We Heart; Lifestyle & Design Magazine » Sport

Away! Away! Away! by Rosie Lee

James Davidson — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:40:19 +0000

A 50-strong (and growing) collective of creatives with a passion for pounding the streets, Run Dem Crew is based at Nike’s Shoreditch-based concept store cum creative space; 1948. Documenting the crew’s participation in the 2011 London Marathon, Away! Away! Away! is a glorious, concept-heavy book by creative agency Rosie Lee. Packed with photo essays, cutting-edge design and Tom Hull‘s beautiful photography; Rosie Lee’s celebration of this unique collective is a real inspiration. We talked to creative director Mark Fleming to find out how it came about…

How did your involvement with Run Dem Crew begin?

We were initially briefed to develop the identity for Run Dem Crew (RDC) and design its HQ space at Nike’s 1948 store. We quickly found a connection with Run Dem Crew founder Charlie Dark and his passion for running and sharing ideas.

Do you run yourself?

Yes. I’m pretty active and been involved with RDC for over 2 years. I’ve taken part in races and marathons in Paris, Berlin and chicago. Other members of Rosie Lee have also joined the ranks of RDC.

The print process is beautiful, did it take a lot of experimenting to achieve the results?

Exploring creative concepts and production techniques is a key part of to what we do at Rosie Lee. One of our senior designers is pretty hands on when it comes to print and she worked closely with Ditto press to get the best from the process and the images, playing with bitmaps and duo tones, being playful with the type and choice of colours.

Risso print has its strength and weaknesses and the trick with this project was to play to its strengths.

What does 2012 hold for Rosie Lee?

Same as any other year – produce good work for our clients and have a good time doing it.

Nike Stadium Milano by FutureBrand

James Davidson — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:14:51 +0000

5,000 metres of technical fabric are the centrepiece of Nike Stadium Milan and, conversely to the recently featured Arnsdorf Pop-Up Store that used fabric to create a fragile, cocoon-like subtlety, here the material embodies the drama and energy of sport and performance. Inspired by the flexibility and elasticity of the Nike Free shoe, FutureBrand commissioned architect Martina Tabò, of Turin’s Maat Architettura, to create a seamless integration of the Stadium’s different environments. With live interventions by illustrators Camilla Falsini and Gio Pistone and an exhibition of New York photographer Skye Parrot’s work alongside the retail environment, Tabò’s fluid, versatile installation has transformed the space and the visitor’s perceptions with dramatic effect…

Les Bikes de Bois Rond, Gavin Turk

James Davidson — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:13:34 +0000

One of the (in)famous Young British Artists, Gavin Turk is renowned for putting himself at the centre of his works, casting himself in the images of cultural icons like Che Guevara and Sid Vicious, this time it’s your turn to be the art – as the conceptual artist presents Les Bikes de Bois Rond (2010) as part of this year’s Frieze Art Fair Sculpture Park. Turk has created 15 bicycles in homage to André Cadere’s famous Barres de Bois Rond – long poles of cylindrical, multi-coloured wooden blocks – that will be available for visitors to ride around the inner circle of Regent’s Park. In a rather lovely twist, upon returning the bicycles, participants will receive a signed certificate from Turk that declares them as an authentic work of art…

New Balance’s Shoebox Factory

James Davidson — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:46:02 +0000

Having been produced in the UK for more than 100 years, and with a ‘no major sponsorship’ mantra that affords them this luxury, New Balance are a unique brand in a big-money, cheap-manufacture sportswear market – and that’s as refreshingly admirable as it is remarkable for this day and age. Showing at this month’s Bread & Butter Berlin trade show, their Flimby shoebox factory pays homage to the real Cumbrian factory that still churns out classic styles with modern materials and commemorates the brand’s core beliefs. Oh, and it looks rather cute too…..

KNVB Supporter Shirt by We Are Bas & Daan

James Davidson — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:55:49 +0000

Long at the forefront of using their supporters as the 12th man, The Netherlands’ famous sea of orange is an iconic a sight as you are likely to see in world football. With the 2010 World Cup only days away – we can barely contain ourselves now – we were pleasantly amused with this inspirational concept from Amsterdam based creatives Bas van de Poel and Daan van Dam, seemingly inspired by Fabrizio Ravanelli’s famous goal celebration….

