The Material Review

Issue 016: The Dead at The Sphere, Cybertruck Culture Wars, Q&A with Pete and Christian from Adsum and Travel Essentials.

Stories worth reading. Stop indexing the entire internet.

Reckoning with The Dead at The Sphere

“A run of lost Las Vegas weekends for Deadheads prompts a longtime fan to wrestle with what the band has left behind.” [The New Yorker]

A Culture War on Wheels

“Elon Musk’s Cybertruck is inspiring a lot of strong feelings.” [NYT]

How I learnt to stop scrolling

“It took a silent retreat to reboot my relationship with smartphones and social media” [FT]

Koozies, Key Chains and T-Shirts: Who’s Buying All That Billy Joel Merch?

“The singer-songwriter is scheduled to perform his 150th show at Madison Square Garden, and fans are ready to collect.” [NYT]

Inside U.S. Cricket’s Shocking Victory

“How an American team of retreads, castoffs, and one software engineer took down a dominant world power” [The Atlantic]

A shortlist of things we’ve got our eye on.

WHIM Reebok Classic

Anderson’s Braided Leather Belt

Million Goods Broken Bottle T-Shirt

St. JOHN by Drake's Green Check Linen Five-Pocket Chore Jacket

Margaret Howell Pull Up Shorts

A weekly Q&A with friends of the program centered around buying intelligence.

Christian Rice (Partner and Art Director; left) and Pete Macnee (Founder and Creative Director; right) run one of our favorite labels, Adsum. Like the brand, both have excellent taste and a refreshing humility. Here we discuss: coveted Buffalo cuisine, niche outdoor brands, beautiful trees and their favorite NYC stores.

What’s a memorable recent purchase you’ve made?

Christian: I recently bought Bison Dip which is a French Onion dip from Buffalo, NY. I had to special order it because you can't find it outside of western NY, which may seem crazy to anyone outside of Buffalo, and maybe it is; but my girlfriend is Colombian and she's been introducing me to things and teaching me about her culture, so I've been trying to do the same. Regional foods are endlessly interesting and in a world where tastes, and you can apply this to fashion/style as well, are increasingly becoming shared across state lines and international borders, it feels good to celebrate those weird idiosyncratic things that are true to where you're from and who you are. Buffalo Wings broke outside the constraints of Western NY and got to have their time in the sun, maybe Bison Dip will too someday.

Pete: A 10 Pack of car wash tickets from my local car wash. Also, I’ve booked a trip to Scotland with my pops and brother for his 70th bday. It’s a bucket list thing for my father, Walt, to play a few of the important golf courses in Scotland and we’ll visit our family plot in the small town of Menteith.

What's a niche outdoor brand you love?

Christian: Rayon Vert jumps to mind. They got a little bit of extra sauce to all their stuff. It's all deceivingly wearable, but also a little funky with something a bit off. That resonates with me. It reminds me of the attitude that a lot of the original outdoor brands used to have. You can tell they have a bit of a sense of humor and an amazing eye for design.

Pete: Nation FC. I met Stephen who started Nation Fishing Co recently and loved hearing him speak about his core product (fly rods). His journey sniffing out the best rod manufacturers in the world feels similar to things I’ve experienced with Adsum. Traveling to far off places, banging on doors, building and tinkering from a place of passion.

ID your carry-on bag?

Christian: It's always a backpack and for the last few years it's been our GP Backpack. It follows the Goldilocks rule: not too big, not too small. It's just big enough to hold all the things I need to sling over my shoulder (computer, a jacket, cords, pens, and notebook) with easy to access zippers and pockets. I got our black version from a while back and it's taken a beating and doesn't show it.

Pete: I’ll piggy back on Christian’s answer…Adsum’s Duffel Bag. We developed the bag in partnership with 1733 and it goes on most, if not all, domestic trips. It’s slightly smaller than the mid size black hole bag and has a single, removable shoulder strap. The version I have is maybe 3-4 years old and was made in Chicago using XPac fabric for the body and I helped source naturally tanned suede for the main compartment lid.

What is something you’ve had your eye on?

Christian: The amount of times I've built a Vitsoe 620 chair online is disconcerting. There aren't even that many choices to mess with so it doesn't make much sense. I've probably made the same thing 20 times at various points in my life.

Pete: An Eastern Redbud for my front lawn. It’s a small to midsized deciduous tree that has an early bloom before the leaves come. The color is wild.

My love for trees and gardening comes from my folks. Gardening from my mother because I’d always help her plant in the spring and trees and from my father because we wander around at his farm looking for trees that have come down to harvest for firewood.

The yard of my house was let go for a few decades so I fixed up and take care of it now. It’s something I love doing.

What are your favorite stores in NYC?

Christian: The go-to is C'H'C'M' in the city but a wine bar/clothing store just opened up down the street from me in Greenpoint called Million Goods owned by a great guy named Drew Kaufman. Since I minimize going to Work Island as much as possible, I'm excited to see it grow & develop. Grabbing a glass of wine, listening to some good music, having a nice conversation, and ending up taking something home is up there in good shopping experiences.

Pete: Astor Wine, Grand Central Watch, Urban Angler, Marcorp Fabric, Paul Stuart, Ralph Lauren, Paragon Sports

Travel Gear

100mL Airplane Mode Kit

Evergoods Civic Access Pouch

Loop Earplugs

Rolling Square Travel Cable

Tom Bihn Ballistic Tote