2008 music round-up

as you know, i am obsessed with music. i’ve even been taking guitar lessons for an embarrassing number of years! being a pop/rock star is still one of my goals, so needless to say, the studio here usually has music playing.

so here is a short list of what got played the most with a short review from me.

au revoire simone: reverse migration
not a new album from this adorable brooklyn based band, but rather a re-working with additional musicians/engineers. i actually like it when artists revisit old work and this is a very successful project in that vein. vocals between 60s folk pop and pop with signature electronica music.

MGMT: Oracular Spectacular and Time to Pretend
another nyc-band! i am visually in love with their lead singer...he is so cute! but more than that, MGMT brought a wonderful light to music this year with their cryptic yet optimistic lyrics and a sound so eclectic, it defies classification. i was hoping they’d break-through but the thinness of the vocals was never addressed on their re-release nor did they capitalize on how sexy they are...oh well...i’m not their manager.

Eugene McGuinness: Eugene McGuinness
a UK entry, eugene mcguinness sounds like a happy morrisey who enjoys sex. what more needs to be said? love this record!

the Presets: Apocalypso
hailing from australia, these neo bogans bring the delirious sound i like to call boganzatronica to the masses. seriously, as i said the first time i heard “the girl and the sea” from their 2006 release, the presets have mastered sophisticated song writing so lacking in electronic and pop acts. that doesn’t mean there aren’t silly meaningless club tracks here though...a very fun album.

School of Seven Bells: Alpinisms
nyc locals again, the school of seven bells are a pleasure to look at as well as listen 2. live, they are part of the small wave of new psychedelica – an amazing wall of sound from a 3-piece outfit – powerful music with powerful multi layered vocals. the album, being recorded in a studio has a different feeling, more accessible, pop, and pretty.

Black Devil Disco: 28 After and Disco Club
you can read all the legends about the french librarian who recorded as black devil disco in the 1970s and their current revival. all i can say is that i always applaud music that is both dark, sensuous and full of energy – yummmmmm!

Midnight Juggernauts: Dystopia
also from australia here is another band i can not get enough of. though lumped in electronica, i hear the potential for this band the expand their line-up and be the next arena rock star band like queen and r.e.o. speedwagon as they have a really big sound [and by big, i mean full of drama-potential]. also, they have injected sci-fi back into music which is right up my alley – so really, they're the sci-fi synth sweet in outer space...they should do a cover of love is like oxygen to test my theory.

Panda Bear: Person Bitch
this came out in 2007 but got lots of play in the studio in 2008. also, hard to put in a genre, their ethereal psychedelic sound is evocative of the 60s yet is somehow fresh, hypnotic and happy.

Hercules and love affair: Hercules and love affair
gosh, brooklyn produces a lot of great bands these past few years. i read reviews of this band as ‘the comeback of disco’ but really, their sound is more like the no-wave music of NYC from the early 1980s. it’s also pretty gay. a great album with something for everyone.

and if i can add one more:
portland's glass candy. i would describe as a porn soundtrack meets disco dollies in the back of a nyc taxi cab known for sloppy trannie blow jobs...this is your night time soundtrack – whatever you do.

thank you

i have two posts i want to get up before new year's eve, one being this one, and the other my year end music review.

creating nooka has been the most engaging and satisfying experience of my life – i wish i had made the decision to produce my own products years ago! unlike a large brand, i still have a personal connection to what i produce and truly see each product as a personal ambassador going out into the world. there are still many challenges ahead, especially trying to get new product lines launched in this challenging environment without any access to credit and financing, but i've done that before – so as always, cautious and optimistic for 2009 and beyond!

as with any complex process, i would not be here writing this without the support of others, and for this i am always grateful. and here is a short list of people who have channeled, championed, promoted, understood, supported, reflected me and nooka with such honest and enthusiastic authenticity that i can only start by saying "THANK YOU!"

matthew cohen and joe chang of the raw information group for keeping the press focused on nooka. this is great validation for a small brand that can not yet afford a national ad campaign and something i appreciate daily.

kanye west for being the only style icon in the public eye worth watching – your journey is truly inspiring!

javier laval for keeping us hip in L.A.

ddc lab and their wonderful staff for including us in all they do as well as giving nooka the only retail space to carry ALL our lines at once – thank you savania, roberto and brad!

