I am glad it is sold out because i would have ended up spending $74 on this Joy Division pillow in a heartbeat.
And this concludes the first and (likely) last post about a pillow you ever seen on IEDEI.
Category Archives: men’s accessories
joining the stable: Leica M5.
As you may have noticed, i’ve become quite enamored with photography these days. Here is my latest purchase, a like-new, mint condition Leica M5. To me, this is THE coolest Leica M camera ever made (along with the M Monochrome….dream on!)….i’d been wanting one for a while—-and now I have a shiny, perfect example of one purchased as NM/new old stock! Still working on the first roll of B&W film.
It’s a strange feeling taking photos and not previewing them digitally on the screen instantly; BUT it makes for a really great partner to the wonderful M8.1 I have been using these days. Digital and film; the best of both worlds! I am very happy with this combination.
I also have a Chiyoda Kogoku Super Rokkor 50mm F1.8 LTM lens on order, which will be then going onto the camera. For now, I have the CV 35mm F1.4 mounted…..temporarily.
Let creativity flow!
Leica M8.1 & M5:
BeoSmart phone concept.
Well here’s an idea by designer Hugo Andre Costa Fernandes Vieira which incorporates a Bang & Olufsen stereo system, Leica 12 mp CMOS digital camera, Gold headphone jack (?), and a 3.5 inch OLED display mated to an Android OS to create what is known as the ‘BeoSmart‘ concept mobile phone.
Well it’s not a real phone, yet…and while i’m not generally a big mobile phone enthusiast, i do use my iPhone quite a bit and it is arguably the most important and useful device I use on a daily basis. I have been daydreaming of a really kickass camera mated to iOS for a while (although the iPhone camera is no slouch really)—-however a Leica mobile phone camera? My wallet is ready for action.
I doubt this will ever get made…as Leica doesn’t strike me as a company that interested in stepping down to mobile phones. That being said, i can see them putting their name on a mobile phone camera lens like they do with some of the entry-level Panasonic point-and-shoot cameras.
src: yankoDesign
book: Leica “Witness To A Century” (2012)
I ordered this book a while ago on pre-order, and it arrived this week. $22 from Amazon. An amazing and beautiful book for a very low price. Hardcover, by Alessandro Pasi (2012). Highly recommended beautiful short history of Leica with full page spread profiles of every significant camera produced in their illustrious history. This book does not read like a publicity book—-instead it is full of beautiful and iconic photography throughout their history. This is the 3rd edition of this book, revised to include the digital range through the recent M-Monochrom.
Yes I am a Leica fanboy these days and it is driven by my love of creating fotos. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!
Being inspired to create is so much nicer than obsessing to appreciate.
the new Leica range!
Since really cutting back on my intake of automobile-related news and interests (more about the details of that at a later time) as of a few months ago, they have been replaced by a burning love for photography and cameras. After recently buying my Leica M8.1, i have been turned on to the magical world of rangefinder cameras. New and old. Eventually I would like to buy a nice Leica M5 and fool around with film photography; however my primary love of cameras is around digital photography. Part of this may be due to the fact that I am impulsive and need to see my photos within 24 hours, but mainly due to the fact that I really don’t have the time to dedicate to film photography. Digital photography, while saturated in this day of iPhone-photographers, can still be beautiful.
Today at Photokina in Cologne, Germany; Leica revealed the new lineup of Leica M cameras. The much anticipated ‘next step’ in the Leica M range is actually going to NOT be called the Leica M10; but instead called simply Leica M.
Bigger screen, video recording (in a Leica??), focus assist (in a Leica??), optional electronic viewfinder, 24mp CMOS full-frame sensor, and a familiar body with likely beautiful construction and materials as all Leicas generally have. The M will cost $6950 in the US.
then there’s the Leica M-E; essentially the same camera as the outgoing Leica M9P, however recoloured in a beautiful anthracite and debadged to be a bit more stealthy! Same exact specs as the prior M9P. Oh and the price has been slashed to $5450.
will these make you a ‘great photographer”? NO. Will this help inspire you to be more creative and understand the fundamentals of photography? probably YES. Well, at least the M8 has done that for me…..now, time to save up for a Leica M-Monochrome (announced as still in production).
