Urban Prairie REFUELED

WE'VE MOVED.

2009-12-02T13:21:00.006-06:00

WE HAVE MOVED BLOGS. New address. Refueled can now be found at refueledmag.blogspot.com. Out with the old, in with the new. All new address, all new design - same cool style+design, plus news, previews and outtakes from Refueled magazine. Spread the word.

Amsterdam Sugar Warehouse

2009-12-01T15:47:00.002-06:00

Old sugar warehouse. Built in 1763 and located on the Bloemgracht canal.

via Loftlife magazine.

Toiletries

2009-11-25T10:38:00.002-06:00

Simply graphic design you'll find in my bath - from Hickoree's Hard Goods.

Train

2009-11-25T08:24:00.002-06:00

iphone photo/graphic.

DIY Perma

2009-11-22T09:49:00.004-06:00

Sherri DuPree of Eisley and her husband Max Bemis from Say Anything have a side project called Perma. A true indie DIY venture, cd single were sold on tour, each with signed, one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn cover art from the Bemises. Dig it.

Evolution

2009-11-20T09:01:00.003-06:00

Refueled magazine has come a long way in two short years. It’s slowly evolving into what I had envisioned - a lifestyle magazine for music, style & design lovers, with an edge. If you have the time, go back and revisit issue one, issue two & issue three and see the evolution to the current Fall/Winter .09 issue. And again, thanks very much to the readers. The response has been overwhelming. You’re why we do it. Peace.

Vincent Darre

2009-11-19T14:21:00.001-06:00

Vincent Darre - interior and furniture designer. Photos by the Selby.

Stipe

2009-11-17T09:12:00.002-06:00

All the wheels are in full motion. Stay tuned.

Sweet Tooth

2009-11-16T14:08:00.003-06:00

"My dad says so few kids was born after the accident, that God decided to make ‘em special. So we got fur, or tails, or antlers. He says I’m the last one left. Outside of the trees is fire and hell, so we’s gotta stay here, where it’s safe. Says the trees stop the fire from burning us forever. An’ if we wait here and pray hard, one day we’ll get to go to heaven and be with mom...that’s what my dad says."

Strange sweet shit from Jeff Lemire.

Washed

2009-11-16T12:47:00.002-06:00

I'm really digging these washed blue pics from Jane Heller. Check her stuff out.

Tom Bonauro

2009-11-16T10:56:00.001-06:00

Portfolio.

Steve Reiss

2009-11-13T09:02:00.003-06:00

New pal, film/tv/video producer Steve Reiss, has done some mighty amazing work. He has produced/co-produced projects for everyone from U2, REM, David Bowie, Madonna, Lenny Kravitz to Michael Jackson - and the list goes on and on. Steve originally emailed me to say he really dug Refueled magazine and what I was doing with it. That in itself was a cool compliment. We found out we had a lot in common. He then was instrumental in hooking me up with REM's manager Bertis Downs, in my efforts to secure a interview with Michael Stipe for Refueled. Steve and I are now in the concept stage of a collabration. Will it be in print, on film? Stay tuned for the outcome.

Exactly

2009-11-11T08:41:00.005-06:00

Painting by GQ deputy editor Michael Hainey.

Eric Testroete

2009-11-09T14:22:00.005-06:00

My buddy Dave sent this over to me today, and I thought it was completely insane! Papercraft self-portrait by Eric Testroete.

Artist Statement:

"I made this as my costume for Halloween 2009. It was kind of inspired by big-head mode seen in videogames. I really wanted to get the faceted geosphere look with wireframe."

Interview

2009-11-08T10:08:00.003-06:00

I was interviewed by the lovely Jamie Watson from the very cool surf lifestyle blog Pineapple Luv. Also check out Jamie's interview with Liquid Salt magazine.

Collaboration

2009-11-03T13:41:00.007-06:00

2009 has been a very productive year for me, and 2010 is already shaping up to be as busy, if not more. Along with the release of my skate board line Refueled Sidewalk Surfboards in the Spring, I'll be releasing the first in a series of Refueled Books. The first titled "Collaboration" - a collaborative photo/graphic venture between photographer Cari Wayman and myself. Cari and I have long talked about doing a project together and it looks like the right time has come. Stay tuned.

Humble.

2009-11-03T10:43:00.004-06:00

The beautiful and talented Courtney Barton over at Inside the Loop is just one of the cool people who I've been receiving props from over the last couple of days since the release of issue four of my magazine Refueled. I am deeply humbled by all the great response. Refueled is a true labor of love and I am so honored to work with a cool group of staff and contributors. They help me shine. As long as you keep diggin' them, I'll keep putting them out. Peace.

Refueled Magazine Issue 4 Available

2009-11-01T07:21:00.007-06:00

Refueled magazine, issue 4, is now available for FREE online. It's packed full of style, music, surf & skate - everything from singer/songwriter Amy Cook to surf/skate streetwear icon Shawn Stussy. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Fun Fun Fun Fest

2009-10-30T13:36:00.003-06:00

Who wants to go?

