It seems like one step forward, two steps back for the environmental movement these days. The once-high hopes of achieving national and/or international action on climate change have faded to a mere memory. Backward-thinking Republicans are attacking the Environmental Protection Agency in Congress. Eco-minded folks are getting bummed. But another movement, one that shares a common ethos with......read more
Louisville-based Bourbon Barrel Foods makes small batch gourmet food products inspired by the rich history of Kentucky bourbon country. The sauces and seasonings are aged in wooden casks reclaimed from the 120-year-old Old Crow Distillery in Woodford County, which Bourbon Barrel founder Matt Jamie refers to as "The Napa Valley of the Bluegrass." Among the Bourbon Barrel offerings are handcrafted......read more
Small Black is Long Island duo Josh Kolenik and Ryan Heyner, whose self-titled EP was released earlier this year on Jagjaguwar. "Bad Lovers" is the second single off the release. We have no idea what's going on in this Nick Bentgen-directed video, but it suits the hazy, fuzzed-out sound of the song, so who cares? Not us. ...read more
Swedish musician Simon Stålhamrhe, aka Small Feet, called upon compatriot director Oskar Wrango to create visuals to accompany his new track, "Rivers." Wrango literally delivered the hotness with this clip, featuring a burning man running through a northern landscape. The video begins from the end, with the man springing from the lake that he leapt in to put out the fire that raged upon......read more
These are the best pencils you've ever used, seriously. #2 graphite core with a rubber eraser. Recommended for drawing, making lists. song-writing, and everything in between. All pencils are pre-sharpened for added awesomeness. Made and Public Supply teamed up to create a made in the USA, (New Jersey to be exact) notebook and set of pencils that not only look cool but are also fully functional.......read more
Longtime farming advocate Willie Nelson lends his voice to Coldplay's "The Scientist" in this charming piece of stop motion from Johnny Kelly. The story follows the plight of a farmer who, in an effort to modernize his farm, turns it into an industrial animal factory. Seeing the error of his ways, he reverts back to a small-scale, sustainable farm. The film was commissioned by Chipotle "to......read more
Eating food that was raised locally is all well and good, but if the meat in your organic, grass-fed burger was processed in some massive slaughterhouse across state lines, it kind of defeats the purpose. And in all likelihood, it probably wasn't processed anywhere nearby. That's because the meat industry, like much else in U.S. agriculture, is a highly consolidated beast. According to......read more
Thom Yorke describes "Harrowdown Hill," from the 2006 album "Eraser," as his most political work. After coming across some of Chel White's short films, Yorke asked the director and partner at Bent Image Lab to make the video. Using Bent's "Smallgantics" technique -- a variation on tilt-shift photography, in which objects in images are made to appear......read more
11+ Bottle Humidifier is a beautifully harmonious fusion of precision engineering with the prestige of 11+ design aesthetics. Everything down to the intuitive dimming LED light is meticulously refined to ensure that even the slightest detail is of the highest quality. The surface of the bottle has been elaborately constructed to double as a coveted sculpture easily integrated into any space. ...read more
In 2010, entrepreneur John Edel bought a four-story, 94,000 square foot factory in a bankruptcy sale. The sprawling red brick warehouse, built in the 1920s next to Chicago’s Union Stockyards, used to process bacon and ham. Today it is home to The Plant Chicago, a vertical farm housing 11 small-scale food businesses, from bakers and kombucha brewers to aquaponic farms growing......read more