atelier ying, New York Bar, Park Hyatt Tokyo

Now we men can also share in the enjoyment of a $2,000 handbag.

When the bag is stationary, as at a restaurant or cafe, The handcrafted walnut cigar humidor mounts onto the top of the bag delicately attaching like an ordinary awning and combines with the bag in the manner of Asian houses with a wide roof (the original base construction of Tokyo Tower, temple bells, torii were visual referents). It also increases the status symbol of the handbag.

The lid opens like a grand piano and a lower tray of cigarettes pulls out like a keyboard. With a few rare Fuentes, a brand name lighter and gold cutter the value of the bag is easily doubled, which would turn the heads of other women. The humidor comes with its own velvet tote bag to store inside after each use till the next destination is reached.

No designer brand handbags were modeled nor ever contemplated for this proposed drawing or design concept.

Drawing made in the famed New York Bar inside the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel. A very smooth, relaxing Punch corona gave nice ideas.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

Atelier ying, nyc

In honor of the Masters at Augusta this weekend, this design contemplates the iconic Masters jacket to mimic Felix Nadar's airborne photo studio (which I'm working on for a book about Nadar) in this design. A camera is hidden inside the red tie, adapted from the original Bloch "photo-cravat" made in Paris. A customized K-rations kit from design #153 is securely tucked into an inside pocket holder. Below this is room for a small pair of field binoculars. A golf flask is tucked into the back pocket. It would be nice to have in the other side pockets a dry plate processing kit, but the length of time to do such processing is too impractical.

The "ISO 400" K-rations kit from design #153 (please see link and photo below) sustains the afternoon and early evening photographer. The "ISO 1600" field rations kit for the late night street photographer is slightly different as well as an "ISO 100" kit for bright daylight.

A house for retired golfers to contemplate the 18th green after John Hejduk is something I keep returning to in my sketchbooks, which will be forthcoming.

Please see my other two Masters Golf designs below:

design #165, the Augusta Clubhouse Camera

www.flickr.com/photos/64011301@N08/12011804395/

Design #151 Masters Golf Watch

www.flickr.com/photos/64011301@N08/11239443394/

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, Nyc

Washington Irving wrote in his essay "Old Christmas" of a nostalgic longing for the flavor of the "honest days of yore", which finds a similar echo of angst in our modern times.

His regret that the old traditions even then were more and more obliterated by the modern fashion of his time, that "those picturesque morsels of Gothic architecture which we see crumbling in various parts of the country ... partly lost in the additions and alterations of latter days", is nothing compared to our current condition where the only vestiges of the original spirit is fed to us with big business in mind via commercialism.

His particular search for the intangible yet sorely missed Christmas feeling is the same today, and drew inspiration for my design.

The traditional camera, starting with its early photographic "salad" days through the abundant expansion of the 1940s, certainly carries a vintage charm before the fireside hearth of commercialism, as it were. This also has become authentic, at this point in time.

What to do? The only way I can figure is to reconcile these far off almost polar associations.

A difficult problem indeed. But in these instances, I always look to a few tried and true cameras that carry much potentiality for me.

My design proposes and offers such an amalgam within one camera, but this is only one example of many.

Washington Irving's literary sketchbook of Old Christmas is mixed in with the modern architectural trend of rooftop additions, which is necessitated by the modern dilemma of a crappy economy and lack of urban space. In the case of our camera it would simply be the viewfinder hot shoe attachment. Washington Irving's literary devices to bring back the nostalgic past is done via the symbols of a Victorian stagecoach, a cottage fireside and a Victorian dining hall. This Rollei 35 SE custom kit (available nowhere) comes with a tripartite viewfinder of a replica of Sunnyside, Irving's 17th century home. Through the windows you can see three different views. the chief one being Irving's writing studio. The formal dining hall resplendent with a festive setting and for travelers of inferior order, a cottage fireside scene. Juxtaposing these last two rooms, a narrow foyer filled with unopened luggage cases places the viewer in a conflict of class distinction as to which to choose. As a final contrasting element, the camera kit is housed in a valise that is a replica of the recently discovered (still an alleged discovery) suitcase belonging to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whom I plan to turn my attention to later on with a full-fledged homage, but for the sake of Christmas I will make this it's "cameo appearance". Although he had no direct connection with Kahlo, Irving was the U.S Ambassador to Spain.

A note about the Rollei 35 SE camera: the best thing to do with this would be to digitize it, however it wouldn't shoot the same; the charm of this scale focusing camera is in the working of its front face dials. A fully digital version of this camera issued by Rollei would be ideal. However, the better thing to have in that case would be a printer connected to it so that an inferior digital LCD would be replaced with a photographic print. I include a flip down cover over the LCD to give it a more analogue feeling instead of the usual way of turning off the LCD. A hidden compartment under the camera body reveals a red memory chip containing a facsimile copy of Washington Irving's famous sketchbook recalling the 18th century red armchair in Irving's study with its hidden drawer where he kept his manuscripts. The latch on the Rollei to open its hidden compartment is in the viewfinder's writing studio compartment and can only be toggled by lifting the oil lamp on his desk. To do this a special tool is provided with the kit.

Irving's red armchair is also used in my design no. 92a, for the astronomer William Herschel.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

laboratorio de ying, nyc.

Sketches for a pinhole camera dedicated to the British painter Francis Bacon. This design belongs to a series that I would describe as healing machines which attempt to reconcile the photographer in some way as it is used. The first camera I designed with this idea was a view camera for the pianist Glenn Gould. The languid disorder of the painter's studio at 7 Reece Mews, where Francis Bacon created orderly, almost modular works, made me think of a possible transcendent device, a whimsical psychological marker for this chaos.

The near-psychedelic painting palettes of Bacon, blooming out-of-control within his studio could perhaps be subverted into an order within the confines of a camera.

The ubiquitous, glossy, semi-dark Brach's Bridge Mix chocolate coating points to the idea that the only true color that can approach black (or darkness and shadows) is brown.

The proposed camera's structure looks off-balanced, hanging in the air like the subjects in some of Bacon's raw emotional paintings. It has two legs and relies on leaning against the wall (adapted from furniture design). The unvarnished blocky wood enclosure, almost like a funerary box for ashes, is deliberately kept plain, functional and bare, with a minimum of features on the exterior to match the characteristic appearance Bacon's studio.

Bacon had a keen interest for photographs, working off of them for inspiration. It was the nearest he got to abstraction.

The internal viewfinder shows the outdoor facade of his studio at 7 Reece Mews. This and a fragment of stone from that facade (mounted behind cobalt blue glass to impart a nuance of mystery and that of being long forgotten as this is also a homage) are reminders of the studio, and is rendered in a simplified order in stark contrast to the interior of Bacon's studio. Pulling open the 1st dark slide on top accesses not only this "brownie" -styled internal viewfinder but opens the pinhole's cover for exposure. An identical 2nd darkslide at the bottom of the right hand side covers a door to dispense the candy to a "payout" chute (steel-lined).

The chute, candy and the lid of the camera's enclosure recall Bacon's obsession with gambling. A roulette wheel's shape is carved into the underside of the soft wooden lid which formally divides the upper and lower halves of the enclosure.

In the fantasy, both Bacon's destructive gambling and paralytic clutter are subverted/converted into an addiction for a monotoned bridge mix candy (itself a randomly generated element) and is thus dispensed in sane portions, mimicking a chance/gambling event. A unified mixture also is a homogenizing action for clutter. Additionally, a mahjong-styled marker on a chain is used to indicate the percentage (which would be comfortably titrated and decreased) of the custom chocolate candies which would have Bacon's favorite liquor in them.

The idea of a bag of mixed candies for a card game is both charming and nostalgic nowadays.

Brach's old fashioned monotone chocolate candy mix contains : fudge, peanut brittle, peanuts, caramel, raspberry jelly, malted milk, raisins and filberts.

Incidentally, See's Candies has their own version of Bridge Mix consisting of: California brittle, peanuts, almonds, molasses chips, raisins and caramel.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

This photo refers to my next design upload.

A camera that is also a study model for a housing project. The camera and it's case is also designed as an accessory for the Duke, and to complement with his custom made 1941 GM Cadillac Limousine "The Duchess".

Design, model, text are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

Chinatown, Nyc. -- Another jamais vu kind of photograph, to me.

1933 Brownie Six-16 Glass

It's harder to shoot with some of the non-bellows cameras, like this Brownie, so there's a huge lens falloff as I try to get the GF2 in. I was actually more successfut pairing it up with my Ricoh GRD3 to go after this kind of mood.

This photograph is a part a camera design for The Inspired Eye magazine's design contest, which will be uploaded to flickr in the near future. Please also see my set of "Vintage Camera Photographs" taken by other Digitized Vintage cameras.

atelier ying, nyc

The humble tools of golf continue to provide for my continuing homage to Felix Nadar.

The two subjects of photography and golf have direct ties, particularly if you shoot with a vintage scale focusing camera or shoot with digitized vintages. These cameras involve a degree of guesstimating. it is akin to artillery fire which is the trajectory of most golf shots; it's the same if you shoot an slr with a very long lens.

Felix Nadar's experimental balloon flights were not unlike a grand version of playing links-style golf, running shots along the ground as the main strategy. In this respect he dragged his balloon and its gondola (and adventurous passengers) along the terrain of the French countryside.

