Flash Vest by Western Mountaineering | San Jose (USA)

Founded in 1970 by Gary Schaezlein, Western Mountaineering was inspired by outings with his father and grandfather, wilderness pioneers, whose passions for the mountains left a lasting connection with the outdoors. With a vision of uncompromised excellence, a simple, meticulous design approach cohered with high quality workmanship and fine raw materials has remained constant at Western Mountaineering. Having started with the highest quality sleeping bags, Western Mountaineering added high performance down garments to their arsenal. The Fash Vest is crafted from a lightweight shell fabric, filled with 850 plus fill power goose down and only weighs 5 oz. An ideal mid layer for the colder months, made in North America.

Available from Albam Clothing online and at their London (UK) stores.

Sharing Paths by Ruben Brulat | Paris (FRA)

Having been raised in a vineyard in an isolated town in the south of France, nomadic photographer Ruben Brulat is accustomed to nature’s openness. A reoccurring focus in the Frenchman’s work is the unity/disconnect between human being and the environment. Following international exposure with his previous collections ‘Immaculate’ and ‘Primates’ in which he used a timer to photograph himself nude among Paris’s financial district, the ‘Sharing Paths’ series see’s Ruben make’s a journey of self-discovery and shared experiences.

Following a month to India, a few weeks in Patagonia, and a few more in Nepal, the notion developed for Ruben to experience a long and unstopped journey, an aesthetic travel. Leaving from Gare de Lyon (Paris) Ruben travelled East, from Europe to Asia, by land only, through Iraq, Iran onto Afghanistan, Tibet until Indonesia, Japan and Mongolia. Inspired by his previous trips, Ruben wanted to see and share the experience of giving oneself away to nature, documenting the naked human body amongst the rawness of nature’s environment. By embracing everything around them, opening their senses and simply being at one with nature results in ephemera intensity before the moment has passed. It is the scale of the landscapes and their ability to completely overpower their human inhabitants that is powerful in this photography project.

Following funding, Ruben was able to self-publish his series of beautiful photographs which he named Sharing Paths. The narrative constructed only by randomness of the encounters during this unplanned journey highlights the naked bodies of strangers who became companions before continuing with their separate paths, after sharing one for a moment. Recently released, ‘Sharing Paths’ (174 pages, 83 colour plates, D: 20cm x 24cm, 1/250) can be is also available as a limited edition (1/50), complete boxed in Walnut, handmade by Ruben himself in his father’s workshop.

Bilder De Clercq | Amsterdam (NLD)

Created from the regular and ever uninspiring trip to the local supermarket, Bilder & De Clercq on De Clercqstraat 44 is a solution brought about by Leopold and Rogier Diederik van Gelder to bring that all too familiar food shopping mental block to an end.

Both living in Amsterdam, Leopold and Rogier were faced daily with the question to self “What shall I do tonight for dinner” and after frequent unsatisfying searches for noble ingredients they decided to act, the result, Bilder & De Clercq with offers convenience, inspiration, time saving as part of their seasonal and regional gourmet recipes.

From idea to inception, Bilder & De Clercq was to be a store decorated for recipe creation, providing recipes and all the ingredients needed to prepare these dishes which are carefully considered and presented clearly in the right quantities, bringing an end to the saga of only needing ‘a pinch’ of yet having to purchase the entire packet/bottle. All ingredients are of the highest quality and carefully selected, locally where possible and are complimented with handy step-by-step recipe card’s to inspire you to create surprising, delicious meals that are easy to prepare and are simply cooked.

Dutch design agency Staat lent their creative hands to design the interior and branding for this alternative supermarket in Amsterdam. Instead of traditional supermarket aisles, the supermarket features bespoke white tiered frames with wooden surfaces for displaying foodstuffs and the steel frames are grouped according to the ingredients of each dish that’s pictured and detailed above the produce.

The café area in Bilder & De Clercq features a counter decorated with handmade turquoise tiles, wooden panels are across the ceiling and merge into shelves behind the counter to display delicious handmade bread. Alongside daily groceries and provisions, a range of kitchenware including chopping boards, vegetable peelers and spatulas are available in either wood or metal.

EDC Kit 2 by Kaufmann Mercentile | New York (USA)

Each exploration we take often involves a utility waistcoat with pockets filled of everyday essentials and a Fjallraven Kanken tactically packed to the point of being refused as hand luggage. So a useful everyday carry that makes daily duties as simple as possible is always appreciated, hence our excitement for the Every Day Carry Kit by Brooklyn (US) shop Doane Kaufmann Mercentile.

Founded in 2009, Doane Kaufmann Mercentile is the creation of Sebastian Kaufmann, a German expat who owns a great appreciation for design, art, cooking, science, and the outdoors. Kaufmann Mercantile is a one-stop appreciation for well-designed goods that are crafted with equal importance given to functionality, durability and aesthetics. Will a outlook that design should marry both function and beauty, the articles present by Kaufmann Mercantile are handmade, never compromised or mass produced for they encourage still-functioning heirlooms, not fodder for landfills.

A recent addition to the Kaufmann Mercantile collection is the Every Day Carry (EDC) which refers to a small collection of pocket-friendly tools that you’d find useful to carry on a daily basis for tackling both mundane and disastrous situations. The concept behind the EDC Kit 2 is to keep the collection streamlined yet reliant; having items that do the most, while taking up the least amount of pocket space possible. Turning your keychain into a productive tool, the EDC Kit 2 features a pressurised pen, brass compass, stainless steel perforated folding knife, brass flashlight and magnesium fire starter all attached to a stainless steel carabiner. All items can be bought separately also.

Top – Kaufmann Mercentile EDC Kit 2

Black Utility Notebook by Doane Paper | Texas (USA)

In 2003, Chad Doane found himself in a group meeting and realised half the room were using a lined legal pads, while the other used a graph paper notebook. This observation led Chad to sit in-front of Adobe Illustrator and design an original grid and line pattern, now known as Doane Paper. Initially Chad trialled his custom made Doane Paper on a website that was free to download.

Naturally gathering momentum, Chad found visitors to doanepaper.com who had downloaded the free PDF sheet started to request the Grid + Lines pattern as a physical article. This lead Chad to create a writing pad with the help of a 50 year old Arkansas based school supply manufacturer.

2008 saw the Doane Paper go from a writing pad to a journal in the form of a utility notebook. The Doane Paper Grid + Lines pattern is now available in various forms but a favourite is the useful pocket sized Black Utility Notebook. Crafted in the USA, the 48 page notebook is made from recycleable paper, printed using soy-based inks and binded by a rugged 3 staple saddle stitch. (Notebook size: 3.5” x 5.5”, grid size: 125” x 125”, wide ruled line spacing).

Left – Doane Paper Black Utility Notebook, Grid + Line Pattern, Pack of 3