Scout Seattle | Reissue: Boy Scout Diary 17th Edition | Seattle (USA) | By Lee Fleming

Ben Masters of Washington-based Scout Seattle presents an ever-growing collection of durable and stylish camping kit items alongside one-of-a-kind reissue pieces sourced from around the world. Each piece from the Reissue Collection has a remarkable story to tell and encapsulates the history of different people, places and eras. The Boy Scout Diary (17th Edition), published by The Boy Scouts of America National Council in 1929 (pictured) caught my eye in particular - a quintessential Boy Scout Handbook for those who remember ‘doing a good turn daily'. The 256-page handbook has it all covered, from ‘Badges and Insignia’, ‘How to Fold Clothes’, ‘Weather Signal Flags’, ‘Indian Sign Language’, ‘Songs’ and even a chart of ‘The International Metric System’.

To view the Reissue collection or to purchase the Boy Scout Diary, visit the Scout Seattle website.

Ronnie Northampton | Northamptonshire (UK) | By Emma Harrison

Ronnie Northampton is the label from footwear design graduate and Northampton local, Kirsty Ronnie. After graduating in 2014, Ronnie launched her first impressive collection of handcrafted women’s Goodyear welted shoes inspired by the traditional shoemaking industry of her hometown that dates back to the 15^th century.

The collection consists of seven pairs of shoes, each named after an influential figure in Ronnie’s life (‘Miriam’, pictured). The unique designs incorporate elements of that person’s favourite shoes or pastimes- ‘Minnie’ for example has a silver T-bar inlay that was a feature on her great-grandmother's dancing shoes.

Northamptonshire footwear factories John Lobb, Cheaney, Churchs and Trickers have manufactured samples but now Ronnie Northampton’s Kickstarter page is raising funds for full production that will breathe life back into the local footwear industry. To support the page, donate here .

Steve Spazuk | Soot Paintings | Montréal (CAN) | By Lee Fleming

French-Canadian artist Steve Spazuk has spent the past 14 years perfecting a technique known as fumage, a unique way of painting that uses the flame of a candle as a pencil to create paintings with trails of soot. Once a conventional painter, Spazuk discarded the traditional paintbrush or pencil and began experimenting with fire following a dream in April 2001. Spazuk’s first attempt of drawing with fire unfortunately ended in flames but after many experiments, he discovered that cardboard paper was best suited to the medium and that the soot from the candle’s flame could be etched with pencils and feathers to create unusual artwork.

Spazuk’s original soot painting process involves firstly holding a piece of paper overhead while using a candle to create tails of soot underneath the matter. Following this he sculpts the plumes of soot using various tools. What is fascinating about Spazuk’s work is the element of spontaneity and improvisation involved; he openly admits he doesn’t know what he intends to paint and instead explores the patterns and shapes found in the soot to guide his artwork.

Spazuk’s artwork has been exhibited around the world and includes his acclaimed fragmented 272-piece portraits, bird series and Ornithocides that feature live and dead birds juxtaposed with various manmade devices designed to kill. The Ornithocides series is a reaction to the heavy use of pesticides in North America and the poisoning of insect-eating birds. This short film, directed by Montréal-based filmmaker Patrick Peris, offers an insight into Spazuk’s art form and his creative space.

To view more of Spazuk’s soot paintings visit his website. Videao via Ignant.

Second Istanbul Design Biennial | Istanbul (TR) | By Emma Harrison

Running from 1 November to 14 December, Turkey's largest city plays host to the second Istanbul Design Biennial centred on the theme ‘the future is not what it used to be’, a line taken from an essay by French poet and philosopher Paul Valéry in 1937.

Using this line as a starting point, curator Zoë Ryan has drawn up a programme of exhibitions, panel discussions and film screenings set across five floors in the neoclassical Galata Greek Primary School and at event space Antrepo 7.

Each project exhibited at the biennial rethinks the manifesto in order to generate inventive ideas whilst examining past, present and future states and aspirations. Notable projects include the mapmaker manifesto from San Francisco-based Stamen Design and the Dyslexie Typeface created by Christian Boer that aims to improve type literacy for dyslexic readers through increased spaces between letters and heavier baselines. Our top pick is the N° 41 Workout Computer from Bless (pictured); the keyboard is composed of punching bags to allow you to work up a sweat through typing, blurring the boundaries between working at the office and working out.

The biennial is also hosting design walks around the city, check their website for more details.

Bernhard Lang | Aerial Views | Munich (GER) | By Lee Fleming

Munich-based Bernhard Lang reveals the vastness of nature and the solitude of humankind through his unique photography depicting expansive space from above. By capturing all of his shots at 'the ideal distance' (the point, according to Lang, where humans and nature can live together in a perfect match), Lang’s photography is able to interrogate our surroundings and explore how nature and civilisation can co-exist.

After completing a photography apprenticeship at Photostudio, Munich (1993-1996), Lang developed his versatile freelance photography with clients including Audi, O2, Sony Playstation, T-Mobile and Vodafone. Since 2010, he has documented his aerial photography project, resulting in his publication, Bernhard Lang: Aerial Views, highlighting photographs taken in South Germany between 2010-2011.

Although Lang’s aerial photography of densely populated beaches tend to receive the most attention, we found his coverage of a rowing boat race and industrial settings most enjoyable, particularly photographs of the North Rhine Westphalia and the biggest Opencast Coal Mining Pit in Germany, images all taken in 2014.

Find out more about Lang’s photography by visiting his website and his behance profile page.