The only thing better than having a few days off and pouring over beautiful books in the family living room? Saving money and having your choice of artistic topics to choose from. The Hong Kong-based viction:design team is offering 20% to 40% off select viction:ary titles, including the visual illustration-focused Fashion Wonderland and the spatial design book When Space Meets Art/When Art Meets Space. If their books about collaboration in visual communication are still available come the end of ‘08, they could make a good houseguest gift when the next holidays roll around.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and despite the fact Thanksgiving has yet to hit our friends at PSFK are already looking to next year. The always prescient Piers and company have gotten a head start on the new year with their “Good Ideas in 2009 Report”. The 80-page book aimed at those whose interests lie in branding, marketing, and business strategy, focuses on nine innovative ideas and just how they’re being carried out. Available on Blurb.com, the volume takes a look at everything from socially conscious companies that make use of new technology to a ping pong haven/art gallery/drive-in theater on New York’s Lower East Side. For a closer look at the future, you can waste your time inventing a time machine or you could just pony up a few bucks for the book.
Need something to do tomorrow? If you live in or around Los Angeles, cruise over (there’s no walking in L.A.) to Echo Park for the opening of the new bookstore/Middle Eastern cafe Stories. Not only can you pick up some new or inexpensive used books, stocking stuffers, and a cup of Joe, but you can also marvel at the 1800 sq ft space co-owned by former Spaceland/Book Soup staffer Liz Garo and developed by Thomas Robertson’s Ripple Design. The project opened just six months after Garo and her co-owner, Claudia Colodro, came together with Robertson and his firm to discuss the project. The result is a clean, open space with an outdoor patio, exposed brick, and sparking concrete floors that doesn’t feel cluttered even though there’s plenty going on. Like reading! So if you haven’t given up on the print industry, drop by for munchies and silk screened Stories bags made on site by Hit & Run.
Great literary and artistic minds collaborate to produce a collection of iconic images of the world’s greatest city in New York. The book is encased in its own little skyscraper and features the work of Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier and David Baily. Also included in each book is a rare print by Leonard Freed, whose work was rarely seen and never released. This is a killer for any book collection, but don’t expect it to come easy. Only 25 copies will be available.
Wine blogs seem to be about a dime a dozen, especially with the rise in opportunities for city dwellers to bottle their own reds and whites. Sommelier Courtney Cochran’s book Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine from Viking is a nice change of pace. It has helpful tips on pairing wine with food and selecting good bottles and gadgetry for upcoming holiday get togethers. Cochran, who started taking sommelier classes while studying for her MBA, now runs a California wine events company that was born out of tastings she hosted for her fellow students and wine club members. Her book offers that same peer-friendly encouragement, telling readers to trust their instincts. It’s also hard to argue with the pitch of “no paisley tie-wearing wine auction-attending dilettantes here … just real people getting to know real wine, one great party at a time.”
Let’s start things off right by saying this: Wow, did we love that Hand Job. Not that that’s an atypical reaction for us (we’ll take hand-drawn ABC’s over Photoshop-perfected ones anytime), but regardless, that book just felt good in our hands.
Well Happy Friday to us, because the man behind Hand Job — the creatively inclined, Brooklyn-based Michael Perry — has just given us another. Over & Over, a book of people-drawn patterns, stays clear of the sexual innuendo that initially got our attention, but still manages to keep our attention in the same way that (your favorite punny porno title here) does. Or doesn’t, or used to, or…hey. Sometimes, we just prefer a book.
Earlier this year we told you about a high-profile Brazilian skate art exhibit called Expo Skate Obsession at Maze Skate Shop that brought together the most known names in the discipline into one building. The project went so well that a book chronicling the participating artists and groundbreaking show was just released this week. Partnering with Adidas, the it was sold at the big price of free (how’s that for democracy!) at the launch party. I was totally flattered to be asked to participate as translator of the artist biographies, and I’m super impressed with how well the slick, hardcover book came out, especially with the design and well-executed photos (shot by skate legend and Cemporcento Brazilian skate mag editor Alexandre Vianna). If you just gotta have this book, I’m confident if you beg and plead to Maze they might be convinced to send you one of these skate must-haves if you offer up shipping costs.
We’re happy to share the news that Jeff Soto’s Storm Clouds book is out and if it does as well as his last one, Potato Stamp Dreams, you better get a move on it because it’ll also sell out. The 154-page illustrated tome shows us a more serious side to Soto, which is a step away from his classic robot creatures we’ve been long familiar with. It reflects an inside-out look at the prolific artist and how he feels about the world churning around him. Storm Clouds is also bulked up with commentary from Soto colleague David Choe.
