The Humans were out in Oregon for a couple days of work, play and catch-up with good friends. There was also good eats consumed at: Le Pigeon, Biwa, and Clyde Common. If you have not seen Portlandia, it’s a must watch; even our friends that live in Portland agree it’s not far off. We were lucky to see a “Portlandia” moment first hand. On a quiet sunday morning, near NW 23rd / Glisan, this went down:

- A big black Cadillac Escalade, driven by a middle aged clean cut woman, blocks the road trying to park.
- A Honda Hybrid, driven by two granola eating middle aged women, was stopped trying to get by the Escalade beast.
- The Honda sneaks thru and yells out “Move you gas guzzling Bitch!”
- Next the Cadillac retorts “Screw you Lady.”
- Swiftly the Honda sneaks thru and the two women laugh away.

That moment topped the trip, so good. View more Portland HERE.

Japan needs our help.

As stated above, for every order placed in March, The Medium Control will donate $1 to the Red Cross Japan Relief.

This effort applies to both of our stores listed below.

Medium Control Goods:
http://goods.mediumcontrol.com

Medium Control on Etsy:
http://etsy.com/shop/mediumcontrol

Futura, one of our favorite typefaces – standing the test of time since 1927. We released our new design “FUTURA, 1927″ this past fall. Since then we have been outfiting good people with FUTURA bags, hoodies and prints.

The other day our friend Jeff, from Ocupop, mentioned one of our bags was randomly posted on Draplin.com, posted one day and linked the next – much appreciated. We were at Draplin’s “Thanks MPLS” show and picked up his amazing Everything and Minnesota prints. PS. if you don’t know Draplin you have to check out his great video. Small world, good type.

Check out some of our “FUTURA, 1927″ goods HERE.

Our shop: goods.mediumcontrol.com

Life is short, travel more.

View some 80′s map details HERE.

We recently launched a new website for DARWIN – No Services Ahead, a documentary film by Nick Brandestini. The film is about a small town (pop. 35) located at the end of a weather road in Death Valley, California. The Medium Control was responsible for the web design and development for DARWIN. It was a great experience for us to work with the filmmakers, Nick and Vesna Brandestini, who are currently based in Zurich, Switzerland. As always, we were honored to work with independent filmmakers, but Darwin was an especially intriguing film. We were drawn in by the film’s theme which is harmoniously backed with beautifully minimal and raw imagery.

Darwin will have it’s world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival:

Feb 2, 8:00 PM, Metro 4 Theatre IV
Feb 3, 8:05 AM, Metro 4 Theatre II
Feb 4, 4:00 PM, Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Check out the trailer and the DARWIN web design HERE.

Boga Films (a new Medium Control client) were chosen as co-directors for the LIFE IN A DAY project, a historic cinematic experiment to document a single day on earth. Cristina Bocchialini and Ayman El Gazwy’s  footage from Cairo was chosen from over 80,000 submissions and was found to be “some of the most compelling and brilliant.”

LIFE IN A DAY is a new film from Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald and Ridley Scott.

PREMIERING: Sundance Film Festival
DATE: January 27, 2011
STREAMING LIVE: 8P EST YouTube.com/lifeinaday

Check out Cristina and Ayam being interviewed at Sundance HERE.

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After Fernie, BC the Humans made it across the border into Montana. Their first stop of the day was West Glacier in Glacier National Park. They arrived mid-afternoon only a few hours before sunset. Luckily they had enough time to take a little cross-country ski trip to Fish Creek. The snow was flying and the sun was setting over Lake McDonald, a perfectly serene day in the woods. Explore Glacier National Park HERE.

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Legendary Powder = Legendary Adventure. After 23 hours the Humans were glad to arrive at Fernie, British Columbia – nestled into the Canadian Rockies. The ski resort is located a few miles outside of town and another few miles up the mountain. Once the Humans ventured up the mountain to rest they didn’t have any reason to leave. Winter days were spent as they should be: rising to mountain views, playing in the snow, fireplaces / hot tubs, and then a few beers with chili.

A whole lot of flat until we hit the Canadian Rockies. Luckily for a couple hours the sun peaked out and we were able to see the roads. Beyond that we had "Ice Road Truckers" conditions the whole way, white knucklin' it. We see these huge windmill pieces shipped into the Duluth harbor all the time, this guy could be one of them.

Enjoy Fernie HERE.

