Fleet FoxesFleet Foxes 2011 Pitchfork Music Fest

http://pitchfork.com/news/43253-pitchfork-music-festival-2011-video-portraits/ –  So i’m a year late, and several dollars short but thought i’d share this for posterity.

The cavalcade of hipster magic that adorns most summer festivals now comes in animated .gif form.  Okay so yeah, this is partly a post about how photographers Sanchez and Kitahara (http://www.higgsandboson.com/) have gone forth and made animated .gifs into something i’d love to hang in a digital poster frame above my bed (tis the future after all).  Plus, if  i’m going to have a seizure i’d rather have it induced by something cool n’pretty.

My kingdom for a press pass and a trusty SLR.

Cut Copy Cut Copy avec Balloons

Twin ShadowTwin Shadow

Geeks of NatureA show by podgypanda

For all of you who couldn’t make it to the opening here is a preview of the Geeks of Nature show by Podgypanda complete with pricing.

For purchase inquires please email: info@thisisnation.com

Digital Prints each ed. of 50 (clockwise)

• Tea Party $60 cdn
• Godzilla Greg $60 cdn
• Whales $60 cdn
• Kristopher Kong $60 cdn
• The Last Sushi $60 cdn
• Boof $60 cdn

Note: All prints are 11.75″ by 16.5″ including a 1″ white matte.

Canvas Prints (clockwise)

• Kristopher Kong $300 cdn
• Whales $300 cdn
• Tea Party $400 cdn SOLD
• Boof $300 cdn
• The Last Sushi $300 cdn
• Godzilla Greg $300 cdn

A3 Original Paintings Framed (clockwise from top left)

• Kristopher Kong $185 cdn
• Nora Narwhal $185 cdn
• Betty Yeti $185 cdn
• Livi Unicorn $185 cdn
• Godzilla Greg $185 cdn
• Bigfoot Bryan $185 cdn
• Walk (A4 size) $250 cdn

Custom Sculptures (clockwise from top left)

• Livi $300 cdn
• Kris $300 cdn
• Snowpal $150 cdn
• Bryan $300 cdn
• Betty $300 cdn
• Greg $300 cdn SOLD

A4 Sketches (clockwise from top left)

• Main Wall
• Drool Puddle $80 cdn
• Dreamin $80 cdn SOLD
• Waterballon to the Face $80 cdn
• Raining Legless Catspuds $80 cdn SOLD
• Vandals $80 cdn SOLD

Our big ol’ side venture Nation Toys has poll positioned it’s way to the forefront with a recent redesign and subsequent launch.  We will now be supplying y’all with the latest in vinyl goodies, apparel and art for your purchasing convenience. Also be sure to notice our “artists” section where we hope to aid in the rock star status of all who have coloured up our walls. Oh it doesn’t end there!… as we’ve added a basic blog to inform our guests on the latest goings-on regarding exhibits and future products, meow.

We wanted to flex some creative muscle on this one so we created some cute n’quirky illustrations with lightly militant undertones, perhaps even some overtones (all in good jest, of course) and away we went!  Currently, we’re working on some character development and back story which will hopefully breath more life into this colourful and slightly odd web endeavor.

If you are in the market for some vinyl goodness, perhaps a gift or feel like supporting some local artists we highly recommend clicking on THIS LINK and taking a look around, and buy all means throw something in the shopping cart.

- Team Nation thanks you!

WEAR WASH REPEATthe art of KOMBOH

Donning the walls of Nation Toys this November is the works of KOMBOH (aka Michael Mateyko & Hans Thiessen). With a very descriptive theme you can gather that the show will focus on wearable art. There is an assortment of incredible hand screened imaginative and simplistic graphic tees accompanied by some beautifully framed illustrated prints. I have a feeling that both the tees and prints wont be around long and their reasonable price *ahem $30* certainly makes them a great gift idea and hotter than the hottest of hotcakes… I guess if you could wear hotcakes the former would be true.

From my angle the work of KOMBOH epitomizes not only clean contemporary design (with a side of whimsy) but also the diversity to switch from amazing typeset documentation to cute and colourful vector illustration & animations.  I look forward to seeing whats next for this talented duo.  I’ll be sure to post photos of this month’s show.

The opening is tonight: 6pm – 9pm @ Nation Toys & Tees so if you are in Calgary we hope to see you there!

The work of Michael Mateyko & Hans Thiessen.

KOMBOH is comprised of two individuals who realized that working together solved more problems than it produced. Michael Mateyko and Hans Thiessen approach the visual world with the belief that creativity is a process, not a formula. A process that sometimes involves medium-fit, 100% cotton t-shirts.

Go to komboh.com for more form-fitting goodness.

Okay so it’s been a week since my return from SDCC. Typically I would have so much to immediately say… and it’s not that I don’t… it’s that there is an overwhelming amount to say.

