Vote for Sazbar; save the world

My supremely talented and sadly distant best mate Sazzle has been at it again. She's created this very simple and powerful ad for Oxfam, and if all you go and rate it 5 stars and leave her a wee comment on youtube then she may get to come to Cannes and I might see her lovely wee face before she gets married in 2011. SO VOTE GODDAMN YOU. :)

Lip service

My bessie mate (and sometimes client) Brazen is about to join a very select group. Stockists of Lip watches. These are a range of superfly timepieces based on original 1970s designs by some fella called Roger Fallon. Everybody's twittering about them. That's cos they are MEGA-COOL. Here's a selection, but there are loads more and they come with plenty of options for strap colours/materials/faces etc. All this and the packaging's pretty durn cool too. I wants one. I does. For more info or to buy/reserve, go see Brazen's website or email her.

It's contagious...

I knew it! Carly has started the mass exodus from singledom! Another bessie mate, the beautiful and talented Miss Sazzle McLongworth has announced that her wonderful boy Otis asked her to marry him last week. In Samoa. On a beach. At sunset. I mean how much more perfect a proposal could you ask for?

She's given me two years notice so I can start saving to get my bahookie down there and watch her get hitched. Dude, she could be getting married next week and I'd find the goddamn money! No way I'd miss it!

So there you go lads - another perfect girl off the market. Singledom's loss is Otis' gain. And he is suitably smug. Oh yes - just look at his face. Heehee.

Congrats you two - you're made for each other and I'm made up for ya!

Tis the season to get married... lalalalalalaaaaa

My beautiful bessie mate Carly got married last week to the very cool Rizqy. They met out in Indonesia, where they both live now, but got married on Carly's home island of Arran. It was a beautiful, laidback sort of affair that suited them both very well. A few of the old ECA-Team made it to the ceremony and the after-party (music provided by Carly's very musical family), and I'm pleased to report we didn't let the side down. There was champagne, there was air guitar, there was knee-sliding. In short, we rocked. Carly rocked. Rizqy, you rock too.

Carly's stepdad and Uncle are both photographers and their shots can be found here, my shoddy efforts are here. Ain't they gorgeous?

Aw. Why do all my favourite folks live so damn FAR AWAY?

Merry Mickelmass!

I've just returned from a bloody lovely couple of days in sunny Sunderland with some of my favourite folks (and a few new ones).

I couldn't blog about this poster before because it was all top secret and Mr Mick might have seen it and the game would have been up. Matt Stalker of Matt Stalker and Fables - who, you may remember, I've blogged about before - held a gig entitled Mickelmass for his big brother Mick, who was back from NZ for the first time in two years for Crimbo. I've known Mick for yonks and I've also met their eldest bro Chris before too. So there were three very good reasons to haul my ass down to Sunderland to surprise Mick and see Matt and the band play live.

Well they didn't disappoint. I've said it before, but that Matt Stalker is a talented bastard and deserves bloody great things. The set was completely mesmerising, and while I'm in awe anyway of people who can play instruments and sing at the same time, there really isn't anything like standing a few feet away from a cello, a double bass and a guitar (and occasionally more esoteric instruments!) while they are played by folks who really know what they're doing with them. Absolutely awesome.

Mr Matt even got me a bit choked up by dedicating a beautiful cover of Radiohead's 'Let Down' to me and thanking me for doing their EP and the above poster for Mickelmass. Matt, you are more than welcome, buster!

And to the lovely Mick, who'll be heading back to NZ for New Year, it was bloody marvellous to see you and your cheeky grin again. Bon Voyage baby! I'll see you real soon. Sniff. Hopefully.

Gold Rush

Brazen's Christmas theme was a tricky one this year; because the good lady, in a fit of credit crunch-induced frugality, wanted the theme to extend well into the new year. So it couldn't be 'too Christmassy'. Riiight.

Other key pointers in the (actually excellent) brief were: Art Deco, Jazz, Hollywood, 1930s, Lalique etc. With the help of the lovely Lynn McHattie the name 'Gold Rush' was decided, and I set about creating a central identity, illustrations for web and print, window vinyls and bag stuffers (for to stuff bags with). The central identity took pride of place on the lovely gold-foil blocked bag stuffer: an art-deco stylised bullet hole links back to Brazen's original 'diamond and guns' branding, but also looks just snowflakey enough to be christmassy. The photo really doesn't do it justice (I'm a shit photographer) - and I'm so glad my lovely mate and favourite client chose to splash out on the gold foil on this one. It looks sexy as f*ck.

Some equally sexy illustrations will be rotated on Brazen's brand new online shop in the new year, and in the meantime one of them is appearing as a window vinyl in the shopfront. (Pics to follow once I get myself a decent camera).

Brazen and I were so pleased with ourselves after installing the window vinyl last Sunday that we simply had to celebrate by getting trollied and 'high-chebsing'. I can't attach a photo of that but trust me it was funny.

Phone's Teeth

A wee illustration for the day job. Yet to go live so I'm showing you it in progress. Was a fun one though. I do like to get the odd illustration job at work. Keeps me happy. This one is meant to look like a mobile/joke teeth. The reasons for which will become clear once the job goes live. 3D render done in Illustrator with textures/shadows highlights/details added in Photoshop. I am so loving the 3D thing right now. Yum.

Irresponsible Auntie Alert

It was my oldest nephew Irvine's 3rd Birthday last weekend. So I bought him a guitar. I didn't get him a hotel room to trash or a TV to throw out the window though. So I'm not completely irresponsible.

End of an era

After nearly three years of fun and frolicking with the wonderful Club Noir, we have agreed to go our separate ways. My day job commitments are increasing, and Club Noir are doing ever so well and expanding out to London and whatnot, and really needed someone who could devote more time and energy to them. I've punted a couple of mega-talented designery folks their way, so hopefully they will be producing posters of graphicy vintagey loveliness for Noir into the future. Bon voyage friends! All the best. x

Before they were famous Part II

My good friend and mega-talented chappy Mr Matt Stalker is currently a very happy mega-talented chappy, as his band, Matt Stalker and Fables, have just got themselves the gig of their lives. (So far, anyway - it'll be Wembley next you mark my words).

They will be playing the amazing looking Sage Gateshead on the 28th November, supporting Scottish folksters Frightened Rabbit. And Matt is so excited he using lots and lots of capitals and exclamation marks and stuff. Bless him.

I can't tell you how much these guys deserve this gig; I'm thinking its the start of something beautiful for them. Check out the band's myspace here. Warning: screaming fandom will ensue.

Gone like Clockwork

Yet another illustration project that is destined never to see the light of day, except here on my lovely blog. Talk about vanity publishing. These lil' clockwork fellas were for a client's christmas ads. I really liked them too. My creative director however, didn't. So aside from giving him the V's behind his back and putting laxatives in his tea*, there's not much I can do about it. Do let me know if you like them though. I'm still feeling sensitive.

*this is a lie. I never make the tea. I have minions who do that for me now.

Together in Electric Dreams

My bessie mate Vivienne is having a birthday party at some point in the near future and she asked me to do her an emailable invitation. Miss Vivienne is the queen of dressing up and parties in general, so she always themes her parties. She did Alice in Wonderland one year, and had a mad hatter's tea party in a secret garden. This year it's going to be an 80s themed elecxtravaganza titled 'Electric Dreams', and in the spirit of both the excessive 80s, and Vivvy's madness, this was the final result. She likey. Yes she do.