Black&Blue

My best friend

2011-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

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Time machine

2011-05-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

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Special Gift Occasion

2011-05-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

For all your gift occasion needs, or at least the special one.

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Charlie Able

2011-05-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

My cousin Charlie has one more year before he gets his masters in architecture from columbia. A team of 10 students designed and built is flexible, modular seating sculpture. Charlie was team captain. Getting 10 creatives to work as a team is hard. Actually getting something made is even harder. Having it come out cool might as well be pure luck.
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Eastern Standard Time

2011-05-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

Its saturday morning here in the city of york... The sun is sending spring beams of light through the wide open factory windows in my tiny loft. In the background: the sounds of an island nation. From 8 to 12 on saturdays.

Don't forget to visit our Tumblr account. Follow it.

25 years ago.

2011-05-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

The new Beastie Boys album was released yesterday. So was their 30 minute music video. I can't believe I watched the whole thing.

Designing For People

2011-04-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

By Henry Dreyfus
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Zola jesus

2011-04-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

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10 inch black clock.

2011-04-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

Because they are talking about clocks and we are a watch and jewelry company it makes sense that we post this audio track from the Howard Stern show. Whatever. I'm willing to make any excuse needed to share this.

thanks Todd!

Newport Jazz Festival

2011-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

the Newport Jazz Festival is the oldest of its kind in the U.S. which pretty much makes it the oldest in the world.

To my loyal blog followers

2011-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

I'm posting to a tumbler account now... Link to follow. In the mean time:

My old friend Matt McGuinness had a show in London. Incredible.

tumbler

2011-04-11T06:56:00.001-07:00

The slow goodbye to BlogSpot....

Tacombi on Elizabeth

2011-04-10T15:15:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one seeing the mexican food void in nyc finally getting filled???
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One better

2011-04-10T12:42:00.001-07:00

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The human exists!!

2011-04-10T12:40:00.001-07:00

Hand painted. When we watched they were painting the bubbles, fast.

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Thanks Hale

2011-04-08T09:39:00.001-07:00


I can't imagine why they r out biz.

Nail In My Coffin

2011-04-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

Its Friday. Thank the sweet lord. What I week. This song will crush your mind like me week crushed mine. The audio is shite. You figure it out...

1 on 1

2011-04-08T05:19:00.001-07:00

thanks, Keirnan

Matthew McGuinness: Casper Disasters

2011-04-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

I remember sitting in my kitchen with Matt, late at night talking about things. By things I mean 1) his intention of asking his girlfriend, Kenya's hand in marriage and needing a ring to meet the epic nature of the request, and 2) the Casper Disasters concept. He had just started working on it and this image was what he had to show me. I was blown away! No pun intended.

I long time after, about the time of the NY showing the same image popped on Kanye West's blog (at the time his blog was really good and I checked it out almost daily). I emailed Matt immediately. We jumped for joy.

Then, some time after that, Kenya and Matt married (please look at this link and how incredible it was). I made those rings for them (most, most honored).

And then, sometime after that, I became the proud owner of one of the prints seen the the invitation above. If you're in London on April 14th, well... Go to the opening. Meet Matt (and maybe Kenya will be there). I remember when I first met Matt, but that is a story for another time....

-Ash

international

2011-04-06T06:03:00.001-07:00

a thing of beauty...

2011-04-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

I love rat bikes. I love them so.

RIP...

2011-04-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

I remember where I was when I first heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. I was at a some other high school's football game with my cousin, Jeff. We grew up together. He was pretty much my older brother and best friend. When I got shipped off at 13 coming back home felt like a trip to place I was hardly from. My cousin was the only link to what was left of that world for me. He was the one who told me about the song. I can remember his words exactly. As soon as I heard it my life was changed. I was able to take that back with me when I left again. And, I've always kept it with me.

it seems so real...

2011-04-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

This post is for everyone that is feeling the crushing thumb of others.

ringside...

2011-03-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Went to the fights last night with my buddy. Sitting ringside, watching the fights.... Epic.

Its the Wrenchmonkees.

2011-03-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

They are in Copenhagen. Yes, Copenhagen. Go to their site. And please, look at the craftsmanship of their work. Look at the welds. The attention to detail.

Space Balls

2011-03-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

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Summer time!!!!

2011-03-25T16:42:00.001-07:00


Season tickets are here!!!

Johnny's 500

2011-03-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Let there be summer.

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2 Nortons

2011-03-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

Its warm today. The sun is out. Bikes everywhere. Some with motors. Some without. A select few older than dirt...
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Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Booty City

2011-03-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

This video is snoozeville, but the band is great. I bet they are a lot of fun to see live (Bowery Ballroom!)

