MUSEUM OF BAD ART [MOBA]

The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA), a community-based, private institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art, was recently brought to my attention by a friend that has way too much free time at the office. MOBA was founded in 1993 and originally housed in the basement of a private home in Boston. Dedham Community Theatre allowed MOBA the use of their basement so their permanent gallery is now conveniently located just outside the men’s room in a 1927 movie theatre. The pieces- some submitted and some found (in garbages)- are catalogued in the MOBA book Museum of Bad Art : Art Too Bad To Be Ignored.

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER

Please excuse the lack of posts these past few weeks. Life has been hectic, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to remind you that the third and last Puces Pop of 2008 will be taking place this weekend! Saturday December 6, in the basement of the St-Michel Church (Montreal: corner of St. Viateur & St. Urbain) there will be a kick ass indie arts & crafts marketplace happening from 11AM to 6PM. Starting at 8 PM there will be a giant bingo party. Why is this installment of Puces called "breakfast for dinner"? All day they will be serving pancakes! Don't miss out on this great opportunity to get some unique gifts for the holidays from local talent.

Mac vs. PC: The Battle Rages On

It has become almost cult-ish the way in which people devote to computer platforms. Nearly a year ago, I converted to a Mac user. That's not to say I don't use both comfortably, but if I have a choice...it's Mac hands down. Unless you're a programmer, I don't see why you'd go any other route. I was asked yesterday why I prefer Mac over PC and my answer was "it just works better." I was shot back with "well...that's your opinion." No. It's the truth.

Microsoft spends millions on advertising a year just like Mac does, but the difference is in the intelligence of the advertising and the fact that Mac also invests in making their products work. It's not just about bashing PC, it's about educating the consumer about the competition's weaknesses. Watch the commercials below to see what I mean.





Yes PC, lots of people still use you...but there was not a single point in that whole commercial that made a valid argument as to why.

CHANUKAH ALBUM

Keeping it in the family, Erran Baron Cohen (brother of Sacha Baron Cohen) composed the original music for Borat and Da Ali G Show. On Nov.18 Erran will be releasing a Chanukah CD entitled Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah from New Line Records. The album brings the music of Chanukah into the 21st Century combining klezmer, reggae, electronica, hip hop, tango, pop and other genres. Happy Chanukah!

Click here to listen to "Dreidel" from the album

EXTREME CAKES

Lately I've been branching out in my blog to include a wider spectrum of art/design projects and their creators. Feeding off (pun intended) my blog and freelance design business company name "design is yummy" I've decided to post about some delicious creations. My sister and I were watching the food network a while back and stumbled upon a show called Extreme Cakes. These cakes are crazy! Check out the Food Network for video clips of some extreme cakes.

But wait....what do you do if you want a unique cake and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a specialty one? Lucky you because I've got the answer to those birthday cake woes.















Complete with edible cake fries and icing ketchup, this burger cake is available for $11 at Walmart! (insulin not included) Say "Classy"!

SWING DANCING ON SPEED

I recently started taking swing lessons at Swing Connexion here in Montreal. I thought I'd share an amazing swing routine from the movie Hellzapoppin (1941). Maybe if I practice really hard for the next 20 years....yeah.

TREATS

Happy Halloween fellow candy lovers!

I love Halloween just as much as the next girl who likes an excuse to dress a little slutty without being judged, but I especially like seeing homemade costumes. Plus, dropping $70+ on a store bought getup is totally ridiculous. Here are some creative costume ideas I came across online.















(ipod commerical)















(Tetris)















(Gross, but I had to do it.)

LITTLE SACK-PEOPLE, BIG TALENT

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I'm not a big gamer. Though I excelled as a kid at Duck Hunt, Street Fighter, and Mortal Combat, I've never managed to make much headway in games post old school Nintendo. I can appreciate the beauty of the Halos, Prince of Persias and the like...but would I actually go out and buy any of them or the consoles? No. I'll admit I really enjoyed playing the Wii the few times I've given it a go, but PS3's new game "Little Big Planet" is by far the most impressive game I've seen in the past few years. The textures/materials used for this "planet" are unreal, the British narrator is witty, and the physics are incredibly life like. It's really a great game for all ages too. Check out the video below to see some clips of the game in action.

AQUABRASS BRACELET

A look at the Aquabrass logo I designed last month that has been printed on these stylish unisex promotional bracelets.

FAB FABRIC

As promised, here's a swatch of the fabric I bought at Puces Pop last weekend.

