Hasta La Ideas

Artist Agathe Snow teams up with Mykita on a pair of “monumental” sunglasses for her Guggenheim Berlin show

Aliens might’ve constructed Egyptian pyramids, but the bigger question according to artist Agathe Snow is our relationship to such towering structures. She takes up the question in her current show, an homage to monuments at the Guggenheim Berlin dubbed “All Access World.” The Corsica-born, NYC-based Snow has already made a name for herself with artfully messy sculptural works and a penchant for interactive art, with this show exploring “a more democratic approach to monument ownership and distribution.” Filled with an array of mobile sculptures, large-scale wall collages, video works and more, the exhibit examines the identifying the factors that bind people to places.

Accompanying the monumental mixed-media works, a pair of sunglasses designed by Snow and Berlin-based framemaker Mykita plays off the theme with subtle references to iconic landmarks. The neon pink- and black-hued shades feature a handpainted silhouette of either Manhattan’s skyline or the Pyramids of Giza, applied so finely to the inner side of the lenses in gold that the wearer barely notices.

The sunglasses, limited to an edition of 200, play off Snow’s idea that visually omnipresent monuments should be “available as products” sold through her fictional company All Access World. Snow explains in an interview with Deutsche Guggenheim magazine, “Monuments are a contradiction. Things that depend on the act of remembering cannot be static. How can you be of a moment in history yet speak of timelessness?” Nailing the point home, the Mykita model that Snow chose for the project (called Cyrus) riffs off the classic Clubmaster style that everyone from JFK to surfers has sported.

Assembled entirely by hand at the Mykita workshop, each pair is individually numbered on the temple and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Snow. They sell from Museum Shop of the Deutsche Guggenheim (and within the next few weeks at Mykita stores and other dealers) for €370 each.

Rapha partners with renowned bike-makers to produce a limited run of four classic models

As purveyors of some of today’s top cycling gear and accessories, it’s completely logical that Rapha would foray into the world of bike building. What makes the move interesting is how they chose to do it. Like all their products, diehard cyclists helped conceive the newly-launched bicycle collection, and they partnered “with four masters of framebuilding to offer four distinct, hand-made bicycles.” While each of the models have been made by their respective brands before, this limited edition run of customizable, Rapha-approved bikes will only be available for the next two years.

The commuter of the bunch, dreamed up by Cycle Works Oregon and built by the legendary Chris King, is the highly-functional Beloved Every Day bike. Modeled after bicycles built during the 1930s by French constructeurs (artisans who handbuilt bikes for specific purposes from start to finish), the nod to history makes for beautifully clean lines that have a slight Deco feel. Specs on the Rapha edition include a Sturmey-Archer five-speed internal rear hub with downtube shifters, Nitto aluminum “Priest” handlebars, Berthoud fenders and more. Made in Portland, OR, the bike will take eight weeks for completion and sells for $5,195.

Even more exclusive than the others, the XCR Criterium Racer is a bike so strong it’s limited to only 30 frames/fork per year due to scarcity of materials. It’s also the joint work of two Milan-based powerhouses, Cinelli (founded in 1948 and known for progressively-designed professional road racers) and Columbus Steel, who acquired Cinelli in ’78. For Rapha, they designed a bike for the “aggressive racer,” which takes four months to complete and starts at €3,500.

Independent Fabrication blends carbon fiber and titanium to make their XS frame, designed to go the distance and provide greater comfort with upright positioning. Two-time winner of Bicycle Magazine’s “Best Dream Road Bicycle” award, the version for Rapha, the IF XS comes with a choice of either Campagnolo Super Record, SRAM Red, Shimano DuraAce or internally routed Di2 packages, as well as wheel set options from Enve Composites and Mavic. The bikes will take eight to ten weeks for completion and start at $6,795.

To build the Continental frame, Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan hand-selected two types of tubing from Columbus Steel, which they combined using both the lugged technique, as well as the less common and more labor-intensive fillet-brazed method. The resulting all-terrain bike features parts carefully picked by the two Rapha team members, whose insider bike knowledge shows with components like a SRAM Force drivetrain, DT Swiss wheels with Chris King hubs (and headset), Tektro long-reach brakes and topped off with handlebars, a seatpost and stem from Full Speed Ahead. The Continental will be produced twice a year in two batches of 50, sells for $5,000 each and takes four months for completion.

Industrial-era building materials reclaimed to make a modern furniture line

Creatively crafted, Made of New York furniture is comprised of discarded Manhattan lumber and is constructed using as few machines as possible. The simple, geometric collection was conceived by former creative director of Ikea Sweden and current head of strategic design consultancy Daytime Projects, John-Michael Ekeblad, along with furniture designer Jonathan Locke and timber-sourcing expert Brian Kane—a trio as intelligent as the home furnishings they build in their South Bronx studio.

The process begins with sourcing the wood, much of which comes from torn down 19th-century buildings. In determining the use for each part the team aims to have “minimal treatment of the wood in favor of sustaining its naturally worn out beauty and charm.” The resulting pieces are each completed within five to ten days, using water-based stains and sealers and wood plugs whenever necessary.

Made of New York is currently finding a retailer to house the collection, but until then pieces sell online from New York City Snaps, with prices spanning $220-1,200.

Vintage kimono-wrapped skateboards

Tokyo-based label Zillion is the brainchild of French fabric enthusiast David Guarino, who began collecting Indian and Nepalese textiles nearly two decades ago. When his family moved to Japan, Guarino began sourcing old-school kimono cloth to use for caps, one of his favorite accessories. His fascination with applying kimono fabric to unconventional items led to an exceptional collection of hoodies, shoelaces, belts and more—and now for Cool Hunting, a series of skateboards.

Completely covering each skateboard (some even have wheels and trucks), Guarino’s technical talent, as well as his expert eye for letting the pattern speak for itself, shows in each beautiful board. When we commissioned Guarino to create these, we knew he wouldn’t fall flat, but the final product exceeded our expectations. The combination of intricate traditional graphics with the modern skateboard silhouette makes for a curious concept with each as uniquely compelling as the next.

The limited-edition collection was crafted in two styles—with wheels ($850) or without ($750)—that look fantastic either individually or grouped together. To have a closer look, check them out in person at our pop up shop with the Gap or see detailed shots of the boards in our online shop or in the gallery below.

Our limited-edition water pipe by one of Portland’s most clever glass studios

The unexpected glass forms—bulbous, sinister and shiny—produced at Portland’s Esque Studio by design duo Andi Kovel and Justin Parker first caught our eye back in 2007.

Renowned for giant “water drop” jugs, skulls created from re-purposed beer bottles and other works that have graced the pages from Architectural Digest to Surface Magazine, the artists focus on continuing to push the limits of the glass medium to come up with pieces that are as surprising as they are aesthetically pleasing.

When we teamed up with some of our favorite brands this year to create limited-edition products, Esque was a no-brainer for the series of collaborations. For Cool Hunting, Esque turned their classic honey bear vase into a beautiful water pipe—a terrific companion to another CH Edition, Good Fight’s herbal Smoking Blend.

Find the honey bear water pipe for $360 in Cool Hunting’s shop along with the full line of our CH Editions.