Smith Journal — January 2018

013 SMITH JOURNAL

smith stuff

VIOLENT TYPE

It’s been a few decades since Hunter S. Thompson shot his IBM

typewriter in the snow, yelling, “The pen may be mightier than

thesword,butatypewriterisnomatchfora12-gaugeshotgun...

eat buckshot you fucking swine!” By disassembling typewriters

andturningthemintoshotgun-likeobjects,Canadiansculptor

Éric Nado seems to be one-upping the great gonzo journalist.

WethinkNadoismakingaprofoundcommentonthepowerof

words,butifHunterwerestillwithus,he’dprobablyjustthink

of them as a great way to multitask.ericnado.comMO

TREE SHADE

Sunglasses have been made from
some pretty curious materials over
theyears.Plastic,metal...actually,
that’s about it. So it’s about time
someonemixedthingsup.Butter
isnotadurablematerialtocraft
sunglasses from, and you’d have
ahardtimelookingelegantin
eyewearmadefromdogfood,but
Indonesian designer Sukma Suki
hasnavigatedthesepotholes.By
fashioning her sunnies from wood –
a substance naturally found in many
trees–she’screatedshadesthatare
“Practical and durable with all the
elegance of a finely crafted object”.
sukiwoodensunglasses.comTL

OFF THE HOOK

The 2013 liquidation of Richard Wheatley Ltd

caused minor palpitations among the global

community of f ly-fishers, who for more than 150

years had used the company’s famous boxes to

store their lures and baits. The name endures,

however, on this new box by U.S. company

Best Made. Based on a 1910 Wheatley design,

this version is emblazoned with the slogan “Be

Optimistic”. A useful mantra for those trying to

lure fish, or make a buck in the f ly box business.

bestmadeco.com AM

SATELLITE OF LOVE

It is extraordinary how quickly humanity has grown blasé about our
ability to build things that do not merely fly – and fly high enough
to reach orbit – but perform useful tasks once they get there. If there
were any justice, the launch of even the most workaday weather
satellite would be attended by newspaper headlines, agog crowds and
fireworks. Papa Foxtrot’s range of space-related ornaments remind us
that the utilitarian spacecraft are beautiful as well as functional. The
British designer’s range includes the frail, spindly swizzle stick of the
Japanese-American Geotail, the cosmic hand-fan of the American
military reconnaissance craft ORS-1, and the corkscrew-shaped
Cygnus, which bears supplies to the International Space Station.
Hand-crafted to scale from maple wood and stainless steel, it’s not
exactly a ticker-tape parade. But it’s a start. papafoxtrot.com AM

PACK I NG U P

In 1882, Duluth Pack began crafting rucksacks and

wagon covers hardy enough to survive forays into the

rugged American wilds. Then, in 2015, they custom-

made some bags for the decidedly un-rugged pop outfit

Maroon 5. But never mind that. The Scout, an urbane

take on their timeless canoe pack, comes in a whole

range of colours – brown, khaki, orange... you get the

idea – and is one of their most tasteful offerings yet.

duluthpack.com TL