The How To Project - Journal

Wanna learn one of the greatest skills known to man? A skill so...

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:28:12 +0100

Wanna learn one of the greatest skills known to man? A skill so life changing you’ll never go back? You do? Great.

Screen printing is one of the funnest activities you can do, the ability to create a set of posters, packaging, t-shirts easily and relatively quickly is one of its biggest draws. The problem is all the gear you need.

The guys at Print Liberation have put together a complete DIY screen printing kit for your use, and when they say complete they mean complete. All with a dedicated store for all the consumerables it’s now even easier to set up a small print workshop in your own home.

Visit the whole store here and Design Milk have a competition going for US residents where you can win a whole bundle of goodies here.

Famed Basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares life lessons...

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:12:34 +0100

Famed Basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares life lessons he’s learn with Esquire from money issues to family.

Here’s a few poignant sections of Kareem’s 20 Things I Wish I’d known When I Was 30.

“3. Become financially literate. “Dude, where’s my money?” is the rallying cry of many ex-athletes who wonder what happened to all the big bucks they earned. Some suffer from unwise investments or crazy spending, and others from not paying close attention. I was part of the didn’t-pay-attention group. I chose my financial manager, who I later discovered had no financial training, because a number of other athletes I knew were using him. That’s typical athlete mentality in that we’re used to trusting each other as a team, so we extend that trust to those associated with teammates. Consequently, I neglected to investigate his background or what qualified him to be a financial manager. He placed us in some real estate investments that went belly up and I came close to losing some serious coin. Hey, Kareem at 30: learn about finances and stay on top of where your money is at all times. As the saying goes, “Trust, but verify.””

“7. Be patient. Impatience is the official language of youth. When you’re young, you want to rush to the next thing before you even know where you are. I always think of the joke in Colors that the wiser and older cop (Robert Duvall) tells his impatient rookie partner (Sean Penn). I’m paraphrasing, but it goes something like: “There’s two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: ‘Hey pop, let’s say we run down there and screw one of them cows.’ The older one says: ‘No son. Let’s walk down and screw ‘em all.’” Now, to counter the profane with the profound, one of my favorite quotes is from the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: “Talent hits the target no one else can hit; genius hits the target no one else can see.” I think the key to seeing the target no one else can see is in being patient, waiting for it to appear so you can do the right thing, not just the expedient thing. Learning to wait is one of my greatest accomplishments as I’ve gotten older.”

Illustrator Clara Lacy was recently on Meet The Makers filming...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:47:00 +0100

Illustrator Clara Lacy was recently on Meet The Makers filming her process and thoughts on her practice. Watch below.

A recent graduate from London’s Camberwell College of Arts her intricate and skilful pencil drawings have attracted work from I-D magazine and Goodhood.

Check out all her work here.

Have you seen that swift T-shirt folding Lacoste advert? Here’s...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:26:47 +0100

Have you seen that swift T-shirt folding Lacoste advert? Here’s how you can impress the ladies with your folding skills.

Wired shows us a quick How To from their May 2013 issue illustrated by Tobatron the alter ego of Toby Leigh. Here’s a link to the whole thing, now you have no excuse not to have a tidy chest of drawers.

How To Fold a Shirt in Two Seconds

www.tobatron.com

Hand-maker of minimal canvas California inspired Japanese bags,...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:09:13 +0100

Hand-maker of minimal canvas California inspired Japanese bags, Sunset Craftsman Co. is the star of this short by Felicia Elise.

Taking its name from the California sun blessed landscape, Sunset Craftsman Co. is small operation in Okayama Japan that crafts perfectly simple and durable bags. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a Japanese designer though would you. Take a watch of this short shot by Felicia Elise (who much like SC co. I can’t find much about) which takes a quite a detailed look at the production of one their bags.

If you can find anything on either of these guys to link to let me know, they seem to give a low profile!

Every wanted to be an astronaut but was put off by the confusing...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:06:38 +0100

Every wanted to be an astronaut but was put off by the confusing idea of brushing your teeth in space, here’s how…

ISS Commander Chris Hadfield has a bunch of dumbfounding videos of daily life in space where he answers questions from viewers on simple tasks and how they are completed. I’m absolutely smitten with them! It’s so bizarre watching his switch hands between his mic and watching it float in front of him whilst he grabs things.

He’s got a whole series of videos from ‘Can you cry in space?’ to ‘How to wash your hands in space’, the video below is on how an astronaut brushes his teeth in space – to be honest it’s pretty obvious but it’s fascinating to watch it and imagine it being done.

