We recently wrapped up two very cool collaborations. We produced custom Mojito wallets for Mozilla, the group behind Firefox, and Modern Atlanta, a rapidly growing organization that promotes design and architecture excellence.

The wallets turned out great, although we may be a little biased! With the crowds that these two organizations run with, we know the wallets will all be going to people that appreciate good design.

We got a sneak peek on some great custom Malcolm Fontier bags. We donated 30 bags to Atlanta’s “Art at Work” a program that supplies art instruction to teens, along with broadening their sense of community & artistic experience. The painted bags came out beautifully! All bags are being auctioned at an Art At Work event this Friday.

We jumped at the invitation to get involved with the Atlanta based organization Art at Work. This awesome organization introduces young people that are interested in the arts to different creative professions through an after school program. The students apply for the limited number of openings where they are paid to create different art and design projects. The organizers mix in educational field trips to visit a range of creative studios. We hosted the group at our studio and gave them an intro to industrial design and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of our accessories line.

I made a work trip to Asia recently to work out some production issues and source materials. This was my 4th trip like this in the last few years and each time I, or we, go, we try to squeeze in a little of non-work fun since we already traveled that far. On this trip I decided to visit friends in Tokyo, one of my favorite cities. If the visit needed any further justification, I also had some sales research and a meeting in Tokyo. And, since I was there, why not work in my favorite way to explore… a motorcycle trip.

The whole Japan segment of the trip was great. It was a nice contrast to the exhausting factory visits in Hong Kong and China.

It's nice to have friends in Tokyo to find the good little restaurants.

It was pretty easy to find a motorcycle rental in Japan, although it seems that I found the ONLY rental place that caters to geijin(foreigners) like myself. Fortunately, they had a bike available and they were great to deal with.

I saw some amazing areas and met great people. If you ever want to meet great people that can give you a locals tips, or possible a place to stay, or even better- make new friends in great places try www.couchsurfing.org

If you’re apart of our Facebook fan page (and you should be, if not!), you may know about our Going and Need Gear initiative. It’s for those who are planning to travel and need some great travel gear to take with them. You simply tell us about your plans- where, when and why you’re excited to go- and this makes you eligible to win a free bag and wallet!  We give them away to someone who’s shared about their travel plans every time we pass another 100-fan mark on Facebook. So far, we’ve had 3 winners. Wanna meet them?

Luciano:
Our first winner was about to embark on one of the most important trips of his life! In Luciano’s own words:

I will travel to Kampala, Uganda, Africa in two weeks to finalize and hopefully bring back our new adopted daughter Nampiima, a kind, super-bright, beautiful five-year-old girl from the village of Bulanga. The process has taken almost 2 years, but it’s well worth the effort.  Once there, I plan on taking a safari with my daughter, going chimp-trekking at an island on Lake Victoria, and visiting the largest thatched hut/tomb in the world to learn about the history of Nampiima’s ancestors, who worked as the king’s blacksmiths, forging the royal weaponry.

Wow, right?!

Anna:
She was preparing to leave for 6-7 months, flying to Bali then traveling from there through Java, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand. “What I am planning,” Anna wrote “is not a vacation, but a complete restructuring of my lifestyle as I know it…. It’s the biggest goal I’ve ever set for myself and I have been completely determined to make it happen.”

And we were determined to help! We sent her a brown Director, a toiletry case, and a snazzy Mojito wallet. Anna is still traveling, but she updates us regularly with new photos and stories. We’re living vicariously through Anna and loving it! For example, here she is motorbiking in Koh Lanta:

Colleen:
A former Peace Corp volunteer in Zambia who now volunteers somewhere at least once a year, Colleen spent this last Christmas holiday in Buenos Aires, Argentina working at 2 orphanages. Along with a photo, Colleen sent us an update when she finally made it home. Apparently, the gear was great, and so were the Argentinians. One of them even adopted her for Christmas and New Years since she was far from family. After tackling Argentina like a pro, Colleen took her Malcolm Fontier gear to Panama to volunteer on two organic farms.

Do we have topnotch fans or what? And we can’t wait to meet some others! The more fans we get on Facebook, the more more stories we can share, and the more gear we can give away. So spread the word and please say hello the next time you’re browsing around on the interwebs.

We recently wrapped up our first in-house design “Jam Session.”  It’s time to add some new products to our line, and we decided to tackle the process a little differently this time.

