Meet the Sponsor - Alt.Kilts

As you have probably surmised, with all the sponsors I've introduced you to so far, I have chosen them for both the outstanding quality and craftsmanship that goes into their work, as well as an interesting back story to go along with it.

When Regina Davan approached me about advertising her business, Alt.Kilt on DudeCraft, I was immediately taken by the idea. First, because kilts are cool and second, because Regina obviously has a burning passion for her work. As you'll see in her story, she's the kind of person who goes the extra mile (or two) to make a customer happy and takes pride in being involved in every step of the process. She also has a big heart, and I'm a fan of people with big hearts. Welcome, Regina!

Here's her story in her own words:

"Building kilts for a career was never in my game plan but a lot of things can conspire to put you someplace unexpected. That being said, I love my work.

I had gone back to college as an adult single mom with two young kids to study biology with a focus on mycology. During my second semester of college, my two year-old son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I  had to stay in school to keep our insurance but had to have classes that I could handle around his chemo, so I dove into theater and found a passion in Costume Technology. I started the kilt path on a lark, with someone asking me to make them a kilt based on a popular company's product and after I deconstructed their style, I quickly found my own. I made changes to make it my own product and put the word out.

There was this huge demand - a gap to fill in a tiny market and I dove in (without really knowing what I was doing or getting in to). Some companies charge more based on size - I decided right away not to do that because it felt like discrimination. Most kilt places have about 4-5 standard designs and offer them in 2-3 fabrics at any time. I decided to offer anything I could think of and everything my customers could dream up. Other places use a standard fit ratio and will not deviate from it (happens when you are making hundreds of kilts in factories). I decided to make kilts that fit every body shape that came along.  What I really decided that Alt.Kilt would do... was to never say no.

 

I launched big with my art kilts - specifically my Steampunk kilts and have been going strong since then. I make all my kilts every step of the way - from washing the fabric to sewing on the buttons and it never gets old. One at a time, I get to focus on the individual order and make something unique for my customer.  My art kilts are my passion - something truly one of a kind - with hand painted distress-work and hardware. Alt.Kilt is the only kilt company out there that makes custom handmade contemporary kilts - and we have shipped almost 175 kilts worldwide this year alone.

On a related note, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and I just launched our new Kilted for Kids' Cancer Campaign. This is our long term dedication to give back to an organization that helped our family through the painfulness of Leukemia treatment - Give Kid's The World Village. For the rest of the month, as we pay it forward, Alt.Kilt is giving away free custom kid kilts! We are accepting donations as well, but *none* is required to get a free kilt. More information here."

 

Welcome to the neighborhood, Alt.Kilt! Glad to have you here!

The Vorticists - 1914 -1918

As a blogger with a taste for things global, I'm forever writing about cool stuff in far off places, like Brooklyn. So, it's especially exciting when I get to write about something that's happening right here at home.

Tonight, I'm headed over to the Nasher Museum of Art on Duke's campus to check out an exhibition of Vorticist paintings. You haven't heard of the Vorticists? Neither had I. Apparently, vorticism was a short lived anglo-american response to cubism and futurism during WW I. Here's the skinny:

"An abstracted figurative style, combining machine-age forms and the energetic imagery suggested by a vortex, Vorticism emerged in London at a moment when the staid English art scene had been jolted by the advent of French Cubism and Italian Futurism. Absorbing elements from both, but also defining themselves against these foreign idioms, Vorticism was a short-lived but pivotal modernist movement that spanned the years of World War I (1914-1918)."

The show runs through January 11th. If you happen to be passing through Durham and have an hour to kill in our beautiful little museum, check it out.

Young Me / Now Me

I'm probably way late to this party, but Swiss Miss just introduced me to the Young Me / Now Me blog where adult folks try to match up to their childhood snapshots. I thought this set called Hand Stand was especially heart warming. 40 years between these two pictures. Sweet, ain't it?

Home Truths

Love, love, love this series of posters by illustrator, Sam Bevington. See the whole set here.

via Behance

The Penny Desk

After Lissy spied my nickel floor post the other day, she was inspired to send along a link to Jen's penny desk project over at the Epbot blog. Not only are the results awesome, but there are complete step-by-step instructions in case you want to make your own. Pretty sweet. Thanks, Lissy!

Clothespin Pencil

If you're keeping score, please add this to the long list of things I really want, but don't need at all. Curse you, designer Yuta Watanabe for making a pencil I am so covetous of.

via Dvice

Palette-able?

Now, listen...y'all know I'm always trying to keep it on the positive side of things here at DudeCraft (yes, okay, with the exception of stupid bicycle designs. Gah!!!) and I love me some palette construction and creative re-use, but am I the only one that thinks that this looks kind of like a cell for programmers that are being punished? Florescent lights and artless eggshell walls? Are we supposed to be digging this? I think we may be reaching a point where we rush to uplift things, simply because they are recycled and not because they are designed well. Back me up or let me have it in the comments.

via Design Boom

Detroit Lives

I ran across this cool three-part documentary about Detroit's revitalization a couple weeks ago, but totally spaced on posting it. I love what's happening there!