Spring forward...

2011-03-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

I think day light savings should be a holiday. The kind of holiday where everyone goes to the bar and gets hammered. Think about it.

In the fall, its a real bummer. Summer is over... Winter is around the corner... It starts getting dark at like, noon... It's sort of depressing. Perfect time to work on slurring your words and trying to figure out how you got home the next morning.

In March its better than Groundhog Day (not the movie version which is a personal favorite). It signals summer and another winter survived. (Need I explain the wonders of summer?? I don't think so. But, in the case that I do, please refer to the attached video from Easy Rider.) If there is a better reason to go out and celebrate then I haven't' heard of it. The coming of summer trumps birthdays, independence, leprechauns, and whatever else one can think of.

Thanks Ev-hen...

Miss Lilly's

2011-03-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

I and I like jerk chicken...

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More terrariums

2011-03-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

The terrarium count in my apt is now almost 20 (excluding the ones given to friends).
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One more from Keino's garage

2011-03-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Wes Lang's custom built chopper....
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Keino's Cycles

2011-03-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

I love Red Hook
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the biggest, ever...

2011-03-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

This is the biggest dog to ever live. Hercules (that's it's name) weighs 285 lbs.and, the guy holding the leash is a moron. In the picture you can clearly see his wife telling him: Bro, you should use reigns like I have on my horse which is the same size as your dog.

Obscura

2011-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

This East Village shop has odds and ends closer to odd than end. I was in there a couple weeks ago and caught these two trying to get away without paying for their acorns... What is this world coming to?
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Knicks tickets

2011-03-13T19:24:00.001-07:00

The Knicks will eventually figure things out and stop losing to teams like the Bucks and the Pacers. Still, win or lose, they don't search for disposable flasks at the Garden.

Thanks, Todd.
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Jimmy fallon

2011-03-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

I ran into him just a few minutes ago. What a nice guy. The sign in the back that shows up in the picture is kinda funny...
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Eyes bigger than my stomach?

2011-03-12T17:47:00.001-08:00

The second half of my burger from Stand.
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Fuck you, wheel chair!

2011-03-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Only in Brooklyn....
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originals | a blog - Jonathan Everitt

2011-03-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

originals | a blog - Jonathan Everitt

Genius

2011-03-10T17:53:00.001-08:00

Thanks mara!
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Natural beauty

2011-03-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jen Pearson from Effy Jewelers
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From the comfort of my cell phone

2011-03-10T12:03:00.001-08:00

Beach House concert at Webster Hall
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Jake the Snake strikes again!

2011-03-10T11:32:00.001-08:00

correct.

2011-03-10T08:33:00.000-08:00

thanks Johnny...

questions questioned...

2011-03-10T05:50:00.000-08:00

Someone just asked me recently what my product development process is like. I guess what they really wanted to know was how I design the pieces and then how many tiny little elves it takes to make them. Truth be told, we dont use elves. We use machines.

I love hand made jewelry and still make quite a bit myself for friends, family and just personal hobby. Black&Blue is, however, completely machine made. We use CNCs, Wire EDM, Photo Acid Etching, and Ionic Plating for 90% of what we do. Given all those robots its important to note that a human being (yours truly) designs every piece, good or bad. I do all the engineering, too.

My goal with all the product development is to get it 100% right on the first sample. That's for a few reasons. The most important of the reasons is the absurd lead time it takes to develop a new piece. From submitted design to sample in our hands it can take 3 months on the average. I might as well be designing space ships!

I dont believe in revisions. I think it is more cost efficient to just do a new design. start from scratch. Even the smallest change affects the overall look of a piece. Why not take what you have learned and roll into the next version, with new ideas? I'd say for every strong piece we release to stores there were 5 that just missed the mark...

So when are we complaining about small details that need revision? Look at these two images. We have a really signature chain that I designed when We first started the line. Its probably, of all the chains i have designed, my single most favorite piece. I wear one every day. Anyway, we saw a factory getting to expensive and not delivering on time (maybe the machines were going on strike). So we moved it to a new factory. I sent them the design and engineering files AND a sample. What we got back, to me wasn't EXACTLY the same.

Now, I know most people would have let it go. Close enough. We even had orders we needed to fill. And whats more, it takes 3 months for a sample, or a revision, remember?? But, I can't do it. I remember working at David Yurman and watching the Yurmans revise a design 20 times and even then still wanting to revise it some more while it was in production. That I thought was excessive sometimes, but learned something about making it perfect. Its one thing to have something so close and bring it the rest of the way by putting that extra effort in. Especially when that effort has been your heart and soul in the first place.

