May 2012
1 post
7 tags
A Need To Carry
HONESTLY
There is something that just needs to be said: These are the best damn pouches out there. “How arrogant…”
We can confidently make this Proclamation not because we made these, but for the reason why we made them. Our search for a functional, well-made pouch constructed out of high quality materials yielded zero results - which is why we were compelled to create these....
April 2012
9 posts
8 tags
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Wayfarer Peak Dot - New Haven
Shot in New Haven, CT - our past and future home.
*All footage shot with an iPhone 4S - not too bad for a phone, huh?
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Of A Kind - Peak Dot
It’s been a long time in the making, but we finally completed a piece with Of A Kind. We all were in agreement that the Wayfarer would be the perfect “canvas” to use as a starting point.
The Peak Dot Wayfarer is our first backpack made from undyed and unwaxed duck canvas. Since the duck is literally a blank canvas, we made a special print pattern that draws inspiration from a...
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Not so Simple.
If you don’t recognize the beard, then you need to become acquainted with the gentleman behind the thoughtful, thorough and always well photographed journal entitled Simple Threads.
Ryan’s mission is highlight quality products, produced by well-intentioned makers, individuals and companies. In that sense, his blog is simple - yet having several (albeit, and unfortunately brief)...
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Aleutian Pack
INTENTION
We are best at designing “things” that excite us, or that could be useful additions to our lives. Branching off of that, our design philosophy is centered around the idea of clarity - simply, the how & why are the primary focus. Nothing is hidden that shouldn’t be, and there are no random decisions.
SPECIFICS
The Aleutian Pack has many details. One version...
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March 2012
3 posts
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Stamps on Paper
EVERYTHING IS ANYTHING
Branding has always been somewhat of a dirty word to us. Although it can help strengthen the overall message of a company or business, it seems that most of the time branding is used as a tool to alter your perception and ultimately put forth an image that can be disingenuous. In fact, the whole idea of a “brand” has never been something that we identified...
8 tags
February 2012
2 posts
6 tags
Untitled Project - Location
HUNT & GATHER
Both Leah and I are from Connecticut, it is where we met and also a place that begun the process of shaping us into the people we are today. But at some point in our late teen years, as is often the case, we wanted to be anywhere else but there. It’s a natural thing of course, to desire new experiences and freedom.
And that is what we found while attending school in...
8 tags
Of Wood & Ink
FOUNDATION FIRST
While there are plenty of great fabrics available to us, we have always wanted to create our own or at least ‘modify’ existing ones. This is something that we will be doing much more of as the year rolls on.
Starting with a really high quality duck canvas serving as our ‘canvas’, we are continuing the stamping experiments with two new patterns. One is a...
January 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Meet Stitch & Hammer
One of the best parts of doing what we do, is discovering other makers & designers that share our ethos as it relates to all things made and/or crafted.
In Amy’s own words: “In a world where so much is mass-produced and nearly as much tossed aside, Stitch & Hammer uses remnants and other sustainably sourced materials, crafting goods that are made to last.”
Three words...
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This One Goes to 12
If we’ve accomplished nothing else in 2011, it was a year that provided us with a tremendous amount of insight into how we can make LAYERxlayer into the thing it was always envisioned to be. Up to this point, you probably know Leah & I (Patrick) best by the things we make. And you may also be aware of our propensity toward quality & craft. But that is only a small part of our...
December 2011
3 posts
8 tags
We All Win
As we previously mentioned, a few friends of ours alongside a host of great brands are participating in a Holiday event in NYC. In addition to our hand-stamped bandanas & pocket squares and waxed pouches available at ‘Deck the Halls NYC’, we are also participating in a charity raffle. Event ends on December 22nd.
Each participating brand donated goods to be raffled off and also...
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Deck the Halls - Stamps
Starting this Saturday Dec. 10th and running until the 22nd, our friends Jahn and Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods will be at the ‘Deck the Halls” Holiday Event in NYC. There will be a bunch of great makers, designers and brands gathered there - full list available here: Deck the Halls
Unfortunately, we will not be selling our stuff there but we did collaborate with BKLYN Dry Goods on some...
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Deck the Halls
We collaborated on a few limited edition bandanas & pocket squares with our friends Jahn & Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods. Each piece is handprinted using our wooden stamp technique seen here: Wooden Stamps
There will also be a few random pieces of ours for sale, including some brand new printed pouches.
We’re happy to be included amongst such a great group of designers & makers at...
November 2011
2 posts
8 tags
Wayfarer Pack - Waxed
Whenever we release a new or alternate version of one of our ‘primary’ products, we make sure that the update counts - the Waxed Wayfarer for F/W 2011 is no exception. Not only did we update the main fabric but we added a few extra details:
Flap is two-tone.
Bottom reinforcement piece is different from body color.
Exterior pockets are totally redesigned.
