The Tastemakers Society

Hi Fructose has been a little low key mag I’ve been reading for about a year now, the publication cycle isn’t that frequent, I think it’s something like 4 times a year. So I make it a point to look out for every new issue that drops. And with there art covers its easy for me to find them on those crazed crowded shelves at Borders. The magazine is on the same plateau as Juxtapoz but can you really have enough art magazines? Nope. The art in the magazine can be describe and put into many labels but I’m not big on labels, thankfully the good people at Hi Frcutose have come up with the best way to describe the magazine and especially the art, “Under the Counter Culture”.

Wallpaper* magazine, which I happen to like a lot has picked their winners for the designers of the year awards, 2006. The winners are a diverse bunch of different genre’s of design and the winners were picked by international experts; fashion designers Vikor & Rolf, designer Naota Fukasawa, hotelier Ian Schrager, designer Ron Arad, MD of Charme Matteo do Montezemolo and actress Jane Birkin. I would give you a little preview on who were the winners but that would take the fun out of you clicking the link to Wallpaper* and finding out all the winners for yourself for the first time.

 

Theme magazine is a really, really good magazine, and not because they just gave TTSmag a shout out on their new article on streetwear. The article I’m referring to is the basis of this post, called the “X-Pollination of Streetwear” which is like a timeline piece of streetwear, only Theme can pull off an article like this and make it so interesting. They start from the beginning of streetwear and the main head behind it all Shawn “the godfather” Stussy, and all they way down to the forerunners in the game now, Crooks and Castles. Normally streetwear related articles are corny, boring and all types of sillyness, they just talk about the growth of the culture, aka the market and having some guy who doesn’t even rock sneakers or tee’s write about streetwear, like he really gets it. They always just come from an outsiders look, which was cool at first, but now are annoying and then you have the I gotta suck so and so’s brand off, with this love piece on them, that’s irritating as hell. But when streetwear aka our fashion is written in a informative yet interesting way, I gravitate towards it and fall in love with the writing giving me something to smile about for a little while. Theme’s newly done up website has great archived articles as well, with such individuals like Hioshi Fujiwara, Kenzo Minami and Edison “I’m a pop icon” Chin.

The online version of Building Design magazine has 100 architecture firms speaking about what they have planned for 2007, and expect to see. There are some great and oddly configured designs pictured in the magazine but wierd in the design world can easily translate to innovative and beautiful. What I hope to see out of the architecture world next year is shocking or simple clean designs, either be super basic or over the top, no straddling the line this year, it’s an all in game for 2007.

via: UnBeige

TheCoolhunter.net will now be adding a print magazine to their stable of projects. They already have a TV show in the works along with some coolhunter books, now a 50-60 page free monthly magazine aimed at bringing you all the cool from around the world one can handle. In TheCoolHunter’s own words:

“Bound for the news stands in 2007, the new 50-60 page monthly glossy Cool Hunter magazine will come free as a tip-on to the world’s most prestigious fashion, design and lifestyle magazines. It will also be distributed throughout the world’s top boutique hotels as well as our favorite stores and retailers across the globe. A fascinating read, the magazine will be brimming with feature length articles that showcase the best of cool from around the world.”

Sounds groovy right.

So the good people at theApt have created theAptLife magazine which you can read in flash or pdf format. Before I read the magazine, I knew it was going to be good, I mean Stefan is a smart dude and he was also interviewed on TTSmag, so that gives the man much credit, trust. But after reading it, I have to say if online magazines like the one he just made and Dork keep getting better then print mags will continue to fall off if they can’t step their content game up. TheAptLife mag was such a good read, no advertisements, not too many pictures, no pics with just a line of words under it, real writing done in a real way making it worth the time to read each piece. Stefan got the interesting people he knows and asked them to help contribute to the magazine by writing something of their interest or having to do with their life. The writing in the magazine is right up my alley, its honest and real, real people writing with real opinions, that is the type of writing I love to read. The magazine has a piece on how great a grilled cheese is, how horrible Sufjan Stevens is, the inner dwellings of Porn and how design needs to be on strike, which  I actually sorta agree with (gotta read the article). All I know is if you like TTS any bit then you’ll like theAptLife mag, and if not I don’t care “just cry youself a river, build a bridge and get over it” - jay all day. 

