Oregon

The Beauty of Coffee by Ratio.

Mark Hellweg took his passion for design, good tools, architecture, and aesthetics and put it to good use when he launched Ratio. The fruits of his labors is this absolutely stunning coffee maker.

Ratio is a high-design machine that is built around the precise science of brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Beneath it’s beautiful exterior is a powerful heating element that maintains an constant optimal brewing temperature of 200 degrees so coffee is never to hot or to cold.

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Ratio is designed manufactured and assembled by hand in Portland Oregon. The materials used are a reflection of Hellweg’s attention to detail, and his love of design. Die cast nickel-plated aluminum contrasts with Oregon black walnut and borosilicate glass.

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Portland Press. A French Press in Mason Jar.

Sitting in Estes Park this morning while drinking a cup of vacation coffee, and surfing the internet I came across this French press coffee maker from Portland Press. Designed and made in Portland Oregon from all natural materials, Portland Press wanted to create something that would improve your coffee making experiences with quality materials as nice as the coffee you’re drinking.

The Portland Press is a french press designed to work with a Mason jar, out of materials sourced in the USA. This is a simple, clean, practical design made out of basic materials like: glass, wool, steel, and wood. Oh one nice thing, if the Mason jar is easy to replace if it breaks, and the rest of the Portland Press is backed with a lifetime warranty.

Mike Friton, The Innovator.

It’s Monday, and as I wait for the next snowstorm that is going to dump two years worth of snow on Kansas City in 24 hours, I need a little inspirational pick me up. The video below from  is a 5 minute documentary about Mike Friton, freelance shoe designer and innovator. Founding member of Nike’s “Innovation Kitchen”.

 

The reason I am posting this is Mike’s story is great. What he says in the short film should inspire anyone to be more creative, innovative and push the boundaries of their craft. The film itself is edited so well with cuts hitting on audio beats that help set up a visual rhythm that compliments the story so well. Nice camera work, and audio design help make the film the great little piece that it is.

Director: Tristan Stoch
Director of Photography: Sean Grasso
Sound: David Panton

Music by Kevin MaCleod

Pinterist Panorama.

I’m not a Pinterist user. I installed it on my iPhone when it came out, used it a couple of times and then stopped. It never grabbed my interest, and for me it didn’t offer anything all that game changing. I know a ton of people use it, love it, and think it is the greatest thing in social networking ever.

Based on the number of people signing up to use it they might be right. For me though, Pinterist never did it. The image below though is a pretty clever use of the online pin board, social networking giant. Created by Oregon photographer Ryan Zeigler, this is a pretty fun use of the tech.