For this fantasy, Nadar gains the companionship of Dr. Hugo Eckener and gets more air time while lowering his handicap as well.

I commemorate this by modifying an accessory, the humble golf shot counter (which I purchased in Hong Kong). Instead of holding golf tees, it now carries 6 machine-made Cohiba Club cigarillos (which do not need the rigors of precise humidification), enough for the duration of a typical Nadar voyage. Instead of counting golf strokes, the central push button counts cloud formations for Eckener so that he can safely navigate Nadar's balloon past potential storms. A clock function times the total journey. Lastly, for the street photographer a built-in Telex rangefinder allows any him:

1. to practice estimating his distances for future shooting on the street

2. for actual use with a vintage camera

3. for accurate pin information on the greens

4. for the street photographer who believes in déjà vu/presque vu it counts the number of transported moments he experiences during his street session.

An optional version replaces the Telex with a simple digital with a pinhole filter to make the golf counter function as a retro subminiature, with cigars!

Notes: Dr. Hugo Eckener - manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, captain of the Graf Zeppelin, airship designer.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

The idea for a summer vacation spot lies in the famed tenor's favorite little cigars, Swiss Villigers, a machine made air cured smoke pressed in very cool rectangular shapes reminding me of Hong Kong's soft banana candies of decades ago.

The cigar box is transformed into a tiny soccer game & Victrola. Sectional drawings proposed for an opera stadium are displayed on a gallery to the side. A soccer ball with Italian colors and a cardboard A.C Milan player (his favorite team) give the pastime a personal touch.

As was mentioned in my design drawing #150, this cigar box is an architectural scale model for the design, which as a funerary object in the manner of ancient Egypt, is not to be built but carried into the next world. In terms of utility and function, this is like a cricket cage belonging to a Chinese scholar, to be tucked into a pocket and carried on the body.

Pavarotti smoked Villigers in the summer only, once a week. They have a lovely Sumatra wrapper leaf. Note that John F. Kennedy also smoked a machine made cigar, by H. Upmann.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

As a street photographer, I'm seduced by Moriyama's exciting shooting style.

The Brownie 'Vecta' (ca. 1963) inspires the overall design. It's ergonometric handle should please Moriyama who goes on long sessions.

A Parisian Garret on top of a building encloses the camera, and a Japanese love hotel's "front" acts like a curtain wall with thematic purposes.

There are two possible viewfinder views for this camera: one has an insomniac's vision, under a deep blue dawn sky a single garret out of many randomly lights up before the viewer each time a side button is pressed and extinguishes slowly, automatically via a timer. The second view looks to the past history, into the photo studio of Eugene Atget.

In some love hotels, the customer slips his payment under a screened counter. This sense of secrecy is carried through with a love hotel facade on the front of the camera with elements of both revealing & concealing, thereby also subverting the traditional feeling of invasiveness that photographic subjects feel so that the photographer should have more time to frame and detach himself afterwards without much ado. The use of unfinished wood for the screen (as opposed to the traditional black ) is also in aid of a pleasant informal shooting experience.

Listing other points:

- The lens path and the actual lens have been shifted to the sides.

- The camera body is compressed to one side via the Vecta's recessed handle design.

- The camera lens is pulled out with a dark slide to activate the picture-taking process. In the unused position both lens sit discretely behind two panes of brown smoked glass.

- Pulling one of the dark slides also deposits a hotel room key down into the bottom chute behind the main curtain wall screen.

- An indented circular space on top of the camera (like a landing pad onto the garret) is lined in dark polished wood and is perfect for holding a bracing cup of espresso at dusk for the night photographer and a glass of whiskey for later hours.

These playful, quixotic complications to the camera's light path indirectly conveys the ideas of discretion and play, particular characteristics of love hotels.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

Coors Field, located in Denver, Colorado, is the home field of the National League's Colorado Rockies. It is named for the Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado, which purchased the naming rights to the park prior to its completion in 1995. The Rockies played their first two seasons, 1993 and 1994, in Mile High Stadium before moving to Coors Field, two blocks from Union Station in Denver's Lower Downtown (or LoDo) neighborhood. The park includes 63 luxury suites and 4,500 club seats.

Coors Field has a reputation as a home run-friendly park that, arguably, equals Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field, and earned it the nickname "Coors Canaveral" among critics (a reference to Cape Canaveral, from where NASA launches spacecraft). Denver's dry air tends to dry out baseballs, which makes the balls harder and travel farther. Other factors include the relatively low height of the fences and very limited foul territory area. In an attempt to limit the number of home runs, since 2002 balls have been placed in a humidor before games to keep them from drying excessively.

The Rockies knew that Coors Field would give up a lot of home runs because of its high altitude, and moved the fences farther away. This created a ballpark that not only gives up the most home runs in baseball, but also gives up the most doubles and triples as well.

Coors Field was the first new stadium added in a six year period in which Denver's sports venues were upgraded, along with Pepsi Center and INVESCO Field at Mile High. It was also the first baseball-only National League Park since Dodger Stadium was built in 1962.

As with the other new venues, Coors Field was constructed with accessibility in mind. It sits near Interstate 25 and has direct access to the 20th Street and Park Avenue exits. Nearby Union Station also provides light rail access.

Coors Field was originally planned to be somewhat smaller, seating only 43,800. However, after the Rockies drew almost 4.5 million people in their first season—the most in baseball history—plans were altered during construction, and new seats in the left field upper deck were added. The centerfield bleacher section has its own informal name: "the Rockpile."

While most of the seats in Coors Field are dark green, the seats in the 20th row of the upper deck are purple. This marks the city's one mile elevation point.

Unlike most baseball stadiums, where home plate faces east or northeast (so as to prevent sunsets from disturbing the batter), Coors Field faces due north, resulting in the sun shining in the first-baseman's eyes during sunset. (Wikipedia)

atelier ying, nyc.

The 4th century saint, Nikolaos of Myra had been gloriously transformed into the traditional Santa Clause through a poem by Clement Clarke Moore.

Moore's colleague Washington Irving also contributed to our popular literature of Christmas.

The humble and well proportioned Kodak No. 2 Folding Bull's-Eye is employed herein to depict Santa's famed midnight sleigh ride, weaving in as a proxy Felix Nadar's real life bump 'n grind aerial adventures onboard his balloon Le Geant (whose maiden voyage was in the exact same year as Moore's death) as well as Amelia Earhart's historic transatlantic flight.

The digitization of the Kodak camera opens up space inside its body for a magical transformation to become a storage for relics of Santa's flying sled. Five compartments (two pull out and the others are recessed (which then are illuminated internally by the traditional circular finder portholes) similar to the finder window at the top of the camera) to display "Old Christmas" associations (both real and fantasy) as listed as follows:

1. a letter fragment from one of Moore's drafts with plastic reindeer

2. a vial (ampoule) of the Manna oil which still exudes from St. Nicholas's tomb in the Basilica in Bari which houses his relics.

3. Landing fragments of the Geant recalling Cornell's boxes dedicated to famous 19th century ballerinas who danced "lighter than air".

4. a fragment replica of Le Geant's wicker siding (it was made of wicker) in a large scale to contrast with the tiny camera compartment.

5. Amelia Earhart morse code chart with a fragment of a brass code key.

6. two list of supplies, one for Nadar's Le Geant and the other for the Electra (Earhart's last plane that was never found) written on charity Xmas stationery to be pasted on the sides of the last compartment which includes a tiny dollhouse ceramic pot filled with tobacco, kept for St. Nick to enjoy a relaxing break before his next stop. Strewn on the bottom are a few polished apple seeds from Washington Irving's estate in Sunnyside, N.Y. representing crab apples for the reindeer

My very tiny "holiday rush" drawing shows the camera with an optional set of legs borrowed from the Sputnik giving this camera a transient characteristic.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

Gorey needs little introduction as an American original, an eccentric Victorian (not very far from Joseph Cornell) who found himself intuitively moving from French literature to illustration and book design. Both men were also passionate balletomanes.

This design's camera phone is not a real phone. It's ancestor is the French detective cameras of the last century. The fake phone is a complete set of digital camera controls. The mouthpiece is the shutter release and the dial buttons control metering, focus, exposure, etc. The rotary dial face is an LCD display. Both the controls and lens of the camera are protected by silk cloth coverings. The underside of the sole cover has a contact number list written in rhyming couplets.

The phone is stored inside the velvet seat of a unicycle. A small set of catnip bottles are also inside the seat.

Here in this ballet fantasy, Gorey and his beloved cats participate in a heady dance. The cats follow him on the unicycle like a pied piper transformed from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era (the medieval rats to Victorian cats).

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

Quite a bit of Weegee's fame rests on his medium format photographs of murder victims.

While these portraits are essentially unique in the history of photography, they are also controversial.

It is only my own opinion, which is all I have the right to say, but I don't feel these photographs should have been taken, even for art's sake. However that being said, I do not condemn it, and I do keep in mind the special qualities of his work. For me, his particular style of photography has a subtle side that I appreciate and learn from the more I look at it. And as I have stated in previous designs dedicated to him, he was a master darkroom technician.

I want to create a camera for Weegee that focuses upon the dead in a more spiritual way befitting them, and using this design to reconcile.

