Watches, Stories, & Gear: New Bags from Peak Design, a Documentary on a Brooklyn Based Calligraphy Artist, and a Baltic Review from the Archives

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

Four New Bags from Peak Design 

Peak Design recently funded their latest Kickstarter campaign for four new travel bags, though it might be more accurate to say they obliterated their initial goal of $100,000, as over $2 million has been raised to this point. Peak Design is one of our favorite bag and accessory brands, and their latest offerings are all travel oriented, and offer something for everyone. There’s the Travel Backpack 2-in-1, the Travel Crossbody 3L, the Travel Backpack 20L, and the Travel Weekender 25L. Operating under the philosophy that no two trips are the same, Peak has created four separate carry solutions for specific travel circumstances, rather than trying to create a catch-all, one bag for everything solution that might make a ton of compromises. You can learn more about the new bags at their Kickstarter page right here.

The Fine Line Documentary 

If you came to our recent event with Accutron and Esterbrook, you may have met Mohammed, aka @thebrooklynscribe, a calligraphy artist based in, you guessed it, Brooklyn. It just so happens that only days after our event, a new short documentary on Mohammed premired on YouTube. You can watch The Fine Line, by Saikah Studios, right here. And you should, because it’s a great story about a dedicated artist who is deeply committed to his craft, and just a really interesting slice of life. 

Backrooms Trailer

You’ve got to hand it to A24: year in and year out, they surface interesting and unexpected independent horror movies that we often just don’t see coming. Also, they just really know how to cut a trailer. The trailer for Backrooms dropped recently, and while it’s based on a webseries that had a legion of devoted fans, it’s all new to us, so we’re incredibly intrigued. You can watch it below, and while we don’t have a great sense of what’s going on, it seems to involve Chitwel Ejiofor’s character stumbling into a maze of interconnected rooms, exploring them, and freaking himself and everyone else out. We’re in. 

From the Archive: Our First Baltic Review

Baltic released their latest watch this week, their first worldtimer, with a stone dial. It got us thinking about the brand’s history, how far they’ve come, and the dramatic evolution from their first pieces to the watches they’re making today. So here’s a flashback to the very first Baltic (actually a pair of Baltics) reviewed for the site: Zach W’s take on the HMS and Bicompax 001 from nine years ago, almost to the day. In the intervening decade, these watches have become microbrand classics, the type of affordable watches that were, for a time, on everyone’s list to recommend and own. Do you, or did you, own an HMS or Bicompax 001? Let us know in the comments. 

The Horological Society of New York Raises Over $1 Million at its 160th Anniversary Gala

The Horological Society of New York marked its 160th anniversary in style recently, hosting a black-tie gala at The Plaza Hotel that also served as a meaningful fundraiser for the organization’s mission. The night brought in over $1.2 million, with a record $450,000 earmarked for scholarships and support across watchmaking schools and independent makers, a notable increase from last year’s event. The charity auction run by Sotheby’s which was the evening’s centerpiece featured many notable lots, including  a signed F.P. Journe Octa Réserve De Marche Wall Clock hammering at $200,000. 

You can find out more about the Horological Society of New York, and become a member yourself, right here.