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The Weekender – Ed. 1

→April 18, 2010

I think most of us (designers/people) spend our weekends away from doing what we normally do Monday thru Friday not only because we need a recharge for the upcoming work week, but because it often leads to possible hobbies and/or interests that impact our design decisions further down our careers.

I’ve become somewhat obsessed with design the latter years of my college life and I often have to remind myself (and believe me, others are quick to remind me to “GET AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!”) that there’s more to life than work. Thus, I’ve created a hopefully continuing segment on my blog titled, “The Weekender”, in which I’ll post design-related and at times random material that is inspired by people creating through their hobbies. AKA – creations executed outside of the individuals job, whatever that may be.


via Frank Chimero

I’ve long been an admirer of the humble, musically gifted foursome that is Thrice. Because of schoolwork, I’ve only been able to see them play in Austin a couple of times but I had the honor of meeting Dustin (lead vocals/guitar) once. They’re a really down to earth and quiet group and have subsequently put out blogs within the last year. Teppei Teranishi, lead guitar, keys, backup vocals, and all around utility man hold his own WordPress site titled, new grass.

The more I read through Teppei’s blog, the more similarities I discover we share and the more I learn how art is appreciated through other individuals.

I appreciate things that were done or created with heart and soul; things that were created not with profit and/or notoriety in mind, but rather, created because of the love and/or passion for whatever “thing” might be.

I love art, and the human expression it is. I guess I have a pretty large scope for whatever “art” might be to me; Music, photography, painting, architecture, cobbling, carpentry, cooking, gardening, you name it. That love for art makes me appreciate many things.

I remember watching a DVD of Thrice a few years back titled, “If We Could Only See Us Now” that recorded the bands life on the road and gave a brief background of each individual. One thing I remember about Teppei was that he tended to dabble around with different instruments. I can see now that this carried over to his hobbies. On tour, he photographs his experiences in various cities using his iPhone.

What really caught my attention was that Teppei is a big DIY kinda guy. He appreciates the finer tools designed for every day use, i.e – buttons, knobs, vintage clothing, etc. For example, he handmade the hand-waxed cotton duck cloth w/leather strap Rollup Dopp Kit you see below.

Often times, these “things” I appreciate and get excited about are material things, which makes me a semi-reluctant admirer of material things. I like to think it’s more the appreciation of true craftsmanship and design (which fall under my umbrella of “art”) that makes me admire said “things”. I do admittedly tread a fine line between whatever that makes me, and materialistic, which is something that I consciously attempt to avoid. I don’t own, or am even able to afford most of the things I post here. I just like good things. Good things are good.

Extra Linkage:

Riveted – A journal of vintage clothing

new grass – Teppei’s blog

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