Asheville, North Carolina

A few weeks ago, after he interviewed me on his site, I sent Marty Weil of the ephemera blog an envelope containing some of the philatelic collectibles from the recent Canadian Recording Artists stamps that Circle designed for Canada Post. Marty has now produced and posted a short video of his response, here.

(Thanks again for your interest, Marty).

Luxemburg, 04.07.2009 – 01.11.2009

Fabrica has been invited by the cultural space CarréRotondes in Luxemburg to present Colors of Money, an exhibition exploring the approaches, uses and understandings of money. Based on the 73rd issue of Colors Magazine (Money, winter 2007/2008), Colors of Money posits that “money is an illusion,” highlighting the myriad contradictions embodied in the all-embracing role money has come to play in modern society. Read more about the exhibition here.

London, U.K.

Since 2001, the Swiss-based not-for-profit organisation ACT Responsible (Advertising Community Together), has been collecting global advertising that “promotes responsible communication on sustainability, equitable development and social responsibility” in a bid to highlight how the creativity of advertising professionals can be used to address the world’s problems.

Among its 2,500 ads from more than 40 countries and 140 award-winning agencies is a striking collection of adverts that focus on environmental and social issues: from deforestation to recycling and conserving water to climate change.

Ads, from the top: Killing trees is killing people. for Friends of the Earth, France; Travelling fruits cause pollution. (Think global. Eat local.)  for Bund/Friends of the Earth, Germany; A single tin of paint can pollute millions of liters of water. for WWF Spain; Forests for Life. for WWF Thailand; Save. for WWF Hungary.

Thanks to Lauren Trimble for the link to a collection of adverts at guardian.co.uk

Mammoth Lakes, California

Sad news today from my long-time climbing buddy (and client) Gregor Brandt… John Bachar, a leading light among free solo climbers of our age passed on two days ago while climbing (solo) on the Dike Wall above Mammoth Lakes where he lived with his son Tyrus… ; a tribute here; an interview here; and more here, and here.

RIP… or climb on, John!

More along this line at Veterans for Peace.

Asheville, North Carolina

An ephemera interview I participated in with Marty Weil is now online here.

Thanks, Marty!

Pinawa, Manitoba

I’ve spent the past few days with Evelin and my entire Peters family at the Wilderness Edge resort (in Pinawa, on the Winnipeg River) participating in a get-away weekend in honour of my 89-year-old father, our patriarch John Jacob Peters. With my brother Phil and his clan here from Germany, this provided the first opportunity in several years for us all to be together in one place.

Highlights of the weekend have been an incredible audio-visual presentation my brother Jim assembled from hundreds of old family photographs he had scanned, a well-written life-history presented by Doreen, Dad’s wife (who also took care of all weekend arrangements—thanks!), a musical tribute by brother Phil et al, and the open sharing and good fellowship that takes place when a geographically dispersed family comes together for some quality time. The weather cooperated (for the most part) for the outdoor activities (a hay ride, canoeing, biking, swimming, evening camp-fires) and it seems a good time was had by all. Life is good…

Family photos (from those that surfaced on the weekend): the ship Dad came to Canada on from Russia in 1925; a hand-coloured “John the lumberjack” on Vancouver Island (serving as a Conscientious Objector during World War II); our family stuffed into a Heinkel Kabine (Frankfurt, 1957); brother Jim and I, 1958; Dad enjoying the mountain view (Swiss Alps, c. 1978); and an informal family photo here in Pinawa yesterday.

(Thanks, UPS…)

Celebrating industrial design creativity… (from a selection of images provided by Nils J. Tvengsberg, IDSA—designers unknown).

There’s a list here of industrial design-related events around the world today.

Image: poster for the new film by Gary Hustwit, Objectified.