Behind The Design | A Conversation with Jason Gregory of Makr

The Makr design studio, Winter Park, Florida

On our trip to Winter Park, Florida, back in June 2016, some really cool things happened; we bumped into a Zac + Azriel, a lovely couple from Nebraska who have been reading Buckets & Spades for as long as they can remember, and secondly, I got to visit the design studio + workshop of a brand I've been following since way before Instagram + Twitter even existed.

Around eight years ago I can remember stuffing my university research folder with grainy print-outs (my fault, not theirs!) of Florida-based design studio Makr's leather goods, for a project I was working on. On a boiling afternoon last Summer I found myself sitting in the passenger seat of Founder Jason Gregory's van, being shown around Winter Park, Fl, the town he calls home.

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Mat - First off, how did you get started with Makr, and has the concept and idea evolved over the years?

Jason Gregory of Mark - Makr started as an art project while I was working at an architecture firm. I was learning how to work with a CNC laser, experimenting with cutting and etching. It was a strange introduction to patterning and product development. I really loved the idea of cutting something flat and turning it into a three dimensional object. The precision of these machines and the ability to replicate a form without having to pay for tooling or dies really started the project. It was mostly small wallets at first and that led into finding factories and developing the soft goods.

I had always wanted a wood shop and was building furniture at my house so that was the next step after I had a sense of what Makr was starting to be. We are constantly evolving but the core of what we are doing has stayed the same.

- Did you always have a passion for craft or was it more of a case of discovering something you had found you were good at?

I’ve always made things and cared about the quality of what I was making. I would never call myself a craftsman, I am a designer first. The craft aspect of my work came after the design, it’s always been about the repetition or editions of objects. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is crucial to our work, I would say almost every single product that we make is touched by some form of CNC machine. That being said, I don’t like it when something is so obviously made using a laser or milling machine, the goal – the art of it, is to blend the hand with the capabilities of the machine.

Explore The Future With MINI

It's not everyday you get a chance to see the future ­ well, not 30 years into the future anyway ­but, at the Roundhouse in London, that's exactly what MINI and BMW are letting you do.

We had a sneak peak; an extensive 'access all areas' introduction to the philosophy behind MINI's vision of the automotive future­ or, the future of mobility, as they were keen to emphasis.

This wasn't about engines, camshafts, valves, and whatever else goes under the bonnet of a car. This was, to some extent, about the aesthetics of a visionary car; but, mostly, it was about what a car of the future can do for you.

MINI have clearly­ thought long and hard about what people will need from a car tomorrow ­and what we’d love from a car today. They weren’t trying to impress us with some new stereo or a fancy colour scheme (in fact, the colour scheme of the car will match you; chosen for each individual by the car itself ­- honestly!).

Nope, they're looking to impress with a car that seamlessly integrates into your life and becomes uniquely personal to you, while ­conversely­ also being shared by the wider community.

As a piece of design, this car looks the part. Long sweeping rear lights, wrapped around that short recognisable body of a MINI, which seems to be a featureless screen of perfectly merged metal and glass. No door handles, the car opens when you tap your foot on the floor and displays your own, personal motif on the door, once you get in. 

Inside, the car is open to the world outside, almost from top­-to-­bottom, with a minimalist dashboard of brass, mesh, a couple of numbers indicating speed and direction, and a round device that is, literally, designed to inspire you.

And, the emphasis there is on 'you'. The MINI of the future will be personal to you, knowing your diary, your driving position, your preferred routes, while tapping into the wider MINI community to learn road conditions, traffic, and even ideas for where you might like to go.

But, at the same time, all this dynamic personalisation means that your MINI can be everyone's MINI, with the car adapting and adjusting to any MINI driver who uses it. That means, in the future we could all share our cars with each other (well, MINIs anyway), moving from one car to another and finding it perfectly set­-up for our requirements.

It’s a strange thought, yet one that you could see working well, especially in the city. With Airbnb, Uber, Santander cycles, DriveNow, and the like, people are used to sharing bikes, workspaces, rooms, apartments, and cars. Now, you’d be sharing a car that arrives as someone else’s, but quickly transforms to become yours, exactly the way you like it.

