by Lynne Johnson

Jack Threads is an invite-only online shopping community offering brand names in the surf, skate, and street cultures—offered daily for at least fifty percent off. And there's only one fresh pick per day.

The site's founder, Jason Ross, puts the inspiration behind the site this way, "I'm a consumer who was always in streetwear and men's contemporary fashion, however I wasn't the customer who needed to have what was 'hot' right now." I didn't mind waiting for a few months to get the product at a better price, and sacrifice the freshness of the piece. The problem was that I could never find the products on sale."

Jack Threads partners with brands, like 3sixteen, The Hundreds, Dunderdon, WeSC Denim, Beautiful/Decay, and more, that want to reach the 18-35 market directly so the companies are willing to offer the discounted member-only pricing. As a member, you also get $10 for inviting friends to shop. But they actually have to shop for you to earn deeper discounts when you're shopping.

"We also created Jack Threads as a more valuable and more discreet way for exclusive brands in the street/contemporary space to move through their previous season product. When selling discounted merchandise you run the risk of sacrificing the image of your brand, and the brands we partner with have spent a lot of time building their brands and their image. We've positioned JackThreads as a more valuable way to move previous season merchandise while also protecting the integrity of the brands we work with," says Ross.

The online store will be open seven days a week throughout the holiday season, with more offerings and more quantities of each offering. As an exclusive to our readers, go to this special page to sign up now for free!

Clothing designer, artist and teacher Howard Tangye gives us an unusual look at models, likely to inspire allusions to Schiele. The etched lines draw out a specific moment in time and the eyes seem to be sharing a conversation, listening to someone go on. You can almost predict what they are about to say, responding to you with compassion, yet keeping their guard up at the same time. His work is a combination of judgment, humanity and fabulous-ness, darling.

He also puts these images on t-shirts, I am off to purchase one tomorrow. Where you ask? Central St. Martins College of Art and Design where he inspires and works with such designers as Richard Nicoll.

by Ezra Natalia

Fascinated by graphic forms and primitive silhouettes, Danish fashion designer bARBARA í gONGINI delivers a collection of black wedding dresses and conceptual knits based on the old traditions of her native Faro Islands. A spiritual and political person, Barbara uses eco-friendly jersey and believes fashion can be a strong instrument in changing the world's view on the environment and sustainable products. Her aim is not at quick growth or high volume sales, but instead to ensure that a high level of innovation and quality can be achieved over a duration of time.

Barbara finds inspiration in many things, besides her everyday surroundings. Audio and visual mediums are important to her, but it's the minimalism and functionalism of Nordic and Japanese design that she finds most influential on her methods of thinking. She divides her collection into two extreme points that come together making a coherent point of view. I-rEguLar is the creative side, where Barbara plays around with various themes, bringing together art and design. REguLar is a more basic version of I-rEguLar, but still a very personal expression on form.

Barbara's ambition for creating things never stops, and she hopes to expand her collection to include shoes, bags and jewelry in the future. Her goal is to be among the pioneering leaders within womenswear internationally and we think she'll have no problem achieving that.

Today brings a fresh crop of gifts for your perusal. Clockwise from top left:

Meat-wrapper for gadgets

DIY Molecular Gastronomy

Nevermind print or the web, puzzle it out

Wearing your sentiments on your umbrella

Pin-ups for the Williamsburg set

Color play with the nation's official residence

by Ariston Anderson

For anyone who has been to Miami Art Basel, the biggest art event of the year in the States, they know that walking the giant halls of the Miami Beach Convention Center, surrounded by some of the best galleries in the world, can be a near religious experience. And veterans know that some of the most amazing new art lies outside of the main halls in any one of the various satellite fairs, from Aqua Wynwood and Pulse to Bridge. Cool Hunting will be on the ground in Miami this year to bring you the latest and greatest in new art and design, but first, a preview of the shows and events we're most excited about. Click on the map of the Wynwood Arts District to see an enlarged version, including balloons indicating street art that's part of Primary Flight, a new fair in the mix.

