Circus Ephemera
Over the weekend I went to the Antiques Extravaganza in Kutztown at Renninger’s and while wandering around like everyone else I found a box filled with circus ephemera, mostly ticket stubs and cards. I couldn’t resist buying one pack and wish I would have bought more. Too bad I didn’t ask the name of his business, but I do know that he’s from Nazareth. Bummer. I’m going to ask the folks at Renninger’s if there’s any way to find out because I’d like to get more. If not, there’s always the Extravaganza in September. And if any of you readers out there were there or know someone who can help me locate them I’d appreciate…
The New Whitehouse
Not only did the Whitehouse get a new website, but it also seems to have taken on a whole new light. It’s respectable, but not intimidating. And thanks can be given to the new administration and it’s transparency with the general public, letting us in to see what’s going on. The president and his family are real and not just figments, they are a true American family. I’m not overly-patriotic or political, but this new administration gives me a good feeling for authority. No more “damn the man” feeling, god bless (the new) America. What prompted this post? The Whitehouse has an official Flickr page with a plethora of photos that allows the American people…
EightHourDay
I just stumbled on EightHourDay, a husband/wife design boutique specializing in Design, Interactive, and Illustration. I totally dig their sites for The Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera. I was slightly disappointed that both of them were built in Flash but that still doesn’t take away from their beauty. They could have built them in XHTML/CSS and still been just as beautiful and web-friendly. And I’m pretty sure they know that since their very own (gorgeous) website is built that way.
A Week in Your Life
I.D. and Moleskine teamed up to give us “A Week in Your Life”, featuring renowned designers to promote the new Folio collection. The project includes work from the following artists: Giuseppe Amato Marian Bantjes Yves Béhar James Biber Ayse Birsel Louise Campbell Claesson Koivisto Rune Han Feng Seth Godin Michael Graves Alfredo Häberli Jessica Helfand Linda Tischler Oh, and did you know that April 27 was World Graphic Design Day? Me either. I think we should have a National Sketch Month, don’t you?
Local Support
The 3/50 Project encourages you to spend locally to support the independent brick & mortar businesses that have kept this country thriving. The idea? Pick three independently owned shops in your area and spend $50 a month with them. And just to be clear it’s not $50 at each store, it’s $50 total! Can it be any easier? For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home. I’m just as guilty as the next gal when it comes to shopping online but it turns out,…
Mikey Burton
So – my son woke me up at 6:30am – to ask me if we were going camping. I replied “no, not today”. Last night we visited friends and family who were camping and it’s prepared him for the official camping season, unfortunately our first trip isn’t for four weeks. I am now prepared to be asked when we are going camping 4 million times until then. I’d rather be camping anyway. But, the good news is I decided to pop on over to the FFFFOUND! site and found the work of the uber-talented Mikey Burton. I heart you!!!! (I love the fact that he likes to be called Mikey and not Mike or Michael,…
Faces
These faces are hauntingly beautiful. Created by Alexandre Farto better known as Vhils, the street artist in his early twenties from Lisbon, Portugal. He began at age 13 and at some point fell in love with stencils. His artwork is lovely and I hope to see more. If these faces are done with stencils, I’m loving the dripping effect on top of the already wonderful faces. I wonder how he chooses his subjects?
75 Ways to Draw
Looking for motivation? What if you had a guide of 75 Ways to Draw More? Well Michael Nobbs has helped us all by creating a free guide with 75 suggestions on getting your butt in gear to draw more. Visit Flickr, download, print and assemble it. So no more excuses, get out your sketchbook, piece of paper, chalkboard, whatever it is and lay down some pen or pencil. It’s a sunny day out (at least in Southeast Pennsylvania) and there’s no time like the present.
Telegram!
I love these official looking Telegram’s that arrive through snail mail. You can order your very own by going to the Telegram Stop website, fill out the message, preview, then pay & send.
Pretty Sketchy
Thank you Jason Santa Maria, can I get an Amen!? I completely agree that most, if not all designer should be able to express themselves visually and not just on a computer. That means in writing, visual exercises (also called doodling) and at the very least be able to illustrate a point. And to (*ahem*) illustrate his point, he’s started a Pretty Sketchy Flickr group where designers can upload their sketchbook example.
