The Remnant

Well, I tried to organise an exhibition... It was due to be called "Share & Share Alike" but due to participation issues, the name has had to be changed, I think it's quite apt.

Title: The Remnant
Time: 6pm (The Evening) 17th Oct
Place: The Corner Cafe (Durban)

I'll take pics of my work once it's all up, I was quite chuffed with my contribution in the end, It's just a pity so many of the original participants pulled out at the last moment.

Graphic Finger-wear

I'm by no means a jewelery designer, but I'm busy with this at the moment a quick project before a leave RSA to try my luck in London-town. I'm doing it more as a gift idea than anything else, I have yet to source the right kind of resin to seal them with though, but I should get my hands on that pretty soon.
Its quite funny actually I was at movies with a friend of mine and my girlfriend and we saw something similar at a shop for R300 (only way uglier), and I declared then that it was a total ripoff and than I could do that myself anyday. So here I am proving a point (If only to myself).

The Flow of Communication

Thanks to my following the happenings at The Diagram, who have just published version 8.4. I've started experimenting with diagrams to communicate poems, prose, and found text. I'm still in the process of developing the execution, but I'm rather pleased with it so far.
Like the one above, that's still in sketch form, based on the children's rhyme "Georgie Porgie Pudding And Pie".

I hope to produce a series of limited run screen prints, for my up coming collaborative exhibition "Share & share alike", so any criticism (good or bad) would be much appreciated.
[Inspiration via The Diagram]

Mr Moustache Tote Bag

Possibly because I've been cultivating my own crop of stache, but I really liked this tote bag I found over at Monster Munch. Very much like the Mr Mr series that I also happened to really enjoy.
[via Monster Munch]

Papercraft Trabant 601

This is what i got up to during my lunch-break on Friday last week. I found Perpenduum.com thanks to ffffound, and on his blog found his template for the above Trabant 601. Its surprising how realistic the photgraphic texturing make the very simply folded paper. but i suppose thats the theory/practice behind most 3D/CGI modeling and texturing. I quite liked it, so I took a pic to share. If you want the template, you can get it from Perpenduum.com

Moar Post-its

My last post was of the idea of doing a varnished Post-it Bird... well heres the result (the first atempt anyway) It lasted all of one day before passers-by started vandalizing it. how dare they (hehehehe kidding). I quite like the weathered look though.
I must say I prefer it from a distance more than up close. The whole point of the project is: "Aiming to bring a childlike admiration and appreciation back into the hearts of Durbanites, Durban really is a beautiful city, if only people would take the time to notice."
Right/Ctrl click on the above images and view, to see larger sizes.
And here is what my agency (Modern Museum Communication) gets up to along the same lines when the power goes out, in the comfort of our own agency.

Keri Smith, Guerilla Art

I found Keri Smiths flickr Page, via the above picture, on ffffound. and after going through her stuff, I've fallen in love with her typographic doodles, however simple they might be. I particularly like her "Guerilla Art Signs". check out her website www.kerismith.com.

"For the really bad days, for the days when you want to quit, when you feel like everything you do is shit, when you feel your self-esteem plummet, when you decide that you would rather wait tables for a living, when you start to think you will never make a living making art, when you are working on something and feel like you hate it more than you've ever hated anything in your life, when someone makes an offhand remark about your work and afterwards you feel dejected, when you wish you had gone to school for accounting, when you start to believe that maybe your family was right, when you want to lie in bed for a month and eat chips.

It pays to have a sense of humor.

The artist's survival kit offers some help." Keri Smith

Wolf wrapping-paper, A New Year

Well it seems I'm not the only one who's bin taking it slow towards the end of the year. But I must say it really has been a great one for me. I just finished by Btech desgree in graphic design, as well as my first year of working in the industry. 2007 was bloody fantasic, come on 2008.
Im still on holiday though (visiting faminly in Johannesberg), but thats not to say that I've been idle (although I havnt been able to make any posts till now).

Inspired by Jesse at jezzeblog, with her foray into fabric printing, I started doing some experimenting myself. And trust me to go about it backwards (and insideout), for christmas I decided to make my own wrapping paper. So I did lino/block prints using sceenprinting ink and acrylic onto papers like stamps.
Here are some of the pics I took.

So as soon as I get back to Durban, on the 6th, Im going to carry on experimenting with printing, it really is fun. And I'll most definitly post the results here.

Etsy of the Week, Kirstenlovesdinner

I've been faffing around on Threadless.com the last couple of days, trying to get some decent feedback on designs I submitted. Thats where I came across Kirstenlovesdinner.

