Products / Hackman
New for the world of Retroism is Hackman, a New Zealand based design collective that brings a hearty serving of vintage simplicity to the cluttered table of the modern world. Operating since 2002, their debut product is the Guinea Pig - a speaker for your iPod or MP3 player, Discman, Walkman, portable record player - any product that you can plug headphones into. The Pig requires no power source of it’s own, aiding you on your journey to ‘carbon neutrality’. It also allows you amplification capabilities without the restrictions of a pesky wall plug or battery. As well as being functional and sustainable, The Guinea Pigs are made from some very handsome hardboard and then laser cut with there own pattern. Hand assembled, individually named and numbered where they will be found the Pig Orphanage section of their website. Among those up for adoption include Brenda, Baby, and Scarface.
Also by HI HO SILVER
I haven’t bought a CD in a while but I was strolling down Wellington’s Cuba Street looking for a bit of inspiration the other day when Liam Finn’s music tapped me politely on the shoulder and dragged me into the music store. Liam is New Zealand music royalty, of Neil Finn descent, although — with his wild hair and beard — he’s looking a bit more like a young Jesus these days. The record is made with the help of an analogue loop machine, and you’ll find the kind of stunning instrumental crescendos that I haven’t heard since The Beatles Hey Jude. He engages emotionally and spontaneously, with both skill and showmanship.
A personal favourite, Stolen Girlfriends Club continues to give a welcome fix of delinquency to the New Zealand fashion scene. Their initial following cherished their oversized t-shirts with cheeky slogans, but while they are in no danger of maturing (thankfully), their range of garments develop each season to cover denims, knits and such covertable items as silver hot pants. Their latest release, unashamedly entitled Elegantly Wasted, will allow you to look completely fabulous while behaving badly. Combining black and white with electric metallics and an alcoholic lime, it’s the kind of clothing you were meant to blow all your cash on before committing to your rent.
Paris House is a leatherwear brand emerging out of Wellington with a range of wallets, bags and temporary tattoos. With Sharon Paris at the helm, her latest collection, Belief creates a Victorian medical visual and is being stocked at World, Hailwood and The Good Room. My problem is the inclusion on the C word. Elevation to the status of ‘conceptual’ seems a bit fair fetched to me, because I could have sworn I was looking at a bunch of wallets. ‘Idiosyncratic’ statements merely hide behind a veil of ambiguity. If anyone can figure out the meaning of ‘It would appear that people believe in medicine, but they don’t believe in art without questioning either’, I will personally offer you a prize for doing so. So buy the pseudo-conceptual wallets if you dig the comments but if you are trying to decipher the higher meaning, I would be tempted to say you are looking into it too much. And admittedly, I have bought much sillier things because I was seduced by a strong aesthetic.
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