We like keeping the in-house team small and agile (a.k.a. “mobile”), but when it comes to solving design challenges and adding hot new pieces to our upcoming line, we knew that the more creative minds involved in the challenge, the better. So we teamed up with a few other designers for a 2-week design blitz. The team included a couple of very talented GA Tech design students, as well as our good friends over at Resource. We are super stoked about the results. And though we’d love to show you the new designs and features now, unfortunately it will be a few more months before they’re ready. In the meantime, here’s a few images from the fun, and productive, jam session…

Use what ever it takes! A paper bag prototype to test a concept.

“Meet Designer, Malcolm Fontier”: An interview with Scout Mob published January 26, 2010

Local designer Malcolm Fontier has been featured in so many noteworthy magazines, it seems ridiculous to name them all (but we’ll start: Wired, Dwell, Lucky, Design Milk, AJC, Thrillist, etc., etc.) The man behind the design is just as cool and collected as the unique, modern pieces on his animal-friendly travel line.

Scout: How would you best describe your work to someone who’s never seen it before?
Malcolm: Most of my work has a clean aesthetic backed up with clever details. I strive for a casual and versatile feel — an approachable modern style.

Scout: What made you pursue this passion? Or at what point did you realize “this is what I have to do”?
Malcolm: Shortly after my now wife, Gabrielle, and I started dating we decided we wanted to start a business together. We laid out all of our skills, interests, and ideal working conditions. With my background in industrial design, her interest in marketing, and a shared passion for travel we landed on modern travel accessories. Being able to work from anywhere and call all of our travel “research” is definitely a nice bonus!

Scout: Where in Atlanta do you go to get new ideas? Or where do you go to unwind?
Malcolm: My favorite place is on 2-wheels- exploring on either my bike or motorcycle.

Scout: Your favorite “curious find” in Atlanta?
Malcolm: There’s a lot of cool spots around our studio just south of Downtown in The Railroad District which most people don’t frequent. Calabash vegetarian restaurant on Mitchell Street is one our faves. We also like The Social on the other side of downtown – great food and drink with a fun international vibe.

Scout: Another local Atlantan that inspires you or your work?
Malcolm:peopleofresource.com. We collaborate on a lot of projects, but whether we’re meeting on a project or not- we end up with an impromptu brainstorm- and in the end, making more work for ourselves, but it’s good.

Scout: Where do you get your best ideas?
Malcolm: When traveling. For some reason the ideas flow easily when I am traveling, whether it’s on a plane or chatting with friends over drinks. I think more clearly without all the distractions of the phone and computer.

The full article: http://www.scoutmob.com/scoutfinds/49

To us “modern” is more than an aesthetic, it’s a lifestyle. A modern approach involves rethinking all traditions and “norms”, utilizing technology and embracing a globalized world. It means using this approach to shape your own rewarding and enjoyable path- wherever and whatever that path might be. To us, this thinking is a huge part of our business model and everything we do, from our studio setting to the material choices in our products.

We have always sold our line as “unisex.” To us it just made sense- we would design it, put it all out there, and let you decide which pieces you like. It’s always nice to hear a little confirmation that we’re doing something fresh and heading the right direction. We recently spotted a NYTimes article that did just that for the unisex fashion idea.

They are much better writers than we are so we’ll just give you a few quotes from the article:

•”is like waving a flag of neutrality. “It’s a way of breaking down sexualized relationships, of getting people to relax”

•“Every line should be unisex. A good piece of clothing is a good piece of clothing no matter who was meant to wear it in the first place.”

•And our personal favorite:

“Today the more successful designers are the ones that try to bridge the gap between the sexes rather than drive a wedge between them,” said Karlo Steel

all quotes are from the New York Times article: “It’s All a Blur to Them”

By RUTH LA FERLA

You may have noticed some trends in our product names: basically, all our products are named after travel related things. Wallets are named after international drinks, our toiletry cases are tropical beach destinations, and our bags – travel professions. Most names are straight from our twisted minds here at the studio. Others are from nagging friends. The most recent addition to our bag line, The Diplomat Series, comes from the latter.

The Diplomat 13

A good friend of ours here at the studio is a diplomat named Brendan.  And I don’t mean the kind of person who knows how to delicately make a bitter pill taste sweet, I mean the “real” kind of diplomat, the one that has worldwide immunity and negotiates behind closed government doors. Now, Brendan is definitely a traveling professional, both for his work and for fun. He also seems to think that his job is pretty damn cool and doesn’t mind flashing the diplomatic passport every now and again – especially if you happen to be an attractive woman sitting near him on a flight. So, when he realized that our bags were all named after travel professions, yet there wasn’t a Diplomat in the line, it just didn’t sit well with him. Spending a lot of time in government and rubbing elbows with politicians, he has perfected the art of a convincing argument. So when he laid it on us, we didn’t really have much of a rebuttal. And when he kept reminding us that there should be a Diplomat, we finally caved: “Alright, alright, that’s fine we’ll name the next bag the Diplomat. We promise!”

