Sprawl II - Arcade Fire

We'll be seeing them on Saturday night. :)

2Tone Dunny Series at Kidrobot

These very cool 2Tone Dunnies are now available at Kidrobot. This art toy geek will be picking up a few.

Jeff Soto found prints now available

Jeff Soto recently came across these screen prints while cleaning out his studio. They are unsigned and unnumbered and available right now on his online shop Potatostamp for a great price.

Vintage Pop Up Sale in San Francisco

This is where I'll be on Saturday afternoon. If you come you should check out the work of 3 Fish Studios while you're there.

Deth P Sun & Ferris Plock at Giant Robot in LA

Deth P. Sun and Ferris Plock at GR2
October 2 - November 3, 2010
Reception: Saturday, October 2, 6:30 - 10:00 p.m.

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Canvas

Canvas is an online shop for housewares that specializes in simple sustainable designs. This is the stuff I would love to surround myself with. The beautiful wood and ceramics in the images above give off such a calming warmth. I covet most of the merchandise on this site.

Linedrawing book by Angelique Houtkamp

This beautiful new book by Angelique Houtkamp is now available at her online shop. You can see more of her work on my previous post about her here.

Andrew Groves

Andrew Groves is a UK graphic designer/illustrator. His work is fun and whimsical. You can buy prints of his work on his online shop or a print of the above image from threadless.com.

New Designs by Kimberly Baker

I am totally inspired by Kimberly Baker's newest line of jewelry. For those of you that don't know I design and make jewelry myself. With my recent move I'll finally have the room for a work bench. Hopefully I'll have some work done in the next couple of months that I can share.

Art Magazines

I would imagine that most people that read my blog are fans of art magazines. Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, Giant Robot, and Beautiful Decay are just a few that pushed my interest in the contemporary, "low-brow" scene along. This year my new favorite art magazine (my favorite magazine in general actually) is Elephant. Elephant is Dutch and is published in English by Frame Publishers. This magazine is truly inspired. Pick up a copy for yourself and you'll definitely agree.

Yoshitomo Nara interview on ArtSlant

Yoshitomo Nara is a legend. His amazing work makes me smile, especially his installations. His new book Nobody's Fool is now out. I checked it out over the weekend and I have to say this book would make a great birthday gift (hint, hint). The people over at ArtSlant have an interview up that is definitely worth reading.

Blogger love - collaborations

Big things are a foot over here in SF Art & Design Lover land. I am currently working on a project with my significant other Frank that we hope to launch by the end of the month. I am very excited about the ideas we have swimming around and will be sharing more closer to the launch.

On the collaboration note my dear friend Anna of e.g. (my favorite fashion blog) has asked a few people to discuss their fall fashion habits. Yours truly is featured in yesterday's post. Check it out.

Mark Baugh-Sasaki at Krowswork

I met Mark Baugh-Sasaki a few years ago in a context that had nothing to do with art. Somehow we still ended up talking about art and what he was working on. I remember thinking he was a really nice young artist and was interested to see what kind of work he did. I checked out his site online and was completely impressed with what I saw. I meant to share it then, but for some reason it slipped away like things often do. Then a couple of weeks ago while exploring my new home town I came upon his work again this time in person at Krowswork. The experience was unforgettable and his work is something that needs to be experienced in person.

Mike Shine at 941 Geary Gallery

Mike Shine - Flotsam's Wonder World @ 941 Geary

September 18th - October 30th

Blending influences of lost carnivals, Nordic mythology and hazy nostalgia, Mike Shine's eerie yet often light-hearted art has been included in exhibitions with SFMOMA, Laguna Art Museum and The Museum of Craft and Folk Art. His mixed media pieces are typically composed of house paint on found objects like driftwood, buoys, carnival bottles and ephemera. The artist's sinister characters are made ironically inviting to the viewer with mechanized interactive components that recall classic carnival attractions. The art "opera" is based on the carnival ringleader, Flotsam, who Shine considers to be his personal version of Mephistopheles. The artist cites dark, enigmatic figures such as Stanley Kubrick, Friedrich Nietzsche and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as his inspiration for the exhibition.

On a search for the perfect black coat...

I am searching for just the right black coat for the coming fall/winter seasons. If I was wealthy enough the top or bottom images would be the coat(s) of choice. Both are by Rick Owens and both are outside of the realm of possibility.

The Clift

Last week I received an email from the Clift hotel in San Francisco. It was an invitation to take a private tour to learn about its history and the most recent redesign of the hotel that was done by Philippe Starck. I happily accepted the invitation and strong armed Frank into checking it out with me. We were both impressed with what we saw. Mr. Starck's inspiration for the hotel was the city of San Francisco itself. This is obvious in the beautiful colors of the rooms that reflect the fog (as seen in the suite above) and in the surreal and eclectic mix of furniture styles (including a table designed by Salvador Dali).
One of my favorite rooms in the hotel is the living room. I have a fondness for toys and the art featured in the living room includes black and white portraits of toy animals taken by photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
Most San Franciscans know the legendary Redwood Room, beautifully restored when the hotel was redesigned in early 2000-2001. The warmth of the room, including the original art deco light fixtures and the redwood panels throughout, entice locals to dress up and grab an adult beverage. It's more than just a hotel bar. It's a San Francisco landmark.
The most exciting part of the tour included dinner at the Velvet Room. The menu features local organically grown and sustainably farmed food that fits perfectly with the personality of the hotel. This prize of a restaurant served a perfect meal that even this spoiled San Francisco foodie could not resist. I've been singing its praises ever since.

Mark Whalen and Deedee Cheriel at MK Gallery next month

This is one show that would get me down to LA in a heartbeat. Kill Pixie (Mark Whalen) and Deedee Cheriel have a new show opening at Merry Karnowsky Gallery in LA next month. The opening is being hosted by Tim Roth.

Check out the details here.

What's to come

Just a quick note to tell you about some things I'm working on to get up in the next few days. Since Frank and I moved to Oakland a few weeks ago we've been checking out the local art galleries. I am quite impressed and will have a lot to share. Also, Frank and I were lucky enough to get a private tour of the Clift hotel that was finished off with an amazing blog post worthy dinner at their new restuarant The Velvet Room.

Sorry for the no show

I have been overwhelmingly busy lately with new job, new school and new home. So much change in so little time. Next week will be calmer so I'll have much to catch up on. Until then here's the view looking into the pool at our new apartment.