SR Gingerbread Geodesic Dome

Dymaxion Confections! Just in time (barely!) for the holiday season, we're excited to introduce the SR Gingerbread Geodesic Dome, now available on our website. Build your own gingerbread geodesic house with our dome template and easy to follow instructions including recipes for gingerbread and icing. It's fun. It's festive. We also created a video of how it's assembled.

Happy Holidays from Scout Regalia!

Flyfishing on the Owens River

Scout Regalia Reel 01: Flyfishing on the Owens River from Scout Regalia on Vimeo.
We had an amazing guide for the weekend. Gary from Brock's Flyfishing Specialists is one of the most knowledgeable, friendly, and good hearted people we've ever met. He was an outstanding guide that knew the best parts of the Upper Owens River, and taught us some great fundamentals about casting and the art of fly fishing.

We caught and released a couple dozen rainbow and brown trout over the weekend, with perfect fall weather and incredibly scenic views. More pics on our flickr feed, and a video of our weekend above. We're already planning our next fly fishing adventure!

High Desert Test Sites: HDTS 2011

Yucca Crater by Ball Nogues

Here There, There Here by ROLU & WELCOME projects

Space Post by Von Tundra

Trail Registry offering

Trail Registry by Scout Regalia

HDTS 2011 was pretty amazing. We saw such incredible work from so many talented designers, artists, musicians, and all around awesome people. Thanks to everyone who treked out to the Pioneertown site to take a peek at our Trail Registry!  More pics are on our flickr page and facebook page.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Trail Registry

Rendering of Trail Registry

Trail Registry at HDTS, Pioneertown

Introducing Trail Registry, our project for HDTS 2011 at High Desert Test Sites. We hope you can join us on October 15-16 in Joshua Tree, CA as we debut this long-term installation in Pioneertown!

Trail Registry is inspired by the registries found at trailheads. We created this registry to help delineate the entrance to the HDTS Pioneertown site. The registry encourages people to leave and/or take a memento tied to the enameled aluminum rods, similar to the way people leave rocks in a pile at the top of a mountain or leave artifacts near trailheads. We hope that this creates a sense of exploration and personal narrative of both the site and the area as a whole. Trail Registry is inspired by totem poles and nudie suits, with representations of the variety of flora and fauna of the high desert. The registry is made of Doug Fir that has been CNC milled to create the form, and includes an aluminum strip between the "front" and "back" of the two vertical totems, creating a juxtaposition between new and old materials.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Laser Cut Messages

Our Trail Registry for HDTS 2011 will also include laser cut messages on tyvek that will hang on the enameled aluminium rods. We want to encourage people to take or leave messages on the rods as a way to create a sense of exploration and personal narrative of both the site and the area as a whole. The messages range from descriptions of the local flora and fauna, street names, and messages such as "Take One" and "Leave One".

Special thanks to 2ndwnd Studio for the use of their awesome laser cutting facilities. 2ndwnd is part of the Knowhow Shop collective in Highland Park, where we did the milling of our totem poles.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Pregame Milling

We've been busy at headquarters getting ready for the HDTS 2011 event at High Desert Test Sites, which is happening on the weekend of October 15-16. We're really excited to be part of the event featuring art, design, and installations from so many talented designers and artists. Special thanks to curator Brooks Hudson Thomas who invited us to be part of the weekend event.

We'll share more of what we're up to as the project comes together. Part of our project involves milling forms from laminated Doug Fir. We've been working with the all-around awesome guys at Knowhow Shop for our millwork. They have a great cooperative shop space in Highland Park that has been indispensable in our fabrication and prototyping process.

More to come about HDTS!

Upstate NY Part 4: Pizza Tour 2011

Who doesn't love a good pizza pie? When we lived in Brooklyn, we were right next to some of the best street pizza around from Luigi's Pizzeria.  Now that we're in LA, we have a shortlist of fine pies, topped by Mozza and followed by Casa Bianca, Mother Dough, and...well that's about it. Whenever we're in Upstate NY, pizza becomes a staple food group. Some of the best pizza we've ever had is in the Triple City region. Our visit this year was no exception in eating as many slices of pizza iterations as possible. Here's a few of the highlights:

Jim Roma's Bakery
Jim Roma's sheet pizza probably had the sweetest of all the sauces, with a light and fluffy crust that was just on the verge of being undercooked. It made for a great saucy slice that was delicious even at room temperature. They slice the sheet with giant scissors, which seem completely appropriate given the "shear" scale of pizza we're talking about.

