Tavis Coburn Illustrates the BAFTA Nominees
March 1, 2010 // Art + Design + Illustration





My buddy Ryan sent me a link to some “cool movie posters” which as soon as I looked at them I knew immediately they were the work of Tavis Coburn. It seems that Mr. Coburn was asked to illustrate the best picture nominees for the BAFTA’s, or the British Academy Film & Television Awards, and I think he did such a phenomenal job.

My favorite of the bunch is The Hurt Locker, which almost looks like a science fiction film than a war film. Something about the lighting and the colors really makes me love it. There’s also the extremely detailed Avatar image, which if you look closely has red and blue around the edges, which is a reference to the film being in 3D. After that is Precious, which is brilliant because her face fits almost the entire page but the image still looks perfect and beautiful.

I’ve put the other two images for Up in the Air and An Education under the cut as well. I really can’t express just how brilliant I think these posters are. I think he deserves a BAFTA for his pieces of art, they’re that good to me.

Continue reading Tavis Coburn Illustrates the BAFTA Nominees…

Root by Art in the Age
March 1, 2010 // Food & Drinks







A few hundred years ago settlers picked up the recipe for a beverage called Root Tea, which was the combination of roots, spices and herbs that fermented and became alcoholic. A couple hundred years later prohibition started to kick in so Root Beer was created to fill the gap of this product, recreating the flavor it lacked the alcholic contents. Cut to present day where Art in the Age have decided to start creating Root Tea again, alcohol content and all, calling it simply Root.

I actually tweeted about Root and the folks over at Art in the Age sent me an entire bottle to sample, which totally surprised me, I was expecting one of those tiny, hotel sized bottles. Upon opening the bottle I couldn’t quite place the smell, though it was frustratingly familiar. Of course that smell was root beer, but more like a full bodied, pungent root beer smell. You might even say it was a little magical, like something you might read about it in Harry Potter.

Tasting it is quite a treat, and though it’s similar to root beer, it’s nothing like it. Root beer is overly sweet and fizzy, while Root is deep and full-bodied to taste. I can definitely taste the anise, and maybe a bit of the lemon, though it’s really hard to put a label on the exact flavor. Honestly it tastes like herbs and roots, which is a wonderful thing to try. I’ve been drinking it with Hendricks, bitters and a bit of tonic water to even things out. The first night I had one of those I was warm and toasty for the rest of the night.

I think what’s really exciting about Root is that no one (to my knowledge) is making a product like this. I didn’t even know anything like this existed until a few weeks ago. This novelty is definitely a part of it’s allure, but I can definitely say that the flavor is amazing and something that’s worth trying.

Plus look at that bottle! How rad is the design? I think if you brought this to a party or gave this to someone as a present you’d win major bonus points. I’m going to have to bring my bottle to work, otherwise my co-workers might beat me up.

Bobby

New Photos from Kim Høltermand
March 1, 2010 // Photography





I’m sorry, but the desire to post Kim Høltermand’s work all the time is maddening, the man is a genius. The images above are taken from a new series he did called Prism and once again he applies his trademark style to another gorgeous location. It’s amazing how he can turn a simple shape into such an awesome looking photo. I love that all of the photos in the set are basically the same, but by taking them at different times of day the color and lighting shifts, giving them an entirely new feeling. This is meant to be a bit of random beauty for your day, so enjoy it, and if you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Høltermand’s work, be sure to visit his site.

Bobby

Urban Outfitters x Quoddy Deck Shoe
March 1, 2010 // Shoes



I’ve been on Urban Outfitter’s press release mailing for a little while now and so I get a bit of a jump on what’s coming out next, which is always fun. So last week I got to see a preview of their spring and summer collaborations, one of them definitely caught my eye.

The shoes above are a collaboration with Quoddy, the Maine based manufacturer who’s been handmaking shoes since 1909. These are described as “Quoddy for UO Deck Shoe” so my guess is this collaboration is much like the one they did with The Brothers Bray. Quoddy designed the shoe but their constructed in China for less and UP distributes them. I don’t know if this is true, it’s just my guess. Update: Whoops, my guess was wrong, and I quote, “the shoes are made in Maine with the same materials and construction process as the Quoddy’s main line.” Good to know.

Either way I definitely love this shoe and I couldn’t find anything on the Quoddy site that was quite like this, so I’m pretty excited. I think the color choice is spot on and that these would be damn comfortable to wear around all summer long. I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for when they launch.

Bobby

Daniel Carlsten Illustration for Dwell
February 28, 2010 // Design + Illustration + Magazine

I got the newest issue of Dwell a couple weeks ago and when I was flipping through it I came across the beautiful illustration you see above. My first thought was “Who did this?” and I looked and it was a guy name Daniel Carlsten. But why did that sound familiar? Because I posted about him last November, you might remember his extremely awesome invite for Acne.

I don’t know what it is about this illustration that excites me so much. Everything seems psuedo-realistic but still has this playful character to it. Honestly the scan above doesn’t do it justice, but this is probably one of my favorite illustrations that Dwell has run in the past year or so. Be sure to pick up the newest issue and check it out for yourself.

Bobby