Brendan carried one of our Directors before he switched to the bag that bears his mark. He probably carried that 1st bag more miles back and forth across the globe than anyone else we know. His last assignment with the US State Department focused on U.S. war crimes policy in Africa so he and his Director spent time in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, The Congo, and Egypt, as well as meetings across North America and Europe. His latest assignment has landed him and his new Diplomat in Kathmandu, Nepal where he provides legal expertise to the Nepal government in drafting their constitution. Not all of our bags find themselves in such demanding hands, but at least you know that they are all up for the job.

THE Diplomat and his Director take on Cairo.

It turns out that the Diplomat is an approriate name for a bag that works as hard as it plays. It can jet off across the globe carrying your computer and files for tackling a serious job or it can tote a travel guide and beach attire for your break between meetings.

…………….

“The Real Story” added by Brendan…

You also may have noticed some other trends here in the Double Rectangle studio: the shameless recruitment of their closest friends to do all the hard work – movie making, modeling, custom artist designing, even naming their products. So when the Double Rectangle duo (Gabrielle & Malcolm) needed someone to spend weeks scripting their wedding ceremony, ensuring that it captured the four continents of their ancestry and the full narrative of their lives, and then perform that same ceremony in a thick, draped robe below a blazing hot Jamaican sun, who did they turn to? That’s right. The diplomat-cum-preacher.

And so it’s no surprise that they again needed a little inspiration from their friends in creating their next bag’s nom de guerre. Some initial suggestions I proposed for travel-related bag names included The Roman Polanski, The H1N1, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. All were names that I felt truly embodied what it meant to venture boldly. What could be more bold than a global health pandemic, or a 76 year-old sexual assault fugitive taunting L.A. prosecutors? Those should be the real faces of the Mojito. But in the end, the two of them insisted on a one-word-only name, and one without numerals. So I was forced to turn inward and a take a long, hard, meditative look at myself. Diplomat, I said, as a weathered United Nations flag flapped overhead. And with that, I gathered up my diplomatic passport, refilled my Ciprofloxacin prescription, and fit them both snugly in my sexy new Diplomat bag. There was a draft constitution somewhere out there, and by god I was going to find it.

To create the Mojito video “Simplify,” we were able to collaborate with some very talented and creative friends, not to mention that we made some new ones along the way. Everyone involved has some of their own amazing things going on. We’d like you to meet the people who made the Mojito video happen!

If by chance you have not seen the video and you have no idea what we are talking about, you can watch both parts here: www.malcolmfontier.com

People of Resource
People of Resource is a group of creative professionals who cover a wide spectrum of expertise, from digital design and identity development, to product design and custom fabrication. This multi-disciplined group of professionals share a common interest in the power of collaborative action, and they live it out every week in a 5,800 sq. ft. creative lab(they work in 500 ft. of it and keep 5300 available for dancing and other spontaneous behavior). It was founded by Industrial Designer, David VanArsdale, who has done things such as teaching the Junior design studio at Georgia Tech, co-founding and serving as creative director of Thing Farm, an Atlanta-based custom product design studio. Thanks to David and his People of Resource team for directing and producing our beloved Mojito video.

The People are busy.

No Brakes
Skip is the owner of No Brakes, an independently owned bike shop located in Atlanta. He also happens to look dead sexy riding a bike naked. Skip and his partners at No Brakes created what they always wanted: a shop that carries the bike parts vital to everyday needs, parts more specific to fixed gear bikes, and a shop that’s comfortable to just hang out in. No Brakes specializes in track components, custom built wheels, original apparel and accessories. They also remain committed to nurturing the Atlanta bike scene, participating in alleycats, cycle swaps, group rides, races, and kickass parties. Not only did No Brakes supply some beautiful single speeds for the shoot, but also their shop owner riding in his birthday suit.

Sfatto
You may know Shawn and Richie as the scooter rider and thief- but when clothed, they pour their energy into their amazing line of custom cycling clothing known as Sfatto. The passion that Richie and Shawn have for biking inspired them to create Sfatto Clothing. They believe that the biggest reward in riding is the simple grace and joy earned from hard effort, and they wanted to see this reflected in the gear they use. Though we fully support their dedication to providing any level of rider with quality clothing, clean design, and unmatched service, we also think that Richie and Shawn look just fine riding in the nude (with the Mojito, of course!).

Also check out the “Making Of” post here.