Design with heart – a charming video with Sebastian Bergne on...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:53:21 +0100

Design with heart – a charming video with Sebastian Bergne on his work and process when designing, valuable information.

Working for the likes of Tefal, Vitra and, my favourite utilitarian brand, Muji – Sebastian Bergne has cemented himself as an Industrial Designer of value. I’ve got a friend a just starting out studying Industrial Design and because of that it’s something that I’ve become more aware of this last year especially the thought that goes into objects. Though some parts of this film are a bit artsy schmartsy watching it allowed me to, as closely as I can coming from an Illustrative background, understand the mindset of Industrial Designers and the choices they make.

Take a watch and pass it around to any young Design students you know.

www.sebastianbergne.com

Follow Paul Smith’s inspirational and free career path in this...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:50:00 +0100

Follow Paul Smith’s inspirational and free career path in this 30 minute talk he did for Here 2012 Design Festival.

It’s Nice That’s Here festival, which I think has been posted about before, is a one day design symposium featuring some of the best creatives of our time. This is about 4 months old but it’s an absolute corker from Paul Smith, in it he details his career from opening a small 12 x 12 foot shop to direct inspirations for some of his fabrics.

The one thing to take away? Balance, pay the rent and be creative.

How to travel the world without leaving your home thanks to Elin...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:03:07 +0100

How to travel the world without leaving your home thanks to Elin Aram’s curated souvenir packages from ‘A Box From’.

Elin Aram is a designer from Berlin with a clear passion for travelling. So much so that she decided to set up A Box From – a site with dedicated to putting together curated packages of nick nacks and collected objects from the places she’s travelled. The first ‘Beta’ box was a completed success and sold out apparently in over an hour, featuring items from her trip to Seoul, the package included packets of noodles, rice tea, notepads and Collagen packets. But these were no randomly chosen items, each one was a reflection of the country she visited noticed by Aram and included a short explanation of its place in the pack.

Currently visiting Tehran, Elin is putting together the next box of goodies for all you next level couch travellers and you purchase it for 30 Euros at www.aboxfrom.com check it out and sign up to the newsletter to stay ahead of the pack.

Crafters and artisans are at the heart of Adidas creative teams...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:02:11 +0100

Crafters and artisans are at the heart of Adidas creative teams and there is no one, it seems, more dedicated than Mr. Omori.

This new series by Adidas called Adivisionaries shows Mr. Toshiaki Omori, who started working for Adidas in 1999, talk about his role within the company and his tried and tested methods of designing the base models to their shoes. He speaks about the hand crafted nature of his working, preferring to use rulers, pencils and knives rather company technology that shows a method of working and living that must seem alien to a whole generation of people who’ve grown up with computers.

Great watch and worth 3 minutes of your time.

Watch minimal and ghostly Producer Shlohmo and Jeremih work...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:01:20 +0100

Watch minimal and ghostly Producer Shlohmo and Jeremih work together on their new track Bo Peep from Yours Truly.

I’ve been a fan of Shlohmo since tracking down one of his songs from a Youtube video where it had been used. Since then he has become a regular on the speakers at mine, this newest track sees him collaborate with artist Jeremih after the success of his remix of Fuck U All The Time.

Yours Truly seemed to be at the right place at the right time and managed to capture these two writing and recording Bo Peep (Do U Right) and provides an awesome insight into the making of a record. A true reflection of creating music rather than those terrible script shots of a band in a studio – this film captures the hard work and late nights that you don’t see.

Watch it and enjoy.

www.yourstru.ly

Illustrator extraordinaire Jon Contino is offering an online...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:00:43 +0100

Illustrator extraordinaire Jon Contino is offering an online workshop and packaging design course on Skill Share, check it out!

We’ve featured Mr. Contino on hear a couple of times and that has a lot to do with his openness about his art. This post is no different – Skill Share the online design course site has linked up with Jon and put together a class on lettering, packaging and label design using his extensive knowledge from his work on CXXVI. For $20 you can enrol in this class starting May 13th and learn from the master.

Major props to Jon for being so open with his knowledge and skills.

Enrol here!

We’ve all seen coffee art – the kind anyone can now create...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:49:00 +0100

We’ve all seen coffee art – the kind anyone can now create easily with a set of stencils but this guy takes it to a new level.

I think this guy can claim to be the world’s only coffee portrait artist, that’s quite a title to have. Taken from Tumblr’s very own Storyboard blog barista Mike Breach creates speedy and impromptu portraits using bamboo paint brushes and pictures from his iPhone in NY Soho’s aptly named Smile To-Go.