Scope

The duo behind FriendsWithYou, Sam Borkson and Arturo Dandoval III, are turning the lobby of Scope Miami into a giant interactive "Fun House" complete with giant creatures, an anthropomorphic bounce house and plenty of other pop art toys. It's the perfect exhibit to leave your kids at while you peruse the more serious works at Scope.

While you're there be sure to check out Shepard Fairey's solo show at booth 370, presented by Jonathan LeVine. Fresh off the heels of his iconic Hope graphic for Presidential elect Barack Obama, this new body of work is a must-see for Fairey's high graphic style.
SCOPE: 3-7 December, 2951 NE 1st Ave

Primary Flights

For the second year in a row, Primary Flight hits the street of Miami with a curated show of graffiti writers and street artists including Blackbooks, Chris Stain, Crome, David Choe, El Mac, Ewok, Logan Hicks, Michael De Feo, MSG, Ron English, Sabar and many more. The pieces will be installed throughout the streets of Wynwood. Click here for a map to create your own tour. Additionally, Primary Flight artists will be repainting Miami's Wall of Fame, featuring the best Florida writers around.

Check it out at Miami's RC Cola Plant: 550 NW 24th Street
4 December 2008 at 7pm

Carmichael Gallery

The Carmichael Gallery of Los Angeles will be putting on a huge show at the Gen Art Vanguard New Contemporary Art Fair. Featured artists include street artists who have crossed over into the gallery and auction world, including Eine, Flavio Samelo, Flip, Know Hope, Labrona and The London Police. Like any good Gen Art event, they'll be hosting a party the night of 5 December 2008.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, $40 for VIP. To purchase tickets go to Gen Art.
4-7 December 2008, 2135 NW 1st Avenue

If you're already in Miami, tonight you can check out the opening of It Ain't Fair, brought together by NYC's "Downtown Don" Aaron Bondaroff. The show will bring together work by over thrity artists, brought by galleries like Deitch Projects, Peres Projects, Nueva Galeria De La Barra and Picturebox and TV Books, as well as some amazing curators like Tim Barber, Kathy Grayson and Terence Koh. It Ain't Fair takes place in Our House West of Wynwood, (O.H.W.O.W.) which is guaranteed to feature some amazing multimedia exhibitions as well as performances by A.R.E. Weapons, JD Samson, TV Baby and The Gossip, just for starters.

Opening night, 2 December 2007, 8pm-Midnight. Runs through 7 December 2008.
O.H.W.O.W. is located at 3100 NW 7 Avenue, Miami, Florida 33127.

Download, view, resize, attach, upload, wait, then receive message the file is too large. While taking photos is fun, sharing them often isn't. Until today that is, with the launch of PhotoCannon, whose sole mission is to deliver photos at jaw-dropping speed.

For just $5 you can upload 100 photos—an entire folder at a time—and send them to up to 10 people. It's as easy as inserting your email address and theirs, selecting your photos, and waiting about three minutes. If you don't have a lot of friends or just need to quickly send image to someone, sending five pictures or less to five people or less is free.

While Facebook and other photo-sharing methods like Flickr are also gratis, getting all the pictures onto your machine at once is a hassle if you're on the receiving end. Downloading the 50 pics your friend took at the party one at a time is a time-consuming and painful process none of us want to endure.

Because PhotoCannon is an application, you can rest assure that your photos are secure and aren't being passed around without your knowledge. They simply go from your computer to someone else's without being posted on the sometimes-creepy internet. The other hassle that's been eliminated is getting the pictures from someone who has sent them to you. Because PhotoCannon doesn't require you to sign up for anything, there are no membership issues or spam mail to ignore. Just enter the password that's included in the email and download the photos waiting for you. With PhotoCannon, all of the drama stays in your photos.

Located in a former chocolate factory overlooking the Moscow River, Baibakov Art Projects is a group of fifteen Russian artists who have been selected to work in the 2,800-square-meter site and have been given complete freedom to create art without the constrictions of overbearing curatorial control.

