Let's face it, we all love to see inside other people's homes and places of work. I love creeping around our neighborhood at night and shining flashlights into people's windows to check out their interior design schemes (the police are so uptight about that). All creepiness aside, I really do love to see what design firms/shops/studios have done with their spaces.
Thanks to Design Sponge, we can now envy the likes of Hammerpress and Gilah Press with their "sneak peek studio tours", and we can leave our flashlights at home. Old warehouse-type buildings full of amazing art, screen printing and letterpress equipment...who wouldn't be jealous?
Finally, no more breaking & entering charges
Say goodbye to your Costanza wallet
Local Orlando artist/friend Jason Gregory, aka MAKR, launched his site today. He sells amazing handmade leather goods, some with laser-etched designs and all minimal in design, merging modern and traditional processes for a beautiful result. The site itself is also beautifully minimal, with nice photography as well. Overall a great brand with honorable intentions.
No offense, maximalists
Have you noticed my taste for simple, minimal photography yet? Well, here's some more anyway. London photographer John Short makes some beautifully composed images. Enjoy!
Via RBT
I'm Seeing Red
Tonight I went to the AIGA Orlando Seeing Red event, (at The Orange Studio aka Say It Loud) a traveling poster show exhibiting the artists' unrest with contemporary issues using only the colors red and black. Proceeds from poster sales go to a charity of the artists' choice, and with work by the likes of Milton Glaser, Barry Ament, and O-town's own Jeff Matz they're bound to sell out. Good work for a good cause, buy them while you can.
My personal favorite poster from the show, this is how I feel when I'm in one of my "I'm fed up with my own government and I'm ready to move to Canada" moods:
You can all finally get some sleep...
Yes, that's right....I've finally decided on a new bag. With much help from our friends Stacy and Keith and exhaustive research, I have finally decided on....drumroll please...
The STM Alley Bag
After carefully weighing all options, the STM Alley Bag (in medium, carbon color) has the right combination of functionalism and simplicity. With both shoulder strap and carrying handle, I can choose whether I want to look like I'm carrying a purse or not. It also has several compartments, including a heavily padded laptop section as well as several other zippered pockets. And it's cheap.
Winning honorable mention in this contest for my affection are the following websites, with a plethora of bag options to choose from:
Vaja Cases, Reware, Ebags, Oxio, Waterfield (SF Bags), and Manhattan Portage.
A few cool bikes, and one douchemobile
Wired has a fun article on their site called "Six Crazy Concept Bikes You'll Never Ride". Actually, there's only one in their article that I would never ride, I just can't bring myself to get on one of those "chopper-wannabe" Ellsworth bikes (the first one below). Heavy and hideous, I'm sorry, I just don't get the allure to those things.....and I don't have enough tribal tattoos to be allowed to ride one.
In lieu of my deletion of the Ellsworth, I would add my own personal ride to the list: the Dahon Jack (seen below). It's one of few full-size folders, and it even comes with a tire pump built into the seatpost, which I've used in a number of emergency situations. Very handy.
Any bikes you would like to see added/deleted to the list??
Marketing For Creatives 101
Steven Harrington has amassed 160 pages of goodness for his new book, titled "Our Mountain", for sale here. He also went on a European gallery tour, which has a corresponding blog. There's also a Flickr Set of imagery from the Paris opening, as well as video available here.
This is an all-out media blitz, the likes of which I haven't seen since the last Indiana Jones. Take notes creatives, this is how it's done. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that his work is amazing.
Cue Radiohead music now...
There's something about the city in the early (or late) hours when no one else is out on the street. At least for me, it's a calming, dreamlike and inspiring experience (and no, it has nothing to do with any foreign substances that may or may not be in my body at that hour).
Perhaps this is why I'm so drawn to Kim Cogan's work. His paintings are ethereal city landscapes, and the absence of human forms in much of his work reminds me of these past experiences. Beautiful stuff.
I imagine having one of these in my home would have much the same effect.
It puts the typeface in the basket
Most people I know will never understand my obsession with type. I specifically remember the reaction from my (NRA lifetime member and perpetually-curious-of-his-artist-son's-sanity) father when he called one day, and I told him I was in the middle of watching a documentary about a typeface (Helvetica).
"Oooookaaaay"....the reaction was as if I had just told him I was in the middle of playing dress-up with my stuffed animals.
Luckily, there are other typophiles out there who have a desire for everything type. Documentaries, clothing, artworks, and now....playing cards. P22 type foundry has just issued its newest set, comprised of their many offerings arranged in playing card form. The interface for viewing the cards is also very interesting.
Hopefully you don't get the same reaction when you deal typeface cards to your friends on your next poker night.
Je suis un stupide Américain.
I'm American. Therefore, I know no other languages than English. For some reason, we are the only country in the world that rejects anything that isn't our own. Hence the perception of Americans abroad as arrogant and selfish. Also, I can't read anything on Bertrand Sallé's site. I wish I could, but from what I gather through educated guessing, he's a French illustrator who has done some wonderful stuff. And, if you agree with our President, he hates freedom. Enjoy.
