Young skateboarders showing off their tricks on the floor of the ASR trade show The buzz in the ASR seminar rooms hints that skateboarding is suffering from no longer being as cool as it was a few years ago. Its hipness seems to have peaked when skater shoes crossed-over and saturated the mainstream market. Also, […]
Tag Archives: slow design
Old School Market Research
I’m taking a deep breath before I fly down to San Diego to dive into a couple of days of market research at the ASR (Action Sports Retailer) Conference. I will be scoping out the viability of my Deep Deck TM, an innovative, solid wood interpretation of the classic homemade, old school longboards of yore. […]
Wishing Wands
One of three ‘seed heads’ of stainless steel and crystal, fabricated by Jeff McCann After a year of planning with the City of San Jose’s Public Art Program, we’re excited to be finally installing our Wishing Wands sculptures at Berryessa Creek Park. The latest Wowhaus project consists of three 12′ high sculptures depicting ‘dandelions’ in […]
Rooftop Lizard Habitat
Artist Mark Brest van Kempen explains his water catchment/recycling system We spent an inspiring evening yesterday at the home of our friend Mark Brest van Kempen, an Oakland-based artist whose work “draws our attention to nature’s role as source, setting and savior“. Mark’s house and studio are a kind of living laboratory nestled in the […]
Mildred’s Lane Dispatch
David Brooks tests the completed pole lathe at Mildred’s Lane (photo by Walker Tufts) The Mildred’s Lane Fellows have completed the pole lathe using entirely materials from the land, and are ready to test its performance cutting green wood, split and foraged from recently fallen trees of beech, hickory and white oak. As I have […]
Mildred’s Lane Dispatch
Mildred’s Lane Fellow, Tyler McPhee, stands by the completed pole lathe ‘motor’ Mildred’s Lane Fellows David Brooks and Tyler McPhee have made impressive progress with the Deep Craft: Bioregional Innovation Project I initiated earlier in the week. Using material culled from the land surrounding Mildred’s Lane, they have constructed the ‘motor’ for a human-powered lathe, […]
Elm
My favorite woods have three letter names- elm, oak, ash and fir. These names have been so repeated over the centuries, they have been polished smooth like river stones- extra syllables or letters are superfluous to their meaning. The trees themselves are thought to have magical origins, with deep roots in the collective consciousness, and […]