The New MacBook Air

Yesterday Apple Computer have released the new MacBook Air.

I have follow the Steve Jobs Keynote, connected via iChat with my fellows Max and Chuck, they provide me opinions and support to help me to see the keynote due to my low band connection. Thanks!

The New MBA is something that let me astonishing.
I've dream about a Mac like this for years, and now I'm so ready to put one in my bag...

Just a question: PATA Hard Drive or Solid State?

The price will make the difference, but I'm sure that Apple have opened the road to Solid State technology and soon the only options available will be SSD. So my opinion (this morning) is: wait a little bit and see what happen...

But can I really bear this wait?

Designing the perfection

When I think about something that I really can define “perfect” I must look at the Omega Speedmaster Professional, a tool watch for the connoisseurs.

So far to be a watch for fashion victims, the Speedmaster is a unique example of the old saying “the function determines the design” and infact the NASA choose this watch after a very hard series of test to prove the performance under the worst condition (imagine only the temperature changing from the direct sunlight to the shadow in the space) of some of the most know watches in the early sixties, many of them was refused (and, yes, also the Rolex was in the list…) and finally the winner will have the opportunity to be the first watch on the moon at the wrist of Astronaut Neil Armstrong.

It’s a simple piece of design, that well explain how much important is to “balance” your pencil when you approach to design something new and fresh… and not only in watchmaking, but also in any other field of design.

Some fine example? The “Alu” Chair of Ray Eames, the Chrome Limited Edition Luxo lamp made in the early 90’s, the Levi’s 501, The Leatherman Tools, The Airfix Figures of 60’s and 70’s…

A Very Fine Military Blouse

This is one of my favorite, it's a tropical female military blouse produced by Compton, Sons & Webb Ltd. from the R.A.F and it's dated from around 1965. I have buy this blouse as my intention to make deeper research about female military garments.

It's no easy to find female military issued clothing, but to discover one is always a great find.

The R.A.F. Blosue is very rare and have a intonse beautiful labelling with all the issue inscriptions, also the hand-stamp mark is very nice and interesting.



Note the sought after fabric wich is made this blouse: it's a satin-based weave, with a kind of micro design on the surface, I have never seen this fabric before, and I'm tryng to reproduce it with one of my fellows friends that own a fabric company.

The neck also is interesting, it miss the back and the two lapels are inserted in the cut of shoulder.

The Importance Of My Archive

Sometimes, when I go in the basement of my office, and I see a load of old military and workwear garments on the shelter I ask me what I will be now without the knowledge provide me from all these old garments.

My archive is not so wide, few hundred pieces maybe. I know some other "colleague" that have thousands of items stored! But is funny to see that many of those designers and so many other product managers from the company love to buy clothes from other brands just to copy.
They don't care to study and discover what's inside a old garment, they just prefer to buy the competitors items and copy as well they can. In the school where I have teached for more than a decades I have try to teach to my student the importance to learn from past, to catch what's is inside the details of a old garment, they love to discover how many ideas there's inside a old Field Jacket, they love to see how many inspiration they can get from a pair of old work trousers… maybe from a mechanic of R.A.F or a specialist of LUFTWAFFE.

Archives are the real ace in the hand of a designers, but to build a good archive is not easy.

First of all, you need the knowledge. It's not enough to go around the world, load of money and buy all the things that catch your eyes, or, going in the best shop and buy the latest fashion news.
The knowledge comes from a deep research in books, other archives, not necessarily about fashion…but, the most important, the knowledge is something you have to feel inside of you, somebody call it "poetry", other call it "romanticism"… I don't know.
I have build my archive in about fifth-teen years, many of the items was personal second hand clothes that i have buy for myself, others comes from common thrifty stores and markets.
The best Items I have are the military garments from the second world war, especially from the D-DAY, that I have buy in Normandy, last June... apart form the rarity, they have a special feeling coming from the place they are coming, some are impossible to find, some are more common, but the place where I have find them give something more to this pieces.

Going around in the Normandy I have seen lots of military clothing in the museum and collect so many information, that any research trip in the best capitals of the world can't give.

So, going back in my office, from the basement, keeping in my hands my small book of ideas full of new concepts to developing, I always think how much of this poetry and opportunity are loosing who is just thinking that copy a clothes is the better way to give the customer what they need.

A Simple Pair Of Glasses

These are my new glasses. I was searching for some new frames from a long time. I was tired of the squared, bold and heavy frames, is usually to see on the nose of designers, architects… and fashion victims, of course.
I have seen these glasses for the first time in the back of the cover of the last album of Donald Fagen, Morph The Cat.
Mr. Fagen is well know for his understated elegance and for the clear concept of style he have from the early days.

He put this glasses on a windows of a loft, where you can see some end of Manhattan.
This image capture me, and listening the CD give me the finishing stroke!

It was no easy to find it, but finally I find this model from a company called EPOS-MILANO and I think it's perfect.

I love the rounded lines, and the turtle shades on the new frames, they are a little bit 80's style, in fact I remember that when I was thirteen I own a pair a frames like this…

My New Stole

Few days ago, my friend Tom from the 45RPM shop of Paris, send to me some pics of the new stoles they are just receiving from Japan. I have choose this one, and yesterday it's coming to me.

I love the basic colours, the softness of the wool, the perfect size.

This stole is perfect for that cold days of november. I love the simplicity of the checks, it remind me the old artisan and farmers of the place where I leave. I love the way they dress.
They wear older classic elegant coats and simple striped shirts, but used and abused, and instead to throw away they put on for work. They wear simple work trousers in a shade of blue that is coming from the industrial workers, a perfect shade of blue, it's like an indigo, but more brilliant. They always wear a hat. Is a simple hat in Herringbone Twill, Prince of Wales Checks, or plain Brown.

Sometimes, they wear a stole like this.

The boots they wear sometimes are very dirty, but they dont' care, they show a kind of elegance that is very difficult to see.

Welcome. Please have a cup of coffe.

A cup of coffee. In my "Cassandra's" cup.

Something that make me feel better, especially when I'm working around some new idea, or when I'm reading my favourite books, or, better, when I'm here tryng to write this first post, in front of my Mac…

I know, my english is not so good, so please don't mind if this blog will be write in English or Italian, I will be free to change my language! I'ts funny if I think I have study French at school and I have learn English language translating the lyrics of the Beatles songs… I've passed lots of afternoon listening the Red and the Blue Album, with the lyrics in one hands and the dictionary in the other… so, I think, we can say that the Beatles, in some way, they was my teachers ;-)

This Blog is my first experience (apart from my web site) to show in the internet my thought, my ideas, things that I like, and things that I dont' like, things that inspire me and things that let me totally indifferent, it's a way to share some experience and to learn more from the world outside, I hope that new friends will enrich me with their experience, and share with me new ideas about design, music, graphics, fashions.

Welcome in the K-Workshop.

ps: you'll probably will know more about the "Cassandra's" cups… Ok, I tell you the story. This cup is a present of my girlfriend that find this cup in a common shop… she immediately realize that this cup look like exactly of my beloved dog Cassandra, that leave me about one year ago. Cassandra was more than a dog, and probably in some other post I will talk about she. So, drinking a coffee in that cup, make me feel more better, because I can see again my Cassandra near me.