R.I.P., Kodachrome (1935-2009)

kodachrome.jpgEven an imploring Paul Simon chorus couldn’t save it. Kodak is taking Kodachrome away. The company has announced that it will retire the world’s first commercially successful color film, which today accounts for “a fraction of one percent of Kodak’s total sales of still-picture films,” according to a press release. While Kodak remains the global leader in the dwindling film business, the company now derives about 70% of its revenues from commercial and consumer digital businesses.

You—or your parents, or their storage unit—probably have albums full of Kodachrome memories, but Kodak has arranged its own online slide show of “great Kodachrome moments” (best viewed with the aforementioned anthem playing, preferably on a record player). They include Steve McCurry‘s famed Afghan girl photo that ran on the cover of a 1985 issue of National Geographic. McCurry will shoot one of the last rolls of Kodachrome, and his photos will be donated to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York. Meanwhile, there’s still time to stockpile Kodachrome, but you better act fast. Kodak estimates that current supplies will run out by early this fall at the current sales pace.

Previously on UnBeige:

  • Kodak Sharpens Focus on Sustainability
  • As Polaroid Remains in Limbo, an Elegy for Instant Photography
  • Friday Photo: Farewell, Polaroid
  • Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture, While You Still Can

  • Jack Schulze: Opinion

    Statement by Jack Schulze of Schulze and Webb, presented during Matt Web’s Reboot talk.

    >> View talk

    I don’t know if I agree or not, but it’s a valid point

    –> Core77

    Type Tuesday: Canada Type

    In honour of Canada Day tomorrow, there’s an extensive article by My Fonts about Canada Type. Although there is plenty of typographic cheese in this library, there are some nice revivals. I’ve been researching old Vogue, Seventeen and Charm magazines lately, so these classic and stylish faces are appealing to me today.

    Paul Martus


    ‘early tools’ bronze hammer


    ‘hand wrench’

    //Click either image to see more of his work, or visit his site here//

    –> Design Boom

    The Penelopes – Stuck in Lalaland

    Le réalisateur Danakil vient de diriger le nouveau clip du groupe électro The Penelopes, déjà invité du Fubiz Broadcast 43. A noter l’élégant travail sur les corps et sur le titre “Stuck in Laland”. A découvrir dans la suite.



    Abel Martinez Foronda


    //His portfolio is here//

    –> CP luv

    Summer Scents You Can Spritz On The Go!

    imageSummer can be the busiest time of year for many of us. Three months of vacation, travel, weekend excursions, surprise visits and spontaneous road trips! All those days at the beach, evening concerts and other balmy night activities sure are fun, but keep us busy and running all around! What is the best way to stay looking and smelling so fresh and so clean (clean) if there’s no time to stop by the house in between things? There’s travel size cosmetics, blotting papers, compact mirrors, mini hair brushes and even dry shampoo! But what about perfume? The last thing you want to do is stuff your already bulging tote with the Nordstrom’s fragrance department! Some mini perfume solids and oils have become my favorites, but at times, I just want to smell like my favorite perfume… the one that only comes in a spray-on version. The latest trend in perfumes and scents is the travel size tube! These are glass vials that hold about 0.3 oz of your favorite scent, so you can grab a familiar favorite and slip it easily into a purse or pocket and smell like your freshest you anytime and anywhere. More and more stores are providing this simple and sweet solution in scents so check out your favorite beauty store! Still not sure if you’ll be able to find your specific favorite? Check out the slideshow for some classic favorites.

    view slideshow

    Mac Funamizu’s awesome holophone and theft-proof umbrella

    0macfnaconc10.jpg

    Mac Funamizu’s entry in a recent cell phone design competition anticipates a time when holography will become common.

    The technology of holography is progressing day by day. In 10 years, I hope it will have already been developed for mass production and will of course used in our mobile phones. The area conventionally used for a display in a mobile phone will no longer need to be a screen with 3D projectors. Instead, it could be a hole….

    Another one of his product concepts was designed to combat a problem that, surprisingly, I encountered often in otherwise crime-free Japan: umbrella theft.

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    Elad Lassry


    //Click the image to see more//

    –> Dear Ada

    Otto, the open-source beat slicer made in Venice, Italy


    OTTO is an electronic musical instrument for realtime manual beat slicing of audio samples.

    OTTO was developed by Luca De Rosso as a thesis project for his master degree in Visual and Multimedia Communications at IUAV University of Venice (April 2009), and uses the Arduino open-source hardware platform and Cycling ’74’s Max/MSP software.

    (more…)