Living in New York is more or less a tale of two cities. It’s either a center-of-the-universe tourist trap or the place that millions of us call home. For city dwellers there are certain unspoken truths that are common knowledge, yet remain less apparent to those visiting. You can’t read about them on any “I Love New York” T-shirt or learn about them on any Grey Line tour bus. However, if you find yourself in town from May 30th from June 15th you might just gain some insight into the five boroughs from Chris Rubino’s The Center of Something Exhibit at Chashama on West 44th Street. The Brooklyn-based artist/designer (read more about him here) has created an installation highlighting an assortment of “souvenirs” that combine the fantasy of tourism with the realism of actually living here. In addition to souvenirs, Rubino also uses hand drawn screenprints of maps, advertisements, and signage to create a strange melding of both worlds. Catch the opening night reception on May 30th from 6 to 9 p.m, to get a first hand look … before the tourist throngs.

From the looks of things, Chris Rubino knows how to mix work and play. The NYC based designer, a 2006 ADC Young Gun and possessor of a shining list of lustworthy clients, hasn't abandoned his personal pursuits in order to achieve success. In between putting in hours for the big boys (Banana Republic, The NY Public Theater, and Uniqlo to name a few), Chris spends his time making museum quality posters for his favorite bands and jetsetting across oceans to display his artwork at solo shows.

Read on as we chat with this young whippersnapper about art, design, and all the stages in between.

Joshspear.com: Tell us about your personal history in design.

Chris Rubino: When I moved to New York right after graduating my portfolio was full of paintings and clips of bad abstract animation. I was lucky enough to find a job in which I was told "we can teach you how to design but not how to draw." I made a bunch of bad record covers, a good friend and discovered typography. Over the next few years I was given great opportunities with a couple higher-end design firms until I felt very ready to be on my own. Seven years later I am still sitting here, hopefully moving forward.

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As promised, here are the winning entries for our Tokidoki Mimobot contest:

Winner, Timothy Nakayama

This is my story, about what happened to my friends and I, the day when our island sunk into the realm of dreams and almost disappeared from reality.

This is my story, written by me, Pirate Nero.

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The Japanese have a penchant for creating unique characters. They’ve more or less made brand mascots into an art form — just ask anyone who has become addicted to Pokemon or Hello Kitty. When MoMA announced that they’d be releasing their Destination Japan product collection, it seemed only natural that it have its own brand identity creature. Thanks to toy designer and retailer Kidrobot (along with Japanese design studio Devilrobots) they now have Mochi. Not only is Mochi a welcomed addition to the kawaii (cute) mascots menagerie, but eager collectors are already lusting after him (her? it?). The limited edition Mochi toy can be purchased at the MoMA store along with tons of other Eastern-inspired products. Get yours now!

Tired of everyone stealing your look? Maybe you should stop shopping at the Gap. Instead of populating your wardrobe with mass market pieces, drop by Hanging Out and ogle the unique accessories like the Casa Nostra Pizzeria and Nintendo shoulder bags, or the very early, limited edition back-to-school agenda (crazy panda ad pictured above). All of their products are available at reasonable prices — unlike that Mulberry purse you blew your paycheck on last weekend. Although if you don't live in Europe, it'll cost you a plane ticket to buy them.

It looks way unconventional, but this clever Walking Bike by Max Night “kicks” at an impressive pace. The enterprising designer outfitted an ordinary bike with eight pairs of sneakers for his pal at Intersection magazine, and it truly does run — albeit at a jogger-with-a-cramp speed. And a word to potential bikejackers: making off with the wheels on this one are likely to earn more on eBay than at the used bike store. Watch the foot pedaling action here.

Everyone loves receiving mail the old fashion way. There’s a certain romance to getting a physical letter or a postcard. And jewelry is always romantic. So it was obvious to London-based designer Nutre Arayavanish to put the two together as Postable Jewelry. Her hard postcards with pop out pieces can be constructed into creative rings or necklaces. While these jewels aren’t exactly 14 karat, they’re the perfect answer to "sorry, I was traveling and missed your birthday/anniversary/wedding."

It was a tough decision, but after sifting through all of the sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious, and generally well-written entries, we have decided on our tokidoki mimobot winners. First, a few gems from contestants that didn’t make the final cut, but still kicked some serious flash drive tail:

“For ease, we’ll name them 1, 2, and 3. Now, 2 is stuck in a predicament. He has to choose between two sets of friends. One represents the good friend, yet is carrying a pineapple grenade. This can best be compared to your best friend who has recently started with a substance abuse problem and is trying to get you to join him.” (We’ve all been there, Dumplins!)

“The pirate captain was known as USB-lackbeard” (Witty, Adam, witty)

“ketchup on noodles
why Japan oh goodness why
must you ruin food”

(Gillian’s got a grudge, and we like it.)

Coming in first for sheer effort: Timothy Nakayama; Second place: Emi, for the best all-around haiku’s; and second second place (yes, we can): Kary, for making us laugh in the shortest amount of sentences.