PUCES POP

Despite the lack of air circulation and the strong smell of vegan snacks, you couldn't deny the wonderful vibe at this year's Puces Pop. It took place Oct 4-5 at the St. Michel Church Hall on St. Viateur O. The hall was bursting with young & enthusiastic sellers and shoppers. There were some amazing artists and designers selling their goods at affordable prices. I was also impressed with the variety of the products being sold; leather wallets, jewelry, screen printed clothing, posters, stuffed animals, pins, books, ceramics, musical instruments...etc.

I picked up some beautiful retro-inspired fabric from retrodepot.com to make a pillow (now I have to learn how to sew a bolster....yikes!) and a modern day pin up girl magnet from illustrator Josephine Tellier. I'll be posting photos of my finds in the next day or so.

A NEAR BROKEN HEART

As I was posting about Jamie Lidell's canceled tour date at Montreal's Le National on Oct. 10, I wondered why others hadn't yet blogged about this upset. Upon further investigation, I read he's playing at The Big Bang in Montreal the same night he was supposed to play Le National.

That's right...Jamie Lidell is no longer doing a solo show at Le National, but now he's part of a Red Bull series entitled The Big Bang: a concert touching down in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and featuring the 12 cylinder, Chromeo, Calvin Harris, Jamie Lidell, Dirty South and Trouble Andrew.

My near broken heart is now bursting with musical happiness.

DECADENCE

Last weekend I checked out an awesome cafe called Juliette et Chocolat on St. Denis below Ontario Street (Montreal). They have some really amazing chocolate drinks (avec ou sans alcohol) and desserts there. The salads and dinner crepes also looked nice, but I was only after the chocolate. I highly recommend the soufflé with molten caramel heart center. Design and chocolate are yummmmmmyyyyy.....

SAFETY COMES IN A SMALLER PACKAGE

StashKit is an award-winning helmet made by Hatpac Ltd. This multi-sport helmet can be easily folded for quick storage when not in use. The sides of the helmet fold inward making it more compact. In 2007, StashKit won the Eurobike award for its innovative design. It retails for about $90 CDN.

Click here to visit the StashKit website.

UN-ART RELATED POST

I usually blog about art and design, but I'm making an exception to post this photo of my new nephew. He's the first baby in our family and we're all very excited. This is the little guy at 2 days old.

PEOPLE ARE INSTALLING

My buddy Karim, from back in the good ol' art school days, sent me this link to post on my blog. I don't know what to be more excited about...posting this cool link or the fact that there are people actually reading my blog.

Click here to check out more photos and videos of Mark Jenkins' thought provoking street installations worldwide.

LE BEANOCK

What's more comfortable a beanbag chair or a hammock? Le Beanock!

Designer Tracie Herrtage took these two nap-worthy ideas and combined them into a trendy piece of furniture. It's more of a loft, attic, or outdoor piece in my opinion though. I'd imagine it would look a bit frumpy in a space with low ceilings. In any case, it's an invention to incite the masses to bring back nap time, so I'm in.

SMART RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES

I was cruising some random websites today and came across this cool rechargeable USB battery by Moixa Energy Ltd. It works much like any other rechargeable on the market except you can plug it in to any computer via USB port to charge. That's right- no more fishing around for some bulky charger you likely had to pay extra for.

Here's a fun fact: more than 15 billion batteries are chucked each year!

We (myself included) are a horrible society filled with remote control junkies who pretend to be green. Now make amends by buying yourself some of these bad boys.

Wait a sec....does calling people wasteful and then advising them to buy more make me a hypocrite? Oh right, this blog is about art and design so no one cares!

BRAZEN-LICIOUS BLING

Anyone that has seen me in the past 6 months has likely spotted my Brazen bling. My long cutout leaf necklace from Brazen has been the staple of my accessory wardrobe since I got it. That says a lot coming from someone who designed jewelry for 4 years (with co-brain Shermine Sawalha).

The girl behind the magic is Rachel Rachna Dhawan, a dear friend of mine from back in the Concordia/FASA/Art Matters days. Her pieces are handmade, trendy, and in a word- fabulous.

To get your own, visit Brazen's Website.

MORE POP, LESS POOP

Vote now for the SIRIUS Fan Choice award for the Pop Montreal Festival (October 1-5). The top 3 artists with the most favorable pop-to-poop ratio (more pop, less poop) will be playing the SIRIUS Satellite Radio stage during the festival.

MUSIC MAKES YOU LOSE CONTROL

I hope Montreal is ready to heed Missy Elliot's advice (see post title) and get crazy because there is an insane amount of talent gracing our fair city in the fall. As if Osheaga, Radiohead, Francofolie, the Jazz Festival, and the Montreal Chamber Music Festival
weren't enough to get your fix this summer, there are some equally exciting concerts coming in the fall. Here's a quick list of great stuff to come:

Montreal band The Stills will be at Cabaret on September 27.

