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Morgan Blair's 'Hisssssss Cat' Print

Morgan Blair's sketch books offer endless possibilities for rad screen prints, so picking one was pretty difficult.  After some deliberation about which drawing embodied her refined child-like style, and wouldn't ask too much of our limited screen printing skills, Hissssss Cat was chosen. 

We made 40 prints, each is a slightly different shade of yellow, orange or pink, with a few super special gradient prints slipped into the stack.  Every print is signed and numbered by Morgan, with a special message just for you...

They look great framed in your house or cubicle. 

Or on a T-shirt if you prefer to wear it about town.

You can find the prints for $15 dollars on our online shop.

Shirts can be found at Material (mens) and Mimi & Red (womens) in North Park, San Diego.

Knit Picky : Textura Trunk Show

If the idea of adorning handmade knits doesn't quite resonate with San Diego's balmy, end-of-September weather--hold fast, dear ones. The summer tourists are all but gone, the leaves are nearly loose on their limbs, and a season of change is upon us. This Sunday (09.20) at University Height's Cream Coffee Bar (4496 Park Blvd.), Textura will be offering a full-spread of Uruguayan knit goods, fashioned for consumers who value both high-quality design and fair compensation. Sunday's trunk show is one of seven across the country, as the women of Textura travel from Seattle to New York, presenting artisan knits in both homes and boutiques along the way.

Textura is the result of an ambitious undertaking from co-founder Christina DesVaux, a recent Brown graduate who moved to Uruguay on a Rotary Scholarship in order to develop a relationship between Fair Trade and artisan cooperatives in South America. DesVaux, still based in Montevideo, has since teamed up with friend and San Diego artist Christina McCord--and together the two women have nurtured not only an impressive repertoire with Uruguayan designers and crafters, but a gorgeous collection of knit dresses, wraps, and sweaters.



"Our curated collection has been crafted by a diverse group of women, including rural knitters, seasoned weavers and emerging urban designers," DesVaux explains. "Textura aims to preserve an ancient craft, promote economic and social development, and offer you, the consumer, modern knits that are both beautiful and practical."

So, forget what you thought you knew about both knits and September, and stop by Cream from noon to 5 this Sunday, September 20. Can't make it? Check out Textura's online shop or stalk them on Facebook.

Design for a Living World

Hey everybody! This is my first article for Sezio coming from Brooklyn, NY, specifically Park Slope, soon to be Prospect Heights. I'm now getting settled here – this week I move into my apartment and start a new job – and have already been able to do some design work, which has been really fun. New York is awesome but definitely hard to get a hold of at first. My trick is to go to "landmarks", coffee shops, stores, museums, etc. I like so that I can orient myself slowly and feel like I have a little piece of each place I know well. One of these this Sunday was the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. I didn't get to go my last time here so I wasn't sure what to expect. The bottom level was usual museum fare but the exhibition upstairs, titled Design for a Living World, was, happily, unexpected. Developed by The Nature Conservancy, the exhibition showcases product design using sustainable materials. Here are a few artists that were my favorites:



Christien Meindertsma is a Netherlands-based textile artist working, in this case, with organic wool. After sourcing the wool from from an organic flock of Panama sheep from Lava lake Ranch, Idaho, she felts the wool into a super thick yarn and knits it into "One Sheep Rugs", where each rug is made from the wool of one sheep, using a different knitting technique to reflect the differences in each sheep. When combined together, the rugs create a "Flock Rug". In her interview she noted how she takes inspiration from her environment at the time. Who wouldn't be inspired by this?



Yves Behar created packaging and a self-cleaning grater for a 100% organic cacao product, made in Costa Rica, and grown on rainforest land. The cocoa sales support a Bribri community and help preserve biodiversity in the forest. To make the cocoa patty seen above, Bribri women grind cacao beans until they produce a paste, then form the paste into the patty by hand. After it hardens, the patty is meant to be grated (seen above, left) into a cup of hot water or milk to make a hot cocoa drink.



Ted Muehling takes vegetable ivory, from the Ivory Nut Palm grown in Micronesia, and transforms this natural plant material into necklaces, bracelets, and other items. The nut's texture is so similar to actual ivory it was hard for me to tell the difference. His pieces were carefully cut and polished, and looked similar to a polished stone. This nut in its natural state is very dense and hard, and is not easy to "crack".

If anything this exhibition suggests that sustainable product design is, if not perfect, definitely getting easier. It is not too much to expect that one day these types of processes will become commonplace.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128 
  
Design for a Living World   
by The Nature Conservancy
On view May 14, 2009–January 4, 2010

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I'll be posting to Sezio every so often, but in the meantime check out my blog where I'll be posting all kinds of stuff I get to see and experience here. www.designispeople.com

Subtext Turns 3, Swim Party to Perform

One of our favorite galleries in town is turning three years old this Friday, and to celebrate Subtext has a great show lined up.  Wanderlust will feature works by Demetrius May and Brody Albert and to cap the evening off local favs, Swim Party, will perform in the courtyard.  Should be a grand night, so cruise out to help Don, Dylan, Amy & George celebrate!

Here's a a bit of history and a big thank you from Subtext's blog:

Back in the summer of 2006 when we opened our small gallery & design bookstore in Little Italy, our goal was simple. We wanted to make a contribution to the San Diego art and design community by hosting exhibitions that featured up-and-coming (as well as established) artists. The community embraced us, and since 2006, we are proud to say that we have shown nearly 300 artists (and our current schedule is booked well into 2010). Our upcoming show, Wanderlust, opens September 4th and features new works by Demetrius May and Brody Albert (who happens to be the first employee we hired in 2006).

We could not have done this without the wonderful people we’ve met along the way. Everyone that comes to our events and supports our gallery makes it possible for us to keep the doors open, and continue to showcase these incredible artists from around the globe. Even in these trying economic times we have had a loyal following, and we are determined to show more amazing artists as long as the community will support us. So if you’re in  support of what we are doing, please come to our shows, have a beverage, and buy some art! Subtext loves you.

Wanderlust art show

Friday night at the Che Cafe, the Wanderlust art show boasts work by a myriad of local creatives, and guarantees a good time. Doors open at 7 pm, and costs $7. There will be free pasta for all!

Monica Mendoza
Eddy Miramontes
Jordan Karnes
Veronica Ahumada 
Tyson Wirtzfeld
Gina Tribotti
Jona Tellez-Giron
Sarah Latowski
Max Cheney
Lisa Cutter
Danny Nguyen
and Alex Zaragoza

There will also be live art by:
Eric Wixon
Jaime Lozano 
and Michael Proft

Live music by:
Joel P. West and the Tree RIng
& Miss Erika Davies

DJ set by Illuminauts