MoMA for being a constant supporter from the very start. I can not think of a more cordial process driven organization of this size and magnitude that truly supports emerging talent with a commitment to product design.

everyone at elsewares for being constant supporters from the beginning of this journey.

daiki suzuki of nepenthes for being my first mentor to the fashion world. i do not think he realizes how helpful his advise and introductions were for me to get the nooka ball rolling 5 years ago!

united arrows for being a major brand champion for us in japan which opened many doors for us in japan and moreover, asia!

eugene kan of hypebeast for being such a great supporter!

yu yamada for making japan our 2nd biggest market after the USA.

alexander allen for his keen eye, enthusiasm and talent.

michael surtees of designotes for putting an articulate designer-lingo voice to me, nooka and my process.

tina roth for just being tina roth/swiss miss – you inspire me.

missy and sam of ghostly records for being so inclusive and supportive. it's so important to have friends with similar sized struggles and triumphs!

anya mills of poptags for her support of nooka from its inception in the late 90s on a napkin!

lil wayne for rocking the nooka on national TV more than once [and for producing truly complex music in a sometimes banal music scene].

fall out boy also for rocking the nooka on national tv. also thanks for the rockband your manager sent the studio!

erykah badu for being the most beautiful canvas i've seen a nooka on last year.

mark graham of i love dust in the UK – simply "wow, thanks!"

steve heller of SVA and the new york times for always being an accessible giant.

todd owyoung of ishootshows for always letting me know when there's a nooka sighting in a live music show or event – you truly rock!

miho hatori for reminding me of the art and inspiration i put in my work but had forgotten.

claude cohen in france for championing nooka in france, a market i was ready to give up on 2 years ago! merci bien!

josh spears for your great eye and words.

alicia in spain, magnus in sweden, falko and ben in germania, roberto in italia, stephen and maz in the UK, and viktor in hungary for helping to make nooka an established brand in europe. i'm excited for 2009!

jonathan winer for putting nooka on the map in israel.

adnan of wristfashion in dubai for not only giving us a foot in the arab world, but also being such a constant and articulate supporter from my first designs way back when it was an ignored license at seiko!

allan ho for championing not just nooka, but me as a designer in HK. when's my next interview?

raoul and marleen in the nederlands for rocking the tulip empire for us!

my staff in new york, tokyo and our one man crew in HK [eddie] for untiring enthusiasm.

william yan – keep up the tireless blogging!

carrie campbell for being our eyes and ears (and moreover, legs, arms and mouth) from the mississippi to maine – i don't know how you do it!

my friend edward enrique of the taf buying office for his advise and company for our executive lunch meeting!

joost elffers of elffers books for being an incredible mentor.

everyone who has bought a nooka and especially the fans who took the time to send me an email.

and this is by no means a complete list, so feel free to nudge me if i left anyone out [i wrote this BEFORE the benefit of a cup of coffee].

much love to everyone in 2009!

seeking production advice

i need help. here is a design we came up with for a nooka sign to use at shows and parties. each single letter should be about 15 inches [38 cm] wide based on the 'N'. the quotes we're getting involve building each letter like a box from acrylic which i do not feel will ship well at all. any ideas? thank you in advance!

nooka sightings: chad beatz

chad beatz is a rap/pop/r&b producer who is also an ardent supporter of nooka. i love this foto of him wearing a nooka zen-h!

buy the same nooka watch here.

nooka press: stuff france

pretty cool full page coverage of the nooka glow in the dark [gitd] zub in the french edition of STUFF magazine. mercí claude!