Update: Thanks to @discuit for pointing out the similarities between this and Spanish side Getafe’s official kit…..

Nike World Cup Advert

James Davidson — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:39:59 +0000

We, like so many others around the world, are struggling to contain ourselves with excitement about next month’s carnival of football – or ‘soccer’ for our US readers – and you can always heavily rely on the heavyweight champions of marketing to come up trumps with a piece of advertising/entertainment that perfectly sums up the feelings of the footballing world. Nike’s 2010 World Cup advert focuses upon the expectations of a nation and the potential for greatness that each of the competing athletes feels…. moments of glory snatched, shared and stolen. Sensationally shot, beautifully edited and perfectly written, the Oregon based sportswear giants have once more provided a golden moment of marketing that will be on everyone’s lips for the coming months……

Nike World Cup Advert

Also rather humorous is this, a teaser for the main World Cup advert – that will debut during tomorrow’s Champions League final. Perhaps we’ll see some further spin-offs from the advert in coming weeks, we certainly hope so….

Soccer City Photographs by Rasmus Norlander

James Davidson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:01:20 +0000

It’s a New Year, a new Decade and probably most importantly, it’s a World Cup year… and what better way to begin the road to South Africa with a quick look at the updates of their landmark Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg in some arresting images from celebrated Swedish photographer, Rasmus Norlander. Having been published in the likes of Wallpaper, Monocle, Dwell and Arkitip, Norlander is a photographer with an exquisite eye for bringing a breath-taking honesty and realism to engineering and architecture. Not quite as outstanding as Munich’s Allianz Arena or Beijing’s ‘Bird Nest’, Johannesburg’s Soccer City, an existing stadium steeped in history, should nonetheless provide some momentous occasions at this summer’s competition.

Via: It’s Nice That

We Are Handsome

James Davidson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:03:49 +0000

It might not be quite the right time of year to be throwing out posts like this, but if you’re heading off for a bit of winter sun and feel you can pull off some wonderfully kitsch swimwear designs then you couldn’t do much better than these wonderfully borderline tacky prints from Sydney based artist Jeremy Somers and swimwear designer Indhra Chagoury. Being individually made from high grade Italian Lycra and printed with high density inks, We Are Handsome‘s collection is suitably limited edition, meaning that if you’re bold enough to make the statement then you’ll no doubt be rewarded with exclusivity.

Fast Boy Cycles

James Davidson — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:34:58 +0000

You know where Raleigh bikes went wrong? They should have called the re-invented Chopper the Thunderfucker 2. That’s a bike we want to ride. And we could, if we had a spare £1,700. Fast Boy Cycles lovingly crafts bikes (such as the Thunderfucker) out of their NYC studio to order. But this is no assembly chain operation, the driving force, Ezra Caldwell, crafts no more than 20 bikes a year. He’s a man with a mission: bikes aren’t just eco-alternatives for clogged city commuting, they should be objects of beauty too. His signature slender wooden handlebars see to that, as do the sleek contours of the frame itself. It may look like it’s straight from the set of Heartbeat, but make no mistake – with full disc brakes and racing tyres, this is a psycho-cross machine well up to the challenge of eating up those city streets.

Death Spray Custom “Brain Box”

James Davidson — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:59:53 +0000

Specialist air brushing guru(s) ‘Death Spray Custom‘ are fairly elusive, or maybe it’s just that he/she/it/them are more inclined to let their work do the talking than big themselves up. Whatever it is there is little or no information about the London based artist(s) on their website, but what there is a lot of is obscenely high quality custom paint work, primarily in the biking/sports domain, which is where this new collaborative piece comes in. This witty custom painted Davida motorcycle helmet shows everybody just what the helmet is supposedly protecting and DSC proclaim that it will make the wearer ’69% more intelligent, 71% more fascinating at dinner parties and 136% better at rolling stoppies’, whilst we can’t confirm just how accurate these figures are, we hazard a guess that it will make you a good 200% cooler than any other bikers out there.

