If you know us personally, you know that we are always talking about how cool our Canvas Custies are. Our folks have become friends, are interesting, inspiring, supportive, do interesting creative things, live life to the fullest and keep us moving forward as a shop and as people. I have decided to stop talking about them and let you hear from them in their own words. Nick Berman (Nick B as he has been previously referenced on the blog) is one of these individuals. Good times are always at hand when Nick B is in the building – we discuss fashion, design, music, books, magazines etc… Nick Berman is a designer of furniture and the owner of Berman Rosetti. We had a few questions for Nick B and he was nice enough to answer.
How has being a designer impacted your life … beyond finances? On a pragmatic level I find that the same patience required to solve a design problem is inherent in our everyday problems and as well the same trust I have for my design instincts has blossomed into my personal life. Exposure seems to be the word that comes to mind when I think of impact from my profession. Not only the travel and research required but also moreover the collaboration with my partner, clients and whomever else is involved in the project at hand. Most importantly I have found that you can really have fun and still make a living!
It is bright out there, so continuing on with our custom series of the darkest lens we can make, we have several new Mosley Tribe frames. Our lens colors this round are navy blue, super black, honey and forest green in unisex frames that are very slick. The styles this season have a cool vintage feel “Cosley”, are slightly over-sized “Colden, Bensen” and classic ”Carden” without you having to be a fashionista to pull them off. Click through , Give a call . Canvas 310.317.9895
NEWS FLASH - BROGUES are IN… now you did not need me to tell you that, but hey I just did. Truth about brogues is that they never really go out of style, they are like the button-down shirt of dress shoes – a staple to some a re-occuring trend for others. Continuing on with my button-down reference, Florsheim’s would be the Ralph Lauren of this shoe – they have been making brogues before I was born. Now they have hooked up with Duckie Brown and put a contemporary twist on their product - i.e – the washed leather adds a very cool distressed effect that makes these brogues unlike your dad’s boots. Ohh and did I mention that just being a boot is off the chain. – I’m done 
Click through . Give a call . Canvas 310.317.9895
Gilded Age cometh to Canvas very soon. Using Ernest Hemingway’s time spent in 1920′s Key West as a point of inspiration, Gilded Age’s Spring collection wanted to capture the spirit of a beachfront summer on film. Utilizing the state-of-the-art Phantom Camera, stunning slow-motion images capture the wonderful romp in the water, sand and grass. While the Gilded Age Spring 2012 collection looks to find the brand in top form, expect a shoe line from them rolling out in the next few months courtesy of their friends at Chippewa. Yes we did buy the shoes…
Highlighting the work of iconic American architect Philip Johnson, The National Trust for Historic Preservation unveils its latest short film, “Architecture + Influence: A Short Film on the Work of Philip Johnson.” The film boasts an impressive and concise oral history of Johnson’s extensive body of work throughout the years. One of the few whose legacy is as vast as it is impactful, Johnson is respected for his Glass House masterpiece and his wide range of work that drastically changed the architecture landscape indefinitely.
The Simpsons may have fallen off my radar in the last 5 years, but they were very funny and did hold my attention for many years. Today they got me again for the moment as various art references from the show were grouped together in this series of images. You would be surprised how many great painters and artists have appeared in one way or another in the show. Included are Pablo Picasso, Jaques Louis David, Edvard Munch, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, Edward Hopper and the list just goes on. Cool list, funny references, witty show, long run…no chance of getting back on the radar past today – love the art references!!!
Martin Greenfield is a suit maker of legend. Jac and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with him a few years ago and he was very inspiring, bursting with energy and experience to share. The Facts – Many often complain about the migration of American manufacturing jobs to cheap overseas markets, especially within the garment industry, which has nearly vanished since the 1960s. Yet America is still home to many longstanding companies, who are still very much in place today, providing the world with quality goods at affordable pricing. A must watch for any aspiring designer or creative manufacturer, Greenfield discusses both the past, present and future of the garment producing industry, as well as providing a look into his daily operations and what is required to make the best clothing possible. With plenty of helpful tips present in this short five-minute piece, the most profound, “Quality with intrinsic value will always keep you in business”, will echo in our minds for years to come.
Daphne Guinness is someone that I recently became aware of thanks to British Vogue (don’t quote me on that) who listed her among the best dressed couture families on the planet. She is definitely a unique woman and her take on production is interesting to me – I love her efforts here for Barneys. The facts: Documentary filmmaker Brennan Stasiewicz infiltrates the cosseted world of Daphne Guinness in Daphne’s Window. Featuring intimate footage of the icon at her Fifth Avenue apartment, the short follows the eccentric fashion patron and socialite as she prepares for her recent installation in the windows of Barneys New York. The storefront showcased her collection of pieces by designer Lee Alexander McQueen and a selection from the archive of fashion editor Isabella Blow, which Guinness purchased in its entirety last year. The display culminated in a performance art piece in which Guinness dressed for the Met ball in one of the flagship’s windows, modeling a lilac feathered gown designed by McQueen’s Sarah Burton. “She appears to me as someone always in a window,” says Stasiewicz. “Someone you can approach and see, but you remain on the other side.” “Daphne is someone to take pleasure in, and in many ways, someone who incites moments of wonder,” says Stasiewicz.
Vodka is not my thing but I am not mad at a 4 min ciroc spot featuring canvas custie and cool crooner Matt Goss, Diddy and a slew of other talented and good-looking folks partying it up a la Sinatra, Martina and Davis Jr. style in vegas. If what happens in vegas stayed in vegas we might of missed this spot. Cheers – Happy New year!!!
Herb Ritts rose to prominence in the ’80s and ’90s with black and white photographs in which he made his subjects look like sculptures, has had some never-before-seen work unveiled thanks to NOWNESS. They feature a young Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Johnny Depp, David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld. While he died back in 2002, luminaries such as Richard Gere speak glowingly about Ritts in saying, “some photographers embalm their subjects, but he enlivened them.”