While SXSW lies in hibernation, Austin has awoken Fun Fun Fun Fest to pronounce that, deep in the wintry heart of Texas, the embers of merrymaking still burn strong. Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest features four core stages of some of the most progressive music & comedy representing Punk/Hardcore, Indie/Progressive, Hip Hop/DJ, & Comedy/Debauchery. In addition to Fun Fun Fun Fest’s ridiculous musical line-up, the festival will also host an array of activities to keep fans busy between sets. Fans can check out the festival’s mechanical bull, skate ramp, live screen-printing, photo booth, Flip cam interviews, API poster show, band merchandise and food and fashion from some of Austin’s favorite local businesses.

WHEN: November 7-8 / 12:00—9:00 p.m.
WHERE: Waterloo Park / 403 E. 15th St. / Austin, TX / 78701

Digital Expressions

2009-10-30T08:24:00.004-06:00

I was asked to contribute to Susan Tuttle's new book Digital Expressions. May 2010 release.

Digital Expressions guides the mixed-media artist through 25 stepped-out digital projects created with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Projects like manipulating single photos, collage on a digital canvas, and digital illustration will inspire you to tackle all kinds of digital mixed-media projects using stock photography, custom brushes, textured backgrounds and your own digital photos. A team of talented contributing artists further illustrates the techniques in action. Plus, a bonus CD includes more than 20 digital design elements for you to use in your own projects!

Shawn Stussy X Refueled Magazine

2009-10-26T09:36:00.004-06:00

Read my interview with surf/skate streetwear icon Shawn Stussy in the upcoming issue of Refueled magazine, which drops Nov. 1.

Refueled Sidewalk Surfboards

2009-10-22T12:16:00.002-06:00

My board line, Refueled Sidewalk Surfboards, launches Spring 2010.

Refueled Presents 180˚South

2009-10-18T10:59:00.004-06:00

Refueled magazine will host a special bonfire showing of Chris Malloy's new film "180˚South" on Jalama Beach in Lompoc, Califonia, early Spring 2010. In 2005 Chris Malloy took a trip to Patagonia with Yvon Chouinard and Rick Ridgeway. It was then the idea for what would be come the film 180° SOUTH was officially hatched. Chris had been considering this film for almost a decade prior and was finally inspired to dig into it after experiencing Patagonia first hand. Chris' aesthetic vision in his films Shelter, Thicker than Water, A Brokedown Melody and One Track Mind have helped usher in a movement in surfing that bleeds into popular culture world wide. His love for crafting simplicity and authenticity give him the ability to create lasting documents of time and place.

Chris Malloy will also grace the cover of Refueled's Spring/Summer 2010 issue. Myself and a small film crew will be shooting footage for the second installment of the magazine's "Behind-the-Cover" series.

Stay tuned for details.

Busy in the Studio Today...

2009-10-16T16:35:00.000-06:00

Cai Guo-Qiang

2009-10-15T07:52:00.001-06:00

Cai Guo-Qiang’s art installations are incredible. The movement and ferocity yet strange tranquility of his work is simply astounding.

Feeling

2009-10-13T15:00:00.003-06:00

Really digging these pixs by Harry Bloom.

Dream Beach Home

2009-10-12T14:58:00.000-06:00

Photos by Anson Smart.

Inside-the-Design: Refueled Magazine

2009-10-05T08:19:00.004-06:00

As with any creative person I am inspired by the work of other creatives around me, people I have respect for, who’s work rides in that same vibe as my own. Time and time again I seem to turn to REM for a refueled spark. When I sit down to start planning the look and feel of each issue, and then finally putting together spreads, REM always seems to be playing in the background. After some recent banter with producer Steve Reiss, I revisited REM’s Road Movie, a 1996 concert film which Steve co-produced. Road Movie documents the entirety of the modern-day arena-rock experience, complete with dizzying effects, neo-punk camera angles and a let-the-music-do-the-talking premise - it is this vibe that has inspired the spreads in the upcoming issue, which drops Nov. 1. Road Movie’s set designer Mark Fisher layered and constructed beautiful, sometimes nonsense images into each song, giving the viewer an expanded vision - something I try and do with Refueled.

Amy Cook "Behind-the-Cover"

2009-09-27T16:02:00.011-06:00

For two days, in the midst of a Austin Texas heat wave, carrying nothing but a camera and a smile, I captured footage of singer/songwriter Amy Cook hanging out, telling stories and doing what she does best - performing incredible music.

Amy Cook “Behind-the-Cover”, a short film produced by my new company Refueled Films, is the first in a series that will accompany my style+design publication Refueled. The idea to start documenting what goes into producing the cover feature and including it on the magazine’s website seemed like a natural progression. The goal for Refueled is to always stay current, if not on the edge, of what’s happening with online magazines - including video was the next step.

The nine minute short goes behind-the-scenes with Amy Cook while being interviewed for Refueled. Cook performs an special acoustic version of “Down to the River” from her upcoming release “Let the Light In”, talks a little about the making of the song “Saltwater” and spends some quiet time with friends down by the Colorado River in Austin, Teaxs.

A rare glimpse at an amazing artist. Produced & directed by Chris Brown and edited by award-winning editor Darrell Stevens.

Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/6705295
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT9LIF_3F1g
Refueled Magazine: http://www.refueledmagazine.com

Blaring at the Moment!