The Human Printer

Louise Naunton Morgan, also known as The Human Printer, creates these pieces by hand, with pens. I am continually amazed by the amount of patience people possess for process. It blows me away that someone would sit around their apartment and one day say: "I know! I'll make halftone images by hand!". Astounding. Oh, and in case you're wondering, You can have a custom piece done if you'd like. Contact information and pricing at her site.

via Core77

Tilt Shift Van Gogh

We've all seen the rash of tilt shift photography in the last couple of years, turning giant cities into simulated miniatures and such. I hadn't seen it used on paintings until today, though. Nice work by the folks over at Artcyclopedia, to tilt shift this series of Van Gogh's. Some are better than others, but an "A" for effort on the whole set.

via best bookmarks

If I Had a Nickel...

The Chamberlains of Seattle spent 30 straight days and 13,650 nickels ($682.50) to complete the master bathroom floor of their dreams. That must have been an interesting bank transaction. You can imagine the tellers scratching their heads over this one. Nice looking though, eh?

via Apartment Therapy

JDS Architects - Stair

I'm liking this social seating solution by JDS Architects who was one of the studios that was invited to participate in London Design week by the Lollipop Shoppe. This from the site:

"...one of the architects invited to participate was JDS architects (julien de smedt) who has proposed 'stair', a bench with multiple seating levels, allowing the public to sit in a way that is less prescribed, more flexible and more social. it is made constructed with plywood triangular prisms which have been connected in a way in which they form an infinite variety of stair-shaped seating platforms."

Probably not the greatest idea to plunk one of these in the middle of a basketball court, though. I'm just sayin'.


via Design Boom

Process - Won Over Frequency

Loving this process video that takes us all the way from reference photo to finished piece. Nicely done. Happy Saturday everybody!

via Wooster Collective

Detroit, Rock and Rehab City

Lots of cool stuff going on in Detroit lately. A new energy is being injected into the city by folks who are buying up cheap but trashed properties and turning the boarded up ghost houses back into neighborhood jewels. There's a nice story over at ReadyMade about architect, Charlie O'Geen who is just such a person. Charlie isn't just doing a gound-up rehab, it's more like an UNDER-ground up rehab. Check out his story here.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Well, two of my favorite things, anyway. Some of you may not know that I'm a nut for motorcycle racing and, specifically, for Moto GP. I'm also a sucker for hand drawn lettering of any kind, so when I saw this little story about House Industries whipping up a new patch for Ducati rider, Nicky Hayden, I couldn't resist a post. Nice job House! Miles better than that hideous thing Valentino Rossi has been wearing across his backside for years.

via NotCot

Hipster Obit

I know that bagging on hipsters is a little more than passe at this point, but I couldn't resist the story of poor Milton P. Hirshnickel. A moment of silence, please.

via This Isn't Happiness
via Married to the Sea (Thanks Debb, for the attribution help!)

Wooden Leather-Lined MacBook Case

Although Gizmodo seems to have issues with the stodginess of the idea of carrying your MacBook around in a wooden, leather-lined case, I have no such issues. Well, with the exception of the leather part. I'd prefer it if there was a cruelty-free version, but be that as it may, I still think this one is ripe for the DIY treatment. Hidden hinges, magnetic closure.....yes, let's do that. Anybody build a nice one of these yet?

via Gizmodo

More Guitar Goodness

After seeing my art guitar post from the other day, Dawn passed on a link to a company called Hand Guitars where partners JP Thomas and Jon Anderson produce these incredible pieces that combine traditional building techniques with Jon's polymer clay wizardry. I don't love every single design, but I'm stunned at the depth and detail Jon gets using polymer clay. Much respect. Amazing.

Thanks Dawn!

X-Ray Music Video

Anormal from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Loving this music video of x-ray images created by Jarbas Agnelli for Brazilian pop group, Pato Fu.

via Nag on the Lake
via Dangerous Minds

Burning Man From Above

Check out this amazing satellite shot of the Playa during Burning Man 2010. Can you spot your camp?

via the Jailbreak
image credit GeoEye

Meet the Sponsor - Neuron Rebellion

I apologize for being a few days late in introducing you to our next sponsor. There's been an epidemic of late summer colds going around and I fell victim to one earlier in the week. Nevertheless, here we are...

When Pat Mayer contacted me about being a sponsor on DudeCraft, I was really excited for two reasons, no, three reasons. First, I love her work. Second, she has an amazing story and last, she's (longtime friend, contributor, and genius) Steve Hoefer's sister.

Since her work pretty much speaks for itself, I'd like to excerpt part of her story here which is one of the most amazing components of this whole thing and what informs and inspires her work.

"It’s a brain thing. At it’s core, that’s what this whole “Neuron Rebellion” is all about. My brain makes me creative, but (pun intended) it’s also got a mind of it’s own.

My name is Pat and I was suddenly struck with a movement disorder in early December of 2007. And when I say “suddenly”, I mean like getting hit with a bolt of lightning when you didn’t even know it’s cloudy! BAM! In less than two weeks I went from more or less “normal” (hold your comments) to my arms, torso, legs, face, eyes, and neck doing what they wanted when they wanted. If I stayed in bed and didn’t exert myself I could minimize the symptoms.

