A few years ago, Mikey Leblanc and crew decided that something original had to be done with snowboard outerwear. They developed Holden to meet that goal, and the brand has evolved into something truly special. Holden combines super-high performance fabric technologies with high-fashion details to create warm and gorgeous outerwear. Browse their website and you’ll find that they utilize some great materials: Slub Ripstop, Mini Oxford, FD-900, Stretch Vintage Twill, Classic Herringbone, and my favorite, Hemp Holden Exclusive, shown above in the Anderson Jacket, Charlton Pant, and Prost Jacket. As many of you know, despite facing opposition from the U.S. legal system and those who think that hemp is the same as its illegal counterpart marijuana (idiots), people are turning to hemp in increasing numbers because of its fiber strength and environmentally efficient production possibilities. Mercedes Benz even uses hemp in a ‘bicomposite’ for the interior panels of some of their cars. The Holden Hemp line is midweight– made of 55% cantiva hemp and 45% recycled PBT, and is bolstered with 10,000 mm performance laminate waterproofing and provides 10,000 g breathability. Combine hemp fabric construction and exceptional garment design, and you have my attention!

Feeling a little drowsy myself on this overcast Monday morning, I felt compelled to share with you the impromptu art of Yvonne Doll. Yvonne is an indie musician and artist from Chicago, who has found a unique art niche– inspired by her “frustration with slogging away in day job land,” Sleepyurbanite is an art project that compiles photos of people sleeping on Chicago’s subway. Yvonne took all of the photos with her Motorola V577 camera phone; I guess it is discreet enough so as to not cause a scene, and I must say, it takes pretty good photos. Yvonne is drawn to this kind of art because she sees the subway as a place where people are brought together in mass, yet they (for the most part) remain disconnected from one another. To Yvonne, her Sleepyurbanite project is a way for her to use everyday technology to breathe a little connectedness to a place otherwise infused with anonymity. My hat goes off to Yvonne for her creative and positive photo quest.