Kickstarter Pick: 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty Takes "Green Thumb" To The Next Level With Bitponics

As we've mentioned before, 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty always seems to be working on innovative and inspiring projects. And today is no different. Teaming up with software engineer Amit Kumar, Doherty is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to support Bitponics, which they describe as "Your Personal Gardening Assistant." With just over a week left to go, they're raised over half of their $20,000 goal. Help them get there and you can score everything from a shout-out on the Bitponics website and a laser-etched Bitponics clay pot to a hydroponics workshop and your own Bitponics device.

We first caught wind of Bitponics when it won an Open Scholarship Scholarship last fall at the Open Hardware Summit, and that winning 26-second YouTube pitch has blossomed into an even more exciting and amazing project. In addition to automating and tracking any hydroponics system, Bitponics can help you cultivate anything that you'd like to see sprouting in your urban garden. "Once you tell it what you're trying to grow, it will use a database of knowledge built up by the community to create a 'growing plan' for you," the Bitponic Kickstarter page explains. "Bitponics will automate anything that can be controlled by a power outlet, like water pumps and lights." And for tasks that can't be automated? "We'll remind you by whatever means you choose: email, text, or in-app notifications."

The full Bitponics setup includes the sensor device, which collects readings like temperature, brightness and pH and lets you set up timers for lights and pumps, and an account on the Bitponics website, which helps you generate a growing plan, gives you recommendations if something in your system has gone awry, and lets you track all of your data and upload photos of your garden as it grows. The device will retail for $395, but you can get it for just a $250 Kickstarter pledge. You'll be able to store a year of growing data—or an unlimited amount for a higher-tiered membership. Anyone who just wants to give the website a whirl can store six months of growing data for free, and both the device and its Arduino-based firmware will be open source, making the possibilities endless.

Check out the Bitponics Kickstarter video and some photos below, then head to Kickstarter to learn more and pledge your support.

-- John Ruscher

Philly Field Trip: Stefan Sagmeister's "The Happy Show"

Sagmeister at work 

"I am usually rather bored with definitions. Happiness, however, is such a big subject that it might be worth a try to pin it down." 

Renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister has spent the last year working hard at being happy (and filming his attempts.) What's emerged is The Happy Film, a documentary about Sagmeister's three-pronged approach to finding the path to true happiness via meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and prescription drugs. Through experiments and explorations “from the sublime to the ridiculous” loosely based on his pivotal book “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far,” Sagmeister tests “once and for all if it’s possible for a person to have a meaningful impact on their own happiness.”

Now he's taking his show on the road with "The Happy Show," at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, running now through August 12, 2012. The exhibition, which spans the entire second floor gallery and ramp, includes a 12-minute sneak peak of the documentary as well as work from his 10-year investigation into the relationship between typography and happiness.

"To contextualize the maxims that appear throughout the exhibition, Sagmeister has gathered the social data of Harvard psychologists Daniel Gilbert and Steven Pinker, psychologist Jonathan Haidt, anthropologist Donald Symons, and several prominent historians."

Check out a quick preview of the the film's opening titles followed by glimpses of the show invitations being laser-cut from bologna (!!!)

Meanwhile: Want to see if design does in fact make you happier, enroll in one of 3rd Ward's many Design classes to find out.

MoMA Exhibition: 'Foreclosed' Features 5 Visions For The Future Of America's Cities & Suburbs

A model of WORKac's Nature-City proposal for Keizer, Oregon. Photo: James Ewing.

After you attend Mitchell Joachim's Envisioning Ecological Cities lecture on Thursday, why not continue your explorations into the future of urban design with MoMA's Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream--which is on display at the museum through August 13.

Last summer five teams lead by the architecture firms MOS, Visible Weather, Studio Gang, WORKac and Zago Architecture convened at MoMA PS1, where they participated in workshops "to envision new housing and transportation infrastructures that could catalyze urban transformation, particularly in the country's suburbs."

Building on ideas from Columbia University's The Buell Hypothesis, the teams took on five different foreclosure-ravaged locations across the country and began developing proposals for "new housing and transportation infrastructures that could catalyze urban transformation." The exhibition features those proposals in the form of models, renderings animations and more.

MoMA's Inside/Out blog offers a behind-the-scenes look at the workshops as they unfolded, and you'll also find more information (including lots of great models and renderings) on the exhibition's interactive website. This should hold us urban design junkies over until Joachim's Terreform ONE kicks off its month-long ONE Lab Summer 2012: Future Cities program in July!

Take a look at a few more images from Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream: 

Rendering of a shared courtyard from Studio Gang's The Garden in the Machine proposal for Cicero, Illinois.