With that in mind, this design proposal seeks to give homage not only to Weegee but also to the photographs and to their subjects. Perhaps in his heart, Weegee was honoring them in some way, but here I propose that the camera the tied to an act of ritual for the dead.

Chinese Ming Qi has a long tradition, as other cultures like the Egyptians, to honor and provide for dead. Funerary objects are depicted and used in various ways. Although I am not an expert on this subject, what is different in the Chinese ritual is that these objects are burned to 'activate' them.

A vintage multiplying camera of the late 19th century is slightly modified for this design. A Chinese Ming Qi object, a house, to 'house' the transient murdered victims becomes a temporary body for the camera, which will take four simultaneous exposures very sharply by virtue of the adapted Speed Graphic flashgun. When the photographs are exposed, the Ming Qi house is detached from its innards (the multiplying camera is among the simplest kind of cameras, functionally) and the user then sets it afire, like incense (which also comes with the kit) thus giving this camera an honorary one-time use befitting the dead, whether the subject here be a gunned down criminal or a victim. A small side compartment holds a cigar to help the user to silently reflect during the ceremony.

The Ming Qi object in this case is further distinguished, as opposed to an ordinary dollhouse or toy, by various silver decorations and subtle styling commensurate with its purpose. In a subtle but coincidental way, this ritual act for the camera indirectly recalls Weegee's own theatricality and uniqueness in life.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, at the Traveler's Factory, Nakameguro, Tokyo

After 15 long years, seeing Tokyo again is bittersweet. A lot of old places are gone or updated; I still love the Doutor 's chain cafes.

On Showa-dori is a coffee house with an upbeat feeling and an old comfy style. It's pleasantly noisy too.

Here I convert a model of it into a portable cafe and humidor. Rows of windows above the cafe are used as slots with glass doors for newspapers and cigars. A kind of vending machine feeling. On the ground level a reproduction of the cafe interior immediately creates it's own ambience. A tiny case with signature cookies and a service area to take out coffee in tiny porcelain cups gives the regular customer all he needs to whittle away the evening hours till 22:00.

A note for a camera layout is really superfluous here, although I have put it in. A coffee, a sweet, a newspaper and a mild Lonsdale are all one needs.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

As Jill Masterson, the actress Shirley Eaton created one of the most memorable Bond moments in cinema, gilded in gold, in which she also appeared on the cover of Life magazine.

The film naturally didn't follow the novel in every instance. This design seeks to weave back some wonderful parts of the story. A commemorative bento box is presented to Masterson. The enclosure is a replica (made of lightweight reinforced wood and painted over as a movie prop) of the Transistorized radio telephone she used as Goldfinger's assistant.

Inside are three tiers of delicacies that pull out from one side (reminiscent of boxes of soba noodles) straight from an actual feast in the Goldfinger novel: heaping supplies of black caviar and stone crabs are stored over thin bags of dry ice, butter for melting, lemons, dry toast, and pink champagne (or an additional small bottle of Dom Perignon) served in a tankard. All that is needed from the train porter is a large bucket of ice. Operating the three knobs on the front of the radio separately unlocks each of the three drawers.

A side compartment holds the Leica M3, DC light meter and flash holder used by Bond in capturing evidence on Masterson. This camera kit within the bento box is reminiscent of the Kodak Ensemble kits sold to women around 1929 (Please see attached photograph below). The microphone unit contains memory for storing and playing 1950's music from a monophonic speaker (Shirley Bassey singing the three Bond songs that she recorded).

Lastly, a small candle flame burner (to melt the butter and reheat toast), boxes of playing cards and a mini pack of Chesterfields complete the bento box for the high stakes two-handed Canasta that is played by Auric Goldfinger.

So in this design fantasy Jill Masterson finally gets away successfully from Goldfinger, and enjoys a luxurious 1950's meal on board the famed Silver Meteor train headed for New York, forever.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

The 1965 Cold War tv sitcom "Get Smart" kept a gag going wherein this device never really worked well, or at all.

The comedic angst of Get Smart co-star Edward Platt was a great foil to the foolhardy lead character played by Don Adams.

Platt was trained in the Julliard school as a bass-baritone.

This humidor would fit perfectly on the desk of Platt's office as the Chief of Control, it's ear symbol similar to the red hotline phone on the same desk. Both are private connections to the unknown, in concert with the meditative art of cigar smoking (a silent yet unhealthy activity for those whose genes are suited to).

On the Chinese acupuncture medical ear model are labelled names of various Control Agents to keep notes on the inventory of house cigars reserved for them. Control agents who would drop by the office making this a cigar club humidor. As the cigar collection dwindles red indicator lamps would turn on by pressing the corresponding button next to their name on the inside of the humidor lid. Once a month, the box would be taken to Control's cigar vendor for restocking. Each agent's stash of 5 cigars of his or her size and choice is stored in his own custom cedar tray.

As this is a nostalgic humidor the coronas of yesteryear would dictate the proper size and capacity. I thought the old-style Joya de Nicaragua cigars would be the perfect match. Each cigar label would be stamped with an Agent number. These cigars would be a very rare find now as the line has changed although the name hasn't.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

The talented singer-actress-cabaret performer's most memorable role might have been as the Bond film villain, Colonel Rosa Klebb in "From Russia with Love".

This camera bag is both chic and dark. It may be a perfect accessory for paparazzi.

Like a modern house, it has panels that swing open revealing a half-frame bellows camera in the style of Pre-Leica prototypes ca. 1920 (as in the Sico, Debrie, Simplex, Le Phototank) I culled these styles as this was her era.

As a camera bag, it has a cigarettes case, matches (which one ignites by striking against the side of the shoe), an MP3 with a recording of some Kurt Weill Songs (the presentation box has a number of interchangeable modules for all of the Weill Songs Lenya sang as well as Louis Armstrong's famous Mack the Knife song), a cleaning cloth (which is lens cloth on one side and shoe polishing cloth on the reverse), and a backup Minox Subminiature that pulls out at the top. A matching leather hand-strap and key for a tiny drawer for jewelry completes this six-compartment "Rosa" bag which is offered in black, red, or Python skin.

A second matching shoe for men (Please see the next upload) is even more fetishistic. The "Quentin" has no camera at all but is a cigar humidor. The shoe's tip contains a cutter and a lighter. Inside the stiletto a spout pours Scotch.

Design drawing and writings are copyright 2013 by David Lo

Lutetia Bar located in Hotel Lutetia Paris , rive Gauche. The Lutetia Bar attracts a local crowd of famous faces in a glamourous Art Deco.

Renowned amongst the literati, fashionistas and celebrities of the Left Bank, the bar and lounge areas are always lively - full of artists, journalists and writers, all appreciating its sophisticated yet unpretentious ambience. Its richly decorated interior with red and gold accents is perfectly complimented by the sculptures and paintings of Arman, Philippe Hiquilly, Max Le Verrier and Thierry Bisch. Music is also a key component that makes the Lutetia Bar a favourite – loyal guest and famous French singer, Eddy Mitchell, wrote a song entitled Bar du Lutetia and there is live piano music every evening from 7pm as well as “Lute-Jazz” performances every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:15pm.

Whether visiting for a snack at lunchtime, pastries in the afternoon, or a cocktail in the evening, the attentive but discrete staff are always welcoming and courteous. We encourage you to try one of Gilles Guyomarch’s original cocktails, perhaps even to select one of 20 different types of cigar contained in Philippe Hiquilly’s specially designed sculpture, cleverly doubling as an humidor.

Open:

From 11:00 am to 11:00 pm

atelier ying, nyc.

The Stebbing's Automatic Camera of 1883, Paris, France has a heft and shape that can easily be improved (of course using a replica of the original) as a medium of design.

Although E. Stebbing's concept did not require focus for his historically original roll film camera, this modified version puts that function necessarily back into play from the design of the German Tri-Color Camera ca. 1925. Therefore the focusing lever at the bottom moves the entire lens housing (hereby separated from the original Stebbing camera's front) slightly forward and back for a vintage focus effect. Filters can be mounted.

I have already introduced design nos. 39 and 95 for Christie's Hercule Poirot. This is a continuation of that series for Christie's most famous creation. It's ironic as the fictional Poirot did not bother to deal with cameras at all, irrespective of his petty bourgeois origins. However, he never lost his admiration for royalty & nobility.

The Stebbing's automatic camera was a vanguard for the integrated roll film holder. Unfortunately, it was very soon usurped by Eastman Kodak's roll film holder,and fell quickly into obscurity.

"The Labors of Hercules" is an informal biography within a set of short stories of the detective who wishes to retire by accepting only 10 exceptional detective cases. With this premise for the book, which was a minor one, Christie really raised the bar for herself. The first short story is called "The Nemean Lion", the irony being that the famed lion is actually a tiny Pekingese on a leash.

The digitization of this historically important camera frees up much space for some innovation. The polished wooden house-like enclosure of the Stebbing's (reminiscent of an Exakta) becomes a glorified ancient Chinese house whose main entrance (the taking lens for the light path) is guarded by two Imperial Chinese Lions. The Stebbing's camera, like Hercule Poirot, is guaranteed auspiciousness into eternity framed by these two metaphorical book ends. Any street photographer will be pleased at such prospect of such good fortune for his street work.