Jim Roma's Bakery

202 North Nanticoke Ave.
Endicott, NY 13760

Mario's Pizza
Another exceptional sheet pizza is the plain cheese sheet from Mario's. The crust is quite a bit softer than a standard round pizza, probably because of the sheer volume and size of the pie. A mildly sweet sauce topped with a hearty portion of cheese.

Mario's Pizza

51 Fox Street

Owego, NY 13827

Consol's Family Kitchen

Hands down the best pizza we had that week was the "Hot Pie" at Consol's. The pies were made famous by Consul's Uncle Duff back in the mid 1940's. The perfectly thin but substantial crust with a slightly sweet sauce is topped with a nice blend of cheeses.  They also have a grilled pizza which we'll have to taste test next time we're there. The best part is how they package the pies to go- not in a box, but wrapped with butcher paper so the pies don't sweat.

Consol's Family Kitchen

101 Oak Hill Ave.

Endicott, NY 13760

Shortstop Deli
While technically not a pizza in the truest sense, honorable mentions go to the Hot Truck Pizza Sub from the Shortstop Deli, which combines the best of both the pizza and sandwich worlds. These toasted subs are made of fresh french bread baked daily on site, with options for toppings that you check off from an order form at the counter. The Poor Man's Pizza (PMP) is a standout. They even have their own secret "truck sauce" which seems to be some mixture of mayonnaise, garlic, pizza sauce, and amazingness.

Shortstop Deli

200 W. Seneca St.

Ithaca, NY 14850

Upstate NY Part 3: Triple City Carousels

With 6 historic wooden carousels, the Triple City area near Binghamton is the self proclaimed "Carousel Capital of the World". The carousels were donated by George Johnson of the Endicott-Johnson shoe company at the beginning on the 20th Century, with the caveat that all carousel rides would forever be free. What a treat for kids and kids at heart alike. We went to the carousel at Highland Park in Endwell, and even got a fun button for a spin on the carousel. More pics on our flickr feed!

Upstate NY Part 2: The Great New York State Fair

One of the highlights of our week in Upstate New York was visiting the Great New York State Fair, which is the oldest and one of the largest state fairs in the country. While most people think of the City when you mention New York, the state has a strong agricultural core, and the fair was full of agricultural exhibits including barns full of poultry, dairy cattle, hay crops, and of course a butter sculpture.

More pics on our flickr feed, including images of (almost) prized pigeons, honorary Christmas trees, a miniature circus, and of course, Hot Beef Sundaes.

Upstate NY Part 1: Upstate is Gorges

Before the devastating floods hit the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York, we spent a week in the area visiting family, friends, and seeing the sites. The landscape around the Owego, Candor, Ithaca, and Binghamton area is full of lush rolling hills scattered with small farms and roadside fruit stands. We know there's lots of work ahead to rebuild affected towns- hopes for a speedy recovery in the region!

Picnic in Elysian Park

Photos by Shannon Cottrell Photography

What is summer without a picnic in the park? We finally cleared out a weekend to co-host a picnic in Elysian Park with our friends at You Have Been Here Sometime and A Note on Design. What a lovely afternoon filled with old and new friends, piles of food on blankets, bocce ball, and a pinata shaped like a can of Modelo.

Thanks to our good friend Shannon Cottrell for taking some amazing photographs that afternoon. You can find her work on her site and weekly in the LA Weekly.  Looking forward to more summer picnics, whether they're in 2011 or 2012!

Summer at Headquarters

We've had a pretty busy working summer so far, so our posts might be a bit more sporadic than usual. Lots of fun things coming up!

Our SR garden products will be available at Product Porch starting this month at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Check out the store from the masterminds behind Specific Merchandise and The Vitrine.

We'll also have an installation as part of the HDTS 2011 weekend at High Desert Test Sites in October.  Stay tuned for updates!

SR White Oak Table Set

Photos by Dylan + Jeni Photography

We recently released our SR White Oak Table Set- a new take on our redwood SR Outdoor Table Set. We love the look of white oak. The tight grain and lighter hue of the hardwood make it really suitable for indoor use.

We especially loved working with our friends Dylan and Jeni for the SR White Oak Table Set photo shoot. They are amazing photographers and incredible chefs, and gracious hosts for amazing dinner parties. Check out Dylan's blog and Jeni's blog for a peek at their travel and culinary adventures!

