View from the Zoo

I change business cards like I change clothes - every season a new outfit! And it’s a lot cheaper than in the old days of offset printing. This season I printed 100 4×6 inch postcards through Gotprint.com and cut them up to achieve the clothes tag size cards which is smaller than the standard 2×3 inches. Six different colors on one side and six different animals on the other. I also simplified my job description to read «illustration» which works in English and French (cards have to be bilingual in Quebec). And, voilà, 600 glossy business cards advertisng my website www.julienchung.com! I like fishing so I placed a very small fish under my name. If you would like a set, please e-mail me at julienchung@hotmail.com and include your postal address.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the zoo, not only to observe the fauna but also to browse the gift shop. I discovered a line of Australian wooden toys called Anamalz and I had to get more than one! My wife got the alligator, I got the panda and my parents are going to get the lion and tiger for Christmas - let’s hope they don’t read this post! Winner of an Australian International Design Award this year and awarded the top three-star rating by the Canadian Toy Testing Council for 2008, these environmentally friendly animals are conceived «through sketch drawings while drinking coffee and eating cake in Torquay, a little seaside town in Australia famous for surfing and surfclothing (Quicksilver and Rip Curl).» says Tim Scott, co-founder and business development manager. «We take the sketches and put them into technical drawings. I go to the lathe and turn the shapes, and attach the legs and materials according to the design. We then engage Darren Keating (Lion King 2) to do the illustrations of the faces and paintwork.» «We» refers to Tim and Louise Scott (who is at the origin of the concept and is the lead designer). Made from FSC maple wood, water based paints and fabrics made from recycled materials the toys are now being distributed by Russ Berrie. Congratulations, Anamalz!

PS : I would love to work around coffee and cake on the beach! Where is Torquay, anyway?

This cat is a summer creation by my friend Ronna who created him during a folk art workshop with her friends. Made up of leftover bits and pieces of wood and hardware, his name is Google, as in googly eyes. See the process on her blog on July 22nd. Great job, Ronna!

And look at this cute tea set, painted by Ronna. Who wouldn’t want to share cookies with these cats?

I found Jeremy through his t-shirt website amorphia-apparel.com and his surreal animal designs thoroughly intrigued me. So I wrote him a few questions to satsify my curiosity and here the results, true to his form. Thanks, Jeremy!

Other Jeremy websites: wearscience.com and controversy.wearscience.com (T-shirts); jeremykalgreen.com (personal website); newstereotypes.blogspot.com (New Stereotypes to Teach your Kids, a satirical blog).

Q : Who is Jeremy?
A : I’m a professional slacker, former OSU photo student and general ne’er do well living and working out of beautiful Columbus, Ohio.

Q : What were you thinking about when you came up with the Angler and the Morningator designs?
A : I honestly have no idea what inspires me, and my designs often tend to be non-sequiturs. One day I was just pooping around at this or that when I heard a little singsong voice in my head chirping «mornin’ gator!», and the image of a grumpy alligator getting ready for a long day of gatoring with a cup of joe and his morning paper just popped into my head. Luckily, since I am my own boss and my overhead is virtually zero, I can just throw new ideas out there without trying to justify or rationalize them. And that was just one of those totally random ideas that apparently seems to connect with people.
    This last Valentine’s day I just wanted to offer a few different shirts with different tones, so I made a design I thought was cute but weird (octolove) one design that was a little more cryptic (gearheart) and one that was a bit more cynical (which was where the Angler design originated). Continue reading »