Interior pockets are...
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Fall Backpack - Waxed
Although we call it our ‘Fall Backpack’ it is really more of an ‘All Season Backpack’. The construction is straight-forward and utility focused - the same as all of our products. With this re-release we wanted to experiment with color, texture and stitching details. If you look closely you’ll notice that each colorway has it’s own signature stitching and...
October 2011
5 posts
9 tags
Fall Utility Tote
We started designing bags simply because we could not find any that suited our needs. That is typical of our design process/projects and it seems to always work out the best that way - we don’t go ‘looking’ for projects. The things that we make are always a solution to a problem that we encounter, and this bag is no exception.
TRAVEL
Traveling back and forth between our...
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FALL 2011 - Vol. I
Volume No. I of our Fall Collection 2011 is now available in our Shop.
Since we are not a traditional company, we are doing things a bit different this time around: Although the ‘collection’ is to be considered as a whole, each individual style in this collection will be available at different times.
We’re taking a slower approach - Totes & Pouches are available for...
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Organized Overload - Links
Subscribe to our Newsletter
DxWxMxY Photo Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
Vimeo
Svpply - Patrick
Instagram - ‘layerxlayer’
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Organized Overload
We choose our ‘communication tools’ very carefully - although you will find LxL on a variety of different platforms, we tend to use them regularly and intend to use each differently.
Up to this point, our time has been extremely limited - I mention this because it has always been our goal to use each and every one of these tools (Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Svpply, etc.) in a...
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Well Spent Visits LxL
We’re a little behind in posting this, given the incredible speed at which the internet machine chugs along, but our friend Brad wrote about his recent visit to our studio/home on his site, Well Spent.
It is part of a series called ‘The Makers’, and we are honored to be included with past alumni like the one-man leather working machine Corter. Also appearing in the series...
September 2011
1 post
6 tags
DxWxMxY
Since we try to keep our primary blog relatively focused and a place for more considered musings, we created a photo-only blog called DAYxWEEKxMONTHxYEAR.
We tend to take a lot of photographs, mostly to serve as memories and/or references for future projects and we wanted to share these images. It should be interesting to watch the transition between seasons occur, since we are in New England -...
August 2011
3 posts
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Urbahnika Embroidered Pins
A few weeks ago, we were invited by our friends Jahn & Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods to take part in a pop-up BBQ at The Shop in Williamsburg. As we’ve come to expect from these types of events, we met a lot of interesting people and had a pretty solid time.
One person that we’ve wanted to meet for a short while now is Allene, who goes by the name Urbahnika. We were first introduced...
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Untitled Pouch No.1 - Discount
If you were one of the first 30 people to add the pouch to your Svpply (adhering to our guidelines, of course) and you would also like to take advantage of our discount, please contact us by August 21st.
*CONTACT US - with your Svpply username and we’ll validate that you are amongst the first 30. We will then send you a discount code that can be used to purchase the pouch in our shop....
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BBQ - BKLYN Dry Goods & Friends
We cordially invite you to join us a for a BBQ this weekend (Aug. 12-14) at ‘The Shop’ in Brooklyn, hosted by BKLYN Dry Goods. We’re bringing a bunch of stuff with us, including a few never-before-seen pieces. There will also be a bunch of samples on sale - a pretty generous sale at that.
You’ll also get a preview of our next collection, which is shaping up to be quite a...
July 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Untitled Pouch No.1 vs. Svpply
‘This pouch does not cost 139 Dollars’
As previously mentioned, we love Svpply. If you are not yet a member, it is strongly advised that you become one immediately - in fact, if you want to play our game you must be a member.
Purpose
This little experiment has 2 basic goals:
To extend a very generous ‘Thank You’ discount for helping us spread the word about our new...
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Untitled Pouch No.1
Making things that have a story is very important to us. That story can be intricate and conceptual. Maybe it fits into some kind of fictional narrative. Like an artifact.
Sometimes the story is simple, like for instance, the process involved in creating the actual piece.
For the ‘Untitled Pouch No.1’ we wanted to experiment with printing our own fabric using a wooden stamp....
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Charter Cinch
June 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Shop Interactions
This may (or may not) come as a surprise, especially given our design style + aesthetics, but we are and have always been incredibly interested in technology. Seriously - we’re talking: building electronics from scratch, reading way too many books on cloning, writing science fiction stories, following each & every technological innovation like it’s our job - we could go on. Now,...
6 tags
Summer 2011
LAYERxlayer is, for better or worse, hugely influenced & inspired by New England. It is essentially where we spent our formative years, and thus a part of our being(s). Sounds a bit overly dramatic, but it really is true. Our experiences in nature have undoubtedly shaped our views/opinions on everything from conservation, suburban development, sustainability, food security - and the list goes...
