77 Of The Coolest Backpacks You'll Ever See. Eastpak's Artist Designed Bags For Charity.

above and below: the unique artist designed Easpak bags range from goth and edgy to playful.


I once thought Eastpak was just a bunch of utilitarian nylon backpacks and bags, but boy was I wrong. I had not been aware of their numerous collaborations with artists or their huge selection of uniquely designed and patterned bags.

But most interesting is their Eastpak Artist's Studio in which 77 of the most creative personalities from eight different countries (one continent) were selected to produce original creations from a number of limited edition 'blank' EASTPAK bags. The bags were available to bid upon with the proceeds from each donated to various charities.

The artists were selected from different backgrounds and include painters, sculptors and poets as well as musicians, graffiti artists and television personalities. Below I have shown all of the bags and called out some of my personal favorites from each country.

Spain:






Belgium:




Netherlands:




Germany:




Greece:






Italy:




UK:



Hong Kong:






EASTPAK is proud to support this select group of artists and the communities that feed their inspiration. All proceeds of sales of these one-of-a-kind creations were be donated to a local charity organisation in each participating country.

Other Eastpak Designer Collaborations:
In addition to the Artist's Studio project, they have also had collaborations with prominent designers as Raf Simons, Quinze and Milan, Christopher Shannon, Eley Kishimoto Ed Banger and Gaspard Yurkievich and Antoine Peters.

For availability please check eastpak.com.

Greeking For Groovy Art Directors. Hipster Ipsum - Artisanal Filler Text.

Lorem ipsum dolor got you down? No more, now there's Hipster Ispum, a text generator that infuses trendy words into your placeholder text. They offer two styles, Hipster with a shot of Latin and Hipster, neat.

An example of Hipster with a shot of Latin:
Homo mlkshk banh mi brunch biodiesel. Lo-fi echo park terry richardson 3 wolf moon, scenester gluten-free fanny pack. Brooklyn master cleanse locavore tattooed terry richardson freegan, homo gluten-free. Mixtape fanny pack banh mi put a bird on it. Quinoa vinyl thundercats wolf 8-bit you probably haven't heard of them. Helvetica lo-fi salvia 8-bit mustache hoodie 3 wolf moon iphone, lomo banh mi. High life mcsweeney's food truck ethical, jean shorts craft beer portland stumptown synth aesthetic retro artisan lo-fi VHS.

an example of Hipster Neat:
Fap mixtape trust fund retro. 8-bit cliche thundercats artisan PBR. Portland raw denim thundercats keytar helvetica dreamcatcher. Wolf photo booth thundercats tofu echo park, 8-bit mlkshk VHS master cleanse bicycle rights. Synth keytar craft beer, VHS marfa fixie american apparel gluten-free mustache. Cosby sweater skateboard before they sold out homo food truck. Quinoa mcsweeney's organic tumblr, letterpress dreamcatcher PBR.

Like other greeking generators, you can choose the number of paragraphs, choose between the two styles and voila.... filler for your layouts with a hint of hip.

Try it yourself.

A special shout out to one of my favorite artists, Danny Heller, who brought this gem of a find to my attention.

Alexander Girard Prints on Plywood. Classic Graphic Art Goes Green With PLYprints.

For the first time since 1972 Alexander Girard's iconic graphics are now available as wall art, screened onto 14"x14" panels of Columbia's formaldehyde-free maple faced hardwood plywood.



The PLYprints program draws on Girard's history of printing directly on wood in such places as the Compound restaurant in Santa Fe.




Eight of Alexander Girard's classic designs are available on 14" x 14" plywood panels, including two NEW designs: Old Sun and New Sun. Each graphic panel features an iconic Alexander Girard image hand screenprinted with water-based inks on a US-made sustainably-harvested maple plywood panel.




All PLYprints include hanging hardware and have a spacer on the back that allows the panel to float off the wall. The vibrant artworks mix bold colors with the natural graining of the real wood veneers. The wood panels are responsibly made with Columbia Forest Products' soy-based, formaldehyde free PureBond® technology to create a safe and green wood based product for your home.



Three more of Girard's classic designs are available on larger 16" x 20" plywood panels, with wall hanging hardware included. This new size makes a bigger design statement with the same sustainable properties as the smaller wall hangings.



A "Give Love" gift set of six 3" x 3" blocks is also available, all with Girard's iconic "LOVE" design screened in red. Break up the set and "give love" to everyone you love. Alexander Girard (1907 - 1993) created iconic mid-century modern designs for such companies as Herman Miller and Braniff International Airways. His work married the timeless lines of the modern with the playfulness and bold color of Latin American folk art.

The estate chose to work with Columbia Forest Products because PureBond is the only widely available cost-neutral formaldehyde-free plywood panel. Girard had a long history of environmental concerns, especially about pollution, and PureBond technology offers a way to mitigate indoor air problems by eliminating the risk of toxic and carcinogenic VOC's that can be released by composite wood panels made with urea formaldehyde resins.

About Columbia Forest Products:
Founded in 1957, Columbia Forest Products is North America's largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer, a leader in sustainable forestry, and innovator of formaldehyde-free PureBond technology.

Columbia's decorative interior veneers and panels are used in cabinetry, furniture, architectural millwork and commercial fixtures. Employee-owned and based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Columbia employs more than 2,000 and operates facilities throughout the United States and Canada, and an operational network which spans the globe.

PLYprints Concept:
The PLYprints concept was developed in cooperation with Eric Pfeiffer of PfeifferLab, a San Francisco-based design and branding studio. PfeifferLab relies on Eric's penchant for simplicity of form to create useful and elegant solutions for everyday living. It's this pure design ethos, coupled with a casual sensibility that results in timeless objects rooted in a deep understanding of materials and message.

Learn more here.