Scandinavian Details | Hiking Set

My wife and I love to go hiking. We went not too long ago with our friends Shnora (Nora & Sean) and had a blast. This little set by Scandinavian Details would be perfect for a hike. It is a great set that contains a 17oz vacuum flask, 2 aluminum bottles and a 3.5 oz container. All of this at a price of only $30.

Bohemian Modern : Xmas Volume 01

I thought it would be nice to put a little hand-picked mix of hip little Christmas jingles up on the blog. So pour yourself a strong egg nog this holiday season and sit back by the fire, or an HD fireplace dvd like we are, and enjoy this eclectic collection of holiday tunes. DOWNLOAD HERE!

(1) Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
(2) Feist - Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming
(3) Sufjan Stevens - Joy to the World
(4) My Morning Jacket - Xmas Time is Here Again
(5) Johnny Cash - Blue Christmas
(6) Rilo Kiley - Christmas Cake
(7) The Flaming Lips - A Change at Christmas ( Say it isn’t So)
(8) Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
(9) Deerhoof - The Little Drummer Boy
(10) Low - Just Like Christmas
(11) Death Cab for Cutie - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
(12) The Ravonettes - The Christmas Song
(13) Eels - Christmas is Going to the Dogs
(14) Leona Naess - Christmas
(15) Pedro the Lion - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
(16) Sufjan Stevens - O Holy Night
(17) Aimee Mann - White Christmas
(18) The Flaming Lips - Christmas at the Zoo
(19) The Arcade Fire - Jinglebell Rock
(20) Pilate - Fairytale of New York
(21) Ivy - Christmas Time is Here

Keiichi Tanaami T-Shirt

Keiichi Tanaami happens to be one of my favorite artists. His psychedelic trips are some of the most inspirational images for me. I have all of his books and look through many of them on a daily basis. And how is he related to my holiday gift postings? His t-shirts are for sale here yet I haven’t done the yen to USD conversion yet so I am not sure how much they cost. This is definitely something I’d love to have and I think if you have any stylish friends it’d be a great gift for them too.

Golf Darts

For the golf or dart lover you know this is the perfect gift. This would be perfect in any man-room or garage. It’s packed in a cool tube as well. At a price of $30 it’s a hole in one.

Alba “Ek” Clock | Emil Kozak

Also at UMA is this awesome clock with graphics by one of my favorite designers Emil Kozak. It’s at a great price for functional art at only $128. This would look great in just about any room and it beats most bedside clocks that you could find anywhere else. Check out Emil’s site too while you’re at it, his work is awesome.

Echelon Wine Rack

The Echelon Wine Rack is a stackable aluminum wine rack. Each rack holds 6 bottles of wine and is modular so it can be arranged in many unique ways. This would be a great gift for the wine connoisseur you know. It’s at a really rad price of only $48 and can be bought at UMA.

Holiday Shopping

So Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the day after that is Black Friday which usually means hell if you are going to try to go Xmas shopping. So I am going to make it easy for everyone and point out all the awesome things you can buy your family and friends this year. Believe you me there is no shortage of awesomeness either. I’ll start by pointing out some cool things for your dudes, your homies, your brosephs. At Charles and Marie I found this rad bottle opener fridge magnet for a cool price of $27. It’s perfect for the beer aficionado. Might as well buy one for yourself too. It comes in a variety of colors too!

Bohemian Modern : Abbot Kinney Vol. 02

Here is another soulful and chill mix I hand-picked for your listening pleasure. I prefer to listen to this one at night in the car with the windows down and a cool breeze, but that’s just me. My mixes have been receiving a ton of good feedback so I will do my best to get more on the blog faster. I will try to do it bi-weekly but no promises. Download HERE. Enjoy!

