Create + Explore | 004 ItsForGotham x Alexander Spit | New York (USA) | By Lee Fleming

A conversation between mediums, Create + Explore is a intersectional platform that merges visual and auditory content to create an artistic collaboration. The process is straightforward, a beatmaker and photographer are paired together, the beatmaker creates orginial music that's sent to the photgrapher as an impetus and inspiration to create a pictorial exploration. The platform's creative path links two of our most indeliable sensory experiences through photographic interpretation of original music.

Create + Explore is curated by musican Taku and photographer Michael Salisbury and features asethically pleasing branding by transient designer Scott Mellor whose based between Perth and Los Angeles.

The above short film shot in New York see's visuals by ItsForGotham mixed with music by Alexander Spit, to view all the Create + Explore series visit their website.

Terrapin Stationers | New York (US) | By Lee Fleming

A family business since 1913, Terrapin Stationers & Engraving Co. have produced some of the finest engraved and embossed stationery in New York for over a century. Previously run by husband-and-wife team Lloyd and Cathy Harrington, the business has surfed the waves of time in an ever-changing industry, spanning from the advent of the fax machine to the first ever email, pulled through by their dedication and craftsmanship.

When Lloyd and Cathy retired in 2010, son Ted and his wife Cathy took over and continue to produce a line of notes, business and calling cards alongside an in-house stationery collection made in their print studio on 37th Street. Crafted from the highest quality cotton and card stock, each piece is pressed to form sharply defined, raised impressions that, according to Terrapin ‘have made engraving the preferred method of high-end printing for centuries’.

Read more about Terrapin Stationers on their website and check their stockist list here.

Reissue of the NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual | New York (USA) | By Lee Fleming

There are certain things you’d expect to find in an office locker, old gym clothes, discarded stationary but for Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth the discovery of the New York City Transit Authority Graphic Standards Manual proved to be a rare and unusual find. In 1970, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) hired Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda, designers at Chicago-based international design firm Unimark International, to devise an extensive programme that would create a coordinated and effective rapid-transit signage system. The 274-page Standards Manual created by Vignelli and Noorda still informs the signage made today for the New York Subway and shows how a strictly minimal system could adapt to New York’s complex subway maze.

After stumbling across the rare copy of typographic history in the basement of their New York office in 2012, Reed and Smyth (both designers at Pentagram), created a dedicated website compiling scanned pages of the manual to preserve its typographic history. Two years later, the design duo gained the rights from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to reissue the manual. This entailed a kickstarter campaign to fund the project as no publisher could deliver the desired size specification- the reissue’s dimensions are 13.5” W × 13.5" H (343 x 343 mm) and every page is printed only on the right-hand page of the book to be consistent with the single-sided format of the ring-binder original. In addition, the reissue includes an introduction from Vignelli’s protégé and Pentagram partner Michael Bierut plus an essay from Christopher Bonanos, the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid. The reissue cover, introduction and essay headings will be set in a customised version of Standard Medium by typography designer Nick Sherman who painstakingly recreated the font from photographs posted on the Standards Manual.

To read more about the Standards Manual visit their website.

Packable Travel Vest by Battenwear | New York (USA) | By Lee Fleming

Based in Brooklyn, Battenwear create well-crafted clothing that's designed to endure the demands of the great outdoors whilst remaining suitable for everyday wear. A favourite with the contemporary adventurer, Battenwear designer Shinya Hasegawa (who previously worked and trained under Daiki Suzuki for Woolrich Woollen Mills) takes inspiration from late 1960s to early 1980s surf and outdoor wear. A passionate East Coast surfer, Hasegawa's own travel experiences offer essential design references when creating Battenwear's seasonal collections. All garments are made in the USA with the majority made within a three-block radius of the atelier’s New York office and showroom in Brooklyn's garment district.

With functionality in mind, Battenwear's clothing and accessories are designed to be versatile, multi-functional, easily packable and comfortable. A particular IDMC° favourite from their recently new Autumn/Winter collection is the Packable Travel Vest. For journeys with unpredictable weather conditions and temperatures, the Packable Travel Vest is a great suitcase essential, it can be easily packed into its own front pocket and is crafted from 60-Gram PrimaLoft® SPORT in a super fine, lightweight shell. The Packable Travel Vest is available from Independence (Chicago).

To view all of the Battenwear Autumn/Winter 2014 collection visit their website.

Campaign Furniture by Ghurka | New York (USA)

Ghurka was founded in the early 1970s by Marley Hodgson. After visiting an antiques auction, he left with a piece of campaign gear made for a Ghurka regimental officer stationed in India during the 1900s and was inspired by the rugged elegance of the 75-year-old leather. Hodgson went on to make his first Ghurka bag - a leather knapsack for his son that is still used on a daily basis by his granddaughter. Since then Ghurka have continued to make leather bags and accessories with a commitment to traditional craftsmanship, functionality and timeless American style.

To celebrate their design heritage, Ghurka’s latest Campaign Furniture Collection pays homage to the great expeditions that crossed Asia and Africa in the early 20th century. The arresting collection consists of seven pieces, masterfully handmade in New York with solid oak, supple vegetable-tanned calfskin and brass hardware.

Available from The Ghurka website