My friend Steve Opperman (formerly of Temple Bags) and his wife Rebecca have started a new furniture company called Stephen Kenn. Their steel frames are all locally welded in Los Angeles and the cushions are all made of repurposed WWII military fabric. Fans of his former bag collection will see many design similarities carried over into the furniture.

In addition to their furniture collection, Steve and Beks host a neighborhood coffee shop at their workshop/showroom space on weekday mornings from 8-11am. It’s called Backdoor Coffee Club and is open to the public, but if you plan on stopping by it’s best to follow them on Twitter (@backdoor_coffee) to see if they’re closed on any given day. I personally love the idea, as I find the idea of common spaces where like-minded creatives can meet up to build together and encourage one another to be extremely important for rejuvenating a sense of community (especially in larger cities). Apolis hosted a weeklong event last December called Common Table which sought to fulfill similar goals, and I’m guessing that it won’t be the last time they do it.

Stephen Kenn/Backdoor Coffee Club
1250 Long Beach Ave., Suite 120
Los Angeles, CA 90021

Thomas Hooper, Tattoo Artist & Painter.
meditationsinatrament.com

These American Optical modified sunglasses are one of my favorite arrivals at Self Edge this spring. They’re deadstock AO frames that we had bath dyed black and then bead blasted to give them a matte finish. The original plastic lenses were then replaced with deadstock glass UV-protective lenses – altogether, they make for a really unique and well-built pair of sunglasses. I scooped up a pair for the sunny days ahead.

Stephen Au, Senior Design Director.
simon-spurr.com

I got my hands on a pair of the upcoming Self Edge x Leather Soul Alden Boots that are due to release on February 18th. Leather Soul is one of the premier footwear destinations in the world and I’m definitely excited that we had a chance to work with them on this boot, which will be sold exclusively through their Waikiki and Beverly Hills stores (Self Edge will be releasing a new Iron Heart collaboration jean as part of this package). There were only 100 pairs made of each colorway and although I love the natural chromexcel, I opted for the black pebbled calf.

One interesting thing about this boot style is that it’s got a design detail that most have never seen before – something it hasn’t been seen since the 1950′s. According to Kiya, the faux cap-top was implemented by Alden during WWII to save on leather; after much persuasion, Alden agreed to redo this boot for us.

I was looking for a small hand grinder for my home coffee setup and had almost settled on the Hario Skerton when my buddy Jaime at Stumptown suggested the Camano Coffee Mill from Red Rooster. He told me that he owned both and liked this one better because of its build quality. After using it for a few weeks, I’m inclined to agree.

The Camano coffee mill is a good looking grinder – I like the walnut accents and the little bronzed door that opens up so you can put the beans into the hopper. It’s got an adjustable conical burr grinder that will pretty much last forever, and will give you consistent grinds so that you don’t have uneven extraction when brewing your coffee.

One major advantage of this grinder over the Skerton is the fact that you can adjust the coarseness of the grind with a simple twist of an easily accessible nut on the top. The Skerton takes a little bit more work. I can go from a super coarse grind for my french press (pictured above) to something finer for filter prep very easily.

My custom makeup Viberg Service Boots arrived just in time for Christmas. They took two months to make and I’m very happy with how they turned out; Brett and the rest of the Viberg team were very accomodating in allowing me to choose every detail to make it my own. I started out with their 1950′s Service Boot last with a brogued cap toe; then I chose a brown harness leather that exhibits lots of pull-up characteristics and paired it with brass eyelets and a contrast black tongue. Lastly, I went for practicality and chose a dainite sole to keep the boot from being too slippery in the rain and snow.

Viberg is a family-owned bootmaker based in Victoria, British Columbia. Everything is crafted in small batches with great attention to detail. This is the first pair that I’ve had the pleasure of owning and the craftsmanship is apparent from end to end. The welt stitching is immaculate.

Thanks to the good folks at Viberg for making a pair of boots for me that I hope to be wearing for a long time.

My good friend Sarah approached me a few months ago to see if I’d be interested in working on a piece for Antenna Magazine‘s Winter 2011 issue. I’ve never had any of my writing published before so I was excited for the opportunity; plus, the concept sounded like a lot of fun. The piece compares 24 hours in the day of a dad (me) versus a single man, and my updates were limited to 25 words or less per hour.  I received a copy in the mail this week and finally got to see the completed piece. It’s on newsstands now, but I also scanned it for your reading pleasure. Many thanks to Sarah and Kaity for including me.

I really enjoyed working on this this for several reasons. Firstly, it was fun to compare my life to someone’s who is in such a different place. I didn’t get to read his half until I got the final issue, and while his blurbs didn’t exactly bring back fond memories of licentiousness I do vaguely remember what it was like to be able to come and go as I pleased. My life really does look a lot different now, and it’s especially clear when you see our hourly activities side by side.

Secondly, I’m thankful to have some sort of documentation of what things were like during our first year with Logan. 2011 has brought so many changes for our family and for my work; I’ve had to learn how to handle more responsibilities and get things done in less time. It’ll serve as a good reminder as to how God has provided for us and helped me to make the necessary adjustments along the way.

Lastly, in reading the final piece over, I realized that despite the challenges that come with juggling a company, a retail store, marriage and fatherhood, I really am having a good time. I ran into an acquaintance who works at Antenna while visiting Sarah who told me, “man, I wouldn’t want to be you.” It reminded me of when I got engaged and several coworkers told me in jest that I was going to be miserable. Marriage has been good to me, and becoming a father has been an amazing experience. I won’t lie – there are occasions when I wish I had more time and less responsibilities, but those are fleeting thoughts.

I’m too busy having fun with my wife and kid.

During my last trip to LA, Casey invited me to an Eames exhibition at Pacific Standard Time; I was unable to go because my flight back to NYC left that same evening. I am disappointed to have missed it because I would have gotten the chance to see these promotional posters in person. PST tapped the one and only Ice Cube to share his appreciation for Charles and Ray Eames and how their work has inspired and influenced him. I like what PST has done in partnering with an unexpected modern cultural icon to help expose art and design to new audiences. When else would you see Eames mentioned on a hip hop blog  (or Ice Cube on a design site)? Initiatives like this break down barriers and make art and design more accessible, so I am all for it.

Plus – without a project like this, I never would have known that Ice cube studied architecture prior to joining NWA. If I ever had the chance to meet Ice Cube one day, I think it would be awesome to know that he would be just as stoked to chat about mid-century design as he would rap music.