Mindstyle had some incredible Stitch customs and some great new products including the Godfather by Michael Lau.

Kidrobot wasn’t so much a booth but more of a perpetual lineup.  I did get a sniff at their new releases from behind glass, but unless I waited in a 4 hour lineup the Huck Gee, Deph & Amanda Visell releases were a no go… apologies to all the collectors.

Strangeco was the most gracious of incredible toy making & distributing machines.  I managed to fenagle some exclusive Tokidoki platinum editions from them. Their Kaiju wrestling after party was incredibly weird… nah it was just incredible with a side of weird.  The venue was incredible too, we need more Wonderhaus style venues in Calgary (it was a well renovated old Wonderbread factory)

Tokidoki’s booth was just impossible! Too busy to even venture a walk by.

Rocketworld had some new tricks and products up their sleeves and we should be seeing more toys from them coming our way! These guys are also doing a fantastic job at providing socially conscious products which support the WWF and everyone on team Splash loves animals so hells yeah, Rocketworld.

Poketo’s team was overwhelming cool, great to meet and even greater to line up as a new vendor.  Plus anyone who carries DGPH is in like flynn in my books.

I thought a strategic visual approach would be to somehow categorize my experience via photos, using my own version of the dewey decimal system (more slideshow and less dewey). So here goes:

First the vinyl!

SDCC 2009 Part 2: Celebrity (on it’s way…)

Casey Weldon
“The Reading”
acrylic on wood
30 x 20 inches
$1,350.00
(Various Cult Movie Directors, from left to right; Jim Jarmusch, John Waters, David Lynch, Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Tim Burton)
SOLD

Gallery 1988 Los Angeles opened round 3 of the the wildly popular / annual Crazy 4 Cult show last week.  There is a decadent amount of pop related artwork that is destined to become iconic perhaps solidify the fame of already established artists and/or propel lesser known artists into the low-brow lime-light.  Those lucky enough to be in the West Hollywood (Melrose) area should take the opportunity to see these pieces in the flesh as the show expires on August 8th.  Those less lucky (namely myself) will have to settle for the bloggED version to see fantastic, original and reasonably priced artwork get snapped up at an alarming rate.  At least I have SDCC to look forward to, to meet my pop culture needs…sigh.

N.C. Winters
“I Am Jack’s Broken Heart”
acrylic and resin on wood panel
16 x 20 inches
$1,200.00
(Fight Club)
SOLD

2cents
“Trap”
screenrpint on archival paper
16 x 20 inches
signed and numbered edition of 40
$25.00
(Ghostbusters)

Leanne Biank
“Walter”
linoleum print, one of a kind
14 x 17 inches each, framed
$200.00 each
(The Big Lebowski)
SOLD

Wade Schin
“Donnie”
4.75 inches tall
acrylic and spraypaint on acrylic plastic, one of a kind
$750.00
(Donnie Darko)
SOLD

Bob Dob
“I Don’t Tip”
oil on panel
6.5 x 9 inches, framed
$650.00
(Reservoir Dogs)
SOLD

I say with great certainty that one day I will own an original Josh Keyes painting.  His work is perfectly haunting and meticulous, to the point where you think it’s a digitally compiled piece. The shadows and dissections are seemingly both random and abstract, though somehow make sense alongside the visual juxtapositions of Wildlife v.s. Man-made Monuments/Artifacts.

There is something so calming about his work and I’m not sure if the post apocalyptic vibe is supposed to have that effect… but hey that’s just me. Anyway, if you’re lucky enough to be in the Oakland CA area this August you can head over to the Swarm Gallery to check out his latest creations up close and personal.

Also, be sure to head over to www.joshkeyes.net to see how beautifully talented this artist is.

The above print is available for purchase through David B Smith Gallery.  Only $175!

Living space – Planning and arrangement of a 110 sqm apartment in a historic building. The principal part was planning the kitchen: Crucial aim was to combine functionality and living space. The kitchen cabinets were designed especially for the apartment using high-quality surfaces. The spacious square sculpture-like wall unit opposite the cabinets also holds a flat screen television. The large extendable dining table for 10 persons to be seated at and a couch gives the room a living room atmosphere. For the rest of the rooms built-in components and furniture were designed to be combined with existing interior using the colour and material concept which was developed for the apartment.

We’ll call this a quicky as I have nothing more to comment on this other than it is beautifully clean design. I appreciate smart design, especially in smaller spaces.  Plus, I’m blown away by all of the minimalist custom cabinetry and fixtures.

Visit www.oliver-schick.com to view more projects. A shout out to mocoloco for the find.

Take ALEWHIF

I like to inhale chocolate as much as the next person, but to actually “inhale” (quotes & suggested air quotes) is an entirely different story. Taking this literal approach to inhaling food is a new product from Le Lelaboratoire called LeWhif.

