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Crash Baggage’s Intentionally Dented Suitcases Get a Rolling Upgrade

By in Design

Crash Baggage’s Intentionally Dented Suitcases Get a Rolling Upgrade

Travel enough and you begin to appreciate numerous details (and the occasional quibble) only revealed after you’ve endured the trials and tribulations associated with living out of a suitcase. Take for example, the luggage itself. Of course, capacity and durability are paramount when assessing the most essential travel accessory right there with active noise canceling headphones. You begin to notice how (or not) smoothly your luggage wheels roll when running to catch a flight, how well it zips open or closed, and even how easily identifiable your luggage is while surveying the carousel of lookalikes. With all of these concerns Crash Baggage, the brand of suitcases with an intentionally dented design, stands out from the crowd.

Crash Baggage recently made news with a site-specific installation conceived by creative studio Parasite 2.0 for the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale.

The moody brick wall installation was conceived to tout the silent and smooth performance of new patented luggage wheels designed to insulate from excess noise while also reducing vibrations across even rough, bumpy surfaces.

A pair of Crash Baggage roller suitcases in purple and white in a purple background room.

Crash Luggages “standard” suitcases already stand out from the legions of similarly styled suitcases.

The installation creates a strong contrast between the Venetian interior, which is characterized by rough bricks and plasters, and a collection of soft, shiny, pneumatic objects whose aesthetic is reminiscent of set designs from the old days of science fiction films, like a type of a primitive future.

–Parasite 2.0

The new limited-edition collection of carry-on suitcases not only feature the Lunar wheels, but as if the pre-dented design wasn’t already a distinguishing attribute in itself, the Crash Baggage edition will also come in four different eye-catching gradient colorways – Sunset, Galaxy, Infinity Black, and Silver Moon – each imagined to evoke the atmospheric lunar landscape.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Once Upon a Time in the West art show remembers Rod Little Bear Sutton

By in Native

Once Upon a Time in the West art show remembers Rod Little Bear Sutton
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In its 26th year, Once Upon a Time in the West art show in Cripple Creek begins with a moment of reflection. Dedicated to the founder, the late Rod Little Bear Sutton, the show bears a sense of spirituality inherent to Native American culture.

“Rod was a Crow Holy Man and the butterfly was his strongest totem, also known as spirit animal,” said Jon Zimmer, the show’s co-founder.

In honor of his friend, Zimmer and the artists have subtitled the show “The Year of the Butterfly” to include works from Sutton’s collection, the leathers and family buffalo skull with a butterfly on the forehead.

“We’ll have one of his ‘Little People,’ as well, but not for sale,” Zimmer said. “It’s a connection; I think about him just about every day. He was such a special person.”

While Sutton died last year, he “reappeared” as a swallowtail butterfly in the lower parking lot of the Heritage Center, Zimmer said. “He simply ‘flutters’ by as we set up the show he so dearly loved. I have no doubt Little Bear is checking on us.”

To honor the title, Zimmer included butterflies in two of his works for the show, the watercolor “Good Morning, Little Bear,” and, in pencil, a Native American child with a wistful look.

After two years of absence, Matt Atkinson will be among the artists and will include prints of his pencil/chalk “Merciful Release,” which he drew on printed vintage paper. The work, of two ravens and a skull, reflects Atkinson’s connection to his Native American heritage.

“The raven is a mystical connection to the Great Spirit,” Zimmer said. “To me, the skull represents a return to Earth.”

Atkinson creates realistic scenes of the American West and tells stories of once upon a time on the land. His works are vibrant and speak of western vitality, in the present as well as the past. In his works, Atkinson uses brushes and paints that he inherited from his grandmother, according to his website.

Along with Zimmer and Atkinson, Vera Egbert, Sofia Balas, Ken Keegan, Tim Penland and Michelle Rozell will show their works.

Distinguished by the Native American Blessing and Smudge Ceremony the evening before the opening, Zimmer will include a story he heard as a child from his grandmother.