Leica M-Monochrome (Leica MM):
src: L-Camera
“Why The Leica M is so unique”
During my massive research spree prior to getting my M8, i spent several weeks reading forums, articles, and watching videos. One of the most entertaining discoveries I made was a series of videos on YouTube by a lad named Kai Wong for DigitalRev.com. Who would have thought that Jeremy Clarkson would have had a young bastard asian child!? That’s pretty much what Kai Wong is—while most of the other camera reviews and videos are about as exciting as lifting the toilet seat up, Kai does something unique. He instills his thrill and enthusiasm into cameras and photography in the same way that Jeremy Clarkson instills his enthusiasm into automobiles.
Since that time, I’ve found myself watching lots of DigitalRev videos hosted by Kai—not because I really want the cameras he is reviewing, but because I find the videos very entertaining. Good on ya, Kai! You may not be entirely original, but you’re doing a great job nonetheless. (BTW, Kai also uses an M8 as one of his primary tools)
This is one of my favourite videos—which played a role (along with people like Drew from MotoringConBrio) in convincing me of the magical powers of rangefinder cameras.
my new toy.
Leica M8.
I don’t even have a lens for it yet, but it is truly a beautiful machine. Can’t wait to get a lens and get clicking!
Fitzroy Chronograph.
I do love nice watches. These days I am less inclined to want things ‘vintage’ and more inclined to want something totally NEW—inspired by the idea of creating my own legacy and my own vintage rather than buying into somebody else’s. More about this in a later post as well…
I was in search for a truly modern, original, and unique chronograph watch. It had to be automatic, and it had to represent 2012, not 1972. It’s easy to find all sorts of ‘vintage chronographs’ on eBay and to buy into some other history—but I wanted to buy a watch that, in 30 years, someone could look at and appreciate for the time it was made in. This is a small company making low-production watches—with unique features like an ‘external’ watchband bar, chunky beautifully made case, unique dial accenting, and a simply gorgeous transparent rear housing.
Last year, I briefly remember seeing a blip about a London brand called Fitzroy launching a series of Automatic (their own, swiss made automatic movements—again, original) and a modern set of stylish watches which I found thoroughly beautiful and original. You won’t meet anyone else wearing one of these…and furthermore, it is a low-production, interesting, and creative timepiece. Fitzroy Automatic Chronographs start at $880. Their standard Automatic watches start at a touch over $500. They supposedly will have a selection of custom fit designed watchbands available for purchase—however as of yet I have not been able to procure any other bands.
I absolutely love this watch. Appreciation of the modern is the vintage of the future.
Processing of Leather.
I am quite fond of leather and suede—the feel, the chemically treated smell, the wearing patterns, and the differences in quality and texture. The other day I found myself searching for explanations of how leather is made, and I found a couple of interesting videos—-3 videos which could not be contrasted any better, but all three of them beautifully filmed in their own way. Most excellent.
Knize shaving soap.
Thanks for all the great comments, emails, and feedback around my shaving ‘megapost’ i made previously. The Proraso italian shaving cream i’ve been using is quite good, however being as Knize make some of the world’s finest clothing, accessories, and fragrances—I was obliged to try out their shaving soap in a beautiful Knize-etched wooden shaving bowl.
The soap is great, lathers up quite nicely after about 40-50 spins of my brush, and goes on with plenty of smoothness. The smell, as with all Knize items, is simply fantastic. It’s pretty difficult to find Knize accessories in the US, however this soap along with other Knize items are currently available at Colonial Drug in Cambridge, MA. This, by the way, is a great shop with tons of other great Knize items in stock. The shave soap and the bowl are $45 and in stock.
There will be a day when I make it to the only standing Knize shop in Vienna; but for now, I will take what i can get and scavenge around for these little pieces of gentlemen glory.
video of the day. Sidecars and Snow
Steeped in pre-war 1930s Russia, the origins of Ural Motorcycles is centered around them having sidecars and built with utilitarian, military-strength toughness! These days, the company still exists and has an enthusiastic following. This great video by Gear Patrol captures the essence of being into a specific make/type of machine, and driving it with pleasure. In this case, it is driving a Russian-built (built in Siberia) motorcycle through the mountains of Washington! It also really makes me miss the winter…
src: gearPatrol
Where are they now? Chris Bangle.
