On a recent flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco, Flickr user Ettubrute noticed that the night lights from the cities were flowing beneath the clouds and making them glow in a spectacular and ethereal way: “It was really seeing the impact of urban environments from a different perspective.”
To capture and share this experience, he set up an improvised stabilizer mound out of bags, pillows and blankets for the camera to sit on, and took about three hours of photographs that he condensed into about a minute of time lapse video.
Timbuk2 made the San Francisco Messenger Bag famous, but Rickshaw Bagworks is here to give them a run for their money with bags designed for “people who thrive on the urban experience and celebrate the creative spirit”.
The company was inspired by San Francisco, urban cycling and an intense desire to make great products, and thinks that it’s “cool – if not kind of weird – the way people grow attached to their favorite bag as though it were a pet or loved-one”. They also share a strong set of humanistic, environmental and social values that guide the way they conduct every aspect of their business.
To that end, Rickshaw adorns each bag with the Rickshaw “PCQ Tattoo”, a little graphic patch on an inside tag that represents three things that are near and dear to the Rickshaw family – Passion, Craft and Quality.
The heart represents our PASSION for bags, bikes and our home city of San Francisco.
The silver needle and gold thread represent love for the age-old CRAFT of making bags by hand.
The five stars represent our dedication to the highest standards of QUALITY.
The five stars also honor the constellation of our stakeholders – Customers, Employees, Business Partners, Investors and Community – and our passion to treat each with respect and compassion.
They’ve also created a line of bags called the ZERO Messenger that are designed to follow the ‘less is more’ philosophy, with a combination of minimalist design, monopolymer construction, localized sourcing and wasteless manufacturing – a holistic approach that simultaneously unites form, function and footprint. By specially designing the ZERO bags to optimize fabric cutting, (each is made from a single rectangle of fabric) they can eliminate manufacturing waste and create a great looking product that doesn’t leave a ton of scrap material in its wake.
Plus, by eliminating material waste, manufacturing costs are kept low, and these savings are passed along to the consumer in the form of a price tag that rivals even the sale prices of other bag manufacturers.
If you’re looking for a bag that looks good, doesn’t kill the environment or your wallet, and will survive even the harshest of bike rides through the toughest of cities, then look no further than Rickshaw Bagworks and their unique line of messenger bags and related accessories.
1333 Minna has been featured on DYH before, but with the release of their Fall line, I figured it was worth a second look.
With artists like Reyes, Steel, Retna, The Mac, Amanda Lynn, Ewok, Norm, Belsky, Dylan Maddux, Who Cares and Gaussoin making up The Collective, 1333 Minna is bringing together some of the top names in the world of graffiti, and letting them free in the world of design.
Plus, with Amanda Lynn as the first female artist to join the collection, 1333 Minna now also features purses and scarves as they continue to expand their offerings.
If you liked the San Francisco toothpick tour, then check out this hand cranked machine made entirely out of wood and glue (no nails or screws).
The video takes you step by step through each one of the functions, and it’s impressive to think that you can build something like this with a lot of time and determination.
Over the course of 35 years (Scott estimates more than 3,000 hours of labor), he has assembled more than 100,000 toothpicks into a 9’ tall sculpture of San Francisco that includes such favorites as the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Humphrey the humpback whale, the Ferry Building, and a full tour that he can send ping pong balls through on their way down the city.
Called “Rolling Through the Bay”, it won Best of Show at the Sonoma County Fair, and for good reason.
Check out the video for a little glimpse of what it takes to create such a mad machine:
