Mustafa Maluka

I have always been a super fan of Vladimir Tretchikoff, as a matter of fact I have a huge print of his Balinese Girl hanging in my living room. I am drawn to his exotic women with their slightly off kilter skin tones. Take The Chinese Girl with her blue green skin. One day while minding my own business I stumbled upon the work of Mustafa Maluka and was spell bound. His work was like an updated Modernist version of Tretchikoff, dare I say a new and improved version. The odd skin tones, large portraits, exotic women and more. I wonder if has anything to do with South Africa. Tretchikoff though from Russia painted some of my favorite pieces there and Maluka was raised in the Cape Flats. Cape Town influences or not I did a little side by side comparison for good measure.





From time to time I can also see a little Andy Warhol in Mustafa Maluka’s work. His use of bright bold colors, hair that looks like a wig and painted lips that look separate from the portrait are reminiscent of Warhol’s Ladies and Gentlemen Collection.


Check out more Mustafa Maluka on Flickr and My Space. If the man sold prints I would already have my wallet out. I think Life on the Ropes would look amazing across the room from Balinese Girl.

Pixel Perfect

Is it just me or does the idea of covering your walls in pixel wallpaper sound like the greatest thing ever? I could also really dig some pixel jewelry and maybe even some pixel printed shoes! The big, bright, bulbous look of last summer is reincarnating itself into big, bright, jaggedy pixel-land:



Top Images, Polar & Tiger Illustrations, Siggi Eggertsson
Bottom Image, Enthusiasts, Craig D. Adams



I love this couch! The fabric was designed by Design Grad Student, Christian Zuzunga and is currently in production.



Clockwise from top left: http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Ad for Leicia Cameras, see how it's made, here
Cloud City Lampshade, Phil Cuttance
Dee and Ricky Pixel Heart Pin, available at Fred Flare
Playa Hater Cufflinks - Koopa, available from Etsy Artist, Pixel Party
Pixel-ion ring, from etsy artist, Ulala
Wood Pixel, create your own pixel art


NY street art by kelly goller

An Igloo of My Very Own

Perhaps it the heat of July in Texas that is making me long for an Igloo of my very own. If not the heat something is drawing me into the icy world of Eskimos. Maybe it is a natural progression from the Matryoshka Doll (Russian Nesting Doll) getting a little over exposed since they both have the cute bundled faces. Either way more and more delights of the far north keep catching my eye and I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

1) Flying Igloo Necklace by Bumble Sea
2) Princess Tina Wallet at Chocosho
3) Eskimo Shirt by Lucha Workshop
4) Eskimo Dinner Plate by Tonianne Wolfe

hypercolor my world

I've been seeing a few random hypercolor shirts here and there lately, as soon as I saw one I KNEW the hipsters would be tripping all over their Tom's sneakers to slip into one. Today I saw that American Apparel had added the gem to their line-up, so I know it is totally, one hundred and thirty percent official: hypercolor is back. Expect to see this at every bar with a eurotrash thursday night DJ for the next few months. Here are a few of the designs you may come across:



The ladies could be rockin any of these adorable options from Anzevino and Florence (don't worry, they have manly versions too). Hopefully all the girls will also have that haircut because it is cute cute cute!

If you're looking for something a little more old skool hypercolor, this baggy tee may be the one for you:

Available at Body Faders, they are calling their (rather extensive) line of hypercolor shirts dyenamic infusion. Is hypercolor trademarked? I guess so... this may make our frantic hypercolor google search difficult, but I trust we can do it.

Incase all the funny handprints on everyone's shirts aren't enough to make you forget the horrible pit-stains you get from clothes that change color with heat, but you still want to get on the color bus, how about you go with this fancy bench:




The swamp lounge available from Visual Reference Studio. This is part of a series of hypercolor benches from lead artists Nuno Goncalves Ferreira & Erin Hayne. The designers also make hypertouch walls and, guess what!!? their website is hypercolor too! (of course, they're calling it thermosensitive. tomato, tomAto.)

Whatever you choose to call the new hypercolor incarnate, get used to seeing it all about town.

Hells Bells I Love Cells!

Are they molecules, honeycombs, bubbles, blood cells? Whatever they are I am seeing them everywhere and having health class text book flashbacks. Not just becuase of the pictures inside but because I was a compulsive bubble doodler. I would draw circles, cirlces, circles inside of those circles and more circles. So there is also something soothing and familar about the art. Our first example is by Ashley G and is called You Make Me Happy.

To celebrate my new found love of this pattern I am doing a synchronized Naughty Secretary Club and Badassical post with different examples. I am finding the pattern on everything from pottery to prints.


Abstract Bubbles Necklace by Bumble Sea, Set of 6 Orange and Creme Bubbles Card by Crafterall and Cloud Ring by Alisa Miller.


Serving Bowl by Michelle Antonisse, Accumulated Propagation by Scribble n Scratch and Mini Salt Pinch by Michelle Antonisse.


SEIZE - screenprinted wooden cuff bracelet - beech by Sara Schalliol, Honeycomb Necklace by Brevity and Estrogen Molecule Earrings - in 14K solid gold by Made with Molecules


Radiolaria Bracelet by Nervous System, Coral Bowl by Element Clay Studio and Growing Dress Mini Print by Eek Design.

Goodbye Gladiators, Hello Gaiters

Last winter I became slightly obsessed with colored spats to be worn on boots. I never got around to snagging a pair before the Texas heat crept up on me and it was too late. Spring and summer rolled around and with it amazing knee high gladiator sandals from Balenciaga that had me drooling. Now that I have gladiators in silver, gold, black and copper I needed a new direction to turn, a new shoe quest to go on. A random spin through Etsy brought the work of Les Frivolities to my attention. Her line of Corseted Gaiters smack of hipster Victorian goodness. Almost any shoe can instantly be transformed with just a few snaps or fastens of a button. Choose between short or tall, several different designs and a rainbow of colors. Wish the red pair came in green, Les Frivolities takes custom orders. Not to mention if the leather gaiters offend your Vegan sensibilities they can also be made in non-leather materials.