The knobs of the wooden roll film spool pull up to reveal vials of coarsely broken plaster and shards of mirrored glass preserved in alcohol. The vials are respectively labelled as arsenic and strychnine, two poisons frequently employed by Christie (herself a World War II pharmacist) in her stories. The plaster is a reminder of detective fiction in which treasures are clandestinely molded within smuggled plaster statues, in this case the adorable lion dogs. The mirror shards are a reminder of the parts inside a camera and perhaps the camera interior itself, as a delicate thing, contrasted with the formidable mass of the Stebbing's. The primitive finder for this camera is modified with the addition of an adjustable eyepiece focused upon a transparency of a typical grand Chinese vista with clouds, flowing water and mountains. This is part of my Chinese New Year's celebration uploads. My next upload is Friday at midnight. We will head into the new year with design.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

Two giants hover over the intentions of this design. both are men of genius, with similarities.

I've long admired Peyton Manning

for his innovative qualities and his contributions to an intellectual approach to American football. At times he has been wrongly seen as eccentric, which only reflects upon the lack of intelligence and judgment of a few sportswriters.

Manning's innovative thinking has a resemblance to the conductor Herbert Von Karajan, another larger than life forward thinker.

Both Manning and Lombardi are family oriented men with a firm religious foundation. Lombardi went as far as to once have had intentions toward priesthood.

The proposed redesign of the Lombardi trophy is as a tool for creativity, things that I have been making all along to be used. They are essentially randomizing machines in the style of John Cage. The user inserts slides of plays from a game into the viewer (actual screenshots of plays from an actual game or diagrammatic screens from the playbook) and generates numbers which index to an assorted list of call symbols from Manning's list as well as those from other quarterbacks for Manning to modify and adapt. This randomizing factor (something that PG Wodehouse often used to generate names of characters for short stories) may provide surprising combinations that may befuddle the opposition defense in a game.

In the lower half of the enclosure is a dedication space to the noble devout Lombardi. The miniature chapel-like meditation space honors Lombardi's habit of Catholic examen and confession. In this respect it has qualities of a confessional (rear red curtain and subtle wood detailing). It also has storage for a memento in a space off to the side. The space can be viewed either from the back or the side via a mirror or via an eyepiece. The quiet, solemn atmosphere (naturally lit from a light bar) communicates to the owner of the trophy the importance of finding an inner peace before a major football game.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

Wodehouse like Ozu was a methodical, hard working reviser and editor of his own work. Like Ian Fleming he also started out working at a bank. Both were also avid golfers. Like Furtwangler and Edward the Duke of Winsor, politics was not his thing and in fact, his downfall. And like Ozu and Fleming, Wodehouse has created his own world to inhabit.

An unfortunate bitterness occurred between Wodehouse and A. A. Milne over Wodehouse's imprisonment during WWII. This design is meant to symbolically reconcile the feud between Wodehouse and Milne and the great conflict of his life.

Wodehouse the avid golfer has humorously referred to his mailing address as the 6th bunker at the Addington Golf course. The golf bunker is an apt metaphor not only as a trap for any golfer who has overdone his game but also a metaphor for the depths of life's sorrows as well as the dark depths of a camera's interior (Particularly on Scottish golf courses) This 6th bunker with a bridge is detailed in the camera viewfinder as a 3-D internal view.

The architecture of heights is the polar opposite. It is an architecture of pleasure. For this we site the camera-as-architectural-structure (a leaning obelisk) high up in the air, a metaphor of surmounting life's problems, by locating it high up in Milne's legendary Hundred-Acre Woods.

A large gnarly olive tree (a symbol of forgiveness) offers the enclosure for the camera which is itself made from Jerusalem wood. Wodehouse's Jeeves brings along accoutrements to serve the animals in Pooh's world. The club-conscious Bertie Wooster fits well with the animal community.

Surrounded by the tranquility of the woods, Jeeves and Bertie help maintain it as forest rangers or gardeners via the lookout of this camera treehouse which is oriented to focus on some of the Hundred-Acte Wood's more prominent "Kodak Moments" such as Owl's tree, Kanga's house, the Bee tree, Piglet's house with its famous wooden sign, Eeyore's gloomy place and of course, Pooh bear's treehouse. In reciprocation, the pair are allowed to use the woods as a 9-hole executive golf course, this extending the golf theme to this end of the camera.

Technically speaking, three vintage cameras are hidden the tree sculpture which itself is installed in the ant hill-like structure (the obelisk, or just a rocky eagle's nest).

The sheathed antique cameras peer onto their subjects (by virtue of their three different focal lengths) within relative anonymity (a muted metaphor for the humble nature of A.A. Milne's animal characters) while the photographer is given a full unhidden birds-eye view of the forest by climbing a stairs which begin in the dark ground level and gradually opens as one reaches the top where the contrast (of hiddenness and openness) is experienced the most. My design notes are still partial but this is the basic thematic layout.

In the wonderful book, "Origins of Architectural Pleasure" the author uses the term 'prospect' to gauge the quality of siting that brings the scene to the viewer. He further employs the term refuge to fall back to seclusion. Much of my viewfinder designs certainly agree with this author's concepts. Finally, my Wodehouse design is a sunny idyllic one. Wodehouse himself mentioned that there are two kinds of novels to write: Ones that are very real to life and those in which you throw all caution to the winds, heeding no one's advice and following no one else's trends, and creating a world that is only idyllic. Fortunately, camera designs can veer in either direction, but for this design we stay idyllic.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

The above photo refers to my next design upload, please do refer to that drawing.

In this photo, Wodehouse is deep in thought on a story, or solving a problem for a plot, no doubt.

The romantic image of the novelist who pens story after story of the same cast of characters, himself addicted to them with no cure in sight and without regard to the latest literary trends, is endearing to me.

The ability to leave the world and divert into a saloon of one's own, writing stories, and being paid for it, and be oblivious to the rest of the world, is envious. I hope camera designs or ones for humidors or huts or fountain pens or watches could have such a good fortune.

atelier ying, nyc.

Ultraman battles recall the classic combination of watching sumo bouts, drinking whiskey and smoking cigars, a fine evening alone or with friends.

I used Norman Foster's stupendous American Air museum as an inspiration for this design as flight is a significant theme in Ultraman (the flying Ultraman, the VTOL crafts and the jet age of that time era). Naturally, all the Space Patrol vehicles are on display in miniature here outside along the main entrance instead of inside.

A human scale element is the long, luxurious, marbled white onyx which is complementary to imparting soft glow along with the natural lighting scheme and provides further contrast of materials.

Hejduk's Bovisa provides the inspiration for sleek tools in black metal and dark wood to use and display on the white onyx. From top left going clockwise:

1. cocktail strainer with a cigar cutting attachment

2. star shape with extra long cedar matches

3. Ultraman Osaka tower building whiskey decanter

4. tiny ice bucket ice mold

5. maze dish for grilled cuttlefish skin

6&7. two sets of cups

8. flip flop lighters

9. cigar cutter V-cut

10. cigar cutter flat cut

11. whiskey flask

12. kaiju ceremonial cup with legs

Bovisa items nos.4 and 8 are very adaptable camera designs. No. 4 will take quick sketchy shots of sumo bouts as well as Ultraman episodes' screenshots.

A two drawers of Cubans representing the inner galleries pull out from either side of the main entrance.

This bar-humidor is an excellent companion on a table near the television and should be kept inside the tv stand, in the decorative style of the 1960's, a complete bar cabinet.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo

atelier ying, Madison Square Garden, nyc

I'm a lifelong Rangers fan. This humidor is dedicated to both the die-hard fans of New York as well as their beloved hockey team.

I wanted to design something with heart and intensity, something the Rangers need to beat the great LA Kings who can create "something out of nothing" as Henrik Lundqvist said last night after the 2-1 Rangers win. So that's my motto, to create something essentially out of nothing.

The heart of this design is inspired by the bigger than life Texan president LB Johnson and an Air Force one anecdote that he would hurl an overcooked steak at the plane window in fury. Other than that there are no political influences or affiliations here.

The humidor melds a Texan Longhorn with an enclosure of solid oak lined with cedar and steel for the interior compartments, all inside a large Presidential onboard Halliburton briefcase that can be taken on any charter team plane.

A steel-lined insulated drawer holds a cooked American victory T-bone steak dinner for the flight back to the next playoff game. This menu used to be the goalie Patrick Roy's victory meal. A cafeteria-styled plate in the drawer also has additional space for a baked potato, shrimp cocktail and a serving of chocolate mousse with Armagnac and crushed macadamia nuts. The drawer can also hold a raw steak to place over hockey bruises for the health conscious modern sports player opting instead for a high carb vegetarian dinner. The raw steak can be used and then hurled against the wall in a manly gesture of victory and defiance.

A bottom drawer is used similarly for slamming and has extra buffered space to insulate the cigars from excessive vibrations. This drawer holds about a half dozen 10-year old aged Joya de Nicaragua pyramides cigars (well-aged as they are very strong smokes) or the Nat Sherman New York brand of "Timeless" pyramides to celebrate hockey victories with.

A side compartment holds a wineglass, a bottle of red wine, a cutter, a box of extra long matches from Johnson's Air Force One, a pair of white gloves and a digital camera shaped like a replica in silver of the Stanley Cup to capture pictures off the tv screen that only a true hockey fan would find valuable.