Yakima SkyBox 16s first run:
5 academy snowboards
2 sets of xc skis
2 sets of snowshoes
2739 miles

The Yakima SkyBox was locked and loaded. As always, Yakima continues to impress us with a solid product that brings many trill rides to life (our loaded summer rig here). The Humans 2739 mile journey through some of the most treacherous winter road conditions was only made possible by Yakima + the little SX4. Let’s take a minute to relive the adventure: rain, ice, snow, blowing snow, ZERO visibility and road-blocking drifts. Not to mention – mountains in the dark with gale force winds; mountains in the daylight during a blizzard… not much better. Through it all the SkyBox stood tall and the SX4 kept us warm and moving forward. View the sturdy box HERE.

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Remembering the inspirational change brought by one to many.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

(text from wiki)

Canada vs. Montana
Insanely busy this week… Next week we plan on dishing out the can-mt venture.
A good weekend too all.

Canada + Montana
They already had to go back for new adventures: many good tales and pictures to come.

Cheers to a new year and many thanks for all the support. Lots of new and fun developments unfolding the first quarter of 2011 at The Medium Control. Stay tuned peoples…

Vintage Holiday Inn matchbook graphic above.

While the snow was piling up in MN the Humans were galavanting around NY. Well, they did work all day Sunday slinging goods at the BUST show. However, they managed to take a day off on Saturday to see the NY Christmas sights. Along with the other couple of million people walking around Time Square and the Rockefeller Tree. Of course after all that walking a few delicious meals were earned. Butternut Squash Pizza, Tuna Sliders, and Smoked Mac & Cheese just to name a few. Mini walk around Manhattan? Click HERE.

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Medium Control Goods will be at the BUST Magazine Craftacular this Sunday in NYC. Stop by and get that holiday shopping wrapped up if you are in the area.

WHAT
BUST MAGAZINE
HOLIDAY 2010 CRAFTACULAR

WHEN
December 12, 10a – 8p

WHERE
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th St
New York, NY 10011

WEBSITE
http://bust.com

DETAILS
Come early and score one of 500+ free goodie bags. Stay late and enjoy
raffle prizes, special guests, DIY demos, DJs, dancing, tasty drinks, and
delicious treats!

Meet best-selling author and comedian Amy Sedaris and pick up a signed
copy of her new book!

This past fall we were fortunate to work with Isotope FIlms on their new award-winning film LOVE ETC. As you might have guessed the film is about love, however it is far from a cheesy love story. LOVE ETC. is a witty, poignant and humorous exploration about the universal stages of love, depicted through five real stories over the course of one year in New York City. It is an amazing film that is as much about the people and their relationships as it is about New York City.

After viewing some of our previous documentary film websites, Isotope Films approached us for a clean design that used subtle graphics from the film. In October the film had it’s debut at the Hamptons International Film Festival and walked away “Audience Award for Best Documentary.” Recently in November they also premiered at IDFA in Amsterdam – selling out all four of their screenings.

Read the film’s synopsis and check out our LOVE ETC site design work HERE.

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The Humans realized they sort of left you hanging regarding the future of the the Spaceship. It’s back in action with corrugated steel walls and roof. The Humans kept whining to me about their sore hands after they cut all the metal with a pair of tin snips, but why complain, it got the job done. Then came the facia and soffit another new experience on a ladder. Explore the metal HERE.

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Simple is good, and this new rack proves it true. We thought this post was meant to be after seeing our bucks hanging out together yesterday. Our good friends Greg and Jessica started a new company called “antler&co” based out of minneapolis & portland. Nature’s design has taken it’s perfect course and they have let pure elements become quite functional. Check out their new site antlerandco.com. All antlers are shed antlers and they have some facts to wrap your head around on the site as well. Clean up your floor and put your goods on a new antler this holiday. Check out details of their antlers HERE.

You might remember Greg from our Habitat Bathroom post, his amazing picture still stands tall. Good people, good ideas – support your local creative.

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The Humans and myself woke up to a couple of our friends in the yard, 8 and 6 point bucks. We usually see one at a time, but never do we see the boys hanging out together. Deer bachelor party at the Habitat?

Get in the deer’s face HERE.

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One of our favorite eras of design, one of our favorite prints, at one of our favorite museums.

At a recent estate sale we picked up this mint condition poster from the exhibition – De Stijl: 1917-1931, Visions of Utopia; at the Walker Art Center in 1982. Which has probably been in this frame ever since. The piece above the great Futura type is called: Counter-Composition V, 1924 – by Theo van Doesburg. Originally produced with oil on canvas and housed in the Stedelijk museum in Amsterdam.

In the early 1920′s a group of architects and artists formed a movement called De Stijl (Dutch for The Style). Theirs was a utopian philosophical approach to aesthetics, centered in a publication called De Stijl, which presented their ideas and designs. The founder of the publication and leader of the group was Theo van Doesburg, an architect. Other important participants were Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondrian.