It’s a neat vision of the future and one that MINI deliver with a shining, sparkling, Minority Report­style of a car, that (for those who visited the Roundhouse) seems a lot closer to today than it does to 2030. To find about more about MINI’s Vision Vehicle, visit MINInext100 or @MINIUK for more information. #MINI #NEXT100

This post is in partnership with MINI. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

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Coca-Cola Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Moleskine

Not only is it my 30th birthday this year (actually, it's this week!) it's also the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola's iconic glass bottle. So when this collaborative project with Moleskine popped up on my Twitter feed this morning I knew it would make for some most suitable sharing. As a part of the Coca-Cola Mash-Up project, Moleskine invited a group of creatives + designers to use their notebooks as a blank canvas to create something special for the occasion. The result is a 5-piece collection of pop culture goodness.

If you fancy getting your hands on the limited edition Coca-Cola x Moleskine collection then click here. You can see more packaging posts here.

First seen on Creative Boom.

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Food Art Pairings by David Schwen

Everyday popular food combinations put together in an organised and eye-catching way. Food Art Pairings by designer David Schwen. In the words of Forrest Gump, "We go together like peas and carrots".

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Uniqlo UT Collection - Keith Haring

Blackpool's Comedy Carpet / Street Art / Largest Disco Ball in Europe. Images by Hollie.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to get involved with Uniqlo's new UT T-shirt Collection, featuring designs by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

I was offered one of the t-shirts from the new UT Collection, so I went for this orange Keith Haring number featuring one of this iconic designs on the front. I tested out their new video app, UT Camera and shot 3 short clips wearing my Keith Haring t-shirt around some of my favourite artwork and installations in my local area. It was a refreshing change to make these super easy videos loops and a nice way of sharing on social media rather than just posting images. Plus the results were pretty entertaining!

Locations - All 3 locations I chose can be found in my hometown of Blackpool. The Comedy Carpet is a huge space filled with famous quotes and sayings by comedians from around the globe, designed by Gordon Young. The second piece can be found just behind the Winter Gardens, I know little about this piece but I do know it's really stunning. And finally, the biggest disco ball in Europe can be found on the South Promenade and looks pretty spectacular in the dark with the nearby lights reflecting off it.

As well as the launch of their new app, Uniqlo are running a competition to win 2 x VIP tickets to Lovebox festival. All you have to do is download the Uniqlo UT Camera app and get involved.  Upload your clips using the app and tag them with the hashtags #UT_LDN and #UT_CAMERA. You can visit the Uniqlo UT Camera hub to view my videos and browse the rest of the gallery. 

The full UT Collection is available here.

Thank you to Uniqlo for asking me to be involved the UT Collection project.

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Wooden "Lego" Men

(Image source)

Love this idea. Handmade "Lego" inspired wooden figures by French company Malet. Limited to 20 pieces, each coming uniquely numbered and housed in handprinted packaging. I reckon these would fly out if they were put into production on a slightly bigger scale, I'd be the first in the queue. I imagine it would be very easy to paint and repaint too.

Ah thank goodness it's Friday.

The Desktop Wallpaper Project

The Desktop Wallpaper Project is an ongoing collaboration between LA based design blog The Fox Is Black and a whole bunch of talented designers and photographers from around the world. Wallpapers aren't as big as they used to be, I don't think so anyway? When you get to a certain age they don't seem to be much fun anymore, be it an inspiration quote, picturesque landscape or an image you took of your pet. How about displaying some independent design work, choosing a different designer each week? I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do, it's going to be a great way to discover new talent, plus they're all pretty fun too, no doom and gloom.

Sweet, fun graphics created by independent design, especially for your desktop.

Get your own slice of the pie at The Fox Is Black

Competition Reminder - The Hackett x GQ notebook giveaway is open for a couple more days, closing date is Thursday, 28th June.

It's Nice That / Hawaiian Shirts

Fancy a shirt that comes with its very own matching background? That's what we all want. The  design magazine It's Nice That have created a exclusive range of rad shirts for ASOS. Five artists were picked by It's Nice That to create their own graphic pattern for a shirt. It would be pretty cool to say at the pub that you design Hawaiian shirts I reckon. The first white one reminds me of bedcovers that I had in the early '90s, and come to think of it my pyjamas too. Very Saved By The Bell

My favouite of the five designs is the bottom one by Mike Perry. Not for everyone but it's a bit of fun isn't it, especially now the sun's out. See the designs here, images by ASOS.

Have a nice weekend everyone.