“One Wolf is evil. It is angry, envious, jealous, sorrowful, greedy, arrogant, full of self-pity and resentment. It lies and cheats. It is egotistical,” Zimmer reads from the Blessing. “The other wolf is good. It is joyful and at peace. It is full of love and hope. It is serene, humble, and kind. It is compassionate.”

Upon hearing the story, the child Zimmer asks his grandmother which wolf won.

“The one you feed, my child – the one you feed.”

ICYMI: Chatbot Comparisons, Prompt Engineering, AI Impact on the Job Market

By in Art World News

ICYMI: Chatbot Comparisons, Prompt Engineering, AI Impact on the Job Market

For nearly two decades CMSWire, produced by Simpler Media Group, has been the world’s leading community of customer experience professionals.

Today the CMSWire community consists of over 5 million influential customer experience, digital experience and customer service leaders, the majority of whom are based in North America and employed by medium to large organizations. Our sister community, Reworked gathers the world’s leading employee experience and digital workplace professionals.

Fashion Photography Is A Highlight In Alice Springs’ Berlin Retrospective

By in Photography

Fashion Photography Is A Highlight In Alice Springs’ Berlin Retrospective

We might know June Newton as one of Australia’s greatest photographers. She was also the wife of Helmut Newton, but her photography—much of which was fashion-world related—had its own independent style. Her photos were thoughtful, candid and sharp.

Now, the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin is showing her works in Alice Springs, Retrospective, which runs until November 19. The exhibit opened June 3, which marks what would have been Newton’s 100th birthday. Her pseudonym was Alice Springs, named after Australia’s famous nature-laden region. “I’m June, and Alice takes the pictures,” she once said in an interview.

Roughly 200 photos are on view, from her famous photo of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, to her intimate shots of Newton and working with models, whether it was Pat Cleveland or the campaigns she shot for French hair stylist, Jean Louis David in the 1970s.

Without a doubt, Newton is an overlooked photographer who was mainly overshadowed by her husband. Several women photographers were overlooked in the 1970s, but she was much more than the wife of Helmut Newton.

She attended many of her husband’s shoots, whether it was for Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar, and took her own photos behind-the-scenes. She shot models, literary figures and fashion designers, and this exhibition is a testament to her talent—her work stands on its own. Her photos graced the cover of French Elle and she shot editorials for Elle, Vogue, and Marie Claire, having a career in her own right.

The foundation held exhibitions of her work in 2010 and 2016, but some of the photos on view here have never been seen before. She shot inside the Monaco home she shared with Newton, and that collection was recently brought to Berlin.

Newton fled to Australia after becoming a British citizen in 1945, and landed in Melbourne, where he met June Brown, an actress. They married, and moved many places before deciding to live in Paris, where they resided for 20 years starting in 1961.

She started shooting in the 1970s, taking portraits of luminaries like Richard Avedon, Brassaï, and Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as Nicole Kidman, Vivienne Westwood and Liam Neeson.

After 1981, the couple divided their time between Monaco and Los Angeles. It was outside the Chateau Marmont where Helmut Newton died in a car crash in 2004. The last shoot she did in L.A. in 2004, right before his death, was an advertising campaign for a deodorant company on view here for the first time—we see women in pink dresses standing before trucks and motorbikes. This was her last campaign, as she stopped shooting after Newton’s passing. She passed away in 2021.

As Newton said in an interview, she would have never become a photographer if she wasn’t married to a photographer. “Our approach to taking photographs was as different as we are,” she said. “He took his; I took mine. I would call it spontaneity—something that happens between me and the subject.”

Code/Craft/Chaos: The Space Between Man + Machine in Art

By in Design

Code/Craft/Chaos: The Space Between Man + Machine in Art

As the space between man and machine continues to grow smaller, design agency Here went to work exploring the rapidly evolving gap between craft and technology. The big question: Can technology help us make beautiful art? The fear is of course that it will lead to lifeless work that lacks both depth and meaning. During London Craft Week, Here shared Code/Craft/Chaos to challenge this viewpoint while transforming digitally generated patterns into crafted pieces of art. In doing so, Here paid homage to Vera Molnar, known as the pioneer of Generative Art. She once famously said, “The machine, thought to be cold and inhuman, can help to realize what is most subjective, unattainable, and profound in a human being.”

