Gifts: Marking Your Territory

futureperfect-crayonrings

It’s always a little tough finding gifts that are foolproof. Unless instructed otherwise, I always try to go the creative route, as I love initiating artistic moments. While at the home goods concept store, Future Perfect, in Williamsburg this past weekend, I stopped in my tracks at these ingenious crayon rings. The chic pyramids come in a playful palette of primaries and can be coordinated with any wardrobe. Doodling on the go just got more fashionable.

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If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to DIY fashion, check out Wishing Fish’s T-Shirt Graffiti, as it’s under $10 and a perfectly sensible gift for any child (or adult). If you’re aiming for personable luxury, Longchanp offers a blank canvas for their signature Le Pilage bag, though I’d be worried about making a mistake with every mark!

April 7, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Print: Illusionist Masks

alakazam-bryan-schnelle

For as long as I can remember, garbage pail kids have claimed their stake in pop culture. Though the cards are iconic of the 80’s, throw-backs have been rampant throughout the web ever since. Vivid line drawings paired with parodical humor can be found on Street Carnage, while printed on home goods, at Alakazam. Using ski masks to conceal his characters’ identities, Bryan Schnelle, a west coast artist, illustrates his alternative reality, admitting, “nothing is what is seems, people aren’t who you think they are, don’t trust [anything], and question everything.” Though this concept of ulterior identities may seem extreme, it has laid the foundation for many plots. For the twisted comedians among us, it validates the satire behind the punch line.

April 4, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Interview: Amy Soczka

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It’s always a pleasure to jump beyond the coastal design scene to inspect what’s going on in the midwest. While casually scrolling through design*sponge’s highlights a few months back, I nearly flipped when I stumbled upon Amy Soczka’s paper cut out displays for Urban Outfitters. Paper has become a popular retail material as of late, as it’s affordability and versatility is incomparable. Soczka’s creations tap this trend while setting new creative standards. Her intricate handwork and artistic eye crosses multiple mediums and platforms, ranging from printed greeting cards and homegoods to commercial collaborative ventures. Check out our Q+A for a glimpse into Amy’s daily routine.

* * *

PP: What websites do you generally start your day with- do you have a daily routine for news/blog/information consumption?

AS: A few of my favorites right now are:

designspongeonline
sfgirlbybay
ffffound
jeanasohn
dearada
lenacorwin
fecalface
nytimes
kalman.blogs.nytimes

I also check in at Flickr and Facebook to see what my friends and contacts are up to. I tend to poke around online while I am enjoying my coffee and planning my day – all of the design blogs provide good eye candy and motivation to work harder.

PP: Do you discuss your work with other designers? If so, how does that impact your creation process?

AS: One thing I miss about art school is the opportunity to discuss work with a variety of people at any time. Working in my home studio, I don’t often get the chance to interact with other designers. When I am having a hard time with something, I will seek feedback from friends who are artists or designers. Ultimately what I need is a new perspective – second-guessing myself is a common challenge and it’s good to have people who can give encouragement or criticism to help the process along.

PP: Where do you usually work on your patterns and what is your preferred method of creation + execution?

AS: I have a studio in my home and that’s where I spend most of my time. It’s getting pretty crowded in there though, so when possible I’ll take my laptop to a different area of the house and camp out. My method is consistently a mix of computer and handmade technique, but I would definitely say that every design and idea starts with a drawing in my sketchbook.

PP: How did you discover your talent and how has it evolved over your career?

AS: Some of my earliest memories have to do with drawing: drawing contests with my sister, having access to piles of fresh white paper all the time because my grandfater worked at a paper mill, being allowed to color on the wallpaper that covered the kitchen walls because it would be torn down the next week. I was always in art clubs and after school drawing classes – my mom has been a constant source of encouragement and gave me a lot of opportunities to explore.

I think the evolution of my work over the last 5 years has been about finding a way to do what I want to do and make a living doing it. I have been stubborn and sort of wiggled my way into the place I am now and the challenge is how to keep it moving forward so that I can call this a career.

PP: Do you incorporate commercial trends into your work and if so, is this a factor that drives your design?

AS: It would be nearly impossible for me to be a part of the design community without having a certain amount of consideration for trends and what’s hot. I never approach new work thinking about that, but I do think about how I can apply my ideas in innovative ways and how people react to one design more than another.