The not-for-profit exhibition, "Invasion: evasion," was launched with the hopes of placing Russia more firmly on the global art map. The exhibit is meant to introduce Russian contemporary art on an international level in addition to provoking a dialogue about the differences between the traditional and the experimental and between the East and the West. Among the chosen artists are Gosha Ostretsov, Veronica Smirnoff,and Kirill Chelushkin, each already gaining worldwide notoriety as emerging art talents. After 60 years of Socialist Realism, the exhibition is a refreshing glimpse into the future Russia holds for untapped experimental art.

Invasion: Evasion
13 December-1 February 2008
Red October Chocolate Factory
Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya 6, 3rd Floor
Moscow 119072
Russia map
tel. +44 207 323 6963

German photographer Martin Schoeller's new book of portraits aims to highlight the contrast between the extreme physiques of female bodybuilders and the vulnerability expressed through their eyes and nuanced facial expressions. Schoeller is known for treating all subjects the same, whether the New York-based photographer is shooting celebrities for Vogue or unknown members of the Pirahã tribe in Brazil.

You can view a collection of his work at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery through 29 September 2009 or grab a copy of the book, "Female Bodybuilders," available through Pond Press or Amazon.

We wanted to add this to our 2008 gift guide but regrettably even with the help of Google Translate we still couldn't figure out how to purchase this adorable kiddy poncho. (We're adding "learn Japanese" to the CH 2009 New Years Resolutions). Made by design group Sfera and handwoven in Finland, this is by the far the cuddliest little poncho we've seen made completely of mohair. If you take the initiative to track one down be sure to include the matching cap and mittens.

by Ariston Anderson

Ed. Limitata is a new type of calendar, featuring the works of a series of artists from around the world. The five-year project has launched its first edition for 2009, featuring the works of Alighiero Boetti, David Ellis, Louise Lawler, Emily Prince, Eve Sussman, Sigalit Landau, Bjorn Copeland and more. Great for collectors who don't have the bucks to spend on prints and who like to rotate the works on their wall monthly, each year's run will raise funds for charity, with this year's proceeds going toward The African Medical and Research Foundation, which establishes self-sustaining health care systems in Africa and artisa, a not-for-profit promoting Israeli contemporary artists.

The calendar is put together by Rita de Alencar Pinto, a curator dedicated to making emerging artists more accessible to her network of collectors.

The calendar is being printed in an edition of 800 and is available for $50 on her website.

Jam-packed full of gifts sure to please loved ones, enemies and those who you feel relatively neutral about, our annual gift guide culls all the options and organizes our favorites in one convenient location for your online shopping pleasure. From paper guns and Absinthe sets to Dr. Dre's headphones and an eco-friendly TV, there's something there for everyone.

We'll be adding new finds daily so visit often!

Opening tomorrow in Miami and presented by local artists Team Turbo Sex, "Together For Never" is a surreal trio of giant photographs that would fit perfectly above your family's dining room table.

Alexis Mincolla, one half of Team Turbo Sex (TTS), explains that these photographs are a reflection of the notion of contemporary female friendships in Miami. The goal was "to make something that was as creepy as it was beautiful that plays off of a sort of repulsed fascination...to articulate the complex dynamic of close girlfriends and the external societal pressures that occur to them today."

TTS is made up of the self-titled "purveyor of the absurd" Alexis and accomplished Norwegian multimedia artist Stian Roenning. Their previous collaboration, "Black Sunday," uses stop-motion video to cruise through the dark side of Miami's party scene. ("DISCO'S OUT, MURDER'S IN. PARTY PARTY PARTY PARTY.") TTS conjured "Together For Never" just in time for Art Basel Miami 2008.