Tracklist
(1) Lauryn Hill - Sweetest Thing
(2) Talib Kweli with Norah Jones - Soon the New Day
(3) Outkast with Norah Jones - Take Off Your Cool
(4) Corinne Bailey Rae - Til it Happens to You
(5) Esthero with Cee Lo - Gone
(6) Alice Russell - Tired Little One (Acoustic Version)
(7) Diverse - In Accordance (Instrumental)
(8) Mos Def - The Panties
(9) Amy Winehouse - Love is a Losing Game
(10) Musiq - Halfcrazy
(11) Foreign Exchange - Be Allright
(12) Daner Mouse with Jemini - I’ma Doomee (Love Letter)
(13) N.E.R.D. - Run to the Sun
(14) Jamie Cullum - Frontin’
(15) Handsome Boy Modeling School with John Oates and Jamie Cullum - Greatest Mistake
(16) Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
(17) Dudley Perkins - Come Here My Dear
(18) Cody Chesnutt - Can’t Get No Betta’

Adam Parker Smith

I just discovered the work of Adam Parker Smith who creates sculptures of severed heads made entirely of felt. Since I have a soft spot for gore and horror these are right up my alley. The style and implied details are pretty amazing and the craft is superb. It’s like some twisted riff off of Jim Henson. All can be seen at his first solo show entitled Bold as Love at the Priska C. Juschka Fine Art Gallery in New York City. Man I keep seeing these great shows in NY so I can’t wait for next summer when Ash and I go.

Urban Medium | Vader Helmet

How rad is this? This amazing radness is part of a recent show in LA celebrating the 30 years of Star Wars. For geeks like me this is an orgy of design and sci-fi. I hope there are more of these coming. Maybe next we can paint over old 8bit NES systems and put those in a gallery. Sign me up for that!

Designer Plates by Domestic & Collaborating Artists

I am loving how design is permeating all arenas of life. Be it a t-shirt, a skateboard, movie titles or even a plate. My wife has been really into decorative or designed plates for some time now so maybe she knows of an upcoming hot trend that the rest of us have yet to really catch on to. Domestic is catching on though. They invited some great artist/illustrators/designers to put their pretty pictures on porcelain plates. Among them are the likes of Jeremyville, Antoine+Manuel, Geneviève Gauckler and eboy to name a few. I personally like Jeremyvilles colorful little gems. I’d hate to break one of these babies.

Blind Sketchbook

I just got a few copies of the sketchbook I designed for Chris at Blind. I think they turned out beautifully. I don’t know if I can bring myself to draw inside of them. Maybe one will be for sketching and the other two I will keep preserved. It’s nice to do a print job for a change. I did some t-shirts for Chris too, those should be coming out pretty soon. I’ll keep you posted. Anyways, check out more pics of the sketchbook HERE!

Nylon

My buddies Joe, Jason, and Bryan have updated their site and it’s super pro. These dudes are rockin’ it tough. From the Herb Lubalin homage to the rad fantasy art for Honda to the whimsical Ditech stuff we joined forces on. My boys are killin’ it and don’t expect them to stop any time soon. I just can’t wait to go back and jam some more with my homies.

Evan di Leo | Zero-Version

My buddy Evan di Leo, who contributed on the Ditech Commercials that we worked on at Nylon, just released his new portfolio site under the moniker Zero-Version. It’s packed with tons of boards and animation he has done while lancing around Hollyweird. He is a good dude for sure and be sure to tell him he looks like a white version of Common when you meet him. Keep on truckin’ holmes!

Happy Halloween & Happy Birthday Dad

Yes, my dad is a lucky man. He was born on Halloween, my favorite holiday. We’re unfortunately not dressing up this year. There was a chance I was working tonight but it actually fell through. Instead we are just watching campy 80s horror movies with Shnora (Nora & Sean). It should still be fun. Fun like this re-edited trailer for Scary Poppins. Enjoy!

Honeymoon Photos

I just posted our honeymoon photos up on our flickr. Have a look at how amazing it was here.

Espaun256 | Pluie d'Etoiles

My buddy Tomás Peña just informed me that his new short film Pluie d'Etoiles is online. It’s shot primarily in black and white and is quite abstract. It sort of reminded me of Aronfsky’s Pi because of the black and white film and the sort of eerie quality mixed with a bizarre ambient soundtrack. It’s bizarre in a good way even though I don’t quite understand it. Kudos to Tomás for doing something different albeit very esoteric.

Bunker77

Bunker Spreckels lived life fast. So fast he died at 27. There is an amazing documentary about him coming out soon. I had the chance to do some design on the trailer at Grand Jete for the film and the book that Taschen is publishing. I can’t wait to see the entire movie, it looks amazing.