All you now need is a tv screen, an order from the kitchen for the meal (dedicated to Lundqvist) and a team victory.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

The perfect room is fashioned from the famed locker room at Augusta. The only piece of furniture in the atelier is a table to make (Wright) wooden forms of various holes at famed courses, for a custom board game representing the early history of golf.

The table has a replica of the Augusta clubhouse which holds 70 handmade cigars.

The lockers in the background contain the architectural wooden models, as well as small collections of antique Hickory clubs used in the early days pre-1900.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

Maier is said to have made over 150,000 exposures with only a fraction of them printed. Clearly she and Gary Winogrand must have had a deep viewfinder experience as the only photographic experience took place herein, although there is a kind of a collector's instinct in the taking of a exposure in this manner. It wasn't simply a matter of the expense of printing. She worked with the joy of using the camera as archiver. For her, the image entered the camera but never left it; that was enough. The camera body is a refuge. This is why I'm making a small series of designs for her.

Maier was so private an individual that little is known about her, yet the compositions speak volumes to photographers (especially her self-portraits).

My proposed design offers a different channel to Vivian Maier the collector. It was planned in the same manner as the view camera design for the pianist Glen Gould in that the camera is meant to have a specific healing effect on its user (perhaps reconciliation is a more apt term).

The skyscraper I chose was around during her time in NY; the iconic Flatiron building, which has been the subject of many famous photographers.

A gridded series of compartments alongside this building's two bearing walls hold a custom set of Moleskine notebooks for 'Vivian Maier the Diarist'. Each notebook has its own space, much like a film frame, exposed but not printed. She has a choice of a white or black cover for each notebook. Placing a white notebook in the compartment means it's public, black means it's forever private. So the notebooks mimic b&w photographs. The first notebook is only a single page long and each notebook increases the number of pages in the following pattern of total number of pages: (1,2,2,3,3,5,6,7,8,8,10,15,20,22,25,35,40,50). Slowly Maier would get into the habit of opening up to her diaries, which are concealed behind the glass that opens like a dark slide. The camera also contains inside a living will that stipulates when the diaries would be opened, if ever. Till that time comes the diaries would be as individual art pieces each framed in its own compartment within a camera that resembles a skyscraper.

This way Maier would have a collection of diaries kind of like the plain black Mead notebooks Diane Arbus collected.

Obviously a portrait camera, this could also be slung about the shoulder with a wide pigskin strap over a coffee brown waistcoat--- a very romantic urban NYC camera.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

laboratorio de ying, nyc.

Drinking Sherry at 5pm extends now to the 2nd of my designs for "Sack", the 16th century English name for Sherry.

It is oddly interesting that around the 18th century people carried their own cutlery with them to their host's home, which is something that photographers still do today (they carry their own cameras) although cell phone and device camera functions (and to an extent Polaroid cameras of course) now have also 'antiquated' this practice. So in the future, we should see a Leica M3 on a sideboard in a room specifically as a reminder of a time when people were limited enough to have to carry their own cameras when visiting. But this Sack Camera will be seen then as still being modern as it is both a portable (at least to a Weegee) and a stationary camera for interiors. Read on for the details.

Derived from an antique 18th-century English Knife box that has been modified now to a pinhole camera. It should be noted that these decorative and elegant knife boxes had been modified for many decades into stationery and postal boxes. The camera has a removable dark slide/cartridge specifically recalling the mail slot for the postal box. As the sketch shows, turning the tasseled key opens the lens cover for exposure. This English knife box-cum-portrait pinhole camera is meant to be displayed elegantly on top of a wooden sideboard in an office or dining room as a drinks cabinet, accompanied by a service tray and other accessories. The back half of the knife box holds compartments for bottles of sherry, port, a gasogene and some crystal glasses.

The underside of the lid frames a token antique 18th-century fruit knife, not the type that would be displayed in a knife box but which evolved as a status symbol of the upper classes. Both Sack and fruit were scarce back then.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

A sequel to my previous design no. 250 is an adaption of the historic 1942 limousine built for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, known as the Cadillac "Duchess", which had custom compartments for Wallis Simpson's jewelry and Edward VIII's pipes and tobacco.

Max Vandemeer, acted by the wonderful Robert Morley, tours Europe as an arch villain food editor (a guest villain to the 1966 Batman series would be near perfection) with an entourage of kitchen henchmen and a decoy getaway vehicle when chased by the police. For this, the excessive, modern Falstaff simply must have two limousines; one to dine in and a second for smoking.

The Pullman Cigar car has a fold-down lap desk to reveal a sizable cigar cabinet to sample cigars from various boxes in Vandermeer's collection as they age in his home cabinet. This allows a minimum evaporation of the oleoresins. The Pullman's humidity is slightly higher for this reason.

Morley's henchmen and guests sit slightly lower in the cabin on "benches". The original Pullman of 1967 was more of a passenger car, whereas this redesign takes a feature of Lyndon Johnson's legendary Air Force One, where his desk was electronically elevated so he could appear more commanding (an strategic architectural feature originally conceived for the Capitol building) to his guests and staff. In this smoking car, Morley's elevated seat allows for easy cigar meditation as he can view outside the windows and can pontificate at ease over the guests.

The pull out lap desk is for reading and making notes (or tiny instructive atelier drawings) inside cookbooks. A library of favorite historical opera singers on cassettes, forty of them, each bound in red leather, is located in both car doors, commemorating Morley's early musical career aspirations.

An espresso machine and scotch bar allows Vandermeer time to relax from his life as editor and arch criminal, as described in my previous design for his Rolls Royce Dining car.

Please also see my related designs nos. 180a and 180b, dedicated to the Duke of Windsor.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

I've always admired specialty fountain pens like those made from the company called Krone.

Ever since doing a little design for a James Bond "Q" quartermaster kit for Delta pens (please see link below for that design no. 70), I must say that pen design intrigues me.

This fountain pen comes with:

1. an asian-styled seal with ancient mythology in the midsection of the cap. In the drawing two seals are shown, one with a sphinx and the other with his hand scripted initials. The pen cap Is further decorated with a silver snake coiled around, alluding to the realm of the unconscious, Freud's main focus.

2. Instead of a relic of say Freud's papers or fragments of his cigars,

the relic inside the pen cap contains a fragment of one of the pyramids in Egypt as Freud looked to antiquity as well as to his own art collection to develop his psychological theories of the mind, much as an archaeologist. The bottom of the pen cap is also adorned with a decorative ring of the female sphinxes.

3. a simple cigar repair kit near the base of the pen. For this reason the pen uses cartridges thus saving space, a strategy that I employed with the digitization of vintage cameras, like for the Gallery Ying. The repair kit is a tiny well filled with vegetal glue and with an applicator brush. This repairs unraveled leaves and spots on cigars.

4. On the top of the pen Is also a very sharp round cigar punch perfect for coronas to robusto sizes.

5. Freud's important papers are Inscribed and indexed by acronyms carved along the pen body as an exercise for Freud's memory, a luddite solution.

An accessory of a small Moleskine humidor with four cuban Petit Cazadores cigars (4 1/8 x 43) are enough for an hour long session with a patient. The back of the Moleskine is fashioned as a pocket briefcase with a few index cards; a combination of psychoanalyst notebook and golf caddy book as both sports are similar in that golf can be seen as an architectural scale model or scale machine used to measure the unknown, or in Freud's case, the patient's unconscious mind.

The Moleskine also converts to a tiny stereoscope with slides from Freud's personal collection of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities, for Freud to refer to as he composes his essays with mythological references.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo

atelier ying, nyc.

I have a particular interest in the life of the Duke of Windsor.

In 1941 a custom, one-off Cadillac was built entirely by hand for the couple, which was way ahead of its time as much of its design was introduced in later model Cadillacs. I fitted my design as an accessory to this limousine, called "The Duchess".

The automobile's styling and details are replicated and echoed throughout the camera.

The camera is made of clear and red lucite with a walnut finish throughout. It has three rotating segments that allow it to be studied as an architectural model for a housing design I will have in my book. The pinhole compartment of walnut finish is located in the middle segment. The film holder is fashioned as a dark slide controlled by a brass radio knob adapted from the automobile as well as the bottom segments which look like a pair of game hunting cartridges which holds the Duke's pipe tobacco (just as the auto whose interior carries his pipes, tobacco and the Duchess's jewelry) and a film magazine of 9 slides. Extra "cartridges" are carried in the suit pocket in the hunting style.

Please see the study model for this camera in the photo below.

Please visit the following link to a wonderful page about the limousine's renovation:

www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1063841

Design, model, text are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

Less is known of Weegee's early photographic training years doing tintype work as an apprentice. He was a master darkroom technician before he did his street activities.

A 1598 engraving entitled,

"Dat Rosa Mel Apibus" is from the history of alchemy, for which the darkroom process (especially the portable tintype here) is a modern day metaphor. The symbol of the wisdom and suffering of the alchemical rose is particularly apt in recalling Weegee's life before he became a celebrity. This stylized medieval rose is used to modify the lens-shutter housing on the original Nodark.

The tintype camera will need very long exposures, which justifies the use of a pull out bookcase (adapted from furniture design) with magazines, plants and lounging items. The mechanism to read magazines will be introduced in a later design featuring the Premograph camera.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

I have long wanted to introduce my cigar humidor designs.

Wealthy individuals in the 19th century would commission one-of-a-kind art pieces such as grand pianos, made to order in sometimes eccentric designs with intricate inlays of precious woods.