Take a look at the video above, I have a feeling this is going to be everywhere soon enough. Study this film and try your hand at it if you think you’re steady enough.

Neat little look at how a recent cover of the New York Times was...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:48:43 +0100

Neat little look at how a recent cover of the New York Times was put together by photographer Craig Cutler.

I always like to see behind the curtain of artworks, how an artist has solved the problem of making an idea physical this short piece from on Craig Cutler’s cover. Initial sketches and a pre-edit shot of the back of the burger shows an image reminiscent of models with their clothes pegged tight behind them.

Take a read on the NY Times blog here.

The Tribeca Film Festival wants to see what kind of short films...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:21:55 +0100

The Tribeca Film Festival wants to see what kind of short films you can create using Vine’s 6 second capture, here’s some help.

Awhile back Twitter released their newest addition to mini snippet social networking with Vine a video capturing app that limits the video to 6 seconds – much in the same way Twitter limits you to 140 characters. Since its release its created quite a stir amongst the design community who have relished the challenge of creating something in 6 seconds (most notably Mark Weaver is creating some dope stuff).

This article on Mashable from Tech News Daily speaks to a few heralded Vine-ers on their tips for creating interesting Vines from the Tribeca Film Festival. Read the whole thing here and submit your own Vine using the hashtag #6secfilms.

How to be a leader, a poignant quote from entrepreneur, author...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:10:15 +0100

How to be a leader, a poignant quote from entrepreneur, author and speaker - Jim Rohn. Qualities that are often neglected.

Step back in time with 91 year old Shoe maker Frank Catalfumo...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:58:58 +0100

Step back in time with 91 year old Shoe maker Frank Catalfumo and get to know his process and life in retrospect.

At 91 years old, or 90 and ½ as he says, Frank Catalfumo has been in the Shoe repair business for a long time and whilst the world outside has changed not much has inside his little shop. It’s fascinating to see the processes of his time are still in use in his shop and it brings back a nostalgia I’ve never even experienced!

Shot by Dustin Cohen for Hypebeast.

Here’s something you can do this Easter (now that the chocolate...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:41:39 +0100

Here’s something you can do this Easter (now that the chocolate is eaten) build a scooter from Ikea stools.

You may have heard of the idea of Ikea Hacks, essentially you take a couple of Ikea products and using the simplistic shapes and methods of attaching you create other objects out of them. It’s most basic element Ikea is like Lego for adults – and the best part of Lego is ignoring the instructions and building your own creations.

Check out this guide for creating a child’s scooter out of Ikea stools from Andreas Bhend and Samuel N. Bernier that looks like a cross between a wooden rocking horse and a minimalist Tron bike.

View the whole guide here on Instructables.

Take a read of this quick guide to knife skills from top chef...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:23:41 +0000

Take a read of this quick guide to knife skills from top chef Yoshinori Ishii illustrated again by the talented Joe McKendry.

If you’re going to be cooking this Summer there’s no better time to tune up your knife skills, the ladies will love it. We feature Mr Porter’s Journal here every now and then and it’s not because of a lack of material to post here but rather that they keep bringing out gems likes this that I think you guys could benefit from.

I’m a firm believer in confidence of the hand when it comes to design, confidence in the hand strengthens the bond between the brain and the output you create. What better way to develop this than by practising this skill you know? If you dither and doubt yourself you’re going to get hurt!

Here’s a snippet of the How To below and read the whole thing on Mr Porter here.

“When I learnt my knife skills in Japan, I started with katsura-muki, one of the most difficult yet essential cutting techniques for professional Japanese chefs. It is used for making very thin ribbons of vegetables such as daikon (mooli radish). When I started learning culinary skills, I made sure to practise every night after I finished dinner service. Although I’ve been a chef for 20 years, I practise every day in order to maintain the sensitivity of my fingers and the condition of my knives.”

Friday Food time! I’ve never been a fan of Egg in Sandwiches but...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:58:00 +0000

Friday Food time! I’ve never been a fan of Egg in Sandwiches but I’m a believer now – Chilli and Fennel Egg Sandwich.

We’ve dug up a wicked recipe for you to start the weekend with courtesy of www.foodwhore.tumblr.com. This time it’s a Chilli and Fennel Egg Sandwich, which sounds delicious – if you’ve ever tried Fennel you can imagine the way that’d taste with some Egg.

Take a look at the whole recipe here and let us know how you get on!