Looking through the design workshop yesterday I discovered a book I made nearly twenty years ago. It reminded me how grateful I am to one of my mentors, the bookbinder Michael O’Brien, a man of enormous talent, insight and good humour, and without a doubt the most eccentric person I’ve ever met. I met Michael in 1994, just before he moved his workshop from Auckland to the South Island. One of the books he was working on was for a European art collector, to mount his Picasso drawings. This was a revelatory experience for me. Do people like this exist? Do they pay thousands of dollars for books? To View More >>

For a little hippy nostalgia you couldn’t ask for better than Sami Sunchild’s Red Victorian Bed & Breakfast, Peaceful World Center & Cafe in Haight-Ashbury. Still going strong 45 years after the Summer of Love. Nice food too. But it was Sami's take on how to be an entrepreneur that struck us most, and reminded me of so many photographers! Heather spotted it on the wall next to our lunch table (click here for full size). And if you think being an entrepreneur is easy, read this. All you need is love. And perseverance. Cheers, Ian Here's Grace, Janis and Jimmi for ya. To View More >>

Yesterday's visits took us into the heart of first Ideo, then Google and Survey Monkey. All of them amazingly impressive with much to teach us about how you get to be the best in the world and create environments that foster creativity. We spend a lot of time at work, and with the people there. The better we can make work, the better our lives, but it's got harder since the financial meltdown. But Google sort of borrowed my breath, so to speak. The sheer magnitude: 16,000 people on the campus we visited. Hardly any looking older than 16, though they assured us the age range is extensive. You get To View More >>

Three things I try not to do: write about our competitors, jump to their defence, and risk offending people who could be our customers; but today I’m going to do all three. I want to write about the huge outpouring against Smugmug over their price increase – and suggest a few things you should think about before you jump ship, if you’re with them. I must admit I find these outbursts upsetting, no matter the justification. When I started to use the Net back in the 90s, it was all about support, helping each other and respect. In the world I want to live in, you respect the businesses that To View More >>

Amy got the ride of her life when her boyfriend Isaac proposed to her in a really unique way - with lip dub. I wasn't sure what lip dub was but after a trip to Wikipedia I found out that it combines lip syncing and audio dubbing to make a music video. I love how all of their friends and family are involved. This is a must watch proposal!   Enjoy, Anna To View More >>

We love beautiful things, and we absolutely admire the people who make them, so here are two links for you. The first shows the making of a limited edition Leica M9-P, made in collaboration with Hermès. As the video says, no wonder it's so damned expensive. That's OK. As one of the commenters says, we'll just stand quietly behind the velvet rope and watch. The second is Signé Chanel, Loïc Prigent's seven year-old TV series about the creation of Chanel's Fall/Winter 2004-2005 collection. I wish I could show you some video, but I can't. Which is a pity, because if you value craftsmanship, it's To View More >>

Watch the story of how one young man got the girl of his dreams. Cheers, Anna To View More >>

(Warning: contains references to blue-grass and rock music) Johannes introduced me to his friends, Lyttelton band The Eastern. That’s OK, nobody else has heard of them either, and that's the point of this post. A while ago The Eastern opened in Auckland for Steve Earle, and more recently for Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow who? Heather and I bought tickets anyway, probably the only people in the audience who didn’t know anything about the main act. But then they came out and played. I was hooked after the first few bars Ketch looked wry, ironic and after your girlfriend. Willie wore a Neil To View More >>

[caption id="attachment_7050" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Musée 10x7 dark tan; photography and page layout design by Johannes van Kan"][/caption] If you read my Musée story recently, you’ll recall it ended with a cliff-hanger … but it turned out well. You may remember we’d made an album featuring Christian [Oth's] images, but he'd never seen it. We were nervous. Well we finally did catch up, and he loved it. Then Johannes [van Kan’s] album of Virginia and Richard’s wedding won at WPPI. You can view his complete album on Youtube (no audio) or Vimeo (recommended: this is the To View More >>

Can kids get any cuter? Love it! Anna To View More >>