New Etsy Seller

HyperJumbo is only 2 days old and I love this A2 screenprint. It kind of reminds me of Utensilo (below) which is one of my all time favorite products. I hope to see more work from Adam from HyperJumbo.images: hyperJumbo.etsy.com, velocity

Five Whats with Maryink

Mary is Chad's friend from high school in Nashville, she moved to New York for college and worked as a photo stylist. Now Mary is happily married to Chris and live in East Nashville. Their baby- Maryink, is one of the most popular shops on Etsy! Here are the Five Whats:
What is your all-time favorite product in your shop and why?
It's a tie- I love the Arcadia votive set (above), it's dreamy and cool. The French ad copy t-shirt (below) is a fave, too, which is something that Chris made.
What is your dream job (project)?
I'd love to do something for John Derian. I want everything in his store, and I love the decoupage he does.

What are your inspirations?
I have a lot, and current ones are: fairy tales, Spring, 50-60's kitchen items, Georgian and Victorian gloominess.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to take bike rides in the big park by my apartment. The path meanders by the river, and sometimes it seems like I am in the middle of nowhere. I also like to garden, and I'm excited to start my tomato container garden once it warms up.

What kind of music do you listen to? Favorite bands?
Right now, I listen to the Knife, Dungen, Stereo Total, old David Bowie, and Vive la Fete the most.

images: maryink.etsy.com, thanks Mary!

My Favorite Godard Actress

Anna Karina is my most favorite French (she's actually Danish) actress from the 1960's. I love her in all the Godard movies- Une Femme est Une Femme, Pierrot Le Fou, Alphaville, etc. But I also love her voice, she may not be the best singer but she often sang in movies, like this You Tube clip from Pierrot Le Fou is the cutest singing scene of all time. Enjoy it!

Renegade Brooklyn

Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn is going to be my first time as a craft show vendor, and I am so thrilled to share the space with the lovely and talented Kimberly of Chez Sucre Chez. I hope to bribe you guys into buying some stuff with lemonade and treats! The Fair will be held at McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg on June 14th and 15th, from 11am to 7pm. Starting next week I will be posting the new prints/products that I'm making for the Fair!
image: renegade craft fair

Have a Great Weekend!

I promise promise promise that I will make it up to you with lots of new posts next week. I'm going there on Sunday, drop me a line if you are going!

Five Whats with Paul Budnitz of Kidrobot

This week I am proud to present Five Whats with the Founder and President of Kidrobot, Paul Budnitz. Paul is the man with the vision and courage to popularize the urban toy industry, within 6 years Kidrobot became one of the most successful urban toy/apparel stores in the country. I wanted to know what it's like to be Paul and as you read the answers you'll find him a very grounded and energetic person with a balanced life between work and play (you should also visit his blog). Here are the Five Whats:

What is an average weekday like in the life of Paul Budnitz? What about an average weekend?
Weekday: wake, brush teeth, floss teeth, meditate, run 3 miles, eat Bunnylove cereal with soymilk, put on cyan blue Nikes, dodge scary streetsweeper homeless guy who recognizes me every day and lives on Sullivan street, catch M6 to work, design some stuff, eat lunch, design some more stuff, eat a snack, run out of office in a sudden panic, end up wandering around the Islamic Art section at the Metropolitan museum of art, dinner at Korean restaurant, home, read Tintin comics, practice Tai Chi, eat Bunnylove cereal with soymilk, brush teeth, floss teeth, sleep.

Weekend: The same, except substitute Vietnamese for Korean food.

What is your favorite food?
Bunnylove cereal and Almond Butter.

What are your inspirations?
This week: The Dead Boys, Flashdance, and Mr. Peanut.
Last week: Benjamin Franklin, Junya Wantanabe, Asterix, and Smax. What is your favorite product that Kidrobot has ever made?
It changes almost every day. Right now it is "CAPEE: Calcium is Insufficient!" in pink flock.

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?
A firm and unshakable commitment to see what one is doing through, no matter what, and at all costs.

Until one is committed
there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back
always ineffectiveness
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
that would otherwise never have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one’s favor all manner
of unforeseen incidents and meetings
and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamt
would have come his way.

-W.N. Murray
The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

images: Kidrobot and blog.paulbudnitz.com

Thread and Butter

My friends Kimberly and Janna recently bought a fixer-upper in rural Pennsylvania, 2 hours away from New York City (Brooklyn to be exact), where they used to live for 10 years. Their blog- Thread and Butter, shows the progression of transforming this reeeally old house into a cozy comfortable home, all done by these two ladies. I love some of their little discoveries that the previous owner left behind, like this hole plugged up with corks (below), what a cool idea! Their blog may inspire you to buy a fixer-upper and do some major home renovations yourself!