Whats the lesson here? I'm not sure, but I think it is this: When something is working you put in the effort to keep it alive, but up to a point. A lot of the time it just makes sense to take what you have learned, put it in your bag of tricks, and start over.

black and blue (and yellow spandex pants)

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

thanks, jonny!

de-industrialization

2011-03-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

thanks, Drei.

more OFWGKTA, please.

2011-03-04T08:35:00.001-08:00

Not sure what to say.

2011-03-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Charlie.

Brian Dettmer

2011-03-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Brian Dettmer carves books and medical journals to create these incredible pieces. Blown away I am...

Thanks Jeff!!!

its official...

2011-03-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

I think it was the one, two combination of the MOMA installation and then the feature on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. My adoptive home seems obsessed. For the record I want to note that I was ahead of the trend, damn it. (I'm talking about terrariums of course).

It started in the spring of last year for me. My girl came back from a trip out west; giant sequoia country to be exact. She brought back a kitsch little kit to grow your own giant sequoias. Fast forward to these little bastards getting to big for the supplied container and you would have found me looking for a new place to put them.

I started making the terrariums to kind of test the waters and learn before transplanting my precious little sequoias. There are now 13 terrariums in my apartment at various stages of construction and the giant western pines are still cramped in their container from April of 2010.

Please dont be surprised to see me quit making jewelry and focus on making tiny little ecosystems.

Ignored Prayers

2011-02-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

I love this blog. I spend more time on it than I should. Everything clever I ever send to people in email form comes from there. So much for future clever emails.

I need to give credit because this letter, From Dr. Dre is that amazing. The publisher deserves the credit.

black mamba

2011-02-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

I don't like the Lakers, or Kobe (its required if you live in NY). What I do like is Robert Rodriguez talking about making a movie with the Black Mamba. Oh, wait... That exists? Maybe I don't like it.

never to worry about getting old this one.

2011-02-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rIguM71LQI

Flamenco Hoy

2011-02-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

We saw this show last night. It was incredible.
http://www.nycitycenter.org/tickets/productionnew.aspx?performanceNumber=5864

Odd Future

2011-02-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.oddfuture.com/
Thanks Diego...

The Singularity is near?

2011-02-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Last night, Watson, IBM's AI computer spanked Jeopardy's two all time winning-est contestants. I'm sure its all over the news this morning. (I watched some of it. I have to say, most of the domination seemed like it came from Watson's ability to chime in before the other contestants.) At the end Ken Jennings, the freak of nature who molested competitors night after night in 2004 (74 wins and over $3mill in winnings)wrote: "I for one welcome our new computer overlords." alongside his final Jeopardy answer. Well put, Ken.

One of my favorite quotes is from the book Shop class As SoulCraft. The quote goes something like this: intelligent thinking is eliminating the need for intelligent thinking. Consider your computer's spell check feature.

This morning a friend sent a link to Google's new Art Project (pictured here). In comparison to Watson's triumph I can still see hope in the possibility that intelligent thinking could possibly promote more intelligent thinking in Google's new toy.

I think I'll just stick to jewelry making...

Thanks, Ilka...

Trouble!

2011-02-16T06:54:00.001-08:00

Alex Randall

2011-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

here

This is what I heard about the Grammy Awards...

2011-02-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks Ev-Hen!

Clayton Haske

2011-02-13T15:27:00.001-08:00

Paula Hayes

2011-02-13T15:26:00.001-08:00

terrariums!

Meanwhile, uptown...

2011-02-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to pretend it says Fashion Police and consider it funny.

tree monster

2011-02-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

On 2nd street, between The Bowery and 2nd Ave.

George of the jungle.

2011-02-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

thanks JP

sit down and shut up...

2011-02-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Bones!

R7

2011-02-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

when the devil isn't riding his Vincent Black Prince, he tools around hell on one of these.

A very talented fellow...

2011-02-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Diego Mannino

Its whats inside that counts

2011-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

I dont think anyone has put a face on on the face of interior design like Roman&Williams. Its been going on for a while now, and I've been meaning to put something on the blarggggg. Better late than never, I guess....

Ps. the link is images of work they have done.

PPs. Your apt will never look that good, so just relax. Its out of your control.

If you love basketball

2011-02-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

Someone built an interactive video graph of every NBA slam dunk contest attempt and its incredible.

an eye for an eye...

2011-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

I never thought about how glass eyes were made. i guess i shouldn't be shocked to see that they are lampworked by hand. lampworking is essentially glass blowing on a miniature scale. Sometimes it is used in conjunction with large scale glass blowing like in the work by artist Paul Stankard.

regrets aren't always regretable

2011-01-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

There was a point where I was selected to speak in front of a large student body that I happened, through typical circumstance, to be part of. I felt at the time nervous, of course. But, mostly what I felt, or rather thought was that I had nothing to tell peers that was enlightening, or even clever. Not that I didn't try in very short form.