A rendering from MOS's Thoughts on a Walking City proposal for the Oranges, New Jersey.

A diagram from Zago Architecture's Property with Properties proposal for Rialto, California.

A rendering of the view from communal offices toward a public plaza and City Hall from Visible Weather's Simultaneous City proposal for Temple Terrace, Florida. 

-- John Ruscher

Essential Event: Dr. Mitchell Joachim Envisions The Cities Of The Future This Thursday At 3rd Ward

 

Are we ready for the future? Something of a loaded question, but Dr. Mitchell Joachim will tackle it this Thursday in Envisioning Ecological Cities: The Sci-Fi Based Solution to Climate Change, a free lecture taking place right here at 3rd Ward from 7:30-9:30pm.

Mitchell is the co-founder of Terreform ONE, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to fostering ecological design and sustainability in cities around the world. From July 9 to August 3 the Brooklyn-based organization will be presenting ONE Lab Summer 2012: Future Cities, a four-week program that "will address the emerging discipline of global urbaneering by assembling a wide range of innovators from fields as diverse as architecture, material scence, urban design, biology, civil engineering and media art." ONE Lab will include a design studio, workshops and a Future Cities Seminar, which will feature speakers including vertical farming pioneer Dr. Dickson D. Despommier, architect and artist Vito Acconci and artist and engineer Natalie Jeremijenko.

Interested? Come check out Joachim's lecture on Thursday for a sneak peak of the issues and ideas that ONE Lab will address this summer. He'll talk about how urban design can work towards better and more effective solutions by anticipating and planning for the impact of innovative technologies.

Get ready by watching his appearance on The Colbert Report from back in 2009:

-- John Ruscher

Portland's Etchpop On Their Woodblock Printing Innovation and Startup Success

When your Kickstarter campaign raises more than double your original goal, you're probably onto something good. That's what happened with Portland-based startup Etchpop last year, and it's clear why they've been so successful: they have a completely simple, completely amazing idea.

With an official launch scheduled this month, Etchpop is a web-base service that allows you to design and order your own custom laser-etched woodblocks. Whip up whatever design you'd like, submit it to Etchpop and you'll receive a woodblock of that design to make handmade prints as you'd like.

How Etchpop works.Having taken out a small business loan to arm themselves with a Trotec laser (even before they launched their Kickstarter campaign), Etchpop's Marshall Tipton and Chester Lindgren have not been messing around. Already, they've put together a handy starter kit to get you printing, and Etchpop's new website--built by Subtext--promises to offer an easy and simple way to upload your designs and order woodblocks.

After encountering Etchpop's exciting and unique combation of cutting-edge technology and hands-on, DIY craftwork, we couldn't resist getting in touch to find out more. Check out our Q&A below.

3rd Ward's John Ruscher: How did you and Chester come up with the idea for Etchpop?

Etchpop's Marshall Tipton: For as long as we've known each other, we've always been dreaming up ideas for businesses or products that we could bring into world. Chester has always been a bit of the 'mad scientist' type, and myself a little more pragmatic so we compliment each other well. A little over a year ago Chester told me he had access to a laser cutting/engraving machine. The first thing that popped into my head was engraving an image into wood and printing it. I designed a birthday card for my dad and that was when we made our first laser engraved woodblock. The card was a hit. I actually used it for several of my friends and family members who had birthdays around that time. Everyone loved the card. A few weeks later Chester called me late at night, obviously in the midst of another mad scientist brainstorm, proposing the idea of a website where anyone can submit an image to be engraved into wood to make their own woodblock prints. After many months of deliberation and a few empty bottles of whiskey later, we decided to finally 'pull the trigger' on one of our crazy ideas. 

An Etchpop laser-etched woodblock.JR: Did either of you have a background in printmaking?

MT: We both had very little direct experience with printmaking, but we had experienced it vicariously—Chester through his ex-girlfriend who majored in printmaking at PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) and I through my wife who is an artist and my brother who is a graphic designer. However, instead of sitting on the couch in a jealous delirium, we started to nerd out on all things letter-press related, and two years later we feel fantastic.

JR: What has the Etchpop timeline been like?

MT: It's all been alarmingly fast. We came up with the idea in early 2011 and spent a few months ruminating how we might actually get this thing off the ground. By the end of spring, we had decided to turn to Kickstarter and began working on the video in the summer. We posted the video in October, and it's been a blur ever since.

The Etchpop starter kit.JR: What made you decide to use Kickstarter?

MT: We've always been a fan of Kickstarter and we love the platform it provides to help creative entrepreneurs get on their financial feet. It's a great way of finding out if there is a market for a new idea without having to spend a lot of money upfront. We are always emailing each other links to different Kickstarter videos to check out. It's a great source of inspiration to see all the amazing ideas people are funding and watching them come to fruition with the help of the community.

