Whenever there is new content produced regarding Andy Spade, you’ll find it here…because my goal in life is to be just like him. This video on VBS.tv documents Partners & Spade and their “Going Out Of Business” pop-up shop, a project that can only be explained by watching this video.
Archive for the ‘Art’ Category
Brand New | Identities of the Year
Corporate and brand identity is a hobby of mine. By hobby, I mean I always have an opinion and make a snarky comment when I think a logo sucks…and point out the ones I like.
Brand New (a division of Under Consideration) which chronicles corporate and brand identity work and opinions, recently released their best (and worst) identities of the year.
Alcoholic Art
Booze is a beautiful thing, and now you can hang your favorite drink on the wall for all of your guests to enjoy. Sounds tacky, but thanks to the folks at BevShots, which produces modern art prints of beers, wines and cocktails photographed under a microscope, this can be tastefully achieved with minimal damage to your marriage.
English Oatmeal Stout
Beer, Liquor & Food
I came across this poster while searching for something completely unrelated, which is odd because 90% of what I search for online falls under the category of beer, liquor or food. To my surprise, this poster is available on art.com. A tasteful alternative to the Belushi poster, which needs to be retired upon college graduation.
Don Kilpatrick | Little Buffalo Press
If you’re a regular to the site, you know that I have an obsession with letterpress art. A good friend of mine, letterpress maven and the man responsible for my business cards and swag, Don Kilpatrick, was recently featured on Etsy. Don is a regular illustration contributor to the Wall Street Journal and the L.A. Times as well as an instructor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. He’s also just an all around good dude. Check out some of his work and his Etsy feature here.
Hawleywood’s Barbershop
“Some doors are made for men to walk through, and I think barbershops is one of them.”
I’ve never been to Hawleywood’s, so I can’t vouch for the haircuts. I do, however, use their Lay-Rite pomade…which after years of intense research I can confidently say is the best product (for my hair anyway). I go to a similar barbershop in New York, F.S.C., and believe these are the types of places where men should go for a trim. Salons are for women and pansies.
Influencers | How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious
If you’re a frequent visitor to the site, you’ll know that I don’t really take interest in trends (jean shorts are awful, always have been…always will be). However, when you really get down to it…everything starts out as a trend. Some things go on to become classics, and some end up like MySpace.
Influencers is a short documentary, produced by R+I Creative, that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends become contagious today in everything from music to fashion.
Art & Copy
Any person who says they hate advertising is the same person who says they don’t get nervous before a big game. Liar. What they really mean is they hate bad advertising…everyone loves a great ad. The documentary, Art & Copy, directed by Doug Pray, explores the creative process with some of the most influential advertising figures and their iconic work.
Official Synopsis:
Art & Copy is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (Surfwise, Scratch, Hype!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in Art & Copy were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.
Plum TV | Style Innovators
Plum TV recently launched a new video series entitle, Style Innovators. Hosted by GQ Style Editor, Adam Rapoport (Who has actually just been named EIC at Bon Appetit), the series showcases some of the most sought-after tastemakers as you’ve never seen them before, at home. In past episodes, Adam has caught up with Chef, Eric Ripert and Simon Doonan of Barney’s. In this episode, Adam hangs with Andy Spade (who makes frequent appearances on this site), as he tours Spade’s newly acquired South Hampton summer home; his studio, Partners & Spade; as well as the famed J.Crew Liquor store, which Spade was largely responsible for.
Dispatch | Curated Content
Dispatch: Curated content to read, watch, use and amuse.
-Cool Hunting: Levi’s Photo Workshop: Read
-Nowness: Bruichladdich Whiskey: Read
-Ask Men: The Best Cities for Guys: Look
-Popular mechanics: 100 Skills Every Man Should Know: Read
-Nowness: John Varvatos: A Decade of Rock: Read
-Gilt Manual: How to Throw the Perfect Spiral: Watch
The Perfect Billboard
Generally speaking, I hate billboards. They’re eyesores that plague the aesthetic of our communities. With the exception of knowing how much longer I have until I get to the next Cracker Barrel or need to hold my piss, they serve no purpose.
This billboard, designed by Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Zealand outpost promoting an airing of American Psycho (Great film. If you haven’t seen it you won’t understand this billboard…and I pity you.), is an exception. If all billboards looked this good, I might be able support.
Check out more ads worthy of your time at Ads of the World.
Art in the Age
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how to put what Art in the Age does into words. But I like it…a lot.
Their full name, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, was inspired by an essay written by Walter Benjamin in 1936 entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, in which Benjamin “mourns the loss of ‘the aura’, the moment of awe seizing the first time beholder of a singular work of art.” He argues that “forces of commercialization have subject ‘the aura’ to a perverse transmutation of value, resulting in cheapened ‘cult value’.” Inspired by his piece, Art in the Age is “determined to prove the possibility of increased artistic accessibility across cultural forms without the sacrifice of value.”
In short, they value craft and making things the way they were originally supposed to be made.
Founded by ad man, Steven Grasse, who helped create the Hendrick’s Gin brand and also runs a creative agency called Quaker City Mercantile, Art in the Age runs a shop in Philadelphia, creates products of their own and hosts artist exhibitions.
They also make booze. Given the nature of this site, I’ll be focusing on that.
But first, a few quotes from founder, Steven Grasse:
“AITA is a reaction against the Walmartization of the world. Cheap shit from China is killing us. This is why we make soap, preserves, and small batch organically certified liquor… There is an art to living. If you live in a McMansion and spend your days at a strip mall buying cheap shit from China, dude, you have lost your fucking aura.” -From an interview with Jason Urban of Printeresting.
“The new luxury is knowing where the stuff comes from and knowing that the person who made it got paid,” Grasse says. “That is the new luxury. Not the fancy packaging, or the glam, but the ethics of it, the sustainability and goodness of it.” -From an interview with Philadelphia Magazine.
The story of Root:
View recipe demonstrations here.