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Typewriters brought to life…

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

While it appears that we’re a little slow on the uptake with this one, it’s well worth sharing. Artist Jeremy Mayer creates amazing sculptural forms out of none other than typewriter parts. Yup, while the rest of the world is entirely obsessed with electronics and computers in the newest and smallest forms they can find, Jeremy is scouring the world for those used and abused secretarial gems of yore.

Mayer builds incredibly lifelike, and surprisingly anatomically correct, forms that mimic real life, but also offer a uniquely android-like take on the animal kingdom. His sculptures are entirely “cold assembled”; he doesn’t use any welding or glue to create his pieces. Mayer began building his sculptures in 1994 and is a self-described typewriter fanatic, dating back to an urge to disect his mother’s machine at the ripe age of 10.

Each of the three full-size figures he’s created required roughly 40 typewriters and 1,000 hours of work. Not to be discouraged though, Mayer has plans to complete four more full figures during 2008 in preparation for an upcoming gallery show.

Mayer’s site also displays his affinity for illustration and offers a unique look inside his personal studio. It’s well worth a look if you can spare a few minutes (as are the rest of the shots of his typewriter sculptures).

Thanks to Tom for sharing the link!

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QR Codes sneaking into the mass market?

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

We’ve all seen these things by now, though many people don’t realize exactly what they’re looking at. Semacodes (aka QR Codes) are those funky looking bar-code things that don’t quite look like the bar codes you’re used to. They’re also a lot more flexible in their uses than a standard bar code.

Prime example? Nerd patches. I noticed these on NotCot yesterday and Tom picked it up over at Made With Computers this morning, so I finally took a second to stop and check it out. Well, call me a nerd, but these things are awesome! Created by P8TCH, and more specifically termed the “Commando Nerd Patch”, each is sold with an individual QR Code that can be mated to any URL or Google Maps location the user desires. Take a picture on your camera phone, and the code will redirect you to the specified URL. Think of it as a tinyurl that’s controlled by an image.

On another note, it appears that the crew at Semacode are stepping into the world of social networks. They’ve created a Facebook app that allows people to connect via QR Codes. Somebody give it a try and let us know how it works!

Posted in digital, from elsewhere, technology | Comments Off

Now you can score with Barbie!

Friday, July 18th, 2008

Looking for that off the wall gift for someone who’s a little tough to shop for? How about giving them…themself? Mattel isn’t doing the honors, but if you have a spare $160 floating around and you’re just dying to cruise around the bedroom in the Barbie dream car, all you have to do is give doll artist Cyndi Safstrom a shout. Working from photos (and she requests video), Cyndi custom sculpts your likeness onto a doll head and pairs it with a “slim, youthful body, so you will look smashing.”

Of course, if GI Joe is more up your alley, I’m sure Cyndi can put together some serious cammo for your likeness - you might have to come up with the mini AK-47 on your own though.

Despite the obvious creepy-factor, her work is actually pretty impressive. Have a look at her site, Be a Doll, to see what she’s done for some other…lucky recipients.

Thanks to Tom for the tipoff - you always do manage to come up with the random stuff.

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We Are Digging for Fire

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Ever wonder what goes into someone else’s creative process? You wander by a cool piece of art or see an amazing photo online somewhere, and you just can’t help but stop and wonder what was going through the person’s mind when they created it…

Well, a couple of Minneapolis-based designers were wondering the same thing. So they did something about it. They went out and created We Are Digging For Fire, a blog devoted to delving into the creative process of various artists. WADFF consists entirely of artist interviews and their work. Seems like an awesome idea to me…with just one minor issue. It appears that We Are Digging For Fire is now defunct. Somebody needs to pick this back up and run with it. Or, can anyone direct us to a similar effort? We’re all for getting new artists in front of more people…

(And, on that note, have a look at the Flickr album of samolo_99 who shot the image above.)

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Colette is coming!!!

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

colette

I know I’m not the first one to post this. The guys over at High Snobiety tipped me off. That, said, I’m uber-excited so I’m shamelessly reblogging it. Colette, the famously infamous Paris design boutique, is closing their doors for a few weeks for a full redesign.

You’re right, that probably doesn’t sound so exciting. In fact, the idea of them closing (despite being for a redesign) is kind of mournful. The exciting news is that Colette is coming to NYC! For one month, September 6 to October 5, Colette will be operating a pop-up store near 54th st. and 5th Ave.

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From Elsewhere: JoshSpear.com

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

After starting out at Beyond Madison Avenue, I widened my blogging horizons to include JoshSpear.com, a popular cool-hunting and trend-spotting blog (thought they’d probably never call themselves that). Here’s what I wrote about while I was there:

Outi Headphone

Whiskey-A-Sippin’

Ricoh GR-Digital I/II

Ferarri: Going Green

Twittories

AC Gears hits NYC

COLOURlovers Redesigns

Hlaska Wallets

Make It Right

Raumgestalt’s Console Table and Blackboard

Santa’s Ghetto

Design by Humans: The Ornithologist