It's no secret that we are big fans of Bills' Khakis, but we may have taken our fanaticism to an unhealthy level. When Wingtip re-opens after the holiday break, members will experience a newly covered loveseat and two wingback chairs in fabrics provided by Bills' Khakis.

The wingback chairs are covered in a camel-colored wool check that was made into the Berkshire Jacket this fall. The loveseat is covered in a red & green cotton flannel that we will be sure to break out every holiday season to set the mood. We also have two settees that were covered in a Dixie Wale Cord and a Charcoal Herringbone.

Come Spring, these pieces will be decked out in new Limited Edition fabrics, including some linens, madras, and seersucker. How do change the furniture so effortlessly? That's a question that will be answered later this year with the launch of a new product line...

We can't go into the actual details of how we came to acquire a Gunlocke Kensington Desk for the Bespoke store --seriously, we can't-- but we are more than happy to announce its arrival and prominence in the store (it takes up about 1/4 of the store's square footage). We should clarify that we obtained it legally, but for security reasons, are not allowed to discuss much more. Think Ocean's Eleven meets Law & Order meets Extreme Home Makeover.

Customers will now be able to peruse shirt, coat, and fabric swatches on a beautiful solid hardwood surface at a desk that evokes refinement.

Gunlocke, you may recall, manufactures the Washington Chair: the chair that 6 of the last 8 U.S. Presidents selected as their desk chair for the Oval Office. We have a sample of one of those, although not in the classic cherry wood & black leather combination that most Presidents have chosen. In time. In time...

One of those products where the photos don't do the real thing justice. This model is a reproduction of a Ferrari hydroplane, featuring red leather seats, a detailed cockpit, and chrome hardware. If you're really interested in the story behind the boat, a solid account can be read here. 

Dimensions: 31.5 x 11.75 x 9" (80 x 30 x 23cm)

Authentic Models Thunderboat  $700

Years ago, I came across Vault cabinets for the auto enthusiast. We liked the idea so much that we bought an early prototype of a work chest, which we use today to display driving gloves, driving shoes, and other automotive related accessories. As we were getting ready to open the new store, Vault put us in touch with Edward Levy, founder of Campbell Levy Designs.

Campbell Levy creates probably the most masculine lamp we've seen to date...and we've seen a lot of lamps! They are made out of the crankshafts of automobiles, especially luxury marques like BMW, Maserati, and Porsche. They also source parts from American muscle cars past and present, including a Corvair and a Viper.

Mr. Levy was kind enough to crate up two of these lamps, which weigh almost 100 lbs each, and ship them to us in time for our grand opening last month. We have a lamp made from the crankshaft of a 4.7L Jeep V-8, and one from a 4.4L BMW V-8 in the Library at Wingtip.

If you love cars and you love light, you're going to have a tough time resisting his Gallery of past projects.

A few months ago, Uncrate featured a chair that was immediately recognizable to a news junkie like me: the Gunlocke Washington Chair. Five of the last seven U.S. Presidents --and eight consecutively from FDR to Carter-- parked one of these in the Oval Office. It is iconic, historic, expensive, and now that we have one on loan, I can say it feels like it's worth every penny.

Pedigree aside --and ignoring the history of a chair like this is to miss the point-- the chair is a beast. Made of solid hardwood and what must be yards and yards of leather, the chair is almost too heavy to pick up. Luckily, it has wheels encased in 2" bronze ball casters. But in a chair like this, you don't move to people; people come to you. Just sitting in a chair like this makes you feel like you could depose a Middle Eastern dictator just for bad fashion sense (I'm looking at you, Muammar). It is firm yet comfortable; substantial yet agile. Kind of like a good President, I suppose.

Having bought a used Herman Miller Aeron Chair --Silicon Valley's official start-up chair-- from the defunct Webvan.com back in 2002, I feel like it is a weak alternative, literally and figuratively, compared to the Washington.

While I don't yet own one personally, the above photo is of a Washington chair on loan from the fine folks at Gunlocke in our new custom shop on the Street Level in 1 Embarcadero Center. Eventually we'll buy our own for the store, and then we'll get to buy a set of them for the future conference room at Wingtip. Because if it's good enough for the leader of the free world, it's almost good enough for our best customers!

Bay Area residents remotely involved in the high-tech sector are undoubtedly familiar with TED. Short for "Technology, Entertainment, Design", the first conferences were about world-changing ideas in those 3 fields. To be invited to the TED conference was/is a big deal; I have never been invited, and yes I am bitter about it. Today, TED presentations cover a slightly wider array of topics, but I'm certainly not complaining after having watched Sam Martin's presentation on "Manspaces". 

There's nothing particularly revolutionary about the idea, but if you've ever built a manspace or mancave of your own, you'll be happy you're not alone. At just under 5 minutes in length, it's a quick respite from work and it may just manspire you to create a manspace of your own. 

In honor of the Manspace, On The Fly will gladly giveaway a $100 Gift Certificate to the site to the reader who sends us a photo of their manspace with them in it (a "proof of life" item like the day's newspaper is required for authenticity so no one is just Googling photos of other people's manspaces). We'll pick a winner by November 7th. 

You can watch the entire presentation here.