what did we love: les monstris

these are the cutest handmade plushies -  the artist, Ninon, who makes them calls them "Les Monstris"

not only cute, they're definitely unique from your typical stuffed toy and despite having made hundreds and hundreds of them each one remains different from the rest. it's also particularly interesting to see her go through "phases" of ideas in her craft. i wonder where she gets  her abundance of fabric and materials from. it would be a nice touch to see a video or images of "les monstris in the making." summer project anyone?

in her words: "I just love making stuff with fabric and creating new little creatures. I have been doing it almost everyday since 2004. I don't really like making 2 things the same.....I am interested in failures, imperfections and in what is possible to obtain after some "mistakes". I believe that sometimes a couple of button eyes can be a lot more expressive than the eyes of many human beings..."

Ninon's flickr account contains images of all these lovely creations over the years. her blog also contains interesting photos and you can purchase them if you're interested here!

AND she makes other things! the creativity doens't end...

what did we accessorize: artifacts by casey

artifact 001 / ring / plug / $200

artifact 002 / ring /socket / $170

artifacts by casey

so today i went into work (nylon) for the first time since i'd come back to ny (which really was only six days ago). and in the morning i really didn't have all that much to do so i was flipping through the latest nylon feb 2010 issue (with the vampire diaries stars on the cover) and came across this really cool jewelery designer. it motivates me to start wearing rings again since i stopped after i realized i kept bashing them up with all the art i was doing.

"I like making things that don't follow the traditional notion of what jewelry is supposed to be," says Brooklyn-based designer Casey Perez of her line, Artifacts by Casey. "People think it has to be precious and luxurious, but if my jewelry makes people stop to think for a moment, then I'm happy." (taken from the nylon article - can be found here)

the top two rings made from a plug and a socket in sterling silver are clearly meant to be bought for a couple, and i think it's a pretty innovative and cute idea. the one below is just fun. i would wear any of the three (now if only there wasn't that zero at the end of those prices...)

artifact 003 / ring / jaws / $140

what did we LOVE: BAD MACHINERY (and scarygoround!)

sept 21, 2009 (first bad machinery strip)

beginning in approximately tenth grade, i started reading a great deal on online comics / graphic novels etc. the non syndicated kinds drawn lovingly by laboring artists around the world trying to earn a living by posting a lovely strip of art a day.

bad machinery sept 23, 2009

here's one of my favorites:
BAD MACHINERY by John Allison (as presented by scary go round)
the artists earlier strip (his second) was entitled scary go round and lasted from 2002 to 2009(of which i have read from beginning to end - trolling through archives is a great deal of fun and wonderfully time consuming) and the characters currently featured in bad machinery stem in a way from this work.

both scary go round and bad machinery are excellently done in their artwork, full color, character development and long story plotlines. and i know i've included a lot of links in this post but if nothing else...go read this interview with the artist! i like knowing more into the minds that engineer the creative work i love.

bad machinery jan 7, 2010

someday (*hint hint*) i would love to own all the SGR books...unfortunately 1- 3 are out of print.

sketch from sketch fiesta dec 2009

the artist also has a flickr full of sketches well worth browsing. and a blog! the man is well versed in the ways of the internet world.

what did we miss: LA

i recently returned from LA this past sunday evening and i still miss it.
partially, thanksgiving break was amazing simply because it was a break away from school, having to work, being on the computer, getting no sleep...stressing out...
but thanksgiving break was also amazing because i was in LA. and because of who i was in LA with.

it was great to get away from NYC. i love new york and i love manhattan still and i think i'm still a city girl - but i have to say that my three semesters at parsons in the city have worn away some of the love for new york. maybe it's just that right now in my life the city is associated with stress. and unending movement.

and LA is only associated with holiday. and good food. and sunny sunny warm weather. (and disneyland, go karting, more good food, dogs, video games, ben and his family...)

so yes. i miss LA and i mostly wish i wasn't here in NY right now. but that's okay. i believe it's alright for me to be in love with more than one city even if it does mean that my heart belongs in some way to four.

images my own - it was also nice to pull out the dslr

what did we watch: love in first person

(screenshot)

while scanning through lelove images yesterday night (in between filling in 8 letter g's for class...via an HB pencil) i came across this image and this 11 minute short film/photo documentary about a young couple's life: matt and melissa eich. i must confess i was a tiny bit sceptical at first (not that drawn in by the intro image i confess) but the narrative is really very good and the photographs shown throughout taken by either one of the couple and some ten friends are amazing. the lighting, emotion, setting - all of it. so click through.