2009-09-27T06:42:00.000-06:00

You have no idea about Emily Wells. I’m not even sure she’s real. She’s too cool to be real, too talented, too strange. She’s definitely a figment of my imagination, some kind of daydream. She could tour with Andrew Bird and Jay-Z and feel right at home. She plucks violin strings staccato, slides her trembling bow across them legato, plinks tiny pianos, strums ukes, snaps off healthy drum samples as if in her sleep, and loops them all together like some master seamstress. She croons with guile and moxie and something to prove then rides the beat right into an unexpected hip-hop segment. She’s really good. Maybe too good.

GODSPEED 45/06

2009-09-20T17:40:00.004-06:00

GODSPEED 45/06
DOCUMENT is a quarterly collection of photographs documenting various bike builders, their work, and their workspaces.

Independently photographed, designed, and published, GODSPEED 45/06 DOCUMENT NO. 1 features Keino Sasaki, White Knights in the House of Kolor, Walt Siegl, and the crew over at Works. It’s 8×10 Inches, 158 Pages and is available is both hard and soft cover versions.

Thanks Ms. Schulke.

One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

2009-09-16T14:16:00.003-06:00

He was called the vibrant new voice of his generation -- the avatar of the Beat movement. In 1957, on the heels of the triumphant debut of his groundbreaking novel, On The Road, Jack Kerouac was a literary rock star, lionized by his fans and devotees. But along with sudden fame and media hype came his unraveling, and, by 1960, Kerouac was a jaded cynic, disaffected from the Beat culture he helped create and tortured by self-doubt, addiction and depression.

Desperate for spiritual salvation and solitude, as well as a place to dry out, he secretly retreats to Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s rustic cabin in the Big Sur woods. But his plan is foiled by his own inner demons, and what ensues that summer becomes the basis for Kerouac’s gritty, yet lyrically told, semi-autobiographical novel, Big Sur.

One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, takes the viewer back to Ferlinghetti’s cabin and to the Beat haunts of San Francisco and New York City for an unflinching, cinematic look at the compelling events the book is based on. The story unfolds in several synchronous ways: through the narrative arc of Kerouac’s prose, told in voice-over by actor and Kerouac interpreter, John Ventimiglia (of HBO’s The Sopranos); through first-hand accounts and recollections of Kerouac’s contemporaries, whom many of the characters in the book are based on such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Carolyn Cassady, Joyce Johnson and Michael McClure; by the interpretations and reflections of writers, poets, actors and musicians who have been deeply influenced by

Kerouac’s unique gifts like Tom Waits, Sam Shepard, Robert Hunter, Patti Smith, Aram Saroyan, Donal Logue and S.E. Hinton; and by stunning, High Definition visual imagery set to original music composed and performed by recording artist, Jay Farrar of Son Volt, with additional performance by Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.

4th Annual El Cosmico Gathering - Marfa, Texas

2009-09-10T15:24:00.012-06:00

4th Annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love - October 9-11, 2009 - El Cosmico, Marfa, Texas

Music - Two nights of music on solar powered sound stage.
Friday Night: Amy Cook, Ben Kweller & Patty Griffin.

Saturday Night: Hotel Brotherhood, Tift Merritt & Heartless Bastards.
Music is included in the price of camping. If you aren't camping, $15 for one night or $25 for both. CASH ONLY at the front gate unless you pre-register.

Camping
Bring your portable dwelling and sleep on the ground. If you want to bring a trailer or RV, please email about your machine and organizers will see if they can accommodate it. Note there are not RV hookups onsite. Camping (includes musical events) $75 per person for the weekend.

Bring your own provisions for grilling. Barbecue pits will be available on site. Some food will be available at the Get Go and Pueblo markets, or at Farm Stand Marfa on Saturday morning. Jo's coffee will be available in the mornings. Beer and wine will be on sale Friday and Saturday evening until the law allows. Bring cash!

Pre-Register
$75 per person to camp for the weekend, $40 for one night (music included). Pre-register here. If you are interested in volunteering for this event in exchange for free camping and music, please send email.

Choka

2009-09-10T09:16:00.003-06:00

You asked for it, you got it! Choka, a surf term for bitchin', awesome, cool, great etc..., is the title of my new blog that debuts Monday, Sept. 14th. My whole life has evolved around being on top of one type of board or another, so it was only a matter of time before I got around to presenting that vibe in a blog - surf, skate & snow. Check it out guys & gals.

Number 9, number 9, number 9...

2009-09-08T12:41:00.004-06:00

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (09.09.09) The release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release. A cool day for fans.

Issue 4

2009-09-06T20:54:00.013-06:00

Refueled Magazine. Issue 4. Drops November 1.

Brilliant

2009-09-05T20:46:00.002-06:00

I haven't heard anything this brilliant in a very long time. Seether's remake of Wham's "Careless Whisper" is a complete mix of the way I look at design and fashion.

Surf Filmmakers T. Campbell & A. Lesser

2009-09-03T12:28:00.008-06:00

Oceanside pro Julie Cox talks with Tiffany Campbell and Andria Lesser, the ladies of Villa Villa Cola Productions, shortly after the Encinitas premier of their lady surf film Dear & Yonder. Three-years in the making, the project documents all manner of women in the water and is the very first of it’s kind.

Julie Cox: Together you’re known as Villa Villa Cola Productions—what’s the background of the name?

