Sure, bicycling is both exercise and transportation. It’s good for you and good for the environment, and it’s cheaper — and sometimes easier — to get around town than in a car. But there’s a sense of romance to the bicycle, which the guys at California-based Linus Bikes understand. It’s why they’re inspired by French bicycle designs from the ’50s and ’60s, and why they value aesthetics almost as much as function. You’ll find both in the Roadster Classic, a one-speed model with steel frame and rear coaster brake. Additional features include leather hand grips, mid-century alloy bell and kickstand. The Linus Roadster Classic is spare and elegant, without extraneous parts or adornments, and extremely easy on the eyes. It comes in two sizes, 51cm and 58cm, and is in stock now directly from Linus.

Known for his graphic, architectural, and bold designs, Hardy has created quite a name for himself in just a little over 10 years. Aside from his design position at Hermes, Hardy also collaborates with Balenciaga on their men’s and women’s shoes each season and has produced a series of capsule collections for the Gap. Now Pierre Hardy has taken his signature cube print and used it to adorn electronics. The iPad cover and smartphone case are both made of coated canvas covered with the black, white and gray print. These cases manage to make a bold statement without any branding. Unless you’re a real fan who knows their Hardy, that is. Available atStudiohomme.

As a lad growing up in England, designer Christopher Raeburn, like most of his contemporaries, had a Swiss Army knife. But little did he know that one day he would become a collaborator to the venerable brand. With success garnered from his Remade in England collection, Victorinox, the parent company of Swiss Army brand, tapped the young designer to lead a new project and explore the ethical potential of its 127 years old legacy. The result was Remade In Switzerland, a limited collection which followed self imposed mandates. Environmentally friendly and socially responsible, no mere marketing catch phases for Raeburn. To confine this new venture’s impact, Raeburn set up shop (named Swiss Lab) in the original Victorinox factory at Ibach, Switzerland. A cue to social responsibility, a hiring process started with existing Victorinox employee and craftspeople at the local trade schools. Some even recruited to be models for the collection. Then it was time to embark on a sourcing adventure on a wealth of military surplus, courtesy of Swiss Army, not the brand but the actual defense force. Worsted wool blankets reconstituted in muffler, lined on one side with its red cotton bed sheet counterpart. Versatile tarpaulin are now parka with considerable durability. The once life-saving parachutes reclaimed that role again as vibrant orange windbreakers. In fact, the collaborators reclaimed and reused everything they could for this collection, down to the presentation in New York City, where the crossbow-shaped, the origin of Victorinox’s crest, hangers are from recycled plywood and its stringy displays are from parachute cords. In total 8 pieces, evenly divided between men and women, along with several accessories, will be made. Because of the limited nature of the project, only 100 units per design will be available this September. In the end, for Christopher Raeburn, it was more than just about being responsible to fellow and Mother Nature. It was also the opportunity to share the story of the Elsener family, the people of Ibach, and a brand named Victorinox.

Photography: Poe for Juncture

Not since Star Wars’ C-3PO and R2-D2 have so many gushed over a “robot”, for the holiday season, Japanese retailer MUJI and Barcelona-base creative agency Carlitos Y Patricia unleashed the MUJI Noel Machine onto the pedestrian mall of Rambla Catalunya in Barcelona. From wooden toy blocks to the Yosegi Kendama, a traditional Japanese toy, the machine is stocked with 18 delectable goodies from both MUJI’s Japanese and European collections. Of course some die-hard robotica fans would be disappointed to know there is a person handing out the purchase via a slot. Still it is nice to know there are last minute options for us procrastinators out there.

Gift buying is always a tricky thing. The giver has to not only take the recipient’s interests and needs into consideration, but the price, the uniqueness and thoughtfulness index and of course, the cool factor all come into play. While it is not uncommon for many to turn to gift guides and blogs large and small for some retail and gifting inspiration, sometimes, hunting for the perfect item both online and offline can be another tricky issue, so let’s just leave the problem of fighting holiday shoppers off our discussion as of now. To resolve, effectively, all these issues and come across as the best and coolest gift-giver ever, Cool Hunting and Gap are here to help.

For Holiday 2010, Cool Hunting presents its first ever pop-up store, and the folks at CH has scoured the New York region for the best local products. The new pop-up store, set in Gap’s project space on 5th Avenue, is an entirely Cool Hunting production, and follows the same curation as news on CH—the goods are handpicked based on innovative design, artisan craftsmanship, social and environmental consciousness.

Internet shopping has undergone a series of revolutions and changes. First, there came the possibility of ordering things online, then came the possibility of auctioning and selling things online (hello, ebay!). Then, stores and labels geared up with their very own online stores, taking the retail reigns back home on the cyberspace. Then most recently, online sample sales and membership sale sites have burgeoned and created a cult following who never knew this was a “need” until it came into existence. While the ladies enjoy a wide range of membership sale sites at the moment such as Ruelala and GILT, for men, there seems to be only GILT Men. Expanding upon the online exclusive pop-up sales venture for the average American guy, in comes Urban Bloke.

While GILT Man could possibly be more about high fashion, Urban Bloke takes the middle of the road and caters to the average, well, bloke. Some of the labels the new site will be carrying include Ben Sherman, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein and Champion. For the readers of Juncture, to secure membership is as simple as clicking on this link and following the rest of the instructions! Get ready and start shopping.