Because it’s a Saturday…

…so maybe I can get away with this, I present to you the two finest pieces of artwork ever brought to my attention by Boing Boing Gadgets.

The first is the Swayzaur:

swayze-centaur-thumb-550x733-25222.jpg

I can see the movie titles now–“Dirty Prancing,” “Roadhorse,” “Seapatrick.”

The second is just one installment of an amazing series started/collated by artist Olav Rokne, titled “Robocop on a Unicorn:”

2194956631_595eaed93b_b.jpg

Rokne’s Flickr page provides the meaning, purpose, and detailed description of the 16-work series as follows:

Pictures of ’80s action hero Robocop riding a unicorn.

Hopefully I’ll be posting again on Monday; if not it means I got fired.

2945623741_cf6eb90f86_o.jpg
Blam! (Plus whatever sound a rainbow particle beam makes.)

(more…)

DIY project for transient items

Reader Dawn tipped us off to a blog post on the website The Red Chair Blog for how to organize “transient” items. This DIY solution can be made with four sturdy cardboard boxes with lids and a narrow set of storage cubes.

A description of the transient storage system from Amy at The Red Chair Blog:

Clients often ask me how to organize items that are “just passing through” their homes. You may have seen “transients” like these in your home: the library books that need to be returned, the sweater that you need to mail to Great Aunt Myrtle for her birthday, the DVD that you borrowed from a friend and need to return, or that pair of Goodwill-bound go-go boots.

Here’s a simple, cost-effective storage solution. It won’t win any awards for good looks–just keep it tucked in a closet or storage area–but it gets the job done.

I agree that this would be a perfect solution for a closet near the main entrance to your home, and an easy weekend DIY project.

Image from The Red Chair Blog


Impronta

Vase out of old alluminium moulds

tubiQ

tubiQ is a project that sets a new standard of life on water. The innovative concept has overturned the concept of a traditional home and puts living..

Strike a Pose! Its Fashion Week

mbfw ss10.jpg
(Photos: UnBeige)

It’s Fashion Week, and not even a full day of rain can dampen our sartorially minded spirits. Shows and presentations of spring 2010 collections are taking place throughout the city, but the big top is still Bryant Park, where the Mercedes-Benz-sponsored fun kicked off yesterday with a travel theme. In a nod to the event’s imminent move across town, the tents are adorned with images of colorful vintage suitcases, old-school lugggage labels, and flight tickets. “Our tent graphics are a reminder that we will start packing soon, as this is our next to last season in this location,” explains Fern Mallis, senior vice-president of IMG Fashion. “It will take some time to pack up, but the move to Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center in September 2010 is exciting for everyone in our industry and beyond.”

The week is young, but an early standout is ERRO by Anna Larson, a moody and modern line that debuted on Wednesday night at the Ohio Theatre in Soho. Inspired by “light in motion, as it is framed, fractionalized, [and] faded by shadows,” Swedish-born Larson presented a cool line-up of worldly, wearable pieces in a graphic palette of white, gray, indigo, and faded black. Most impressive was the craftsmanship, evident in a tunic of washed, pleated, and intricately woven black silk (pictured above, at left) and knitwear (like the tunic at right) made from yarn that had been hand-printed to simulate a sun-baked fade. Distressed and perforated lambskin and corset-like details sealed the deal. “For me, the effect of putting these pieces together is like seeing light slant through half-open blinds,” said Larson in the show notes. “You’re only getting a fraction of the story, and so you gather your own story out of the shadows.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Irving Penns Small Trades Get Big Show at Getty Center

penn deep sea diver.jpgEarly last year, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles acquired an important collection of Irving Penn portraits taken in Paris, London, and New York in the early 1950s. Known as “The Small Trades,” the series of photos captures tradespeople ranging from firefighters and deep sea divers to a Parisian busboy and a pair of ballroom dancing instructors whose steely determination suggests they would have little patience for Dancing with the Stars. Now the Getty has put the portraits—all 252 of them—to work in a sizable exhibition that runs through January 10 at the Getty Center. The show explores Penn’s process, tracing his technique from the original silver prints made in 1950 and 1951 to the more tonally lush products of platinum/palladium printing, and highlights his way with composition as well as a distinct fascination with the crisply uniformed staff of Parisian restaurants. So where do milkmen and road sweepers meet models and trend-setting Vogue fashion spreads? Find out on Tuesday evening at the Getty Center, when Colin Westerbeck, director of the California Museum of Photography, will speak about Penn’s studies of working-class people in the context of his full career.

