The Sunday Zeitgeist
Issue 6: Luck is Where Preparation Meets Opportunity.
Good evening everyone! Hope all’s been well. Welcome to The Zeitgeist and Welcome to March (although we’re half way through). Happy Sunday and Happy St. Patrick’s.
Although February saw some of the heaviest snowfall of the season—there were two days where expected snow was 40cm (15.75in) each—March presents itself with more sunlight and dryer streets. The transition phase to Spring is now. Anyways, a new month means a new Spotify playlist and with this one, I’m bringing out nostalgia. On the mix this month, we have tunes from Cage The Elephant, Peter Bjorn & John, Tchaikovsky, and more. It’s a great assortment; take a listen here.
Today’s Zeitgeist cover went through very many iterations. There were several nights where found myself up past midnight having spent hours working on minor tweaks and details. Taking inspiration from vintage candy wrappers and packaging, find the documentation with references and specifications of the design here.
And lastly, this sixth issue is filled with great resources; from Virgil Abloh, to space graphic manuals and picture frames, I hope you find something to inspire or something to love. This issue has been on the back burner for a while and I’m happy to finally share.
Notes: (1) This letter is picture-heavy and too long for email. For the best experience, view in app. (2) There are dozens of links in this newsletter, but none of them are affiliate links. (3) Enjoy the read!
To Build From Scratch —
Virgil Abloh was a designer. You may be familiar with his name from his work at Off-White (where he was founder), his menswear direction at Louis Vuitton (2018 - 2021), or his creative role on Kanye West’s DONDA team.
He passed away in 2021, but his legacy lives on. I recently visited a website of his, “Free Game,” where I remember finding years ago. He created this 12-step guide to starting a brand, beginning from “how to name your brand” to “how to find blanks” and “how to make a website.” Although basic, it’s great introductory knowledge to building a project. The website’s header reads:
“Below please find a resource center for brands in their earliest phases. This resource was born as I was working to summarize answers to all my most frequently asked questions. The goal of this resource is to uplift more than a few. I will continue to open doors for those that come from the fringe and help them be awarded opportunities usually left for the center.”
Visit the Free Game website here. Thinking of Virgil also reminded me of an email exchange I remembered seeing somewhere on the internet between him and Samuel Ross, creator of the fashion label, A COLD WALL*.
““I [Ross] found him on Instagram and said to myself, ‘Is there any point in even fucking following him, he has over 100k followers, I have 40.’ What was the point in this? But I said ‘fuck it’ and decided to follow him.”
He woke up to an e-mail from Abloh the next day.
The conversations that ensued would allow Ross to share the diverse body of work that he had already created and thus cultivate opportunities to create even more. The result? A few projects for Hood By Air, some print and design work and artwork for rapper Travis Scott.” (Via Maekan’s interview with Ross. Read the full conversation here.)
It reminded me of the saying, luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Things can stay stagnant for months, but it can also change overnight.
It’s a good thought to keep in mind.
The NASA Graphics Standards Manual —
Coming of age in the era of the internet means information is more accessible than ever. As a child, I spent hours sifting and scouring the internet looking for entertainment, whether that be YouTube travel videos—a favorite pastime, where I naively declared I was going to go backpacking and interrail-ing across Europe when I got older (that hasn’t happened, yet)—or digging the web to find PDF documents, whether that be writings, manuals, or graphics. I really am fond of beautifully-made things. Of the things I’ve came across, my pedestal item was the 60-page, 1976 NASA Graphics Standards Manual PDF.
Rediscovering this document now, I still think it’s cool. I’m sharing this in hopes that you’ll love it the same way I did. The full PDF—from the NASA website—is linked here.
And a little side note, in tandem with this hobby was an Epson printer we had at home. Because I loved having physical copies of things, printing these documents in the hundreds of pages and arranging them into my binder was a frequent occurrence.
Clothes & Wear —
My favorite socks are from Uniqlo. During the Winter, the thick and warm Heat-Tech socks are the best. My first pair, a white with red and blue stripes (very patriotic, yes) from 2022 are still intact. There’s also the thinner, ribbed pairs that are perfect for the Summer. I purchased two last month in the 10 Pink and 84 Blue colorways and they truly are great. They retail at $3.90 USD each.
Front General Store — Boxer Shorts ($40 USD). The patterns and colors on these are perfect. 100% Cotton, Made in Japan. They come in pink + yellow + blue pinstripe patterns, neutral plaid colors, and a really cool patchwork one.
Cherry Los Angeles’ archive sale. They make such unique, cowboy/ Western-esque style pieces. Some standouts: Sun-Faded Painter Pants ($120 USD), Mountain Sherpa Pants ($130 USD).
Back to The Basics —
I got a digital camera, one in the Canon Powershot A500 series.
My first digital camera was a similar model, which I bought in 2022. I loved it, but dropped it into the ocean and broke it. Back then, I bought the camera for around 30 bucks. Three years later, I cashed out 150 for this one on eBay.
But no regrets. I bring this little guy with me everywhere in my pocket. It’s fun to pull a physical object (besides my phone) to document things around me. I love that I can capture the atmosphere around, the people around, the sounds around, and the places around me. It also encouraged creativity in a different way; for one, it’s where I can experiment with making little videos and for two, I am paying more attention to the world around me.
Some listings on eBay that I found to be similar to my camera:
Canon PowerShot A530 5.0MP Compact Digital Camera ($79.95 USD)
Canon PowerShot A540 6.0MP Digital Camera (Bidding, currently at $34 USD)
When purchasing on eBay, always make sure to do your due diligence.
Aesop, Aesop, and Aesop! —
Last December—between the lull of Christmas and New Years—I paid a visit to the Aesop Store at Petit Bourgogne. It’s a beautiful store, nested on the side of a narrow sidewalk. The sales assistant told me the boutique design took inspiration from a Jazz Club. Very fun. I went in with the intention of only buying a room spray (Istros, $61 USD), but I left with an additional Resurrection Hand Cream (2.6oz, $33 USD). They are my first two Aesop items and I love it.
Field Notes —
Thank you for reading Issue Six of The Zeitgeist and I hope you enjoyed. I’ll be back when I have good things to share. Have a great week ahead and good night! — Kind regards, CS.
Into the Indoors, 2025 — Montreal, QC.
Great stuff. Loved the cover design and very cool showing process in the PDF.