As I promised earlier this week, here is an extended ode to CAKESPY. Cakespy is a blog dedicated to all things SWEET. Headed by Jessie Oleson, a freelance writer and illustrator from Portland, Cakespy is especially delightful entertainment during droning afternoon work hours (close rival: finding pictures of cute puppies with my friend, Taylor). HERE ARE FIVE REASON WHY I LOVE CAKESPY:
1. Jessie is a fantastic illustrator.
Cakespy has a glorious shop, filled with Cuppie (that’s the cupcake’s name!)-plastered items. No situation is too scary for dear Cuppie- an incredible adventurer.
He is sometimes chased by zombies…
…or with his cupcake special friend in Chicago.
2. Cakespy is funny.
Cakespy’s posts are always wildly funny, including my favorite on 50 ways to destroy a twinkie. When I think of twinkie destruction, I always think about Michael Pollan’s reoccuring twinkie story that he mentions in interviews: he kept a twinkie in his office for years, and it always remained perfectly perky. Boring story, no? Cakespy’s twinkie saga is much more entertaining. Michael Pollan didn’t subject his twinkie to teddy graham death:
3. Cakespy shares yummy recipes.
Along with being a contributor to Serious Eats (this week she wrote about velveeta fudge!), Jessie shares enough recipes to keep your stomach content for eternity. My favorite section is the “unusual” recipes, which forces me to reevaluate things that I had previously deemed “gross”…like this corn dog dessert.
4. Cakespy has an appetite that spans the country. Yes, I am jealous.
5. Cakespy designed a mug/t-shirt/card for Bleeding Heart, my favorite bakery.
At this very moment, while I am spitting out all my love for cakespy, I am drinking out of my new Bleeding Heart mug. My second cup of polish camomile honey tea, to be exact. When I noticed Bleeding Heart’s twitter debut of the mug, I instantly longed to teleport to Roscoe Village and obtain my very cakespy own donuts vs. cupcakes mug. Why? Because I love cute things wielding weapons, Bleeding Heart (supplier of many vegan and non-vegan treats AND they have a Clash poster AND their tables are neon cupcakes), and cakespy.
If you’re curious what the entire image looks like, here’s a picture of a card that I bought for one lucky recipient.
Happy weekend!
Two Penguin mentions in one week? Maria and Tricia, you both are BATTY.
Clockwise from top: The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, Of the Abuse of Words by John Locke, A Confession by Leo Tolstoy, On Friendship by Michel de Montaigne, The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, Where I Lived and What I Lived For by Henry Thoreau, On Natural Selection by Charles Darwin, Days of Reading by Marcel Proust
Last week, I was at The Book Cellar, passing time before a friendly dinner/ukulele and banjo lessons, and I noticed a glorious rack of Penguin Classics. The Penguin Classics Great Ideas series features ageless works that have inspired minds and provoked change. Although the collection includes ideas of questionable integrity (…The Communist Manifesto is not exactly exemplary…), the series heralds ideas of great influence.
There are currently four series of Great Ideas. Each series is composed of twenty works, and has a striking color scheme. My favorite aspect of Great Ideas is the brilliant typography and cover designs (that angled square in the cover to Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus is THE BOULDER THAT SISYPHUS HAS TO PUSH UP THE MOUNTAIN – !!!). This might be a superficial declaration, but book covers this beautiful make even the most frighteningly heavy books exciting to read.
PS: HAPPY WEEKEND!
I decided to showcase another artist that I’ve recently been getting into, an American-born, Italian-raised textile designer by the name of Alexander Girard, 1907 – 1993.
Girard worked with Herman Miller, George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, and is best known for designing the La Fonda del Sol Restaurant in New York (1960) and the interiors, textiles and ephemera for Braniff Airlines (1965). With a penchant for folk art and a strong eye for colour, his work is still freshly contemporary despite having a distinctly quasi-psychedelic vibe. His palette, whilst seemingly full of clashing colours, has such a strength of character to it that it seems natural and right.
I love the simplicity and boldness of his graphic style and the sense of playfulness it imbues. Designers seemed to have so much more fun with their work in those halcyon days when experimentation was encouraged over mere productivity.
He’s definitely one to check out if you like a strong line and an adventurous palette!