Maximillion Buttercup

I just wanted to take this time on the hump day to let everyone know we adopted another puppy. This is Max, our teacup yorkie. Try not to say “awwwwwe” I dare you!

Bohemian Modern : Ocean Park Vol. 02

So it isn’t exactly summer anymore. But why not enjoy some music that still feels like summer. Here is another mix from my Bohemian Modern series that is hand picked by yours truly. Below is the track listing. Download the zip HERE!!!

(1) A Band of Bees - Sunshine
(2) Caural - Mint & a Hospital Watercolor
(3) Smoke City - Can You Feel That?
(4) AIR - Surfin’ on a Rocket
(5) Plaid - Ralome
(6) Brazilian Girls - Sweatshop
(7) Dntel & Grizzly Bear - To A Fault
(8) Four Tet - Chiron
(9) Funkstorung - Eyen
(10) Caural - Inbetween Thoughts
(11) Telepopmusik - Smile
(12) Prefuse 73 - Gratis
(13) Nobody - Siesta Con Susana
(14) AIR - Universal Traveller
(15) DJ Krush - Song 1
(16) Nancy Wilson - Elevator Beat
(17) Sia - The Bully
(18) RJD2 - A Sunday Mystery

Little People

Little People is the installation/photographer work of Slinkachu from London. The work is about tiny vignettes of life in miniature scale. Where his characters are placed in situations with life sized objects. His installation for the Nuart show is extremely detailed and focused, witty and tragic. Check out all his work at his blog.

Honey Honey (formerly Zanzibar Lewis)

We all recently went out to watch a friend of a friend perform at a little bar in Hollywood. We showed up a little late but we were all pretty floored by the brief performance. She was a mix of Jolie Holland and a little Nora Jones. I loved her voice and her stage presence was amazing. It won’t be too long before we’ll see her on KCRW I am sure. Check out their myspace page to get a sample. Oh and btw, her name is not Honey Honey or Zanzibar Lewis, it’s the band’s name but it is sort of like how I used to think Imogene Heap’s name was Frou Frou so it’s a little confusing like that.

Jeff Pidgeon’s Toy Collection

Pixar’s Jeff Pidgeon has a massive toy collection. By massive I mean like the LARGEST I have ever seen. He has documented them well with great photos of them. Stop by his flickr and check them out.

Kinkyform

Kinkyform is the work of Lars Amhoff. He has worked in collaboration with quite a few of top artists in the biz doing a melding of art, design & functionality. I love the watches pictured here with his collaboration from Von. Super radtacular stuff Lars!

Uten.Silo

So for the next couple of weeks I am booked at BNS. Thanks to the art director Ben Go who had this radtacular thing hanging on his wall, I now know what I am going to get for all of my supplies in my home studio. Uten.Silo was designed in the late 60s, as most of my favorite furniture. You can pretty much put whatever in it, pens, pencils, erasers, protractors, rulers, scissors... you name it. Check it out at Modern Seed, which btw, has a TON of radtacular things to spend your paychecks on.

Hendricks Gin

For the passed 2 months or so I have switched back to drinking Gin from Vodka and I am glad I have. Gin has a much more unique taste and a way smoother aftertaste. My choice for a while has been Hendricks. I discovered it about 4 years ago while I was waiting tables at Benjy’s back in Houston. Hendrick’s is by far the best there is. Add a little dry Vermouth and shake up a martini then garnish it with a slice of cucumber.

Wings & Horns

I am pretty phased out of wearing sneakers minus a couple pair of Chucks and Vans. I have been in search of the perfect European style boot and I think I have found it. Wings & Horns have crafted their beautiful Service Boot as pictured. It has the perfect aged effect I am looking for. It’s not on sale yet but I’ll be sure to grab some when they do. Read more HERE!

Alexander Reh | Shotgun Chair

So maybe I found the perfect chair for the rare breed of dork like myself. For those who love designer chairs and Halo 3 Alexander Reh has created the perfect masterpiece. A very modern chair constructed of shotgun shells. Radtacular!

Re-Bag

Blanka is selling these nifty little bags to promote less waste by encouraging consumers to use eco-friendly re-usable well designed bags for shopping. I think it’s a pretty smart idea and they sure as hell look better than the Trader Joe’s re-usable bags. I am really glad to see designers looking out for the environment. Kudos!

