Jordan Crane

Jordan Crane is a super talented illustrator and screen printer in LA. His use of color is amazing. I'm showing a few of his books here, but he also has prints and t-shirts available at his website, with originals coming soon.

Katy Horan

The Shiny Squirrel has some great new prints by artist Katy Horan in the shop.

From the artist's website: Katy Horan’s paintings and drawings are meant to be the long lost folk art from an imaginary world. Based on a wide variety of interests and influences, her work tells stories about the characters and communities that populate this world.

Renegade Craft Fair 2008

Sean and I made it to the Renegade Craft Fair this Sunday (after the crazy rain shower). We were very pleasantly surprised to almost immediately run into our friend Sumana of Imaginary Friends, who had come from California for the show. We got to meet Nick - Sumana's brother and business partner - who is obviously a silk-screen expert (check out the color gradients on their cards and shirts)!



I was also very excited to meet Amber Zezeck of Brookadelphia - I love her acrylic word necklaces (and that tie necklace - yes, please!).



We saw a lot of plush toys at the show...our favorites were from Cherry Box (above) and Longoland (below). Cherry Box makes sad little plush trophies, and Longoland makes crazy monster plushies (high quality, with really amazing detail).



Longoland plushies.



Sycamore Street Press was new to RCF this year. I loved their stationary lines! A lot of Eva's work has a vintage feel to it, although my favorite cards were her more modern illustrations. Our pictures don't really do her work justice - check out Grace's post for far superior photo coverage!



Finally, we were excited to meet Shauna and Stephen of Something's Hiding In Here. These two pay attention to the details, and the quality of their work is just so great. I loved their stamps and the "love until it hurts" hearts.

So there you have it - Sub-Studio's favorite picks from this years RCF.

Modern Printed Matter

I just want to take a moment to highlight the work of one of our sponsors,
Modern Printed Matter. We've posted about Anna Cote's work before - I love the natural imagery, and the great colors she employs in her work. She also has a great range of products - notebooks, notepads, cards, coasters...check out her
website for more.

Wendy Plomp

Wendy Plomp has taken the ubiquitous cardboard box and made an object out of it in her project "Message in a box". She silkscreens patterns and ornament onto flat cardboard boxes in an effort to give value to a typically discarded material - giving it a second life. I love the connection between the printed cardboard and traditional rugs.

Sarah Van Gameren

I've seen Sarah Van Gameren's work quite a bit over the past few months without knowing that it was hers. I finally came across her Family Tree necklace on Pan-Dan and had to check her website out, which is when I made the connection between Sarah and all these other great projects I've been admiring around the web. Her Family Tree project seeks to represent the lineage of a young client named Runa, and draws its inspiration from 'name-jewel' necklaces.

Some of the other projects I've been admiring: Burn Burn Burn, where Sarah has created a type of paint that can be burned to create a permanent mark on a surface, and the Big Dipper - wax chandeliers that will create an ephemeral, changing light fixture.

PS. Thanks to Desire to Inspire and MSNBC's Clicked for the blog mentions - and hi to all of you who are coming from there!

Tyler Stout

Here are a few film screening posters of beloved movies of my youth, illustrated by Tyler Stout. Check them out on Tyler's site to see the incredibly dense detail packed into each of the posters along with some other great looking work.

Tivi

Hey, peeps. Sorry for no posts yesterday. We were swamped...But look at what I've got for you today! Not particularly affordable - but very attractive - accessories from Tivi. I especially love their handbags which are constructed from plywood with a leather interior and hand-screened.

Via Creativadoration.

Valentines Day Cards

For all the lovers out there - I was perusing Poppytalk Handmade and Etsy this morning and came across these cute Valentines Day cards (clockwise from top left) by Night Owl Paper Goods, Pistachio Press, Apak, and Nasty Papercut.

Shama Foundation Christmas Cards

Sean and I are proud to announce a set of christmas cards we made to benefit the non-profit educational organization, the Shama Foundation [disclosure - my mother founded and currently oversees the operation of the foundation]. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these cards will go to benefit the Shama Foundation.

The Shama Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing broad-based, in-country educational opportunities for children of the African island nation of Madagascar. It does so with the confidence that a good level of education within a country reaches beyond individuals and touches a nation as a whole. Support is provided without regard to ethnicity, gender, or religious affiliation. Donated money goes to educational programs, scholarships and grants, promotional materials and activities, or the invested principal necessary to support them. More information can be found here.

