Ye Old Portland Matchbooks from Jakes and McCormick & Schmick’s
I have a fishbowl full of matches I’ve picked up at garage sales and estate sales over the years, they are a design object that are evermore rare by the year – yet the format is incredibly pleasing. Here are two I picked out because they are local businesses and clearly designed by the same person in the same style.
Best Delivery Box Awards
Check out the new delivery boxes my roommate Max made for Grove. Max is a pleasing illustrator, I’ve worked with him a couple of times in the past and his work often has a gleeful element to it. This cross section of the Grove offices is fairly representative. The operation started out in the top floor of of the Town Storage Building and they’ve expanded their offices to include a woodshop downstairs.
All this Green Livin is gonna make me Apeshit
My friend Tyler has engaged himself in a song-a-day-for-a-year project – it started in January and now, 9 months in he’s still going strong. When I saw this new one “Green Livin’” it became an instant favorite. Check it out.
All of the songs are on Youtube, though they vary in quality and style immensely. To view them in chronological order, view them from Bow-Ty’s Year of Songs.
Trailer Toucan – Our first 24-hour website
When my friend Davey moved back to Portland, his web developer powers had grown immensely. Last time I’d seen him he wasn’t even a developer at all, but now he knew what was up. So while we were sitting on my front porch drinking beers and bullshitting we decided to do some quick project together – a 24-hour website. From that, our weird minds went down a path…that led to a site that I would like to present to you now, ladies and gentleman, Trailer Toucan.
The site automatically gathers movie trailers from various sites for your viewing pleasure. The design reflects an idea that we’d attached to early on – watching movie trailers on a beach. Sounds so damn lazy it just might be awesome… on to the domain hunt. Trailer Beach? Trailer Bay? Everything is taken. Until we struck gold with Trailer Toucan.
Business ensued: set up domain, install WordPress, setup theme and aggregation plugin, gather RSS feeds etc.
Two things I learned about toucans that day: 1) they live in trees and the rain forests, not on beaches, and 2) Toucan’s do not talk. But neither Davey and I were prepared to face those realities so we braved on and designed a header and some voiceover. (Click the bird).
It’s hard to say what exactly I learned over the course of those 24 hours. Davey and I had some giddy fun hatching the idea and making the website. It actually turned out pretty well – it’s far less of a piece of shit than I imagined it would be. Hell, some of it is even good, or at the very least convenient. So I guess what I’m trying to say is go watch some trailers.
Electric Drama
Our “Age of Anxiety” is, in great part, the result of trying to do today’s job with yesterday’s tools – with yesterday’s concepts. Youth instinctively understands the present environment – the electric drama.
- Marshall McLuhan
- from the book The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore
I was estate-saling recently on a Saturday morning and jumped at the chance to pick up this copy of “The Medium is the Massage” a paperback book by famed media theorist Marshall McLuhan – created in collaboration with graphic designer Quentin Fiore. It has a gleeful pace and design style to it. More than anything it made me realize that I need to read more by McLuhan. While I know a fair amount about him but it’s all secondhand, and he is a pleasure to read. Read more about this cultural gem over on Wikipedia.
New Bamboo iPhone case from Grove
I’m not normally one to engage in the act of gadget blogging but this is too close to home not to get excited about – I just got my first bamboo iPhone case from Grove!
Grove is a Portland-based company…it’s owned and operated by my friends Joe and Ken. I’ve watched Grove grow at impressive speeds over the last year, they’ve hired more staff, expanded their product line and have generally just been kicking ass in the entrepreneurial realm.
Just a couple years ago when Joe was building his engraving business out of our living room and Ken was our friendly next door neighbor. Once they teamed up and combined their engraving and woodworking skills, things got double-exciting.
The cases are available in 2 wood colors, and are customizable – you can go for a blank case, choose from their artist series, or provide your own artwork. I’ve seen the crew meticulously working and their commitment to quality is amazing. And not only is the product quality top notch but their customer service is just as impressive.
My case is from their artist series, “Merman” by Michael Hsiung.