Previously on UnBeige::

  • Getty Museum Acquires Penn Photographs
  • Putting Penn to Paper at the Morgan Library

    New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

  • Nate Duval Rock Posters

    by Julie Wolfson

    While artist
    Nate Duval’s
    online bio lists trip planning and de-fingerprinting his iPhone screen among his favorite activities, the bulk oh his interests relate to music. So it’s no wonder that the fan of Neon India, The Band, Mulatu Astatke, Hacienda, Phoenix, Blind Pilot, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, among many, many other bands, has garnered quite a reputation in a short time for his gorgeously eccentric gig posters.

    Ranging from hand-drawn graphics layered over patterns to more slick-looking vector art, his love for a variety of genres comes though in his aesthetic. An intricately detailed house in his new Decemberist poster sits in front of a wallpaper-style sky (below), while another for the same band depicts a glamorous leaf queen (pictured above right, click image for detail). The Fleet Foxes poster explodes with candy-hued geometric shapes. (See it and more after the jump.) In Duval’s new Andrew Bird poster, perhaps his most delicate yet, a scrollwork frame depicts a man with an anemone for a head (click above image for detail).

    272_decembsMA2__322.jpg

    Duval’s site promises posters for Ra Ra Riot, Wilco, Monsters of Folks and more soon—we can’t wait to see what the music inspires next.

    For those in Chicago this weekend, Duval will be setting up shop at
    the Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park
    , showing his prints and posters. Otherwise, you can pick up his prints from his Etsy store or
    his site
    .

    55 Blair Road by Ong Ong

    Architects Ong and Ong have completed a contemporary open-plan interior for the renovation of a terrace house in Singapore, merging the interior and exterior spaces.

    The design is a response to the owners request to introduce more light into the living spaces which were previously too dark.

    A large void divides the two sections of the house […]div class=”feedflare”
    a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?a=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:yIl2AUoC8zA”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?d=yIl2AUoC8zA” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?a=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:V_sGLiPBpWU”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?i=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:V_sGLiPBpWU” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?a=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:gIN9vFwOqvQ”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?i=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:gIN9vFwOqvQ” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?a=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:D7DqB2pKExk”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/dezeen?i=BwA5TIP6uM8:ZHKnV9_1wAc:D7DqB2pKExk” border=”0″/img/a
    /div

    Viesso Hang amp; Paste Wallpaper

    hang-paste-1.jpg

    Known for their brilliantly-easy customizable furniture, Viesso recently launched an equally successful wallpaper boutique, Hang & Paste.

    With favorites like Cole & Son Fornasetti and independent illustrators proffering enticing motifs, Viesso brings an exciting atmosphere to a design element that has in recent years become considered outdated, making it welcome in any home. Navigable by brand, style or color, the site is an efficient and fun way to spruce up any interior.

    Prices vary depending on style and size and can be purchased directly from the Hang & Paste site.

    Atelier Bow-Wow’s Studios in Tokyo

    0300tv recently shot this video of Atelier Bow-Wow’s studios in Tokyo, designed by the firm themselves. From the footage, it’s almost impossible to tell what the building looks like as a whole—instead, it’s all about situation. The most important spaces found inside and outside the building are highlighted, revealing how they are occupied, used and cluttered. This idea seems central to Atelier Bow-Wow’s practice, which they’ve illustrated so well in their books Graphic Anatomy, a commingling of architectural drawings and everyday scenes, and Pet Architecture, an index of tiny buildings that have been squeezed into leftover spaces.

    (more…)