Tiffany Campbell: A big hero of mine as a kid was Pippi Longstocking. She has this really wild, adventurous spirit and she encapsulated our feelings about skateboarding and of being really wild and free, and living on your own terms. The name of her house was Villa Villekulla and I adapted it to make it more American. At first the company was my sister, Nicole, and another girl who skated, and me. We started making zines with random stories, horoscopes and photos of us that we’d pass out, but there was no one to give them to; girls didn’t really skate. So we decided to go across the country. We made a video and made T-shirts, and people were stoked on our idea, but they still didn’t know any girls who skated to give the stuff to. So we came home and started over with a new idea. We decided to focus more on videos and started a little collective with other artists and videographers. We made a few videos but our biggest project was a skate video called Getting Nowhere Faster.

Julie Cox: Andria, how did you get involved?

Andria Lesser: I actually met Tiffany’s sister skateboarding in San Francisco about eleven years ago. I was skating with a bunch of my guy friends from North Carolina and saw Nicole and her friend Rebecca. I was so nervous because I had never met other girls who skated but they asked me to go skate with them and through them I met Tiffany.

Julie: Dear and Yonder is technically a “surf movie,” but it also covers skateboarding, sailing, sewing and shaping. It all feels like a celebration of freedom and it’s really empowering—how did you branch out beyond just showing the actual surfing footage?

Tiffany: All that’s out there is shortboarding movies about women, and I think [shortboarding] is really intimidating. Not many women are going to pursue it if they want to get in the water. There is more than one way to experience the ocean, so we wanted to open up different avenues and show these women who have a very normal side. They’re not superheroes, but at the same time they are extraordinary people, so you can really relate to them. First, we want you to be able to relate to them as people, then, “Wow, they’re doing that and they’re not that different from me! I can be a bodysurfer, or I can sail, or I can be a longboarder or a shortboarder.”

Andria: We wanted girls to see the all the possibilities.

Julie: How did Villa Villa Cola’s focus shift from skate to surf?

Tiffany: It really came about organically. We had tossed the idea of doing a women’s surf movie around, but the impetus for doing it was Liz Clark. We were following her journey sailing around the world and we were frustrated that we couldn’t see more, on video or something. [Tiffany appeals to the sky ‘I want to see this girl!’] Originally we thought we would do something small, but then once Liz was on board we knew it was bigger than that.

Julie: What was the general reaction when you told people you were making a women’s surf film?

Andria: Some people were excited and asked questions, but it didn’t resonate with a lot of others.

Tiffany: The women who are really in the surf scene and have been in it for a while were like “women’s surfing needs this!” It hasn’t been done for women’s surfing yet; delving into the stories, using 16mm film and traveling to amazing places. These women were really excited and hungry for it, and that is what got me really excited—people with all that energy. It is so inspiring, regardless of whether you surf or not. I think anyone who watches the film will see that it is a human story, not just a surfer’s story.

Julie: You have a pretty distinguished cast of surfers in the film—how did you find them? Were there certain stories that you sought out?

Tiffany: Some of the girls, like Ashley Lloyd, we knew from Santa Cruz and we knew she was shaping boards and thought that was fascinating. And Belinda Baggs, we love her surfing and Thomas [Campbell, Tiffany’s husband] is friends with her, so that was an easy choice.

Andria: Judith Sheridan [the bodysurfer in Dear & Yonder] is this Ocean Beach secret legend and I’d never met her but had heard of her and was fascinated. She was so mysterious. We had friends who knew her but she was the one we were most nervous to meet because she is outside of our peer group a little bit (she’s a geophysicist). We were thrilled when she said she would work with us.

Julie: Any advice for aspiring filmmakers?

Tiffany: My advice for filmmakers is to get educated, not necessarily through school, but find a mentor, someone who can teach you a base of knowledge. If that’s your passion, you’re going to find a way.

Andria: This is my first film project. Tiffany had me get into still photography and that was the best recommendation. And it’s cool and okay to take yourself seriously. You’re going to make something awesome. What you’re doing is important.

Julie: How about advice for girls getting into surfing or skating?

Andria: For me, it was great to have a group of girlfriends to do it with and to go out with girls who were better than me so I could watch and learn from them. We just tried to learn as much as we could because we were passionate about it.

Photos: Liz Cockrum, Tiffany Cambell

Coupe

2009-09-02T12:48:00.003-06:00

After putting in many hours scratching, etching, burnishing and layering, art director Bill Douglas bailed on this design for issue 14 of Coupe magazine at the 23rd hour. Looking back he wish he hadn't. So do I.

Sissyfish

2009-09-01T07:44:00.002-06:00

Art by Rick Albano.

Skate Weekend

2009-08-30T16:22:00.003-06:00

Photos by Paige Brown.

Indie-Punk-Typograpic-Produce

2009-08-28T15:01:00.005-06:00

Three pieces from a new collection entitled Indie·Punk·Typograpic·Produce. Launched June 6, 09 at Coupe Space. This series of seven montages are each 16" x 20". Rebuilt digital prints and tape under glass.

Thursday

2009-08-27T14:48:00.002-06:00

Living, Working, and Eating Pancakes

2009-08-26T19:12:00.004-06:00

...in Austin, Texas. Photographer Matthew Genitempo.

Thanks Don.

