Sundance Channel

High heels are the devil

Em and Lo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:00:50 +0000

High heels are an essential part of our fashion-glam culture. Finding a pair of flats at last night's SAG Awards was like trying to find a vegan quinoa recipe in a Paula Deen cookbook. More common was the doughnut burger of the shoe world: the 29-inch stiletto like Emma Stone wore. What women will suffer for fashion! Personally, the two of us fall into the more utilitarian camp: while Em has been known to rock a sparkly pump at a party, you'll find her more often than not in the day-to-day dressing up a flow-y, flowery dress with a pair of Converse. And Lo? Nothing comes between her and her Danskos. It may not be pretty, but nothing's more ugly than her mood after 20 minutes in a pair of uncomfortable pumps (are they even called that anymore?). Which is why we always feel high and mighty in our low flats when a new study about the horrors of high heels comes out.

Green tech finds: 8/4/11

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:10:21 +0000

Would you live in an old Hummer? Could solar power be available even when the sun's not shining? These and other questions answered in this week's green tech finds. Harvesting ambient energy with paper antennas: Researchers at Georgia Tech are experimenting with pulling electromagnetic energy from the air with "antennas" printed on paper with inkjet technology. (via Grist) Biodegradable sneakers that sprout flowers: Amsterdam-based OAT Shoes creates sneakers that not only biodegrade in soil, they even have wildflower seeds embedded in the tongue, so you can add to your garden once the shoes are worn out. (via Yahoo! Green)

Billboards to beach sandals: Paper Feet

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:44:40 +0000

Billboards don't just "litter" our roadways... they create an awful lot of waste: according to Jimmy Tomczak, founder of Paper Feet, "Every year in the U.S. alone, so much billboard vinyl is thrown away that, if laid out, it would more than cover the state of Massachusetts." For Tomczak, that mass of printed vinyl going to landfills turned out to be the perfect material for a product he envisioned while an undergrad at the University of Michigan: minimalist "barefoot" sandals that protected his feet while still providing the feel of going shoeless.

Sneaker souls

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:30:41 +0000

Last week NPR’s show All Things Considered reported about the on-going feud between Adidas and Puma, two German shoe makers and mega brands, that put their differences aside for one day in honor of peace. The companies were founded by brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, who after a falling out after World War II, went separate [...]

These shoes are made for dancing

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:27:30 +0000

Available at a niche Finnish design shop focusing on local manufacturers, these adorable shoes are perfect for parent-child dance lessons.

Giant photography

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:42:05 +0000

I talked about giant stuffed animals and ginormous trophies. Now how about these manipulated oversized high heels, eggs, and hot dogs brought to you from the imaginative lens of photographer Petros Chrisostomou who “takes objects with which we are all too familiar with – a high-heeled shoe or two, some eggs, a head of blonde [...]