Friday Finds 4.22.11

Jaime: Rad and Hungry

I've been noticing some pretty cool new subscription services out there for analog-spirited, design-loving people... like many of us at Dwell (we have our iPhones, but drool over letterpress cards). Jordan highlighted one in her product-of-the-day posting on Wednesday: Parchment Post, which sends out handmade cards and stationery every three months. I also like the 'Something Mighty Collection' on offer from Rad and Hungry: they source office and school supplies from around the world, and for $16 a month will ship you a package of pencils, notebooks, paperclips and the like, all from a single country. This month the focus is on Germany, but you can also order 'back issues' from Korea, France, and Mexico. As they write on their website: "Someone else’s daily diet of lo-fi designed goods is simple to them yet sacred to us, and vice versa. Let’s marvel at each other’s mundane, because that shit is dope."

Aaron: Redesigned Esquire Homepage

Plenty of websites, especially those for big media endeavors, start to get cluttered as more and more features make their way online. Esquire tidied things up recently without fundamentally altering their navigation or content. It's rather like they took that fine suit in to the tailor, nipping a bit here and opening up a bit there. All told, it's a subtle upgrade that counts for quite a bit.

Amanda: Mudejar video

This is a lovely little video focusing on artisans in Spain that are restoring and creating Mudejar–style (inspired by Spain's Arabic past) coffered ceilings. Nice to see young designers keeping traditional methodology in place, while moving the bar firmly toward the future. Produced by Maite Felices.

Miyoko: The Daily Drawings of Illustrator Chris Piascik

I stumbled upon the works of artist Chris Piascik the other day and clicked through for... probably longer than I should have spent clicking through. He posts a new "daily drawing" each day (or nearly each day) so there's always a reason to click back. My favorite of late: French Poppa.

Jordan Kushins: Back to the 80s posters by Justin Erickson

Seems like there are a lot of revised and revamped movie posters making the rounds these days, but that doesn't mean they aren't still damn cool. Especially these. These are damn cool.

Originally designed to promote a series of screenings of 80s classics in Toronto, they're available for purchase now. Clicking through the set will make you want to have a big time nostalgia-film marathon. HEYYY YOUUU GUYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!

Dakota: Rooftop Bro Time

By now you must have thought to yourself, "What goes on at the Dwell office on Thursday afternoons?" The answer is: Getting distracted by dudes on the roof deck across the street. They were hulahooping.

Diana: Mike Horn's Young Explorers Program

A few days ago, well last week actually, I was invited aboard explorer Mike Horn's 115-foot ketch-rig sailboat, the Pangaea, which is currently two years into a four-year circumnavigation of the globe. Over lunch, Mike regaled us with his tales of trekking the world, from swimming the length of the Amazon river, to following latitude zero (the equator) around the globe, to hiking to the north and south poles. Horn—who has been a "professional explorer" for 25 years—has circled the globe five times and over the course of his explorations, saw significant changes in the environs. "I had to do something in return because my playground was changing," he says. Horn has since started the Young Explorers Program, headquartered in Switzerland, to train youths to be environmental ambassadors in hopes of inspiring a generation to become better stewards of the planet.

Those in the program (which is at no cost to them) learn scientific research methods, survival skills, and how to communicate their findings to their respective communities. Think "Survivorman meets Jacques Cousteau."

Check out his website to learn more about the project. And if you know of someone who would be a candidate for the YEP, definitely pass the word along. The goal of the mission is to increase awareness and every bit helps.

Amy: Cookie the Penguin