The Standard Relay: Handsome Coffee x WoodSmithe, Hiut Denim, Levi’s Commuter Collection, & Tsutaya Books

This has been out for a little bit but the video is absolutely gorgeous. Makes me proud to have such a strong tie to the coffee industry when videos of this caliber are released. Obviously it’s purely masturbatory to the aesthetics of caffeine meccas, specifically Handsome Coffee recently opened in Los Angeles, but it’s a feast for your eyes and really makes you want to grab a beer with the mustached gentleman.

FREE/MAN Brand did a very nice interview with David Hieatt, owner of Hiut Denim from the UK. It’s got some heft to it so certainly take your time reading it. Very interesting insight to the start of a brand from a town that’s struggled greatly in recent years. If anyone can tell me how to pronounce Hiut Denim, you win bonus points. Use the comments below (via FREE/MAN Brand).

I saw this after being roped into a few Twitter chains with Levi’s; they’ve put out a collection specifically pandering to the functionality of cycling as transportation which is excellent. Granted, I may not buy one of their bags but the 3M reflective-trimmed selvedge line (appropriate usage? Probably not.) is an excellent route to pursue, especially considering that their closest competitor making something similar is Rapha and their products cost more than twice as much.

Monocle Magazine did an excellent report on Tsutaya Books’ recently remodeled location. The new shop provides space to consume your recently purchased media in a cozy environment. The place is more like a library meets dark-wood paneled club for ad executives in the 50s with a back catalog of ridiculous proportions. Hundreds of thousands of books, rare magazines, movies, and CDs line the walls. In the age of the death of print media and the physical record, this place seems to be doing it right. Take a look at the video, free to access for now on Monocle’s site. (via February’s issue of Monocle Magazine)