Awesome Tattoos, Hoarders, & The Ramblings of A Tired, Buzzed, White Girl

I found this photo on Pintrest today. Yes, I am a proud new member of Pintrest.com. I actually discovered it because people were pinning my Constellation Tattoo Posters on their pintrest boards. Pretty cool, eh? It's a great way to store ideas and inspiration! My "Inspiration Folder" on my mac is so unorganized and cluttered. It's worse than an episode of Hoarders in there. Pintrest is like hiring an organizing specialist... or one of those people who redoes your closet.

Crap. I just broke a nail trying to open my giant Redvines container. #WhiteGirlProblems
I digress.

Anyways... Pintrest is awesome. And I found this amazing photo of a sleeve. I cannot for the life of me find the tattoo artist. One of the downfalls of sites like tumblr and pintrest is that crediting authors/artists rarely happens correctly. I google searched my heart out to try and find the tattoo artist so that I could credit his fine work. But, alas, to no avail.

Oh wow. Demi Lovato just came up on my iTunes shuffle.
#Shame #WhenGoodPeopleListenToBadMusic #ItsTooDamnCatchy #WhiteGirlProblems
I digress yet again.
[Note to self: Never blog when groggy and at the bottom of your glass of vodka-and-mango/pineapple-juice.]

To wrap up this horribly dishevelled and unorganized blog (another metaphor for my inspiration folder? Bringin' it full circle, baby), this tattoo is amazing and it makes me want to get more, against my better judgment. I really think I will try and pick up tattooing. I think I might make a good tattoo artist.

- Amy
Listening to: Le Blorr's "Boy You Need Jesus" (To redeem me from the Demi Lovato reference.)

Pondering The Effects Of Booze On Creativity, Kings of Leon Mashups, and Guest Blogging

I found these beautifully designed old beer coasters while doing some research for a current design project. Why is it that any branding/design for an alcoholic product always seems to be amazing? Is there a tie between drinking and the flowing of creative juices? Who knows. Either way I made them into a snazzy grid for your viewing pleasure.

Also inspiring me currently? This Kings of Leon x Lykke Li mashup.

Still bored? Check out my guest blog for LOCALE Magazine about the films I'm looking forward to seeing at the Newport Beach Film Festival which opens tonight. It really looks like there's going to be some gems! 350 films with the likes of Scott Caan, Penelope Spheeris, Colin Hanks, Peter Fonda, Michael C. Hall, Jeffrey Tambor and more. 

- Amy

Listening to: 2Pac's "California Love"

Modern Myth Logos, Zombie Mania Sweeps The Nation, & 2 A.M. Design Playlists

[Click to enlarge.]

Here is a fun project I've been working on for my friend Kc. He has a production company called Modern Myth Productions and, among a slew of other things, they do a really popular podcast on zombies called "We're Alive". You gotta check it out. It's sweeping the nation faster than swine-flu hysteria. I like to think of him as a modern day Orson Welles, keeping audio drama alive and well. 

He asked me to design a logo for the company and the above designs were my first round of mockups. I really liked the "M"s on A1-A4. I also liked the simplicity of the first few options in B.  C1 and C2 may be my favorites though. They look straight out of a Russian propaganda campaign or a vintage horror poster. We all agreed that the "M"s in C3 will be a fun alternate text based logo to use. I only included type in some of them because I was mainly focusing on the graphics, so that part of it all is a little rough. We're still working on more options right now for the final logo. I am giddier than Perez Hilton over a new Lady Gaga song to see what we come up with! 

With all this freelance design I'm doing I've been putting in long hours and staying up till the wee hours of the morning. At that point, music is the only thing that keeps you going. Me and my friend Chris (who is a fine videographer I might add) recently trekked up to Orange for a licorice pizza (a.k.a. vinyl records) hunt. My friend Beatrice (who is a fellow blogger and fashion designer) had told me about a place with some epic deals across the street from Mr. C's records on Glassell street off the circle. She was SO right. Me and Chris dug through stacks and stacks of albums and it took all of my self control not to blow my paycheck. 5 records, 1 faux fur coat, and $70 later, we left the antique shop, mission accomplished. Here's some of what I got:

There's nothing like designing with the crackling of a great record playing in the background.

- Amy

Listening to: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "The Line" 

(best hidden track ever at the end.)