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

Here is a B-corp certified company of thinkers, writers, designers, and makers committed to Beautility: making good choices desirable. In Code/Craft/Chaos, digitally generated patterns are turned into crafted artworks using algorithms, making the evolution from pixels to physical, sustainable objects. Handcrafted tapestries, ceramics, screen prints, music, and poetry all received a go at the treatment. Here teamed up with like-minded, environmentally conscious makers and suppliers to turn these experiments into art with their end-of-life in mind. All materials were chosen with care to create the smallest footprint on the planet – from locally printed screen prints to tapestries woven from fashion offcuts.

four digital patterns in purple, orange, light green, and pale pink

Even working with something as intangible as an algorithm, all artwork materials have been chosen with care to create the smallest impact possible on the planet. “We believe that the advancements within tech are a wonder, an asset, and one of humanity’s finest achievements,” said Connor Davey, Design Lead at Here. “Our latest Craft Week exhibition explores working generatively in this rapidly evolving place where man and machine meet. We’ve embraced the ways in which human subjectivity and soul can transform code-generated art to create pieces that embody our own company’s ‘code’ of value: making things that are both beautiful and useful.”

black and white interior of a gallery

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson

The humble pixel led the way as pattern making was explored with generative techniques. Ben Elwyn, Creative Technologist at Here, shared that “GLSL shaders were coded to traverse and harness the controlled chaos of simplex noise to create a variety of patterns that evolved over time. By taking snapshots of these morphing designs, we created an abundance of imagery to be interpreted, curated, and crafted into other 2D and 3D forms in a diverse range of new and traditional materials.” Six works were included in Code/Craft/Chaos: Carbon Clever Screen Prints, a Code-Woven Quilt, Cyber Ceramics, a Digi Throw, Pixel Poetry, and Codes of Notes.

brown-skinned man with glasses holds a rolled up black and white screen print

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

Hand-printed collages born from code, Carbon Clever Screen Prints began with an endless selection of computer-generated patterns. Here turned the random chaos into something more by digitally collaging patterns that were then locally screen-printed onto eco-conscious paper from GF Smith using Living Ink’s Algae Black™ – a carbon negative ink made from algae, not petroleum.

a person creating a screen print

finished black and white screen print

digitally designed screen prints on display

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson

draped quilt

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson

Here’s Code-Woven Quilt brings together digitally generated art and the craft of hand-weaving a tapestry. After being turned into a one-of-a-kind tapestry, the quilt was made from waste fabrics donated by responsible cashmere manufacturer Alex Begg. The project also required assistance from UK-based studio, ReWeave, who specialize in woven textile products and explore the possibility of circular fashion on an industrial scale. Yarn was created from the cashmere waste, giving shape to the quilt as code and craft were combined.

three sets of stacked bowls on gallery plinths

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson

brown-skinned man with glasses holds a modern white bowl

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

Digitally generated 3D-printed ceramics have received their fair share of coverage, but the approach to Cyber Ceramics is more nuanced. Beginning with 2D shapes generated by code, Here turned their favorites into 3D bowls and had them printed within a mile of their studio. Because color was introduced to the clay in lumps, each appears at random, making every bowl unique. During the exhibition, the bowls were combined to form totem-like structures – afterward they could be disassembled and go back to their utilitarian purpose. Designed to last, these pieces explore the infinite forms that can be created using a combination of code and craft.

