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A few weeks ago, I had to make a day trip to Boston for work. I try to make it a point to visit good coffee shops whenever I’m traveling somewhere, so I asked for recommendations. And that’s how I ended up at Barismo, an Arlington-based roastery that also has a small coffee bar where they serve espresso and various pourovers.

As soon as you walk in, you’ll catch a whiff of the beans being roasted on premises. This isn’t the smell of freshly ground coffee beans; it’s a slight charred and burnt smell (not a bad thing, just different). Ben, their head roaster, inspects beans that are just roasted and sorts through them to find defects.

I ordered a cup of their Kenya Othaya as a pourover. And that’s when I spotted this beauty that they were using to prepare the coffee.

The LB-1 is a prototype device that’s only being used at Barismo right now. With it, pourovers can be fully controlled by setting variables like water amount, temperature, and speed of dispensing. They have several presets for different preparations saved, but you can also manually change these options on the fly.

The result is a remarkably consistent cup of coffee via a traditionally labor-intensive process. I was happy to order a second cup of coffee just so that I could see the machine in action again.

Our first collaboration with Barneys Co-Op, the SL-BNY1, has finally released.

My buddy Jian, who recently joined the Complex team, approached me about filming a video for their website about our jean repair process. With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, I agreed. I think the video turned out great; certainly a testament to the talents of the director, Jonathan Lees, and his team.

Darning jeans is a complex process because each jean is different and reacts differently to the machine, and each repair scenario has to be approached in a unique way. While the video makes the process look simple, it’s actually a task that generates regular headaches. Sometimes the machine acts up (it’s over 50 years old), sometimes the thread tangles and knots, and sometimes the timing is off. Sometimes I make a mistake and have to spend half an hour taking the repair apart and starting from scratch. I’ve spent more than a few evenings spent in our sweltering basement raining curses down on the machine. If not for the ongoing guidance and tutelage of Julian, who heads up Self Edge SF’s repair services, I might have given up by now.

Frustrations aside, I really enjoy the repair process. Since Johan and I design our own jeans but don’t manufacture them ourselves, I feel like darning holes and chainstitching hems are the closest I can get to jean (re)construction.  There’s also a certain satisfaction that comes from handing a rebuilt pair back to an excited customer. Now, if only I could get people to wash their jeans before bringing them in… I’m not trying to get a staph infection here.

I understand why the NFL lockout happened. The physical nature of the sport makes the game an extremely dangerous one to participate in: each time a player steps on the field, it could be his last. The average lifespan of a football player’s career is short. The long-term repercussions of this sport’s injuries are yet unknown, and as players get stronger and faster, the game becomes increasingly more hazardous to play. Say what you want about athletes being overpaid, but I feel like NFL players deserve the money they earn.

As the lockout came to a close, several players emerged from it with the intention of holding out for a better contract; these individuals felt the one they signed was not fair and equitable for their current level of play. The shortened offseason also lead many players to jump ship to greener pastures where more guaranteed money was offered. I don’t blame them – the unifying cry in the NFL amongst players seems to be “you gotta do what’s right for you.” I can see where they’re coming from.

This past Monday, I watched the Giants and Bears square off in a preseason game. As Ahmad Bradshaw, the starting running back for the NY Giants, gashed the Bears defensive line with a solid run, the camera immediately shifted to his backup, Brandon Jacobs, hooting enthusiastically for him on the sideline. Jacobs used to be the starter for the Giants two years ago, but over time his carries were taken away by Bradshaw – the smaller, faster back who seemed to be on the rise.  Last season, Bradshaw became the featured back while Jacobs had to settle for fewer chances coming off the bench. Being as competitive as he is, Jacobs had a few press conferences last season where he bristled at reporters’ questions over his new role as backup. Despite this potential wedge, though, Jacobs and Bradshaw developed an unlikely friendship over the season that really showed its mettle just recently.

When faced with salary cap issues as the lockout ended, the Giants organization knew that they wouldn’t be able to resign free agent Ahmad Bradshaw at his asking price. It began looking like the team would lose him, until Jacobs stepped up and offered to restructure his contract for lower pay in order to bring Bradshaw back. Despite surely giving up carries and minutes (as well as money), Jacobs felt that the Giants had a better chance of winning with both players on the field instead of just one – he wanted his friend back on the team. In an industry (yes, it’s an industry) where players seem to always be looking out for themselves, reading about a player’s selflessness was encouraging. But seeing them on the field together cheering each other on was a beautiful thing.

About a month ago, I was repairing jeans in the basement when I came across a beautifully worn pair of Lee jeans in my queue that needed some minor cuff reinforcement. I looked at the slip and recognized the customer’s name – turns out, they did indeed belong to Thomas Hooper who tattoos at Saved in Brooklyn. It’s always fun to work on a pair of jeans that belongs to someone you’re a fan of. If you’re not familiar with his work, he specializes in ridiculously detailed geometric shapes and dotwork shading:

Thomas was one of the central artists featured in Marcus Kuhn’s recently launched travel and tattoo magazine, “The Gypsy Gentleman.” Here’s the episode for your viewing pleasure (I think he’s wearing those same jeans in the video):