Sole purpose and four other finds
Five Finds is a monthly collection of five inspiring things we deemed worthy of sharing. If you’d like inspiration in your inbox each month sign up here.
This month’s collection is to be honest, random. Rather than trying to come up with a loose theme let’s just say they're a collection of bookmarked bits that are all worth a look at. Enjoy!
Image © Gumshoe Amsterdam
Sole purpose
First up is a first. The first shoe to be made from chewing gum collected from the streets of Amsterdam. In the Netherlands 1.5 million kilos of gum ends up on the street every year, making it the second most common litter after cigarettes. I Amsterdam have teamed up with Gum-tec and Dutch shoe brand Explicit to raise awareness of the problem and create some pretty kick-ass kicks in the process.
Photo © Hasegawa Kenta Leandro Erlich Port of Reflections "Leandro Erlich: Seeing and Believing,” Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2017
Seeing things
Leandro Erlich is an Argentine artist who is known for creating playful optical illusions that leave the viewer questioning their own eyes. From landlocked ‘floating’ boats (rigged with motors to simulate the movement of water) to a ‘swimming pool’ you can walk above and beneath, Erlich’s playful work is a joy to behold.
A screenshot from the Chip savings app
Saving time
It can be hard to save money each month so Chip is an app that does it for you. It connects to your bank account and uses smart AI to calculate how much you can afford to put away, based on how much you're spending. Set up a goal and see the cash stashed without feeling a thing.
Image © Juan Fontanive
Flipping lovely
Juan Fontanive creates ornithology-oriented flick books that automatically flip through 18th and 19th-century natural history illustrations using hand-built mechanisms.
Words from the heart
Amongst the songs, musician and actor Loyle Carner's latest album features snippets of conversations with strangers as well as recordings in cafes and spoken word. The album starts with a song telling his mother, who’s already a regular feature in his music and live shows, that he’s met the love of his life and he’s moving out. The second, ‘Dear Ben’, is written and narrated by his mum about how proud of him she is. It's poignant and beautiful.