Together For Never
2-7 December 2008
Galerie Bertin-Toublanc
2534 North Miami Avenue
Miami, Florida 33127 U.S.A. map
tel. +1 305 573 3554

Mexico City most often conjures visuals involving a profusion of bright colors and bustling energy, possibly even tacky souvenirs or dice hanging from rear view mirrors. While her hometown's influence is mildly apparent in her work, Alejandra Laviada's photosculpture series of abandoned industrial objects stacked and set against the slate backdrop of Mexico City's abandoned factories is a sharp contrast to any preconception we may have had about the city with 19 million people.

With an incredible talent for composition of space and color, Alejandra takes ordinary warehouse items like giant drums or office chairs and piles them up, creating compelling sculptures and amazing feats in balance.

Alejandra finished her undergrad in painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and carried on to complete a masters in photography from New York's School of Visual Arts. Mixing mediums is not the only objective in her work, as her recent series "Photo Sculptures" is "an attempt to record pieces of history that are simultaneously being erased and created" in Mexico City's ever-daunting struggle to revere the past while looking forward to the future. Like the work of husband-and-wife team Bernd and Hilla Becher, some of her work begins to look like a taxonomy of inanimate objects.

Her work is soon current display at the Palacio de Iturbide, an 18th-century mansion now restored and devoted to art exhibitions and educational events.

Intimidades: Acceso Publicos/Visiones Privadas
Palacio de Iturbide
Madero 17
Centro Historico, Mexico City 06000
Mexico map
tel. +55 1226 02 33

Another Black Friday has come and gone in the United States and here's an offering that simultaneously lampoons consumer culture and offers a limited supply of tees. After all, few have done as good a job as Rob Walker whose book points out out how advertisers' sophisticated sleight of hand has made chumps of us all. Walker has just unveiled the 48 Hour T-Shirt. (Click image for detail.)

Three separate designs—available for 48 hours during three different time-spans—will be featured on Walker's irreverent blog starting today and going until 15 December 2008.

"The aim of the project is to prod consumers to think more about our own behavior, about how we can be manipulated, and about how we manipulate ourselves," writes Walker. "Yes, doing this by way of products may be seen as either ironic, clever, or hypocritical. That's part of the point."

Cleverly, the artists will only produce as many shirts as are pre-ordered thereby eliminating the risk of the waste that is the destructive byproduct of a consumer culture hell-bent on disposable commodities.

Each design has been crafted by a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design (including Derek Black and Greg Eckler ) and will be printed on a high-quality American-made t-shirt. So act now! Supplies are limited! Er... you get the idea.

We asked New York illustrator Christopher Neal about the inspirations behind his work.
Each job is different. Sometimes looking through old books and artist monographs will spark something. Other times, its just putting pen to paper until I get an idea. Things like music videos, movies and trips to the museum all seep in and resurface later in my work. For my personal work, a lot of it comes from my sketchbooks.

Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge on my second night using the Seca 700 cycling light, I overheard an oncoming cyclist say to his friend, "Now that's a light." And what a light it is.

Designed and manufactured in California by Light and Motion, a company with twenty years experience producing high-powered, tailored beam lighting for both diving and cycling, the Seca 700 is the ultimate component for nocturnal trail riding.

The Seca 700 harnesses the power of six LEDs encased in a custom reflector that focuses the top three on a deep spot, with the bottom three turned to the immediate front and sides (a feature I found helpful in dodging potholes). Boasting multiple output settings varying from 150 to a whopping 700 lumens, the Seca 700 does require quite a bit of juice. The race version (which we tested) comes with a six-cell 11.1v Li-ion battery that provides a 3.5 hour run time at the brightest output, and quick two hour recharge.

Weighing in at 520g for the race version, the Seca 700 is surprisingly nimble. Like the rest of Light and Motion's range, the Seca utilizes a simple tool-free mounting system that allows the user to easily change the lamp from a bar-mount to a helmet-mount and concurrently move the battery from the top-tube to a backpack.

With a suggested retail of $549, the Seca 700 Race is obviously geared toward the hard-core trail rider. Frankly, the light pollution native to our modern metropolis means much of the Seca's power would go unnoticed on city streets. Still, Light and Motion produces a range of products that will meet the needs of most any cyclist. The Stella 200, a compact single beam lamp, is our pick for city riding.