Each card is 5.5" by 4.25", and is silk-screened by hand on 100 lb. recycled cardstock paper. The cardstock and matching envelope are available either as single cards in a clear fold-over plastic sleeve for $3.00 or as a pack of five packaged in a clear two-piece box for $14.00.

Pardon My Hindi

I love this print from Pardon My Hindi, called Henna Cross. The hands are reminiscent of traditional henna designs, and I like how when the two colorways cross, the overlap looks like hands in prayer. Designed by Chiraag Bhakta, the print is 16" x 22" and is hand screened on archival paper. Only 50 prints were made, so get it quick (I just bought mine)!

Via Unworn Studio.

Sub-Studio at the Shiny Squirrel

As promised, here are some product shots of the limited edition prints and cards we did for the Shiny Squirrel. The prints above are from the Kingdom Spirits Series and draw from ancient mythologies of supernatural animal-beings that roam the land, sea, and air. The cards below are from our Bloom Series. Jessica also will be selling a new print from our Celestial Extinction series. Congrats again to Jessica on a great launch. We hope to see you all at the launch party!

Frerk Muller

We recently sold some prints to Shelf, a lovely shop in London. When checking out their store, I came across Frerk Muller, a Berlin artist. I love, LOVE his raven prints. The crude shape and simplicity of each bird is so appealing, giving each raven a distinct character. The prints cost £70 framed and £30 unframed. As soon as the dollar gains some strength, I'm buying one!

Something's Hiding in Here

Something's Hiding in Here had one of my favorite booths at Renegade. It was very well thought out with nice details (little wooden price cubes, for one). Their products are just as nice - love the wooden rings and the little muslin bags.

John Solimine of Spike Press

This great print is by John Solimine of Spike Press. The caption reads:

Captain Lapoda bellowed to his crew over the roar of the wind, "Our only chance is to lose them! Release the ink!"

I love it, plain and simple. Spike Press does a ton of posters for the Chicago indie scene. Their art prints and t-shirts have just the right amount of snarkiness in them.

Abyssal - Magenta

To celebrate having almost sold out our first edition of Abyssal prints, Sean and I printed up a limited edition in a new colorway - magenta and tangerine. It's currently only available at our Etsy shop, but will also be for sale at our booth at the Renegade Craft Fair on June 16-17 (booth 81! Hope all you new yorkers will stop by!).

Also, we started a blog that is dedicated to our design work and the things that inspire it, called submerge. We hope you will check it out!

Dan McCarthy

Check out this amazing print by Dan McCarthy (I just bought one). 90% of the image was printed with glow-in-the-dark ink, so you really get two prints for the price of one. I love that it changes with the light. Beautiful.

Hammocks and High Tea

Karen of Clothes-Pin has debuted a new line of hand-screened cards (go gocco!). Hammocks and High Tea is inspired by Karen's South American, tropical upbringing. So pretty and colorful!

Lure Catalog

Sean and I are excited to present a new series of prints...The Lure Catalog is inspired by the perennial ritual of learning how to fish - waking up at dawn, greeting the crisp, cool air with a sleepy grin and finding your way over to that secret fishing hole. The Lure Catalog features 9 spinning lures including spoons, spinnerbaits, minnows, and insects.

Each lure is available as an individual 5"x7" print for $10, as well as in a combined print (15"x21"). All are silk-screened by hand on 300gsm archival Fabriano Magnani Pescia White paper. You can find the prints here.

Camp Apparel

Very cool bags from Camp Apparel. The bags are made of silk-screened ultrasuede fabric. I love the colors and the fun designs. Thanks to Tori at Camp Apparel for emailing us with her new designs.

Dan McCarthy - Dino in the Woods

Dan McCarthy is a great printmaker with amazing dinosaur prints. He just released a new poster called 'Dino in the Woods' for a show at The Middle East. I had to post about it because I love Dan's work (we're proud owners!), and I have fond memories of The Middle East. I worked in Boston over the summer of 2000 and lived down the street near Central Square, so I would see shows at the little downstairs every week.

Binth

I was introduced to Binth by Grace over at Design*Sponge. I love the prints they have up in their store, especially these Japanese-inspired silk-screens. Beautiful! Their valentine's day cards are super nice, too. Love the stitched look. Binth is a collaboration between Linnea Gits, Suzanna Bierwirth, and Peter Dunham.

