the science factory

Amazing mugshots from Australia during the 1910s-1930s. Which...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:26:13 -0600

Amazing mugshots from Australia during the 1910s-1930s.

Which reminds me…

…Australia is entirely peopled with criminals, and criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.

-Vizzini

It should come as a surprise to exactly nobody that knows me...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:38:00 -0600

It should come as a surprise to exactly nobody that knows me that I am a complete bagwhore. I can’t help it. I will never cease to be compelled by well-designed, amazingly crafted bags. And when my new best buddies at NewDuds (posted about their shirt and scarf awesomeness a couple of posts back) put this bag in their shop, I didn’t stand a chance. The pebbled leather, the long strap closure, the redundant but much appreciated magnetic closure, and did you see that lining?! Hand-printed by the awesome duo Tessa and Torrey at NewDuds. Go give them some business, I can’t express enough how great their stuff is and I don’t even have this bag in my hands yet.

I justify this (and pay for my habit, basically) by subsequently selling one of my other bags that I no longer use. This time around I’m selling an Orla Kiely bag that should more than cover the cost of this new one. Plus this is handmade! Very excited.

Each line of copy in this ad is more amazing than the...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:19:11 -0600

Each line of copy in this ad is more amazing than the last.

More retro ads for men’s jumpsuits at Retronaut

Here is another of my Christmas gift ammonite fossils. This one...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:12:59 -0600

Here is another of my Christmas gift ammonite fossils. This one fossilized entirely out of the mineral pyrite (fool’s gold), so it has a deep brassy sheen to it. It’s only about .6 inches across, and perfectly formed.

flickr.

I can’t believe I just now discovered artist Katie Scott....

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:53:37 -0600

I can’t believe I just now discovered artist Katie Scott. Her work is so exactly the kind of stuff I like, and what I have already been collecting in the form of old zoological prints, that I imagine this sort of work must be what I’m doing in the parallel universe where I stayed on the art track and became an illustrator.

Check out her website for lots more of this beautiful stuff.

I came across an awesome independent screen-printing and...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:50:00 -0600

2col:

2col:

I came across an awesome independent screen-printing and bag-making shop called NewDuds on Etsy tonight. They are right up my biologist alley, it’s kind of not even fair.

In conclusion I will soon be the proud owner of the Pinecone Scarf and the Animals of Interest t-shirt. I can feel my wardrobe growing stronger.

Wes Anderson // FROM ABOVE Overhead shots of hands in the films...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:39:24 -0600

Wes Anderson // FROM ABOVE

Overhead shots of hands in the films of Wes Anderson.

So this is a thing

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:18:53 -0600

So this is a thing:

and I really want to try it(them).

So I stumbled upon a more simple, modern version of a waxed...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:53:00 -0600

So I stumbled upon a more simple, modern version of a waxed canvas bag by bookhou, a little design company in Toronto cofounded by John Booth and Arounna Khounnoraj in 2002 to showcase their individual and collaborative work. They are a multidisciplinary studio that emphasizes natural handmade materials and small production pieces.

This bag uses waxed canvas made by the same American family since the 1800s, and upcycled leather for the zipper pull and strap. And guess what, I bought it. Yay bags!

I’ve been an admirer of bookhou for over a year and I’m excited to support them and own some of their work.

Here is the other bag I mentioned, made by Strawfoot Handmade. I...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:30:00 -0600

Here is the other bag I mentioned, made by Strawfoot Handmade. I love the whole concept/idea here; independent artist, US-made, hand-sewn on a vintage machine…

Inspired by styles and designs from the early 1900‘s, waxed canvas is the primary fabric used, as well as vegetable-tanned natural leather and solid copper rivets. This creates not only an extremely strong bag, but one that looks slightly weathered and that will age beautifully with time. I work in a small workshop in Santa Cruz, Ca with a vintage sewing machine and hand tools. All bags are designed and sewn by myself on a part-time basis, which means that production is rather limited. Strawfoot Handmade values American-handmade products that will last a lifetime and serve as a functional part of daily use.

- Garrett Kautz

Check out his blog here and shop here. This is probably my favorite color combination for the tote bag but is unfortunately sold out, so I’m going to keep my eye on the shop for a while and see what comes up.

I have a thing for bags. I love how they are so utilitarian and...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:17:00 -0600

I have a thing for bags. I love how they are so utilitarian and necessary (and have probably existed as long or longer than clothing has in human history), but at the same time can be almost infinitely customized and arted up. I own several bags I really love, though I’m always chasing that elusive ‘perfect’ bag (simultaneously realizing there probably isn’t one).

Currently I’m stuck on this idea of handmade bags, namely waxed cotton canvas utilitarian-yet-awesome bags. This one by Peg and Awl is seriously cool — the leather is reclaimed from vintage military applications. It might just find its way into my collection. There is a competitor bag for my waxed-canvas affections however; I’ll post about it soon.

I got several ammonite fossils for Christmas! Here’s a...

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:08:58 -0600

I got several ammonite fossils for Christmas! Here’s a closeup of the most striking. More to come later on when I get a chance.

flickr

geoluhread

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:55:00 -0600

Etymology neat-o for the day:

Before the English-speaking world was exposed to the fruit, the colour was referred to as geoluhread (yellow-red) in Old English and Middle English.

wikipedia

See some fantastic vintage science ads from the 50s and 60s...

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:30:05 -0600

See some fantastic vintage science ads from the 50s and 60s here.

[full set on Flickr]

Today I learned:

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:05:39 -0600

Today I learned::

…that there is a rotisserie chicken TV channel available in Canada.

onion of infinite leaf is now a book! The inaugural 2011 edition...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:18:46 -0600

onion of infinite leaf is now a book! The inaugural 2011 edition is now available in this 64 page volume containing a collection of hand-picked photographs from my daily-life mobile photography, all taken in 2011. Visit onion of infinite leaf to see or follow all of my daily-life mobile photos.

Another fish plate for my collection of fish plates. Yes I...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:55:00 -0600

Another fish plate for my collection of fish plates. Yes I collect fish plates. But only slowly, as I find awesome ones like this. I love how crazy and barely fish-like but just-fish-like-enough this one is. Great interpretation of the tail.

In the late ‘60’s I worked for Bell Labs for a few...

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:45:00 -0600

In the late ‘60’s I worked for Bell Labs for a few years managing a data center and developing an ultra high speed information retrieval system. It was the days of beehive hair on the women and big mainframe computers. One day I took a camera to work and shot the pictures below. I had a great staff, mostly women except for the programmers who were all men. For some reason only one of them was around for the pictures that day.

- Lawrence Harley “Larry” Luckham

These photos are great, and I love the attention to detail in hair and fashion. What strikes me about some of the women in these photos is that I’m always cold at work, so I can’t really imagine wearing a sleeveless shift dress and not perishing.

via.

Basket stars are incredible looking creatures. Watch this one...

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:45:05 -0600

Basket stars are incredible looking creatures. Watch this one react to some tiny crustacean food.

krgkrg: Sigmar Polke’s Agate Windows in Grossmünster, Zurich

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:28:04 -0600

krgkrg:

Sigmar Polke’s Agate Windows in Grossmünster, Zurich