I’m leaving on Monday morning for the next couple of weeks to Asia. I’ll be hunting around Taipei for a day and then on to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I’m planning on hunting for everything from restaurants, stores to shops and studios off the beaten path. As always when I travel, if you have tips, must see stores, obscure but great places, restaurants, art galleries, clubs, you want to setup a meeting, show me your studio, or anything else– drop me a line!

This trip wouldn’t be possible without the air travel support of Malaysia Airlines, the luggage from Tumi and photo equipment from Pentax. Stay tuned for more from the other-side of the world next week.

Be sure to check the site on Monday, I’ve got a very, very special surprise coming. My team and I are packing our bags, Asia here we come!

Aloha Rag just received literally 15 different styles of the the limited edition Vans Marc Jacob Editions. These aren’t new styles, but they’ve been fairly hard to find– and weren’t previously available online anywhere I knew of. Well I’m partial too the slip ons, the Skate High’s are pretty damn nostalgic too. These are the Cross Word Slip on LX’s, which sold out way too fast (you have to love the pink sole). There are still a handful of other slip on styles for sale at a reasonable $85. Spring time is upon us, get ready! Well you’re at it check out Aloha Rag– they have a pretty sick online store, great collection.

Joanna Sands started her sculpture career building large installations in abandoned buildings in the early ’90s. At first she was using found materials but over time grew her work and adapted to new and prettier materials. Point blank her work is about making simple changes to surfaces– the results are subtle but actually change the viewers spatial expectations. The work is quite unique and now Sands is being commissioned for permanent installations around the world. I’m always blown away by the fine detail in stretching, reshaping, and reworking wood like this.