JR: Can you tell us a little about this Trotec laser that you bought?

MT: Trotec lasers are basically the Mercedes Benz in this class of laser machines. They are designed and built in Austria and have Synrad laser tubes that are manufactured in Washington State (just north of us). There are definitely many cheaper options but we wanted a high quality machine that is capable of production day-in and day-out, and Trotec is definitely it. 

The founders of Etchpop.JR: How will the process of ordering a custom woodblock work?

MT: We will have some simple and playful tutorials to help people get their images ready for a woodblock application, but there will definitely be a lot of back and forth to make sure people's blocks turn out the way they should. As Etchpop grows we will be slowly building an image editor that will specifically meet the needs of our customer base, piece by piece as their needs become evident.

JR: Any tips or words of advice for would-be creative entrepreneurs?

MT: Do what you love! We've come up with several business ideas that would have made money, but we just weren't into them all that much and couldn't get behind them. As you will be spending countless hours thinking about it, working on it, designing things for it, returning countless emails about it, redesigning things for it, dealing with unforeseen issues, and redesigning your redesigns, we repeat: you gotta love what you do. These are not complaints by any means; it feels great to overwork ourselves. And even though we've cut all communication with everyone in our lives aside from each other, turning an idea into an actual product is insanely rewarding.

Etchpop woodblocks.The second most important thing when starting a labor of love is to find a good accountant. Almost all businesses are the same when it comes to accounting and these head-shrinkingly boring meetings provide an essential foundation to build upon—which is much easier than trying to remodel the foundation after you've already started building. Forgive the cheesy metaphor but it’s true. It will save you time and money in the future.

Finally, use as many resources you can find, especially when they are free. Go to sba.gov and find a small business development center in your area. There is a lot of free/cheap help out there for people who want to start a new business. Try and find someone in your area that has the same type of machinery you are planning to buy or use, as they may be willing to talk to you, give you tips or suggestions or give you insights on how to get a better price on the machinery. 

JR: Were there any aspects of starting Etchpop that were particularly difficult?

MT: One the most difficult parts has been realizing how much time everything actually takes to get done, if you want to have it done right, that is. We understand that our customers expect professionalism and coherency, so taking the extra thousand hours to perfect a process or idea is definitely worth the time. And although things are moving along somewhat smoothly, we still feel super lucky everyone has been so patient thus far.

JR: Anything else people should know?

MT: Etchpop.com is going live mid-April!

Prints made with an Etchpop woodblock.

-- John Ruscher

Future Fashion Stars: Project Runway Holding An NYC Open Call This Monday

Back in February we told you that Project Runway was looking for the best new fashion designers to star in its 10th season. If you didn't get your application together by the March 15 deadline, don't worry—you still have a chance to earn your spot as Tim Gunn's next protege.

Next Monday, April 9 Project Runway will be holding an open casting call right here in NYC. They'll be setting up shop at the Hilton New York at 6th Avenue and 54th Street from 10am to 4pm, so gather together your best creations and show them what you've got. Tim and Heidi probably won't be there, but you never know! Both of them do live here, after all.

Here are the details:

Please bring 5 or 6 of your garments that demonstrate your sewing skills and your fashion point of view. Please do NOT bring bridal, costumes or garments designed by you but sewn by someone else. Be prepared for only two of your garments to be looked at so choose accordingly. No models please. Also, bring a portfolio if you have one.

Whether you're an aspiring star or just discovering your love of fashion, there's always more to learn. Our many fashion classes can teach you everything from sewing and patternmaking to hatmaking and shoemaking.

-- John Ruscher

The Ancient New Age of Designer Sam Chirnside

We'll just go ahead and say that Melbourne-based designer Sam Chirnside has rapidly vaulted mighty high on our (imaginary) list of "emerging designers we need to pay more attention to."  Chirnside's work with gradients alone, combined with a penchant for grainy texture gives his New Age-esque material an almost hand-made feel. His imagery strikes an uncanny balance between the ancient past and the way, way future; cuneiform-like markings often sit aside some type of futuristic code. Bottomline: We're in.

According to Chirnside, he "focuses on pushing an experimental style with inspirations coming from Sacred Geometry, Ancient Civilizations and forward thinking music." Professionally, he's applied that imagery to jobs for clients like Volcom, Super8, Handsome Clothing Co. and Ministry of Sound, Australia. Moonlighting at Drop Studio, a branding/identity design company, Chirnside's open to commission-based work (though if you're like us, you can just lurk around his site, reeling in all of the gorgeous, hand-drawn letter porn.)