For more photos and a lovely write up of our collaboration, check out the story on Dylan's blog.

Design Truck 2011

Along with the Remodelista Marketplace, we were also part of the Design Truck during the weekend of Dwell on Design 2011.  We had our SR White Oak Table Set bench for people to sit on while they chowed down on Kogi kimchee quesadillas or chilled at Covell. We were honored to be part of the mobile furniture gallery with so many talented designers including Brendan Ravenhill, Chris Adamick, Brooke Woosley, Kelly Lamb, and Bend Seating, to name a few!

Remodelista Booth at Dwell On Design 2011

We were really excited to have a booth at the Remodelista Marketplace during Dwell on Design this year. We had our SR Garden Products and SR Wall Pockets for sale, along with information about our entire product line. It was a great experience and we're so glad that we got to meet so many wonderful people. We also debuted our hand-painted Scout Regalia sign over the weekend. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by!

THERMASS- A Proposal for Metropolis Next Generation 2011

We recently submitted our proposal for the Metropolis Next Generation 2011 award, which asked designers to put their ideas to work to bring a 1960's federal building in Los Angeles to Zero Environmental Impact.

THERMASS is a multi-functional, single component solution for retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy efficient, seismically sound, and to improve quality of work conditions by enabling more natural light and air into a space.

The THERMASS system uses long-standing methods of energy efficiency to advance the goals of creating a net-zero building, including the use of natural light and air, and the earth’s ability to heat and cool spaces. These simple and efficient design solutions combined with state of the art smart technologies (greywater recycling system, operable aperture domes that move with the sun) make THERMASS a feasible and efficient solution to advancing the goals of a net zero building.

Check out the video belwo we made for the project, which provides a brief summary of our proposal. More images of THERMASS can be found on our website.

Hardware Geekout

The hardware for our latest prototype arrived today in this amazing packaging.

Sunset Junction Design Proposal

We recently submitted our proposal for the Sunset Junction Design Competition. Our proposal invites the public to enjoy the outdoor community space defined by colorful powder-coated teepees, diverse landscapes, and reclaimed boardwalk flooring and seating.

Retired metal sign posts will be powder-coated to create four teepees that delineate gathering spaces and provide shade as foliage begins to grow at their peaks. Seating areas run along the perimeter of each teepee and provide a comfortable and hospitable place to relax and meet friends and neighbors.

Bike racks are integrated into the design of the space, allowing visitors to safely lock their bikes as they enjoy Sunset Junction and the surrounding neighborhood amenities. Parking for up to ten bicycles is provided on the north side of the site.

Four different gardens are included on the site to create a diverse and visually stunning landscape: an aromatic garden, an herb garden, a desert garden, and a rugged garden.

Bunting in the form of various iconic street art found across Silverlake is strung across the four teepees as a colorful homage to the birds, sneakers, and letters that hang across power lines throughout the neighborhood. Photovoltaic cells are attached to the bunting to help power the string of LED bulbs that light the space in the evening.

Our vision for this site is to create a new community gathering space for residents and neighbors to enjoy throughout the day and into the evening. Sunset Junction is a vital part of the neighborhood, and we hope that our proposal helps to foster community and engage the public in new, meaningful ways.

Three Sisters Planting

We heard about the "Three Sisters" planting from a few of our friends, and decided to give it a try this year in one of our SR Raised Gardens.

The "Three Sisters" planting consists of corn, beans, and squash, all interplanted to complement each other.  The corn provides a pole for beans to climb up, and the bean adds nitrogen to the soil.  Squash creates a "living mulch" that helps soil moisture from evaporating.

Find out more about the planting, including a diagram of how to plant them, on the Renee's Garden seed site.

Bonsai update

Our bonsai are flourishing in all of the late spring rain we've been getting here in LA.  Here's an update on our pomegranate bonsai that we posted a couple of months ago. What a difference a few months makes!

CicLAvia

We just participated in our first CicLAvia event a few weeks ago, and it was amazing!  7-1/2 miles of Los Angeles streets were closed for bikes, walkers, unicycles, tricycles, segways...pretty much any mode of transportation besides cars. The route went through Koreatown, Downtown, and across the LA River to Hollenbeck Park. It was a perfect day to bike through LA. The next event is on July 10th- hope to see you there! More pics on our flickr feed.