The Metrocard Project by Melanie Chernock started out as a class project to create a deck of cards and turned into a great experiment on ways to redesign the iconic Metrocard. If you are a native New Yorker, you know that a Metrocard is a must in this city.
We admire Melanie’s creativity and love her concepts! See a few below and check out the project in its entirety over at her site.
“Makers, Dreamers” – hand embroidered poster
“We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams” is a quote taken from Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy via the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
A bit of whimsy and playful type, this is MaricorMaricar‘s largest piece to date at A1. We find the quote and work quite charming!
A limited edition of 100 signed and numbered A2 prints of the artwork are now available. Head to their store for more details.
Elena Lyakir wears our Molly Natural sandals (available at our online shop)
We’ve had the opportunity to work with Elena Lyakir on our past lookbook campaigns as our hair and make-up artist. What you probably didn’t know is that she’s also a talented fine artist and currently a featured artist at ABC Home and in ABC Kitchen.
“Her photography is so deeply inspired by the natural world – picture hazy blue seascapes, starkly bare trees, a flock of birds blotting a white sky – that it is surprising to learn she is firmly rooted in New York City.” (via ABC Reveal blog)
We’re ecstatic for Elena’s partnership with ABC! A selection of Elena’s photography is available to purchase by visiting the store /ABC Kitchen and online. Two series, Aves and Poetry of Nature, are featured prominently in ABC Kitchen (if you’ve never been the food is delicious!).
To learn more about Elena and the inspiration behind her work, go here.
It’s been so busy that I’ve hardly had any time to check out my usual design/inspiration blogs and I stumbled upon these gorgeous photos on design work life by Elias Carlson. Such beautiful quiet moments captured that speak volumes.
We can’t wait to share our Summer 2011 Collection with all of you! Earlier this year we shared some design inspiration for the collection. Now here’s some more imagery that we love.
Recognize the model? It’s Janice Dickinson from a Vogue shoot in the late 1970s!
Our Holiday 2010 Collection is getting ready to ship any day now!
We’ll be adding the new collection to our website next week, so keep an eye out.
Here are some images that inspired the line.
This past weekend, we attended the group art exhibition RE:FORM School at the recently closed St. Patrick’s School in SoHo, which is one of the oldest schools in Manhattan. The REDU Project, brought over 150 contemporary artists together to produce a visual call-to-action, with “artists motivating public energy toward true education reform on a local, state and national level.” Research has shown the power of a creative education and how students who engage in creative endeavors develop long-term engagement in the further pursuit of learning.
It was a really inspiring exhibit and we took some snapshots from the event. If you would like to contribute to RE:FORM School‘s efforts, go here to learn more about how to get involved.
Happy art patrons and supporters hanging out and playing chess in the courtyard of St. Patrick’s.
Claudia Pearson is a Brooklyn-based painter and illustrator.
Derek Gores is a graphic designer and illustrator that lives and works in Melbourne, Florida. Gores has gained national attention for his collage portrait series in which he recycles magazines and found materials to create his works.
Art sales from the exhibit will benefit The Urban Arts Partnership. The shop at RE:FORM School had hand-made notebooks, screen-printed totes, and more for sale. I scored some hand-printed cards by Gold Teeth Brooklyn. Who doesn’t love a card with bacon slices on it? Purchase items by Gold Teeth Brooklyn via Etsy.
RE:FORM SCHOOL is a high profile group art exhibition and event series, and public awareness campaign that is bringing together the creative community to bring public awareness to reform our public education system.
The event series takes place from Saturday, October 9th – Monday October 11th from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and is located at 233 Mott Street, New York City, NY 10012.
RE:FORM SCHOOL is a REDU project. REDU stands for rethinking, reforming and rebuilding US education. Powered by people and technology, REDU is a movement designed to expand and encourage the national conversation around education reform by providing information and resources to learn, a community platform to connect, and the tools to act. Get involved at letsredu.com.
From RE:FORM SCHOOL’s official site:
“Throughout history artists have lent their creative expression to issues of culture & politics. They combine innovation with art’s greatest strength – the ability to transcend boundaries and make an impact, while not relying solely on language. We would like to invite you to join together with many of today’s top contemporary artists, hundreds of volunteers, sponsors and grass roots organizers to send a loud message that the time has come to fix our ailing public school system.”
To learn more about participating artists such as, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, and more – go here.
Definitely check out the official RE:FORM blog to see how the project has developed and meet the artists.