Inspired by Chirnside's aesthetic? Take your gawking one step further, check out 3rd Ward's Typeface Design class. Meanwhile, here's a few more to help get your design minds in gear:

-- Perrin Drumm

Re-sewn & Re-purposed: Atelier Volvox's Collection of Twice-Loved Stuffed Animals

Ever wonder what happens to all the unloved stuffed animals of the world, even the really sad-looking ones that sit in a bin at the Salvation Army and never find a home? Swiss design outlet Atelier Volvox is giving some of those secondhand zebras and giraffes and new life with "Outsiders," their latest project and the winner of Germany's Recycling Design Preis 2012. Their collection of inside-out stuffed toys bested 600 entries in the Preis this year and snagged a nice chunk of prize money (€2500) too.

The formula for Volvox's idea is pretty straightforward: cut open, turn out, restuff and sew. The execution is purposely crude, and it's clear from the rest of the portfolio that they're perfectly capable of a high level of production quality, like Tischbaum (literally tree structure), a handy desk accessory, or Werbank 2.0 aka the desk of our dreams. What we really like about Volvox is their willingness to play and create impractical objects for their conceptual value alone, like the series Für das Tier in mir, or "For the Animal in me," a line that connects products with our animalistic side. There's a hobo's stick on wheels (like a rolling suitcase), a white oxford with two neon yellow circles in the arm pits and a pair of women's see-through underwear with an embroidered cat on the front playing with the crotch area. 

If you want to make your own collection of inside-out animals but don't know your way around a needle and thread? Easy: check out 3rd Ward's Level 1 Sewing class. Meanwhile, grab a few more glimpses of Volvox's work:

Bike Safe: Pick Up The NYC Bike Accident Report Card Right Here At 3rd Ward

In January we told you about the Bicyclist's Accident Report Card, a compact, well-designed card with visual diagrams demonstrating bike-related laws as well as a form reminding cyclists what information they should collect following an accident.

We also told you that, while Boston and California cards were already completed, a NYC edition was still in the works. Now we're thrilled to say that not only is the NYC edition finished, but you can pick one up right here at 3rd Ward.

Tee NYC Bike Accident Report Card is printed and distributed by NYC art collective Article, whose other projects include releases from Brooklyn bands like and Japanther and Ninjasonik. If you snag something from their online store and you're in the New York area, they'll throw in a card with your purchase.

Article also kindly dropped some cards off at 3rd Ward, and they're ready to slip into your pocket or wallet. Stop by and get yours!

-- John Ruscher

XEX Magazine Expands Its Platform With Help From 3rd Ward Talent

Fashion and culture lovers take note: XEX Magazine has a new issue on the way tomorrow, March 29. The bold, cutting-edge mag (which is pronounced "X") was co-founded by 3rd Ward member and fashion extraordinaire Sailey Williams back in 2009. "I had recently come from being an associate editor for another publication and felt it was time to start my own path," he says. "We wanted to create a platform where we could showcase some of the top and rising creatives in the fashion industry."

And they've created quite a platform indeed. Starting off as a webzine, XEX now produces three print issues a year—two that coincide with the fall and spring fashion seasons and New York's corresponding fashion weeks, as well as an annual men's issue, "XEX-Y," which will debut this June. Many top-notch talents have contributed to XEX, including 3rd Ward members like Dallas Logan (who we featured last year), Adolphous Amissah, Shae Fontaine and Darryl Calmese, just to name a few. "3rd Ward has been a great source when it comes to finding amazing creative talent," Williams says.

Hit the jump for more on XEX, including the scoop on what's in store for their new issue, how to submit your own material as well as images of some of the magazine's sweet covers and spreads.

"As with every issue we focus on the best in fashion, art, photography, and bizarre topics," Williams says. "But this issue we have added some great entertainment features. This issue is celebrity filled, featuring 'XEXclusive' editorials & interviews with Nickelodeon’s own Victoria Justice, Steven Yeun of AMC’s The Walking Dead, Boo Boo Stewart of The Twilight Saga, Dillon Casey of The CW’s Nikita, Ryan Serhant of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listings: New York, Williamsburg’s own Justiin Davis of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and several other actors of television and film. We also have some great designer features with LARUICCI and Sammy B, and an extravagant art story with Sasha Meret."

In addition to upcoming issues, XEX is also the official media sponsor for Brooklyn Fashion Weekend, which takes place at Industry City from March 29 to April 1 and will benefit the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. They also helped keep New Yorkers warm this winter through the New York Cares Coat Drive.

Interested in submitting to (or being featured in) XEX? Hit up submissions@xexmag.com.

-- John Ruscher