Inventory: Chup Socks

I always value quality over quantity and the Chup Socks certainly live up to this philosophy. The Japanese label Chup, (Creative Human Universal Products) by Glen Clyde, produces beautifully crafted high quality socks incorporating ethnical, indigenous & native patterns that are inspired by nature. They're manufactured using vintage stocking frame machines that weaves incredibly complex & intricate designs which means that the production process is slow where one machine is only able to produce 20-25 socks per day. They also use yarns called 'eco-yarn' which is made from recycled threads.

Needless to say... they are perfection - not perfect - but perfection. Let me write a completely biased list of reasons why:

• A Japanese Label: Almost anything Japanese (except for excessive consumption of whales & seafood, nuclear power and cheesy kawaii doramas) is a win
• It's all about slowing down for quality's sake. Craftsmanship.
• A perfect addition to anyone's sock collection (caus' we all have that)
• Eco-friendly vision (self explanatory)
• Variety of Indigenous inspired designs from Nordics to Navajo. 
• Makes you want to be an explorer.

 

I first spotted these  little treasures on an escalator on my way up to Kinokuniya (TGV) eyeing the store Carhatt. This is habit. I always spy on this store even though it's predominantly for the male demographic but  I never dared to go in by myself. This time however I absolutely could not hold back anymore (but technically I also had moral support - mum) for when I first laid my eyes on the Chups 5-10 metres away, through glass, and moving - it was instant love.

To be quite honest with you, my visit in the store involved one touch (and mental devour) of the socks (THEY WERE GORGEOUS.. SOFT... PERFECT), a quick nervous glance & feel around here and there, and a pick up of their catalogue before dashing off. Don't ask me why I proceeded like that okay? I mean sure there was a box full of discounted women's tees (psssh)... sure I shouldn't have to be such a chicken... and it's not like I'll be judged or anything... but maybe it was best that the world didn't have to divide and categorise clothing into male & female. Imagine that. A world where all clothes were labelled as unisex... think about it. Just think about it. Until then, I'll just... you know... try to tear down that imaginary wall...

However, there is also the dark side to this story. I would say "For every cloud there is a silver lining" (but I realise I got that quote all wrong... I always thought it was the silver lining that was dark part... not the clouds... for I love clouds...) but since that won't work let's just forget about quoting a saying altogether. As much as the Chups are beautiful, and if you're like me, a student, poor, and in saving up mode....... then... ohhhh boyyyy... they were $35 a pair... Instant. Heartbreak. Mind you, it's worth it ... it's reallly worth it... but unless you're happy to add that into my inventory, I think for now... (Yep, time to face the music) I'm not ready to splurge.

Dreams & Discoveries: Eat Your Colours

Somehow I feel like the world knows exactly what I'm thinking and every time I dream up a little project or think up a little thought, my idea, still unborn in my end of the world, will somehow sprout up before me into the real world. It's a little stalkerish in a psychic sort of way... I mean I've had Frankie read my mind countless of times, where they'll feature articles and segments which were completely in-tuned with my thinking during the time (and to think they plan their issues 4 months before its release! How bizarre is that?). Let me put it into perspective:

Me: *Thought about how we're so dependent on plastic. Realised how it's everywhere in everything we use. Thought about whether one can live without it* Frankie: *30 days feature: 30 days without plastic*
Me: *Being a hoarder myself, friend linked me to A Collection A Day blog*Frankie: *Features A Collection A Day Blog*
Me: *Reflected on recent event of being asked "Where are you from". Thought about the strangeness and awkwardness of the question and being unsure on how to tackle it* (needtorambleaboutthisinanearfuturepost)Frankie: *Everyone Has A Story feature: (first line) "A lot of people ask me where I'm from..."*

I could go on but I realise I'm going on a tangent...

Anyways, so recently I dreamt up this campaign idea I wanted to call Eat Your Colours which basically promotes eating a variety of Fruit and Vegetables but in an artistic & visual way. I imagined a colour palette of fruits & vegetables arranged in classic rainbow colour wheel style, gradients of ripening fruit, and architectural cross sections of apples & pears all in fashion of minimal overhead photographs which embraced the colour and natural forms of my beautiful plant friends. Of course there's a lot more researching, planning and experimentation that needs to happen before I'm able to make it happen but for today I was pleasantly surprised with a new discovery that popped up on my Facebook feed via Anthology Magazine:

Absolutely genius edible piece of concept "Pantone Tarts" by French food designer Emilie De Griottes!

It got me so inspired - this was almost exactly the kind of thing I was aiming for in my future dream project. Even though the Pantone Tarts weren't exactly for promoting healthy colourful eating it certainly hit the spot for me on incorporating habits of the world of design into the context of food. I'll probably feature all the wonderful food/art/design discoveries on the blog section for my future dream website.

There's actually a lot of amazing things happening with the intersection of Food, Art and Design. I'm hoping to make another blog (another blog? what?) dedicated to this and share with you all the wonderful discoveries I've made during the past few years. I'm really excited for this actually... and it seems like things like these keep on coming!