two stacked white bowls

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson

back of a person with long blonde hair holding a white bowl

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

brown-skinned woman with dark hair with a throw draped over her body

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

To create the Digi Throw, Here worked with Netherlands-based creative textiles platform Byborre to responsibly source sustainable thread. The digitally made blankets layer machine-made patterns into a design of vibrant neon colors that complement the other artworks on display. Digi Throw is made from Byborre’s most sustainable material, a recycled polyester that’s made from post-consumption plastic bottles in Italy before being transformed into fabric without the use of chemicals. The process emitted 29.10% less carbon and saved 31.11 liters of water in making the throws when compared to the creation of traditional fashion textiles. From start to finish nothing goes to waste, because the blankets will only be made once they reach a minimum order quantity.

brown-skinned man with glasses holds a blanket over his head

Photo: Lauren Maccabee

low angle view of a person working on a loom

detail of a loom strung for weaving

over the shoulder view of someone coding at a computer

Perhaps a bit more unexpected, poetry can be created in collaboration with a machine – check out Pixel Poetry. Words are their own type of material and can be recycled all the same. In this case, short stories were written by hand for the exhibit before becoming redacted at random by machine. The result is complete chaos, but it’s entirely your own.

person sitting in a darkened room watching a screen

Photo: Ollie Tomlinson’

From words it’s only a natural progression to music. Codes of Notes is an animated triptych that moves in response to melodies generated using machines, but composed and arranged by a human. Collaged computer-generated soundbites created a new composition, while Here curated and arranged them into a harmony. In the end, human musicians played the music on their instruments, adding the elements of heart and soul to the digital masterpiece. Alongside, three generative animations respond to the music as it heightens, bringing with them even more unpredictable, chaotic algorithms.

detail of musical equipment

To learn more about Here and the rest of their portfolio, visit heredesign.com.

Photographer: Lauren Maccabee
Stylist: Daisy Marlow
H&M: Joe Pickering
Models: Alexandra Beaton, Marvin Addae + Emma Flintham
Exhibition Photographer: Ollie Tomlinson

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Soaring: Fantastic Flight Lifts Photography Ban During Preshow at Tokyo DisneySea

By in Photography

Soaring: Fantastic Flight Lifts Photography Ban During Preshow at Tokyo DisneySea

Guests at Tokyo DisneySea are reporting that the ban on photography during the preshows of Soaring: Fantastic Flight has been lifted after four years.

soaring fantastic flight tokyo disney sea grand opening july 2019 56

From its opening on July 23, 2019 until yesterday, guests riding Soaring: Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea were strictly forbidden from any sort of photography after the merge between Standby and FastPass/Disney Premier Access. This includes the Camelia Falco living portrait preshow as well as the Renaissance sketch-style safety video once guests are split into their rows.

Twitter user @Kou231D initially reported the change, which was later confirmed by reports from other guests at the park.

Photography does remain prohibited while aboard the attraction. Guests were always able to take photos and video while waiting in the queue prior to the preshows, including the rather stunning cupola room.

Soaring: Fantastic Flight

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The newest addition to the Tokyo DisneySea repertoire, Soaring: Fantastic Flight opened on July 23, 2019 as the fourth iteration of Disney’s classic flying IMAX attraction, having previously been installed at Disney California Adventure, EPCOT, and Shanghai Disneyland.

As with other attractions at Tokyo DisneySea imported from other parks, this version was given a unique setting and backstory to fit Tokyo DisneySea. Guests step into the Museum of Fantastic Flight in 1901, holding an exhibition to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Camelia Falco, a Society of Explorers and Adventurers member who dedicated her life to the study of aviation and the museum’s second director after her father. In 1851, she became the first female member of S.E.A., and passed away at the age of 74 in 1875. Falco is portrayed by frequent Imagineering collaborator Stasha Surdyke.

From an early age, Falco dreamed of flight. She believed that the power of imagination and dreams could take you beyond time and space, to anywhere you want to go. And preparing for the future, she designed the Dream Flyer, the vehicle on which guests embark to soar around the world.