Epic Collaborations, Introducing Hammerhood, & The Beginnings of A Rad Illustration

Im doing a really fun collaboration with my friend Timmy Ham (a.k.a Sloth) under the guise of Hammerhood. Get it? Ham and Hood cleverly combined? We're still working on our logo. I'll post some of the ideas I've come up with so far soon. Hammerhood is basically The Postal Service of art; Where The Postal Service provided you with the airy vocals of Ben Gibbard layered on top of electronic video game style beats, Hammerhood gives you grafitti/street art inspired creatures from Sloth mixed with random illustrations from yours truly. Just like TPS, we're sending the project back and forth via mail and we just keep adding to the drawing till  all the space is filled and it is something really random and amazing.

Timmy Ham is a living, breathing pun. He is, as his name infers, a ham - a big, fat, juicy Christmas ham. The only way you can fully understand this is by visiting his blog. I try to read it everyday because it never fails to make do both of the following: 1. laugh out loud, and 2. say, "what the hell?" He's a strange bird who seems to live a live full of magic and adventure. He's based out of Tempe, AZ and is a fellow graphic designer/artist like myself. He does graphics for motocross company, The Dirt Lab, and then has a booming business painting custom Vans under his alter ego/brand "Sloth". Check out some of his sweet kicks below.

How cute are the little baby ones?

Anyways, now that the collab is in full swing we are already entertaining dreams of grandeur. We're thinking we sell the drawings and donate the proceeds of each piece to a different charity. Then maybe we can even sell a few for some cash in pocket too. Should be a fun side project!

- Amy

Listening to: Chiddy Bang's "All Things Go"

LA Art Shows, Scott Pommier, and Stacie B. London

I really want to go to this show. It's called Shutter Speed and it's being put on by The Selvedge Yard (one of my all time favorite blogs) and is featuring some rad photos by Scott Pommier, an amazing photographer. It's going to be here in LA, so I really have to try to make it out; leave my Orange County bubble for a night and enjoy our neighbor to the north, L.A. The show will also feature biker babe Stacie B. London. Stacie is an exhibition production coordinator at MOCA in LA where I saw the Dennis Hopper photo exhibit, "Double Standard", earlier this year. She is also the founder of East Side Moto Babes, an all girls moto club. I want to be in a biker club so bad. Cycle Zombies, East Side Moto, The Outlaws, whoever! Maybe I can pull a Hunter S. Thompson/Danny Lyon and just travel around with them and document their vagabond ways seeing as I can't ride a motorcycle. Hopefully someone will let me ride bitch.


SHUTTER SPEED 
Saturday March 26th, 7-11pm
@Secret Service LA
710 Santa Fe Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90021


To get you pumped, here are some of Scott's great photos. You can find more at his website here.

- Amy
Listening to: Social Distortion's "Don't Take Me For Granted"

My Could-Have-Been Life As A Groupie, Guest Blogging, and Photoshop Hilarity

Today I suggest you head over to my lovely friend Blythe Hill's blog for her "Five Things Friday" post featuring moi! That's right - yours truely is a guest blogger. Moving up in the bloggin' world, baby. (Cue The Jefferesons theme song.) It involves me fraternizing (very intimately sometimes) with some very legendary rock stars. My theme was "I Like That Old Time Rock N' Roll: 5 Classic Rock Bands/Musicians I Wish I Got To Be A Groupie For." The photo above is a taste of what you'll get. Photoshop is so much fun.

- Amy
Listening to: Led Zeppelin's "Since I Been Lovin' You" (A band who didn't make the list, only for the mere fact that I couldn't find any pictures I could easily photoshop myself into. Not a good excuse. I'd loved to have been Jimmy Page's lady friend!)

Smitten with Sequins, More Fashion I can't Afford, & The Hilarious Dayna Copeland

[Fig. 1: Dress - Balmain]

I realllly want this dress [Fig. 1]. I doubt I can afford it seeing it was spotted on the runways of Paris over fashion week. Maybe if I go on ebay I can find this equally rad one from last season [see Fig. 2]. I'm still guessing I'd have to sell an organ or make a deal with the devil to pay for this gem though. Maybe I'll hire someone to make me one. Like my super talented (and HILARIOUS) fashion designer friend, Dayna Copeland. Do yourself a favor right now and check out her blog, Dayna Nicole: A Motley Shrew. Her blog title is even clever. Get ready to flex those abs, because laughter will ensue. This is one of my favorite posts: Leave Megan Fox Alone.