So from there I found her Blog and her Etsy shop. What is it with all these industrious girls doing so much great crafting. Haha. Her stuff is brilliant. She tends to use bulky crocheted items with fine lace, and the overall look is flippin cool (although me being a guy, I'd never actually wear them).
Another great designer, with a great blog and great Etsy shop, well worth a look. Also you can she her Flickr page here.
(via Threadless)

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Tatebanko

I recently came across Tatebanko, which is a "forgotten Japanese art of creating amazing dioramas and scenic perspective from paper." Tatebanko was popular and widely admired from the Edo period ( 17th century ) to the early 20th century. Then it all but disappeared.
The site Tatebanko.com is now attempting to revive it, above is a sample of a tatebanko made from the famous Japanese painting The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

I've seen this technique used before, for a CD cover, but for the life of me (and despite my ever expanding bookmarks folder) I cant find the example...sorry. But I'm definitely going to put in on my list of crafty techniques to experiment with.
Stumbled upon via CoolHunting.

Swedish Collection by Anna Viktoria

Viktoria Månström is the woman behind the new fresh approach of the designs. Her collection consists of everything from smart bags to clever interior decorative details.
I'm not entirely sure what function they serve, whether they're purely decorative or not, but flip they look great. I can Imagine something like that made out of enamel or resin. Very cool. via Another Shade of Grey.

All Wrapped Up

I came across a very strange thing indeed. I found the PPP (Pink Prank Project) thanks to Kristi Moore at Asphalt and Air. Talk about OCD, but it really does look good. I don't think I'd have the patience to try anything like that.


It also reminded me of a post I saw (above) in August on Amy's blog Tummy-Ache.

A3 Bags and A0 Posters

You may have seen this bag (Done by designer Tim Pokrichuk) elsewhere already, I first saw it at the Russian design blog omami.ru, but its simplicity grabbed me.
For at least a week I saw everything around me in terms of its ISO size. So to get it out of my system I decided to do an A0 poster using the same concept. I quite like it so I took a pic to post. Not sure how long before the novelty wears off though.

Etsy of the Week, CircaCeramics

I've been meaning to do a post about CircaCeramics for a while now, so It was only a matter of time.
I think they're brilliant, the duo (Andy Witt & Nancy Pizarro) are a pair of ceramicists running a studio in Chicago. I love the graphicness of their ceramics, and the colour pallete is brilliant.

I've been interested in the process of applying decals to porcelain and earthenware for a while now, hence my first Etsy post on Lusterbunny (note the similarity).Thanks to them, and their blog, I learnt more about the process as well as being more than a little inspired.

See there Flickr pics, their Blog, and their Etsy Shop.
As well as an article on them in The Storque.

I love Broccoli, Plush

I'm in the process of adding a range of plush toys called I Love Broccoli hand made by my friend Chantelle Roberts, to The Empire Collective Etsy Shop. They're, super cool and the felt makes them so cuddly. They should be online in a little while, and there's a bunch of different ones.

UPDATE: done uploading, but more to come.

Etsy of the Week, Smosch

Meet mini Mr Winterlips, one of the many "Buttcrack characters" designed and crocheted by Sandra of Smosch.com. They're all brillliant, but the one above caught my eye more than most. check out her Etsy Shop or her blog, Smosch.

Etsy of the Week, The Black Apple

Unfortunate I've limited myself (due to justified addiction) to only post one Etsy find per week, or else every post of mine would be a new brilliant thing/person I'd found on Etsy, and not much else.

Like Emily Martin from Georgia USA, who is The Black Apple, "curiosity peddler and picture scribbler".
Her paintings and prints are some of the cutest portraits/characters ever. I think they're brilliant, you can check out her Blog, or her Etsy Shop.

Upcycle Design wallets

I've noticed recently the number of "make-your-own"/recycled craft wallets popping up increasing. And after the dbCLay wallets did their round on the blogging circuit, and the many how-to's on how to make a duct tape wallet.
I've found yet another one(Upcycle Design), but this one offers a way more "found" look to it. Its how to make a wallet/coin-purse out of a milk/juice carton.
Which is cool because in South Africa (where I live) there are so many interesting "African" milk cartons with unique/quirky designs on them. I cant wait to give it a bash. Heres the site with the tutorial, Upcycle Design.

Some people cannot breathe, by Olivia Jeffries

I'm glad I found these pics by Olivia Jeffries, at A cup of Jo. I really like the middle one, titled "Some people cannot breathe". You can check out her Blog( Sweet as a loon bird), her portfolio, and her Etsy Shop. via A cup of Jo

Skinny laMinx preview

This preview picture posted by Heather over at Skinny laMinx is most definitley a teaser. I hope she enjoys her holiday in my home province, but hurry back to Cape Town, I wanna see the full product. Looking as good as ever, Check out her other stuff at her Etsy shop.