Adventure Supply Kit
A California designer releases a complete kit for good old-fashioned exploration.
If William S. Burroughs were writing today, his infamous musings on addiction might have danced wildly around a different class of drug: constant connectivity. And while certainly not ruinous like opiates and barbiturates, there is nonetheless a growing concern about the profound impact over-connectedness is having on our our relationships, our productivity, our psychologies.
To stem the tide and bring back a bit of balance, there has been a notable increase in products and services which either encourage or downright enforce digital downtime. Over the past few weeks alone, we’ve featured Blokket, a an elegant phone holder whose fabric blocks mobile signal, Recess, which seeks to discourage excessive computer time with lush infographics, and Wrangler’s Mileage app, which encourages its users to explore the world without the help of maps, tips and overlays.
California designer Mia Johnson attacked the problem in an altogether more playful way with her Adventure Supply Kit, a clever box of essentials to accompany any adventure. Complete with an analogue compass (when’s the last time you saw an analogue compass?), a disposable film camera, and glass jars for capturing fireflies (?), it is a lovely nod to good old-fashioned, lose yourself exploration. The set wouldn’t feel out of place as a Moonrise Kingdom prop, and its delightful tactility should provide a compelling reason to ditch the device for a bit. So get out and follow that compass to where no wifi roams.
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