[Fig. 2]

- Amy

Listening to: Morrissey's "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get"

Inspiration of the Day: Nolan Hall, More Cheesy Metaphors, & A Little Richard Hawley

[ ©Nolan Hall ]

INSPIRATION OF THE DAY: Nolan Hall

Nolan Hall is one of my favorite photographers. He's up there with Kyle Lightner. And like Mr. Lightner, he has an innate ability to capture that Southern California joie de vivre within a 35 mm frame like Jim Croce captured time in a bottle.  Cheesy metaphor. Forgive me. Especially when speaking of such bad ass, gritty photos as these. 

I have yet to meet the man in person, but via social media I've come to know this kid, and I'm pretty sure he might be omnipotent. Nolan Hall is everywhere and knows everyone. The former member of the Japanese Motors photographs famous surfers, skaters, musicians, models and more; He works with the likes of Vans and RVCA; I even found him amidst the pages of my Spin Magazine one time in a two page spread photo with Modest Mouse (see Fig. 1: He's the very tall gentleman in the Captain's hat). Hat's off to you Mr. Hall. You're clearly doin' things right. Check out some of my favorite photos by the OC native below, and don't forget to head over to his blog to further stimulate your eyeballs.

-Amy

Listening to: Richard Hawley's "Tonight The Streets Are Ours"

[ Fig. 1: Nolan Hall in my Spin Magazine with Modest Mouse. Livin' the dream, Nolan. Livin' the dream.]

[ Alex Kopps and boards. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Alex Knost (former singer of Japanese Motors). ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Black Lips. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Christian Fletcher. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ CJ Nelson. ©Nolan Hall ]

[The Fuck Yeah Fest. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Keegan Sauder. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Matt Archibald. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Austin Stephens. ©Nolan Hall ]

[ Tyler Warren. ©Nolan Hall ]

Mustachioed Men, Time Warps, and Old Man Crushes

[Fig. 1: via The Sartorialist. ]

5 Things:

1. I hope to have an old man boyfriend like this  [Fig. 1] one day. 
2. He looks like a British Naval officer who's ship got stuck in a time/space warp that teleported and dropped him in the middle of a London rock n' roll club where he asked some punk rock kid to borrow some pants and Doc Martins. Which is a good thing.
3. He also sort of looks like the captain from King Kong, who I also have an old-man crush on.
4. He has great follicle fortitude, much like these rad posters [Fig. 2] I found on one of my favorite design blogs designworklife.com. They were done by AIGA for a show called Full Bleed.
5. He and the posters both remind me of the art and tattoo work of Ricardo Cavolo. He does a lot with carnies and mustachioed men.

Cheers,

Amy

Listening to: Jamie Cullum's "Gran Torino"

[Fig. 2]

Inspiration of the Day: King Charles' Cover of "We Didn't Start The Fire"

INSPIRATION OF THE DAY: King Charles' Cover of "We Didn't Start The Fire"

It's another hellish press week for me at the magazine. No time to sleep, fraternize, or blog. Just designing till my eyes feel like sandpaper and my fingers curl up with premature onset arthritis. What gets me through? Music, and lots of it. After about 6:30 it gets pretty shameless. Right now I've still got my dignity, but I'm pushing 10 hours at work and I'm starting to wither. Soon I'll be needing some embarrassing pop to pep me up. Finders fee for this song goes to Yenny - my sis. I'm pretty sure she got it from someone else. But isn't that the beauty of music - sharing it with others?

- Amy

Vintage Motorcycle Photos, Planning The Photo of The Century, & More Inspiration

Inspiration of the Day: These vintage motorcycle photos. I still really want to paint someone on a motorcycle. I've got a photo of my friend Kevin next to his bike that I plan to paint, but I'd also like to do an action shot, mid air, balls out. Not literally of course. The only problem is capturing that perfect shot on film so that I can have something to paint from. Me and my photographer friend Taylor Herron are working on somehow doing this currently. We're problem solvers, so worry not my friends - this photo will one day be captured in all it's glory to be forever emblazoned on canvas by yours truely. It'll be the collab of the century.

Enjoy.

- Amy

Listening to: Danzig's "Mother"

via Mulligan Machine