Rollapaluza Roller Racing

James Davidson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:37:22 +0000

Back in the 40′s and 50′s, roller racing brought huge crowds to ballrooms, cinemas and even luxury hotels such as the Savoy. The event, which essentially features two cyclists battling it out on fixed racing bikes, has been given a contemporary twist by ‘Rollapaluza‘, who have turned this vintage practice into a modern, vibrant and exhilarating experience with their self-promoted events featuring DJs, drinking and lots and lots of shouting as the team encourage the audience to participate in commentary and general frivolity.

The guys at Rollapaluza have recently developed a school programme to bring this unique sport to the P.E class, completed a 40 date University tour for a corporate client and have an array of forthcoming events as they look set to continue their steep ascent and bring roller racing to more and more people.

Garudio Studiage Dartboards

James Davidson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:23:09 +0000

Having designed Christmas windows for Paul Smith and exhibited at the ICA, V&A and the Dazed and Confused Gallery, Peckham-based design/art collective, Garudio Studiage, are clearly riding high on their creative talents, that include, screen printing, jewellery, painting and making props, products, sets and displays. Arty, quirky and insanely cool, it was logical that the next step would be a range of off-the-wall products and that’s just where we find their ridiculously funky range of dartboards, highly limited to runs of 10 only and made to order.

Available from their online shop or at selected boutiques in London and Tokyo, Garudio Studiage’s dartboards are not cheap at £220 a pop, but then if your a fan of the old arrows then you’ll know that a good board is likely to set you back anyhow, and what price for the opportunity of spending your nights throwing sharp objects at Bono?

Fixed Gear London x Benedict Radcliffe

James Davidson — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:51:17 +0000

Having recently moved his studio from Glasgow, where he studied at the Mackintosh School of Art, to London, Kent born Benedict Radcliffe is making a name for himself as an artist and sculptor thanks to commissions for the likes of Paul Smith, Puma, Red Bull and Comme des Garcons. Fixed Gear London are a collective of ‘riders with a passion for the bikes they ride’, they make bikes too and it’s with their collaboration with Radcliffe that they have caught our eye with these outrageous ‘Flouro Bikes’ that will certainly make sure you’re seen on the road.

If this achingly hip fluorescent goodness has you itching for more day-glo madness you should check out Radcliffe’s steel rod flouro ‘lambo’ sculpture over at his website, expect to see more from our favourite new architectural artist on We Heart Stuff in the future, we’re sold on his undeniable genius!

All Star Lanes, Brick Lane, London

James Davidson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:36:40 +0000

They can be found on out of town retail centres around the UK, are littered with cheap arcade machines, are one of the last places you can find a Wimpy and often the popular choice for council estate kids and overweight families, ten-pin bowling alleys are not the sort of thing we’d usually cover on We Heart Stuff. Things have been changing in London however, since Mark von Westenholz and Adam Breeden opened their first venue in Holborn in January 2006 to be precise. All Star Lanes is a concept that brings the game into the luxe arena and fuses cocktails, great food and classic bowling to offer a unique nightlife experience. Their latest addition to the growing chain has just opened at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, East London.

Leather booths, American cocktails, beers and ales along with 9 lanes of psychedelically lit bowling encourage a lively atmosphere whilst this is the first of their 3 venues to introduce ‘Luncheonette’, a classic yet contemporary American diner style restaurant which offers dishes such as Jerk spiced cod with succotash and Cajun Pork tenderloin and pit beans along with a take-away deli menu and a selection of Hot Dogs, classic Milkshakes, Home-made Doughnuts, and fresh Waffles to order. Keep your eyes peeled for an onslaught of uber-cool boutique bowling in a city near you, All Star Lanes have a branch in Dublin on the way this year and are already targeting Paris and Berlin in the near future.

Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly

James Davidson — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:55:47 +0000

It’s a fair assessment that most football fans are becoming increasingly sick of the modern players with their blasé attitude towards club loyalty, million pound pay packets and distinct lack of good old fashioned footballers names, like Bobby or Stanley. It’s with great pleasure then that the guys at Saville Rogue, who rose to fame with their high quality cashmere football scarves, have launched a new range of products which celebrate Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, the world’s first glossy football magazine which was launched in 1951. The retro range which includes a hip flask, wallet, wash bag and leather football (of course) harks back to a golden age in the ‘beautiful game’ and looks pretty damn cool whilst it’s at it.