it is interesting that they gave it a full page but only a 3-star rating...i'm not complaining.

happy holidays!

blogspot screws with the image so the animation is not working but click here for the full intention.

nooka sightings: fall out boy

nooka sighted on jimmy kimmel live a few days ago – the bright green zub! if anyone has a link to a better quality video, please send.



get your green zub here.

nooka sightings: code magazine

thank you marleen in amsterdam for sending this nice jpg of the cover of dutch magazine code where the model is wearing a metal mesh nooka zen-h. i really like the rings on the cover...i need to remember to get marleen to snail-mail me a copy of the actual magazine.

get your zen h here.

more recent press: KING and BLACKBOOK

thank you KING magazine and josh spears [for blackbook] for the amazing coverage! of course, much love to our PR peeps, matt and joe!

funny juxtaposition: king is really the real blackbook

let's missbehave, again

i blogged a last week about the wonderful coverage nooka is getting in missbehave magazine, and it continues...

the winner of the hellz bellz watch from last issue is TAWNYA. the missbehave post about this is here.

if you'll be anywhere near williamsburg brooklyn this thursday, december 18th, you must check out dj semen sperms' set at the annual missbehave holiday bash. do you think "sperms" is short for spermstein? they'll be a present giveaway from burton AND nooka!

online store is down

our online store is down since yesterday in the US and japan thanks to dreamhost! direct your hate mail to them. it's always at the worst possible time as well!

mini holiday shopping guide

o.k. even though i'm a bah-humbug! kinda guy when it comes to x-mas, i do throw a great holiday party. i actually believe you should be buying gifts for friends, family and self ALL YEAR ROUND, but here is my very concise holiday gift guide with a focus on the practical:

the takumi 10 key calculator is a bit of an anomaly in that it's modeled on an old apple computer extended keyboard aesthetic yet the usb functionality only works on a PC! even without the usb functionality, it is a smart looking calculator with a great touch-and-feel. my book-keeper can not say enough good things about it for using with excel and our various accounting software! also, idea japan is a company i consider a friend of nooka as they sell us in their brick and motor stores in tokyo and through-out japan – but you don't have to go all that way to buy this little gem as they now have a U.S. online shop! $58. get it here.

another idea product, yuento music mug is the perfect gift for the music geeks in your life. i have tried every possible way to simply get music into every room and i find this product to do the best job for 2 applications: music in the bathroom and for ambient music in small spaces. the yuento doesn't require any batteries so you don't have to worry about electrocuting yourself or having to find tiny batteries to get music from your ipod. i like to use this to have ambient music in the bedroom during parties that won't compete with music in the living room – a nice touch when people get their coats and bags. buy it here for $48.

popptags is the creation of my former business partner anya [go anya!]. it's the perfect gift to keep handy at home to add value to anytime you want to gift [or re-gift] a bottle of wine. 3 for $9.95 here. buy some for your friends too!

and of course, my suggestion for the best nooka gift is the revamped gold ip zirc. simply gorgeous if i do say so myself. buy yours on nooka.com or at the many fine nooka retailers worldwide. $350.



one last thing: want a magazine that is well-designed and an intelligent read from cover to cover? then the answer is monocle magazine. i LOVE monocle magazine even though nooka has yet to be featured there. a subscription to their magazine is the perfect gift that keeps on giving all year round [i know i'd appreciate one]! place your subscription order online here. £75 and up. then tell them how odd it is that the zon hasn't been featured yet:)

norml x-mas party nooka give-away

uh-oh...i've been reduced to picture only blog posts!

nooka zon launch party NYC [and miami!]

we will be part of the details block party with ddc lab mpd this coming saturday to introduce the zon! ddc lab is an incredible brand which we share conceptual synergies. they also throw the best events! i hope to see you there.

if you can't make it to the party for the launch discount, you can buy full price here, or at fine nooka stockists.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND, a ZON launch event at BASE in miami. this is one of my all time favorite stores, well curated and fun. 939 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139 t (305) 531 4982. so if the art at art basel is too expensive, come buy some of my product.

