You would be surprised that a small corner shop sitting on the axis of Amsterdam’s stylish Herenstraat and the Herengracht (one of the city’s central canals), is actually the European flagship store for a Singaporean menswear bag label called Property Of….The store, only having been open for a year, acts as a space for the ten-year-old brand to explore outside its native Singapore, offering a unique retail experience in the form of complimentary espressos, cappuccinos and pastries for customers who stop by. Most Property Of… bags and products, which range from messenger bags to small wallets priced between €150-€250, are created with a combination of leather and waxed canvas, while a few smaller items come in denim and nylon. Hendrik Stroscher, the owner and manager of the company’s Amsterdam shop, notes that the design philosophy maintains that their bags exude a timeless feel combined with subtle branding as each bag contains a little understated “Property Of…” logo that cleverly leaves room to write your own name after it. Each bag also comes with a name, highlights include the “Alfred Book Bag” and “Tommy Work Bag” both displaying that classic quality while remaining functional, containing various small pockets and enough room for books and a laptop.

When choosing a city to house the company’s first European operations, Stroscher says the decision was primarily practical due to his residence in the city but also adds that, “We now realize after being open for a year and a half is that Amsterdam gives us a lot of freedom to develop under the radar, to develop the concept a bit and to make an impact.” The store follows the company’s tradition of opening cafes in Singapore under the moniker “PS Cafe.” One of these establishments was created into a hybrid of part cafe, part retail space creating a multi-brand concept which served as inspiration for their Amsterdam store. While the shop is too small to contain a fully operating cafe, the desire to serve quality coffee remains adding to their goal of giving customers they will not get in a wholesale or online environment, a unique retail experience and a chance to get to know the brand and those behind it. It’s a strategy that has proven to be successful as Property Of… has found itself within the pages of Monocle magazine’s most recent “Quality of Life” edition, profiled as one of their favorite new cafes. “It’s really surprising to us, but it works. In Paris and London there is so much noise where you’d have to shout much louder to be heard, while here in Amsterdam we can be quiet, do our thing and people will enjoy it.” Stroscher also cites the city’s laid back atmosphere and lack of an attitude, especially compared to other European capitals, that matched the style and personality of their company.

The design of the store matches both the quality of their bags, as well as the picturesque and charming exteriors of the Herengracht canal it’s located on. Stroscher and his team completely flipped the interiors placing in old camel glass mirrors on the walls while seeking out vintage tiles to be placed on the floor. In terms of the coffee that you receive when you arrive at the store, Property Of… carefully seeks out new suppliers every few months, currently stocked is organic espresso from the only female run coffee farm in Ethiopia. All of these details hark back to the concept of the experience in a nice environment, something Stroscher believes smaller stores can offer over department stores. When asked about the future of his Amsterdam shop, Stroscher confidently states that,“We don’t have a five year plan, a lot of things come because it feels right, and we love it and we’re sure others will love it as well.”

Writer Alexander LeRose

There are few materials in this world that encompass luxury, functionality and durability in the way that leather does. Our affinity for leather goods has deep-seated roots in the story of human evolution, survival and progress. It has remained a fixture of our material culture for thousands of years, keeping us warm, holding the things we value most, protecting our bodies and representing the crafts our lineage. We have learned to love all its smells, the way it feels and the elegance of its simplicity because it has come a long way with us through the annals of history.

Designer Tove Emilsson shares our love for leather and our recognition of it as a fixture in human history. Her Hunter’s Bend project is a well-crafted exploration into the long-standing relationship we have to this natural and ubiquitous material. The collection consists of five parts in various sizes, from wallets to differing cases for small goods. Employing an interesting technique, she makes the cases out of vegetable-tanned leather, which she boils and then folds, when still wet into the desired shapes. As the leather dries, it hardens to lock within itself, needing no stitching and providing a smooth yet rigid and protective form. In describing their seamless aesthetic she notes that “with out any seams or rivets they may call to mind goods or gifts wrapped in tissue paper.”

As a student at HDK, School of Design and Crafts at the University of Gothenburg, Tove Emilsson began making leather cases not only for the sole purpose of creating beautiful objects but also to ”reflect on mans relation to ownership [and] how an object without a specific material value can be appreciated for its origin or history and gradually become part of an identity.” She writes of her own project: ”I have looked upon traces of time as an extension of an existing object… The history contained in leather, as a living material has been an important part of the project as well as how its features are used in the making and then allowing that product to change with use.”

Emilsson has yet to decide which lucky retailers she will partner with, so for now you can visit her website and contact her for more information.

The Block‘s friend and contributor Sarah Frances Kuhn also happens to be a totally rockin’ designer. The former Teen Vogue accessories editor (and current Block writer) recently released a series of amazing fabric-and-chain camera straps (reminiscent of classic Chanel bag chains) with NYC boutuqie/gallery End of Century and jewelry designer Cheek-ie.

Says Kuhn, “The custom SFK camera strap was a collaboration between myself, the End of Century (owners Lara Hodulick and Chantal Chadwick) & Cheek-ie designer Angela Barrow. We came up with the graphic-chic combination of chain and fabric together. Collaborations are a major part of SFK.”

Buy the camera strap from End of Century’s webshop.

Writer Jennifer Croll

Location: Crosstown, Vancouver

Rexford Lavado is the designer of Broken English, a brand he founded in 2008 with partner Lindsay Rankin. A trained goldsmith, Lavado handcrafts each and every piece in his Crosstown studio, where he is accompanied by his dog Harlem. We spent an afternoon with the designer while he showed us around his workspace.

