the forthcoming hand-cast toys’ logo. After 8 weeks of online competition, a winner, Shitty Kitten, was declared. The premise of the three S&F characters–LOOFT, DOO and GROOND–is that they existed at one point as soft and furry creatures helping all to breathe, drink and grow. But the natural balance of things was upset by the manifestation of greed, causing them to harden with gloom. Cypher13 indicates that they may be soft and furry once more though. To that end, they have recruited a stellar roster of worldwide talent to customize their resin figures. Just a few of the participating artists include: Argentina’s DGPH, Hong Kong’s Michael Kwong, Germany’s TILT, The Netherland’s Zeptonn and USA’s sketchBot. The first completed SOFT&FURRY figure just rolled in from Sydney Australia’s TOKO, and it’s a true testimony to typophilia. The rest of the gang will make their debut on September 13th at Plastic Chapel in Colorado.
In the future there’ll be no such thing as a newspapers. All reading will be done on a complex device called a computer. But as long as someone’s still putting print to paper there’s going to be waste associated with it. Thankfully, there are people like the inventive minds at Onceneto design studio, who have found ways to turn the print industry’s trash into someone else’s treasure. Teaming up with Santiago’s La Tercera de la Hora daily newspaper, the Chilean firm founded by Ricardo Vargas and Abi Jarkowiec has taken the difficult to recycle cardboard tubes from the periodicals printer rolls and connected them using a steel support to create a nifty chair called the Conolounge. While this precious furnishing is still in the prototype phase, with any luck, it’ll be rolling hot off the presses sometime soon.
We like mixing up a bit of modern design culture with the great historic architecture. So when I heard that Hotel Josef just around the corner from Old Town Square in Prague was designed by London (though Czech nationality) architect Eva Jiricna I knew I had to stay there. The hotel had everything you would expect from a four star hotel: very helpful staff, gym, sauna, beautiful bar and breakfast — the typical amenities you can list off any given four star hotel website. But where Hotel Josef rises above the rest is in its attention to details. Beside being designed by one of the great contemporary architects of recent years, they completely cater to creative professionals: WiFi throughout the lounge and bar, high speed Internet and iPod docks in the room, and such progressive design you feel like your staying in a piece of art. If you make it to Prague we highly recommend checking out the Hotel Josef and if you are in the literary scene at all note that the Prague Writer’s Festival is hosted by the hotel every year. If Hotel Josef is a little out of your budget, we wrote up the wonderfully beautiful Miss Sophie’s Hostel a while back as well.
Meaningful hippie ravings of the great John Lennon are brought to life by John Raskin in I Met the Walrus, an animated short using the audio from an unofficial 1969 interview by a 14-year-old Beatles fan in Toronto. The school age interviewer, Jerry Levitan, asks questions regarding Lennon’s being barred from the US, the role of the youth in the revolution, and messages in the Beatles’ music. The innocence behind the questions and the sincerity with which Lennon responds evokes a humanity often forgotten as a trait of icons. The awesome animation interprets Levitan’s questions, Lennon’s words, and incorporates random noises in the room (phones ringing, etc). You really just have to see it to feel it.
NYC’s Married to the MOB just dropped their contributions to Fall ‘08, and if last season’s Reebok Freestyles had you twitchy, this collection of hoodies, jackets, and denim (that’s right, the Most Official Bitches have officially entered ready-to-wear) will feel like a skydive mixed with fire ants mixed with the dank breath of a grizzly bear about to bite your face off.
As per usual all of the styles are rockin’, the vibes are strong, and the message is pure. MOB is truly beating bitches daily, and as long as I’m wearing those pants, they can do as much beating, spanking, and well… you know… as they want.
If you’re looking for a practical bag for your laptop that doesn’t skimp on style, there’s a good chance you can find something in Tom Bihn’s vast array of potent portables. His latest creation, the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase, is the fruit of five months of some serious design labor in response to the Transit Security Authority’s challenge to create a “checkpoint friendly” case to transport your precious wares. These suave satchels remove the hassle for both you and the security guard by allowing them to get a clean shot at the contents of your carry-on by keeping your laptop in a separate protective compartment and leaving the rest of your gear undisturbed as it passes through their x-ray machine. The bag is available in sizes accommodating most Apple laptops and also many PCs.
If you are a long time reader of JoshSpear.com you’ll know that we’ve raved about Monsieur T a lot. (Monsieur T is the limited edition line of street wear clothes designed by Portland based artists and founded by a French dude, just in case you forgot). We’ve always loved their T-shirts and followed them through all their clothing lines — now it is time for some art. A new set of fresh prints that you would expect from the T just launched on their site. As expected, they feature Portland based artist and are all limited edition and signed. Now you can style your walls as you would style your wardrobe.
In the future there’ll be no such thing as a newspapers. All reading will be done on a complex device called a computer. But as long as someone’s still putting print to paper there’s going to be waste associated with it. Thankfully, there are people like the inventive minds at 
NYC’s 
If you’re looking for a practical bag for your laptop that doesn’t skimp on style, there’s a good chance you can find something in 
If you are a long time reader of JoshSpear.com you’ll know that we’ve 
