R29 gives a preview look inside Todd Selby’s forthcoming book The Selby Is in Your Place available May 1st.

As Amazon puts it “The Selby Is in Your Place was conceived when fashion and interiors photographer Todd Selby began taking portraits of dynamic and creative people—authors, musicians, artists, and designers—in their home environments and posting them on his web site… Lucky for us, he found his answer in the color-rich and eclectic quarters of a diverse group of subjects, including Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler, Faris Rotter, Andre Walker, and Olivier Zahm, in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and London. Each profile is accompanied by Selby’s watercolor portraits of the subjects and objects from their homes…” We’re looking forward to it.

Available for pre-order from Amazon.

More looks from inside The Selby Is In Your Place by Todd Selby after the click.

Australian designer Christiana Waterson includes two very useful bits in her “Bloom Series” – a stool and a magazine rack. Both are pretty much household basics (assuming, like me, you live in a small flat overrun with old magazines). The related ornaments are not quite as good as the two pieces pictured above, but rely on the same geometric base of inspiration.

If the sculptural quality is not spot on, the functionality is A+. (via Contemporist).

More looks at “The Bloom Series” after the jump.

Two bags from the Spring/Summer 2010 adidas SLVR collection. I’ll be the first to tell you that the purple nylon on the right is a handbag for women but since it compliments the backpack so well, I figured the woman in your life may be interested as well. “The collection is inspired by the easy way of life when you are on the road or just moving around in the urban landscape. The focus is on pockets so you can compartmentalize your things and the openings are big and easy to get to. The fabric is an oil-treated rip-stop nylon and closures are made of thick shoe laces, adding a sporty and smart feel to very practical products.” The bags should be at SLVR retailers now.

More looks at the nylon bags from the adidas SLVR Spring/Summer 2010 collection after the click.

As part of their all corduroy everything collaboration, Levi’s and O.C have released these desert boots. Using the material you’d expect them to use, they’ve made these deserts using the traditional Opening Ceremony shape. These are available in the navy blue you see above and a more marmite-esque teal colour. They’re not available online – we just like to tease – showing up at the San Francisco Union Square store and Opening Ceremony’s NY store. If you get your hands on one of these, consider yourself lucky.

Take a leap to see the teal colourway.

Ah, to think that only six months ago we were practically begging for more waxed jackets – now we can’t swing a cat without running into one. To make a slightly random analogy, we feel like the guy who asked for a slice and got given the whole cake instead. This jacket is just well done enough to pique our interests though, we’d understand if bright yellow jackets weren’t your thing, but it’s right up our alley. (Kiosk 78)

We’ve been slowly falling out of love with the check shirt for a while now. We’re not even mourning anymore – we just want some alternatives. Perks And Mini have understood our plight, making this panelled striped shirt that avoids any banker (or any other word that rhymes with it) connotations. Like we always say, a little crazy goes a long way. (Someday)

Seattle recognizes Mr. Frank Osgood as father of their public transportation system. Introducing a horse drawn trolley system in 1894, Osgood begins to further facilitate the movement of laborers and the pursuit of leisure in the city. Five years later, Osgood gave the horses a rest and introduced electric trolleys and Seattle is the first West Coast town to become fully modernized in this way.

The folks at Seattle’s Blackbird have great reverence for Osgood and his contributions to the public welfare of their home town. So much so, that they’ve produced a pair (as in two models) of shoes inspired by him. I like a quirky reading of history, and as such am willing to believe for a moment that public transportation is especially good for keeping shoes clean on the way to work.

Regardless of this somewhat dubious analysis of urban development, the shoes are very handsome (in my humble opinion). The above model is the Hayburner Saddle Shoe in #8 burgundy cordovan and black alpine grain leather. The second, after the jump, is the Leschi Picnic Saddle Shoe in black calf and navy blue suede. Think labor and leisure. Or, more simply, work and play. (via TRC).

P.S. The shoes are manufactured by Alden.

Brogues tend to get most of the blog love, but we might just prefer a derby. While brogues always have a sense of work about them – we can’t bring ourselves to wear them on weekends – derbies have a versatility that means they can truly be dressed up or down. Take these Heutchy numbers for instance. A handsome derby, the fact that there’s no brogue-ing accentuates the pretty shade of honey brown the shoe comes in. If more derbies like this come out, they might just have to be the official shoe of choice here at SL towers. (Oak)

Get a gander at those detailed shots after the leap.

01. Why Nicolai Ouroussoff Is Not Good Enough

“When I told an editor recently that my dream upon graduating from college was to be an architecture critic, she laughed. Not at me (I don’t think), but at the idea of aspiring to a job that might be doomed. Online, both everyone and no one is a critic, and architecture talk proliferates, often in the absence of buildings. Yet there are still a few architecture critics who count, and Nicolai Ouroussoff of The New York Times is perhaps the most powerful (rivaled only by his predecessor Paul Goldberger, now at The New Yorker).” (designobserver)

02. Video | Trailer for Le Grand Chef: Kimchi War

“Here’s the trailer for Le Grand Chef: Kimchi War, currently playing in theaters. The prequel to the 2007 film Le Grand Chef, Kimchi War follows two chefs competing in a culinary contest created to popularize kimchi outside of Korea, and was based on a graphic novel. Although the trailer speaks the universal language of food porn, EMD reader bluexmas was kind enough to provide an English translation. Video and captions below.” (creativecriminals)

03. Chiquita Banana Brand Refresh (above)

“Chiquita’s latest ad campaign imbues its audience with an instant sense of wonder. Using playful illustrations on stickers juxtaposed to the iconic Chiquita stickers, the product and brand become more engaging to the consumer—plus they just look cool. We got a chance to ask the Art Director, DJ Neff, some questions about the process of making bananas (even more) fun..” (designrelated)

04. Monterrey Housing / ELEMENTAL

“The Government of Nuevo León, México, commissioned us to design a group of 70 homes on a site of .6 hectars in a middle class neighborhood in Santa Catarina. The required density suggested the application of the typology we developed for Iquique. However, the climate in Santa Catarina is very different from the northern dessert climate of Chile. The 600 mm of annual rainfall required us to adapt our proposal to this new question.” (archdaily)

Take a look at this handmade garment from Craig Robinson. This bomber jacket is made from 100% brushed wool and includes a full liner. The finish is great on this one. Stel’s has it.

More looks at the Craig Robinson Bomber Jacket after the click.