In'ei raisan

I just started a new blog entitled In'ei raisan and posted at: http://ineiraisan.tumblr.com/

This Guy Bourdin image won't help you understand what it's about, even though it is featured there as well, but the title might be explicit for some. If anyone wants to guess or knows what this other blog is precisely about, please post a comment here.

Ziploc

Ziploc is one of my favorite invention, the smartest thing for a picky life. I don't understand why they haven't entered French homes yet (or barely). I remember my step mom bringing them back from the US, we washed and re-used them until the next trip. I recently discovered they make them in X-large sizes for many other picky uses, and now I'm getting mine shipped over...

The American landscape & Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman is the great grandfather of modern architectural photography and a recorder of early California modernism. Rizzoli shows, in "A Constructed View" how Shulman first documented the works of masters such as Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe and Oscar Niemeyer.. Architectural photography is particularly attractive when viewed in long series, like shots taken in a ghost town.
The US have the most photogenic history, over a century of stricking visual records of the country's evolving landscapes & people.
(photos: Julius Shulman, Winogrand, Joel Sternfeld, Denis Hopper, Edward Curtis)

Jerusalem by Alpha Blondy

In the early 80s, my mom married a medical student who had created a pirate reggae and rock radio. It was called Boulevard du Rock, and I remember talking on air and announcing upcoming playlists as a kid, I loved it. I just rediscovered the Jerusalem album by Alpha Blondy, featuring great hits such as "I love Paris", "Travailler c'est trop dur" and "Boulevard de la Mort"..
(photo: Alpha Blondy)

Cire Trudon

Trudon, "the oldest wax and candle maker still in operation", was created in Paris in 1643 and became the official royal wax manufacturer of Versailles in 1719. To this day, they continue to supply the Eglise Saint Roch on the rue St Honoré where the original shop was opened. Recently, they started producing scented home candles, blending smells to create atmospheres inspired by themes such as Marie-Antoinette, British Royal gardens, former European colonial outposts etc. Their obsession with quality has brought them to continue making natural (not parafin) waxes and to use cotton threads.

"J'ai ce que j'ai donné" (Jean Giono)

(IKB 79 by Yves Klein)

Paula turns 1

Happy birthday ♥

(drawing: Kamrooz Aram)

The new Picky Freaks logo

Swiss talent

Thanks Mathieu for taking the time and bringing your talent to Picky Freaks. I hope it brings many Swiss readers to the blog! Maybe if I add a flag for them to find their way..

The Simple Connoisseur

Picky Freaks Unite!
Just discovered this blog curated by a financial consultant in Salt Lake. He has outrun me on several ideas, Hans Hartung for one, Audubon prints for another. Perfect taste in cars too.
Check out his second blog too, Dependable Goods.
(all images: thesimpleconnoisseur.blogspot.com)

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored" (Aldous Huxley)

Still very in love with but does it float...
(photo: Lauris Paulus)

Globe-Trotter cases

Mathieu P. introduced me to these hard yet lightweight travel cases made in the UK since 1897. The website claims Queen Elizabeth II used them on her honeymoon, Winston Churchill used the 18" attaché when Chancellor of the Exchequer, even Edmund Hilary used them to reach first base camp in 1951 when climbing the Everest (the original North Face!!).
Mathieu P. lives in Paris but moans all day about his missed Switzerland where pastures are greener and people are nicer (well no doubt compared to Paris). He is the pickest freak ever, he starts off by hating everything and everyone before considering, eventually, sometimes, that some things or some people could be slightly be more worthwhile. In any case, things being SO much better in his homeland, he wanted the ball point pen "825" made by the Swiss company Caran d'Ache to make it into Picky Freaks, but I was only midly inspired, however important I think cheap, basic, staples can be.
Mathieu works for Paradis magazine (soon on PF) as art director, he promised a logo for Picky Freaks..

Filson's Wool luggage

Just released for Fall 09.

1001 Rules for My Unborn Son

A very amusing blog.

Quoddy boots

Getting ready for Fall with another picky pick by Thomas: Quoddy boots.
Here's the Quoddy 100% Picky story:

In 1909 Harry Smith Shorey started making his own shoes in Downeast Maine. Today, the tradition continues in Perry , on the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay, smack dab on the 45th parallel; half-way to the North Pole and as far east as you can travel in the continental U.S.

The Passamaquoddy tribe of eastern Maine have an ages old heritage of craftsmanship, from their moccasins to their birch bark canoes and containers to their famous woven baskets, all done without man-made materials or adhesives. Craftsmanship combined with a high level of artistry are what made these products special and allowed them to perform so well in the sometimes harsh conditions encountered in the big woods and ever changing ocean of Maine.

Harry was a big believer in the performance and quality of handsewn moccasin construction. It is legendary for its comfort, durability, and ability to conform to one’s foot over time for a true custom fit. Quoddy continues this long tradition of handsewn craftsmanship today.

(Courtesy of Quoddy inc)

Nat Sherman

The Nat Sherman shop on Fifth Avenue in NYC is quite something. They offer you a smoke as soon as you've entered the premises which feels like the ultimate act of rebelion nowadays, or like entering Gatsby's library. Their beautiful specialty cigarettes could almost make me regret that I do not smoke.