Here is an early father’s day gift or a nice accessory to complement your urban wood pile. The century old Gränsfors Bruks company has been produced these wood choppers in Sweden for people who actually use axes.  Shit, they even host Axe throwing courses as well as forging classes. That’s rep. For now, enjoy the YXKit that includes everything you’ll need to cut/throw/lunge wood. (belowtheclouds)

Directed by Wendy Keys, Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight offers an intimate view of the life and work of the New York designer. The DVD of the film releases on April 27, 2010 through Arthouse Films and is available for preorder at Amazon.

Head to the jump to view the trailer. (via aNEW designs).

We first mentioned the Silent Sneaker line from Damir Doma back in December but it looks as though Oki-ni has finally taken stock of them for your purchasing pleasure. The first collection offers low and mid-tops in a couple of colors but we’re pretty sure those looking for a pair of basketball trainers that reflect the turn of the century style will find peace with these.

More looks at the Silent by Damir Doma Sneakers after the click.

Valet is answering some interesting reader mail these days. The latest tackles the top of the V stitched sweatshirt. “This week’s Ask Valet came from a reader in Switzerland who wanted to know “Historically, what’s the point of the little ‘V’ stitched at the collar of a sweatshirt, below the front of the round neck?”  The Valet team as baffled, so we enlisted the help of an expert. Christophe Loiron is the owner of famed vintage emporium Mister Freedom and the designer of the shop’s in-house line of military-inspired clothing. He, of course, had the answer for us…”

Read the history of the V stitched sweatshirt at Valet.

It has become an almost annual tradition to remind people of the Folk Woven Belt series. Over the last three years of reporting on them, they never get old when the warm months start to kick in – and this year is no exception. Choose form a variety of weaves. C Store has them.

More looks at the Folk Woven Band Belts after the click.

These white leather heavy rubber soled shoes from Paraboot for SHIPS are simply on point. They’re slightly rugged profile makes them appropriate for casual wear. We of course recommend wearing them to the pub for some quick distress. You’ll find them through SHIPS Japan. We’re told they’re exclusive to the shop. Tell us what you think of them in the comments.

More looks at the Paraboot for SHIPS White Shoes after the click.

Here’s one for the folks with a few spare coins in their pocket. Belstaff have released this backpack, which is suitable vintage looking but without the obvious drawbacks (wear and tear, that smell) that real vintage pieces have. While we do like this piece, part of us will always find it a little silly to spend so much money on a piece that looks so beaten up, but if you can’t be bothered to wear down your pieces yourself, this is a great alternative. (SSense)

The Fader turns us onto the Inoue Brothers Autumn lookbook and it’s…not quite what we expected. In a good way. We’d always assumed that fall lookbooks had to take place in the woods – Preferably with some surly bearded 20 year old moping around like someone stole his kittens. But apparently not, as The Inoue Brothers display a distinctly Laurence of Arabia vibe for their autumn/winter 2010 collection. Our favourite piece remains the bobbled cardigan (pictured above), but the rest of the collection is worth a gander as well.
Take a leap, see more shots.

As an undergraduate I dreamed of swiping one of UW-Madison’s iconic metal chairs from the Union patio. Carnevale Studio’s The Stretch Collection reminds of the seats that propped up my Spring and Summer afternoons, and are, if I may say so, a tad more inventive.

Jessica Carnevale, a RISD graduate, is showing the collection at the SaloneSatellite show in Milan. Made of latex, bungee, and rope, the chairs follow her desire to incorporate diverse material in beautiful ways. This set proves her ability, and successfully translates some traditional outdoor forms through non-traditional material.

Contemporist has Ms. Carnevale’s story. After the jump find a few more images of The Stretch Collection.

Here’s another great magazine we hadn’t heard of until recently. Despite all the noise about magazines dying, there’s still no shortage of new, relatively new or undiscovered magazines out there for the folks willing to look for it. One such magazine is Monster Children.
Magnation lets us know that it contains some of the best from across the worlds of skateboarding, photography, surfing and music (in approximately that order.)’ You can order a copy from Magnation or, if you need more convincing, take a look at some previous covers after the leap. (Magnation)