Spring Cleaning! New Orla Kiely Designs For Method.

above image composited by if it's hip, it's here

This Spring, method, the hip San Francisco company that makes cleaning products for the home and personal care is once again collaborating with Irish textile and fashion designer Orla Kiely. Having previously produced limited edition products with the designer, the new spring line features four new graphic patterns from Orla combined with method's iconic bottle designs.





The limited edition collection shown above, said to hit stores next month, includes handwash, dish soap + all - purpose cleaner in a range of delightfully fresh scents.



Orla's previous limited editions for method include the Primrose and Vanilla Chai handwashes which are still available for purchase




Here's a little interview method conducted with Orla regarding this new line:

method: this collection features four new fragrances: tomato vine, white nectarine, honeysuckle and cloudburst. is there one in particular that puts an extra spring in your step?
Orla: I love the idea of tomato vine! it’s that fresh earthy smell you get when you walk into a greenhouse full of tomato plants. so, for me, to re-create this smell for everyday use in my home is just divine!

method: can you share the inspiration behind the patterns you chose for these bottles?
Orla: it’s always fun choosing prints that work with the fragrances. sometimes some of the prints are a more literal match, like our “oval spot” print that is used for tomato vine, whereas cloudburst was more about the color scheme, using sky blue with pops of color. our “multi flower spot” print lent itself perfectly to the honeysuckle fragrance, reminding us of those beautiful summer bunches of honeysuckle blossom. and white nectarine teamed up brilliantly with one of our newer prints called “wallflower spot,” which to us looks like nectarines growing on a tree.

method: what’s your favorite part of the design process?
Orla: it’s always very exciting when a print finally comes to life. after hours of tweaking the color and playing with the scale, it’s wonderful to see the end design really pop.

method: what do you enjoy most about collaborating with other brands?
Orla: we are very picky with who we collaborate with. it is important to me that both brands share a similar sense of fun, quality and integrity, and each share a mutual respect for what the other does. I think only then can it be truly exciting and creative process with an outcome we can all enjoy.

method: both of our brands are over a decade old. how do you keep things fresh year after year?
Orla: it’s so important to mix things up. I like to see new exhibitions and watch classic old films. I love books, both new and old, and have a growing library of fashion, art, architecture and everything in between. I always love to find new references and inspiration each season, and when mixed with what I love it’s always an exciting journey to see what is created.’

images courtesy of method and the dieline.



method
orla kiely

Can You Love Someone So Much It's Creepy? Yep, Says Hubba Welcome.

Unfortunately the sweetly illustrated and hilariously disturbing cards are not available for purchase, but more creative cards by Chris Mundy and Greg Lockhart of Hubbawelcome. Other creative cards by them include the following:




About Hubbawelcome:


Hubbawelcome is a new collective of contemporary artists based in East London, formed by Chris Mundy and Greg Lockhart in 2009. Greg is an award-winning commercial illustrator, most recently recognised for his illustrative work in the awarded MAYOR OF LONDON “Save the Bees” advertising campaign, while Chris is an art director at M&C SAATCHI group, London. Their work is inspired by online culture and the psychology of growing up in the information age.

With a particular interest in social media, their pieces exhibit themes of loneliness, isolation, compulsion and death. Chris Mundy explains, “In our work we visualise the obsessive and disposable nature of how individual people interact online. We feel that being completely connected with ones peers at all times has actually become a catalyst for loneliness, gradually dehumanising relationships and individual identity.”

Hubbawelcome create prints, animations and installations by collecting fragments of online culture and reconstructing them using repetition and grids. Their pieces are bold, single-minded and colourful – appearing almost like ads for obscure products. They site artists David Shrigley, Andy Warhol, Banksy and Steve Powers as influences.

Thanks to TAXI for bringing these fun cards to my attention

Dissections by Angela Christine Smith Combine Photography, Ink and A Sense of Self.

Photographer and artist Angela Christine Smith has this series of five works in a project called Dissections which feature herself, her silver gelatin photography and her inked overlay anatomical illustrations, combined for a compelling effect.






detail from above piece:



A graduate of SCAD, Angela now lives in Ohio and is a self-employed artist and adjunct professor in mass media, digital photography and mulitmedia production at Central Ohio Technical College.

