This weekend in Kilkenny we have our own currency, The Marble. It’s part of Kilkenomics a strange mix of a festival where comedy and economics merge. I think it’s a great idea for a festival and fingers crossed The Marble will boost sales in the city for a few days. If it works I vote we keep it!
You can find out more here…
Here’s some images of a job I am currently working on…
I’ve been hanging around with scalpel, ruler, sugar paper, sticky squares and prit stick for the past few days now and they’re great craic.
The truth is we actually have a history together, go way back. I was good friends with them for a while in playschool (except for scalpel of course, he was part of the cool crew, way too grown up for us). We fell out for a bit, I’m not sure what happened, but made up again in college and had a good few years of fun and frollicks. Then I don’t know we just drifted apart, except for the ruler we’ve always kept close contact, then a while back we all met up on a whim for a few drinks (scalpel is a little dangerous when he’s full) and that was it.
We’ve come full circle and are really enjoying our time together, creating and having fun. Who knows what the future holds for us but for the time being the crew have taken up refuge in my office. Had a bit of a panic last week, thought we had lost prit stick, her cap fell off and she was drying quick fast, but thanks to the clever thinking of sugar paper, a new cap was fastened and prit stick is back to her usual self. Phew!
Sorry a little late on this post, but helds new design for the Elizabeth & Claire Fashion House went live a few weeks ago. Claire’s clothes are amazing and I hope the site compliments them. I posted the work to my portfolio but I think it also deserves a bit of blogging!
Visit the site here
My branding for Surfbox internet kiosks is now in Toulouse Airport and I’m delighted it looks great!
I know it’s supposed to be a recession but I don’t think anyone has told Tom and Declan from Surfbox, their kiosks are flying up all over the place. You can also get free printing from your laptop or mobile in Dublin airport with Surfbox for a limited period, have a look for the signs, it’s a handy option if you are venturing abroad.
Images of the area newly rolled out in Toulouse…
I came across a YouTube video today from The Hop Inn, Athenry, Galway and I have spent the rest of the morning trawling through everything they’ve uploaded as a way of keeping in touch with their customers. I have to say the videos are brilliant. Not only are they hilarious but they are also very informative, I picked up training tips on everything from running through to golf and also learned that there was an Irish man down the mine with those Chileans and not one news channel reported it!
Anyway have a look for yourself even Beyonce is a fan of The Hop Inn
Found this really good article on the Design Observer today, it explains exactly what it is a graphic designer does. Also has good guidelines on good and bad design.
Have a look at the article here
Marian Bantjes, Graphic Designer
The future of aesthetics lies in random generative software such as Processing, but which will become less random as designers gain control of its abilities. The digital will merge with the hand-made like electric guitar and bagpipes, and together they will break down the rigid tempo imposed by increasingly prescriptive and powerful template software.
My posting is getting a little lazy lately, not because I am lazy (of course not) but because I am busy. Anyway I have a little video I want to post today. I took it in the Alahambra in Granada, which by the way was really beautiful, on my extended trip this summer. There is something about it that is alluring and no it’s not my feet. I hate feet and I have been advised on many occasions that my feet leave a lot to be desired. I am working on them though, making them do sit ups and push ups and all sorts of other ups. I am proud to say they are coming on, soon I will have six pack feet, and not many can boast that! So anyway the Alahambra… I wanted to take a different angle of it, show it in another light as my pictures given I was alone were getting pretty repetitive. So I videoed it from wait down…
And so Kilkenny were in the All Ireland Hurling final, again.
Of course we weren’t going to lose, in fact not only were we not going to lose, we were going to make history. Five in a row, never been done. Before the whistle had blown for the match to begin, we had already won. In my eyes we had won almost two weeks previous. I sat in front of my computer and smiled at my genius as I designed tshirts, bookmarks and cards that were to make my millions. Feck the recession, when your from Kilkenny you’ll always have hurling.
Minute by minute as the game played out my jaw began to slacken. Surely not, sure Tipp can’t be that good! No the lads are missing Shefflin, watch they’ll come out the second half and blow those blue and yellow ****** out of the water. Then the second half came and my jaw fell further. When the final whistle blew the room was silent, we lost, never, Kilkenny never loses, it’s not in the blood.
Tipp were walking the steps, blue and yellow jerseys tried to climb the hill barriers and storm the field and it was a Tipp man making the speech, thanking names I’d never heard of. Then it hit me. We’d lost. My tshirts, postcards and bookmarks resigned to history but not in the way I wanted. Millions swept from under my feet in 70 minutes.
The fruits of my optimistic labour are above and if anyone wants a piece of history just give me a bell…
Hi All,
Just a quick note to say my Kilkenny postcards are now available in Rothe House. I put them in to test the waters and they are selling really well, will be adding more to the range soon.
So I went to Cadaques and I fell in love with Dali…
I can’t remember the day but I remember the bus journey, needless to say, it was long, it was hot and the bus meandered many hair pinned mountains bends on the way to Cadaques. I have to admit, I didn’t know much about Dali before this trip and I won’t profess to be a expert now.
So we got to the little fishing village and wandered around, we were told Dali’s house (now open to the public) was going to be easy to find, we were told wrong. We walked up one mountain and down another until we found two little locals girls who became our guides, I suppose you could call them girl guides! They couldn’t speak English but we all spoke pigeon and got on fine. The two girls took us back into town and to the tourist office where we found a map and booked our slot to Dali’s place (I now know viewings must be booked!)
With map in hand we found our way through the back streets of Cadaques to a little inlet and the home Dali shared with his wife Gala. The setting was perfect and I could see why he choose this place to live. His home sat perched on a cliff edge overlooking the sea. Inspiration was everywhere. Our time was called and we were greeted at the door by a polar bear holding a light. I loved him already…
As we walked through the house lots of little quirks appeared and I slowly began to get a feel for the man. He had a mirror on the wall opposite where he slept so he could see the sun rise from his bed. He cut a hole in the floor of his art studio so he could remain seated as he painted a large canvas. Gala had her own walk in wardrobe, the glass panel of each door filled with pictures of Dali and a wealth of stars, some of the pictures now beautifully brown and grained with age.
Just off the dressing room was a room Dali created especially for Gala, eleven years his elder she was both wife and muse. A surreal experience, the room was circular, seating hugged the walls and as I walked to the middle every sound felt as if inside my head, it’d send a sane man mad and a mad man mental. Outside there were disembodied heads on the roof, a giant man in the garden and a penis pool.
Dali was a mad man and I love him for it. Eccentrics are the best sort!
PS “Did you Know?”… Dali designed the Chuppa Chups logo (I didn’t but I do now)
