Topshop A/W 2011 Lookbook
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
England's dreamers
The look of the day; the t-shirt is from Theorphansarms, the tights are from Romwe, the blazer is from H&M, the shorts are from Topshop, the sunglasses and hat are both vintage and the pocket watch necklace and the anchor ring are from Zarataylor.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
EDK with Hardwood
Hello Folks,
Today I have some more EDK knives done. These have beautiful hardwood handles made of Morado, sometimes called Bolivian Rosewood. Not a true rosewood but lovely nevertheless, it is dense and heavy. I am told it is sustainably harvested which is always a plus and hopefully that is true. The grain and figure vary widely on these and don't expect bookmatched handles or anything that fancy...however, ALL these knives are gorgeous and it's just about killing me to actually have to part with any of them. Sigh, I do love nice wood! :D
These wood handles have been lightly oiled with food grade mineral oil and I recommend you do so periodically to keep them nice. There are a number of other food grade products available for maintaining fine wood and I will be testing some as time goes on. At any rate, as with the black handled EDKs, hand wash only and towel dry.
These are slightly more than the synthetic handled EDKs, $125 each plus shipping. As before, insured shipping is $10 and International will ship via Express Mail for $26. Thanks for stopping by!
First wave is sold out, thank you! I will have more very soon. ;)
Today I have some more EDK knives done. These have beautiful hardwood handles made of Morado, sometimes called Bolivian Rosewood. Not a true rosewood but lovely nevertheless, it is dense and heavy. I am told it is sustainably harvested which is always a plus and hopefully that is true. The grain and figure vary widely on these and don't expect bookmatched handles or anything that fancy...however, ALL these knives are gorgeous and it's just about killing me to actually have to part with any of them. Sigh, I do love nice wood! :D
These wood handles have been lightly oiled with food grade mineral oil and I recommend you do so periodically to keep them nice. There are a number of other food grade products available for maintaining fine wood and I will be testing some as time goes on. At any rate, as with the black handled EDKs, hand wash only and towel dry.
These are slightly more than the synthetic handled EDKs, $125 each plus shipping. As before, insured shipping is $10 and International will ship via Express Mail for $26. Thanks for stopping by!
First wave is sold out, thank you! I will have more very soon. ;)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale
This wonderful fairytale dress is something I got from Chicwish, the blazer is from H&M, the platforms are from Jessica Simpson and the bag is from Fashionzenvintage.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sharp Week!
Howdy Folks,
Well, I'm proud to announce that not only is this the first week of fall but it's also another week that I think just may be of great interest to Atwood Fans...that's right, it's Sharp Week! Hehe, sorry could not resist the obvious pun... :D
OK, so this is a project that I have been working on for over two years, the EDK or Every Day Kitchen knife...
I started out with a simple idea. I noticed that even though I have a nice variety of knives in a block on the counter, most of the time I find myself reaching for a small utility blade for nearly every chore that I encounter. Whether it's slicing an onion, coring a tomato or opening a plastic package, 9 times out of 10 I don't end up using a big chef's knife. In fact, I have to admit, I've never really been a big fan of those honking 8 or 10 inch chef knives and I'm not good at the rapid cutting skills that you see the TV chefs doing. Maybe I'm just unsophisticated, but unless the task before me is slicing a turkey or something like that a smaller knife usually will suffice. So with that in mind I started thinking about smaller knife shapes.
Now it just so happened that one day I called my steel supplier looking for slightly thinner stock than my usual 5/32" tool steel and they jokingly told me they had some REALLY thin S30v sheets available. I immediately bought some of it. Then I contacted my local friends who run a kitchen knife factory and asked them about producing a small mid tech kitchen knife. The project didn't happen and things dragged on for some time. Finally I got them to make a sample knife for me but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Nevertheless I took the sample home and I have used it for nearly two years. I have to say, even with a so-so heat treat on the blade I was surprised at how well it performed. I took that knife home and sharpened it once, and I have literally not sharpened it since. It really needs sharpening right now but amazingly it does still cut pretty well and that knife has been used and used and used. S30v is some remarkable steel, especially when ground thin. I have to say, I'm impressed.
So anyhow, this past June I made another trip over to the factory and brought up the kitchen knife project again. This time they said they would finally get going on it. And so they did. The blades were cut and then sent out for a premium heat treat this time including vacuum oven, cryo freezing and double temper. They returned with a high rockwell, I believe it was 59-60. Then the blades were carefully ground so as not to lose the fine temper. The grinds are full flat grinds that extend to the top of the spine. The broad blade shape with generous belly results in a wonderful geometry for slicing. They are very light and quick in the hand. These knives may be ground thin but they are still fairly stiff with only minimal flex so you can use them on hard cheeses or sausages with no fear of bending the tips.