It wasn't long after that speech that I heard, on the radio, an odd spoken word re-mix that should have been what I had said. It stuck with me for a long time. Every time I thought about that speech I was able to imagine how amazing it would have been to deliver the words from that odd spoken word thing I had heard on the radio, instead. It captured some thoughts and advice that felt right at the time. Things like take care of your knees, and wear sun-screen.

Fast forward to digging up old memories in the way we dig up old memories and couple that with the now ever present interwebs and you get: the words from the original author to the thing I heard in the car a couple weeks after when I wished I had heard it, but was still meaningful and worth sharing even if it isn't to an audience of 8,000 people at a very rare moment in a human being's life. Wear Sunscreen

missing summer in the middle of winter

2011-01-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

MUSIC VIDEO RIDING SEPTEMBER from Hush on Vimeo.

What is the internet (getting into bed with your shoes on)

2011-01-31T12:13:00.001-08:00

thanks Hale...

Sunday

2011-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

I wonder if the Steelers will have this playing in their locker room this Sunday...

yes.

2011-01-31T08:16:00.001-08:00

The Death Set - Slap Slap Slap Pound Up Down Snap from The Death Set on Vimeo.

rebel music...

2011-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

creepy...

2011-01-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

I found this track over a year ago. I dont know why I never shared it on the blog. Maybe I did and I'm to busy to check. Either way, its worth posting twice...

Bremont

2011-01-28T07:34:00.001-08:00

second largest chedder mill...

2011-01-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

Frankie And The Heartstrings "Hunger" from ALLDAYEVERYDAY on Vimeo.

everyone knows rabbits hate cheese...

wishful cropping...

2011-01-27T10:00:00.001-08:00

With a little selective cropping you dreams can come true, too....

Thanks BB....

this might be the worst video and song ever produced.

2011-01-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks Doyles...

snow dayz...

2011-01-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Time Lapse NYC Snow Blizzard from K Taro Hashimura on Vimeo.

its no secret....

2011-01-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

The more rivets, the better.

Thank you flu...

2011-01-18T09:06:00.001-08:00

The only positive thing about being laid up at home with the flu is watching movies. Yesterday, feeling like I was on death's doorstep, I had a momentary distraction courtesy of Robert Rodriguez and his obsession with bad 70's movies.

Ausies have it so good...

2011-01-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

As far as I can tell the Yamaha MT-01 was only available in Australia.

Minka Sicklinger

2011-01-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Tattoo on leather.

back in the city again...

2011-01-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

Ah, back home. Sweet home New York. It was nice getting out and enjoying a short vacation, but its just as good coming home to this city that I love. My friend Andrei sent me this video while I was away and I couldn't watch it until now. No matter how long you live in the city there are still things you don't know about. I've missed them, even if I didn't know of them all....

http://gizmodo.com/5723281/this-is-the-new-york-no-one-ever-sees

we live in the future.

2010-12-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

guitar man, er, infants....

2010-12-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

I feel like a failure...

boarderline

2010-12-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

The flaming lips Borderline
Uploaded by cringer. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

The covers the Flaming Lips have been doing with Stardust and White Dwarf... Well, whats to say? They are really, really, really good...

the gimbaled Zenith 0G Christophe Columb

2010-12-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Machines like this and a lot of the MB&F pieces have clearly made the confines of typical watch crystals a thing of the past.

from the current issue of IW magazine...

minature ivory...

2010-12-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

tiny little ivory carvings set behind carved rock crystal were very special pieces around the end of the end of the 1700's... These little masterpieces are very hard to find and often took to many different themes. Extra rare pieces are of the momento mori genre and often have tiny little carved ivory skulls and bones....

Venus in furs...

2010-12-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

23 minutes..

2010-12-07T06:26:00.001-08:00

In 1979, BMW commissioned Warhol to paint an M1 for their Art Car Project. Its rumored that it took him 23 minutes to paint the car.

Most might think that he knew he could slap some paint on the car and, with his famous name, get a way with whatever came of it. Some might feel that he had refined his skill by that point where he could exact his vision that easily and render as good a subject as anything he had done before. The truth is both thoughts are right.

He understood his pull as a celebrity artist and knew how to leverage it. But, he had also honed a unique knowledge and ability, at a very early age, working as a skilled graphic artist. Neither exist w/o the other.

An old watch...

2010-12-06T06:14:00.001-08:00

This is a nice little treasure story (and a quick read).

cannon balls....

2010-12-06T05:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks Jeff! I'm emailing these guys now to see if they would make it as a ring.