– lovely pencil illustration by artist Benedicte Waryn of a pre-unit Triumph chopper with a “hare-brained” owner. So much to like about the detailed drawing: from the clothing; to the custom bike; and the lush fur of the hare’s head.
March 27, 2021
Red Hot Chilli Pepper
Flaming Triumph
A red frame does look smart on an early seventies Bonneville. The large oil filled frame gives weight to the accent color.
March 11, 2021
Gran Turismo
– slotting a two litre inline 6 into the Spitfires chassis and more streamlined bodywork from the Michelotti studio created a worthy competitor to the silo mar MGB GT. The Poor Man’s E-Type it has been called.
March 9, 2021
Codename Zest
– pure sixties design from Giovanni Michelotti in the shape of this compact sports car from the Triumph factory in Coventry. In red it looks like a firecracker.
March 8, 2021
Ragtop
– another classic from Giovanni Michelotti’s drawing board. The 3l V8 Stag built between 1970 & 1978. This particular blue body color is impressed on my childhood memory.
March 7, 2021
In Anticipation of Good Tidings
Natty Dresser
– the Triumph cars certainly had their own vibe going on. One in particular was the Triumph Herald; a small two-door car made from 1959 to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, estate and van models, with the latter marketed as the Triumph Courier. This example has a fine green side body and room with white hood and wings. The blue skies with scudding clouds with verdant grass make me nostalgic for the warmer weather to come. I think we’ll revisit Michelotti designs this week.
January 28, 2021
Steam Driven Industry
– interesting illustration of a motorcycle riding cat in the Victorian retro-technology style.
December 12, 2020
Luminosity
– Hi-Viz Orange for enhanced visibility of this racing Tiger. The short gloomy days of the winter solstice need an assistance to light up the retinal cones of other road users. The orange rims and spokes are particularly inspired.
November 4, 2020
Creative Cyclery
– here is a selection of one-off builds based on the Hinckley twin. Whether it’s a tracker, military hack, cafe or desert sled one of these examples is sure to tickle your fancy.
October 28, 2020
A different viewpoint
– sometimes you just need to look at things from a fresh perspective. The Tiger has an interesting front heavy form with a muscular tank and fairing; somewhat like an owl.
October 22, 2020
Arranging Objects
Knoll (nōl) vb. Knolling is simply the process of arranging objects so they are parallel or at 90-degree angles. It helps keep everything organised and when photographed creates clean, noticeable images. The term was coined in 1987 by a janitor name Andrew Kromelow who was working at Frank Gehry’s furniture making shop. The story goes that Kromelow would neatly arrange the jumble of the day’s tools at right angles on the benches as he cleaned up.
He dubbed the practice knolling because it reminded him of the right angles in Florence Knoll’s angular furniture (Gehry was designing for Knoll at the time).
October 21, 2020
These Days
Sixties chanteuse Nico looking very Chelsea in London on a parked bike. Born Christa Päffgen she was given her name by the photographer Herbert Tobias, who discovered her at 16. She went on from modeling to acting, singing and Andy Warhol’s muse in 60’s New York. Her version of Jackson Browne’s “These Days” is one of the great covers.
August 27, 2020
Sun & Tiger
– Entertaining graphic of some striped cool cat ripping over the rugged font of the Triumph logo.
August 26, 2020
Black Ink
– Bringing strength together with prowess; agility with power; and tenacity with fortitude, a Tiger partnered with Triumph is the ideal team.
July 1, 2020
Technical Lines
– some nice old engineering elevations and plans of a few of the cars built by Triumph in the seventies. I can envision the rows of draughting tables with sheets of vellum and tall stools.
