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Photos by Jon Bergman.

Pass the Buck

Art by Mark Wagner.

Inspiring Me at the Moment.

Hope

Poster designs by David Carson.

The Stronghold

Over the weekend I descended upon Houston to meet with the Refueled staff. While being photographed for the next issue, we talked about style and how each one of us brings an individual voice and aesthetic to the magazine.

Style has been a running theme for the next issue of Refueled.

Don Weir, a certain arbiter of American workwear fashion, introduced us to a company that embodies what we plan to achieve. As far as a brand concepts go, it doesn’t get much better than the Los Angeles based Stonghold.

The company was founded in Los Angeles in 1895 as the area’s first denim manufacturer, and operated continuously until its closure in 1949. Fast forward to 2004 when Michael Paradise and Michael Cassell revived the defunct work wear label as a contemporary brand with every bit of authenticity as the original. Stonghold offers off-the-rack denim for $285, as well as made-to-measure trousers which start at $485, and are truly custom. The company develops a pattern specifically fit to your body and allows you to choose all of the components (fabric, hardware etc.) that go into your jeans. All Stronghold garments come with lifetime alterations and repairs free of charge. As you would expect, Stronghold only uses selvage denim in the construction of its jeans.

(Left) Stronghold manager William Sack. (Right) The wall of denim options for made-to-measure jeans. The glass tube display holds choices of hardware.

Hotel Design

Friend and fellow blogger Don Weir turned me on to the Ace Hotel. Ace, Portland, is grounded in specifics of place and zeitgeist. Part of the Ace philosophy is to create an egalitarian atmosphere by bringing together creative types with tight budgets and more affluent travelers willing to trade down, as it were, in exchange for cool. The hotel’s name is inspired by the card: the highest or lowest in the deck. Rooms with a shared bath, including three “band rooms” with bunks for touring musicians, are $85, while luxe penthouse rooms top out at just $250.

Hotel staff members (left), many of them recruited from hipster enclaves like the Tube bar (right), wear a look developed by Nom de Guerre: basic white shirts and Dickies pants accessorized with Ace-approved vintage items like pinstripe vests, skinny ties and bike-messenger caps.

The functional aesthetic of midcentury office design runs throughout the Ace, from the water bottles wrapped with a simple rubber band (an idea suggested by the New York design firm Roman & Williams) to the sober stationery, customized with the help of a hotel-issued style guide and embossing stamps.

Room numbers inspired by the numbers on Oregon telephone poles are made by the 113-year-old local company Irwin-Hodson. Blankets that refer to the city’s iconic elk statue are made by Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Music and art fuel the Ace’s mood. Many rooms come with turntables and a mix of vinyl from shops like Mississippi Records. Each room also has a one-of-a-kind mural; Room 428’s (right) is a reinterpretation of sheet music by the New York artist Kenzo Minami.

Wooden apple boxes used by photographers became tables and bathroom step stools.

Signs of Marfa

Vilis Inde presents photographs that portray Marfa as it once was and as it is today.

There are two types of signs relating to Marfa: the natural beauty of the surroundings and the manmade signs. "Signs of Marfa" presents both, although the primary focus is on the manmade signs. Many have weathered and are hardly visible, while others are fresh and announce yet another new venture. Combined, the 175 photographs in the book summarizes the history and people of Marfa and shows what it has become.



"Signs of Marfa" is available in either hardcover or softcover from blurb.com. This site allows you to take a look at the first 15 pages of the 80 page book.

Inspiring Me at the Moment.

REFUELED STYLE "Sneak Peek"

Refueled Magazine, the STYLE issue, due out next month. Alt country style coming at you online and in print. Stay tuned!

Warrenton Meeting

A huge "Howdy" to two who I believe are my greatest, number one fans in the world: Lulu Redstar & Lauri Evans. You were both so sweet and funny. So glad to meet you both.