20 November, 2009

Beep Beep


I can ferry a whole week's groceries on my bike if I cycle super-slow. Occasionally though, I just have to load up the little car with Lisa Jones goodies. One such upcoming event is the seasonal sale at Hampstead Womens' Club, which I do in the excellent company of Alice Tait. I'm sure she'll have an exceptional collection of prints for sale, including the bus below.



It'd be dumb to deny the car's leading role in our eco-dystopia, but it's always interesting to see the graphics of a more optimistic/naïve era; like Marimekko's infamous Bo Boo fabric or Galt, who (while under the auspices of Ken Garland Associates) could do little wrong.





• HWC 4th Annual Holiday Market Place

• Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead NW3
• Saturday 28 November, 10am - 3pm

13 November, 2009

Sweet Stuff


There's some contention over the spelling (sometimes they're Pastis other times it's Pasteis de Nata), but why should I care? Either way those little Portuguese Egg Custards are plain delicious. Hence, no contest when asked to join an illustrious list of contributors and illustrate something sweet for the amazing Dessert Girl.


05 November, 2009


Spent fireworks always had a residual spark of melancholy in their rain-run colour and obliterated graphics. I still have trouble reconciling these earth-bound, day-lit husks with their sulphurous spectacle at night.

02 November, 2009

Ruth Duckworth, 1919-2009



There's a flurry of fluorescent post-it notes in my 1977 edition of Art of the Modern Potter, mostly marking Ruth Duckworth's pages. This short feature on her touring retrospective is a few years old, but makes for an exceptionally inspiring 7 minutes.

30 October, 2009

Fox



Forget restless spirits and trick-or-treaters this Halloween, it's these guys that rule on my street after dark.

23 October, 2009

Endpapers





Have I mentioned I Choose You! recently? Here's a couple of ideas for end-papers ousted from the project. We were eager for the book not to start and finish too abruptly, fortunately a third proposal made the grade.

15 October, 2009

978-0955265235



A random stream of numbers maybe, but they're poetry to me... I've never had an ISBN. We've been
designing and illustrating I Choose You! for far longer than its simplicity suggests.

Ever since the contractual copies arrived, I've been losing five minutes here-and-there, idly picking it up, intently flicking through or, occasionally, even smelling the thing. And, yup, it smells just as good as a good picture-book should.

Sixteen characterful creatures with Joanna Skipwith's rampageous rhymes on 40 FSC colour pages, 978-0955265235 is available for wholesale from the publisher, Silver Jungle, or retails via their online store.

09 October, 2009

Brrr!



The perils of doubling-up the clothes on your hangers. Difficult to wear at the best of times, this dress had been hidden from view 'til it was far too cold already.

04 October, 2009

Handmade


Before I forget and a new issue comes out, I'm interviewed in UK Handmade's online quarterly. Of course, I'm not suggesting you cherish my every word, but the rest of the magazine's well worth investigation. Eco-living, arts and crafts, a smattering of horticulture and, most importantly... food!

I do wish I'd hoovered before the picture was taken.

02 October, 2009

Squirrel



We've been working on a handful of new designs, though some may prove too seasonal to become regular greetings. This little fella has the exact same colour-palatte as last night's ultra-autumnal pumpkin risotto.