(screenshot)

love in the first person



"One year ago Matt Eich, 20, and Melissa Turk, 19, were typical college students. Then, everything started changing. Matt won the prestigious College Photographer of the Year contest, Melissa found out she was pregnant, they got married and moved from Ohio to Portland, OR, for Matt's summer internship.

In Love in the First Person, Matt and Melissa, with help from their friends, document their life together as they share their thoughts and fears on the sudden changes in their future. They come to realize that, as Matt says, "Nothing good comes without some sort of struggle," and that beginning a life together is as much about faith as it is about commitment."

(blurb from site)

also:
matt eich's photography

what did we read: (or want to) LOVE II

would like to get myself a copy of the new LOVE magazine. soon?

feeling a strange "blogging-block" of some sort on me.
not sure what it is. insecurity? lack of inspiration? school about to start? moving from hk to ny? slow internet? combination of above? seems to be that way.

what did we derive inspiration from: THE SELBY

(krysten ritter)




(peaches, bunny and lily)

all of this post's images come from
the selby
which is a website that "features photos, paintings, and videos by todd selby of interesting people and their creative spaces"
the people and places featured and photographed mostly come from new york, london, paris, milan, sydney...and a range of other places as well

each photoshoot is unique - gorgeous, aesthetic, perfectly shot, countless images; each person is different - intriguing, inspring, talented; each studio, store, apartment, area, space...is amazing and makes you wish you could visit each of them, that it might be yours for a day or a week or that you could live there, work there, share the space with the creative genius who inhabits it.

i have a desktop full of saved images to stare at and stare at and flip through and the site is worth daily clicking and perusal. the photos here are a fragment! i loved bella howard and rosa connell's place especially. (people are often photographed a lot but i felt it appropriate somehow to include mostly non-people images here in this post (cept one))

oh to know these people, to create my own such space, to be as inspired.




(julia roitfeld)


(bella howard and rosa connell)

what did we LOVE: window displays

what did we pay more and more attention to? window displays

i think i could fall in love with window displays. the above and below images are of the i.t. store in tst silvercord and their very romantic / phantom of the opera-esque / modern lighting display of violins.

they create a perfect mood - immediately catch the eye - you could look at them forever - and they make for good photographs.



and the below image is of the window display of the ceu store in miramar mall in tst. i just found the giraffes super cute. there were more of them and they matched the window silhouette stickers. i would have stolen a wicker giraffe for my apartment if i could have. come to think of it - i probably wouldn't have minded taking a violin too.

it'd be very cool to be the person who comes up with these window displays.



oddly enough - it is incredibly hard to find the i.t. or ceu websites - which is why i failed to link them here in this post...but the hunt will continue - and perhaps they'll be found...

what did we watch: the beatles

i love this sooo much.
i realize that this was released a month ago but i neither play rockband or frequently youtube. and i don't even listen to that much of the beatles! nick moy - a friend - posted it on his fb and that is how i was made aware of the existence of this rocking (ahahah) trailer for the beatles on rockband.
"i am the walrus"

what did we LOVE: my wallet

a new memo pockets moleskine on the left compared to my two year old memo pockets moleskine on the right (a gift from my bf) which functions as my wallet

differences? one's thin still and crisp and sharp parchment yellow. with a still very elasticy band and no tape on it whatsoever. mine? fat, old, taped up completely, falling apart almost entirely but very functional, practical and my beloved still

it's $118 HKD for a new one ($15 USD) i'm considering swapping in but i can't bring myself to just yet....

what did we LOVE: mt

mt
amaaaaaazing packaging design for masking tape of all things.

while in cwb...(same night as my encounter with the bearbrick window)...came across mt tape in the log-on in time square

i love it! it's so well designed and themed, put together and sold.

apparently there are 20 different colors with names like "warabi" (bright purple) and "sora" (robin blue) and "botan" (olive green) and also ones with various designs - made of rice paper, not too sticky and useful. (not that i bought any but this is what the site said...) and you can use it for a multitude of things! to write on, to seal things, to collage, to decorate...etc.

i didn't really pay attention to the price...or it's actual practicality - or any of that. i am just very very attracted to aesthetic, well designed, well packaged things. they make me pick them up and smile like mad and wish i could purchase em immediately.

click click click click click

PATTERNS
SHOP
GALLERY
mt - eng

what did we LOVE: ilovetypography

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i could post endlessly on this.