Winners, send your addresses to feedback@joshspear.com and we’ll hook you up with some tokidoki love. Thanks for participating, everyone — and thanks for making it happen, Mimoco!

When we last left Dominic Wilcox, he was puttering around the U.K., building absurd model airplanes. Now he wants to take you to, Niketown! Well, Niketown, London. Besides running a Nike iD session on May 9 at the megastore (stop by and say hi), Wilcox has been working on a project for Nike’s Art of Football put together by their 1/1 collective. By painstakingly gluing together plastic footballers (read: soccer players), he’s made a tiny “Cave” for your trainers (read: sneakers), a 3D piece called “Top Corner,” and a couple of blocks of toy athletes. Wilcox writes on his blog, “Gluing the footballers was certainly a challenge. It became almost a meditative process. At one point I was in ‘the zone’ to the point that a super glue tube got stuck to the side of my finger, yet instead of spending time removing it, I picked up another tube and continued on.” Wow. We wonder if his design studio has their own fight song.

If your husband pillow isn’t getting it done in the brains department, you may want to consider a Nerd pillow from Spye Design. Hand-made from Italian wool, this bespectacled bedmate is the latest in dork accoutrement. Or, you can opt for the more premium Nerd pillow PE made from imported Italian cashmere. So rich and socially awkward, it’s like Bill Gates in bed accessory form.

Today is Cinco de Mayo, and not only are we guzzling margaritas faster than Mexico smashed that French army, we are also gearing up to judge the entries of the Tokidoki Mimobot contest. If you’ve yet try your hand at winning some of Mimoco’s finest flash drives, now is the time to read up and get busy. A word of warning: If your short story, poem, etc. happens to closely mirror any of the themes present in the previous entries, you may be disqualified, so put some emphasis on keeping it fresh. Another word of warning: There’s a chance we may be terribly hungover and/or still drunk by the time we choose our champs this evening, so, y’know … no big words, please.

Ben Hopson has a problem with your CD player. From sliding disc trays to pop-up cases, the Brooklyn-based artist thinks little about the the state of movement in most product design. And he’s right. The fact is, when a design team sets out to develop a slick gadget, the way it moves is often forsaken for other aesthetic elements. Hopson demonstrates his passion in playful, three dimensional art dubbed “kinetic design.” The idea is simple: start with a basic medium, like a deck of Bicycle playing cards or block of foam, add a couple of dabs of glue, metal fasteners, and a whole lot of patience, and you come up with a piece that is uniquely animated — like a set of paper dolls that move along multiple axes. Click here to view a couple of his projects the way they’re meant to be experienced: in motion.

JW and Melissa Buchanan are the husband and wife team known as The Little Friends of Printmaking. Known for their God-like mastery of screen printing, their brightly layered imagery, and their quirky sense of humor (take that, douchebaggiezz!), this Milwaukee-based pair is cranking out posters and collecting high fives faster than you can say "zesty gazpacho."

Because we're big fans of concert posters (like any average league of flailing hipsters), we scored ourselves an interview with the arty couple, and wound up wondering if we were in the right profession. Read on to learn why these two ink slingers are living the dream.

Joshspear.com: Can you tell us about your personal backgrounds in printmaking?

Melissa: I've been making prints since I was a teenager – I started in high school; woodcuts and etchings, mostly. Because printmaking was my main jam, it only seemed natural to study art at the University of Wisconsin where they have a historically great printmaking program. I would talk them up more, but I'm holding out for an honorary masters degree.

JW: I don't have quite the background that Melissa does. I did some screen printing in high school. Screen printing was not something they taught as an art course. Instead, you had to go through a tunnel under the street to a completely different building out back by the auto shop, and then into a room that smelled like acetone and was filled with very dangerous-looking equipment. I enjoyed it but it didn't make a huge impression on me. I didn't make any more prints until I was in college. I had originally gone to the UW to study sculpture, but once I was there it seemed obvious to me that it was pointless to study anything else but printmaking at that place. I must've picked up a trick or two because I seem halfway decent now.

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What if you could go back to a summer camp where all you did was arts and crafts? Well, Firebelly Design is about to make you one happy camper. Camp Firebelly, a two week graphic arts program / sleepaway camp, is ready to accept applications for ten gifted design students to take part in a work-intensive project for a non-profit client. In lieu of tents, Firebelly is letting you camp out in their Chicago loft. And, if you really miss the swimming and canoing of your childhood…there’s always Lake Michigan. From the sound of it, the days will be long, and the nights may not be full of s’mores and ghost stories. But, it will look a heck of a lot better on your resume than that first place archery ribbon.

Do you like Mimobots? How about Tokidoki? How about winning free goods from Tokidoki, Mimoco, and JoshSpear.com? Thought so. All you need to do is submit a story in the comment section of our Tokidoki Mimobot Contest post telling us what you think these little buggers are up to together. A monkey boy, a pirate, and an Italian chef — they look like trouble to us. Haikus, stories, lyrics, epic poems — all accepted entries. We’re choosing winners on May 5. Go, go, go!