What is this, International Poster Day??
Soon after I found the posters below, I found these; Fabien Barral of Graphic Exchange fame (French blog/portfolio/printed material trading site) has some beautiful posters for sale.
It was design lust at first sight...
While perusing the European Design Awards site, I found this gem: Isidro Ferrer's poster designs for Spain's National Theater 2007 season. Beautifully minimal, yet they say so much, I'm going to be referencing these for inspiration for quite a while. I especially like the design for King Lear (Rey Lear). Genius.
(Re) Doin' Coke
Moira Cullen, Design Director of Coca-Cola, explains the rationale behind recent design changes to the Coke brand. If only more companies understood the value of simplicity, we would be living in a much more beautiful place. Via Abduzeedo.
To be serious for a moment...
George Carlin has passed away at age 71. As an icon of both comedy and First Amendment rights, he will be missed greatly by myself and millions of others worldwide.
FE, FI, FO, FUM...
I've always had a plan, should I win the lottery and become a billionaire, to live in a Dr. No-esque compound on an island somewhere, defended by an army of little people on evil, biting miniature ponies. It's incredibly strange, as well as politically incorrect, but it's my dream.
Of course I would never actually do this, but it's fun to imagine. Just like it's fun to imagine living in a real-life Lord of the Rings Hobbit village. I would be the slightly mentally dense-yet-gentle ogre character that defends the little Hobbitses from the meanies.
The first fantasy would never happen, however, the second is possible thanks to Peter Vetsch of Vetsch Architektur. He has designed and built the real life, modern version of a Hobbit village. The version that Frodo would build if he went to Architecture school in Switzerland and came back to the village wearing matching black mock-turtleneck and little rectangle glasses.
I'm packing my 12th-century leather and fur barbarian outfit and giant wooden club and moving to your Hobbit village, Peter Vetsch. I hope you're ready.
Found Via NotCot. NotCot denies any and all association to this blog and its highly inappropriate comments.
And now for more dick jokes...
What do you call a cactus shaped like a penis? Or a hamburger made of wood?
My votes are for coctus and royale with leaves.
But what do you call an artist who creates these objects to enhance the content of an editorial feature? In this case, you can call the artist Sarah Illenberger.
But...How am I supposed to know what to buy?
As a fan of street art in general, I'm very excited by the work of London's CutUp Collective. They repurpose billboards and other advertisements by cutting them into small pixels and rearranging them, often into scenes of destruction or revolt. It's nice to see more conceptual street art being done lately, especially if it's turning cheesy advertising into something interesting. You think they would form a chapter in Orlando if we asked?
Genius minus 30% is still Genius
This beautiful poster by Paraguay's own Juanma Teixidó is currently on sale in his online shop. For a limited time, you can snatch this one up for only $21. You could also buy 21 Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers, but the poster would be far less fattening...and probably more delicious. Contribute to your own health and good design by opting for the poster.
No animals were harmed in the writing of this post.
I love Chaircouture. But I can't have it. I have dogs. And by that, I mean my wife has dogs. They would cover it in their bodily fluids like they do everything else, and, unlike me, she values their lives over that of inanimate objects. So for now, I wait for pooky and winky's tiny little deaths. I will have you one day Chaircouture...
...And Ya Don't Stop
As a bit of a music snob, I find it difficult sometimes to keep up with what's going on with new trends, artists and releases. It's not like you can turn on the radio, or even the TV, and hear decent new music anymore. Especially when it comes to hip hop.
Luckily, there are sites like Yes Yes Y'all to keep me informed. With podcasts that cover a number of genres and a music player that allows you to listen to the subject of each post, I can at least pretend to be in the know when one of my hipster friends makes a reference to the new James Pants.
I still can't get the sand out of my type.
While checking out the glow-in-the-dark Metropolis poster from Underware that's being posted everywhere, I found a link to this cool project. Type and sand, two of my favorite things, together at last.
Philatelism
This may seem nerdy even for a designer, but I have been waiting for these stamps commemorating Charles & Ray Eames' work for months. Well, they're finally out, and I'm extremely excited. After all, this is the only way I can afford an Eames lounger.
What is this "Handmade" you speak of??
Apparently, Mark Andrew Webber of Design You Trust cuts sections out of linoleum "by hand" (whatever that means) to create his maplike prints of various cities. They have a slightly Paula Scher thing going for them.
Glad to see someone still doing things the hard way.
Frankenstein Want New Kicks
As you know from previous posts, I have a bit of a shoe fetish. Not in a sexual way, but almost. Luckily (or not, depending how you look at it) I wear a size 16, which tends to limit my purchases to the odd clearance rack find.
My new favorites are these, available soon from RoyaleFam. Featuring black denim and leather, faux snakeskin (or is it real??) and a small bit of red, green and cream trim, they're just different enough to look custom without the usual over-the-top ridiculous color and texture of many custom shoes.
My bet is that they won't make these in Mutant sizes, but in the unlikely chance that they do, I'll be willing to pack my lunch for a few weeks to be able to afford them.
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