Alexander Calder

  • subtitle: The Man of the Mobile

By Jessica Hundley | 30 Aug 10 | Artists, Designers, Metal | Comment

By the end of his nearly century-spanning career, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) had worked in virtually every artistic medium, but metal was undoubtedly his muse. Raised by artist parents, Calder was encouraged to be creative from an early age, producing his first sculptures at age 11.

Mobile by artist Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1959

Calder, Untitled (Mobile), 1959, Courtesy of The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection

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Giant Pumpkin

  • subtitle: A Freak of Nature That's as Fragile as an Egg

By Sarah Dohrmann | 27 Aug 10 | Garden, Interviews | Comment

The winning Big Pumpkin at this year’s Iowa State Fair clocked in at 1,323 pounds. It was the first year in the history of the Iowa State Fair that the Big Pumpkin outweighed the Big Boar, which weighed a mere 1,022 pounds. Kaufmann Mercantile got a chance to chat with Dan Carlson, one of the winning pumpkins growers to discuss all things big and pumpkin. Carlson, who joined forces with his growing partner, Marc Petersen, in 2004 (both hail from Clinton, Iowa), has been growing big pumpkins since 1992.

Giant pumpkin in the back of a truck

Image by jakob Mosur, Courtesy of Chronicle

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Meyer Lemon Marmalade Recipe

  • subtitle: Sugary Deliciousness

By Aurora Almendral | 23 Aug 10 | Cooking, Food, Recipes | 1 Comment

In 1908, Frank Nicholas Meyer, a professional food explorer, brought a decorative Chinese hybrid of mandarin and lemon to the U.S. For the next seven decades, Meyer lemon trees continued to be thought of as mostly ornamental plants. Productive trees grew almost exclusively within California, and it wasn’t until Alice Waters started using them did Meyer lemons begin its slow, but steady courtship with the broader culinary world.

Meyer lemons are less acidic than the standard lemon, and have bright, thin skins with an aromatic, almost herbal scent. The description hardly does it justice. Meyer lemons are delightful. As their season wanes, save a dozen or two to preserve.

Painting of Women wrapped in Lemon Peels. "Fragrance of the Lemon' Peel by Ilya Zomba, Oil on Canvas, 1997 Courtesy of Zombart

Fragrance of the Lemon Peel by Ilya Zomba, Oil on Canvas, 1997, Courtesy of Zombart

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Organic Wine

  • subtitle: An Ambiguous Accolade

By Kelly Baumann | 18 Aug 10 | Food, Smoking & Drinking | 1 Comment

On a recent trip to the wine store, I was tempted from my standard of big French reds to their shelf of ecological wines. I picked up one bottle after the other, flipping them over and trying to learn what I could from the labels. There were the usual notes on origin and grape, as well as declarations of environmental credentials – organic, biodynamic or natural. After peppering the staff with questions, I settled on a biodynamic bottle of Mas de Gourgonnier les Baux de Provence, but resolved to find out exactly what separates this new wine from my beloved French Margaux.

Steve McQueen and Neile Adams Taking Sulphur Bath in Los Angeles and enjoying a glass of wine, Junge 1963, Photo by John Dominis, Courtesy of Life Magazine,

Steve McQueen and Neile Adams Taking Sulphur Bath, Los Angeles, June 1963, Photo by John Dominis

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Tapio Wirkkala

  • subtitle: Between Art and Design

By Sophie Zifcak | 13 Aug 10 | Artists, Designers, Glass | 2 Comments

Alvar Aalto certainly earned his title of “father of modern Finnish design” but Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985) deserves credit for raising it up right. His designs celebrated nature and spoke to the inherent rugged beauty its forms. He championed a type of design that was “democratic” because he was, creating soulful, well-crafted, usable objects that never sacrificed functionality for beauty.

Pipes by Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala

Pipe Models "Meerschaum" ("Sea Foam") and Nylon, 1974-1976

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Other Voices & Readings

  • subtitle: Interesting Finds

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 4 Aug 10 | Other Voices & Readings | Comment
Underwater Image of a Breaking Wave

Underwater Image of Waves Breaking by Mark Tipple, Courtesy of Telegraph UK

WD-40 issues 1950s style collector’s can by Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post
“Can a toxic liquid that feels like some frothy byproduct of making jet fuel or plastic really attract online fans?”

