• Patrick Giroux
Lawrence Arts Center (940 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, March 25, 5-9pm (Ongoing until Apr. 25th)

From the organizers:
PRINTerpretation presents selected works by Patrick Giroux

Patrick Giroux is a graphic designer and illustrator living in Lawrence, Kansas. He started
designing posters when asked to make one for a friend’s band, and continued to make them
having fallen in love with the printmaking/letterpress process. He is a contributor to Johnny
America, a small literary zine. He has worked as a designer at the Lawrence Journal-World
and an art director at lawrence.com. Patrick currently works in Kansas City, and spends his
off-time in Lawrence with his lovely wife, Caterina, and furry dog, Frances.

Hand-sewn and designed rugs made from recycled teddy bears. The process starts with the departure of the loving life Teddy Bears have when they are in the hands of their owners.The rugs not only reference the personal histories of the toy’s owners, but investigate the rug as an object organizing and displaying memories and lineages. In Eastern Cultures, the oriental rug centralizes the living space in pattern, operating beyond utility to depict the spiritual and mental world in woven form.

“Royal” -  stuffed animal skins, 9′ x 7′, 2010

“Rose Petals” – stuffed animal skins, 8′ x 7′, 2010

Artist Statement:

I aim to create art that fosters exchanges between people rather than encounters between a viewer and object. Through these exchanges, meaning is elaborated collectively, rather than in the space of individual consumption.

My artistic practice investigates how stories, rituals and traditions transform our relationships with the objects and places around us. I create responses to social narratives through situations that unveil the tensions between the natural-becoming-unnatural, and the unnatural-becoming-natural. My work discovers illogical, surreal scenarios from otherwise realistic or “normal” settings, revealing unconscious transience in beliefs and behaviors between these two worlds.

Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, I now make my home in Miami, FL.

“Sand Castle” – human hair, 2′ x 3 ‘ x 3′, 2008

“Myself” – human Hair, wooden brush, 7″ x 5″, 2007

See more of Woodgate’s work here

Thanks to Kit Leffler for the tip. (Sorry it took so long.)

• BiKlops Design & Studio Ike
Teller’s (746 Massachusetts in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, February 25, 6-9pm

From the Organizers:
Teller’s will be hosting the work of BiKlops Design and Studio Ike for a design-centric Final Fridays.

I was instantly drawn to WeWood’s watches which is weird because I’ve never owned a watch in my life and generally find them rather boring.  My peaked interest is a testament to WeWood’s alluring selection of natural wood grains, their design aesthetic and underlying philosophy.

From WeWood’s site:
WeWood has emerged out of Italy (but based in LA) as an emblem of eco-luxury and design, committed to the health of our planet. WeWood is the avant-garde approach to sophisticated sustainability. WeWood lets us rediscover nature in its beauty, its simplicity and inspired design. It reminds us of a tree’s powerful way of life; rooted, yet reaching.

Completely absent of artificial and toxic materials, the WeWood Timepiece is as natural as your wrist. It respects your skin as you respect nature by choosing it. Your WeWood Watch breathes the same air that you breathe and may awaken memories from another time and place. Your WeWood Watch records your sensations and shares your experiences as the perfect natural mate, whose story also becomes yours to wear, smell and feel.

A philosophy not implemented is only a dream. Conversely, when you get your WeWood Timepiece, you can feel confident you’re making a difference. One Timepiece plants one tree, and together we help to ensure the health and survival of the natural world.

The WeWood watches sell for $119.

photos via Cool Hunting

Floating Island International is a company that makes “bio islands”, floating islands made from 100% recycled plastic on which little ecosystems for vegetation and microbes can flourish, pulling pollutants such as nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and heavy metals out of the water below, thereby improving the water quality of contaminated areas.

I say we make BP buy a couple thousand of these “bio islands” for the Gulf Coast and allow the people from the area forced into unemployment to set up and maintain them.

Learn more about “bio islands” here

According to Good Magazine (published July 20, 2010):

Google compiles and holds vast amounts of the world’s data. It’s supposed to be totally private but sometimes governments need that information for investigations, and they request it from Google (or its subsidiaries like YouTube, Blogger, or Orkut). Other times, governments find a piece of data offensive or erroneous, and request that Google remove it from its database entirely. The search giant makes all these requests public. This is a look at which countries ask Google for the most information on its users, which ask Google to remove the most information, and how often Google gives information.

The infographic was designed by MGMT design.

posted by: Brent Carter

Thanks to my newest issue of American Elle for introducing me to fashion designer Erin Kleinberg. Pictured here are shots from her Fall 2010 Lookbook featuring Annabelle Dexter-Jones, younger sister to Mark, Samantha and Charlotte Ronson. The clothes look so cozy but at the same time ready to wear to dinner, a night out, the beach, etc etc etc. And I love the touches of velvet which seem to move the casual sportswear to more luxury pieces with a relaxed, hippie vibe.

From the designer:

Launched in the Summer of 2008, erinkleinberg was created in an attempt to bridge a gap in the marketplace with a collection of semi-couture tanks, tees, cardigans, and novelty pieces.

With past experience at W Magazine, working under the guidance of Alex White, Kleinberg’s entrepreneurship and love of design were the driving forces behind her namesake line. Recognizing her design aesthetic from the get-go, Barneys New York picked up her very first collection and have since been strong supporters of her brand.

With an eco-friendly twist and hand-sewn beading and embellishments, Kleinberg seeks to provide the ultimate in luxury, yet still maintains the predominance of comfort embedded throughout her line.

posted by: Tricia Rock

Camilla Åkrans is a fashion photographer from Sweden currently working in New York. Click on the photos to learn more about where they were originally published and check out more of Camilla Åkrans’ work

on Models.com
on LUNDLUND
on The Fashion Spot

I also became a little obsessed with her editorial for the June-July issue of Harper’s Bazaar US, I literally tore out every page for my wall. See the images here.

posted by: Tricia Rock

The latest collection from Hungarian designer Phuong Thuy Nguyen entitled Unconventional Body Objects features these hand knitted (yes that’s right, hand knitted) cocoon-like pieces. Amazing!

posted by: Tricia Rock

To enlarge and see all full rundown of the stats click here

posted by: Harold Johns III