recent blog press:
complex
designnotes
swissmiss

wikiwikiwoo

nooka and matthew waldman finally have a stable and properly categorized entry on wikipedia! thank you michael surtees!

missbehave magazine

missbehave magazine is showing nooka mad love in their upcoming issue! we are all-over the main fashion spread, they write about the sooperdooper limited edition hellz bellz collab AND they have a contest give-away on thier website. makes me want to be a teenage girl all over again.


missbehave giveaway is here.

nookas featured can be purchased at fine shops near you or here.

openers japan article november

my latest article for openers japan for november is up. as the theme is "new york city", i chose to expound on what it means to be a "new yorker". identity is an issue everyone deals with on some level everyday and writing this article made it painfully clear how difficult it is [to write about]! for example, i've always identified as a new yorker more strongly than as an american. i grew up with people who felt identifying as jewish or catholic was more important than other categorization. for me now, am i more designer or businessman? i think these are all very important things to self analyze, but my optimistic point of the article is that in a city like new york, the identity of "new yorker" has the power to transcend divisive traditional differences in larger global society. a bit naïve?

part 2 of this article will include short interviews with 3 people who are new yorkers born and raised somewhere else.

link to the article in japanese is here.

photo from my iphone this summer on the promenade at battery park city.

studio visitors: hiroki otsuka and ricky jackson

i'm posting this late, but thanksgiving and having family in town has eaten up as much time as i've eaten turkey and stuffing.

the wednesday before thanksgiving was a busy day at the nooka studio. first, my parents stopped by for lunch. then my favorite erotic manga artist, hiroki otsuka came to use our facilities while he was in the hood. later, ricky [of accessory designer twins dee and ricky] came by to talk shop. it was great to see hiroki's new artwork and it was also great to hear what ricky was up to with his biz. i'm really impressed with dee and ricky and hope they can maintain the momentum and leverage the current attention into a thriving business – something which feels like they are going to accomplish. they have great attitudes, drive, good-looks – which are three nice ingredients to have in one dish! the white zub looks great on ricky as well.

hiroki has a friend casting a skateboarder documentary tried to get ricky in on that, but i hear they went with an older skater to cover in the piece...oh well! also, notice the ephemeral art hiroki left on my wip-off board...also, if you're interested in the watch ricky is wearing, it's the white zen zub 20 available here.

i feel like a real fashion brand

i feel like a real fashion brand because we are having our very first sample sale!

noo from nooka, the zon

as seen on kanye west's blog earlier last week, here is my post for my newest design – the zon. i really must say, i am very happy with this design. it's our heaviest and largest time piece to date yet feels weightless on my wrist. i was skeptical about designing a butterfly clasp for one of my designs because it is more difficult to adjust than our previous models, but now i am sold – it has a nice glam appeal! here is some real press release ready copy:

the zon is a luxury digital world-time watch with an intuitive graphical interface as well as numeric display.

the unique graphical display gives an intuitive experience of the progression of with one minute blocks that fills the display every 12 hours. one can easily toggle to a standard numeric display in either 12-hour or 24-hour formats as well as get the time in 24 cities around the world.

the strap alignment allows both left handed and right handed individuals to achieve a perfect fit on their wrist. tool to change the alignment to flush left, flush right or center is included. buy yours here, or at fine nooka stockists.

the weight, size and flush alignment of the design is extremely comfortable for an oversized time piece.




leather models come with a stainless steel butterfly closure. the silver model has a standard metal mesh strap.

this will launch in december during art basel in miami, ddc lab in NYC and los angeles. i will update this blog with launch party details and a link on where to buy soon. SRP is $650.US buy yours here, or at fine nooka stockists.

read the great comments on kanye's blog here.

