kylevanhorndotcom

Courtesy of some sharp eyed readers and a friend of mine, I was alerted to a delightful happenstance over on A Continuous Lean.

Whilst visiting the Schott factory in NJ, manufacturers of fine leatherwear for bikers and military men alike, author Michael Williams snapped a photo of the stacks of boxed Made in USA labels which are sewn into every piece of apparel. Something about them is extra awesome.

Click on the above image for full effect.

Still don’t get it? Click again and read the text on the left.

Made in USA labels that were made in Canada!!!

Photo credit: Michael Williams.
The original blog post about the Schott Factory.

Greetings all -

I realize I’ve been away for a while, it’s been a busy couple months on this end (big-ol’ roadtrip + school-prep + new semester starting).

I thought I’d post a little bit about an upcoming project I’m working on.  By project, I may in fact mean an upcoming life change as this could be a long term thing.

I am trying to open a public print shop in Baltimore. We don’t have anything like this here and for the life of me I can’t tell why. We need one, bad, and I know I can do it.  Everyone I’ve talked to about it has been ridiculously supportive.

The equipment lineup is building rapidly, though I’ve currently put it on hold as I’m completely out of space for anything anywhere.  The next search is going to be for a SPACE – - I have some critical requirements: Industrial, 1st floor, loading dock, affordable… etc etc.  I think I want to live there, and I think I want to buy the space up front.  Yeah, I’m crazy like that.

The shop is currently being formed in my mind, and in contents but not space, and all of this is being documented over at BaltimorePrintStudios.com. We’re taking in presses as fast as we can. We just got a silkscreen exposure unit, which is ridiculously modern and orange in comparison to the rest of the equipment in the shop.

And as an inside tidbit, since this is a personal blog, the ‘we’ mentioned ad nauseum on the site is really just me. But it sure sounds better, no?

Anyhoo, I thought you should all know that I’m still here – - Until next time!

So my european adventures are winding to a close, and in a lot of ways, I’ve begun the adjustment back already… By that I mean, I’ve started treating this trip as a vacation finally, playing the part of a homebody… sleeping in, leaving the apartment for only a few hours per day, etc.

I’ve been here for a month, seen some amazing print shops, landmarks, artifacts, people, and places.

The interesting thing about being taken out of your usual routine is that you learn a little more about yourself. You learn what your comfort zones are. You also learn the little extras in life you were never introduced to before.  Italy has introduced and/or confirmed a few new things to me…

In almost no particular order:

-Lambretta Scooters: (the intellectual predecessor and physical follow-up to Vespa) they were faster, sleeker, and seemingly rarer (at least stateside). And I want one. Bad.

-Roof Decks: Infinitely usable, personal space.  

& related: 

-Minimum living space coupled with maximum outdoor space:  A small house seems much larger if you have ample surrounding private area.  

-Front Loading Washing Machines: Small, efficient, need I say more?

-Clotheslines:  Energy efficiency to the max.  I wish mine at home was as usable as the one at my friend’s house here in Rome.  I should make that a goal upon returning home.

-Espresso, lots of it: These Italians got another thing right. Move over Starbucks Grande… 

-Fine, hand-crafted glassware:  I’ll associate this with the category of fine print work, fine food, and good furniture.  There are things in life you should spend money on.  Things that are important, will last a while, have been touched by a craftsman who knows his trade, and doesn’t cost $.99.  I’ve decided glassware is one of these things.  Yes, it will break. Until then it will be fabulous.

-Daily food markets: (coupled with gardens and small refrigerators)… Reinforcing the ‘only what you need’ mentality.  

-Trains: Efficient trains (and/or trams and subways) that are cheap, clean, and still profitable for the city/state.

-City Parks: Preferably between wherever you live and wherever you need to go regularly.  

Conversely: other Italian things I can’t quite get behind:

-the whole afternoon ’siesta’ time, where nothing useful is open from 1-3:30…
-lack of any-and-all decent beer
-the very un-american attitude of ‘getting around to it’…

There will be more to both sides of this list I’m sure, as I re-acclimate to the US of A.

Until then… arrivederci!

Well I must admit, keeping 2 blogs, 2 flickrs, and e-mails updated on a limited and slow internet connection is very time-consuming and not quite enjoyable.