We’ll be there and hope you’ll come out to support this cause too. If you’re unable to attend the event in New York, there are other ways to participate! Learn how.
We’ve been fans of the footwear label The Generic Man for a while now. Founders Brandon Day and Kevin Carney launched the label in 2006 creating sophisticated casual shoes retailing between $300-$400. When the recession hit, Day and Carney launched Generic Surplus in 2008 to appeal to cost-conscious consumers looking for sneakers and shoes that wouldn’t break the bank. We were really inspired by the Footwear News article on the brand and admire their business model.
Read the article below.
The duo debuted the handcrafted Generic Man footwear line in 2006, with retail prices ranging from $300 to $400, for adults looking for a more sophisticated casual shoe. But as the recession hit, such prices appeared to be too high for savings-minded consumers. So Carney and Day created Generic Surplus in 2008, an understated sneaker line with more accessible prices.
Success was almost immediate. The brand bowed exclusively through Urban Outfitters, with additional retailers signing on a few months later.
Now Generic Surplus is sold in 300 stores, in the U.S. and 25 other countries. “We really [focused on] Surplus last year and worked on opening retailers in the U.S. as well as global distribution,” Day said, adding that the brand’s sales have grown to about $3 million this spring from $60,000 the first season.
The founders have managed to generate more buzz through a spring ’11 collaboration with Japanese brand Comme des Garçons. Two styles were designed under Generic Surplus that will be sold through the fashion label’s sales channels. “Collaborations with a name like Comme des Garçons elevates Generic Surplus,” Day said. “Working with a global brand like that really opens us up to a lot of people.” (The brand also has an ongoing collaboration on a shoe and tote through hip hotel chain Ace Hotel.)
For retailers, the newer line has been helpful in the troubled economy.
Alameda, Calif.-based retailer District began carrying Generic Surplus for the first time this fall. “We picked them up because they fit with a lot of the trends we saw: minimal, plain and casual looks,” said Matt Wong, co-owner of District.
San Francisco-based Gimme Shoes had stocked Generic Man until spring ’09 and now carries Generic Surplus instead. “Surplus did well at a price point under $100,” said Gimme Shoes co-owner Leigh Stackpole.
Though lower prices have helped most of the brand’s retailers, Generic Surplus still has room to improve, according to Rick Lee, co-owner of Soula Shoes in Brooklyn, N.Y. “We picked up [Generic Surplus] in its first season because we liked the styling and the prices,” Lee said. “The design got a little stale so we stopped carrying them [this fall], but I wouldn’t be opposed to picking them up again down the road.”
Carney acknowledged that mass producing the line in northern China has been a big change from what he and Day established with Generic Man. “For Surplus, we’re looking at a completely different way of building a shoe,” Carney said. “You immediately have volume parameters set when you’re designing into it, so you have to take into consideration that it has to be made in big numbers.”
Still, the compromises have meant that the pair now have the means to finance their initial collection.
“Generic Man is being really well received [again],” said Carney. “I don’t think people are afraid of the price point as much anymore.”
That brand is still manufactured by hand in a 100-year-old factory in Portugal from Spanish and Italian materials. And through Generic Man, Carney said, he is able to play more with design.
“As a brand, we can experiment more with a handcrafted collection using all these different soles and not dealing with minimums in any shape or form,” he said. “[We can] make whatever we truly want to make.”
Distribution for Generic Man is being kept selective, said Day. “We picked our key accounts and focused on them to keep the higher-end position the right way,” he said. Generic Man is carried in 25 doors worldwide, including Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Day added that in 2011, they hope to have Generic Man in more doors in Japan.
So what’s next for the Generic business? The founders said they are focused on building up their women’s line, which launched in fall ’08. Like the Generic Man men’s styles, the women’s collection will retail in the high-end range. And though the styles will only be in five accounts worldwide this fall, Day said plans are in the works for growth.
“Women’s is going to be a lot more prominent for the brand starting next spring,” Day said. To help sell the line for that season, the brand set up a women’s-only showroom in New York and Italy. Day and Carney are also working on establishing a key retail partnership in Japan for the women’s shoes.
“There’s already a strong philosophy behind creating these classic, monochromatic, refined lines,” Day said. “We want to move forward with what we’ve been doing.”
We’ll be wearing this collection in Spring 2011. Read more about Porter Grey‘s chic 50′s beach party at The Wall Street Journal.
