Going Batty

Sod tractors surely these bats are the perfect wall dressing for a child’s bedroom. Granted it may scare the life out of them (I only have cats and no children yet so don’t know these things), so may well be more suited for a teenager or adult room. Either way they are a zillion times better than most of the wall stickers out there. Get your mitts on them at the Neato Shop here. 

Say Hello To Chuppi

I’ve been working on the launch of Chuppi for MATHMOS and glad that I can at last share information about it. As you can imagine I am pretty busy at the moment so apologies for just pasting the press release below.

 

Iconic UK brand MATHMOS have teamed up with graphic art duo TADO to create Chuppi – the perfect interactive child’s nightlight AND an adult’s collectable art toy. The wireless colour changing customizable Chuppi available internationally from the 30^th April at www.MATHMOS.com and is priced at £30 (40EU).

Harnessing almost 50 years of MATHMOS ambient lighting expertise, Chuppi can be set on a single colour or allowed to cycle through the spectrum. He (or she!) will fade off automatically after half an hour, but can also be set to stay alight. Each Chuppi comes with reusable stickers for 18 different characters allowing for full customization. Should you ever tire of your light giving companion you can simply rearrange the stickers. Wirelessly this unique customizable art toy and light lasts for up to 6 hours and you simply place Chuppi on their home to charge.

MATHMOS has a history of creating magical lights with a host of acclaimed designers including Ross Lovegrove, Shin and Tomoko Azumi and El Ultimo Grito. The imaginative work of TADO bringing them to the attention of MATHMOS who felt their style would be a perfect match for their first venture into the art toy market.  Mike and Katie of TADO have also worked with Nike, MTV, Puma, Adidas, Vodafone, Elle Magazine, Star Wars, Selfridges, McDonald’s, Microsoft’s Zune, and Kidrobot. They produce graphics, animation, web design, designer toys and customized cars, and now ambient lighting.

Commenting on the collaboration TADO said:

“The main challenge was coming up with a fun little guy that offered something a little bit different to the customizable toy market. As such we wanted to try and make something that could be used either as it comes, or as a platform to be customized, with the added dimension of it being illuminated. The stickers we created also allow people to have some fun and get creative without having to break out the pens and paints! We worked really closely with MATHMOS to come up with the characters shape and pose, a true collaborative project in every sense of the world and we are delighted with the results.”

MATHMOS invented the lava lamp in 1963 and have kept it in constant UK manufacture since; designing, manufacturing and marketing their own range of award winning branded ambient lights for nearly 50 years. Proud of their long British manufacturing history and of our Queens Award winning exports, they have produced a limited edition lava lamp to commemorate The Queens diamond jubilee.

To read more about the Chuppi click here.

 

Peter Aurisch Tattoo Artist

WOW – without question some of the most beautiful tattoos I have ever seen. The work of artist Peter Aurisch (via Notcot).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lego rolls out the barrel

 

Lego agencies continue to push creative boundaries not just products. To promote the 3D version of Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace, a barrel made of 20,000 Lego pieces was built and showcased around German theatres. When rotating the barrel played the film’s signature theme tune:

“the barrel was constructed by pro Lego builders Rene Hoffmeister and Axel Al-Rubaie, and features well-known locations from the series, including the Death Star, Tatooine, and Endor”

(read more)

Screw Art

I could not more be wishing that one of the Stay Puft clients was a homewares / DIY based client than I am right now.

Artist Andrew Myers has to be the most patient person in the world – producing portraits with thousands of screws (we’re talking 10,000+) resulting in the creation of some awesome 3D images. Now I am very impatient. Very very impatient. The kind of person who will use a shoe to ‘hammer’ a nail in if I can’t find a hammer. So impatient in fact I just want to post images of his work now but you can head here to read more.

Super Morrissey Bros

Lazyitis has created The Smiths Charming Man to the 8-bit tune of Mario Bros with unexpected brilliance!

LEGO Fishermen

Movie Mimic

Yep another Tumblr… (via) 

Mike D for Mercedes Benz

OK so this is how you launch a car in this case the Mercedes-Benz’s Avant/Garde Diaries: Transmission LA: A/V Club, curated by Mike D of the Beastie Boys at MOCA. The updating of the car badge necklace is a simple but inspired touch.

Thanks so much for Notcot for sharing their experience at the event.

 

The I never thought i’d be the girl wearing a heavy gold chain… especially a gold chain with a Mercedes Emblem! But tonight it happened… I remember as a little girl, being terribly confused when my dad’s Mercedes emblem was stolen. He tried to explain that people turned them into necklaces… It was the 80s. I was pretty young… and it wasn’t until years later that it all started to make sense. Mike D has apparently always had a thing for the car emblems, and even Inspired Fad Boosts VW Emblem Thefts when he was wearing a large VW emblem off a car on a gold chain… So it’s only natural that when curating this art festival (which they gave him carte blanche on!) he created a HUGE Mercedes emblem hanging on a large chain in the central pavillion of the exhibition… as well as a few huge emblems tucked around the space… and then around 25 special chain necklaces with authentic Mercedes-Benz emblems for the artists and key brand folks…

Pheromone Speed Dating

See it IS possible to put a new spin on speed dating – a case study  which simply has to be included in some of the creativity training sessions I run (entitled thinking strangely).  Let me present you with Pheromone Party…

 

Just to clarify this is not something I would ever do but from a creative point of view I love it. Such a shame @mylifeyourhands has finished his Guardian column or we could have made him be our tester!

 

 

I’ll let Gizmodo explain the concept in a little more detail as I remain a little baffled:

These events pair people based on the scientific idea that we all create our own unique perfume, or pheromones, to attract mates. It works for insects, cats, and other creatures, so why wouldn’t it work for humans? For $30, Pheromone Parties will help you find your next date, or perhaps the love of your life by smelling their stale, sweaty clothes. Which isn’t that creepy, except for all of it.

To prepare for the natural scent shindig, you sleep in the same clean, white, cotton t-shirt for three nights in a row to bottle, or in this case bag, your own “odor print.” You bring the stank shirt to the fête in a ziplock, which is given a number, with bags marked blue for boys and pink for girls.

Throughout the bash, you’re invited to smell the shirts as you wish. Once you find the one that really gets you going, a photographer takes your picture with the bag of your choosing. The images are shown on a running slideshow, and if you see someone holding your number, then you’ve found your musk match. Speed dating for aspiring armpit fetishists: coming soon to a city near you!