More information about Girard at The Museum of International Folk Art
1. Goldtone Banjolele Deluxe from Musician’s Friend, $450 (too shiny and would prefer the banjolele sold at the Old Town School of Folk Music’s store on Lincoln Ave. …thank you to the guy at the store who let me hold it…)
2. Yama Syphon Brewer from Clive Coffee, $50
3. Save the Manatee club membership, $25
4. Hohner Melodica from Musician’s Friend, $35
5. Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet from Amazon, $167
6. Blue Microphones Snowball from Amazon, $72.30 (so I can record songs about pies and bucolic fields…just kidding.)
7. Itazura Coin Bank (White Kitty) from Strapya World, $21.70 (watch this and you will be convinced)
8. Proximity Magazine subscription, $30 (even if you’re illiterate, you can still admire the STUNNING typography and layout)
9. Speedball Ultimate Screen Printing Kit from BLICK, $85
10. Keyboard stickers by Christopher Morno DeLorenzo, $15 (B for Bowie!)
And that’s the end of our wishlists.
Of course the Stickers and Donuts team’s greatest wish is to hear from you (we know you’re reading! Google Analytics does not lie!) SO! Now it’s your turn. What’s on your wishlist? Fulfilling the S&D wish not a good enough reason for you to comment? Well, here’s a bribe. The first 10 people who comment (excluding any S&D writers, however, they are encouraged to comment regardless) will receive a S&D surprise.
I’m following Tricia’s new series of “People you should know”, and today it’s graphic artist Chris Ware!
You may have come upon Chris Ware’s most famous piece of work, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
So, you might ask, why should I know this guy, if he does complicated and headache-inducing comics ? Well, here are some reasons :
1. He is VERY talented :
Let’s be clear : Chris Ware is a genius. A never-goes-out-and-looks-kinda-weird genius, but a genius all the same. To begin with, he almost never uses computer. Yep, that’s right, all this over-detailed artwork is hand-drawn. The typo too. He HAND DRAWS all text in his books. If you think it’s not that difficult, just take a look :
This is all made by hand. I can barely write an address on an envelope without scratching it all and starting over a dozen times.
2. Nobody else can tell a story like he does
Ok, Jimmy Corrigan is weird and to this day, I’m not sure I understood everything right. But you have to admit, Chris Ware has a unique and marvelous way to tell a story. It’s all flow, sequential, flashbacks, fantasy… Here is an example :
See what I mean ? It’s just square boxes, and then it’s so much more. Just try and follow the train of thoughts here. Magical.
3. He’s very prolific
This guy is crazy. He does so many things, I can’t keep count. He is a contributor to the New Yorker, he does lots of jazz-related work, he self-publishes numerous graphic novels… The insides of his brain must look like a very busy factory. But that means YEAH for us Chris Ware lovers, because we can’t run out of stuff to read/see/enjoy.
4. He has created great characters
Jimmy Corrigan, sure, but also Rusty Brown, the nerd collecting action figures that lives in his own world, Quimby the Mouse and his love/enemy Sparky that cat’s head (yes, cat’s head), the Super-Man, a depressed anti-hero, Big Tex the cow-boy, the lonely girl with the fake leg… And much more.
So, I hope by now, if you didn’t already know Chris Ware, you’re eager to see more.
I’m leaving you with a video of Quimby animated by John Kuramoto for This American Life, set to Andrew Bird’s song “Eugene.” Enjoy !
Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.
I will readily admit that my love of books is an obsession that has extended beyond the normal. I spend more time drawing them than I do either reading them or writing them, though I’m probably better equipped for the later.
I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.
No matter! I am busy making a series of classic book desktop wallpapers! Remember, way back when, when I provided you with your very own Catcher in the Rye wallpaper!? Wasn’t that fun??? Yes? Good! Now for The Bell Jar! My edition of The Bell Jar is perhaps the ugliest in existence. I think it’s some movie edition (was there a movie???). But when I re-drew it in my ugly, wobbly hand, I found it weirdly more pleasing, math has never been my strong suit, but it is as if ugly squared = pretty!
If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I’m neurotic as hell. I’ll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days.
The silence depressed me. It wasn’t the silence of silence. It was my own silence.
So, I’ve got many sizes, shapes, and styles for you! I know everyone’s computer set-up and style is different. (My personally customized setup with my dual-screens is thus:)
But enough about me. Here’s some free backgrounds for you!!!
