Aaron Britt

Remembering William Safire

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:07:41 +0000

As you likely know, a great writer, pundit and my mentor William Safire died recently. It came as quite a shock as I’d seen him in March and he was as playful and impressive as ever. I had the chance, just after his passing in late September, to remember him and my time spent in his emply for Newsweek. Here’s what I wrote about a truly sweet man who always remembered his better nature when leaping into the partisan and lexicographical fray.

He was just the kind of boss a young journalist needs: tough, exacting, willing to teach, and perpetually on my side. My year and a half as his researcher for On Language, his column in the New York Times Magazine, was utterly formative and heaps of fun. He is missed already.

Guest Blogging over at ValetMag

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:59:18 +0000

I was recently asked by my pal Cory Ohlendorf over at ValetMag if I’d contribute to his site’s Coveted series. He asks folk from all over the fashion realm what it is they’re totally into at the moment, and for me it was the excellent film The Baader-Meinhof Complex. It might be the best film I’ve seen this year, not counting the Meryl Streep half of Julie and Julia. In any case, it was nice to contribute to such a stellar blog. Thanks Cory!

Guest Blogging on All Plaidout

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:41:43 +0000

A couple weeks back Max Wastler, who writes the wonderful and stylish blog All Plaidout, asked me for a few words on my dad for his Father’s Day series Things My Father Taught Me. I happily, though somewhat tardily, obliged, and he posted my tribute to my dad and his sense of style earlier this week. Here’s the post; this picture he included of me and my dad is reprinted here and was taken at my wedding by the very deft photographer, and my colleague at Dwell, Alexis Tjian. I strongly recommend you read all of the entries in the series as they paint a wonderful portrait of what it means to be a man here at the beginning of the 21st century, or at the very least, what we hope it means to be a man, and a father.

Dwell on Design 09

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:30:45 +0000

I’ll be down at Dwell on Design in Los Angeles from June 26th-June 28th moderating panels, leading discussions and talking with design luminaries like William Krisel, Mick Hodgson, Philip Wood and William Stout about issues as far-ranging as designers as entrepreneurs, the proper role of architects, and how to start your own personal design library. Come see the whole show at the LA Convention Center next weekend and stop in to say hi. There will be all manner of parties at night and LA’s first mobile eatery meet-up.

Two Events in DC

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:14:53 +0000

I’ll be heading to Washington DC in a couple weeks for a pair of Dwell Events about which I’m really excited. The first is the next in the series of Dwell Conversations and will be a panel discussion entitled Designing Diplomacy. On May 21st, I’ll be joined by Washington Post culture critic Philip Kennicott and University of Maryland professor of and architectural historian Jane Loeffler to talk about the intersection of diplomacy and design, particularly with regards to embassy design both in Washington and abroad. The panel will take place at the Finnish Embassy starting at 7:00.

The second event is the next day, May 22nd, and is a walking tour of all a handful of modern embassies. We’ll meet at Dupont Circle at 10:00 AM, stop into the Danish, Finnish and Swiss embassies to check out the design and then wander on to 2 Amy’s Pizza for lunch. All told, both events should be really great, and to get tickets visit the Dwell event listing for the panel here and the walking tour here.

Welcome

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:57:42 +0000

Photo by Alexis Tjian

You’ve found the online home of writer and journalist Aaron Britt. Peruse the site to discover my work and learn more about me. I’m an editor at Dwell Magazine, a columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle and a freelance writer on the arts.