My work so far recalls that tradition with cameras, and I want to say that it is far more important for the design of these cameras to be out there, existing in this form only on paper rather than to be constructed at all. The idea can be more important than the object. Here the design is for humidors. And for this series cigar humidors designed particularly for historical US presidents.

JFK is most significantly linked to Cuba and to cigars. The proposed design is a memento embodying the story of JFK accumulating machine made boxes of H. Upmann Petit Coronas (which aren't available anymore) prior to signing the American ban on Cuban Exports. He originally thought this embargo would only last about two years and obtained 240 boxes of the cigars which he chain smoked to tide him over.

The enclosure is a rustic US Navy ditty crate that were used for supplies on torpedo boats during World War II, when Kennedy served in the Navy. When you lift the unfinished wooden top of the crate a world map is revealed flanked by two dark mahogany panels. The map has key points in red LED lights which loosely recall the strategic urgency of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The interior will be plush in contrast to the exterior of this humidor. Underneath the lid is a relic with the actual teletype press release,"Breaking news, JFK clinches US presidency". In the compartment beneath this are 24 boxes of the packaged cigars 10 layers deep. The humidification for this box isn't very state-of-the-art as the short filler cigars are pre-packaged in paper boxes and less fragile. Also inside is a compartment for cigar smoking tools and an ashtray that attaches to the top of the crate, which can then be used as a coffee table or footstool in an informal setting.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

Atelier Ying, Nyc.

I love watching the LPGA and Michelle Wie is one of the reasons why. Her approach shots and putting were great to finally clinch this 2014 championship.

This design dedicated to her is for a modern version of a Late Regency Davenport which specifically uses Pine wood of trees from the famed No. 2 course, as well as for the other traditional inlaid woods of the desk's various mechanical sections. The Davenport has an interesting architectural quality and history.

The large sliding desk top has a hidden front with sufficient drawer space to hold Wie's tools for doing art. She's a wonderful artist as well as a professional golfer.

The entire bottom cabinet has a set of short drawers behind faux panels but the main interior space of the cabinet is designed to hold her U.S. Women's Open trophy. For this reason the cabinet is slightly taller, customized to the height of the silver trophy and also to it's owner's height. On the top gallery is an oak desk tray which holds Wie's memento yardage book and scorecard, in addition to a commemorative silver nib fountain pen and crystal ink pots. I don't know if Michelle is a cigar fan, but the hidden side pen drawer (at the bottom center of the drawing) is luxuriously converted to be a tiny French Elie Bleu humidor, in Rosewood, to house some beautifully balanced celebration cigars, the Cohiba Lonsdale Grande (6 1/4 x 47).

This Davenport is traditionally designed to save space and to be set into a private corner of Wie's studio, if she uses one. My design's inspiration is actually from another famed article of furniture, Washington Irving's writing chair which had a locked secret drawer where he stored precious manuscripts for his novels (See my design no. 157). My use of a writing desk for this design hints to the theme of work, something familiar to golf, a sport where precision and constant practice are paramount. The idea of Wie writing chapters of her professional career into her legacy with trophies stored for safekeeping in this seafaring Captain's desk simultaneously creates a painter's metaphor of the young golfer with an eye towards the old masters. An empty Davenport design is but an image of a dream, but as of yesterday the metaphor became a real design, charged with the actual prize.

Above Wie's desk can be framed one of her paintings. The wall opposite to the Davenport should really be left unadorned in order to provide a contrast, a rest to the eye and a subdued setting in order to give way to the unique trophy area.

To provide further contrast, an upholstered work chair in soft colors, or a mid-20th century laboratory stool in wood and stainless steel may be perfect.

Usually, I design cameras. Here I thought to pair the vignette with the very precise Contaflex TLR, with the Sonnar 50/1.5 built in a similar shape to the Davenport.

Please see my other golf designs in my flick stream (Nos. 181, 165, 151).

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

The Bond film, "The Spy Who Loved Me" provides a theme for this design vehicle, that of an intimate rendezvous.

A horseshoe-shaped rear aquarium feature surrounds the lovers. It houses a single (and slightly dangerous) nocturnal cephalopod behind turquoise-tinted glass which gives the ink of the octopus a deep sinister color. The toxic blue ringed octopus is a gentle reminder of the security system installed by Q-branch on the Esprit.

The extending hydroplanes have handles for up to eight persons.

An espresso maker, very modern for the 1970's, a portable air filtration system, a humidor inside the front center console, and three missile silos containing a reef-chilled hotel service to complete the tryst.

Other minor notes:

- the gear shift stick contains a cigar lighter similar to the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger.

- the reef aquarium filtration system is cleaned by dumping "mine" filters.

- ample storage inside chassis areas contain a full change of clothing for both occupants

- the periscope is a small loudspeaker to communicate orders to the staff outside. It also houses a Leica Digilux 2 camera set to 40mm with a simple unattached shutter release.

- the louvered windows are open shutters allowing privacy and air circulation

- the air filtration system is a small air purifier for cigar smoke

- the small curved cowling of the aquarium attracts the large octopus to grab onto, leaving it's hiding place in the reef substrate.

- the missile silos contain a bottle of champagne, caviar, creme fraiche, biscuits, chocolates, all serving ware and a rose.

- six controls behind the bed headrest: to turn on the espresso maker (Nespresso), a snooze alarm, stereo, an overhead laptop with Skype, the periscope and the missile launcher food/wine service (see above description).

Please also see my related Submarine Camera design no. 138.

This drawing is dedicated to Sir Roger Moore, whose past passions were chocolates and Montecristo #2 cigars.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

Every so often I get the urge to return back to my origins in photography, which also means returning to the work of William Eggleston, someone I greatly admire and whose work is difficult to imitate.

Designing a homage for this great photographer is not easy either, so can we do it together?

If you draw an imaginary centerline either vertically or horizontally through many of his photographs, chances are you'd find elements that cause tension along these centerlines, either pushing or pulling the viewer in /out of the frame. It is a long these centerlines that you find yourself in a kind of vertiginous state. Critics have called it kind of terrifying place but it simply is tension caused by the push and pull--- a familiar concept in the field of painting, which Eggleston spent his college years studying.

It is within these tension-filled areas that one also chances upon a haiku moment. In this respect I find that Eggleston communicates most effectively onto the photographic print the most intimate of viewfinder moments.

His photographs are gems of this particular aspect.

So why is it so hard to imitate? I think one reason is that it can be difficult to find an Eggleston moment without resorting to using a long lens which has its own characteristics. Eggleston however skillfully uses close to a 50mm prime lens. This is like Tiger Woods driving with a No. 2 iron, not a very forgiving choice indeed.

And should you have the good fortune to find an Eggleston moment in your viewfinder, then you have to contend with the fact that he also factors in color, further complicating and compacting his composition.

I find traces of his style resonant in Vivian Maier and Gary Winogrand, although Eggleston is not as obsessive; he chooses to print. For this sole reason, I chose not to fit his homage with a viewfinder experience, which I would do without hesitation for the other two photographers.

For unexplained reasons I find him to be photographically related to the writer Ernest Hemingway. Perhaps it is a certain style that's difficult to imitate and yet also a style with a certain kind of straightforwardness, simplicity and purity.

My design: a black leather alligator valise containing a horse racing set for its vintage pleasures and charm.

Inside the miniature horses are driven by a Victrola-like mechanism. A silver flask of bourbon and race forms are provided. On the side of the enclosure is a small chute-like metal ashtray and a hidden drawer of cigarettes.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

Atelier ying, nyc

This design lands on three of my passions: cameras, architecture and golf, thus affording me great latitude to do what I wish.

The clubhouse in Augusta is a very recognizable icon, pervading with its own eccentricities such as the very reasonable nominal fees charged for membership, rentals, beer, food. Money is not the point, exclusivity is.

The world is treated to a spectacle of perfection within nature once a year at the Masters Tournament. Basically, old world European craftsmanship meets the golf course in perfectly manicured grounds. Nothing else matters but attention to details. In this manner, it speaks right to the heart of golf, for this is a game of perfection and even many athletes find the game too frustrating.

Phil Mickelson is my hero. I practice his flop shot religiously. His Augusta Masters win is one of the most dramatic.

My design tries to match Augusta's philosophy by utilizing the three ideas I've just mentioned: simplicity, attention to detail, and exclusivity.

The design proposes the most elaborate of camera bags, a replica of Augusta's clubhouse. At the heart of this structure is the spiritual standard of perfection and detail in the camera world (not the scientific standard however), the Leica M3. Simplicity is derived from the way this Augusta camera works, it opens up like the Olympus XA (or a Riga Minox). In a way it is my version of a Faberge egg. Upon opening the user need not touch the M3 very much as the clubhouse enclosure does most of the work keeping it's heart pristine.

The famous Crow's Nest room above the clubhouse is an internal viewfinder where the user can look inside with a swiveling eyepiece to view both the Crow's Nest and the clubhouse quarters, with filtered natural light and other sensory relics (floral and grass samples from various parts of the course) stored inside the clubhouse. The active viewing of the internals of this clubhouse allows its owner to study the intangible aspects of it's exclusiveness.

Additional lenses for the M3 are kept inside the enclosure and weighted to the left (Mickelson is a lefty on drives and would be what comfortable holding the camera weighted in this way).