The Storm is BlackBerry's much-heralded first foray into touchscreen smartphones. When it hit the market earlier this week, it entered a field of touchscreen phones like the T-Mobile G1 and the gold standard Apple iPhone. It was developed by Canada's Research in Motion and represents a clear challenge to Apple's supremacy. We've been toying with a review unit for a week, and have noted a few clear-cut advantages. The Storm boasts a respectable 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and intuitive functions like cut-and-paste.

But the most high profile feature on the Storm, is its big (480x360 resolution) click-able touchscreen. A persistent problem with touchscreen technology is the inability to hover over an option without selecting it. The Storm's answer is called SurePress, a screen that acts as one big mouse button while still recognizing lesser finger movements. This way, when typing an email or SMS, the capacitive screen highlights each letter, which can be selected with a click of the screen. But since the additional click can seem to be just an extra step in the typing process, the viability of the feature is still up for debate.

Sticking to BlackBerry's traditional businessman appeal, the Storm also has top-notch phone and email functions. The dual-mic noise cancellation keeps reception clear and earpiece volume reaches admirable levels. The mail program has search functions and uses push email to keep things efficient and reliable.

Of course, the Storm does have its shortcomings. The operating system has a habit of lagging behind your finger and crashed more than a couple times. Also, the complete lack of wifi compatibility hasn't gone unnoticed. Although the exclusive agreement with Verizon Wireless provides the nation's largest network, it also brings a tighter grip on applications, which are paltry when compared to competitors like the iPhone.

The Blackberry storm costs $200 (after $50 rebate) and is exclusively available through Verizon.

For the inaugural video in our new series of mini-episodes, we're pleased to present a document of the New Orleans-based Billes Architecture's first-ever design competition. We were honored to be invited as a judge and, as you'll see in the video, the results are nothing less than stunning and—perhaps—harbingers of the design future.

If CH was ever to go print, we'd like to think we could execute it with the same thoughtful elegance as the semi-annual audio magazine The Journal of Popular Noise, which is why we're excited to be sponsors of the latest issue's launch. This time around the limited-edition (only 300 are made) and letter pressed publication includes Climax Golden Twins, PWRFL Power and Linda & Ron's Dad.

An event at Printed Matter on 11 December 2008 officially kicks it off but the real party is on 15 December with performances by Pwrfl Power, Free Blood and Shy Child at Santos Party House, which is free for the first 100 to arrive and who RSVP to rsvp [at] popularnoise [dot] net or $10.

The Journal of Popular Noise Fall/Winter '08 Launch
11 December 2008, 5–7pm
Printed Matter
195 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10011 map
tel. +1 212 925 0325

Pwrfl Power, Free Blood, Shy Child
15 December 2008, 7-11pm
Santos Party House
100 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10013 map
tel. +1 212 343 8088

Perhaps this holiday season more than ever, it's a crucial time to think of others. One of the charities getting the CH seal of approval is Goods for Good, an organization whose mission is to send excess goods from America to orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. There are a few ways to help out but if you're in NYC on 8 December 2008, there's no better (or more fun) way to support the cause than by attending Goods for Good's holiday party, Gala for Good, at City Winery.

The event not only provides an opportunity to learn more about the non-profit but guests will enjoy mingling at an open bar, perusing a photography exhibit, dancing to DJ Chroma and nibbling on African food catered by renowned Brooklyn restaurant Madiba. Purchase tickets (starting at $120 in advance, $150 after 1 December 2008) from NYCharities.org.

If you can't make it and want to do your part to improve the lives of African children, there are a couple other easy ways you can help.

Help Goods for Good find those tons and tons (literally!) of goods that are going to waste by asking your boss, your friends, bosses and your friends' friends' bosses if they have extra stuff like communications materials laying around. Goods for Good is looking for bulk excess clothing, school supplies, personal hygiene products, etc. to donate to orphans in Malawi who are without these basic necessities. See the Goods for Good website for more info.

