—ART
holding / tasting dragons from Nicole Van Straatum on Vimeo.
exploration of the human curiosity of ‘fruitful’ discoveries. instinctual and sensual of the most essential thing to us- food.
Nothing says discovery other than enjoyment of new rituals.
photo by Nicole Van Straatum
road trip through middle lands of california nov’11
n o s t a l g i a
Element, 1973 // Cinematographer, Hilary Harris
A female image seethes and reaches through the muddy earth conceiving light and dark shades. Cinematographer Hillary Harris and Performer Amy Greenfield capture in the avant-garde 1973 short-film, Element, exploration of primitive life and death. Presenting these matters as a human sculpture, Greenfield explores a language of body and art. Finally, she surrenders to the cause of emotions. Settling, deeper into the natural form as earth’s art.
spoken: nicole van straatum
xxnvs
Playing House
156 Ludlow St. New York,NY . 646 448 492
The new Reformation space is sitting across from the old shop on Ludlow Street. I feel the feminine waves of lush lace, silk, cashmere and soft knit cottons as I finger through the racks. Walking into the open two-story shop in New York’s Lower East Side, I embody the way of playing dress-up as a child. Antique dressers and drawers remind me of sneaking through my Grandma’s closet to find treasures. The high ceilings collect the spacious shop, and invite me in to wonder. Mounted in the center is a boat that showcases the adventurous ground in which I have landed. As I climb my way up the stairs I begin to view a steel bed set in a mirage of lingerie and greenery to atlas place me in the most intimate setting of the shop. 
photos by Andrea Zalkin
The Reformation, originated in LA late 2008 and made it’s way to New York six months later. The store has now a much larger space and even more curated and reworked vintage. Only minutes away from the Chinatown studio loft and corporate offices, allows efficient procedures from design to production. Yael Aflalo, head designer of Reformation and her team of six worked hard in creating this pioneering space. “All of us learned to sand and cut wood. Yael was hanging from the top of bars painting the racks. Even the PR girl was sanding down wood,” explains one of the girls working in the shop. Bobby Waltzer, men’s wear designer mount the boat centerpiece, while truly being a jack-of-all-trades during the move. It has been genuinely a collaborative process for everyone involved.
Three racks are now dedicated to the first menswear collection designed by Bobby Waltzer for Reformation. Waltzer, previous PegLeg designer works in a contemporary woodsman feel and adds touches of patterned collars to earth-toned tailored vintage. While the women’s Fall/Winter 2011 collection of long jeweled-tone vibrant silk dresses dangle among the women’s racks. However, the shop is not limited to Reformation garments alone. I can also find beautiful contrasts in the hanging wooden frames of the progressive leather brand VEDA’s beautiful red leather jackets, and cool leather pants peaking through silk and printed velvet tops. My eyes continue to search as I recognize the collaboration of comfortably chic cloak designer Lindsey Thornburg for Reformation. The new Reformation sets an opportunity to play dress up and feel as comfortable in the space as you would a new home. 
photos by Olivia Malone
New e-commerce site launched | shop Reformation
Celebrating the Spring/Summer 2012 collection of Bernham Willhelm, designers Willhelm and Kraus use a live-installation performance to showcase the consecutive theme of pop-culture. Beer drinking, squirting sauces and girls jumping under large PVC umbrellas exclusively for A. Willhelm is well-known for the Tokyo fashion of bright color and prints with a Belgian construction from studying at The Royal Academy Antwerp. Indeed this exhibition will captivate the free mind and challenge those who keep ones mouth and mind shut.
xxus @ tdc// nvs
Photography by Reto Schmid exclusive A BLOG.
pig, 2010 [dirty and yet the chicest of all portraits ]
Oleg Dou exposes childlike innocence and the instincts of wild young animals in a modern series, ‘Cubs’. Characterizing a sense of gentle imagination and realism of death by taking children’s muted-toned portraits transformed into creatures. Relevant to his pass childhood memories of being uninvolved in-front of the camera posing in a bunny costume. Converting the magical world into one that is more real than mortality itself is a struggle we surpass as artist on to story-tellers. We can explain a true story through creating a new world, that is the beauty.
goat, 2009
mole, 2011
-tdc . nvs
source: designboom
all images © oleg dou