May 2011
2 posts
5 tags
Process: Quilting
One of the things that we care a great deal about is craft, which in our opinion means several things. Quality happens to be one of those things. We take a great deal of care in designing every aspect of our products, right down to the small details - in this case, the pocket.
Our design goal with this version of pocket was to not only make something that was of course functional and well...
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Materials & Textures
Weather permitting, we will be doing our first Brooklyn Flea of the season this Saturday, May 21st in Fort Greene. In preparation, we wanted to highlight some of the materials that we will be bringing with us - some you’ve seen before and some are brand new.
Brief thought:
Our work/design is based around 3 core elements: function, material and craft. For better or worse, there is no...
April 2011
1 post
5 tags
Spring Salad - Recipe 001
As Spring seems to finally be approaching, we wanted to come up with a meal that referenced the transition from Winters’ stillness, to the period of activity and new growth. Taste profile is clean and crisp, with a touch of zest from the dressing. It’s light, fulfilling and energizing - perfect for an afternoon meal.
The highlights of the dish are the Creamy Garlic dressing, the...
March 2011
5 posts
7 tags
Results: Tent
Here are the results of our nature-rinsed Indigo project detailed in our previous post. It is actually a different tent from the ones picture here, but the results are similar. Rinsed denim is used for the body of our “Special Edition” Wayfarer Pack Raw + Tent, available in our shop soon.
*Denim is grown & woven in the USA.*
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Process: Tent
In preparation for the release of our first ever “Special Edition” product, the Wayfarer Pack Raw + Tent, we would like to share the process by which the tent is created, and also explain what it actually is.
Our first Indigo products happen to be backpacks - as you may know, Indigo is not a permanent pigment and does wash out and/or rub off a bit over time. With that in mind, we...
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Reissue 2010
Seems quite fitting that the day we plan to re-release some bags from our Fall/Winter 2010 collection, it snows. Ironic timing, as Leah and I were just the other day wishing for one last snow day before Spring - bear in mind, we discussed this on a day that almost hit 70*.
As far as the bags are concerned, these are not just reissues - each bag has been refined even further than before, from...
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Almost There
We promised that our shop would be open this week, but we needed a bit more time off than originally expected. That’s a good thing because it means we’ve had more time to think about where we want to take LxL next - and we’ve got some pretty interesting things in store. Everyone always says that, but you’ll have to take our word on this one.
*As far as the shop is...
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Thank You 2010 - Part 3
Part 1 - Thank You / Part 2 - History / Part 3 - Onward
So where are we headed? Good question, we’ve been asking ourselves the same question a lot lately.
Organization
This is obviously important, but it’s definitely the one area that we feel could have been stronger last year. What happened was that we started LxL while engulfed in a whirlwind of economic turmoil, apartment...
January 2011
1 post
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Thank You 2010 - Part 1
Part 1 - Thank You / Part 2 - History / Part 3 - Onward
As another year passes (actually, our first full year as LxL), we’d like to take a moment to extend our most sincere gratitude to all the truly amazing people that have helped make 2010 so damn memorable. It’s kind of amazing to us that in such a short time, we’ve been able to make so many meaningful connections, and have...
December 2010
1 post
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Holiday 2010
We’ve been very busy preparing for two really great Holiday Markets in NYC:
NIGHTWOOD Holiday Market - 12/11-12/12
The Brooklyn Flea GIFTED - 12/15 -12/23
*Since we are so busy, any order placed AFTER 12/10 will not ship until 12/27*
As a special “Thank You” for waiting, we would like to extend a 20% discount on all orders made after 12/10. Simply enter the code...
November 2010
1 post
F/W 2010
Our F/W Collection is now available - it’s a mix of brand new & old favorites that have been refined. We’re also introducing the first piece(s) in a series of distressed denim - “This Bag Was Once a Tent”.
The bags are literally made from tents that were left outside for no less than 30 days. More details coming very soon.
Check out the entire Lookbook HERE
Check...
October 2010
1 post
1 tag
Something Random...
Sunday 10/17 - we’re heading to a beautiful secret location in Connecticut to shoot our new collection. And it’s not just a bunch of “model shots” - there is a sort of cinematic narrative at play.
We had a random idea: If there are any photographers or videographers in the NYC or CT area looking for something fun & random to do on Sunday, why not come along with...
September 2010
1 post
Everything in its right place
We took a short break from the Studio and traveled to the Cape in search of inspiration. Here is a sample of what we collected:
Keep of a recent beach scavenger hunt.
This is a small portion of the twigs we collected. We have some interesting plans for these guys…
July 2010
1 post
4 tags
Status Update: 07_28_2010
LAYERxlayer has had a really interesting summer so far - we’ve met a lot of really great people, had plenty of interesting conversations and received incredible feedback. Needless to say, we’ve learned so much over the last few months and are working quite diligently to apply said knowledge. One of the biggest challenges is to use our somewhat limited time more effectively;...