And, of course, there's nothing like a cash donation to help ship goods to children who have no one to provide for them. A little goes a long way—for example $25 ships 1,300 pens to Malawi! Visit NYCharities.org to contribute.

For some inspiration, watch their four-minute documentary above.

For those of you not paying attention to recent pop culture news, New York artist KAWS' fantastical cover art montage—a cartoon-like image in red, purple pink and shades of blue swallowing up musical/sartorial/blogger sensation Kanye West—may prove to be more of a hit than the forthcoming album itself. Converging the world of animation, art and hip-hop, the work will appear on a special edition of Kanye's latest album “808 & Heartbreak.”

The extended version of the album is available on iTunes, Amazon and will be in stores on 16 December 2008.As Walt Disney (forefather of the corporation that KAWS once freelanced for), "Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation." KAWS himself has a long history of bridging the pop culture medium incorporating a past of graffiti billboards, art school and creature design. On the commercial side of the fence he has produced limited editions with Bathing Ape, Burton, Nike, Vans and Commes des Garçons.

More recently, the artist has devoted considerable time to fine art with his first solo show on display at Gering & López Gallery in New York. (See info below.) Works in the show range from geometric acrylics on canvas to bronze sculptures of the artist's head and a life size rendition of one of his better-known toy figures, demonstrating his prowess to navigate through multiple mediums.

KAWS
Through 23 December 2008
Gering & López Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019 map
tel. +1 646 336 7183

Until Barnstormer Chris Mendoza teamed up with Ray-Ban to custom paint 100 pairs of Wayfarers in his inimitable style, nothing would've torn me away from my trusty black ones.

Chris's personal history with the brand dates back to his childhood when he'd see them on his father, who played for the Nicaragua national football team. The senior Mendoza, a close friend of Pele, defined hip for the young artist with his Wayfarers. And nothing much has changed.

The $250 version that Chris came up with pays tribute to 1980s graffiti, is available in red, black and white and will come in a signed and numbered case.

Chris will be at the Sunglass Hut SoHo this Friday, 28 November 2008, hand painting glasses from 1-5pm. And if that's not enough to make you pick up these one-of-a-kind frames, 25% of the proceeds will go to Give the Gift of Sight, a charity that brings glasses to the world's poor.

The glasses will be available online at Sunglass Hut starting Wednesday, 3 December 2008.

Sunglass Hut
157 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012 map
tel. +1 212 966 7293

Says Barcelona-based illustrator, Oscar Giminez, of his beautiful line drawings, "I used to be a big fan of fashion illustration. When I started illustrating, that's what everybody was doing, at least in Barcelona. But I get so easily distracted and bored with trends that I quickly came off it. However, it looks like a few people out there thought I had to pay off for my contempt, and they decided I had to do it this year. Hence all the work on fashion I've been doing lately. Lots of vain people posing just for beauty's sake! Luckily, I got distracted by a couple of conceptual jobs that came in between and temporarily woke my brain up. One of them, a short animation for the Audi Q5 Generis, has given me the chance to see for the first time my work in motion."

French graffiti artist ZEVS, famous for investigating the relationship between commercialized cityscapes and the public's unquestioned acceptance of it, presents his first solo show this Saturday in Zurich.

Despite ZEVS’ heavy critique of the silent acceptance of urban surroundings loaded with commercial adverts, his work contains repulsion on one hand and a strong element of beauty and allure on the other.

Visual Attack
Gallery de Pury & Luxembourg
Limmatstrasse 264
8005 Zürich, Switzerland maps
tel. +41 44 276 8020

Legend has it that Tasso's career started with some scrawlings on his grandmother's kitchen table. Every year he would sign and date the underside of the table and over the years would watch as the style and flow changed. Growing up in divided Berlin he was forced to compete with the hordes of other artists painting political messages on the Wall, but his photo-realist style led him to become one of the most photographed graffiti artists in the world.