The Beatles

2009-08-25T18:00:00.002-06:00

Some of my favorite Rolling Stone covers.

FOAM Magazine

2009-08-20T19:04:00.003-06:00

Foam has been serving global surf and beach lifestyle to young women around the world, delivering core action sports and edgy fashion cross-over via newsstands, surfshops and beach towels for the past 6 years. BXC was asked to improve the book's grid, fonts and overall editorial flow as well as design and art direction. I really like the direction they are going. Clean, modern and still with the edge. I'm also digging that editor-in-chief Kristina Dechter and her staff are intergrating a few more male features in each issue. Check it out.

New West Coast Contributor, Refueled Magazine

2009-08-18T16:53:00.008-06:00

Refueled magazine has a new West Coast contributor. Artist/Curator Jamie Watson's features will cover surf/skate culture and lifestyles. Look for her interview with DRIFT Magazine editor Joe Conway in the Fall/Winter issue due this November. Welcome abroad Jamie.

Inspiring Me Now

2009-08-17T17:27:00.002-06:00

Refueled Films

2009-08-15T17:35:00.004-06:00

Looking forward to releasing the first short from my new company Refueled Films. Starting with the next issue of Refueled Magazine, due out in November, a short "behind-the-scenes" film will be available on the website. Each short will feature the person or subject on that issue's cover. Myself and editor Darrell Stevens are finishng up the first with singer/songwriter Amy Cook.

Skate the Nose

2009-08-13T21:15:00.003-06:00

Sometimes you're just not near a swell. It's in those times you grab your longboard and skate the nose. That's why it's called sidewalk surfing. Grab some concrete today and just say "Fuck it!" and have a cool time.

Choke

2009-08-12T17:54:00.004-06:00

A friend posted a photo of this motorcycle shop in Los Angeles a couple of days and it just reminded me how rad CHOKE is. A shop with cool scooters, vintage pinball machines and believe it or not, a great espresso - pulled by owner Jeff Johnson himself.

Talking Pictures

2009-08-10T21:26:00.004-06:00

By no means would I call myself a professional photographer. I do however like to dabble with low-fi cameras and capture images the way I see them in my head. Some are grainy snapshots from my iphone, taken along my adventures - like the one I shared for sfgirlbybay's new series "Talking Pictures". Others are brought to life with a vintage handheld super 8 film camera - images which find their way into short films/videos being produced by my new company Refueled Films. All in all it's about capturing a vibe.

Thomas Campbell

2009-08-10T17:59:00.006-06:00

Thomas Campbell. Painter. Photographer. Filmmaker.

Rural Studio

2009-08-09T09:23:00.004-06:00

I dig looking inside someones thought process. Even better if they compile them in a portfolio.

Jack Sanders. JWLKR Design Build Adventure.

Julie Goldstein

2009-08-04T17:05:00.002-06:00

Julie Goldstein.

Hanging Five

2009-08-02T13:42:00.012-06:00

Christopher Cutri is interested in the peripheral elements of the surf culture. His second surf doc, Hanging Five follows five extremely talented artists and examines their work. It also tries to discover why the surf culture produces and supports the arts.

Lost Highway

2009-08-01T09:21:00.004-06:00

An old friend looked me up on Facebook recently. Photographer and vintage camera collector Dorin Schadel came across a old Argus at a garage sale and as always checked to see if there was film left in it. There was. Above are a few of what was found inside. A series she calls "Lost Highway".

Sidewalk Surfboard Line

2009-07-28T16:58:00.001-06:00

A sneak peek at a few of the decks I have been designing & developing for my skateboard line. Refueled Sidewalk Surfboards will be available online, at exclusive skate shops and boutiques soon. Stay tuned for details.

Guest House

2009-07-27T17:22:00.008-06:00

Refueled Magazine was back in Austin for a second time to hang out with singer/songwriter Amy Cook and her girlfriend-hotelier extraordinaire Liz Lambert. Ms. Cook is the cover feature for Refueled’s Fall issue, due out this November.

I was there to shoot footage for a short promo video I’m directing/editing to accompany the release.

We were invited to stay at the guest house. As one would expect from the person behind the Hotel Saint Cecilia and the Hotel San José , our quarters were hip, modern minimalist and very Liz Lambert. A vintage white wire chair and cactus welcome guest into the two bedroom/loft home.

The stark black & white, tiled bath came supplied with fluffy white towels and Marfa Brand soaps.

A turquoise vintage International Scout and chair adds a cool pop of color.

A ticking mattress in a small nook off the kitchen made a cool spot to catch a nap and answer emails.

Photos taken with my iphone.

A Recycled Retreat

2009-07-20T19:15:00.010-06:00

Cinco Camp, Roger Black’s West Texas retreat, is made of five shipping containers on his 3,000-acre ranch. “I wanted something that blends into the landscape and could be installed and eventually removed with minimal disturbance to the environment,” he said.

Mr. Black, who was the art director at Rolling Stone in the 1970s, and at The New York Times and Newsweek in the 1980s, is now a publications consultant. He built this house, a nine-hour trip from his Manhattan apartment, last year. He stays connected to the outside world by satellite broadband. His few visitors include his nephew, a cowboy, whose image is reflected in the sliding glass door fitted to the front of the container.

