We’re on an alternate-year schedule with our summer plans so instead of heading to the island this summer, we were due back at the lake. Every time I return to the Leelanau Peninsula, I fall little more deeply in love with it. Cornfields, lakefront, woods, wildlife, bountiful fruit orchards and sandy beaches make for one hell of a combination.

Weather was great; food was unreal. Eggs, meat and toast breakfasts daily (standouts included The Foothills Cafe and the sausage patties at Mabel Ann’s); an insane midweek corn roast and fish-fry that also included a special appearance by some grilled venison backstraps; homebaked pies and meatloaf; and a delicious final dinner at La Bécasse in Maple City. On the plate that evening: homestyle rilettes with cornichons and country mustard, an oven-roasted tomato tart with chevre and fresh herbs, hanger steak with garlic mash and Guillaume’s apple tatin. In a word… amazing.

Forays into Glen Arbor included frequent stops at Cherry Republic and a leisurely browsing of the stacks at the beloved Cottage Book Shop: one of the most lovingly and creatively curated bookstores that I have ever been in. I love coming back to Michigan…

Picked up some great finds at the outlets and the flagship stores. More on that later.

In just a few days, the Brakeless shop-in-shop at Off The Hook will launch. I can’t imagine that another collaboration based around fixed gear culture will come as a surprise to many of you, but see this for what it is… An opportunity to celebrate a Montreal relationship that has been growing steadily for the better part of 5 years. Sylvester was (and still is) a customer of Off The Hook before opening his shop; and since opening his doors, just about every employee of OTH has gone to Sylvester to build their machines.

The focus of the shop will be to re-create a bit of the ambiance that anyone who has been to Brakeless has come to love and appreciate. It is also an opportunity for both shops to partner with makers of fine gear and produce some limited edition tees for the height of our summer here in Montreal. Pictured above are the coasters that we made which will double as hangtags. There will be headwear by Quintin, some amazing bags by RELOAD and some t-shirt graphics designed by yours truly.

I’m truly honored to have been asked to participate in the project and hope that the shop is well received…

More images to come… Cheers!

My wife recently got me an extraordinary Father’s Day gift. My knife game had been lacking in the kitchen and she got a line on a Kasumi for me. It’s amazing and is already getting a lot of use.

She also picked up this little beauty for me as a surprise… For me, Victorianox was the go-to when I was growing up for camp knives and all purpose blades, but I really love this little nautical inspired joint from Messer. Blunt-nosed Solingen blade and nice weight. This will be helping me rip through taped up boxes, pluck herbs from the garden and peeling fresh fruit on the go this summer.

We also scooped some Opinel for the garden… Have you seen their mushroom knife? WOW. It makes me want to collar up a well-trained spaniel, grab a sharp trowel and go to truffle hunting.

Wouldn’t it be good if you could bottle sunshine? Thanks to Whitbread Wilkenson you can practically drink it… and several other shades of visual deliciousness as well. I knew that the mugs have been around for a minute now, but I hadn’t seen the espresso demi-tasses until just recently. I picked mine up at Itsi-Bitsi in Montreal, a fabulous cupcake bakery on Notre-Dame run by a graphic designer who just happens to use Pantone Guides to mix the colorful shades of icing and batter that have become their trademark.

As for WW, check out the Eames notebooks that they have on offer as well.

Ps: Might I suggest you flip open your fans to the 800’s and give us some metallics and/or neon colors please? Just a suggestion…

I’ve been meaning to do a personal card for a minute now, but I have to say it took me FAR longer than I expected to come up with a concept. It’s a personal thing and everyone has an opinion. I decided to use a format suggested by Jan Tschichold in his design opus Die Neue Typographie:

A private visiting-card naturally does not carry headings. Most important: the prime requisite for a satisfactory result is to keep the printed information down to the barest essentials. Since for various reasons it is most desirable that the dimensions of business and private cards should be the same, the format DIN A7 (74 x 105mm) must be used. The former distinction between “ladies’ cards” and “gentlemen’s cards” and countless similar nuances must be forgotten: they have now become stupid and in addition unpractical. © Jan Tcshichold 1928.

In spite of the odd (and slightly larger) format, I like the result; particularly the ruled lines on the back reserved specifically for notes. I made some for Paul as well. Names are set in Standard, a mid-century sans-serif that you have likely seen here. The balance of the copy is set in Garamond. Custom monograms were also incorporated to lend a personalized touch to an otherwise spare layout.

Letterpress printing by Litsa Babalis at That Sky Blue.