The ride’s video features mostly the same scenes from Soarin’ Around the World/Over the Horizon attraction at the three other locations, but there are some changes. This version boasts two new scenes, with Paris removed and replaced with scenes of Tokyo (featuring the Tokyo Tower), followed by a finale at Tokyo DisneySea. Emmy-winning composer Bruce Broughton, who’s created the scores for other Disney attractions such as Ellen’s Energy Adventure and the 2007 Spaceship Earth arranged and composed the score for Soarin’ Around the World based on motifs from Jerry Goldsmith’s original score. In fact, Broughton re-recorded the film’s score for the Tokyo version as well as original music for the queue and preshow.

[embedded content]

You can watch our full queue tour and ride POV from opening day courtesy of our YouTube channel above.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

  • Spencer LloydSpencer Lloyd

    Spencer Lloyd is a college student/parks addict living in Tokyo. He runs TDRPlans.com, a comprehensive source for information and travel planning related to Tokyo Disney Resort. And fun fact, he is the only person in history to have been in the same ride vehicle as Tom Corless.


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Photography + Review: The Interrupters, Hepcat, and Bedouin Soundclash at House of Blues

By in Photography

Photography + Review: The Interrupters, Hepcat, and Bedouin Soundclash at House of Blues

Posted: 12th June, 2023 by The Editor

One of the most exciting U.S. tours of the year so far wrapped up last Saturday at House of Blues in Anaheim. I’m talking about The Interrupters headliner (or co-headliner, if you had the opportunity to catch them with Frank Turner earlier on the tour).

The L.A. based ska punk band has had a busy few months playing shows in support of their latest album, In The Wild. Although Frank Turner didn’t play on the last few days of the tour, the lineup was still a great one! Anaheim was graced with the presence of Canadian ska/reggae band, Bedouin Soundclash. The band played nine tunes during their 30 minute set. One of those songs was “Walk Through Fire.” The actual recording of the song features The Interrupters’ very own Aimee interrupter. The band played the song and were joined by Aimee plus Kevin Bivona, guitarist and backup vocalist for The Interrupters. Following the performance of Bedouin Soundclash was the Southern California ska/reggae band, Hepcat.

As Hepcat took the stage and performed, fans that knew their music couldn’t help it, but sing and dance along. Even if you’re not familiar with the band’s discography, seeing how much fun the band had on stage was contagious. It was noticeable for fans of Hepcat however, that Greg Lee (one of the lead vocalists) and Greg Narvas (drums) weren’t present at the show so Jesse Wagner and Krees Borbon of L.A. based band, The Aggrolites filled in. As Hepcat wrapped up their 45 minute set, fans were more than ready to see The Interrupters take the stage.

As has been a tradition for a number of years now, The Interrupters took the stage to the tune of “Ghost Town” by The Specials. The band did not hesitate and as soon as they dropped the first note of their first song and fan favorite, “Take Back The Power,” there were happy faces everywhere you looked. Following “Take Back The Power” was “Title Holder” and “White Noise.” Throughout the night, The Interrupters mixed up their setlist and although they played a significant amount of songs off In The Wild, they still played fan favorites and deep cuts off their other three records. Some songs off the new record they played were “Kiss The Ground,” “Let ‘em Go,” “Anything Was Better,” plus the singles, “In The Mirror” and “Raised By Wolves.” Another track they played off In The Wildwas the closing track, “Alien” followed by the first verse and chorus of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

During the 80 minutes of music we got to hear The Interrupters play, we were treated to “Judge Not,” “Easy On You,” “A Friend Like Me,” and “Family” off their self-titled album. From their second album, Say It Out Loud, the band played “On A Turntable,” “She Got Arrested,” “By My Side,” and “The Valley.” With Fight The Good Fight being the album that led the band to having their music constantly played on the radio, there was no way the night could end without hearing songs from that album. We were treated to songs such as “Got Each Other,” “Gave You Everything,” and the last song of the night, “She’s Kerosene.”

Before the night ended, Kevin shared some thoughts with the fans. “You really have changed our lives,” he said. “Selling out the House of Blues is something we could’ve only dreamed of. The only reason that that happened is because of all of you beautiful souls.”