The units, finished off site and set in place by cranes, retain their original exterior doors. When sealed, they keep out the elements, not to mention snakes.

The living room has a flat-screen television and midcentury furnishings bought in New York and San Francisco. The painting is by Carlos Montes de Oca.

“Out here, I get back to reality ... whatever reality is," Mr. Black said.

Photos: James H. Evans for The New York Times

Don't Stop Skating

2009-07-20T19:06:00.004-06:00

Back on my longboard this past weekend after a month off with a foot injury. Felt so cool gliding down those sloped streets.

When Skaters Grow Up

2009-07-14T17:15:00.006-06:00

Jay Shapiro, a skateboarder and musician, and Claire Bigbie, an interior designer, turned a Victorian in San Francisco's Noe Valley into a skater’s dream house. The couple met 10 years ago at a skate park in Rhode Island; they bought their house for $1 million in 2005.

A dressing room has wallpaper by Tom Dixon, a plastic chandelier from Urban Outfitters and a taxidermy deer named Harry. Ms. Bigbie — who had been collecting furniture since she was 14 — has filled the house with vintage and contemporary pieces.

A bathroom designed to look like a pool, with depth marks and pool coping, reminds its owners of the skateboarder’s nirvana: an empty pool. A black laboratory sink Ms. Bigbie found at a salvage yard was fitted with customized faucets; that red is Million Dollar Red by Benjamin Moore.

The ground-floor studio has a rolling garage door that opens to a garden designed by Flora Grubb, with “a Palm Springs desert vibe,” Ms. Bigbie said, and succulents in big pots.

Artwork by Ms. Bigbie and Mr. Shapiro’s friends hangs in the kitchen; the paper on the wall at right is Angles, by Erica Wakerly. Ms. Bigbie painted the mantel in the bedroom Benjamin Moore’s Pool Party Blue; the bottles on it are by Sara Paloma. The Hella Jongerius vase on the floor is from Ikea.

Photos by Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Red Stripe

2009-07-06T19:40:00.001-06:00

Amy Cook & Refueled Magazine

2009-06-28T21:25:00.009-06:00

Hung out with Amy Cook over the weekend in Austin. Refueled magazine was there to shoot Amy for the next issue's cover story. Locations for the shoot included Hotel Saint Cecila and Amy's lake side trailer. While down by the water, we were given a very private acoustic performance of songs from Amy's upcoming album and were the first to hear her hypnotic tribute (video below) to Michael Jackson. Fucking brilliant.

Summer Solstice+Go Skateboarding Day

2009-06-21T19:10:00.006-06:00

Today was the most perfect Father's Day for me. Spent the Summer Solstice with my two girls at the skatepark for "Go Skateboarding Day". The local boys were displaying some sick tricks while my nine year old, in background, was testing her new skills on the ramps.

Refueled+Stüssy

2009-06-16T08:29:00.006-06:00

Yes, it's true. I will be interviewing surf/skate/streetwear giant Shawn Stüssy for the next issue of Refueled magazine. I've been a huge fan of Stüssy growing up, so it's rad that I will be able to sit down with him and talk about his newest venture S/Double, surfing, art and the current state of streetwear. Look for it this Fall.

Inspiring Me at the Moment.

2009-06-11T15:11:00.003-06:00

Summer+Coke

2009-06-10T07:45:00.001-06:00

Deformer

2009-06-02T14:32:00.005-06:00

Eleven years in the making and compiling more than 30 years of material, Ed Templeton’s scrapbook of his upbringing in suburban Orange County California. Its photographs give a sun-drenched glimpse of what it might be like to be young and alive in the “suburban domestic incubator” of Orange County, conveyed in the idiom of Nan Goldin or Larry Clark (and with a sharp eye for the streets that recalls Garry Winogrand or Eugene Richards). For like his groundbreaking predecessors, Templeton is always a participant in the scenes he shoots. From the Alleged Press series curated by Aaron Rose, Deformer interweaves disciplinary letters from Templeton’s grandfather and religious notes from his mother with sketches, snapshots, telling images and the occasional brutal tale, laying out an unresolved narrative that plunges readers headlong into Templeton’s chaotic youth and his reliance on art and skateboarding to accommodate its stresses and joys.“ Skateboarding allowed me to travel the world, and that showed me that where I live is totally messed up,” he observes. “That perspective has fueled me and been a source for my art.” Through photographs, stories and ephemera of all sorts from his youth and teenage years, Templeton offers readers an intensely close and personal look at an artist’s coming of age.

S/Double Studio

2009-06-02T09:34:00.007-06:00

Shawn Stussy has a new workplace, S/Double Studio in Santa Barbara, CA.

Refueled Magazine makes Creative List

2009-05-27T15:52:00.005-06:00

Out for only three days, Refueled Magazine, issue 3, has made the "Most Popular" list this week at issuu.com. Download a copy today!