“It starts with drinking the cognac, it ends with drinking the cognac”
A couple videos about how ex-BMW design guru Chris Bangle was asked to redesign the Hennessey bottle. The real question here is, is there flame surfacing involved!?
src: youTube (simonSays)
the $2.77 million-dollar 1923 Leica
What you’re looking at is the most expensive camera ever sold….the 1923 Leica O-series. Quite beautiful, but absurdly priced! Sold at 2.16 million Euros ($2.77m) at the Westlicht Photographica auctions in Vienna.
Video of the auction:
src: engadget
foto of the day. my favourite section…
on my bookshelf!
Autodromo launches Chronographs!
Let me just say that i’ve really gotten into watches in the last 6 months; and much of this blame goes to Mr. Bradley Price, a great friend and a full-on fellow automobile enthusiast who launched his line of Autodromo watches last autumn to my standing ovation. As I type this post, I am wearing my black Autodromo Veloce with pride.
I can’t say enough good things about my Veloce. It feels great on the wrist, looks magnificent in any setting, and is built with quality I quite frankly never see in a watch of this price range. Sapphire coated glass, beautiful perforated black leather strap, total attention to detail, and hell it even came with an aluminium chassis card engraved with my watch number! How many watch companies include a chassis number with a watch!?
Autodromo is now introducing two new Chronographs based on the successful Vallelunga line. There is industrial prowess in these designs, and when he says the goal is to incorporate vintage and minimalist design ethos, he isn’t kidding. I think if there were two words which described these watches perfectly it would be vintage and minimalist.
As motoring enthusiasts, we often search for objects which are inspired by motoring, however in an artful, graceful, and gentlemanly way. Autodromo watches are functionally and artistically inspired by motoring; and those of us who understand the art of gauges and dashboards can appreciate this on first glance.
Oh and just look at the press release photos. No further words are needed. $550 for the Chronograph, and for precision control of your time while motoring.
Take a right turn over to the Autodromo website for more information:
the making of a Dunhill document case.
To me, there are certain essential accessories for a modern gentleman; a nice car, satisfying clothing, a functional and stylish timepiece, a technologically sound mobile device, and a bag or brief for work essentials.
There isn’t a day where I don’t enter my workplace empty handed; by my side I always have some form of a brief or a document carrier. I currently use a Jack Spade Twill Brief which I really love—-however the radar for my next brief is always on and the most likely candidate is a Dunhill case. I am of course a huge fan of Dunhill gloves and clothing, and am currently scouting out my next storage device like a spy before a war.
shaving like a man.
Like most of you, i’ve been shaving for years using the same ‘super technology’ Gilette Mach 3s and Sensors and Schick Quattros and whatever other new gimmick comes into town! However quite frankly I have just had a shave of a lifetime in my own bathroom. I’ve had a shaving experience which will change my beard hygiene for life! I just shaved for the first time using a proper double-edged razor, proper shaving cream, a proper brush—-and honest to god my face feels like it has never felt before.
My beautiful wife bought me all of the components to shave properly last week for my birthday. I have to say I was hugely excited when I opened the package, and after today I am not dissappointed. I took some time to read up about shaving with classic double edged razors, as well as tactics for pre-shave preparation as well as minimizing risks for slitting my skin open!
The tools i used:
Merkur Heavy Duty Double Edged Razor (Germany)
Proraso Eucalypus Shaving Cream (Italy)
Edwin Jagger Shaving Brush (England)
Pinaud Clubman After Shave Lotion (France)
I think my face woke up today after the feeling of putting the fresh smelling Eucalyptus shaving cream on with the brilliantly firm bristled Edwin Jagger brush—–I don’t think my face has felt such pleasure before! I honestly could apply shaving cream with this brush for HOURS! it’s like a full service massage……amazing.
Admittedly, the double edged razor made me nervous; (A) while handling, because I kept thinking I was gonna cut myself just installing the blade, and (B) because after installing it, I realised that it is damn sharp and any wrong angle or crooked swipe I take is going to likely cut me—-especially as this was my first time. Ultimately though, the blade was installed after a beautifully mechanic installation of unscrewing the shaft to lift up the metal plate, putting the blade in, and then rescrewing the shaft again to lower the metal plate. Just wonderful.