Do these bright and cheery quotes make you want to read The Bell Jar? Have a go! With a better cover! Unless you like ugly covers for their kitsch value, then get this one
In London, winter is fast approaching, and to be truly honest it’s not very motivating : it’s getting very cold (antartica-and-penguins-kind-of-cold) and the sun disappears around 4.30pm. BUT I have an unbeatable plan to keep my spirits up : drown myself into retro/vintage fashion. The theme : (it’s) only black and white (but I like it). Here is an idea of what we’re looking for :
1.Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (in French: Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo?) is a 1966 film directed by William Klein, about the fashion world. Very funny, and eye-popping. Sadly, there is no american release of this dvd, but you can still find great posters on amazon. Great visual inspiration !
2. Spat-like Boots : much more classy than Uncle Scrooge, don’t you think ? Plus, tall boots = warm. WARM, yes ! Beat that, UK winter !
3. Camera necklace : accessories make the difference. And sometimes I’m too lazy to take my real camera out, so this is a nice alternative.
4. Duotone tights : For schizophrenic girls, show off your legs !
5. Retro 60s dress : Arrows + Black & White = Swinging London Heaven. Wearing this is like being in a black and white picture taken in Carnaby Street in 1967. Except it’s now, and I’m just not very tanned. Bonus : wear with extra long fake lashes and lots and lots of eyeliner. Just don’t go see a sad movie, because this could end up in a scary “fake-lashes-mustache-and-panda-bear-eyes” fiasco
6. Esoteri Louboutin boots : Ok, this is just a dream, and a 700$ reality, but I can’t help it, these shoes are SO CUTE.
7. Leather Avengers boots : I know, another pair of shoes. How many feet do I have ? Just the average two, but, honestly, how can you resist such a graphic pair of boots ? (This is a winning argument for me, anything with a “graphic” edge is absolutely essential. Even a “graphic toothpick” would work on me)
8. White blazer jacket : This reminds me of the old TV serie “The Prisoner” starring co-creator Patrick McGoohan, who spend the entire serie with a drop-dead gorgeous black jacket with white hemlines. Except this jacket is mainly white, so it gets dirty quicker BUT adds a little je-ne-sais-quoi.
Voilà ! To be honest I don’t own everything on this list, but Christmas is coming in a couple of month, and I’m preparing my wish-list in advance. Just a quick advice to finish : don’t overdo it. Personnaly, I draw the line at black lipstick (Unless it’s Halloween, of course).
First of all, YES I made a Catcher in the Rye wallpaper / desktop background! YES I am still painting books. What are you going to do?! I read, write, and paint books. I can’t help it!!! (If you don’t like books, you can check out some various other Unemployment Projects here.)
Second of all, you can click on the above picture and you’ll get a much larger version, that YES would be *especially* perfect as a desktop background if you happen to have a 15″ Mac Book Pro, though I am sure it can be usable in other formats, especially if you just use the all-over design below.
Or, if you are unemployed, you can just go off and make your very own wallpaper, like me. The best part is you can tailor your paper to your exact needs and likes! For example, I started with the overall print (below) and then realized I HATE OVERALL PRINTS because all of my icons, which I keep on the right half of the screen, get visually lost. So, I made a new version (above) which has a clear side for my personal convenience.
Here is a larger version of the above wallpaper in case you need larger (just clicky):
Anyway, here’s a How To if you want to make your own book wallpaper like mine. As usual, I will stress that you can have very little drawing / painting ability to get something cool. For example, I have this brush which mightaswell be a collection of twenty bristly dog hairs. It’s horrible. And stumpy. No one should ever paint with it. Yet I do. Because I do not have another little brush. I actually cut it all up with scissors to make it smaller. It’s awful. Moral: Professionals need not apply.
You will need:
(…and it could be!) I would want it very much.
FACT: I enjoy both robots and typography. I present to you an epic question. IN A DEATH MATCH AMONG FORMIDABLE SANS-SERIF COMBATANTS..
…and AKZIDENZ-GROTESK-BOT…
WHO WOULD WIN?!?!
The above posters, found via dtrndr, are screenprinted posters by Jonathon Yule. You can purchase them on his website, INVDR, for $20 each or $45 for the entire collection. If you have always dreamed about owning a t-shirt that displays both your love for Helvetica and robots, Helbotica t-shirts are available at Chop Shop for $20 each. Finally, Font-Bot iPod skins and laptop covers are available at Skinizi.
