Song Combo: B.Bravo / Space Dimension Controller

Computa Love


The Love Quadrant

The Second Floor

In 15 days, we'll be very pleased to present to all of you the second floor at KIN.

Just a quick recap on what it was and what it intends to be in the future:

Upon opening it's doors back in 2007, the second floor was initially delayed due to furniture and design issues. We had decided to go ahead and present the first floor and slowly attempt to get the upstairs portion sorted out. 3 months after we opened up, the second floor was done. All furniture was put in and the store was eventually segregated into two sections with the first comprising of clothing and accessories while the second floor comprised purely of footwear and some artwork.

The second floor turned into somewhat of an enclave for many. With the mood set by a combination of subtle lighting and cozy mid-century furniture, the space welcomed customers both new and old. Sometimes even to purely just soak in the atmosphere of a quiet and cultured setting far away from the bustle of the more central areas. The space also functioned as a gallery and sometimes played host to many a gathering for friends or other like minds. We even had DJ "Brown Suga" at the second floor to drop some 90's R&B for an intimate gathering one Thursday evening. It was a one of a kind affair. If you know of anyone that was present at that event, make sure to ask for highlights of the evening.

As some of you may know, the second floor was recently turned into an office space for us. Shortly after, we grew out of it and moved on to another great spot in the city. We packed the ping-pong table, the water cooler, the inventory and moved out. Since then, the second floor has undergone a slight renovation to turn it back into a retail location. We miss having an engaging space.

Albeit fun, the second floor renovation was an interesting challenge. With the entire team throwing out ideas for furniture/design/direction, it was more relaxing than it was 4 years ago when I single-handedly took charge of the project. It made me thankful for the support of a solid team. I also realized that this business has come a long way since May 2007.

Our brief was simple. Keywords tossed around included; Modular, Visually Engaging, Clean, etc. We wanted a slightly different realm than the first floor which is why we chose some of the furniture that you'll eventually see up there. A lot of us at the office were highly influenced by the would be home of a wealthy upper-east side divorcee. You'll see brass in shiny yellow, you'll see carpets we've accumulated over the years, you'll see a more loose collection of knick knacks that we've gathered over time. In the meantime, here are some teasers.

This brings us back to when we first conceptualized the space. There was a certain pressure to overly plan in order to come out with a very solid concept. The research part was important, but the overall execution was even more crucial. We felt the need to include as much artwork and other visuals that would define the KIN brand. 4 years on and it seems that "designers" have moved away from that. In essence, it seems like the space just needs to organically develop into a collection of all the things the store resonates with. Visual merchandising is more key than conceptualizing a space, at least in our books. Feel free to disagree with all this in comments section.

All the furniture here was made in Indonesia. If any of you like the look of it, let us know and we'll be able to direct you to the source. We'll post more in the coming days.

-ssm

tangs : tent museum concept pitch

. . . . . .

I've been out of the Sifr/KIN office and back in the architecture studio for almost two months now and I've been asked by Chris to share a little bit about how we approached our first Tangs pitch.

We needed to present a couple of schemes to Tangs in a cool way so we decided to produce a leporello packet (accordion binding technique by folding a long piece of paper back on itself).

I started out with rough sketches which I then overlaid with some light colors and textures in Photoshop. White, bright, and clean is very much a part of the Sifr/KIN aesthetic and it just has the sophisticated je ne sais quoi, so I kept the images simple and light-washed. (On the other hand, I guess gold rococo mirrors and frou frou teal chairs make up the other half of another Sifr/KIN aesthetic, but that would be for another pop-up store, another day, or another annex.)

To create the leporello, I arranged the images in one large image for plotting at our friends' office (thanks a ton, Dean and Richard and Paulo who helped us out that day). Unfortunately, the plan to print double-sided on thick, creamy paper did not work so I ended up making the leporello by hand instead of the traditional folding method. I'm happy they still impressed Tangs though, because Tangs ended our meeting asking for a few more copies and talking about final schemes for our pop-up store!

. . . . . .

A raised enclosure for one to be surrounded by clothes.

. . . . . .

A series of steps and double-steps for displaying, sitting, walking. The void becomes storage.

. . . . . .

A screen which implies enclosure of space, a space filled with some modular furniture.

. . . . . .