PP: Do you have any advice for younger designers just getting started?

AS: I think it’s really important to have a well-rounded background. Drawing, printmaking, photography, and graphic design are all closely related and to know something about each of them is going to make your process stronger. Avoid oversaturating yourself with design – I love looking at the work of my peers, but sometimes I have to take a break from it to clear up my vision. Seek out opportunities to learn from people who are where you want to be, whether that is an internship or a conversation – people who are proud of their work generally want to share that with others. You won’t get very far sitting still, so ask questions and get involved. Lastly, a good friend of mine told me the key to success -“work on your work.”

April 3, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Artist Profile: Jo Meesters

jomeesters-furniture-copy

Over the past few months, Pattern Pulp has noticed more and more artists taking the sustainable highroad. If you’re a creative person, the spark’s not going anywhere but recent material and budget restraints have forced designers to reinterpret their concepts and retool their executions. Jo Meesters, a Dutch product designer with an eye for sophistication, is a master at breathing life into used materials. Green Oasis is an initiative that was brought about in an effort to incorporate greenery into public urban spaces. Reworking 34 discarded wooden beams and 16 leftover blankets, another Meesters project entitled, Odds and Ends, is based on the idea of woven rejuvenation. If these prototypes ever go mass, they’d be a seamless fit in Anthropologie’s home goods department.

jomeesters-table-ceramics2

Combining fabrication with jet cutting technology, Meesters’s approach to the traditional tabletop is quite stunning in his collaboration with Marije van der Park entitled, Reshaping Wood. Showcasing contemporary symbols such as airplanes, windmills and the infamous McDonalds gold arches, Ornamental Inheritance is a menagerie of current industrialism.

March 31, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Graceful Graffiti

shu-umera

Every artist loves a happy accident. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, a happy accident is an unexpected and unintended creative mistake that ends up being more brilliant than your day’s work. For those in search of a tool that offers a degree of uncertainty and requires little to no prep, spray paint is the way to go. Many designers have taken note, as this technique has gained momentum in creative studios throughout the globe. Curiosity, the Japanese brainchild of Gwenael Nicolas and Reiko Miyamoto, was established in 1998 and caters primarily to the design needs of luxury clients. Combining saturated pigments with Shu Uemura‘s eau de toilette collection, Curiosity’s bottle art emulates the textural results of a prolonged spray.

abccarpet-stolivodka

ABC Carpet gets a lot of airtime on Pattern Pulp. Their retail installments set an industry standard and usually showcase an organic interpretation of modern materials. Their latest window display accentuates plant growth with the use of neon paint and an imperfect stencil. Adding russian flair and gold pigment, Stoli’s recent marketing campaign revives it’s expressionist roots, stenciling illegible phrases alongside chic photography.

bumble

Tapping academic and artistic references, John Powell’s 1990 MIT exhibit, Partial Lines, uses holographic installations to convey depth and plane. Utilizing a similar technique for their hair powder packaging, the creative ingenues at Bumble and Bumble encase their alternative shampoos in subtle spray dust. Tying this collection together, silhouette graffiti, such as this colorless image, is a careful execution of expressive markings paired with restrictive boundaries.

March 30, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Food: Perishable Marketing

mandm-raspberry

In another lifetime I’d be designing window displays. Not the corporate-sheik windows that come in a box over from China, but the ad hock masterpieces that merge high-end concepts with low budget materials. One of the cheapest tools designers can use to showcase their ideas is perishable foods. A mass market example of this can be found in M&M Premiums latest advertising efforts, where monochromatic sculptures reveal the latest flavors. Combining everyday materials for a more permanent display, Anthropologie sews bread loaves together with red shoe string to convey fashionable kitchenware in their Fifth Ave location.

anthropologie-bread-display1

Continuing with the bread theme, Anthropologie creates a splash of texture contrasts, spiraling doughy slices against the back wall. The resulting sun motifs are as clever as they are creative. Even Simon Doonan, Barney’s famed Window Dresser agrees to using perishable foods, vowing that this trick of the trade is as crucial as it is humorous in his book entitled, Confessions of a Window Dresser.

March 25, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik