Jacob Halder

Jacob Halder (Royal Workshops of Greenwich, England), Portions of a Field Armor, 1588-1590, Steel, Brass, Gilding, Leather and Silk Velvet Textile, Art Institute of Chicago

Decorated with etched and gilt ornamental bands of zigzag and scroll designs set against a blackened ground, this armor resembles 16th century garments embellished with embroidered bands and edged with lace. The cuirass (breastplate and backplate) is of peascod form, featuring a high, narrow waist extending to a point below the waistline, with a scalloped border, as seen in clothing of the period. A knight could have dressed for crusade or a sporting event by wearing different parts of this full armor.

Worn by an English courtier, this elaborately decorated armor was produced in the royal armory workshops in Greenwich, England. Founded by Henry VIII before 1515, the Greenwich Armory turned out distinctive ware throughout the Tudor and Elizabethan periods and during the early years of the English Civil War which occurred between 1642 to 1651.

This field armor is the work of Jacob Halder, a Master Armorer at the Armory. He was born and trained in Landshut, Bavaria, and brought a strong German influence to the decoration of armors. He succeeded John Kelte as Master Workman in 1576 and worked at the Armory until his death in 1608. He was responsible for two armors in the Royal Collection Trust: those made for Sir Christopher Hatton and for Henry, Prince of Wales, the elder son of James Vi.

Aussiebum

The Sneaker

The Sneaker by by @jmicgavin

The HYT- H4 – Neo Watch

Art in Craftsmanship and Design: The HYT- H4 – Neo Watch

The HYT H4 Neo has two crowns. The crown at 2 o’clock is your standard crown for setting the time. The second crown at 4 o’clock is used to create energy. When the user winds the second crown, a second mainspring is wound, and that power is stored in a micro-generator. When the crown is pushed, that power is distributed to two purple LED lights that illuminate highly luminescent “nano-particles” throughout the transparent dial. While the hour indicators on the bezel, as well as the minute indicators on the dial are already coated with a white Super-LumiNova material, and the fluid hour indicator is luminescent in nature, when the light is activated every nuance and detail of the HYT exclusive caliber are illuminated and accentuated without hindering legibility. In fact, it enhances it.

The HYT H4 Neo measures 51mm width by 18 mm height. The charcoal grey, DLC-coated titanium case fits HYT’s standard black and green color theme, with the purple light giving an added dimension to the watch that isn’t always apparent in previous designs. The HYT exclusive caliber utilizes its standard micro-liquid technology. At a high level, the mechanical movement utilizes a bellow with a colored liquid, and a bellow with a clear liquid located at the bottom of the movement. As one compresses over time, one depresses, and the liquid moves slowly inside of the glass tube, thus displaying the time along the outer edge of the dial. Skeletonized for the H4 and visible through the transparent dial, the movement fits the overall theme of the watch.

The HYT H4 Neo is fitted with a fire-resistant, water-resistant, hypo-allergenic, and reinforced fabric strap. Featuring a curved sapphire crystal and screw-down sapphire case-back (pictures will be posted when we get them), the watch is water resistant up to 50m. Even with the second charging spring, the watch features a generous 65-hour power reserve. The HYT H4 Neo Ref. 512-TD-65-GF-TS will be limited to 15 pieces only, and carry a price tag of $95,000.

Rein Vollenga

Photography by Rein Vollenga

Rein Vollenga is a Dutch-born, Berlin-based sculptor who creates unique, powerful pieces, tactile translations of his artist’s eye and representations of his imaginary world. His work has been exhibited at the Paris Louvre, the Kunsthall in Oslo, and Haus der Kunst in Munich.

Russ Kruse

Native American Art by Russ Kruse

Russ Keck was born in Orange, Texas, and was adopted by the Kruse family when he was three years old. As a child, Russ was introduced to the Native American culture by his uncle, who kept cases full of arrowheads that he’d found on his land and nearby. This sparked his interest in Native American culture and he soon began to create bows and arrows. Seeing his interest in handcrafting objects, his adoptive father, a carpenter, taught him how to work with wood. Russ then taught himself to carve animals out of pieces of Ash, Mesquite, Birch, and Maple trees.

He began to research the origins of his biological family and discovered that he was descended from the Cherokee people. Finally having his suspicions proven right about the naturalness of his art, Russ then realized that creating this art was his heritage and his life’s calling.

Russ has sold his art to galleries, trading posts, and Native American shops in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and New York. In addition, he sells to collectors all over the United States, in Finland, and other European countries.

Karl Grill

Karl Grill, Photographs of Bauhaus Costumes, Silver Gelatin Prints

Bauhaus was a school of design established by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919, best known for its designs of objects based on functionalism and simplicity.

Most people attribute Germany’s Bauhaus school with the following: being on the vanguard of minimalist design, the paring down of architecture to its most essential and non-ornamental elements, and the radical idea that useful objects could also be beautiful. What may be overlooked is the fact that the rigorous design school, founded by Modernism’s grandsire Walter Gropius, also put on marvelous costume parties back in the 1920s.

The parties began as improvisational events, but later grew into large-scale productions with costumes and sets made by the school’s stage workshop. There was often a theme to the evenings. One party was called “Beard, Nose, and Heart,” and attendees were instructed to show up in clothing that was two-thirds white, and one-third spotted, checked or striped. However, it’s generally agreed that the apotheosis of the Bauhaus’ costumed revelry was the Metal Party of 1929 where guests donned costumes made from tin foil, frying pans, and spoons.