A translucent tent for us to shop in. Uplighting creates silhouettes. Bundled 2x4 lumber creates a bench.

. . . . . .

Pipes and pallets and changing elevations. I like industrial chic.

. . . . . .

from KCL

Ithaca, NY, USA

sifr essentials : the wait is over

a new shipment for sifr essentials landed in our office last week! all primary colors (black, white, heather, light & dark midnight) have been restocked, we also have 4 new colours in the v-neck & pocket crew. only available at tangs orchard (3f), k.i.n stock will be in next week. check out the flyer below for more details.

hope you had a great weekend,
sifr

Marc Newson Transport

The summer drought of art shows is over and the galleries in Chelsea have reopened. I'd read about Marc Newson's Transport exhibit online few weeks ago and decided to pop over during lunch this Monday. Unfortunately, it turns out that Monday is one of the Gagosian Gallery's days off. I guess they haven't completely reopened. But my curiosity was piqued by rejection and a quick glimpse through the closed doors, so I went back today and found the show well worth the second trip.

Transport explores a range of Newson's locomotion products. A cabin designed for the EADS Astrium Space-Plane prototype gives a glimpse of the future of travel, while the Ford 021C concept car illustrates how stylish it can be today. And if it is style that you're after, then the 33 foot speedboat designed for famed Italian boat maker Riva is right for you. It is crafted using an innovative set of materials, including a laminate made form linen and resin, and is only produced in an edition of 22.

In and amongst these more standard forms of transportation were several esoteric products. Against one wall leaned a Nickel surfboard used for tow-in surfing. And on the opposite side of the room, a shoe designed in collaboration with Nike for Russian cosmonauts.

Concept runs the risk of becoming synonymous with outlandish, but in Newson's work it does not. All the products appeared rigorously designed and highly practical, while welcoming a strong sense a playfulness. It is as if childhood toys were transformed into fully functioning models. I found myself wondering why his cars weren't already on the street, and his planes in the sky, and desperately wishing they were. A few pictures below.

Each piece of this car, from the dials to the tiers, were individually designed and then crafted in top tier automotive factories.

Nickel has a natural bouncy that makes it ideal for surfing. When in use, this board is meant to look like a knife-through-water.

K.I.N Window Display Competition

Thank you for your overwhelming response and submissions for the competition.

Congratulations KARYA! The creative team at K.I.N has chosen your proposal as the winning entry. The image is a sneak peek at their rendering.

We have contacted Hani from KARYA and the installation will be done over the next couple of days. It will be completed by 26th September and will be ready for viewing from the 27th September onwards for two months.

So, if you are in the vicinity, head over to the K.I.N to view the window display and show support.

Photos of actual installation and work will be up soon.

Travel: Mustang, Nepal / Pt.1

I usually share our business trips on the blog here but I've decided to get a little more intimate on the blog and share my recent (February 2010) 14-day hike from Jomsom to the forbidden kingdom of Lo Manthang.

A little background information, Lo Manthang is a walled kingdom located in Mustang region in northwest Nepal. Similar to Bhutan, Mustang only allows 2000 tourists a year to protect local traditions and the environment, prior to 1992 it was off limits to tourists. Mustang borders the kingdom of Tibet. During the Chinese annexation and genocide of Tibet the kingdom of Lo Manthang was responsible for granting asylum to many Tibetans. The queen of Lo Manthang at the time was Tibetan. The main facets of life I witnessed on my travels were related to farming, herding, tourism, or religion; a great juxtaposition to everyday life that most of us experience on a day to day basis.

The elevations experienced while hiking the region ranged from 5,000 to 13,000 ft above sea level resulting in a variety of breathing conditions. The climate experienced on an average day (early spring) ranged from relatively warm and dry in the day to near freezing at night.


The following items were my tools in visually documenting my journey.

1) Horizon Perfekt, A 35mm xpan swing lens
2) Kodak Elite Chrome 100
3) Fuji Velvia 50
4) Agfa CT Precisa 100
5) Sekonic Studio Deluxe III




To accompany the materials above (besides standard hiking gear and clothes) I had a notebook and several books for reading. The only digital item I had taken on this trip was a cellphone for emergency situations, otherwise the phone remained off for the duration of the trip. It was imperative that the time I was spending on this trip was focused purely on human interaction as well as my dialogue with the earth around me. The question I sought out is where do we stand as an individual organism in relation to the biosphere we inhabit? It's easy to lose the connection we can have with our earth as we're so engrossed with the thousands of things that make up our day to day lives. This trip was about reviving the dialogue and seeing where I stand in all the emptiness that surrounds me.





