In her own words:
"Through my extensive photographic practice and experience I intend to be enthusiastically committed to the advancement of photographic education, dialog, and my own personal artistic endeavors."

Angela Christine Smith

When you get a chance, take a look at her sketchbook project for Art House co-op. It's wonderful and filled with her musings, photos and anatomical drawings.

Gabriel Orozco Special Edition Bottles for Casa Dragones Tequila.

Casa Dragones Tequila and renowned artist Gabriel Orozco have collaborated on a limited edition bottle in honor of his mid career retrospective. Casa Dragones Tequila accompanied Orozco on his retrospective tour held in four leading museums throughout 2011, from MoMA in New York City, Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland, Tate Modern in London, to Centre Pompidou in Paris.

“Our collaboration with Gabriel Orozco marks an extremely exciting moment for Casa Dragones as we celebrate Mexican contemporary art and Mexican craftsmanship with the world.” Says Bertha González Nieves, Co-Founder and CEO of Casa Dragones Tequila.



Each crystal bottle is engraved with Gabriel Orozco’s Black Kites motif, based on one of the artist’s most iconic works of art (shown below), and includes Orozco’s signature.



above: Gabriel Orozco, Black Kites, 1997, Graphite on skull, 8 ½ x 5 x 6 ¼” (21.6 x 12.7 x 15.9 cm), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift (by exchange) of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Magill, 1997, ©2009 Gabriel Orozco

Black Kites by Gabriel Orozco, 1997, is a human skull covered in an intricate graphic checkerboard, representing the two sides of life that are constantly at odds; the grid represents rationality and the skull represents uncertainty.



Handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail, only 400 limited edition bottles have been produced and each is signed, numbered and dated by hand.



A close-up look at the etched skull on the limited edition bottle:

A close-up look at the label on the limited edtion bottle:


Artist Gabriel Orozco says, “Casa Dragones accompanied me on my tour, and I was very proud to have the finest Mexican tequila with me to celebrate this important time of my life.”


above: Artist Gabriel Orozco

The limited edition bottle will is at select retailers in the United States, Mexico and London for $1,850. For more information, contact Casa Dragones Concierge at 646-330-4678 or concierge@casadragones.com.

Gabriel Orozco Books and Catalogs

Eat Your Heart Out. Anatomically Correct Edibles and Art For Valentine's Day.

This week, for Valentine's Day, London will be playing host to romantic pop up with a twist – every single one of the gifts, cards, cakes, cookies and pastries on sale in the Eat Your Heart Out event will be based on anatomically correct hearts.



A joint venture from Miss Cakehead and Medical Illustrator Emily Evans, the sales event features some of the grossest goodies and beautiful finds. The shop will feature a wide range of gifts for those who like their romance with an anatomical twist; the finest arts, crafts and cake makers having been commissioned for the project. Beautiful anatomical heart inspired pieces from jewellery, art prints, cards, embroidery, ceramics to cake, chocolate and anatomical flowers.

Here are a few of the artists and their items featured in the Valentine's Day Pop-Up Event taking place from February 8-10:

Edible Heart by All Mine Patisserie:


Heart Art by Rachel Harmeyer:


Edible Valentine Card from Tasha Marks with artwork by Emily Evans:


Fanny Shorter's Anatomical Heart Print fabric on various items:


Lucy Lyons Heart Box:


Edible Heart from Conjurer's Kitchen:


Heart Art by Geoffrey Harrison (left) and Laurie Hastings (right):


Kate Jenkins' fabulous Knit Heart Art:





Macarons by Miss Insomnia Tulip:

Oreo Fudge Heart with Sugar Blood from Miss Tulip Insomnia:


Various items from Street Anatomy:


Bespoke Barware (left) and Heart Necklace from C B Dahlia (right):


Anatomical Heart Cake Pops by Cake For Breakfast:


Heart Cakes and Cookies by Nevie-Pie:


Tees by La Mort:


The invitation to the event:


It’s being run under the guise of Anatomical Snuff Box, a venture from Miss Cakehead and Emily Evans promoting the education of anatomy using cultural channels.