Hand Made

Just In Time for Halloween. Low Poly Animal Masks.

I was looking for some inspiration this morning for a project I am working on with a Halloween theme this morning and my search results led me the Etsy page of Wintercroft where they have these wonderful DIY low poly count animal masks. Designed and sold by Steve and Marianne Wintercroft in the United Kingdom, these things are a fantastic solution for people like myself that hate to do the whole costume and makeup thing. The litmus for these masks came from a last minute Halloween invite, no costume, and a background in carpentry. Steve Wintercroft used his skills to craft the first mask out of some cardboard boxes, which became a smash hit at the party. Realizing he was on to something, he created a template for the mask to share with others. Seeing how popular it was Steve and his wife branched out creating a whole series and offering them up on Etsy.

How To Make A Book.

Most of us don’t really think about what goes into making a book when we pick one up. The beautifully shot and edited video below shows in exquisite detail the art of making a book by hand. This video has such a nice look to it, and it really let’s you appreciate the craftsmanship of something made by hand.

“Toolboxes” from Roº and Aurelien Barbry.

I don’t have a lot of superfluous stuff. When you downsize your living space by more than half, you tend to get ri of all the junk you thought you needed, but never really use. Another thing that comes with downsizing your living space is the need to organize, and store the stuff you do use. Because of that, i am always on the lookout for storage solutions that look better than cheap plastic trays, and drawer organizers.

This afternoon I came across Toolboxes designed by Australian Aurelien Barbry studio and made by RO, a Copenhagen based company. Each box is hand made using using native Ash wood. Toolboxes are designed to be both serving trays and boxes for magazines, newspapers, and other smaller objects. I’m thinking they would work well storing any number of things around the house.

Each Toolbox has a built in handle and has feel that is similar to early 20th century carpenters boxes. There is a simple elegance to the aesthetics, with clean minimal lines, enhanced by the natural warmth of the wood. They are contemporary and at the same time feel familiar.

American Illustration Annual’s Live Cover Project.

Art Director and Designer Richard Turley is well known for his interesting and unusual illustration and graphic choices for Bloomberg Business Week; so when he was faced with art directing the cover of American Illustration Turley decided to take a different approach. The solution was to print the hardbound books with blank covers and then hire artists, illustrators and designers to hand draw paint, print, scribble and generally deface and generally violate the books.

Over the course of one weekend 45 artist and designers created 288 individual covers by hand for the 32 Illustration Annual. The video below shows the artists in progress as draw, paint, collage, design, letter and create. If you were lucky enough to order one of these this year, you are in for a big surprise and a huge treat when it arrives in your mailbox later this month.