Unfortunately, it’s an all too common thing in Montreal to have a difficult time finding quality gear. Sometimes I feel like  our market is misunderstood… other times I think the sales reps are just ignorant. It is often impossible to find a proper selection of the most renowned quality brands in the world in this city without encountering a poorly bought seasonal collection, or simply an insulting price-point…

Case in point is Barbour. Bottom line, this is my dad’s gear. I can remember chopping wood, clearing our drive and winterizing our yard with the old man years ago and Barbour is what he wore. I know they’ve been getting a lot of love lately, particularly for menswear but I feel I need to point out what some individuals have been indicating should be a non-controversial issue… Barbour for ladies.

YUM.

Wifey and I just ordered his and hers flyweight gear to counteract our late spring/early summer Montreal showers and – ultimately – there is no better deal than the one we got through Country Attire. Free Shipping, a miraculous Bob’s-yer-uncle absence of duties and an insane savings given what we would normally pay for Barbour in our neck of the woods.

I feel I need to point out  a particular piece of interest… Barbour’s womens utility coat with Liberty of London Rose lining. I watched with horror as America snored while the Target collection by Liberty fell well below discount without an ounce of protest. I can understand not everyone being into a traditional floral ditsy, but quite frankly, a woman rocking bold red roses inside an OD Green waxed cotton jacket trumps a red-heeled Louboutin lemming any day…

I love navy. I also love bucks. I remember an early pair that I got in ‘89 at the Bass outlet in South Portland, Maine. They were like buttery caramels shod with vibrant brick red soles. I had a great pair of saddles as well: I felt that I had better make a move given all the Archie comparisons I was getting…

I digress.

I figure I’m likely to have one go-to pair of these so why not ante up. McNairy’s aren’t cheap, but they are the balls. The navy is a perfect shade somewhere between indigo and midnight and the construction and details are as advertised. If you are in Montreal (or you are shopping the net), you can find them for – I am sure – a brief time at Rooney.

Next up are the Union saddles… If I can find them.

Buck ‘em down.

I’m not the first person to post about Tanner Goods and I certainly won’t be the last. For something as innocuous and essential as a belt, you would figure that it would be a fairly simple process to locate a well-made, quality ceinture. My experience, however, has been that it is actually not all that easy. Usually, a great belt will be hanging off the end of the ugliest buckle imaginable, or alternatively “genuine leather” will actually be some low-grade facsimile that is closer in texture to cardboard or papier maché than it is to actual hide. Beyond that, the options are often far too cowboy or too gino. No thanks.

So after a brief delay on my part, I finally bit the bullet and ordered some belts from Tanner. They arrived yesterday and – as expected – they are built like tanks, incorporating heavy duty thick English bridle leather and solid (but simple) buckles. I ordered black, mahogany and natural versions of their Standard Belt which is perfect for denim, chino and corduroy belt loops, so that about covers my daily uniform requirements. The bonus? The fact that you can swap out all the buckles means that I actually have nine belts now instead of three… pretty dope.

I am very keen to see how the natural one ages over the next few months. Between inevitable indigo transfer and natural age and patina from hard wear, I am expecting it will become my favourite belt in no time.

Looks like the Tanner guys have more interesting things in the works… I, for one, will be watching.

I got approached by a friend and client of mine a few days ago about this new shoe brand that he’s repping and he asked me if I wanted to try out a pair. I checked them out and was surprised at what I found. I’ve been known to wear Crocs in the past for tasks around the house (or running out at 10 before close to pick up some happy juice at the local depot). They are also super handy if you’re spending prolonged time in the kitchen whether you’re baking, cooking or canning. Birkis are the industry standard and are even better if you have the extra Kwan to afford them. Just ask this guy.

In spite of the anti-croc rants of trend lemmings worldwide (as if they weren’t lining up to buy a pair two years ago), there’s still a pretty solid case against Crocs for being… well… ugly. Enter Native Shoes. I suppose someone was bound to make a more attractive rubber shoe that still offers some of the benefits of Crocs (anti-microbial, washable, lightweight, etc.) but I wasn’t expecting the styling cues to recall some of the more famous and beloved silhouettes from modern street wear culture. Native offers three styles at the moment: The Miller (hello Vans era/authentic), The Jefferson (whoops, sorry about that Chuck) and The Corrado. I opted for the latter because it clearly is inspired by my favourite shoe of all time and it also is the name sake of this. Word.

Bottom line? They are super comfortable and look good breaking under a pair of jeans. Mine will clock some miles in the kitchen over the next few months and maybe won’t draw as many glares out in public.

Thanks again Stephen.