Bohemian Modern : Silverlake Vol. 01

Silverlake is a hip little neighborhood in LA. It at most times feels like a quasi-Austin yet it lacks the charm and small town feel of Austin. What it does deliver is some amazing views of the Hollywood Hills and it is in no shortage of good eats and hip dives. This portion of Bohemian Modern attempts to capture the spirit of Silverlake. The hipness, the laid back vibe, the scene, and the mix of styles. As per the request of a few of my loyal blog followers I will from now on link a zip file of my mixes. Download the zip here. Below is the track listing.

(1) The Shins - Sea Legs
(2) The Magic Numbers - Crazy in Love
(3) Jim O’Rourke - Ghost Ship in a Storm
(4) Broken Social Scene - Hotel
(5) Prefuse 73 (featuring Sam Prekop) - Last Night
(6) The Sea & Cake - Hotel Tell
(7) American Analog Set - Punk as Fuck
(8) Dntel (featuring Jenny Lewis) - Roll On
(9) Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Big Guns
(10) The Elected - British Columbia
(11) Looper - These Things
(12) Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around the Block
(13) AIR - Somewhere Between Walking and Sleeping
(14) A Band of Bees - Sky Holds the Sun
(15) Denali - Lose Me
(16) Lou Rhodes - Tremble
(17) Beck - Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997
(18) Blonde Redhead - Girl Boy
(19) Bibio - Zoopraziphone
(20) Plus/Minus - All I Do

Star Wars x Mark Ecko

So the line between hipster & dork is blurring by the minute. Star Wars.com just featured a post on Mark Ecko’s new line of streetwear that is full of Star Wars goodness. My favorite is the Boba Fett hoodie.

Scarves | The New Tee-Shirt

So designer tees are passe now right. I mean, sure they’re still cool. I still rock them from time to time. I did one with I-Manifest earlier this year and am proud of it. So what’s the next accessory for designers to pimp out their skills to? Socks, gloves, underwear? I mean they have the hat, tee, and sneaker combo rocking. I think it could be scarves. Fall and winter is upon us. And while it may drop down to like 50 something in LA, the rest of the world does actually have a winter. I think New Dandyism is onto something. What better way to do it then pile every trend of 2006/2007 into one scarf. Skulls, 80s videogame graphics, and cassette mixtapes oh my. I am just glad there is no deer head. To be honest, I like it, I'd wear it. I thought 22 year old poker phenom Dario Minieri was a trend setter sporting a scarf in mid-summer at the WSOP in Vegas. Well, I’ll keep an eye on the trend and if anyone is interested in teaming up with me to do a scarf, I am totally down.

Halo 3 week

Unless you have been in a coma you probably know that Halo 3 came out on Tuesday, er... Monday night at midnight. I took the week off to play, and to help my good friends Nora & Sean (or as my wife and I call them Shnora), but to mostly play. I have to say I was super excited at first, then I got sort of bored of it, then I got juiced up again about it. At the moment, I have to say it’s a love hate thing as with Halo 2. I am doing well on the online rankings, I am in the top 15% of the nation in my favorite matchmade style called Lone Wolves with a higher than 30 ranking. I love that there is no longer a noob combo, or that the sniper is not a weapon everyone can use easily. Overall I think the game takes much more finesse and much more strategy. I do feel the melees are far too strong and are pretty much the most commonly used method of destruction, just look at everyone’s stats if you don’t believe me. Anyways, I still love the game and I am happy to see it here. My gamertag is themaskisback and I would love to join up for some ownage. Also, check this and this if you are a Halo fan.

Disposable : The History of Skateboard Art

I used to skate, back when I was like 8-14 in age. Recently my wife saw a family skating down Ocean Park and it made me think, maybe we should do that. So it inspired me to try to track down my beloved boards of the 80s on ebay. I have always been into deck art. Not the trendy stuff you see now-a-days. Although some I have seen by my peers have been pretty dope and I was even going to do a deck for Element but it fell through. I did however come across the link to this site that sort of tracks the history of skate decks. I must say, from what I have seen it looks like an AMAZING collection of images that will inspire me for many a days.