We’re down to the end, basically.  The student exhibition opens (and closes) tomorrow on Murano. Saturday is a field trip to Tipoteca on the mainland, and Monday everyone flies home and Brian and I travel to Rome for a week.  

Cra – zay.

There are so many little things I haven’t tended to that I should have… a syllabus, personal invoices, shopping for friends and family, and on and on.

(speaking of which, hey Erin – what would you like from Italy?)

In spite of it all, I’m just trying to chill out whenever possible, like yesterday:

More photos on the flickr.

Holy shit, what a day. Jam packed with just about every aspect of art that Venice could have possibly offered today.

Let’s start with the fact that I MET SHEPARD FAIREY today. Don’t know who he his? Yes you do. He was installing his last pice of the week in Venice, raising money to help restoration efforts in the city. 

detail from one of his pastings in the city -

I also got his autograph (something I rarely do) and some poster remnants from the pasting. So that was really great. We chatted briefly, I asked if he’d ever consider speaking at MICA (scheduling is the only issue he claims), etc.

shepard fairey pasting

supplies

giant tunes

Nice guy all in all, pretty humble, and mostly all the things you’d hope for.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Then, just as I was about to go to La Scuola to set type for the invitation I should have printed a week ago, I was offered entrance to the 2nd Press day of the Biennale. Hell yes I’ll go to the Biennale EARLY!  I also learned how to lie my way to some fabulous swag. Dolphin Press sounds like a newspaper, right? I can assure you it does.

I saw most of the pavillions today in the Giardini.  Learned how to get in early again next time (I think – it’s all in the clever wording from your ‘important’ institution)…

Nauman at the American Pavilion

a lovely video installation at the Polish Pavilion

What I’ve seen of the Biennale so far is gorgeous, interesting, and lovely.  There is so much more still to see.

And, now, as I go to work on a Saturday, a funny photo from the rounds this week:

the best way to move your boat across water, as near as I can tell...

More photos and videos on the flickr…

Comma getcha palma treea…

Gross cultural generalizations aside, it’s easy to forget that everything but everything in venice comes in and leaves via boat.  Food, drinks, concrete, bricks, lumber, supplies, trash… everything.  Even palm trees…  (edit: Turns out this was an art-piece… go figure…)

I even saw a barge the other day with not one, not two, but six concrete mixers on it, all pumping out wet concrete to a crane on a second barge, making a new pier.  Talk about stressful.  I suppose if there’s a problem with it hardening, they ARE surrounded by water, and could either dilute or dump just about anywhere.

I met a letterpress printer here. He is a bit pompous, self righteous, and clearly makes his money printing envelopes and bookplates for tourists.  Regardless, he had a neat shop with 3 jobbers, a proof press, and a guillotine. He also had a litho press, a bunch of type, a million cuts, and sundry other bits and pieces from the world of Italian letterpress.

As I mentioned yesterday, we also visited the Arsenalle Novissimo, the “New Areinalle”, on a visit with one of the participating artists, Alfredo Jaar.  Pretty cool really, because they were still setting up for Friday’s opening.  Only Press were allowed through, really, and it was a really nice behind-the-scenes kinda thing.

I don’t know any of the artists’ names, so please don’t ask.  Also, sorry for the less-than-stellar photos. My camera battery was running on fumes all day long, and in an attempt to stretch out the use, I wasn’t re-shooting properly-metered shots… Photoshop only works so far.

Last night, too, I decided that relaxation was really what I needed.  I wasn’t quite the same as chilling out at home but I did sit down, relax, and have a beer (with complimentary peanuts and chips)… watching the pigeons peck through table scraps every time someone got up or even just turned their head.

The waiters are a little cranky, but I suspect if my Italian was better, they would be more friendly.  Maybe next time.

And with that, I’m off for some coffee, a sandwich, and maybe running into Shepard Fairey if I’m lucky.

Unlikely, but hey…

You must forgive me (the 2 of you reading this blog) because I am here to write, but with no photos to show you.  I have the camera but not card reader here in the studios.

I must admit, I was in a not-so-great mood yesterday… trying to figure out what on earth I was doing out here, why I was working so hard for seemingly nothing… schlepping my bag, computer, and all kinds of nonsense everywhere, and basically feeling like I don’t fit in here for a million reasons.

Late dinner (pizza, again, at the only place I know that is open late), another scoop of gelato, and a hard sleep did me good though.

