Bike: The Duke by Mojo Bike

If you're like me and you've been waiting up till 2:00am to watch the Tour de France every night for the last three weeks, you'll be experiencing what I like to call the 'cycling bug'. After watching Wigins power up the french Alps you can't help but be inspired to jump on a set of wheels yourself and go for the yellow jersey. But before you race out and buy yourself a new bike, first consider what you want your bike to say about you. Like anything else, your bike should reflect your own style. Therefore, over the next couple of weeks I'll be introducing you to some great bikes that wont just get you from A to B but will also look good too.

That brings us to The Duke by Mojo Bike. The Duke embodies noble, gentlemanly style with an air of heritage craftsmanship. The Duke features 4130 Chrome-moly frame with sweeping lugged forks, leather saddle and handgrips, elegant wheel guards and optional rack and saddle bag. The  Dukes' power comes from a Sturmey Archer 8 speed internal rear hub. The duke is perfect for those wanting to ride to work everday whilst still emodying the urban-street style. It's vintage look is timeless and luxurious.

Mojo Bike is all about individualism, offering customers the chance to customise their own bikes, ensuring that no two bikes are exactly alike. Mojo offers a range of shapes and sizes from which customers can chose and apply their own colour scheme. Mojo then builds and ships the bike straight to your front door. Mojos' classic bike designs and huge colour range guarantee you're bound to find the bike for you.

 

To visit the Mojo Bike online store click here.

Nixon Time Teller P

Strong lines, bold colours and simple design make the Nixon Time Teller P a great statement watch. Whether you're taking on the waves or the slopes, the Time Teller P's Japanese quartz movement insures precision. I personally own the Indigo Time Teller P and take it wherever I go.

Nixon is a Californian accessories company specialising in watches for the surf, skate, snow market. Nixon was founded in 1997 by Andy Laats and Chad DiNenna with a small line of custom built watches. Nixon then expanded into accessories and limited softgoods in 2000.

To visit the Nixon online store click here.

Steve Carell urges for more human contact and less technology

Steve Carell delivered the keynote speech to the graduates of America's prestigious Princeton University this year and shared some great advice. In his brilliantly comical way, Carell demonstrates how we 'don't 'look each other in the eye anymore', opting instead for texts and tweets. He urges for a return to our 'analogue' past, suggesting that texting simply insulates and protects us from the truth; it 'protexts' us as Carell so eloquently puts it. 

Carell's' speech will resonate with anyone yearning for a return to a simpler time (and yes, I do see the irony of sharing this via a blog). He closes with the philosophy to 'do something kind, make someone laugh and don't take yourself too seriously'; great advice for anyone, no matter what stage of life you're in.

The Dimitri Satchel by Seventy Eight Percent

The Dimitri Satchel from Seventy Eight Percent is the perfect briefcase for lovers of urban street-style. The mix of leather and canvas give a luxurious yet earthy feel. The Dimitri satchel features an A4 document holder, a 6 pocket organiser compartment and padding to protect your 13” MacBook Pro. Seventy Eight Percent have used Italian top-quality vegetable-tanned leather and Japanese wax coated canvas produced from Egyptian cotton. This satchel is professional and refined without being pretentious. It's versatility makes it the perfect bag to take to work every day.

Seventy Eight Percent create all their bags with the philosophy that they should be ergonomic, functional and stylish. Founded in 2007, Seventy Eight Percent make a wide range of bags and accessories using only premium quality materials. All of Seventy Eight Percent's bags come in a wide range of color combinations. I particularly like the Wood/kahki combination shown above. All of Seventy Eight Percent's bags are hand made, with production taking up to fifty hours to assemble one bag.

To visit the Seventy Eight Percent online store click here.

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Ilott Vintage collect and restore vintage rangefinder cameras to create stunning, unique cameras that are works of art themselves. Illot Vintage replace the traditional leather casings with premium quality wood vaneers crafted for each individual camera. These cameras are  also fully functioning and used by Ilot themselves to produce the images for their gallery.

The traditional leather cases of vintage rangefinder cameras are often worn and damaged and have to be removed for repairs. In rejuvenating these cameras, Ilot use durable real wood veneer sealed with Danish oil to give each camera an elegant, hand-crafted appearance. The result is an intriguing mix of the natural and mechanical. 

Ilot use both Mansonia and Mahogany for their wood veneers. Mansonia is imported from Western Africa and commonly used for high quality furniture work and joinery. Mahogany is a richly coloured wood sourced from South America.

All the cameras are fully functioning and use 35mm film which is still readily available. They are also entirely mechanical so they don't require batteries. Whilst these camera's are probably out of most budding photographers price range, they are an exquisite piece of design and Ilot's webpage is fascinating for any photography enthusiasts. 

To visit the Ilot Vintage webpage click here.

Vanishing Elephant

 

Vanishing Elephant is a great Australian brand producing classic, high quality men’s and women’s clothing. Arran Russell, Huw Bennett and Felix Chan started the brand in 2008 as a men’s clothing line and the trio are set to release their first women’s line in July this year. This Sydney based brand plays upon classic aesthetics, introducing their own modern take.

The Vanishing Elephant line is full of great pieces and gentlemanly style. In their own words, the line is ‘a collection of classics, made to love and last’. I particularly like their black desert boots, featuring a leather sole and lining with suede upper (view here).

In November 2010 the brand was awarded GQ designer of the year. In late 2011, the brand opened their first retail store in Melbourne (despite being based in Sydney). Vanishing Elephant is available throughout North America, UK, Europe, Japan, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

Check out the documentary above made by I Dig Your Soul Man, a great little vid about the brand.

To visit the Vanishing Elephant online store click here.

Altadena Works

Altadena Works is a Californian bag manufacturer that produces high quality goods made solely in the USA (quite rare in today’s outsourced world). This creative partnership employs simple and straightforward design to produce subtly luxurious bags. Altadena’s bags are constructed expertly for functionality and durability, using the highest quality materials including heavyweight Cordura ballistic fabric, military spec nylon webbing and leather custom ordered from Horween (one of America’s oldest tanneries). Altadena’s collaborators have channeled the outdoor equipment of the 1970’s, using a minimal design and slim profile.

These bags are beautifully constructed. Altadena employs seasoned American artisans with over 30 years experience. It is clear that this collaborative team has extremely high standards for their products and state that they don’t make anything they wouldn’t wear themselves.

I’m a massive advocate for small start-up brands, especially ones that produce products of this quality. The bags come in a range of unique styles and color schemes but my personal favorite is the 801 Teardrop Navy Oak pictured above.

To visit Altadena Works’ online store click here.