Next, handle materials were selected. For this first round I chose a black recycled paper material very similar to paper Micarta. The rivets are solid nickel-silver and the handles are both epoxied and riveted in place for maximum durability. Because the blades were ground after hardening it was not possible use my normal steel marking stamp on them so we went with an old style logo etch which is larger than my current stamp size. This also differentiates the blades as being a mid tech item rather than from my own shop.
I really wanted these to be done right and I'm so happy to report that the end results are even better than I had hoped for. I can see a few very minor things that I'd like to tweak in the next batches but considering they are a factory produced item, I'm quite satisfied with what I see as truly STELLAR user blades. And yes, a special order has already been put in to Crucible for more thin stock S30v so you can expect a second and much larger run of these in the early winter. ;)
Specs: 4 inch blade, .85 inch wide, .064 spine, .012 cutting edge, 3.75 inch handle. For best cosmetic results: hand wash only, towel dry, do not put into dishwasher.
So since this is a relatively small exploratory run I ask that we keep this a one per customer sale. The mid tech EDK knives with basic black handles will be $110 plus $10 for insured Priority mail shipping. International orders will ship via Express Mail only for $26 and please pay attention to any country restrictions that could exist about knives. I will not be responsible for confiscated blades at customs. I would think that kitchen knives should be OK to import but I really don't know what some countries with restrictive knife laws like Australia or the UK might do so you are on your own.
So there you go...I'm happy to finally be able to tell the story of these little knives. It's been a rather long and frustrating process and at times I really wasn't sure if they would ever happen especially since the recent floods closed down the factory for the past three weeks. But they are a great way to kick off Sharp Week. :D
Folks, first wave is gone....HOWEVER, they are not done with the black handles so the bulk of them are coming late next week. In the meantime, there will be another much larger round of OTHER ones coming early next week so stay tuned. Remember, I did say Sharp WEEK! :D
I hear they are delicious fried up with some onions so this cat better watch himself! :p :D
Well, I'm proud to announce that not only is this the first week of fall but it's also another week that I think just may be of great interest to Atwood Fans...that's right, it's Sharp Week! Hehe, sorry could not resist the obvious pun... :D
OK, so this is a project that I have been working on for over two years, the EDK or Every Day Kitchen knife...
I started out with a simple idea. I noticed that even though I have a nice variety of knives in a block on the counter, most of the time I find myself reaching for a small utility blade for nearly every chore that I encounter. Whether it's slicing an onion, coring a tomato or opening a plastic package, 9 times out of 10 I don't end up using a big chef's knife. In fact, I have to admit, I've never really been a big fan of those honking 8 or 10 inch chef knives and I'm not good at the rapid cutting skills that you see the TV chefs doing. Maybe I'm just unsophisticated, but unless the task before me is slicing a turkey or something like that a smaller knife usually will suffice. So with that in mind I started thinking about smaller knife shapes.
Now it just so happened that one day I called my steel supplier looking for slightly thinner stock than my usual 5/32" tool steel and they jokingly told me they had some REALLY thin S30v sheets available. I immediately bought some of it. Then I contacted my local friends who run a kitchen knife factory and asked them about producing a small mid tech kitchen knife. The project didn't happen and things dragged on for some time. Finally I got them to make a sample knife for me but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Nevertheless I took the sample home and I have used it for nearly two years. I have to say, even with a so-so heat treat on the blade I was surprised at how well it performed. I took that knife home and sharpened it once, and I have literally not sharpened it since. It really needs sharpening right now but amazingly it does still cut pretty well and that knife has been used and used and used. S30v is some remarkable steel, especially when ground thin. I have to say, I'm impressed.
So anyhow, this past June I made another trip over to the factory and brought up the kitchen knife project again. This time they said they would finally get going on it. And so they did. The blades were cut and then sent out for a premium heat treat this time including vacuum oven, cryo freezing and double temper. They returned with a high rockwell, I believe it was 59-60. Then the blades were carefully ground so as not to lose the fine temper. The grinds are full flat grinds that extend to the top of the spine. The broad blade shape with generous belly results in a wonderful geometry for slicing. They are very light and quick in the hand. These knives may be ground thin but they are still fairly stiff with only minimal flex so you can use them on hard cheeses or sausages with no fear of bending the tips.
