Bikini babes for Tesco Magazine

I was commissioned by Cedar Communications to supply some drawn elements for the last issue of Tesco Magazine.  The spread showcases swimwear for different body shapes and required lady-like silhouettes on which to show bikinis that had been photographed on a mannequin.  Magic.

The spread by Cedar Communications, showing my beach babes

Detail of the layout

The issue was May/June, so I'm not sure you'll find it in stores any more.  Just in case, here's the cover to look out for...

Fashion on the Move

I've just finished a project with Bianca Ferreira for her brand new blog 'Fashion on the Move'.  I made a banner to grace the blog header and set the tone; something graceful yet fun and forward-looking.  

I did a bunch of different colour-ways so there's some flexibility and Bianca can pick a blog banner to suit her mood.  Girl's gotta have options.  See it in situ here.

I did the same for two profile pictures; one a crop of Bianca's face, and another with a FOTM acronym.

Very best of luck to Bianca and her new blog-child!

Follow 'Fashion On The Move' here.

Follow Bianca on Twitter here.

Image Hoard: Oil Slick

Here's another rag-tag bunch of pics that have been saving up and loved for some reason or other.

-

Frances Bean Cobain

-

Grunge's favourite daughter looking appropriately hot and bedraggled.  

Photographed by Hedi Slimane.

-

Sleepovers

-

Illustration by Esra Roise to accompany a poem of the same name in Popshot Magazine.

-

Unearthen

-

I found this amazing jewellery by Unearthen.  

Below is a vial containing crude oil and a very cool watch.

-

Soap & Skin

-

Incredibly intense and intimidatingly talented, Anja Plaschg is not a singer, not even a singer/songwriter; she's an Artist.  She creates under the name Soap & Skin and has charted in a number of European countries.
If this is Austrian pop music it puts Lady Gaga to shame a little.  Still, I'd rather not bump into Anja in a dark alley.

-

Marion B

-

I discovered New Yorker Marion Bolognesi's work via her illustration on the poster advertising "For Coloured Girls".  I haven't seen the movie, but I give the poster a thumbs up.  Here are a couple of her watercolour paintings.

Swatch for Amelia's Magazine

Swatch have just launched two new watches designed by Jean-Michel Othoniel: 'Over The Rainbow' and 'Be Black'.  Blogger extraordinaire Amelia Gregory was invited to attend the fairytale watch launch in Venice.  Read her report for Amelia's Magazine here.

I did an illustration for the article showing 'Be Black' suspended over a sparkling Venetian waterway at sunset.  I thought it way pretty romantic.

My 'Be Black' Swatch illustration

Here are some of Amelia's photos from the launch.

Jean-Michel Othoniel modelling 'Over The Rainbow' at the launch

'Over The Rainbow' with its delicate glass packaging 

Madame Emch, President of Swatch sporting 'Be Black'

Jean-Michel Othoniel is a French artist with a penchant for glass and draping giant jewellery on trees and buildings.  Decadent and delicate, full of colour and light, his work is the perfect partner for canals and Venetian architecture.  The following is some of Othoniel's dazzling ouvre.

Riviere Blanche
Murano Glass and Steel, 2003

Le Kiosque Des Noctambules at the Palais Royal metro station in Paris

Detail of Le Kiosque Des Noctambules

Le Noeud De Lacan
Mirrored Glass and Metal, 2009

Les Lacets Bleus
Mirrored Glass and Metal, 2009

  

Fashion Ice

So the winner of the recent City Kids Sting / Abi Heyneke competition was Katt.  She runs a cool style blog over at Fashion Ice.  

The prize was a custom illustrated banner and we worked together on what kind of look and feel would be right for Fashion Ice.  The result can be seen below in all its glory and in situ at Fashion Ice.

Image Hoard: Pink & Peach

This collection of images is a little less 'Skulls & Death' and a little more 'Light & Feathery' than usual.  I noticed that a lot of the images I have been collecting recently have a touch of salmon-hue about them.  Maybe it's because it's Summer, who knows...

