maurag.com

So good.

Handsome Boy Modeling School & Cat Power

Hilarious!

I love stop motion. I can’t help myself. Doublebutter’s best one yet.

Millard Tillman’s DoubleButter Burritos from DoubleButter on Vimeo.

I’m not in the business of promoting anyone else’s products, I gotta save that energy for promoting my own. But I’m enamored with this companies product. I have let my iPhone ride naked in my life for as long as I’ve had it because I simply don’t like any case out there. Until now. I needed a case that fit my identity, and my pocket. I gotta say..I love this case. It’s sleek, its simple, and most importantly its customizable with any graphic I want. Either from their collection of pretty great art, or from my own collection. AND that graphic is embedded into the material using a laser process, not stuck on top to peel off, or get stuck on my pants, or chip away when I drop it on the bathroom floor like I do. I love it. Think I might buy myself a Christmas present. A part+parcel branded case? Or maybe a RedCamper trailer?

I also gotta say..the website..is pretty solid. I’m not sure they could make this any easier than they have.

Well done Uncommon. Well done. I hope this is a successful venture for you.

This Is Uncommon from Scott Wilson on Vimeo.

“Only the mediocre are always at their best.”
-Jean Giraudoux

Makin’ purse handle attachments for the J Paul Getty Museum order last week…yep, all the hooks get opened by hand.

My neighborhood is filled with inspiration. From my next door neighbor Mudpuppy who dutifully cranks out ceramic mushrooms and pots and small gnomes from his garage and actually makes a living doing it, to the dynamic duo DoubleButter down the street to the tamale lady that pushes her baby stroller filled with her homemade treats down the street every day. (don’t think she has a website yet). People just doing it. Just getting out there and doing what ever it takes to do it.

A few months ago we got a new addition to the neighborhood.. Stranahan’s Whiskey. And I went on a tour yesterday. A tiny company..Colorado bred..Colorado fed (ingredients are entirely Rocky Mountain harvested) this little 7 person company makes 2 barrels of whiskey a day. As they say on their site.. about 5 min worth of production for the big guys. Stranahan’s has an incredible attention to quality and a dedication to the product that is somewhat of a lost art form in the United States..land of importation of mass production for lower bottom dollar. Only the highest quality  ingredients, special filtering processes, only the best part of the batch kept, only one time barrel use and a slow and steady aging process. Every single bottle is hand signed by the distiller. This company can’t keep up with demand..but still adhere to their standards despite a temptation to cut corners to increase output. If you have your finger on the pulse of America..I think you might feel like there is an increasing awareness of the value of handcrafted, locally made. Denims, leather bags, shoes, bicycles, cheeses, whiskeys, even quilts again. Maybe it’s tiring of cheaply made product, maybe it’s tiring of having the same thing everyone else has, maybe it’s a loyalty to supporting the people around you that are following their own path, maybe it’s wanting something in your life that breaths the spirit of love, dedication, and inspiration. Whatever it is, I like it. Cheers.

“It’s important to take bad pictures. It’s the bad ones that have to
do with what you’ve never done before. They can make you recognize
something you hadn’t seen in a way that will make you recognize it
when you see it again.”

– Diane Arbus

pitter patter..pitter patter..pitter patter…

how gorgeous is this bike? more info here: CoolHunter