but really you should all just click above or below now. NOW.

i've definitely frequented this blog before so i don't know why i stopped.

and if you can only read one blog a day? don't read this. go read that one. and then commit to it.

ilovetypography

what did we LOVE: HOMELESS

(all photos own except for just this one)

HOMELESS

meaning a) your home lacks these items
and b) these things are "homeless" and are waiting for you to give them a home

a popular lifestyle store in HK that sells furniture, household items, lighting, and an assortment of cute random items and accessories. originally begun in yau ma tei in 2003, it proceeded to being featured by LCX in tsim sha tsui and now hosts a flagship shop in central on gough street that features both an eatery called "basement restaurant"
(a "to go" place for me: no 29 gough st., central t#: 2854 0010 M - SA 11:30 - 3:00, 6:30 - 11:00 pm)
and a gallery "wunyingcollection gallery."
(7 gough st, central, t#: 2581 1110 M - SA 12:00 - 10:00 pm)
recently another HOMELESS branch has been opened in causeway bay and two in shatin.

the photos shown here are of the store in CWB (1/F, 17 yun ping road, t#: 852.2890.8789, M - S 1:00 - 10:00 pm, SU 2:00 - 9:00 pm)

they have a pretty baller, very well designed, very aesthetic and informative site set up so i would highly advise clicking on the uppermost link.

personal preferences for items while surfing site:
slide light (wall light with photo display)
ringo and ring ring magazine rack (wall and free standing metal loops)
five x five mirror (25 adjustable mirors in a grid)
desk tidy (porcelain tea set desk organizer)
i especially liked all the clocks: core nice', RND, hands, knowwhere (second has "fallen" numbers in the bottom corner, second is just clock hands, third has five / six hands for you to write on to represent diff people in diff time zones (perfect for intl students!))
osaka dining table and AH side table (first has working desk area that can ve covered and second has slot for books)
salt and playtime (salt and pepper shakers in the form of child playing blocks)

what did we WOW

what did we LOVE: YUKO SHIMIZU

for Microsoft's Ultimate PC project
artists were asked to create series of 5 personal works using PC instead of Mac to showcase in Microsoft's new experimental art site UltimatePC.com

CIA Superhero Calandar 2009

YUKO SHIMIZU

an amazing illustrator and fine artist who is currently teaching at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in new york. from a traditional japanese family, she originally obtained a BA in advertising and marketing at waseda university before enrolling in SVA in 1999 and obtaining an MFA in illustration. she lives in new york and is the ex-roommate of james jean (another much loved artist of mine).

clients include: Microsoft, Pepsi, VISA, MTV, TARGET, T-Mobile, Neiman Marcus, Warner Elektra Atlantic Music, NPR, FUSE TV, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Pentagram, Sagmeister Inc.,
TIME, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, PLAYBOY, GQ, etc.

i love the asian flare and her trend in asian girls. she has a VAST portfolio with an incredible amount of simply spectactular illustrative work. categories include "fashion and lifestyle" "asian theme" "sex" "business and politics" "portraits" and "advertising." i would recommend taking your time to seriously click through her site, draw inspiration from it and let yourself be amazed. i love the woodcut quality of her work. the pastels and soft color schemes as well as graphic clean lines and the fantastical nature of her subjects and compositions. i have a particular interest in very imaginative detailed work. i believe her GAP product(red) shirts are still being sold currently so if you're interested - drop by a store and pick one up.

showing in new york (one work): Sept. 1 ~ Oct. 17, 2009
New York Spectrum Exhibition II Spectrum Exhibition II (group show)
The Museum of American Illustration at The Society of Illustrators: 128 East 63rd Street, New York City

also if you're in venice this summer: July 24 - 29, 2009 venice illustration course (workshop)
six day long workshop for illustrators of any level
taught and guided very individually and to student's ability
her two blogs are also great material:
DRAWGER
LOST AT E MINOR


PLANSPONSOR Magazine 2008
story about choosing between two choices
and
PLANSPONSOR Magazine 403(b) Special Issue cover 2008


Honolulu Magazine February 05 Hawaiian Valentine's Day
and
The Word magazine (UK) monthly supplement CD Now Hear This! cover for July 2009 issue


Fujiyama Sakura-Fubuki an image for a calendar to promote B&A Boutique


"Panda Bear Girl - The First Asian American Superheroine"
for "Artistic Utopia" a calendar book features personal work by illustrators. Designed by Murphy Design
(accepted into Society of Illustartor 47th Annual Awards)