I love concert posters. Half art, half music, and normally cheap enough to shamelessly store away once your next favorite band/artist needs wallspace, the concert poster definitely has earned its spot as the number one choice for temporary decoration. However, who would have guessed that those wall-savers could turn out to be life-savers as well, a feat that the Boulder-founded non-profit Conscious Alliance accomplished with surprising success.

Since their inception in 2002, the Conscious Alliance has been using the power of the poster to help feed hungry people, and now, five years and 500,000 pounds of food later, it’s looking like the non-profit may just be one of the most positive things to have happened in the music industry since N’Sync quit recording. At its most basic, the Conscious Alliance functions as a food drive, with the only kickers being location (drives take place at concerts across the U.S.) and motivational tactic (cans of food=free concert poster). Through collaborations with bands like STS9, Jack Johnson, String Cheese Incident and Dave Matthews, they have collected and distributed over half a million pounds of food to low-income areas that desperately need the help. Because of their strong network of musicians and fans, the non-profit has the ability to quickly respond to national disasters- when Hurricane Katrina blew through New Orleans, they quickly teamed up with DMB and delivered over 30,000 pounds of food and almost $100,000 dollars within days. Currently, members of their team are collecting food (and handing out this poster) at Bonaroo, but if you’re missing out on the festival like me, you’ll find plenty of other ways to help out on the Conscious Alliance website. What you’re doing is amazing, guys, and we’re behind you all the way!

Latin American B-boys will be battling it out for the title as the best breakdancer in the land tomorrow in Sao Paulo at Red Bull’s BC One, which is throwing together 16 Brazilians and five others from Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and Peru in what’s sure to be a raucous elimination final. Right before the show, the 16th Brazilian competitor will be chosen from an audition among 11 B-boys selected by top Brazilian crews. The winner of this batch moves on to the next step — world b-boy command — at the world B-boy finals in South Africa in September. The competition is mega-tough, with rules that include “sudden death,” which means you’re out of the competition if you lose any individual battle. The event’s being judged by a panel that includes the U.S.’s own B-girl Asia One (go girl!). OK, gotta run now, I need to get my back spin on lock.

Adios and Ciao Ciao, the two newest tokidoki/StrangeCo toys, are set for official release Thursday, June 21, at L.A.’s Munky King Melrose. The two figurines will be available separately, but, as the story goes, Adios has already been kicked out of both hell and heaven and condemned to live in a modern grave-loft with his girlfriend Ciao Ciao for eternity, so it could be a little insensitive to split them up. Tokidoki artist Simone Legno will be on hand to sign the newbies at the free, all-ages event, and the party is entirely open to the public. Doors will be open from 7-11 pm, and due to the throngs of tokidoki followers likely to show at the event, early arrival is highly recommended. Full flyer after the jump…

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NY Designs would be a great resource for a lot of people — if only they knew about it. A one-stop-shopping destination for designers, NY Designs offers affordable studio space, workshop facilities, and classes to help designers to improve both their design and business skills. Funding for the project comes mostly from the state and federal government, and there is a “special initiative to educate and encourage designers to develop new innovative products using renewable energy technologies.” Located in Long Island City, Queens, NY Designs might just make New York City a better designed place. Read more about it in Interior Design magazine. Oh, and you’re welcome.

–Dan Steckenberg

San Francisco-based design team Mike and Maaike have added to their impressive design repertoire by stealing some bling. In their new Stolen Jewels Collection, they explore the tangible versus the virtual in relation to real and perceived value. How did they do it? They used Google, that’s how. By performing Google image searches for some of the most famous and expensive pieces of jewelry in the world, then stealing, doctoring, and printing the images on scored leather, they were able to create these wild, pixelated, and — ironically enough — unique renditions. With the expense of the jewels and the intricacy of their construction stripped away, their essence and visual intensity are extracted. Some of the “Stolen Jewels” include the Hope Diamond Broach, the Golden Jubilee Diamond Broach, the Great Chrysanthemum Necklace, and Imelda Marcos’ Ruby Necklace with Diamonds. They’re available at select galleries– contact M&M to find out where.