R.I.P. Jay Bennett

2009-05-27T15:09:00.004-06:00

Now Available! Refueled Issue 3

2009-05-24T20:04:00.014-06:00

Refueled magazine has a new issue and a new website. Refueled; the magazine that has been described as the underbelly of style+design can now be found at refueledmagazine.com. Look for a full blown, off the hook site in the coming weeks. Issue no. 3 takes a look at decor in the Hotel Saint Cecilia of Austin, in blogger Courtney Smith Barton’s Houston home, and in the Waxahachie-based museum/home of collectors Bruce and Julie Webb. There is a great Q&A with hotelier Liz Lambert, style from Cari Wayman & Olivia Bee, the "Highway to Swell" surf journal from Nathan Webster and photographer Dustin Humphrey and much more. What better way to start the summer than with a new issue of Refueled magazine? Take a look and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Ink Your Mom

2009-05-07T13:35:00.004-06:00

In Honor of Mother's Day, Scott Campbell will be doing "Mom" tattoos for $100 each on a first come first served basis this sunday at The Smile (Saved Tattoo's second location in Manhattan). He will have a set of 5 designs to choose from that he drew up specifically for the occasion, and he will not tattoo these designs after sunday. He will start at 8am on, and will take as many people as he can until 6pm. The Shop is located at 26 Bond St, between Lafayette and bowery.

via Secret Forts

Monster Children Magazine

2009-05-07T08:17:00.005-06:00

Monster Children magazine, now into it's 21st issue, has become one of my favorite publications in the surf, skate, photography & design arena. Perhaps it's the magazine-meets-book binding, or the rectangular long-page format. There has been a evolutionary leap from the mag's beginnings as an Aussie surf and skate rag, but they've managed the transition smoothly while still keeping that core content intact. Monster Children has consistently featured some of the finest guerilla surf photography, and their love of the wave is sincere and profound. As they've grown, that sense of the genuine has stayed with them, and it spills over into everything they do. The Beautiful Losers piece is witty and candid, a refreshingly unpretentious take on one of the most significant gatherings of Pervasive Art ever assembled. It's this ability to walk the line between art and accessibility of culture that sets Monster Children apart from the magazine-rack pack.

Loft Tour: Temporary Attic Abode

2009-05-05T15:45:00.001-06:00

While renovating the ground floor of this factory, the owners took refuge in the attic. Using found materials like shopping carts and industrial lockers, they transformed the space into an innovative live/work home. Their two kids get to live every child’s dream: they sleep in a tent!

Lover's Land

2009-05-01T13:46:00.002-06:00

So Nathan and Dustin were talking to one another...they both happened to be small time motorcycle enthusiasts, and they came up with the idea to do a motorcycle trip somewhere in Australia. After very little thought and even less planning, they grabbed a bearded third accomplice by name of Salsa, called in some favours from Deus, and set out from Sydney on three 650 Whips with no plan but to find good waves and hang with good people. Along the way they convensed friends, artist, kooks, pro surfers, grumpy old fucks, girls, moms, groms, hipsters, wankers, hippies, filmmakers and designers. Theirs was a voyage through the Lover's Land of Van Demons, on a highway to swell.

Covers

2009-05-01T12:29:00.002-06:00

Six book jacket designs I'm digging at the moment.

Jim Houser

2009-05-01T08:34:00.003-06:00

Jim Houser's paintings are the system by which he actively catalogs the images and noises that command his attention. His installations act to create a map of the contents of his head over the course of a particular period of time.

Jim has done graphic design work for Toy Machine, Designarium, and Nike. Gingko Press published a book cataloging his life in the arts, called BABEL, in 2005.

Black Owls - Ohio Sessions

2009-04-23T12:28:00.002-06:00

The Black Owls, featuring my pal David Butler on drums and vocals, can be seen on Ohio Sessions. Ohio Sessions... live, intimate, acoustic recordings of musicians and bands filmed in unique environments in and around Ohio. It could be in a bedroom, at a small bar, around a campfire or on the street. It’s real, raw and genuine - like the Owls themselves. Check it out.

I'm Hooked.

2009-04-08T13:44:00.001-06:00

LoftLife

"Feel a Change Comin' On"

2009-04-06T13:58:00.002-06:00

At one point, a romantic-sounding electric guitar break, coupled with accordion, comes before a verse in which Dylan reveals: "I've been listening to Billy Joe Shaver / and I'm reading James Joyce / some people, they tell me / I've got the blood of the land in my voice."

Two Birds Fly

2009-04-01T15:30:00.003-06:00

Two Birds Fly is a new company based in San Francisco. They specialize in hand carved surfboards and skateboards utilizing environmentally conscious materials. The company states that everything is hand made or drawn from a talented roster of artists that include Thomas Campbell, Nat Russell, Serena Mitnik-Miller and many others.

Ashes of American Flags - Wilco Live

2009-03-25T15:42:00.003-06:00

Ashes of American Flags is a new film presenting Wilco live in concert during their 2008 tour. Culled from concerts in five quintessentially American venues - Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Tipitina’s in New Orleans, The Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. – the film captures the energy, poignancy and musicality of a Wilco concert and tour. Directed and produced by Brendan Canty and Christoph Green (Sunken Treasure, Burn to Shine).

Check out the trailer HERE

Junk Luxe

2009-03-25T09:47:00.003-06:00

On the road to the small Texas town of Warrenton for Antique Week. If you see me out in the cow pastures, stop and say hello.

Marfa Film Festival

2009-03-20T07:46:00.002-06:00

For the intrepid, Far West Texas is an unforgettable place, far from the world, urging visitors back time and again to its awe-inspiring wildness and serenity. Particularly, there is Marfa, home to Marfa Film Festival, coming April 29 - May 3, 2009.

