Bookworm » Rob Ryan: This is for You
“If you believe in love, but find it difficult to explain – this is for you.” – Rob Ryan
Art & Design
Gift Guide » Top Ten Duck Duck Goose
1Manuella Big Elephant Floor Pillow$115
2Kid O’s City & Country Blocks by Lisa Mahar$45
3Donkey Products Helmet N. Crocheted Camera€26
4Playsam Rocking Rabbit$185
5Baby Barolo Cocoon Sleeping Bag$204
6An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton$15
7Sara Carr’s Lambswool Pencil Scarf$45
8Schnurpfel Pony by Naef$49
9Monster Hands by Hector Serrano$8
10Goodbyn Lunchbox$30
Kawaii! » Poketo Shwag Favorites
As promised, here’s a quick intro to all the cuteness that can be found at Poketo’s online shop. From fuzzy bear post-its and mustachioed pen pal cards to day planners, checklists, and travel journals, if you’re one of those crazies that spends her Saturdays roaming the aisles of Office Depot (yeah? so?) then Poketo will be sure to fill some stationary void on your desk!
Gift Guide » Top 10 Eco-Friendlies
1Eding:Post’s Picnica Bunny Bag$27
2Angharad Mclaren’s Recycled Climbing-Rope Mat£68
3Singgih Kartono Magno Sustainable Radio$200
4Freitag F74 Bob Bag$300
5Esque Studio's Recycled Glass Slump Vases$285
6Handmade Bird Calls by Sweet Bella$36
7Bamboosk8’s 100% Bamboo Skateboard Decks$45
8De Paper Bag By Jos Vandermeulen$20
9The TransNeomatic Bowl by Fernando and Humberto Campana$89
10Recycled Bike-Chain Bottle Openers by Resource Revival$14
Geekology » Sci-Fi Spiders & Friends
Nope. Not a bug fan. Somehow, I’ve been designated the official role of Bug-Squasher at home and am certainly not fond of those duties either. Oh! What’s that there? A shiny, bits & pieces, watch-innards mechanical bug? Well, that’s a whole different cup of tea! These bio-mechanical critters by Bergen, Norway-born and New York-raised artist Christopher Conte have all the functional intensity of the real thing without the gazillion eyeballs and post-squash goo. After he received a BFA at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, the sculptor dove into a 16-year career as a Certified Prosthetist (a direction suggested to Chris by one of his professors, who noticed an anatomical focus in his work) before he returned, in 2008, to a full-time career in art-making.
Beatbox » Minilogue + Ljudbilden
I’ve been sitting on this killer music video animated and directed by Kristofer Ström for Malmö, Sweden-based electro-duo Minilogue (Sebastian Mullaert & Marcus Henriksson) for too long now and had to spread the wealth as we head into what looks like a dreary, rainy weekend here in NYC… So, throw on your brightest duds and dance along with this rambunctious round-up of animated monstrosities as they run-a-muck around town! For more on the music, check out the Minilogue MySpace page!
Kawaii! » Cute Up the Wazoo!
What?! In the world!? This ridonkulously cute collab between Buenos Aires-based motion graphics firm PepperMelon, designer, illustrator, and mastermind of cute Sonni, and the character designers (Samuel Albert Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III ) over at Friends With You for Target is just a shroomer’s bonanza of kawaii! I’m a bit blissfully ignorant on this one – where and when the ad will (or has already) come out, the story behind the odd little number, the badass exec who greenlighted the project, etc… but really… it’s not always necessary…
Shutterbug » L’Exactitude N’est Pas La Vérité
So, you thought you were one-of-a-kind? Well, think again. Rotterdam-based photographer Ari Versluis and profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek have been examining the distinct dress codes of various social clusters for well over a decade now and their striking book of images, Exactitudes (that’s exact and attitude smished together), demonstrates once again to us obstinate humans how beautifully similar to one another we are. From Rotterdam gabberbitches to Parisian tektonik dancers to little rascals in Rio, our daily garb is a careful uniform defined by age, race, religion, sex, location, musical taste, political view, career choice – you name it, you’ll fit in somewhere.
Comic Sans Takes a Lashing
Thank you Mirko Humbert of Designer Daily, for putting out the funniest (Godwin’s Law-inspired?) meme I have seen to date. All this Kanye bullsh*t going around? Not funny. 99.99% of the videos on YouTube? Not f*ing funny. Hitler railing on Comic Sans & his marketing team? Pee-in-your-pants hilarious. The worst/best thing? He’s right. Any corporate gimp itching for Comic (or Papyrus, or Copperplate, or freaking Impact) should be exiled to Sibera. Over & out.
Papercuts » Jenny Lee Fowler
Jenny Lee Fowler’s snowflake-style papercuts capture the storytelling esprit of old-school European scherenschnitte with a good dash of Americana aesthetic. The artist’s brightly colored collection of clients’ family trees and celebratory events are at once deeply personal and universally resonant. Although various pre-cut designs are available in her Etsy store, the real allure here is the totally affordable customized design options. Profile silhouettes run about $20-$50 (check out the doggie silhouette!) and unique snowflakes like the ones seen here run around $100 a pop.
Papercuts » No Cutting Corners Here
“I create paper cutouts and seek to extend it as a contemporary, global art form that is deeply rooted in Chinese folk art traditions. To do so, I strive for a universal and amalgamated aesthetics that incorporate imagery rich in cross-cultural references and contemporar subtexts. In these very dense and intricate paper cutouts, I explore the universally shared experiences of power, sacrifice, and survival.” – Bovey Lee
Papercuts » Etsy’s Elsita
Originating in China circa 1500 the art of papercutting (jianzhi) quickly spread across the globe and is now a celebrated craft in dozens of countries including Japan (kirie), India (sanjhi), Germany & Switzerland (scherenschnitte), France (canivet or decoupage), Poland (wycinanki), Ukraine (vytynanky), Turkey (ka ‘ti), Mexico (papel picado), the States, Israel, and beyond. Sculptor, illustrator, papercutter, and jewelry designer Elsa Mora has a great blog, The heArt of Papercutting, featuring her work and helpful tips on how to make your own pieces.
“The process of creating a papercut piece is a wonderful way to practice and master the art of patience.” – Elsa Mora
Eco-Friendlies » Funktional Junktion
With a planet that is drowning in trash and choked by pollution, any company that makes the effort to be greener gets the “We Are Good People” badge in my book. When that company manages to highlight the “eco” side of their products in a way that sparks the imagination and demonstrates how far one can go with ecologically-forward thinking, well, that warrants a big freaking gold star.
i ♥ art » Lo ♥’s Murakami Party Pt. 2
“When the flowers laugh we’re all happy. However there’s always the other side, if they laugh too much. Children pick this up right away, that it’s not natural, much more than adults do. For instance, when adults buy something for their children, the boys and girls immediately know why they’ve done it and in this work I wanted to convey to the children of the world that there are places with light and places without light.”
i ♥ art » Lo ♥’s Murakami Party Pt. 1
OK – please don’t call me predictable, but I’m throwing a little Lo’s List ♥’s Murakami Party – just because: he’s fresh and summery and it’s hot outside! So: first up, the collab’ with “it bag” maître, Louis Vuitton… I’ve never been too into the bags, but love the many other innovations that have come out of the partnership…