Brass Knuckles by Robert Lazzarini, 2010

Winter in Miami has everything: sun, surf, and Art Basel Miami Beach. With temperatures dropping across the rest of North America, nothing rubs it in like a fabulous multi-discipline art show rammed with celebs, art collectors, and beautiful people.

First stop: OHWOW.

Eyes Towards the Sun by Jose Parla, 2010

A collaborative publishing and design group that regularly puts out visionary art books and gallery shows, OHWOW kicks off Art Basel with their third installation of It Ain’t Fair. The collective’s answer to the traditional art fair, It Ain’t Fair is a soft revolution against the relentless rows of art booths.

OHWOW founders Aaron Bondaroff and Al Moran make a habit of consorting with an impressive stable of cutting-edge artists, designers, writers, and musicians. Their contributions, expertly curated, round up the latest in contemporary art innovation for It Ain’t Fair: multimedia in excess, a feast of painting, sculpture, performance, audio, and video.

Bravery by Phil Frost, 1999

Designed by Rafael de Cardenas (see OHWOW’s Greenwich Village flagship store for proof that the medium really is the message – and one of pure chaotic genius), the exhibition promises to be a creative wonderland.

Seems fair enough to us.

See It Ain’t Fair at Art Basel Miami Beach Thursday, December 2, 2010 @ 8 p.m.

Words Darcy Smith

Cubebot by David Weeks

Our apartments would be a total yawnfest if it wasn’t for New York-based design shop Areaware, and we’re pretty excited that our favourite source of objets d’art is celebrating its five-year birthday during the celebrations for New York Design Week.

Banana Bowl by Harry Allen

In an exhibition on Great Jones Street running from May 15-18, Areaware presents a hit-list from its five years in operation, including designs from David Weeks, Tobias Wong, and Harry Allen. And if you’re the sort of person more likely to sport a lampshade on your head than on an actual lamp, make sure to check out the opening party on May 15, featuring custom handmade pinatas by Confetti System, gourmet S’mores by The Jewels of New York, and a DJ set from Chad Phillips (AKA Kidrobot’s Creative Director).

On/Off Light Switch by Tobias Wong

Areaware 5-Year Anniversary
45 Great Jones Street
May 15th –18th
Sunday – Tuesday 11 am – 6 pm
Opening party Saturday May 15th, 7 – 10 pm

To date, some of Saarinen’s most iconic landmarks are: the CBS Building, the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at the Lincoln Centre (the soon-to-be location for New York Fashion Week), and the TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport, which is now the slick and swanky home of JetBlue Airway’s Terminal 5.

Who knows, maybe you’ll pick up the swagger of James T. Kirk’s womanizing ways. The exhibition runs until January 31, 2010. www.mcny.org

It’s fitting then, that the two have teamed up to create Insound Classic 10, a collection of limited edition hoodies, tees, and posters. The project features Perry’s interpretation of ten bands from the 70s to the 90s (such as Galaxie 500, The Promise Ring, and The Feelies). The collection tells a historical narrative by highlighting some of the iconic bands of its era.

Already having his own studio, magazines, and two books, Hand Job and Over and Over (the former is not what you think, Hand Job is a catalogue of hand-drawn typography, while Over and Over is a book of hand-drawn patterns), Perry was a natural choice. All it takes is a quick look at Perry’s signature graphics and hand-drawn fonts to know that he was just the man for the project.

Insound Classic 10 is a reflection of Insound’s philosophy: music is for the fans. Started by three self-proclaimed music nerds in 1998, Insound began as a small mail-order business and has slowly grown into a successful online music aggregator over the course of ten years. From Joy Division to Sufjan Stevens, Insound boasts a tasteful roster of vinyl records.

And while we’re not likely to give up our iPods anytime soon, wearing one of Perry’s tees means we don’t have to.

http://www.insound.com/classic10/
http://www.mikeperrystudio.com/

Don’t dare compare one of these Diesel lamps with any ol’ lamp you find at a flea market. Successful Living, a line of furniture created by Diesel – spearheaded by Diesel’s Creative Director, Wilbert Das – has collaborated with Foscarini to create a series of lamps to illuminate homes in all styles.

The design series is inspired by genres of music, the 60s and 70s, and discovery and exploration. The seven types of lamps are functional as much as they are fashionable. The knockout prints of Graf, which is designed to look like a disk-jockey’s console, to the ingenuity of Tri-p, which is travel friendly with its collapsible structure, will have us tossing away our clunky good-for-nothing (except, we guess, lighting a room) lamps. The Successful Living series is sold exclusively at Diesel stores (San Francisco and New York) and online. http://www.diesel.com/furniturefair/

Brainchild of Swedish clothing line Elvine and the designers at Next Century Modern, Creators Inn accommodates visiting artists gratis – so long as they contribute to the creative welfare of the city.

Creators Inn comes with the standard accoutrements you find in your local Holiday Inn, like branded soaps, room service, and clean towels. But it’s the thoughtful touches like Alcohol and the Bible by Howard H. Charles in the nightstand drawer, free bike rental, vinyl record player, and “freshly grown air” (via exotic, handpicked houseplants) that put Creators Inn in the five sparkling stars category. So if your creative endeavours ever lead you to Stockholm or Gothenburg, leave your pesos, yen, rupees, and even your Swedish kronas behind, because Creators Inn guarantees the best rates in town. http://www.creatorsinn.com/