Le Whif is a new way of eating chocolate – by breathing it! Imagine, chocolate without the calories. Be the first to try inhaled chocolate in one of four flavors: mint chocolate, raspberry chocolate, mango chocolate, and plain chocolate.

Le Whif seems to cover the spectrum of great design, from beautiful packaging to almost extreme product innovation.  Obviously the right choice of food was an important choice in experimenting with the way people consume, and I’m sure that  chocolate trumped a variety of delicious ideas….such as steak perhaps.  Though this all sounds a little outrageous and even seemingly pretentious (see it’s debut at Cannes on the Le Whif world tour), I am curious enough to order and try this product… if it does transpire, I’ll let you know how it goes.

It’s a very tetris week here on the SplashFan, and I thought I’d share this product that would make any shower or back splash 100% less boring… Tetris tiles.  Knowing that you can choose your schematic in layout and colour scheme (they even match Pantone colours), makes this the most designy *slash* beautifully-nerdy concept ever.  Though the manufacturer is located in England, a true fan would probably overlook the feasability and costs involved with importing them to let’s say Calgary… Yes, a true fan would.

This modular home has been around the blogosphere more than a few times but still stands out as an incredibly creative concept and worth a post.  This exhibitionist form was created by architects Pieter Peelings and Silvia Mertens, of Sculp(IT). They created a livable space from 4 shipping containers stacked and cleverly placed between two buildings, in the bustling streets of Belgium. There is only 2.4 meters of width and 12 meters of depth to the space, and they’ve cleverly arranged their life by floor. The bottom floor is their work space, the second floor is a dining area, the third is a live / play area and the forth is the bedroom and spa… the craziest part is their jet tub on the roof. The privacy factor would be an issue for me. But, I think the idea is genius for architects trying to break design boundaries, and essentially create a working, breathing, sustainable advertisement for themselves. The LED frosting on the cake is the use of coloured lights to accent each floor at night, which I’m guessing is an homage to the red-light district area in which the dwelling…well…dwells.

People continually mock me for wanting to build / live in a modular home, primarily a shipping container home.  What these people fail to realize is how affordable, environmental savvy and incredibly awesome it could be.  I will do my best this month to search out the coolest, most interesting uses of shipping container / modular habitats to blog about.

This idea can also prove useful for temporary housing or to aide in disaster relief such as the Illy push button home (though this is pretty fancy, the concept is there).

Aptly titled “Apatow Crew” I’m not sure that this illustration speaks volumes, but it certainly puts a smile on my face. Though make sure you don’t pay too close attention to the details… because i think it gets unnecessarily hairy.

Dan Park is an incredible NYC based illustrator who spreads his skills to those in need of incredible art &/or help with their skills.  There is definitely a pop-whimsy theme to Dan’s work much like that of Brandon Bird, but he maintains a strong editorial theme which you can tell from the diversity and style of his work.

danparkstudio.com

This illustration is beautiful and I blame my subconscious for consistently pointing me a Jenny Lewis direction. Damn you the Wizard…damn you the 80’s…get out of my head. We’ll I can’t entirely blame the 80’s as Rilo Kiley is pretty rad, their album “More Adventurous” had a swimfan setting on my play list for a good year.

I wish I could read all of the post-it notes!  Obama’s eyes are scary though…i’m not sure if it was intentional or not.

Kitschykoo has a new and improved format…who knew newsprint could look so stylish! More importantly, it is FREE!

The June edition is hot off the press and warming at a window sill in various cool venues around town.

If you are in Calgary and want to celebrate some indie, fashion, lowbrow, designy goodness definitely hit up the Broken City patio this Saturday June 13th (6pm – close) for said launch party.

We love you Kitschykoo Mag… keep ‘em coming!

Photo Credit: LADYLUX

James and I ventured to the Warehouse last week to see Crystal Castles. The opening act was Calgary based band Azeda Booth who turn piercing vocals, glitch effects and dissonant instrumentation into something quite melodic… they were a good fit for the show.  We talked with Jordan (lead singer) after they wrapped up and they mentioned that they had never listened to Crystal Castles but the sound check was 3 hours and the lighting check was 6 hours long… I knew we were in for a big freaking treat.

There was no easing into the show, it started with a virtual attack on the senses from a sporadic white strobe combined with Atari-esque beats and the intensity of front-woman Alice Glass … we were stuck, not because we couldn’t move if we wanted to but because the show was hypnotic.  Traditionally, this 2 person band native to Toronto consists of Alice Glass (vocals) and Ethan Kath (instruments/production), and for the past few years they’ve been busy remixing for the likes of The Bloc Party, Uffie and the Klaxons while hitting every major European music festival (along with being openers for Nine Inch Nails latest tour). This go ’round they had a drummer which certainly did not detract from their sound, but I’m amazed at how he kept up.  I loved that from the get go there was no traditional separation between stage and audience, as Alice spent the better part of the show over the barricade and perched above the crowd, her energy was infectious!