New Economist Ads

I am SUPER into these ads done by a couple of my favorite designers/illustrators for the Economist. They are simple and powerful messages that have somewhat re-sparked my desire to get that poster going that Stephen and I have been talking about doing to promote walking. I love the Non-Format ad pictured above. It‘s so simple yet so perfect. I’d love a large print version to hang in our dining room against the bold red accent wall we painted. See all of the ads here.

Still Room Studio

Still Room Studio is the online portfolio of illustrator/artist Jen Renninger. What initially caught my eye was her studies on mid-century furniture a-la Eames. I am a big fan of mid-century furniture, like most artsy fartsy types, and really dig her style in which she did these tributes in. Her other work is really nice too. It’s warm and cozy like a vintage ad from the 50s. You can buy prints of her work at her Etsy store. I may get the Eames lounge chair print.

Since78 Site Update

So I updated my site a couple weeks ago. I am super stoked about the response it has gotten. I am very excited to see so many positive responses. I would like to thank a few people for their awesomeness. Bran, thanks for the post on motionographer. You really were too kind. Stephen, thanks for the posting on Revolver Lover. Many thanks! Vianney and Ravi thanks for posting twice in one week on ntmy.org. That was a pleasant surprise considering I don't know you guys yet. Thanks to Phirebrush for making me their site of the week last week. Thanks to Ashley and Molly for your amazing support. Thanks to Media Temple for the amazing hosting services, and the private server. Thanks to all the studios for keeping me in business. Thanks to Sianey for defending my honor from the peanut gallery on motionographer. Thanks James for the kind words, I wish I could make it to OFFF to hang out with you. And finally, thanks to Bungie for releasing Halo 3 in 4 days. Ok, so that about covers it for now. Sorry if I left anyone off this list.

Molly McGossett

I thought I would just take the time to share the sunshine of our little miracle Molly. If this doesn't brighten up your day then you have no soul. She takes after her mother with the whole photogenic thing. Here she is posing at the Huntington Dog Beach outing we had this passed Sunday. Not enough sunshine for you, try this on for size.

Record Envelope

I came across this little gem of a blog devoted entirely to record envelopes lost from the golden age of design and illustration. You’ll find so many beautiful little masterpieces to feast your eyes on. Very groovy. Take a little vist.

Bohemian Modern : Sunset Boulevard Vol. 01

Here is the latest compilation from my Bohemian Modern collection that I have hand picked. This particular mix reflects the moods of a cocktail party from the hills atop the Santa Monica Mountains from Sunset Boulevard looking down on the ocean. Enjoy this mix while sipping a Hendrick’s Martini. And again, right click to download.

(1) Ornella Vanoni - L'appuntamento
(2) Amon Tobin - Nova
(3) Koop - Waltz for Koop
(4) Brazilian Girls - Lazy Lover
(5) Cibo Matto - Aguas de Marco
(6) Madlib - A Song for My Father
(7) Alice Russell - Sweet is the Air
(8) Maxwell - Segurança
(9) Money Mark - Use Your Head
(10) Autour de Lucie - Chanson de L'arbre
(11) Piero Umilani - Crepuscolo Sul Mare
(12) Savath & Savalas - Te Quiero Pero Por Otro Lado....
(13) Nouvelle Vague - O Pamela (The Wake)
(14) Morcheeba - Sao Paulo
(15) Bebel Gilberto - Samba Da Benção
(16) Astrud Gilberto with George Michael - Desafinado
(17) Herb Alpert - Lemon Tree
(18) Money Mark - Rain (NYC)

Artysm

I am really digging the clothing label Artysm based out of France. Super simple design mixing materials, patterns, and graphics in a very clean and modern way. Something about this label just feels fresh without feeling too trendy or “street.” Street style lately has been sort of lame. I am over the hoodies with all-over prints and $80 tees. I don’t like everything they are selling yet the majority would look nice in a maturing hipster’s closet. I am hoping men my age can phase out the tees and sneakers and return to a more polished look. Labels like this can be a nice transition to dressing more mature. Check more out here!