Jessica Gary - Insurgentmuse

Sean and I are printing our save-the-dates with our trusty gocco and were having issues with the solid areas of color. Anyway, did a search on the internet to see if anyone out there had any guidance, and came across Jessica Gary instead, aka Insurgentmuse, who didn't really have any advice but definitely has some cute gocco-pressed cards!

Steven Harrington

Check out these beautiful prints from Steven Harrington. I love the colors that he chooses...Thanks Nidhi, for bringing him to our attention!

Design*Sponge Shop

We are very excited to announce our inclusion in the January Design*Sponge shop. The cards above are from the Sea Pattern series and are available in a pack of four (one of each design) for $16, with shipping included.

Grace Bonney also launched a really great new project - she is raising money for a scholarship fund for three design students, which will be awarded later in the year. 100% of the proceeds from the following the items in the shop will go towards this award (as well as a percentage of the ad revenue): the Tug Drawing and Chair Drawing by Alyson Fox, the A-LIGHT by RE-SURFACE (Donna Brady), and beautiful handprinted pillows by Lena Corwin. I hope you will check these out and support Grace in this new endeavor!

Natalie Tweedie, Nebo Peklo

Lovely limited-edition prints from Scottish artist Natalie Tweedie (aka Nebo Peklo), who silk-screened them by hand with a print-gocco. Yay gocco!

Updated store

We wanted to announce updates to our online store. There are a bunch of new prints available, including prints from our visible:invisible panorama series (details of the prints above), and prints from the catalog specimen series, among others. We hope you'll take a peek!

Erin Zam

Grace posted about this nice calendar on Design*Sponge. I love the look and that it is reusable (use pencil!) and super portable. It is available from Erin Zam's Etsy store. Check it out!

Hable Construction

One of the companies I was introduced to yesterday at the Biz meetup: Hable Construction is a sister-run business (Katharine & Susan). They make just about everything that uses fabric...I especially like the apron line. Very clean, graphic designs. Besides at their online store, you can check out their work in person at their new york store in the west village.

Imaginary Friends

Sumana sent over a link to Imaginary Friends' beautiful new animal-themed Rare Beauty card series. I love the knysna seahorse and the panamanian golden frog. Each card is hand-silkscreened.

Gift Guide - Kitchen: Inleaf

Beautiful textiles from Inleaf. The Geranium Cocktail Napkins are $40 and come in five different color combinations. The Fig Towel is $26.

Gift Guide - Paper Goods: Ichthyo-Series Notecards

We know this is shameless self-promotion, but Sub-Studio @ Etsy.com stocks the Ichthyo-Series of notecards. The cards are hand silkscreened on 100lb. cardstock and come individually packaged for $3.50 per card.

Foxy and Winston

I love these cards from Foxy and Winston. I like how she incorporates the lace into her drawings. Pretty!

Dan McCarthy

I really like Dan McCarthy's work. Besides his very graphic illustrative style, I like how he uses various skeletons (human, dinosaur, or otherwise) to convey the infinite cycle of death. This print is titled "shared memory: the moon", which I find very romantic somehow. Thanks to NOTCOT for the introduction!

Banded Rudderfish

This is the first of hopefully many hand-screened cards to come. From the upcoming FISH series, this is the Banded Rudderfish.

Until we figure out how to set up a store on our website, we will be selling the cards through our Etsy shop.

Christmas Cards

These made me laugh.

A christmas card by B Designs. For those who didn't behave. Available at Greer Chicago online.

And for all the greedy kids out there:



This card is from Sidepony, aka Kimberly Dawn Robertson. Her cards tend a little too much toward the hipster side for my tastes, but I couldn't resist this one.

Apak Studio

Nice cards from Ayumi Piland of Apak Studio. Ayumi is 1/2 of Apak Studio: Aaron Piland is her husband and partner. They are both talented illustrators, and while it seems a lot of their work is done separately, some of their best work comes via their collaborations:

Blend Creations

Pretty stationary from Blend Creations. I wanted to show more of their work but the images on their website are so small!

Via Modish.

Andrio Abero, 33 RPM Design

We love both Andrio Abero and his work...Andy has been putting out beautiful graphic design since he founded 33rpm in 2000. In 2004, Andy was received the Art Directors Club NYC Young Guns Award. Most recently, Andy designed the Bumbershoot 2006 Campaign. He'll be moving to NYC from Seattle early next year.