Next, handle materials were selected. For this first round I chose a black recycled paper material very similar to paper Micarta. The rivets are solid nickel-silver and the handles are both epoxied and riveted in place for maximum durability. Because the blades were ground after hardening it was not possible use my normal steel marking stamp on them so we went with an old style logo etch which is larger than my current stamp size. This also differentiates the blades as being a mid tech item rather than from my own shop.
I really wanted these to be done right and I'm so happy to report that the end results are even better than I had hoped for. I can see a few very minor things that I'd like to tweak in the next batches but considering they are a factory produced item, I'm quite satisfied with what I see as truly STELLAR user blades. And yes, a special order has already been put in to Crucible for more thin stock S30v so you can expect a second and much larger run of these in the early winter. ;)
Specs: 4 inch blade, .85 inch wide, .064 spine, .012 cutting edge, 3.75 inch handle. For best cosmetic results: hand wash only, towel dry, do not put into dishwasher.
So since this is a relatively small exploratory run I ask that we keep this a one per customer sale. The mid tech EDK knives with basic black handles will be $110 plus $10 for insured Priority mail shipping. International orders will ship via Express Mail only for $26 and please pay attention to any country restrictions that could exist about knives. I will not be responsible for confiscated blades at customs. I would think that kitchen knives should be OK to import but I really don't know what some countries with restrictive knife laws like Australia or the UK might do so you are on your own.
So there you go...I'm happy to finally be able to tell the story of these little knives. It's been a rather long and frustrating process and at times I really wasn't sure if they would ever happen especially since the recent floods closed down the factory for the past three weeks. But they are a great way to kick off Sharp Week. :D
Folks, first wave is gone....HOWEVER, they are not done with the black handles so the bulk of them are coming late next week. In the meantime, there will be another much larger round of OTHER ones coming early next week so stay tuned. Remember, I did say Sharp WEEK! :D
I hear they are delicious fried up with some onions so this cat better watch himself! :p :D
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Message in a bottle
Hi, how are you guys? I am doing great, only a bit busy with searching for a new internship for 9 weeks in total starting the 14th of November. If my Dutch readers got some tips for a nice internship in the styling/ design field, please let me know!
This is my look of the day: the pullover is from Theorphansarms, the vintage velvet docs I was so happy to find on Ebay, the shorts are from Newyorker and the heart bag is from Baggin.me. Enjoy your day!!
G2 Keyton Sneak Peak
Hi Folks,
I didn't fall off the face of the earth or anything, just been busy grinding tools! I wanted to share a quick pic of the upcoming G2 Keyton. These are pretty slick I think. They kind of combine the old school Keyton design with my older Nibble design. It always bothered me that the Keyton lacked a bottle opener so I managed to get one in there on this version. These fit the hand very well and they are about the size of a full sized old school Keyton.
Anyhow, I just got done grinding these and they are in the tumbler now getting a thorough deburring. They head out for heat treat in a day or two and then it will be at least a week or two before they come back. So we're looking at early October on those.
In other news, I am grinding some steel Pests right now. I hope to get those out to heat treat next week so they will follow the Keyton batch in October.
I can't say what just yet but there are other items of great interest on the way in the interim so please stay tuned! :D
G2 Keyton hot off the grinder:
I didn't fall off the face of the earth or anything, just been busy grinding tools! I wanted to share a quick pic of the upcoming G2 Keyton. These are pretty slick I think. They kind of combine the old school Keyton design with my older Nibble design. It always bothered me that the Keyton lacked a bottle opener so I managed to get one in there on this version. These fit the hand very well and they are about the size of a full sized old school Keyton.
Anyhow, I just got done grinding these and they are in the tumbler now getting a thorough deburring. They head out for heat treat in a day or two and then it will be at least a week or two before they come back. So we're looking at early October on those.
In other news, I am grinding some steel Pests right now. I hope to get those out to heat treat next week so they will follow the Keyton batch in October.
I can't say what just yet but there are other items of great interest on the way in the interim so please stay tuned! :D
G2 Keyton hot off the grinder:
You can't fake fashion bag
Today I have received my custom personalized CFDA + eBay Fashion "You Can't Fake Fashion" tote from Shopedropoff. I love it so much and I am so honored! The illustrator Rosemary Fanti did an amazing job!
Wow, I now have my own Fashionzen bag, so great! Thank you Shopedropoff team!
Winners Faketattoos giveaway
Congrats ! You are the three winners of the Faketattoos giveaway! I have send you an email with all the details. Thank you so much to everyone who took part in this giveaway! If you didn't win, no worries, there are more giveaways to come!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The world needs more dreamers
Completely adore this dress from Motel via Loveclothing! It fits perfectly and I love the shape of the back!I wear it here with Topshop sandals, ASOS knee socks, H&M hat and a Fashionzenvintage bag.