Part Two : Click Here!

RSA Animate - First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

In this short RSA Animate, renowned philosopher Slavoj Zizek investigates the surprising ethical implications of charitable giving.

Moscot Eyewear + Colette

During the last week of July (July 25th –August 1st), MOSCOT was prominently featured in the front window of the world famous lifestyle store, Colette, in Paris. Very few brands have ever been featured in the front window of Colette and this was the first time an eyewear brand has been.

The window display reflects that of the original Moscot Flagship store in New York City.

Pretty slick.

sifr online : annex store launched

hello,

we're pleased to inform you that sifr has launched it's 'annex' online store. if you missed out on past season items you may have a chance to purchase them at 50% off original retail price. please note that stocks and sizes are in limited quantities.

we'd also like to let you know that we've received our first shipment of essentials in the office today. new seasonal colors and a restock of primary colors (black, white, grey, dark & light midnight blue) are finally here! we will also be getting several other sifr styles in by the end of this month. keep an eye out on the blog / fanpage for more updates.

click the image below to jump to our online store.

warm regards,
sifr

K.I.N. makr pre-order

hello,

we are doing a pre order for makr carry goods that will go on from today till next week thursday. goods will be delivered into singapore mid october.

-please view the pre-order catalog below / please read over the terms and conditions of the pre-order.
-once you've decided what you want to order
-please download the word document below and fill out the order form
-email it to adrian [at] knowitnothing [dot] com

or alternatively...

-you may place a pre-order in person at the store
-over the phone @ +65 6392 5475

have a great holiday weekend!

kind regards,
k.i.n.

PRE-ORDER FORM DOWNLOAD

Pre Order Sept 2010

jason fried, marketing by sharing

we've recently started using basecamp in the office, this is a great talk given by one of 37signals founders, jason fried. we will do a post on a how basecamp has impacted us later this month. in the mean time enjoy the brilliance of this video.

sifr 2010 : 1st september drop

hello,
just a follow up to earlier release post. we currently have two new colors in the leisure shirt, two pants and one short in the new icicle style.

the following products are currently available at our online store & k.i.n.

if you're interested in more photo details for a certain product please click the photo, it will link you to the specific product page on our online store. we do free shipping within singapore.


black folded stretch twill icicle short


black coated stretch twill icicle pant


creme stretch twill icicle pant


nepp chambray leisure ss shirt


nepp chambray leisure ls shirt


sincerely,
sifr

Song Combo: Bonobo / Bonobo / Lorn

The two Bonobo tracks should be listened to in succession.

Prelude


Kiara


Greatest Silence

sifr 2010 : september drops

we're pleased to announce that this september drop will mark the start of a steady stream of sifr products. we've recently shifted operations to our close neighbor, indonesia, where we have literally been working hand in hand with our manufacturers to produce new sifr garments.

since the last product drop we have been re-calibrating our whole pipeline. taking the quality up a few more notches, sourcing new fabric and trim vendors to ensure sifr is continually evolving into a higher state of distinction.

in this drop you'll see some styles we first released back in 2009; the leisure shirt, reworked and reinterpreted. also introducing several new styles; the icicle pant and short.

we're also proud to announce that we'll be putting out some products made from our first custom fabric order. it's been great working with a fabric mill to produce an 80/2 micro sanded cotton poplin in several different colors.

below are a few glimpses of the products we shot this week. the goods below will be available in singapore by the good people at, k.i.n. and rockstar later next week.

products below are now available at our online store, with the exception of the dip dye shirts which can only be purchased at k.i.n.



click image to jump to webstore


exclusive to k.i.n


exclusive to k.i.n


click image to jump to webstore


click image to jump to webstore

feel free to post your thoughts, concerns, comments; we look forward to releasing more product in the coming weeks.

kind regards,
sifr

K.I.N. We're Looking for a New Teammate

If any of you are interested in applying please revert to the flyer below. We look forward to your responses.

Warm Regards,
KIN