guilty pleasure: online communities

i have a confession: i am addicted to facebook. i resisted for quite a while enduring "i can't believe of all people that you are not on facebook" from my friend ilisa every time i saw her. even after i succumbed, i was resistant to it, ignoring most messages and the idiotic 'pokes' and 'karma points' etc., but slowly, i learned how to find the value in the site though i must say, i still ignore anything requiring me to download a useless app [thank goodness people aren't using 'funwall' anymore!].

that said, it is not the first community website i've joined. i've been on mixi in japan for a few years, and when i joined that it was far more sophisticated than facebook. now facebook has evolved and surpassed mixi and i find i can't tolerate the annoying layers of approval screens in mixi to post anything, even sending a message. i thought mixi was a great way to stay in touch with my friends in japan, but it seems everyone has grown tired of the lack of innovation in the site and i hardly log onto it anymore.

now, i do realize that part of the attraction is unhealthy – it's an addiction. like all addictions, it's part laziness, in this case, laziness to coordinate real socializing combined with an unhealthy need for attention [an inevitable condition from living in NYC].

having real time communication tools on one page is a value add and it seems like gmail is adding similar tools at a good speed to compete. if you haven't tried video chat on gmail yet, download the plug in RIGHT NOW – the video and sound quality bests skype – no reverb using the internal mic on my laptop!

i also found that there are nooka fan sites on both mixi and facebook! search for nooka on mixi and "love nooka" on facebook. i'm not the moderator, but perhaps one of my blog readers can be proactive with populating that group with posts. let's see if this post makes membership on those groups grow:) are there any others i don't know about?

photo: sydney fairy by matthew waldman, 2007. collection of john engelen, australia.

nooka nooka reminder

just a little visual reminder that a nooka nooka character is not only sooper dooper cute, it's a great way to keep your nooka watch collection from cluttering your desk and getting lost under dirty undies.

nooka nookas are limited edition, 500 of each color available here.

nooka sightings: new zealand

our friend in auckland took these quick shots of a passing bus with an advert for a popular sparkling wine – boy does birthday boy look happy! go orange zub!

available now!

hellz bellz and LTD collabs available now!

the hellz bellz model features a heavy metal mesh band giving it a lot of heft.

the LTD model [invisible warrior] features a semi-transluscent custom camo strap.

buy them from your fave nooka seller or here.

nooka fan mail: zachary yankush

sometimes i just have to share a fan mail with you verbatim.



"Robert and Matthew,

Just wanted to drop another HUGE thank you for all the love you and Nooka have given me. Here are a couple more screen captures from last weekend on CBS. I was hosting a show called the LG action sports world tour. I have a bunch more TV stuff coming up. I'll be sure to shoot you a schedule when I know it will air.

So stoked on Nooka!!!

Thanks again and have a great week!"

Zack

watch zack wears is the multi COTN camo model, available at fine shoppes and here.
zack's website here.

nooka sightings: school of seven bells

if you follow my posts, you know i'm a fan of school of seven bells and tag them as a band to watch from ghostly records. here is an interview with them where the interviewer talks at length on the nooka watches they're wearing, but unfortunately, doesn't mention nooka once! :( oh well! we know what they're talking about.

full interview here.

band site here. buy the album on itunes and cd shops worldwide!

fake gold and gold leather models they wear available here and fine retailers.

upcoming: nooka zon

again, this has somehow leaked before i could blog about it – our nooest nooka, the world-time nooka zon™

conceptually, the zon is closest to my concept of representing time as you experience it – the pixels fill up one minute at a time just as sunlight or fills and empties the sky through 12 hour cycles. it is also evocative of the hourglasses that fill with sand as time progresses. and as intuitive as it is, i doubt there will be many people who can glean the exact time from the display – so at the touch of a button: a standard analog digital display replaces the grid of pixels!

i personally engineered this watch to sit squarely on the top of the wrist no matter which are you choose. you will have to adjust the strap to flush right for your left arm and flush left for your right [or center if you prefer it that way]. a custom tool is included with the kit to accomplish this.

moreover, this is a world time watch with 24 cities pre-programmed for the world traveller like myself.

it has a weight to it that is new for our line and i hope you will lve it as much as i do.

