The Bulletin #3

THE PLACE

MAISON LOUIS CARRÉ / Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France (1960)

The Maison Louis Carré is another example of functional beauty we look up to, and the only remaining building by Finnish Master Architect and Designer Alvar Aalto in France. It is first and foremost a home built for the needs of his client, Louis Carré.

Louis Carré, a lawyer, took over his family's antique business in the 1920s, moving into primitive and then modern art in the 1930s. He exhibited the works of Le Corbusier, Matisse, Dufy, Rouault, Vuillard and Jacques Villon at his gallery on avenue de Messine in Paris.

Aalto and Carré were from the same generation and shared the same idea of art.

Louis Carré gave Alvar Aalto carte blanche, his only requests being for a house that would be large inside but not appear so from the outside and for a sloping roof rather than a flat one. The house was designed as a space that would combine both public life – where Louis Carré could organize art viewings and entertain guests – and private life.

The Maison Louis Carré is striking in that it is a total work of art, perfectly integrated into its surroundings. Everything in the house and garden, from furniture and lighting to door handles, was designed by Alvar Aalto. Louis Carré and his wife Olga arrived with only their clothes, books and works of art, leaving behind all their previous belongings. This detail alone probably speaks for itself...

THE GARMENT

SUN SURF / Hawaiian Fabrics Department (1970s)

Let’s be honest: Hawaiian shirts from the 1930s to the 1950s are not merely shirts, they are an indigenous form of art that oozes cool and quality to the highest degree.

The Hawaiian shirt, definitely our favorite piece of clothing come summer, simply makes us smile like no other and keeps us cool during the warmest days.

Besides original vintage examples changing hands for a fortune, the good folks at Sun Surf are dedicated to producing the finest, most authentic vintage-style Hawaiian shirts available in the world.

Every Sun Surf shirt is an exact copy of an original design from the heyday of Hawaiian shirts, reproduced true to their original and brilliant colors and charm. The fabrics are custom made to precisely match the long-lost formula for the type of high-quality rayon employed in the manufacture of the original vintage examples, and so is the silk.

If you haven’t gathered your inner Thomas Magnum, Elvis Presley, or John Wayne, you might want to reconsider. Also, to those yet to simply experience the coolness of the highest grade of rayon on the skin on a hot summer day: it’s time. Then you can legitimately assist to a screening of « From Here to Eternity » (1954) and feel like you’re shaking hands with Frank Sinatra or Montgomery Clift…

THE MOVIE

THE ENDLESS SUMMER / Bruce Brown (1966)

The New Yorker called it "A Perfect Movie" back in 1966, and the United States National Film Registry selected it for preservation as being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant".

Bruce Brown’s film is simply the very first of its kind. The one that would introduce surfing and travel to the world in a fun-loving and personal style, away from the stiff and formal documentaries of the 1950s and early 1960s.

It follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world, traveling to the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa in a quest for new surf spots while introducing locals to the sport along the way.

An ode to freedom and a simpler way of life…

THE RECORD

THE ART OF TEA / Michael Franks (1976)

Absolute coolness by Michael Franks and friends, from the first note to the last and the album with which he introduced his unique and distinctive sound to the world.

This is what can happen when top-notch Jazz musicians cross over to pop and rock: sensually suggestive and playful tracks with a unique groove and tasteful arrangement.

The killer rhythm section of drummer John Guerin and bassist Wilton Felder meet no less than horn legends Michael Brecker and David Sanborn, with Franks and Larry Carlton handling the guitar work.

The winning combination of players, styles, singing and songwriting that would launch Michael Franks's never-ending career…

Listen on Apple Music, Spotify or Tidal.