NRDC Ratings for a Selection of U.S. Popular Beaches, NRDC
“Each star indicates that this beach met a specific standard”

Display
“a curated collection of important graphic design books”

Photographer captures amazing underwater images of waves breaking by Mark Tipple, Telegraph UK (pictured)
“heavy enough to hurt”

Is Coconut Water Really Better Than Sports Drinks? by Kiera Butler, Mother Jones
“a natural alternative to Viagra”


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Organic Cotton

  • subtitle: In Growing Demand

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 29 Jul 10 | Fabrics, Materials | 4 Comments

Cotton has a long history of being an immensely destructive crop, both ecologically and culturally, from its integral role in inciting the massive slave trade between Africa and the US Colonies, to its current boast as one of the most environmentally disruptive crops on the planet.

African American Workers in a Cotton Field

African American Cotton Workers, Courtesy of Voices Education Project (Click on Image to Enlarge)

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Giò Ponti

  • subtitle: Not Your Typical Modernist

By Sophie Zifcak | 22 Jul 10 | Artists, Designers, Furniture | 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe that an architecture style can be dominant for 100s of years, especially one that was based on the ideas of Classic Rome. But this was the case with Palladian Neo-Classicism. Named for Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), and characterized by symmetrical monumentality with Classic detailing. This is what architecture was, and this is how it was taught to Giò Ponti (1891-1979) at Milan Polytechnic in the early 1900’s. Lucky for us tides were about to turn and Gio Ponti was a true original.

Architect and designer Gio Ponti working at is desk

Giò Ponti, Courtesy of Life Magazine (Click to Enlarge)

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Heirloom Tomatoes

  • subtitle: Colorful Deliciousness

By Susan Morrell | 11 Jul 10 | Food, Garden | 1 Comment

For the tomato lover, the produce aisle during summer months is as tempting as the window of a jewelry store. Rows of rainbow-hued globes of all shapes and sizes sparkle and wink from wooden crates. Shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. Tiger-striped green and ghostly white. Large, lumpy and bumpy. Diminutive ones the size of the tip of a finger. An endless variety of mismatched tomatoes, fresh off the vine from nearby farms, tempting the knowing connoisseur with the enviable title of heirloom.

Heirloom Tomato, Courtesy of Oui Chef Cook

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Exotic Leather

  • subtitle: Exoticism and Ethics

By Aurora Almendral | 24 Jun 10 | Leather, Materials | 1 Comment

Python Escalades, electric blue crocodile pimp loafers, and ostrich jackets are the very embodiment of tackiness—luxury writ large and rendered tragically cheesy. Exotic skins, the tidy stripes of silky eel, the beautifully imperfect patterns of snake, and the smooth rectangular gradations of crocodile, were treasured for their uniqueness and rarity. Used sparingly on cigarette cases tucked into the inside pocket of a flannel suit jacket, or as a delicate clutch in a gloved hand, restraint itself underscored the preciousness of each skin.

Crocodile Hunting for Leather. A dead Crocodile lies on deck of a ship

Crocodile on Deck of a Steamer in Africa, Courtesy of Gordon Mumford (Click on Image to Enlarge)

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Carbon Steel Knives

  • subtitle: Stained Steel

By Drew Huffine | 21 Jun 10 | Materials, Metal | 2 Comments

In college I was befriended by the only true playboy I’ve ever met. Roberto Cerinni. From Orange County, with an affected accent somewhere between Naples and Brooklyn, he presented himself as a foreign exchange student.

American folk hero and legend Joe Magarac

Joe Magarac Squeezes Steel Rails between his Fingers, Courtesy of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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Enamelware

  • subtitle: Kitchen & Camping Essentials

By Sophie Zifcak | 15 Jun 10 | Cooking, Kitchen, Outdoors | Comment

The craft of enamel has been around as a decorative and functional technique for centuries. Vitreous enamel is akin to ceramic glaze – it is most commonly the result of fusing powdered glass (or less often a glass paste or spray) to a metal or ceramic substrat. Enamel is bonded to metal in kilns at a high tempurature, from 1400 to 1640 °F.

Enamel Cup, Circa 1920s

Enamelware Cup, Circa 1920s

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Bottled Water

  • subtitle: Europe, Its Origin

By Kelly Baumann | 9 Jun 10 | Food, Packaging, Plastic | 2 Comments

The origins of bottle water can be traced back to the European health spas of the 1700s, which began the practice of giving out some of their healthy waters for patrons to take with them. Following in the logic of supply and demand, the spas began to charge a fee for the pleasure of drinking their waters, creating some of the longest lasting contemporary bottled water purveyors: Evian, San Pellegrino, Perrier, and Vittel, along with several others.  These companies spawned an entire industry and by the early 20th century, Europe was exporting bottled water world-wide.

Perrier drkinking water advertising

"After the Rape...", Fake Perrier Advertising by the French Magazine Hara-Kiri, 1970s

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