I went to a couple of neurologists and even a movement disorder specialist who were unable to diagnose me. The “best” advice we got was “Wait and see if it goes away”. (Really? That’s all you got?) There were some periods of improvement, but after 18 months mostly spent in bed and then several months of a rock-bottom relapse, my wonderful husband decided enough was enough and got me to the Mayo Clinic.

They diagnosed me over the course of several days and after a subsequent week-long treatment, I am on the mend and never looking back! I can sit up, my hand isn’t shaking, cramping or moving without my telling it to…I can talk, I can walk without a cane and I’m out of bed more than I’m in it these days!

What was wrong? My brain was broken, and they rebooted it. Really. They labeled it a “Functional Movement Disorder”, which basically means my brain was okay hardware-wise, but was doing it’s own thing software-wise. In short, it had developed faulty patterns of working and I’m on the road of continually reminding it to do instead what it already knows how to do.

I started making Neurons in bed because I am an artist and I absolutely can’t stand to NOT make something. The first Neuron was a gift idea for a family member and then, I just couldn’t stop myself. And I at long last had a legitimate excuse to use a glue gun in bed.

These little stuffed creatures are the physical representation of the whacky brain firings I am plagued with. Hence the name: Neuron Rebellion! So I’m selling my neurons, baby, and using the proceeds to help pay the medical bills. But this site is not so much about the Neurons rebelling against me, as it is about me rebelling against the disorder. If you’ve faced long-term illness or life-disrupting obstacles, maybe you can relate. And if I can encourage you with my little Neurons, so much the better!"


I'm so glad to have Pat and Neuron Rebellion on board. Please give the site a visit when you get a chance. Pat has lots of Neurons to choose from, all reasonably priced and all with tons of character. Welcome to the neighborhood Pat!

Vintage Graphic Goldmine!

Flickr user pilllpat has collected tons of vintage advertising, typography, and packaging from the last century, for those of you who are fans of that type of thing. It's a pretty amazing collection with pretty amazing possibilities for inspiration. See it here.

via Meet Me At Mikes

Tea and Bullets

Even though I am not a big fan of guns, I'm kind of loving these matched, porcelain teacup/gun sets by Yvonne Lee Schultz. In my imagination, the queen probably owns several of these, just in case things get out of hand at Buckingham Palace or Balmoral.

via Found S**t

Teak Hard Drive Enclosure

I often feature PC case mods around here, but I haven't seen too many portable hard drive case mods happening. Over at Lifehacker, reader Mike Osborne shares his process for turning his boring, black plastic drive into this much preferred hunk-o-teak design. Nice job Mike!

p.s. If you run into more cool portable hard drive mods, send 'em my way, wouldja? Thanks!

via Gizmodo

Popchart Lab's - Many Varieties of Beer Poster

I love diagrams. It's no secret. So, of course I'm gonna love Pop Chart Lab's Many Varieties of Beer poster. I am also quite fond of their Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names edition. More here.

via The Jailbreak

Framed!

I'm digging this collaboration between designer, Stuart Haygarth and framing company John Jones of London for the London Design Festival. Although, if I was the Victoria and Albert Museum, I'd be scared to death that someone would take a tumble down this thing.

via MocoLoco

Art Guitars in Downtown Minneapolis

The electric guitar. Nothing is guaranteed to bring out the fourteen year-old boy in me faster than a wicked lookin' six stringer. I've also always loved the customization of anything, so the art guitar show going on now through September 30th at Grumpy's Downtown in Minneapolis seems a perfect match.

Also, OX-OP snagged a pretty impressive roster of artists to put their mark on these Waterstone Guitars including: Aesthetic Apparatus, Arbito, Brynn Arens, Kii Arens, Anthony Ausgang, Gary Baseman, Keith Brogdon, Andrew Brandou, CLUTTER Magazine, DALEK, Steve Ellis, Ed Fotheringham Ray Frenden, HAZE-XXL, Myles Karr, KOZIK, Jessie LeDoux, Little, Friends of Printmaking, Rob McBroom, Michael Motorcycle, Niagara, Juliette Oken, Martin Ontiveros, Plasticgod, Chris Reccardi, Chris Ryniak, Snaggs, Savanna Snow, Gary Taxali and Amanda Visell.

Grumpy’s Downtown
1111 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55415

Most of the guitars are on sale here.

Via World Famous Design Junkies

Bike Shelf

I'm digging this conceptually simple bike rack made by Chris Brigham over at Knife and Saw. This elegant little double-duty shelf is made from a dark walnut and certainly beats the pants off any other apartment-style bike hanging device I've ever seen. Also,it doesn't hurt that Chris has a sweet looking, yellow fixed gear bike to display in it. Your street-beater rat bike may not look quite as classy.

I would love to see a Wabi-Sabi version of this shelf built from driftwood or something. More photos and information on commissioning Chris to make you your own bike shelf can be found here.

via NotCot