-matthew waldman november 15th 2008

available soon!

matthew waldman on miho hatori's elle japan blog

[posting from puerto rico this week!] really cool blog by super artist miho hatori for elle magazine japan. miho really 'got' the philosophical underpinnings of my designs without any explanation from me – so nice to expand the mutual admiration society!

in japanese here.

you can buy the watch i'm sporting here.

photo by miho hatori.

nooka on karmaloop tv!

nooka zubs on karmaloop tv!

if the code isn't working right the link to their site is here.

a very busy thursday night

this past thursday was very busy indeed. first, the booka launch party for the new steven heller book, the design entrepreneur, in which there's a 2 page interview with me, and then the very glam opening party for the new ddc lab store on mercer street in soho! it was fun to have both uptown chic and downtown buzz in the same night! all the ddc brand ambassadors were sporting prototypes of the upcoming ddc lab + nooka collab with their ddc lab + new balance fashions. it seemed like everyone in the fashion world was there so i got to cram a lot of socializing into one evening [the redbull and vodkas certainly helped].

ilovedust + kidrobot

friend and fellow creative genius, mark graham, presented me with this AMAZING hand customized munny last night. i LOVE it. thanks mark! i decided to scan the figure this time and it looks like a space baby in the space station cloning lab.

ilovedust site here,
kidrobot here.

devilrobots urban vinyl

shinichiro kitai of devil robots and i have been members of each others mutual fan clubs from the very beginnings of each of our design studios. it's so exciting to to see his work evolve and grow over the years. here is a snapshot of some recent additions to my studio from his!

most figures shown available here.

zirc press: LUCKY magazine november 2008

very happy with this placement for the nooka zirc in lucky magazine's gift guide!

buy my favorite version of the zirc HERE!.

obama obama obama obama

i am so happy about the outcome of the election as of this writing [11:12 pm EST]. the nooka HQ will stay in NYC!

it does look like the gay marriage ban was voted-in in california and i hope people in the entertainment industry put their money where their hearts are and move production for all their shows out of california.

nooka + kidrobot = koolabooration

Nooka Inc. and Kidrobot have teamed up to produce a limited edition collaborative watch featuring the distinctive Kidrobot design figure. The collaboration utilizes the extremely popular Nooka Zub watch in black with the Zen-H style face along with the Kidrobot icon printed in white on the band. These watches will be sold in limited quantities both at Kidrobot locations and at Nooka retailers.

Kidrobot, founded by designer Paul Budnitz in 2002, is the world’s premier designer and retailer of limited edition art toys and apparel. Kidrobot merges urban street trends, fashion, and pop art to produce limited edition, collectible toys and apparel. Kidrobot products often feature unique collaborations with top international artists whose diverse backgrounds include graffiti, fine art, fashion, industrial design, graphic design, illustration, and music.

Nooka is a New York based design company founded by artist and designer Matthew Waldman. Nooka is most famously known for its line of innovative and unique digital wristwatches which take the concept of telling time into an entirely new realm.

Nooka and Kidrobot have a long-standing relationship, sharing very similar design ideals and often being featured in many of the same magazines and retailers, such as LTD and MoMA. With this collaboration, the Nooka and Kidrobot brands merge their unique concepts on design and fashion.

this edition is limited to 1000 numbered pieces!

available online and in kidrobot stores the week of november 10th and via nooka channels 2 weeks thereafter. pre-order yours here!

and the winner is...klaus nomi

here are some fotos from the ghostly halloween party.
pictured: the rapture dj as michael jackson, matthew dear/audion, winner of the costume contest, and a random lambchop character. you can buy your very own glow in the dark nooka zub here!

i am a huge fan of the rapture as well as matthew dear, so it was a fun night. the rapture is currently writing new material for an album to be released some time in 2009.