An option exists to have the Leitz firm machine-make a custom backplate so that the M3 can be digitized, luxuriously in full frame manner with an M9. In this configuration, the M9 will be the expensive $29,000 white body version but with the Augusta green color instead, as opposed to the M3 which will be fitted with an Augusta green trim.

On the glass roof extension shown is a replica of the famous Augusta insignia as a putt green made of moss from the golf course.

The presentation kit is the largest of its kind, a simple black museum stand you can position under a spotlight in the den.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

Rocky Patel Vintage 90...

Like the Manhattan's new Moma, this particular design is connected to a previous one, my Gallery Ying that was actually constructed last year.

People usually notice only the outside of cameras, and usually expect sleek, elegant features for new products. Very few will notice the elegance of some camera interiors, as well as moments of architecture In these unseen spaces. These moments vary significantly in quality from camera to camera. From my own modified vintage camera collection, I find that some of the most beautiful interior work is found in the Polaroid Swinger Model 20. If you own one of these, open it up and enjoy some subtle architectural moments.

Inspired by the experience of this, I've tried to design a New Wing to my previous gallery inside a camera. This New Wing will allow the gallery to exhibit a total of up to 29 photographs in addition to two possible lighted projections.

One of the main themes in architecture: to represent an outdoor space as an interior, and an interior space to suggest the outdoors is readily apparent inside this camera. Inside the quasi-bellows of this camera I can imagine a staircase in Venice extending down to the water on a moonlit night. In essence, that triggered in my mind the thought to fabricate a typical analog camera filmwinder to create additional space to exhibit the inside of this gallery. In the notes above there are barn doors which swing open to create a strong support for the structure but also allow play with the light in the exhibition space. 29 photographs would probably justify an increase in ticket prices.

If you haven't viewed my Gallery Ying, please please see the photo below or go to my link below. There is more text with explanations there about this project.

www.flickr.com/photos/64011301@N08/7010097557/

Design and photo contents & descriptions are copyright 2013 by David Lo

atelier ying, nyc.

This is a homage to the great landscape photographer Ansel Adams (with whom I share a birthday).

The bicycle-suitcase carries Mr. Adams across his particular universe, and contains two distinct kits: a portable darkroom set with old-fashioned glassware + chemicals, and a futuristic collectible toy set par excellence from the particular universe of the epic anime story of Neon Evangelion Genesis (to those of you like me who were ardent fans of this 1990's anime and who had hoped that it would never ever end).

The association to Adams came to me mainly because both were concerned with a grand epic vision of the universe. Evangelion weaves a story of earth under attack from Angels. The earth is finally defended and saved by children using robots. The purity and power of childlike vision is an underlying idea which also permeates Ansel Adams' style, vision, and personality.

The set contains not only the complete DVDs of the series but also other presentation materials like an art book, T-shirt, production models of weapons, accurate replicas of the Angel robots, actual sheets of design notes from the artists, an autographed CD of the soundtrack, actual helmets, robot suits, and much more. Mr. Adams can transport himself between both universes. The symbolism and allegorical themes of the epic Evangelion story would be much fodder for his landscape photography and his rumination.

The suitcase's outer design has graphic elements of vehicles used in the robot series and a night viewing window which recalls Adam's own station wagon setup with view camera. The interior of the suitcase is laid out with different wood inlaid drawers like a commemorative humidor for cigars, although there are none inside. This constant shift of contrast in the design of this humble looking construction imbues it with the luxury of a commemorative keepsake object.

The theme of Esperanto comes from the artist Joseph Cornell who held his tower of visions as an ideal within his working notes for his art.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

Bolivar Belicoso Fino, Cohiba Siglo IV, Cuaba Distinguidos, Trinidad Robusto Extra, Hoyo Churchill

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A proposed design for a White house cocktail salon connected electronically to the Oval Office desk via a 1/50 model of a 1943 Dixie Clipper, recalling the popular 1966 Batman TV series desktop statue controller to the Bat cave. Every modern President needs a cave retreat, and here FDR's famous cocktail salon is the model for such a place.

Obama's great presidential predecessor, FDR, created a cocktail culture that now receives a modern upgrade for the current president. The famous trap door under the oval office desk opens electronically via a control in the airplane scale model on the president's desk. The airplane's top slides open revealing a humidor for Robusto cigars with the control button in the center. Below the trap door, a slide brings the president down quickly to a set of carpeted stairs and through a makeshift airplane door of the West Wing Room W-16, now replicated from the interior of a Pan Am Dining lounge, ready with vintage phonograph, a full bar and FDR's famous cocktail shaker set, now replaced with a single blue stripe, recalling Pan Am's dinnerware of a bygone era. The lounge is modeled after the Clipper plane that took the FDR across the Atlantic in 1943.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.

laboratorio de ying, nyc.

This is a very English design camera to be used specifically during the 2 "magic hours" of the day.

You may be surprised that this camera isn't about noise reduction or some other enhanced performance ability to maximize the two golden hours of the day although I do offer some token features to the mammon of technology junkies. However, this camera will slightly outperform during those highly sought after times. Specifically, a reminder-timer function filter and a filter to enhance the cloudy, diffused light of the magic hour are included.

But the main function of this camera to enhance the photographer's magic hour experience is that it is a specific kind of bar cabinet.

Drinking Sherry at 5pm extends the aura of the magic hour by replicating the special glow afterwards (or before depending on the season and location) through alcohol, which will also soften the blow of an unfruitful shooting session as well as the photographer's angst about the subpar quality of his or her equipment. After a Sherry (or three) the lack of razor sharp lines, resolution, lack of contrast and other digital imperfections will soften and fade into insignificance.

This is maybe the first camera in the world which is a double camera, built for two to use, and which provides drinks afterwards. I wanted to use the enclosure of the antique English Aptus to commemorate the fact that sherry at five p.m. which is mainly an English tradition. But I opted to use the very modern Leica D-Lux 4 instead, which is a much better fit, is slightly culty, and has a much shorter shutter lag. Leica has a special soft-blur function in this camera that allows a quasi-SLR look, with the focus on the main subject and some lovely Summicron-esque striations (if hip-shot) for its otherwise pleasing bokeh.

The design notes on the left side show an Art Deco red mahogany finish enclosure that pulls apart revealing a mirrored service tray which holds bottles of port, sherry, a gasogene, and a pair of drinking glasses. The two D-Lux4's are located on the extreme ends in separate compartments.

In my next upload I will publish

the sketch notes on the right (design no. 2) showing another two designs, derived from an antique 18th-century English Knife box that has been modified (as has been done for decades into stationery boxes) but to be a pinhole camera with a removable dark slide/cartridge. As the sketch shows, turning the tasseled key opens the lens cover for exposure. I have named this design to be "three cameras in two". This English knife box-cum-pinhole camera is meant to be displayed elegantly on top of a wooden sideboard in an office or dining room accompanied by service tray and other accessories. This suite of three cameras in two designs allows the very well appointed street photographer to do his outside street work with the Leica(s) and then to retire to a drawing room afterwards for a sherry with friends and some portrait shooting indoors.

The 16th century English name for Sherry was Sack.

This design is dedicated in camaraderie to the Flickr member Sam Dickey aka 'The Poetics of Sleep' for his very generous comments and inspirational ideas to me regarding the eternal conflict of high and low tech photography. I'll christen the camera and pour him a first virtual sherry at 5 p.m. EST three days from today.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

We were prowling through the Bishop Arts District which was one of the very few authentic, historic neighborhoods we saw during our brief visit to Dallas Texas. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Arts_District,_Dallas) Like most arts districts, it is a collection of interesting small shops, restaurants, and coffee houses in an older part of this very modern-looking city. We enjoyed browsing in antique shops and craft-oriented home décor shops – even a shop filled with odds and ends catering to collectors of things peculiar to the male persuasion (old military uniforms and badges, old-fashioned toys and memorabilia, small machines and advertising signs from a bygone era). While my wife and our friends browsed an interesting church resale shop, I wandered across the street where to my surprise I saw a man at work in a shop window hand-rolling cigars. If that isn’t enough to pique the interest of the curious, I don’t know what is.

I entered the cigar shop and watched him ply his craft with efficient, practiced movements and meticulous care. I expressed my interest in his work and he turned to me and said haltingly “No English. Sorry.” His smile told me he would have liked interacting more and explaining his work but the combination of his English vocabulary and my Spanish vocabulary, we had only about 5 words. I watched as he efficiently completed wrapping a cigar in tobacco leaves which were hand cut with a curved blade, somewhat like the one we use to slice pizza at home. Little dabs of moisture ensured the leaves bonded to the previous layer and the final touch was clipping off the end with a small guillotine. I gestured with my camera and pointed at him with raised eyebrows and he nodded. I took just three or four photos and wished we could communicate better. I thanked him and went further into the shop to a counter where I met the owner. My hope was that she could serve as interpreter but alas, she knew very little Spanish too.

