The photo below of my buddy Sean was taken in Edinburgh, Scotland. I wanted to take advantage of the lights from the little carnival as well as the cars + busses on the street.

I met Shawn in Paris, where he was also studying abroad at the same school. He actually lived a couple floors below me, and is a great photographer. Below is a photo he took of me doing a “rock to fakie” on the sun dial wave piece at Chatelet Les Halles.  The roll up to this thing is pretty gnarly. I was actually only able to do it because some local bystanders advised me of the proper angle where they had seen all the other skaters roll up from.

The color balance is only one of many factors which comprise the ultimate reason why this photo is not a good one. However, I remember my climb up this mini-mountain which was definitely not of grace and leisure.  Thus, I felt the need to post my stance of glory atop the peak.

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Lali Puna- Faking the Books

Upon browsing through the files on my dusty external hard drive, I came across some photos I took over the past couple years. I decided that I will start a “photo series” on STZMCHN which will feature random photos taken between 2006-present.

This photo below was taken in Stockholm in 2007. To this day, Stockholm, Sweden remains to be my 3rd favorite city in the world. Apparently Sweden is known worldwide as one of the leading nations for design in the broader sense- furniture, fashion, architecture, etc. The intricacy of detail to their threads and spaces are simply amazing.. The city itself is extremely beautiful..hillside cottages, lakes/rivers within the city, and filled with friendly people.  Home to dominating brands like IKEA, J. LINDEBERG, CHEAP MONDAY, H&M, ACNE JEANS, and more, Swedish fashion seems to provide a simple complexity.

This photo below was taken at the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, France. Paris is my favorite city in the world. During the time I lived in Paris, I came to the park below almost every single day. It was definitely a pleasant time which I constantly reminded myself not to take for granted.

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Andrea Bocelli – Romanza

I took this photo during my visit to see J. Chorng in Barcelona. I thought the graffiti really added a touch of balance and edginess to the photo.

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Toro Y Moi-Blessa

The Selby is one of my favorite websites. Todd Selby not only has a great eye, but also the  ability to make items and homes “feel” more alive and charming through his photography. Below is Lindsay and Fitzhugh’s loft in Brooklyn New York. A great utilization of space and materials, incorporating wooden pieces which ultimately provide the “rawness + naturalness” to the space.

Photo via the selby

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Jay-Z – American Gangster (Beirut Gangster Remixtape)

Next level, period.

Simple androgynous multi-layering of monochromatic threads.

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Beirut-My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille

It never crossed my mind that I would eventually live in downtown Los Angeles..but now I do and I love it. With each city block changing dramatically and possessing its own charm/grime,  it’s been interesting to say the least. I moved into a soft loft this past January on 9th and Flower.

The difference between a soft loft and a hard loft is that a soft loft conceptually has the layout of a hard loft (think open space, max. utilization of available space) but has features like hardwood floors, full barn doors to close off the bedroom, etc) Over the past couple months, furnishing + making it legit within a low sphere of cost has been the goal.

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Pony Pony Run Run – Walking on a Line (Lifelike Remix)

Welcome to the all new S T E E Z E M A C H I N E . C O M

same shell,  new core

STZMCHN is now part of the MØNØSPECTRA family. Additionally, much thanks to Jason for working with me to create this layout.