Enjoy your week my dear readers!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The List
Another amazing turnout! Thanks so much everyone. :)
OK, I was surprised to see some of these numbers come up in a row but they did...I will send out emails right now.
3 smack2000
36 JonnyThunder
67 anewby
81 BSR
99 Hellooo Snakebite!!
133 Zazenist
136 SteK
146 ClassicDerek
162 Pick Me! Pick Me! Pick Me!
165 RMARVING
176 brmin
177 DB
178 Bloodline
196 Fred
256 raincoast
272 Konigsberg13
349 thartley
350 Taz Devil NYS
OK, I was surprised to see some of these numbers come up in a row but they did...I will send out emails right now.
3 smack2000
36 JonnyThunder
67 anewby
81 BSR
99 Hellooo Snakebite!!
133 Zazenist
136 SteK
146 ClassicDerek
162 Pick Me! Pick Me! Pick Me!
165 RMARVING
176 brmin
177 DB
178 Bloodline
196 Fred
256 raincoast
272 Konigsberg13
349 thartley
350 Taz Devil NYS
SnakeBite SUSale
So, how about a SUSale? I have some SnakeBites done. These are S30v knives (that's right people, KNIVES!) with captive bits and bottle openers. They come with a kydex sheath and bead chain. This is the end of the SnakeBite batch that I made a couple of years ago and I'm just now getting around to finishing them.
So here's the deal, I have 18 of these. They are going to be $175 each plus shipping. International orders will ship via Express mail only. PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP UNLESS YOU INTEND TO BUY. I don't want to have to chase after people and remind them that they are one of the winning numbers. Also, ONE ENTRY PER CUSTOMER please. There's been a few sneaky folks trying to sign up with their wife's name or just plain signing up with multiple names. I will delete all duplicates including the original so I'd appreciate it if you all would keep my work load to a minimum and keep it honest, OK? Lastly, RELAX! I have more sharp stuff coming this fall so just chill out will ya? ;) :D
SUSale will end tonight at 7PM eastern time.
One more thing................thank you! :)
Sign Up is over, will post the list shortly, thanks again everyone!
List of Entrants
SUSale Rules
So here's the deal, I have 18 of these. They are going to be $175 each plus shipping. International orders will ship via Express mail only. PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP UNLESS YOU INTEND TO BUY. I don't want to have to chase after people and remind them that they are one of the winning numbers. Also, ONE ENTRY PER CUSTOMER please. There's been a few sneaky folks trying to sign up with their wife's name or just plain signing up with multiple names. I will delete all duplicates including the original so I'd appreciate it if you all would keep my work load to a minimum and keep it honest, OK? Lastly, RELAX! I have more sharp stuff coming this fall so just chill out will ya? ;) :D
SUSale will end tonight at 7PM eastern time.
One more thing................thank you! :)
Sign Up is over, will post the list shortly, thanks again everyone!
List of Entrants
SUSale Rules
Multi Stamp Pests Mini Sale
Howdy folks,
It's been very chaotic here the past week or so but things are settling down and maybe I might even be able to get some work done going forward. :)
Today I have a tray of multi stamped Pests done. These have all different stamps and are anodized different colors. I could have done a SUSale but there's too many of them to deal with the hassle so I decided to do a straight up sale on them. I will have another wave of ti ones later this fall btw so no worries, more will be coming. Also a batch of steel ones will be coming sometime in October or November.
At any rate, these are $75 plus shipping and it's a one per customer sale due to the small number of them. Thank you so much as always my friends!
Sold Out thank you!
It's been very chaotic here the past week or so but things are settling down and maybe I might even be able to get some work done going forward. :)
Today I have a tray of multi stamped Pests done. These have all different stamps and are anodized different colors. I could have done a SUSale but there's too many of them to deal with the hassle so I decided to do a straight up sale on them. I will have another wave of ti ones later this fall btw so no worries, more will be coming. Also a batch of steel ones will be coming sometime in October or November.
At any rate, these are $75 plus shipping and it's a one per customer sale due to the small number of them. Thank you so much as always my friends!
Sold Out thank you!
Chapeau!
Yes, I am wearing a hat again! Hats are definitely my favourite accessoiry, I think I have about 30 different hats now! Yes, you can call it a true hat collection :) But they really make the outfit, don't you think? This one is from H&M, they have got some great hats in their fall collection!
The top is from Sheinside, the jeans is from ASOS, the satchel bag is from Dressrepublic and the boots are from Jeffrey Campbell.
