Danish chairs, 18th century cartography

Reading on the train home, browsing through Design of the 20th Century and saw some pretty excellent graphic design from Knoll Associates in the 50's. It was just a tiny blurb, but the text mentions the effect it had on the branding of the company. I can't wait to get to work with a graphic designer on the branding for my own firm! That's quite a ways down the river I reckon.

Its finally cold enough to wear a coat every day! Its been very pleasant, I enjoy getting to layer. Hopefully it will stay this nice for a few more weeks, at least until Lydia comes to visit. I've got a feeling New York doesn't jump from 80 to 40 in a day like Austin does, so I think we're safe.

I was exploring an incredible website at work today, OasisNYC. There's a tab in the sidebar with historical maps you can toggle on and off. Very cool, very nerdy. Maybe not as interesting if you don't know New York a bit. Its cool to realize that Spring Street used to actually have a spring on it. And Canal used to be a canal. And a new one for me, Broadway dates back to the pre-European inhabitants, the Lenape.

Ending with an incredible chair by the great Finn Juhl: the Chieftain, circa 1960s.

Tape measure

One of my coworkers gave me this tape measure yesterday. A rep from Oasiq, an outdoor furniture company, left it at the office this week. Its a neat little tape measure, and seems like quite a clever leave-behind for a furniture company, as architects and interior designers are constantly needing the dimensions of various pieces of furniture.

Its also a neat thing to have in your pocket when you're designing anything. I find that I can usually guess pretty closely an object's dimensions is if it is in front of me, but there are other things that are so perfectly dimensioned that its easiest to just measure them. For instance, right now, how far back from my screen is my face? How far from my keyboard is my body? How much clearance feels comfortable between my knees and the table top? I think to really be a good designer, you've got to be in touch with the human dimensions of space. That's something I need to think on.

Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'...

I can't wait to come back to Texas for Thanksgiving! I really miss home sometimes. I can't wait to see my family when I go back, especially Jacob. We've got some catching up to do! I'm also looking forward to eating some good southern food! I really miss good salsa, soft tortillas and breakfast tacos! (Is it strange that I don't think of those as Mexican food?)

I also miss cheap beer, especially Lonestar! I might have to wait 'til I go back to Austin to get that, since Bowie County is in denial about being a true, beer-selling, Lonestar-drinking Texas county. One of these days they'll wise up...

I'm also really craving some time in the wilderness. My happy place, the place my mind visits when I'm too frustrated or tired to think about work, is a trail leading up into the mountains, just me and my pack and food for a few days.

Some things I do NOT miss. Driving is probably the top of the list! I have not once wished I had a car, or wished I was back in Texas so that I could drive. I also do not miss Olive Garden, Chili's, Texas Roadhouse, Outback, Johnny Carinos, Cracker Barrel, TaMolly's or any of the other chains in Texarkana. (Ok, I sort of miss Chick-Fil-A.)

dreaming about different futures

I saw this out the front window of the office the other day. The blimp was circling midtown and kept passing quite close to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. It made me wish that dirigibles and blimps were actually still viable transportation methods, and that I could book passage right now for a leisurely trip down to Texas.

Technology and stuff

Lydia shared a link with me today to Microsoft Surface. This sparked a really interesting conversation about the best ways to use this type of technology, specifically how it could be applied to architecture, interior design, product design and other related fields.

Her idea was that this type of touch technology would be an incredible design tool. You could draw and sketch onto this surface and have your creations immediately converted into 2D digital drawings, or even 3D drawings. She painted a mesmerizing picture of a free-flowing design experience, where the architect draws ideas onto the surface, which are quickly extruded into three dimensions, can be rapidly modified and rendered, and presented to a client. The designer can take hold of the building and guide the client through it, quickly changing colors, downloading furniture, lights, materials from the internet and instantly dropping them into the building.

As a designer, it is a very seductive idea. It is an incredible amount of power that we're talking about. Its a combination of the best parts of hand sketching, BIM drawings and 3D rendering.

I took a photo of the new Cooper Union building by Morphosis this evening after getting my hair cut (finally). Its pretty dang cool from the street. not sure what it is like from the user's perspective, but everything I've seen from Morphosis so far has been pretty cool. If anything could make me want to move to L.A., it would be that firm.

Got my hair cut in a "New York institution", Astor Place Hairs

tylists. Its located in a basement on Astor Place, a famous little street near NYU, the Cooper Union, Union Square, etc. The basement was packed with cutting stations, 30 or 40 grouped around the pillars of the building. I was pointed to an idle stylist, whose first words were, "talk to me." I told her what I wanted, she said, "yeah yeah blend no fade thin on top keep it long got it." She took me to the sink, back to the chair, five minutes later she's finished. I was honestly shocked. never has my hair been cut so quickly and effectively. Amazing. And cheap! The whole time I kept thinking about the place as a giant hair factory, with the scraps falling to the floor, being swept into giant vats further underground and being woven into quilts or tourist t-shirts by rooms of house elves. I like the place. I dig it.

Bah, here's a photo.

Weekends are for eating

This weekend was another weekend of laziness. I felt pretty unmotivated to leave my apartment. My new roommates and I watched a movie or two on the projector, had a couple of beers, and cooked some food. And by cook, I mean I ordered a sandwich from a deli down the street.

On Friday I went out with some friends to Roberta's in Brooklyn, at the Morgan Ave stop off the L train. The food was excellent, and they had one of my favorite beers, Lagunitas IPA, on tap! I was very pleased. We ordered several things to share between us, a scallop dish with black onion and watermelon, a pasta dish with mussels and oysters, and a couple of great thin-crust pizzas, one margherita and one something delicious with sausage. Everything was excellent and fresh and tasty. Apparently the restaurant grows a lot of their own ingredients in their own garden, which is pretty cool. Definitely worth a return trip.

I am really looking forward to being back in Texas during winter break, although I'm not sure how long my break will be. Yannik and I have been talking about another freezing cold camping trip, and I'm very excited! Nothing sounds better than a few cold days in the mountains right now. Except for walking over the Brooklyn Bridge with Lydia. That is going to be the highlight of the fall! (Not trying to build it up too much, but it will be very cool.)

new place

I found a place to live starting Friday, a converted loft space in Williamsburg, on Kent Ave, right by the water. Its definitely got an industrial vibe, also an "assembled from pieces and scraps" vibe, which is cool. It actually reminds me of my place in Austin in a way.

I drew another bag today, number 2. Picture below. This one is for you Steph. I think I'm going to order some more and keep the series going. Its slowly evolving. I think I need to more strictly follow a set of rules. Now the patterns are really only driven by aesthetics. If I think it looks good, I draw it. Although to be fair, I did start with distinctive wrinkles in each bag. This second one had some excellent wrinkles to trace.

I did something really, really stupid. I rode over to Brooklyn to see the new place, and was in a hurry and rode right past the bike lane over the bridge. I rode across the bridge in the auto lanes and got yelled at several times. I was really nervous about getting clipped, but to be honest, it was not as nerve-wracking as 360 in Austin can be. Oh, and my butt was sore today. Too long off the bike obviously. My burning legs say the same thing.

Oh, saw this excellent guy as I was walking to grab a sandwich today, just across 6th Ave. Really made my day. (He's wearing a kilt!)