FYI: Crystal Castles is a play on the 80’s cartoon She-Ra’s fortress (to the 80’s illiterate: She-Ra was a spin off of He-Man, and also his twin sister)

I might not be a show for everybody, but as you can fathom from my perspective, it was magic.

Flickr Set

Quite the atomic encounter, this restaurant’s aim is to please. It’s first location opened just a few blocks north of it’s newest location and set quite a trend in fast food dining in Calgary. The restaurant has many different flavoured drinks, some consisting of the bubble tea variety. As well, they offer really tasty /  relatively healthy subs too, flavours like tandoori chicken.

The newest location is in the heart of one of Calgary’s most up and coming areas. So they really focused on making their space a relaxed and vibrant to enhance the dining experience. The space has sleek chairs mixed with leather couch’s and ottoman’s, giant windows, and unique design features. Truly an atomic ‘ally correct space.

www.atomicexperience.com

Comfy furniture!

Bubbly chandeliers.

Great place to people watch! (1st Calgary)

WOOD, by mcbess

I can’t get my head around the work coming from the mcbess machine (Matthieu Bessudo and friends ie. Simon).  It’s not just incredible illustrations or incredible music, it’s both wrapped in a 3D tortilla shell and smothered in a dark and moody chipotle sauce.  “wood” is a music video for Matthieu’s band the Dead Pirates and produced by the Mill, (the Mill has worked with the likes of Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry to name a few).

Let us know what ya think!

MeatbagsArt & Accessories by Jennifer McCaw

We are lucky enough to be surrounded and inspired by so many people on a regular basis.  One of our most favourite people has just released a line of hand tooled leather clutches with a deliciously carnivorous twist.  Jennifer McCaw, once our fabulous neighbor and still a fabulous friend is a talented jewelry designer / metalsmith, fashion connoisseur and expert in all that is  kitsch and lowbrow (pertaining to art and fashion).

See &/or shop for more of her brilliant creations @ lookscouldkillartboutique.com (aka LCKAB)

Did I get a little carried away with this post slash poster? … yes yes i did.

Okay, so if necessity is the mother of invention then I’m inventions disappointment of a half sister (this is a weird self deprecating way of saying that I’m proud of my nerdy self). So I thought I’d save some money by canceling cable (you know economic woes and all). As of 4 days ago, I was without cable and feeling a little bit of separation anxiety. I thought hey.. I have an Xbox and a DVD player so I’ll just rent more movies and play more games (I know that makes me sound like a teenage boy, but back off). I have Internet, so missing the latest 30 Rock is sort of a non-issue but my one contention is that I like to utilize my couch and my medium screen whilst I learn of who has a classic case of fruit blindness. I did however realize that my Xbox360 had some wireless potential that I was thus far too lazy to tap.

Today seems to be a tech-heavy day!

Click “more” for the “how to” video.

With a brief brush of my earring i got a little sense of nostalgia from the 80’s, the show Jem came to mind.  Okay I know it’s dated, but this was a pretty good cartoon and I would probably still watch it. Also, it wasn’t just for girls because most of the voice actors showed up on GI Joe…so take that!  I’m thinking that since Transformers was given new breath, how about something with a little more Pat Benetar with peroxide appeal? I’m thinking live action! Plus, I’m sure American Apparel would love to sponsor / outfit the Holograms AND the Misfits.

Okay mostly we were trying to find out what happened to the voice of Jem, aka Britta Phillips.  Apparently she went on to bigger and not better but more comparable things ,  things such as the band Luna which has opened for the likes of the reformed Velvet Underground, Cocteau Twins and a bit of a track back to Chucks post about Mercury Rev, where Luna toured with Grasshopper the lead guitarist.

On the topic of “where are they now”, let’s not forget the movie “The Wizard” starring Fred Savage, little brother Savage and Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley fame. “You did good 80’s… you did good…”

Serial Cut Studio is a Madrid based creative agency that has a very strong portfolio that ranges from photography, typography, 3D rendering and motion. They work with companies large and small, focusing on fashion, entertainment and strongly on custom elements for each project.

Each promo piece on the site is given the attention it deserves with the entire screen as its stage… and in my opinion it has a greater impact. Though contentious with many a programmer, my affinity for full screen scalable images on websites is still rampant.  Well that was somewhat besides the point, since I really enjoyed the last Serial Cut website.  I do find the navigation mildly esoteric, but as designer I appreciate deviating from Web 2.0 standards for design’s sake and also it’s pretty sweet looking when you DO notice it.  I adore pretty much ALL of the 3D type work coming out of this studio, and it kinda makes me want to create some dioramas.

Go and peruse: www.serialcut.com

Or click on more to check out some of my favorite designs via screencap.