I took a very long time to shave today; out of precaution and out of savouring the experience. Surely I will become quicker as I become more experienced with a double edged razor—–but honestly I don’t think I am going to willingly be able to use a standard razor again.
Afterwards I applied some Pinaud’s Clubman; which if evaluated on a amount-of-greatness: amount-of-money ratio may be the best after shave in the world (it costs about $6 and has been around for 200 years).
I highly recommend that some of you try this way of shaving; I’ve been turned into a believer. It has made me think of shaving as an artform. I am also amazed how much more superior this system of shaving is as compared to the run-of-the-mill mass marketed shave that people use these days. We are losing the attention to detail, and our A.D.D. has corrupted our desire to spend time on little things. This way of shaving is from a time when people had more time…and made more time to do basic things.
I also recommend you read this article from the wonderful Art of Manliness website, a site I religiously read these days for all sorts of fantastic insight into, well, the art of manliness!
Intersection Magazine: “Cars Now”
I’ve said this many times before, but Intersection Magazine is by far my favourite magazine in publication…..and has been for the past 3 years as a subscriber. It’s the only magazine I get truly excited about when I see a new issue. They are entertaining, creative, beautifully photographed, and well made.
I was happy to see in the latest issue that they have released a book entitled “Cars Now: A Guide To The Most Notable Cars Today”; so I instantly ordered it for $40 and I was pleased to find that it certainly did not dissappoint. The purpose of this book is to document international automotive brands on sale worldwide at the moment; big and small. It’s great to see beautiful photos of the larger marques and their current cars, but also see and read full presentations about the not-so-well-known marques. A great book for my collection, and will sit very nicely alongside my Intersection magazine collection.
512 pages, $39.99, available to order from Taschen
and of my favourite photos in the entire book!! JUST CLASSIC! LOL:
impulse buy of the day. gloves.
Never let me go near a Dunhill store without taking my wallet from me; that’s the moral of the story.
As of yet, I have never been able to walk into a Dunhill store and not walk out with a bag in my hand, in fact my impulsive buying at that shop in particular is a bit scary.
The damage today wasn’t that bad….err, relatively speaking. I’d been looking for a new pair of winter gloves for the past week or two, having even dismissed a pair i liked somewhere last week because they were “too expensive” ($100)…..fast forward to today, I was invited to the Audi Forum in Manhattan for some free drinks, a look around the cars they had, and a general social gathering. The gathering was quite boring, so i swigged down 2 Amstels and decided to walk 9 blocks to go to the Dunhill store.
The damage? Well the winter “Shearling” gloves i bought were $225. But OH how they feel when i put them on……the inside is lined with mink fur, and the outside trimmed in leather and suede. I drove home in the TT, and the gloves just felt EPIC. Surely the fact that i’d just spent $225 on them made them just that much more beautiful.
RIP Steve Jobs.
Yes I don’t really cover non-automotive related topics, but the passing of Steve Jobs made me sad. Why? Because i’ve been using Apple computers since i was a little kid—–Mr. Jobs’ computers introduced me to computing, and without my trusty Macs, I wouldn’t be making music or writing blogs with such delightful ease as I do now….or sitting on airplanes with my fantastic iPad automotive e-magazines….or editing IEDEI from my iPhone. You will be missed, Steve.
Jochen 70 Monza Bag.
Oh I really want this bag. 294 Euros. Will have to save up.
http://www.jochen70.com/268-0-Double+Zip+Bag.html
The combination of finest calf leather and smooth Alcantara interior lining gives this super elegant bag great charm.
Double Zip Bag has two big zippered main compartments (2 zippers for comfortable closing and opening) and a smaller compartement on the back. Inside the bag there is a small zippered pocket and pockets for your cell phone, cards and pens for additional space. The wide shoulder strap is adjustable in length.
The JOCHEN70 leather stripe is available in different colors:
- Racing Green
- Foxy Orange
- Tender Beige
- Natural Python
- Black Carbon
- Italian Red
IEDEI 
