PROVOKE

verb

To stir up purposely; provide a needed stimulus

/ The Most Famous Cloud in the World / “The man who conjures clouds indoors, shows the magic behind his temporary sculptures.” Nowness.

/ The Proust Questionnaire: From Literary Curio to Prestige Quiz / “We can surely recognize the everlasting unease of the great psychologist who, in his subtle turns of phrase, strived to reflect the most elusive nuances of thought no matter what.” The New Yorker.

/ A Photo Series, with Audience Participation / “Visually, his images observe the play of light and time passing, depicting sculptural paper as a weighty constant that brings meteorites to mind.” The New York Times.

/ On Working For Andy Warhol, Good Content & Ricky Martin / “It’s mildly addictive and it’s engaging on several levels. It engages you emotionally and it engages you intellectually. ” The New Potato.

/ Music For The Trees | Mix 015: Tsukasa Ito / “The story, where heaven and earth, cosmic and human compounds.” This Is Paper.

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Are you familiar with the L.A.-based accessories line, Building Block? Inspired by the concept of returning to “square one” and emphasizing functionality over excess, it’s one of our go-to brands for remarkable, yet usable, bags, wallets, and accessories. We chatted with Nancy and Kimberly Wu, the design duo behind the brand, covering their current obsessions, methods for staying calm amidst chaos and their favorite products.

Kimberly

What are 3 products you can’t live without? 
A cast iron pan, tape measure and Yube brand chapstick.

Current book you’re reading, if not much of a reader, current song or album you’ve been listening to? 
10:04: A Novel by Ben Lerner

If you weren’t a designer, what other occupation could you see yourself in? 
Antiques dealer.

What keeps you stable during the chaos of your work? 
Tidying up at home as a means of distraction.

Where is your favorite place to pass the time or take a break?
Currently, a walk through our Chinatown neighborhood. Sometimes stopping to get a boba at 3 p.m.

Nancy

What are 3 products you can’t live without? 
Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Cornflakes, the Building Block coin dumpling and Vans Authentics.

Current book you’re reading, if not much of a reader, current song or album you’ve been listening to? 
The Importance of Being Iceland by Eileen Myles

If you weren’t a designer, what other occupation could you see yourself in? 
I’d work for Iwasaki Be-I, the biggest plastic food manufacturer in Japan. I'd love to make meticulous models of fake display food all day.

What keeps you stable during the chaos of your work? 
An early morning walk by myself before heading to work keeps my mind in check. Instead of letting emails or social media immediately dictate the pace of the day, it's nice to give myself 30 minutes of empty space to just let my mind wander and remember how to think.

Where is your favorite place to pass the time or take a break?
Swimming off of Goff Cove in Laguna Beach.

> See the Building Block Collection at Idun right here.

PROVOKE

verb

To stir up purposely; provide a needed stimulus

/ Capturing the Altered State Between Wakefulness and Sleep / “Wistful, meditative, surreal and hopeful – a bit like dreams themselves.” AnOther

/ Pocket Notes / “Pockets are representative of a present absence or of an absent presence. Of a sometimes-unbearable state of knowing where something could or would go, or did go.” Vestoj

/ Lovesick: Dancing in the Dusk / “An object lesson in the powerful possibilities of movement explored outside of a traditional dance setting.” Nowness

/ Meet Shaun Russel, Founder of Skandinavisk / “People driven by a vision, a passion, a curiosity, and a determination; people with a mission.” Nordic Design

/ Eat Your Art Out / “Experiment the taste and taste the experience.” Faddy Boombah

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PROVOKE

verb

To stir up purposely; provide a needed stimulus

/ KIMMO METSÄRANTA 'NOTES ON A PLACE' / “The images are isolated abstractions, modified interpretations, bare structures with only the essentials left.” Pitch-Present

/ Gold Collar / “I invent a mirror in an empty booth. I invent a charge of pinned down quarters and cut off shirtsleeves.” Vestoj

/ The Way We Dress: The Transformative Power of Clothes / “Our sartorial choices manifest as an extension of ourselves, a reflection of our personalities – whether or not we are wholly aware of this.” Nowness

/ A Beloved Swedish Outerwear Brand Settles in New York / “Alexander Stutterheim — who founded the brand with Loman in 2010 — drew initial inspiration from a classic 1960s fisherman’s raincoat that belonged to his grandfather.” NY Times

/ Moments of Depth: What Makes A Memorable Image / “It’s the quiet, everyday, ordinary sort of little pictures that stick that fascinate me, the ones that are harder to explain.” Aeon

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PROVOKE

verb

To stir up purposely; provide a needed stimulus 

/ The Antihero's New Clothes / "A nuanced, but controversial depiction of self-proclaimed feminist characters, whose often unspoken moral stance is gradually revealed to us through the language of clothes." Vestoj.

/ My 10 Favorite Books: Tilda Swinton / "Completely sick. In all the right ways." The New York Times. 

/ We've Forgotten the Power of Humility / "In listening to others, we run the risk of discovering that they know more than we do. But humble people see personal growth as a goal in itself, rather than as a means of moving up the social ladder. We miss out on a lot of available information if we focus only on ourselves and on our place in the world." Aeon.

/ Skott Reveals 'Wolf' Ahead of Live Sweden Debut / "Sometimes you can't control what you feel," says Skott of the song's meaning. "No matter how we change ourselves on the surface, there's an instinct inside of us we can't ignore." The Line of Best Fit.

/ 19th-Century Modern / "The jacquard was the first automatic machine for weaving patterns and images of any great complexity and, more than 200 years on, it remains a mainstay of the textile industry...The elaborate, intricate patterns created by a jacquard loom are an ever-present across furniture, accessories, garments and footwear. Disegno.

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