RE-

That is the theme of Muji Design Competition, anything that you can rediscover and re-conceptualize. The grand prize winner is "Towel with Further Options", a towel that comes in a grid pattern that you have the option to use it as a bath mat, or down size into a bath mat, a floor cloth, or a dust cloth. I really want this day planner that won the Judges' Prize (I saw it on Cool Hunting yesterday and I loved it immediately). There are 2 pages for each day, the left page has a white clock that represents AM, and the opposite page has a gray clock for PM. It is an easy as pie chart of planning your daily schedules, and I love the clean look!images: muji

Beesy Beesy!

Sorry guys, I'm having a very busy week so the Five Whats that was planned for this week has to be rescheduled for next Tuesday. But I promise that it is going to be a SUPER one! Postings will be light for the rest of the week as well, I'll be back (better than ever?) next week.
image: cuteoverload.com

nineteenseventythree

Another husband and wife team from England- James and Emma of 1973, a cutting-edge design/greeting card company. They tend to use unconventional paper and printing techniques that really compliment the beautiful designs of the cards. Besides designing their own card lines (second image above), they also do a great job with signing up great artists like Eleanor Grosch (top image), TADO (first image below) and Catalina (second image below). Their products are 100% green, all of their cards and envelopes are made from recyclable paper and pulp, all of the inks they use are vegetable-based, and the cello bags are bio-degradable. images: nineteenseventythree

You Tube Gem- Bomb The Bass

In case you want to skip the video, here is a screen grab of it. The song- Butterfinger, is BTB's collaboration with Fujiya and Miyagi. This is the cutest video EVER!

I Heart Sophie

Sophie LeBlanc's illustrations are so lovely and elegant, her works have appeared in magazines and advertisements in France and Spain. I can't understand French well but on her blog, she posts a lot of works from her shows and upcoming projects.images: Sophie LeBlanc

Five Whats with APAK!

Every week I get really excited when I get my Five Whats answers back from artists/designers that I've been a fan of, and this week I give you APAK! from Portland, Oregon. When they are not busy working as illustrators, Ayumi and Aaron like to create cute paintings together. APAK! also sell their prints on Etsy, some of them are Gocco prints (yay!) Here are the Five Whats:

What did you have for breakfast?
We shared a perfectly ripened small pear, a big slightly under ripened banana, a small delicious apple with a spot of bruise. Also a cup of black tea from India and a bowl of cereal called Optimum Power!
What are your inspirations?
Nature, Animals including our dogs Peanut & Ocho, Artist friends, each other, the sun, and the 14 billion year old universe.What is your all-time favorite piece of artwork by Apak?
Each show we seem to have a new favorite but so far we agree on our "Seasons" series of paintings with Happy Hermits and Fluffo. We like them because they remind us to pay attention to seasonal changes and live harmoniously with nature in celebration of life. Also they are special because Ayumi's dad suggested the idea of a seasons series... So they are actually 3 way collaboration!
What fun projects are you working on?
We're currently working on a show at Giant Robot in NY, which opens May 17th. There are going to be tons of magical crystals and rainbow clouds! The work is range from a tiny affordable paintings to big paintings, also sculptures too.

What are your favorite colors?
Well we like rainbow!(bonus what) What are your hobbies?
We don't think we really have hobbies at the moment... We find ourselves working a lot and actually our work is our hobby. But when we take breaks, we like to go for a walk with our dogs in the woods. We like watching movies in bed and drinking tea at night. Experiment with plants in our yard when it's nice outside. We live very simply very much like little hermits.
images: APAK! (thanks guys!)

Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product

Did you know that there is a great show at Cooper-Hewitt?! If you are in the design business, you should be familiar with sample books and what an crucial role it plays in your career. Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product showcases sample books and other sampling tools used for marketing and for recording designs and techniques from the last three centuries. I have a collection of paper sample books at home simply because they are so beautiful. Can't wait to see these beautiful pieces (pictured here) in person!images: Cooper-Hewitt

Introducing Pacific Standard

If you are looking for some visual stimulation, Pacific Standard is a good place for that. Strath is a very talented Graphic Designer and Art Director who just started the blog. I visited it for the first time last week and it instantly became one of my favorite blogs. It's full of cool graphic references, from snap shots taken in random neighborhoods of New York, to 70's album covers with really good fonts. I also enjoy his music recommendations, like this Billy Ocean number (we could always use some laughs, right?!)images: pacific-standard.blogspot.com

I want this!

Fashion Wonderland by Victionary. This book features over 100 fashion illustrators whose works appear not only in print but also as art installations, interior decoration, product design, etc. The printed fabric cover is so gorgeous that you would want to display it on your coffee table.images: youworkforthem.com

The Best Summer Shoes!

If you were to buy summer shoes from only one label, it'll have to be F-Troupe! They are super comfortable, stylish and none of the shoes have heels more than 1 inch. And the best part is their prices- each pair averages about $100-$250. Check out their website for store listing.images: F-Troupe