Today we visited the Peggy Guggenheim collection here in Venice.  Very nice, had a lot of abstract expressionist work and Futurism (meh), BUT THEN there were 2 awesome pieces by Wim Delvoye and an exhibition of rarely seen pieces by Robert Rauschenberg.  Totally uplifting.

THENNN we were given early access to part of the Biennale and a chance to speak with an artist named Alfredo Jaar from Chile about his piece.  Very interesting, and probably very important to Italian culture, but what I really enjoyed was wandering around the other exhibitions.  We were hoping to sneak into the Arsenale early, but No Permisso…  Press only.

Although I did sorta kinda lie and say I was press (actually, I said: “Can I just lie and say I’m press?”), and got a sweet tote bag with FEAR printed across it in big black capital letters. The show opens friday.  There are some sweet posters for the exhibition all over the city that Brian, and subsequently me, hope to snag.  They match the totes and printed material for the Biennale.

Oh, Shepard Fairey is here. Hoping to run into him soon…

So are about a million Rich Art Bitches. Snobby and wearing crazy clothes and too much jewelry.

And the biggest effing yachts I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m fairly certain you could play a game of basketball on any one of the 6 floors of the boats… there are about 4 parked off the coast at San Marco.

And with that, I will sign off…

Photos soon.

Now: coffee and shopping.

ciao!

It’s sunday here, I think at this point it’s sunday everywhere more or less.

Slow internet connections and building lockdown has proved frustrating in terms of keeping this thing updated.  If you’re super curious, the other one is a little more well maintained.

Today was nice, chill, quiet mostly.  I caught up on the banal things like laundry, sleep, and now internet.

The students are starting to find their way around. In some aspects, they are better at getting around than I am… This is ok, I don’t mind.

Some eyecandy now, since it is now late, I’m tired, and have to walk back home still.

 From the Academia Bridge, outside our hotel tonight:

Facing south (towards the lagoon which is just past the church)

and facing north, up the Grand Canal:

And yes, for you perceptive folks, that is the same boat in both shots…

Ciao – bueno notte!

Ciao and buon giorno from Venice!  I am here, safe and sound, and have finally found a moderately reliable internet signal.

Travels here was, how shall we say, interesting.  We left DC on Monday evening, landed in CDG, Paris the next morning, and then sat through canceled flights and delays in Paris for 8 hours of layover (it was supposed to be 1 1/2).  The Italians airport workers were striking, thus the delayed flights.

OK, Venice is lovely.  Boats are the busses, the roads are water, amazing pizza is the new fried chicken.  Oh, and amazing coffee is the new crummy coffee.

So I’m sitting here, waiting for flickr to upload (I just had to pick the 88 second video to upload, didn’t I?) and catching up on some e-mails.

Fun facts so far:
Espresso Doppia = fabulousness – photos to follow I promise.
Italians are loud, pretty much always.
Gelato for 1.50E is a dangerous thing.
Boats are fun but I have a newfound fear of watching my phone or camera to kerplunk.

Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of.  Dropping a 39E Italian phone, not losing my passport, not running out of $$$, a stupid phone. Or my Leica digital.  Maybe that’s a more justifiable fear.

It struck me mid-way through my first day here that I was in Italy for a MONTH. All of you who asked me if I was excited to go last week? Remember when I said “I haven’t even thought about it yet?” – I hadn’t.  So, any and all of those loose ends I may have left behind: sorry.

Anyway, sorry to run, but I’m starving – it’s 9PM here.  Pizza awaits.  And una biere.

I leave tomorrow for the upper calf of Italy, Venice to be exact.  I hope to be writing from there for you, with photos, etc. I will also be keeping a blog for the department here.

I think I’m packed, prepared, stocked up, and etcetera. Medicine for the kids (hopefully not myself), 2 weeks worth of clothes more or less, some cameras, some film, some snacks for the plane, and a borrowed iPod shuffle with some italian lessons on it. 

I leave tomorrow evening from DC, with another faculty member and 13 students, destined for CDG in Paris, and then connect to Venice by 11 on Tuesday.  It is apparently hot, humid (of course), and lovely! I am very excited, and hoping I haven’t forgotten anything.

That said, I’m sure I have, so whatever.  It’s late now, and if I have any hope of beating the whole jet-lag thing, I’m working in the wrong direction.

Hope you are all well, I’ll see you shortly.  Have a great 4 weeks and I’ll be back on the Solstice!