NSS ’12 Preview : Old Tom Foolery

May 21, 2012 // kristen // 0 replies

Words of Wisdom

I haven’t even stepped foot in Old Tom Foolery’s booth (#1550) yet, but I already know that it’s going to be a fun one. These captains of snark have mastered the art of bringing together nostalgia-inducing imagery with oh-no-they-didn’t humor, and their new goodies have me laughing so hard that I may or may not have snorted, and something has to be pretty darn funny to get me to snort.

Anywho, Old Tom Foolery has three new collections, including Words of Wisdom, which features excerpts from an unintentionally funny instructional book from 1891 (in art print form); Magnetic Poetry, a collaborative collection with sleek, mid-century style refrigerator backdrops and hilarous, “magnetic” sentiments; and Marquees – try to imagine these in front of your local church or Son’s of Italy – hilarious!

Magnetic Poetry

Marquees

images from Old Tom Foolery

Matchbook Landscapes by Krista Charles

May 15, 2012 // kristen // 1 replies

Artist, Krista Charles, and her shop, XA Charles, were recently featured in Etsy’s daily newsletter, and I was instantly drawn to her unique “Matchbook Landscapes” series. She combines her “love of art, travel, and secondhand shopping through people’s collections of matchbooks” to create little matchbook masterpieces, the first of which were made using vintage matchbooks found in her grandfather-in-law’s junk drawer.

Krista’s blends the past with the present with a little help from Google Maps, where she looks up the location for the business listed on each individual matchbook. She then creates a pencil sketch on the interior cover of the matchbook of whatever is currently at the location, and sometimes she finds that it’s still the original business listed on the matchbook. How cool is that?

You can find out more about Krista and her creations in her feature in Etsy’s Fresh Shops series right here.

images from Krista Charles

Teagan White

May 07, 2012 // kristen // 1 replies

I am completely taken with the work of designer and illustrator, Teagan White, a recent graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Teagan already has an impressive client list – she’s done work for Nike, Wired Magazine, Target, Coca-Cola and many other businesses, large and small – and she also has a shop filled with a selection of her incredible work – including all of these adorable woodland creature illustrations – available as art prints, note cards, iPhone skins, and more.

images from Teagan White/Society 6

Chloé Fleury

May 02, 2012 // kristen // 2 replies

Oh. My. Goodness. I spotted the amazing work of paper artist, Chloé Fleury, recently over on The Jealous Curator, and to say that it was love at first sight is kind of an understatement. The French-born, San Francisco-based artist’s paper creations have such incredible detail that you could easily spend hours taking in each little knick knack, accessory, and bunny ear.

Chloe’s clients include Anthology Magazine, Warner Bros. Records, and Chronicle Books, and she recently opened a solo show at La Boutique in San Francisco called Color Me Happy – The World of Chloé Fleury. What a fun and playful world it is!

images from Chloé Fleury

Card to Art

April 30, 2012 // kristen // 3 replies

I always get excited when I spot paper goods that do double duty, and Card to Art brings something so unique to the “card as art print” arena. At first, their lovely letterpress cards appear to be fairly straightforward, but when you open the card you’ll find a die-cut rectangle which, when flipped to the front of the card, becomes the perfect mat. Two removable inserts provide ample space for the giver of the card to write their message, and they easily slide when you’re ready to transform the piece from greeting card to art print. Simply place the matted print into a frame – the cards are created to fit perfectly into most 5″ x 7″ frames – and you’re good to go!

Card to Art currently has two different series, the recently released “Flowers” series (below) and the “Hot and Cold” series (bottom), featuring work by Peter Morris of Pocket Wookie, Adrian Hanft, Paul Berkbigler, Eric Nyffeler of Doe Eyed, Bennett & Suzanne Holzworth of Worth it Studio, Nicole Gustafsson of Nimasprout.