I’m a fan of filling our lives with beauty and wonder (and kindness but that’s not something you can buy). Here are some things that may bring some sparkle to your day(s). Cheers.
Leonora Carrington: The Tarot of Leonora Carrington ($39.99)
Underappreciated British-born Mexican surrealist Leonora Carrington is finally getting her due and this expanded edition of her Major Arcana Tarot deck is filled with wonder.
Ramar Record Brush: “Tina” (328,00 €)
Hand made in Berlin from six double rows of carbon fibres and two rows of goat hair wrapped in lovely chunks of wood with some wrapped in metal (inspired by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude), the Ramar record brushes sweep your grooves in style.
Viberg Service Boot 2040 BCT: Whiskey Regency Calf ($785)
Stichdown vs Goodyear Welt is the analog vs digital of the boot world for people who enjoy arguing over experiencing. My White’s 350 Cruisers are breaking in nicely but a dressier boot seems appropriate for dressier affairs. Canada’s Viberg has been building boots using stichdown construction since 1931 and if I get that inheritance from a presently unknown rich relative, these Whiskey numbers will be mine.
Knoll: Risom Lounge Chair ($1432)
Jens Risom was the first designer for Knoll, joining the company in 1940 as the sole designer of interiors and furniture. His iconic Lounge Chair from 1943 originally used simple maple frames and discarded parachute webbing due to wartime material shortages. Today’s cotton webbing version comes in lots of colors with your choice of clear maple, ebonized maple, or light walnut frames. A super comfortable and stylish (listening) seat.
Dubreq: Stylophone S1 ($34.95)
The original pocket synthesizer from the ’60s brought back in reissue form for future Kraftwork and Bowie music makers. Includes a builtin speaker for crafting work on the go.
Japan Blue 11oz Indigo Sashiko Hunting Vest ($250)
Sashiko was used for firemen coats, its thick cotton weave soaked in water before battling the flames. Japan Blue’s Hunting Vest marries this traditional fabric with city hunting style.
Sun Audio: SV-300BE Stereo Power Amplifier (¥ 442,500/kit, ¥ 568,500/assembled)
The one that got away. 8W x 2. All you need in the right situation for bliss.
Heraclitus: The Art and Thought of Heraclitus: An Edition of the Fragments with Translation and Commentary ($51.99)
Only pieces of Heraclitus of Ephesus’ sole work remain yet he’s a rock star (of philosophy). Let his fragments flow into your brain and you’ll never step in the same thought twice. Or something like that. My hand tattoos are a not so subtle nod to his unity of opposites, “All things come into being by conflict of opposites, and the sum of things (τὰ ὅλα ta hola (“the whole”)) flows like a stream.”
Devon Turnbull (Ojas): Incense Burner ($350)
I got to experience Devon Turnbull’s Dream Listening Room at the Lisson Gallery this summer and I was taken with the entire experience. Part of which was the incense burning in this lovely Devon-designed and built hammertone finished burner. Printed Matter has some for sale in an edition limited to 150 copies. Zen and the art of hifi.
Vintage Movie Posters: Breathless (A Bout De Souffle) ($7000)
Wall art can be tricky, especially if you want something BIG. Vintage movie posters can fill the void in an artful way (and some are affordable).
Koetsu: Black Goldline Cartridge ($2995)
Analog—turntables, tonearms, cartridges, step ups, phono stages—can be sexy things, lustworthy in looks, experience, and sound. The Koetsu Black has been calling me, ever so gently, ever since I read Art Dudley’s review.
Michell Audio: Gyro SE Turntable ($3999 without tonearm)
Speaking of sexy, I’m loving my Michell Gyro in every way. It is a stone cold classic and worth every penny of its very reasonable asking price.
Thorogood: American Heritage 6″ Moc Toe Boots ($249.95)
Good boots don’t need to cost a fortune and the Thorogood American Heritage 6″ Moc Toe boots are my daily driver. That wedge sole feels like you’re walking on clouds.
Sayuri Ichida: Absentee ($93.80)
“The careful design of the book, with its gatefolds and beautiful silver pages, heightens the impression of ‘Absente’ as something frail and almost alive, to be handled with care.” Photobooks can be vessels of beauty and wonder.
Needles: Green Tartan Cardigan ($390)
I have a thing for cardigans, especially of the mohair variety. Japan’s Needles knows their way around mohair cardigans and their soft warm fuzziness.
Strand Books: White Diner Mug ($15.95)
I have a thing for chunky coffee mugs, books, and Strand Books having spent many a day in their rare book room back in my NYC days. It got to the point where one of the friendly staff knew my tastes so well he’d put aside rare finds for my next visit. Another favorite book store, long gone, was Books & Co. on Madison where I’d go every Sunday after spending a few hours in the Metropolitan Museum’s halls of wonder. One day while perusing the shelves the manager asked, “Do you know Hölderlin’s work?” I responded in the negative so he walked me over to “H”, handed me two books by Hölderlin, and told me they were on the house. With a love of books comes kindness.
W.B. Yeats: The Poems ($55)
Who doesn’t need a nice hardcover copy of Yeats’ poetry? Hardcover because the ideas is you’re going to read this over and over (and over), something that can make a paperback copy fall to pieces. From the forthcoming fourteen-volume Collected Works by Simon & Schuster.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world
CharityWatch: Top Rated Charities.
char·i·ty
/ˈCHerədē/
noun
noun: charity; plural noun: charities
1. an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.
2. the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.
Being charitable will make you and the world better. I recommend picking a charity from the CharityWatch list because:
Groups included on the CharityWatch Top-Rated list generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, have met CharityWatch’s governance benchmarks, and receive “open-book” status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents to CharityWatch. Please see the Criteria section of the website for more information on the rating criteria and methodology that CharityWatch adheres to.