This show has been one of my favorites of the year. If you’re still wondering what the big deal is about The Interrupters, please don’t wonder any longer and get to the gig the next time they play your town. Whether it’s been at a festival or as a supporting act or as a headliner, they only continue to dominate while the rest of us continue to dance.

Photos by Jazmin Lemus

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Salesforce pledges to invest $500M in generative AI startups

By in Art World News

Salesforce pledges to invest $500M in generative AI startups

Showing it’s playing for keeps in the generative AI race, Salesforce today announced that it’s growing its Generative AI Fund, the part of the company’s Salesforce Ventures VC off-shoot backing startups developing “responsible generative AI,” from $250 million in size to $500 million.

In a canned statement, Salesforce Ventures managing partner Paul Drews said that the expansion would enable Salesforce to “work with even more entrepreneurs … accelerating the development of transformative AI solutions for the enterprise.”

“We’re already seeing AI change the way the world works, and we’re excited to build on the momentum of our Generative AI fund,” Drews continued. “We’re excited to support the next generation of innovative founders.”

Launched in March, the Generative AI Fund has already invested in several firms on the frontier of generative AI tech, including Cohere, Anthropic, You.com, Hearth.AI and newer additions Humane and Tribble. While far from the only fund investing primarily in generative AI, Salesforce aims to differentiate its tranche by prioritizing what it describes as “ethical” AI technologies.

For example, go-to-market function automation platform Tribble recently partnered with Private AI, a privacy-focused AI company, to use Private GPT, a product that redacts personally identifiable information before sending it through OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

The Generative AI Fund is also distinguished by the diverse range of technologies it’s financing. Humane, for instance, is creating a wearable, screenless AI assistant, while You.com hosts an AI-powered search engine with generative art and text tools.

Salesforce Ventures has a number of vertical-specific investment funds, including funds aimed at particular geographies such as Japan or Canada and a dedicated AI fund. But the Generative AI Fund is among the VC arm’s largest tranches to date; previous funds ranged from $50 million to $125 million.

The expansion of the Generative AI Fund coincides with the debut of Salesforce’s AI for Impact Accelerator, the company’s second-ever accelerator program. AI for Impact will grant $2 million to a cohort of education, workforce and climate organizations to “advance the equitable and ethical use of trusted AI.”

“AI for Impact aims to close the AI access gap by providing flexible funding, pro-bono expertise and technology to purpose-driven organizations, empowering them to accelerate generative AI-based solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges,” Salesforce said in a press release. “AI for Impact [is a] philanthropic initiative to help purpose-driven organizations gain equitable access to trusted generative AI technologies.”

Bloomberg notes that investments from Salesforce’s accelerators and funds may become more important to the company’s bottom line as activist investors, like Elliott Management, discourage large acquisitions. To date, Salesforce Ventures, one of the most active corporate VCs in recent years, has participated in over 140 deals for AI and machine learning startups, particularly in the areas of AI insights for sales, natural language chatbots for service requests, targeted marketing content and personalized ecommerce experiences.

Generative AI — assuming it lives up to the hype — could be a massive market opportunity. Grand View Research predicts that the sector could be worth roughly  $109 billion by 2030.

The C-suite in particular expects generative AI to have an enormous impact on business. According to a recent KPMG survey, almost two-thirds (65%) of execs believe that generative AI will have a “high” or “extremely high”” impact on their organization in the next three to five years — far above every other emerging technology.

Beyond the Generative AI Fund and AI for Impact, Salesforce is investing in generative AI technologies internally, piloting tools like EinsteinGPT (which lets Salesforce customers ask questions about Salesforce’s content and services) and SlackGPT (which answers natural language questions about Slack content). In addition, Salesforce has previewed the ability to create landing pages on the fly, compose sales emails and write code in Apex, Salesforce’s programming language, to programmatically trigger certain actions in a workflow, among other tasks.

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