Get close and personal with Dutch Style HERE.

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The Human’s Great Aunt Loretta was always full of great stories of her worldly travels. She was the go-to person for giving us the correct punctuation for Scandinavian foods and treats. And, of course, the right way to say Sauna; she was truly an inspiration. Unfortunately we lost Loretta this week, but her stories and adventurous attitude will live on forever. A while back, the Humans had a fun photo shoot in her basement capturing pristine vintage appliances and tools. Luckily the Humans had their good old Pentax camera loaded with expired film, which helped give a subtle green glow to everything. Explore the basement HERE.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. – Helen Keller

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Giving thanks for the extra hour yesterday.

This little sun was found at an estate sale inside a small fishing reel box; shine on Loretta.

For the Human’s favorite holiday, they whipped up some scare for the kids. They prepared brains, tiny fingers, and eyeballs within the pumpkins for the all small Humans to sink their hands into.

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Every year about this time the Human’s favorite Halloween popup book makes it’s stand. And every year I attempt to enter the spooky house, and Fail.

Get your treats this weekend.
Get scared.

The Fall chill seems to be here for good, which reminds us of a nice warm time in Chicago. This past September the Humans spent two action packed days slinging Goods at the Renegade Chicago show. Big thanks to the Renegade folks, family for helping with the booth setup, and to all who stopped by the booth – much appreciated.

Show pictures viewable HERE.

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Veggies, pfft… I definitely prefer my freeze dried chicken, however, the Humans love their veggies. So much so in fact that they finally started growing their own. Learning to grow in their container gardens was challenging especially only with about a two month growing season. The North is good for a lot of reasons, but red tomatoes doesn’t seem to be one of them. Lots of lessons learned for the harvest next year. Hungry? Check out one of the harvests of tiny northern veggies HERE.

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AS THE HALF MOON RISES
AND THE SKY TURNS PINK
LEAVES BEGIN TO STIR

CONSTANT PEDALING
NOT LOOKING BACK
MOVING FORWARD

FAST

NO MORE HEADACHE
NO MORE STRESS
ONLY THE FALL

The Medium Control Lives For Snowboarding. Bald E-Gal Productions Is Snowboarding.

Good friends of The Medium Control, Bald E-Gal Productions has brought many good memories and fun to Snowboarding. Cheers to TRAVELING, EXPLORING and SNOWBOARDING as much as possible.

We are very hyped to have been part of this cause for quite some time now. In the B.E.P. beginning we helped with motion graphics, websites and now presently snowboard art. We met up with Ezra Jacobson in Brighton with our Super-8 cam, for a fun pow day. We are super stoked to report it made it into the intro of the Poachers X – check it out below (around minute 2:50, Ez getting some). Congrats to Brian Dow for pulling all those clips together. Lastly, we just finished designing a Bald E-Gal / Signal Snowboards collab graphic. More details to come. A big thanks to Mike Thienes (The Youth Shelter Supply) and Ezra Jacobson and everyone else for making it happen all these years – they have definitely earned their turns.

Swing by one of the three upcoming premieres in Minneapolis, Wausau and Duluth.

MINNEAPOLIS – OCT. 14, 7p
WHAT: Poachers X + Forum’s F*ck It
WHERE: Suburban World Theater – 3022 Hennepin Avenue

WAUSAU – OCT. 15, 9p
WHAT: Poachers X + Transworld’s In Color
WHERE: Great Dane Pub

DULUTH – OCT. 16, 6:30p
WHAT: Poachers X + Forum’s F*ck It
WHERE: Zinema 2
BY: Damage Boardshop

CHECK OUT THE POACHER’S X INTRO HERE.

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We recently completed the haut haus website ( hauthaus.com ) for our long time friend Holly Bayer – a fellow designer also inspired by the Bauhaus design theories.

Haut haus is committed to designing unique and thoughtful spaces, while providing exceptional customer service and access to the best design resources. She wanted a website to reflect their clean design work, while maintaining their personality. Hence the trusty number 2 pencil, it also doubles as their favorite color, and a tool that is used on every project. It’s nice to know hand drawn ideas and concepts still exist. Haut haus has won numerous awards, one of our favorites being: “People’s Choice Award, ASID Showcase Home 2009 Overall Favorite Room.” This room (featured on the homepage above) was inspired by mid-century modern design, one of our favorite genres of design. Check out details from the new Haut haus site HERE.

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Color, Color, and more Color. The Humans managed to make it up to Lutsen Mountain before all the leaves tumbled down. While they were out hiking around, I spent a very entertaining afternoon watching leaves fly by the window. Enter a vibrant weekend on the North Shore HERE.

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