Cereal Bowls | Etsy

So this isn’t exactly a bowl you can eat cereal out of yet it still fits with the theme of the last couple of posts. Wanderlust Designs made a rad light that looks like glowing fruity pebbles. Why would you want a glowing bowl of cereal, why the hell wouldn’t you want one. Whatever the case may be it must have been popular because it is sold out at Etsy for the moment. I hope it comes back into stock so I can get it.

Cereal Bowls | Miam Miam Mushroom

Miam Miam Mushroom bowl looks like an Eero Aarnio chair inspired cereal bowl. If you like mid-century modern furniture then this is THE bowl to eat your Captain Crunch from. I personally would pair Honey-Nut Cheerios in strawberry milk with this bad boy. Anyways, buy it at United Brands.

Cereal Bowls | Frenchknicker

Ok, I love cereal. I also love yogurt and granola. I am also loving the idea of enjoying my favorite breakfast meals in cool serving dishes. I bring you a new series of posts dedicated to just this. Sweet ass cereal bowls. The first comes from Frenchknicker. I love the idea of using a milk drop as the formation of the bowl. Very clever, very cool. Cereal never looked more tasty than it does in this bowl.

Herb Lubalin

Design & Typo have a great collection of images from the most influential and inspirational designer of all time. He is a legend. His work was completely ahead of its time and to me still seems fresh and modern. He also designed my favorite typeface which is Avant Garde. I have the t-shirt to prove it. It’s by far the sexiest typeface in terms of clean modernity and legibility. The gothic alternatives are still a go-to trick for many designers. I even paid a little homage to Herb with the update of my site. An astute eye will make a notice of it. Herb, I am probably speaking for many designers such as myself when I say, “thank you.”

Posters | Little Friends of Printmaking

The Little Friends of Printmaking do some really fun and colorful work. Their posters are, as you guessed it, pretty cheap too. Go grab them now because they sell out quick. Here’s a little background info on them too for those who aren’t familiar with them courtesy of youworkforthem. Enjoy!

Posters | Burlesque

Burlesque Design has done some pretty dope and trippy posters. Most are for show promotions and all of them have a 60s/70s psychedelic vibe that I am all about. Most are at a triptastic $20 to $25 price range and are all screen printed on good paper. I bought a dope-ass Dr. Dre the Chronic poster that they unfortunately don’t have anymore. What is even more unfortunate is that my wife Ashley won’t let me hang a poster of Dr. Dre now that we’re married. Bummer! If anyone wants it I may part with it for a trade. It’s never been hung before and is super dope. Let me know if you’re interested.

Posters | The Beast is Back

Chris Lee is a pretty talented dude I met while freelancing at Buck. He does some really fun illustration work with a retro vibe to it. I spent a good 20 minutes or so trying to figure out which movies all of the characters from this poster came from. It’s for sale for only $15 at Gallery 1988. What a steal of a deal.

Posters | Aesthetic Apparatus

So a friend asked me recently, “do you know of any cool online poster places?” After spending some time going through my del.iciou.us bookmarked sites I came up with a few. Over the next few days/posts I will put some cool places to buy inexpensive art/design. Most of them, well I should say all of them, will probably cost you more to frame than to buy. These aren’t originals, mostly digital prints but they still look amazing and any wall would be happy to have it. So I bring you my old faithful, Aesthetic Apparatus who make amazing show posters for great live shows. They cover the gamut in styles and genres and are all screen printed. They are all around $20 or so which makes it even better. If you like one though, act fast because they sell out quickly. I made the mistake of waiting to buy the Roots poster they did and I still regret it to this day. Anywho, enjoy.

Eco Capitalists

Wired Magazine has an interesting article about Eco Capitalists who are buying patches of forrests around the world to not only help protect our planet but to make money. I am glad we are finally all starting to make a change in the way we think. The government is now putting prices on how much mother nature is worth. I also wanted to let you in on a cool project me and Stephen Kelleher are going to begin very soon. We are designing a poster in collaboration to help promote walking. Lately I have been walking everywhere, to work, to get groceries, to go to the beach and such. I don't drive some big SUV or anything but even cutting down on needing the Mini will help cut down on the amount of pollution I put out. I want to try to get other people I know to embrace this philosophy. Besides, it'll get you off your keister and get you some excersise. Look for the poster soon.