Left: Cigarettes on sale at todokuyo.net
Right: Tiger Bone Wine by Sam Wolfe Connelly

by Alyssa Nassner

Altamira / William Merritt Chase colour comparison by Diana Moss from missmoss.co.za

Album artwork for Brother Mitya and Friends by Kristina Collantes

From Marie Claire May 2011

Illustration by Einar Nerman from Fairytales of the North

Source Unknown 

GTLK from Andrey Muratov on Vimeo.

Still from GTLK by Andrey Muratov

Source Unknown

Proposed tower to be added to Selfridges
via ianvisits.co.uk

Waxwing by Sam Wolfe Connelly

Image Hoard: Feathers and Furrr

I'm back from holiday so it feels like Monday to me but is in fact a Friday, which is both good and bad at the same time.  

I have been reading 'Venus in Furs' by the original Masochist: Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and this post is like a coincidental tribute.  Here are some gorgeous pics and links for you to feast your Friday eyes on.

Bull by Sam Wolfe Connolly

Savage Beauty Costume by Alexander McQueen

Slick by Kate MccGwire

Medusa 9 by Javier Piñón

Mood Board by Emma Shipley

Cheetahs

Cuteness via Kimya Dawson's Tumblr

Evelyn Nesbit

Veronica Lake

Those last two are due to the fact that I found a website dedicated to pictures of women on polar bear skins, aimed at quite a niche market I'm sure.  I didn't bookmark it, so don't have a link.  A google search should get you there if girls on Polar Bears is your bag.

Another blog post done and dusted: It's Business Time...

Business Time

Show RCA 2011

Saturday turned out to be a scorcher of a day but the Graduate Exhibition season must go on.  In the sweltering heat I and some friends attempted a turn around the Royal College of Art in Kensington.  The College is "the world's most influential post-graduate art and design school" according to their website.  That may be a fairly boastful statement but I think most people would agree.  

We saw a wide range of disciplines, including Fashion & Textiles, Design Products, Design Interaction, Innovation Design Engineering, Architecture, Metalwork & Jewellery, Ceramic & Glass and Vehicle Design.  Phew!  On top of that there is another building with Curation, Comunication Design and Animation that we didn't get to see, and you can also visit the Battersea site to see the produce of the RCA's Fine Arts section.

The Kensington show is packed with loads of exciting and inspiring stuff, and with such a range there's something for everyone.  You might have time to see it for yourself because the show is on until 3 July, daily from 11am to 8pm (closes at 4pm on 28 June and doesn't open on 1 July).  Details on their website here.

The following is a round up some of my favourites.

Emma Shipley

Textile Print Design

www.emmajshipley.com

Troglodytes Gorilla (from Hyper Nature)

Wallpaper design

Veronica Ranner 

Design Interactions

www.veronicaranner.com

Ranner has a project on show that proposes we may be able to have silkworms help build organs for transplants in the future.

Heart Scaffold and its parts

In a collective: Silkworms weave the desired shapes

Laura Amstein

Fashion Accessories

www.lauraamstein.com

Amstein has beautifully designed and crafted leather accessories; sleek and fun at the same time.

Tavelly moulded leather bag

Workob moulded leather clutch

Helen Moore

Ceramic Artist

www.helenmooreceramics.co.uk

Not In Kansas Any More

Migration

Migration (details)

Presence of Absence

Specimen series

Anne Mette Fisker Langkjer

Printed Textiles

www.annemettefl.com

Langkjer has a beautiful installation on show, with layers of suspended dyed fabric which is back lit, giving an eerie, claustrophobic feel.

from Textile and Light installation piece

Lauren Bowker

Textile Innovator

www.phnx.co

This overgrown tribal headpiece by Bowker is displayed in a large antique vitrine, like a rare bird.

Kate Miles

Textile Designer

www.katemiles.co.uk