Keep an eye out for So Called at Pop Montreal in October. I caught them at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival in May with Bell Orchestre (tid bit: 2 of the members from Bell are also in Arcade Fire). They've got a really interesting sound worth checking out. Hell, they made singing in Yiddish cool.

Sing along with the occasionally explicit lyrics of Jason Collett on October 2 at Petit Campus. I will likely be attending this one.

Also on October 2 is Australian musician Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

A new personal favorite, Jamie Lidell will be at Le National on October 10. I wouldn't miss this one. He puts on a great show you can dance your pants off to and his band is full of presence and talent as well. I'm in love.

October 16 Bedouin Soundclash is back at Metropolis.

November 5 Feist is going big at the Bell Centre. As much as I dig Feist, I'd rather see her at a more intimate venue.

There are way too many shows to list, these are just my personal tops.

JACK DYLAN, FAMOUS ARTIST

I crossed paths this past weekend with artist Jack Dylan who was selling posters at Osheaga. After making some tough decisions, I bought a few including one of his Pop Montreal posters; a self-portrait Spiderman (image above). Check out his website http://jackdylan.ca to see more of his amazing illustrations or live at Pop Montreal in October. Two thumbs up for great local art.

ODE TO THE MIX TAPE

I forgot to mention another favorite item from Lost Marbles in Ottawa.....a clever ode to the mix tape in our digital generation. The memory stick stores up to 1 hour of high quality digital music - which is about the same amount you could hold of a C60 cassette tape.

Love it? Have to have it? Check out http://www.suck.uk.com for this product and loads of other fun pretty things. If anyone out there from suck.uk.com is reading this and feels like sending me stuff....I like stuff....a lot...especially free stuff.

PICK YOUR NOSE PARTY CUPS

My sister introduced me to a funky store when I was visiting her in Ottawa this past weekend. I was browsing through Lost Marbles in the Byward market and discovered the Pick Your Nose Party Cups. (I first mentioned them a few weeks when my Swedish friend posted photos.) You can buy them online at http://www.grandrivertoys.com.

3 words: cute cute cute!

SWEDISH CUPS

My Swedish friend Emelie posted a pic of this cute cup design. There are various nose designs on cups, but as of now I'm not sure if they are simply artistic or promotional (for what..I don't know. A plastic surgeon's office?).

BUSINESS CARDS ON MY MIND

I'm on a perpetual quest as a graphic designer to create the best business card possible to stand out....meaning people like it, want to sleep with it under their pillow, and remember me in the morning. Honestly, with all the cards flying around I just want something that won't get thrown out or used as a place to hold chewed up gum.

I've been doing lots of research lately on different materials for cards and along the way I've come across a few unique ones I thought I'd share.















[above] Created by Seattle designer Jeni Mattson, this clever card was designed for Melvin, a self proclaimed "hacker, entrepreneur, and all around mischief maker."















[above] British designer Jamie Wieck capitalized on the ever growing number of graphic designers popping up in the UK with his "another bloomin designer" business card. When dipped in water it grows alfalfa!















[above] To stand out from the competition in Austin, Texas, Organic Chemistry tutor Sean Michael Ragan came up with this plastic card. Chem students can use the "chair" stencil in homework assignments.















[above] Aussie fashion designer Laura Camilleri's beautiful card for clothing line Elkha. I like.

Some unconventional cards....















[above] The only info I have about this card is that it's a peanut. Anyone able to read it?
















[above] A clever business card for a chest physician Dr. Pramod V. Niphadkar M.D.

NEW BLOG HAS ARRIVED

That's right boys and girls, design is yummy has a fresh new blog just in time for Canada Day. All the old posts are here, but you can expect to see a lot more action on this page for the 2nd half of 2008. Expect more news about my ongoing projects and other artist's fun projects I encounter.

WEAR YOUR SUPPORT CAMPAIGN

Aquabrass, a high end faucet company, hired me to design a series of limited edition breast cancer fundraising bracelets. 5 bracelets were designed to target a broad spectrum of age ranges. The adjustable plastic bracelets will be sold for $5 each with the proceeds going towards breast cancer research.















To purchase a bracelet in support of this wonderful cause email me.

DESIGN IS YUMMY BARS

A look at my new resume chocolate bars. Design really is yummmmmyyy

THE ADS ARE OUT

My new Scrapmode ads are out and I recently picked up the magazines to check them out at Chapters and Multimags.

Winter issue of Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine & December issue of Style & Scrap Magazine (right)