Thanks Moco

 

When individuals I draw inspiration from converse with each other it gives me the upmost happiness, like creativity spawn from creativity, if that even makes sense. I’m just trying to say Dork magazine, which is one of may favorite mag’s period, on or offline, had a chat with Ricky Kim aka Mr. Kim about art and his life, the read is simply just inspirational. When creative minds collide, amazing things happen, and that’s what brings a smile to my face, Dork x Kim, that’s a collaboration I want to see.

Dork and Mr. Kim convo

 

There’s certain reasons why I love certain magazines and certain reasons I don’t, but I am notgetting into all those reasons as of now, because you could probably careless on a Monday afternoon, but let me say that I-D does an amazing job with it’s content. In the issue out right now I-D does a nice write up on the Brown Babies, and I’d like to say congrats to BB$ for being fresh (and pretty) and getting some nods they deserve and for I-D for always making me a happy camper.

BB$ blog

 

The very first issue of LVHRD MGZN is out now online and available for download. LVHRD is a wonderful organization and it’s event concepts are so creative, just makes everything so much more exciting about the whole LVHRD. This magazine will be released quarterly so it’s just another really good read for all of you readers out there because if you read TTS I already know you smarter than the rest, hey did that rhyme.

download LVHRD MGZN 01

 

Fast Company magazine has a great issue out for October, it’s there 3rd annual ‘Masters of Design’ issue. The 4 main feautres in the magazine are with top designers in todays world who’ve in some way shaped the way we use design or recreated a whole new way of using design. The man who changed Puma from being just a shoe brand and into a full-on fashion label CEO Jochen Zeitz was featured and expressed how he used design to create and mold Puma to what it is today, not just a shoe company. Also featured is the man who designed the offices for the Googleplex Clive Wilkinson and Steve McCallion the Creative Director for Ziba Design. The last of the 2006 FC ‘Masters of Design’ is Paula Scher, partner of the Pentagram a graphic design firm, and the same woman who brought you the simple but very strong image of the red arched line that goes above the “Citi” logo, for Citi Bank. The FC issue also covers some of the hottest design ideas coming out along with the upcoming superstars of the design world. Let me not forget there feature article on electronics company Philips, you should go pick this issue up its a great read. Plus you can use it as a reference point when your going through a rouch creative block.

Fast Company

If you read this site then you should be into design and if you’re into design you should be reading Beautiful Decay magazine, one of the best artistic and design magazines out. I had a chance to chat a little bit with Amir Fallah the founder of B/D and he gave me a little history lesson on the magazines 10 years of existence. After speaking with Amir I realized why B/D was such a great magazine, the man just doesn’t like what he writes about, he lives it, and understands it, he comes from it. If you’re an artist yourself, you know exactly what should be written about and for the people of the same interest. Amir never created B/D for any business reasons, he created it out of want and need, so what would you consider better reading, one written for passion or one written for money.

 

Dave Gensler of the KDU, SVSV and the Royal Magazine has a great mind, and really knows how to do him without worrying about the rest. With that said Dave is publishing the Royal mags issue 8 & 9 at the same time, since he had too much content for just issue 8. So instead of holding onto it, he decided to put them into 2 mags. Issue 8’s theme is called ‘Design in Conflict’ which has the roayl examining how design is obsessed with the new and issue 9 is ‘Looking Forward ToBack In The Day’ which is a look at and at celebration sort of independent creative businesss and the minds behind them. Both 8 & 9 will be Royal classics like all the others are, the path the Royal takes for it’s issues are exactly the type of reading I’ve been wanting from the magazine world for years. Now that the Royal is finally going to be producing its issues in larger volumes more people will be able to get there hands on creativity in the written form.

via: PSFK