Marfa is a small town alone on a high plateau, a place defined by a history of separation, where life proceeds at its own distinct pace as a harmony of antithesis: cowboy culture and high-art. Designed as a gasp of fresh air, Marfa Film Festival is a retreat far away from the chaotic and competitive environments found on the festival circuit. It's a get-a-way that is truly WAY out there.

For five magical days there will be screenings of films that transcend time with indelible images and engaging storytelling, reminding us that the art of cinema can change our lives and renew the world.

Raygun

2009-03-19T12:42:00.008-06:00

Raygun, the alternative music+style magazine first published in 1992, came along at a time when I was starting to experiment with my own design aesthetic. Although I hold deep admiration for original designer/art director David Carson, I feel the magazine's true style did not come into it's own until guys like Chris Ashworth, Robert Hales & Jerome Curchod stepped on board.

Hello

2009-03-18T13:33:00.003-06:00

Proposed designs for the photo journal R.E.M. "Hello" by David Belisle. To see additional designs, see R.E.M.'s homepage at Chronicle Books.

Alex Kopps, Displacement

2009-03-16T07:02:00.011-06:00

Displacement, We Have Come to Ruin Your Surfing, 2009

Across the Universe

2009-03-10T13:56:00.000-06:00

Japanese Motors

2009-03-09T08:41:00.006-06:00

“Better Trends” by The Japanese Motors. The video follows the band into the streets of San Francisco on their hopeless, tongue and cheek search for a “better trend.” As the video progresses you travel through a variety of trend and fad graveyards, such as thrift stores and the now omnipresent vintage clothing boutique. The video eventually leads their search back to themselves and into a world of layered sun bleached video tape. You should be warned, this video was made in traditional no budget music video style with a baby stroller, boom box, skateboard and other antiquated tools of deception. Lo-Fi at it's finest.

Fuck Yeah

2009-03-06T11:23:00.006-06:00

Hanging out in the Opium Den at the Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin.

Reading

2009-03-05T09:06:00.006-06:00

+81 MAGAZINE Vol. 43 Typography Issue. NEW SKATEBOARD GRAPHICS Namdev Hardisty. MIKE MILLS Graphics, Films. MUG SHOTS Raynal Pellicer.

Artist Loft

2009-03-03T16:18:00.004-06:00

loftlife magazine. 2700 sq. ft. loft in Brooklyn by New York based design firm Ochs Design.

Need A Buzz?

2009-03-02T15:18:00.002-06:00

Rudy's Barbershop. Locations in Seattle, Los Angeles & Portland.

Teddy Boy

2009-02-27T14:17:00.005-06:00

Great retail clothing setting. Teddy Boy, New York.

Simparch Manufactured Home

2009-02-25T16:06:00.003-06:00

10’ x 32’ x 8’
plastic sheathing, twigs, plastic twine, cable ties, plywood, cinder blocks, lights, video

Manufactured Home prompted dialogue between traditional dwelling in the West and the contemporary conditions of home making. This tenuous sign of a mobile home was hand crafted from a combination of recycled and natural materials. Discarded white plastic packaging from new manufactured home shipments was grommetted and woven onto the framework, a grid of sticks from the weed-like "tree of heaven" which were joined together with cable-ties. The work merged traditional and contemporary building processes, the manufactured environment, and a site-specific sensibility to the culture of southern New Mexico where the work was created. Viewers toured the interior or experienced it as a large illuminated structure -- an ethereal beacon in the night.

Carson Hot Springs

2009-02-24T14:00:00.007-06:00

You walk in here and tell them you're here and they tell you there are ghosts and if there's a wait you take a walk through the woods where there are mushrooms and violets and fallen trees. To get here you drive along the Columbia river and pass the waterfalls and go over the Bridge of Gods and stop at an antique store where you buy a gold ring for $1 and pick up old pens and glasses. When they say they have tubs available you walk into the water room and get naked in the sulphuric steam and choose a tub length and if you're small like me you choose a short tub. Before you step in they tell you to test the water as it's only hot water and you tentatively ease yourself into the porcelain basin and when you are finally all in you start to cook exquisite with your hair spreading on top like an anemone and you try to sleep but you can't because you are too warm so you look over at Elanor whose body is like an English stem and it feels like being in a salon bath house in the Wild West during Manifest Destiny and every few minutes you take cold swigs of water and pour them over your face. When you stand up on unsure feet they take you to a cot and wrap you tightly in sheets and wool blankets and the only exposed part is your nose and mouth so the only thing to do is breath while cocooned, sweating and sweating, a wet and dark chrysalis. There really isn't anything to think about. There really isn't anything to do but sweat and sleep. When you emerge it is like a peony, unraveling slowly and utterly pink and you need to drink water, a lot of water, and you need to eat fruit, a lot of fruit, but we ate macaroons and drank espresso instead.

From Either the Drapes Go or I Do. Via Royal Quite Deluxe.

Dana Gallagher

2009-02-20T08:24:00.006-06:00

Photographer Dana Gallagher's NYC apartment.

Gypsy Rose

2009-02-19T08:10:00.009-06:00

The British take camping to a whole new "fashionable" level.