She told me her employee’s name is Yordi and that he worked in a cigar factory in Havana Cuba until a year ago when he came to the U.S. I’m not sure I understood fully, but I believe he came as a refugee claimant and is a master cigar-maker, having worked at a cigar factory in Havana for a number of years. Kelsi is the owner of Cigar Art (www.bishopartscigars.com/) and has been in business for about three years. You can tell from a visit and from their website that this is a great spot for the cigar aficionado. There is a humidor room and they sell a variety of products. As their website explains: “

Our brick & mortar store in located in the historic Bishop Arts District. Cigar Art (Oak Cliff) stocks a wide selection of artisan, boutique, and micro-blend cigars. Every cigar we carry is handcrafted the old Cuban style by Artisan Cigar Makers. We also carry a selection of house made cigars. To be a Cigar Maker at Cigar Art, you must have a minimum of 12 years cigar rolling experience in a reputable Cuban cigar factory.” One can even book a cigar-maker to attend your party or event.

I explained my Human Family photo project to Kelsi and said my photo of Yordi would be a fascinating contribution to my project. She thought he would be happy for me to use the photo for my project and agreed to a photo herself, as part of the story. Just then some patrons came in and I stepped back. They wound up having a seat on the couches and lit up. I went back to the front of the shop where I again used sign language with Yordi and showed him my contact card and he smiled and nodded. I indicated that I would like a photo of him holding the finished product and after a few misunderstandings, he happily obliged. We looked at the photos together and he seemed pleased. I thanked the friendly Yordi and called a thank you to Kelsi as I left.

Once again, the Human Family photo project had exposed me to a new experience and two very nice strangers. Thank you Kelsi for letting me photograph in the store and thank you Yordi for letting me watch you demonstrate your skills and for participating in The Human Family photo project.

This is my 154th submission to The Human Family group on Flickr.

You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.

atelier ying, nyc.

The elite Bond arch villains tend to have fantastic abodes at equal locations of distinction. I've been making a small set of designs for the humble golf caddy to Auric Goldfinger, Oddjob. This is my third installment, the others to date are no. 141 and no. 84, and they all revolve around the theme of community/camaraderie. The characterization of Oddjob wasn't much. The plight of minor Bond film henchmen became better by the reappearance of Jaws ( a distant cousin to Oddjob who also used his teeth) in Moonraker. With this proposed design Oddjob is brought closer to the megalomaniac Karl Stromberg (The Spy who loved me) with an underground city.

The design aims to be green. There are organic systems inside that move towards self-sufficiency. Being Asian, Oddjob manages an Asian-styled mall (and a Pro Golf shop) inside the vast complex. It is futuristic, but in a nostalgic sort of way, linking the 60's with the asian boom decades later. Ken Adams' elaborate entrances are humbly substituted with a "beaver dam" architecture. Lastly, a reverential nod to Tadao Ando via a gutter pipe passageway from above ground plays subtly with light and darkness. A nod to Renzo Piano arranges a glazed roof structure to filter the sunlight. A distinct feature in my design is that the entire city structure is tilted at an angle to partially submerge it underwater as well as to only track the sun's path so that the light comes in at 11 a.m., the hour when Asian malls and shops usually open up for business and follow the sun as late as possible into the evening.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc.

The prolific author crafted psychological mysteries of the old school, not far from Agatha Christie in the way that the dialogue moved along swiftly, and in the efficient use of simple language. In my opinion, Simenon uses description in a very filmic way that also is old fashioned.

"L'Affaire Saint Fiacre" was my first Maigret novel. The way this novel is crafted, with sharp and brief details, allows me the latitude that I need to think to weave a very specific design in which Maigret is not too far from Weegee's 1929 Coupe, but for this Parisian Police vehicle, I'm thinking of it more as a touring car which is more for comfort.

My only upgrade to the Maigret's series is to his wardrobe (which was a heavy overcoat), providing a bespoke gentleman's suit with sleeves that could easily be rolled up.

The idea of a traditional picnic hamper for a touring car is modified to be enjoyed inside the vehicle, albeit in a symbolic manner befitting the character of its single occupant.

Therefore, the cab interior functions as a toilette and also as a simple bar room.

The features:

1. A tray set to serve Madame Maigret's plum liqueur.

2. A fruit knife, for the enjoyment of seasonal fruit, such as oranges. This is kept inside Maigret's suit which is stowed in the back as shown. The coat will be thoroughly warmed when Maigret leaves the car.

3. French press coffee, some country bread with a napkin

4. An oil lamp

5. A tiny coal furnace.

6. A toiletry set of a water jug, hot water supply, towel and shaving set.

7. A winding rack of smoking pipes with small bowls, chicken feather cleaners and a large tobacco humidor

8. Green curtains and a cheery Neapolitan ochre wallpaper line the interior.

9. Driver, with a silver calling card tray in the front.

Maigret comes in from the bitter cold and removes his coat, unbuttons and rolls up his sleeves to enjoy the warm French country house comforts of a simple yet leisurely shave. Thereafter he will breakfast with coffee and bread, or receive a visitor for a drink and a pipeful of French tobacco.

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

atelier ying, nyc

Introducing one of two more designs dedicated to Sakata and the film, Goldfinger.

OddJob is one of those characters whom we are fascinated with, love, yet know little about. I believe that Ian Fleming had one of the best villains here, and the balance of power shifted downwards after this one. So this was a particularly fun little design for me to put together.

The vintage Partagas #1, a wonderful but now nearly extinct cuban double corona, is given a distinguished humidor.

The design even recalls Fleming's Moonraker (which was mentioned in the novel) with an ingenious device to preserve the value of the 125 vintage Partagas Lusitanias (40 x 19.40cm). The central core of the humidor is its humidification unit (of moisture beads) with space age extending walkways for luring out cigar beetles. The entire unit resembles a cat scratching post (a subtle reminder that Oddjob was fed cats).

Surrounding the core are 7 round disc trays labelled as levels (like in a space station) and each storing the cigars in a radial pattern (recalling the Renzo Piano-inspired glazed roof structure of its subsequent sister design for an underwater hat silo).

Both designs were actually conceived together, which is the reason for this drawing of notes.

Every seven days a battery-operated lift mechanism tilts the hat humidor from the bottom just enough to circulate the air and keep the cuban cigars slightly on the dry side. The hat box comes with a maroon red-and-white golf caddies' notepad to record the humidor maintenance schedule notes.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.

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In this photo, find the following:

my great grandfather's binoculars

various national park maps

antique folding ruler

ebony and ivory antique elephant

2 magic eightballs

2 jars of matchbooks from travels

little league coach's trophy

apothecary jar full of antique toys that were my mom's

Tonka tractor I played with as a boy

cigar box

sticker from my buddy's ski shop

hula girl

paintbrushes

wooden toy flatbed truck

Breckenridge Octoberfest beer stein

patches that were sewn on my jean jacket in 5th grade

flask

one Coahuiltecan indian arrowhead

1 Lenni Lenape

nude reflection of photographer

2 oil paintings

hundreds of concert tickets

my grandfather's WWII Army Air Force badges

4 river rocks from Maui

2 granite cobbles that rolled along under a glacier until they were deposited in Maine

Vail bumpersticker

monkey I carved out od a peach pit in 10th grade

combined flask/cigar holder

bike chain/chainring bottle opener

Aztec pencil holder

6-year-old rock (pahoehoe basalt from Kilauea' Pu`u `Ō `ō vent - 2003 eruption)

1.1-billion-year-old rock (Old Rag granite, Virginia)

2 shot glasses

Ray Ban aviators

carved wooden wolf

cigar humidor (almost entirely obscured)

Triplane sculpture

2 classic baseball cards (GO PHILLIES!)

antique fan

my keys!

model 1957 Chevy Nomad (my dream car)

jar of raw opals

my grandfather's toy motorcycle

Super Walkman I got in 9th grade

iPod

3 tubes of oil paint that are about 40 years old and still good

ski resort trail maps

2 sets of darts

If you like this photo, and would like to create your own shot like it, please join this group: personalphrenalia.

strobist: ex430 w/ diffuser at camera left, about 3 feet above the subjects. +1/8 power

atelier ying, nyc.

This belongs to another age.

The British ministerial red box is refitted with the layout of a Japanese dressing-case (I was looking at a photo of one belonging to Elizabeth Branwell) to be a club box for the Mercantile Library, one of New York's best kept secrets. A club box brings aspects of an old fashioned gentlemen's club to a locale, in the style of a portable bar. Here the Mercantile Club box completes the experience for this fiction and mystery library of old New York.

It might be seen as a sort of indoor picnic basket except that it has a compartment for a very special commemorative red Leica Monochrom whose lens is a glass fragment from an old brownie. I chose a Monochrom as a b&w-only camera would subtly point to the past, imparting a nostalgic flavor as a homage to Hawthorne. As the Monochrom has no iconic Leica red dot, this one-of-a-kind Leica would be totally red, so it would leave us no doubt as to what brand it could be. As a kit, this camera outfit is in the style of the "Kodak Ensemble" (circa 1929). There would be little use of formal portraits, as it's more suited for antics at the Drones Club and attuned to the lighthearted fare of the Mercantile's book stacks. As conversation, food and piano playing are welcome at this library (how refreshingly distinct), the club box offers a generous cheese course for two with port, biscuits and a tray of vintage Romeo y Julieta cigars (small gauge, extra long). There are many dividers and aeration so one can serve washed rind cheeses for example, or even a salad course (like stuffed avocados). The real difficulty about this club box & humidor is simply having a driver to carry it around for you.

This design is dedicated to the actor Nigel Hawthorne. No doubt this prop would have come in handy for the numerous club scenes in his tv series "Yes, Minister".

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.