In other Soto news, he’s preparing for his first solo show coming to SoCal in December. We’ll keep you posted.
It seems like Steven Harrington is always up to something. He’s like our own personal Ryan Adams. The guy is always busy. After pulling off his traveling art show for his Our Mountain book and spending the summer traversing the European continent, the National Forest Design principle is back in the States. That doesn’t mean he’ll be kicking up his feet any time soon. Harrington is set to release Our Mountain domestically, and what book release would be complete without a book release party? Answer: No book release. So in order to celebrate more stellar output, Harrington along with Sixpack France will be presenting their own little shindig at the Subliminal Projects Gallery on L.A.’s Sunset Blvd on Thursday September 4th from 6 to 10 p.m. Steven and book designer John Harrington will be signing copies of their new book. So if you’re in the mood for a good time gathering and getting a sneak peek at some fine work, we recommend being there.
Snowboarders often migrate to the skateboard for the summer. The guys at Blotto Photto are no different — except they also document their efforts with soaring photographs and websites. Summer is about to end and they’ve got some new things to show from their skateboarding season before booking their snowboarding trips. Check out their new website featuring some amazing photographs for skating/snowboarding. If you were a fan of the 28 Days of Winter book we blogged about about a year ago, its the skateboarder’s turn with (UP)Rising Sonz! The book captures the excitement of first stepping on a skateboard photographs of the sport and the culture.
eBoy is everywhere. If you’re a geek, you saw their poster for MakerFaire. If you like beats, you picked up the latest issue of BPM. And if you collect toys, you have an opinion on their Peecol figures. Now eBoy has teamed up with JoshSpear favorite ROJO for the production of a limited edition monographic book entitled Schmock. The 160-page book contains photos and art in the eBoy style. You can pick up a copy for 30 Euros, or indulge in the bookpack where you get all four “new edicions” (Clayton Brothers, Veljko Onjin, eBoy and Robert Hardgrave) for the price of three. Have a look at the rest of the ROJO shop too. Toy fans may want to pick up copies of the mongraphic books by Dalek, Friends With You and Jon Burgerman. All ROJO editions are limited to 500 copies.
Our favorite minds at Viction:ary have been busy. Earlier this year, they released Printwork, that showcased different designers demonstrating their printing techniques. Now, they’re about to release Musikgraphics, a book that claims to visualize the rhythm of music. And no, hallucinogenics aren’t required (though they might help). For the 288-page book the editors pulled together images and photographs from a variety of record covers, concert posters, and music packaging across many genres of music. You’ll have to make up your own soundtrack.
Being able to fit a book in your back pocket is a dream for urban dwellers. The problem is that that book is probably either a cheesy guidebook or a moleskin. The Cupboard is taking the pocket-size book market very seriously, by inviting an author to write a collection of very short stories that fit in very thin books. We were ecstatic to see they invited Jesse Ball to complete their first edition. We first discovered Jesse Ball in the Paris Review years ago, after which he received much deserved acclaim for his books March Book and Vera & Linus. The stories are one or two pages, which is perfect when you have five minutes to kill. And the literature is good enough for multiple reads.
WARNING: If you’re even a little bit squeamish you might not want to watch the Something Bad is Going To Happen Here trailer. The disturbing visuals, part of a viral campaign for Andrew Davison’s debut novel “The Gargoyle”, provide a do-it-yourself manual for inflicting trauma comparable to the ones suffered by the book’s main character. The plot focuses on a severe burn victim who, after a life (and physique) altering accident, is visited by a woman who claims to have know him over several lives. If you’re not a fan of melting flesh or new authors, you might want to wait until the next post.
Lina Scheynius has the second simplest website I’ve seen this week (the first being here). But the design’s simplicity puts her beautiful series of photographs front and center. Aside from the technical aspects of using fuzzy images that interlace light and shadow, there is an obvious emotional connection that turns the pictures into memories, documenting some of life’s most intimate moments.
Just a warning, there are some definite NSFW images on her site and flickr. And if her work wasn’t accessable enough, there is a book (for €12!!!). Yes, it’s minimalist.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and despite the fact Thanksgiving has yet to hit our friends at 
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Being able to fit a book in your back pocket is a dream for urban dwellers. The problem is that that book is probably either a cheesy guidebook or a moleskin. 
