The Embroidery Work of Takashi Iwasaki

Takashi Iwasaki is a Winnipeg based artist that works in many mediums including painting, drawing, printmaking, collage and embroidery. He also creates abstract works of art that he refers to as “abbies.” I am personally very drawn to his embroidery works and his use of color and pattern.

He also runs the Semai Gallery in Winniepeg.

I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do. To see the rest of Takashi Iwasaki’s work and for more information about Semai Gallery you can go to www.takashiiwasaki.info.

Danny Mansmith

I first discovered Danny Mansmith on my way to eat breakfast at a little restaurant in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. On Damen Avenue there are all these great little shops that are half underground, the front windows peeking above the street. One of these windows is elaborately decorated in all kinds of sewn items: clothing, neck pieces, decorative sewn shapes. They all have a very distinctive style: lots of random fabrics, quilting, sewn details, buttons, asymmetrical details, large statement pieces. There is an elegance to the randomness and you can tell that Danny really knows how to use fabric and shape, and also that he has a wild imagination.

You can see all of his work on his website, including his marker drawings, sculpture, and papercuts.

*UPDATE* Danny just informed me that he is soon moving from his space on Damen and will continue to create from home, so stop by to see his place while you can!

DIY Fabric Envelopes + Artist Interviews

I’m tired and have a million projects going on, so I’m going to take the easy way out on posting today and tell you to check out the DIY Project from yesterday’s Design*Sponge: Fabric Envelopes!

These were developed by Derek and Lauren of San Francisco’s Curiosity Shop (Wow, two San Francisco posts in a row! What a great city!)

ALSO: Check out the new section on our website: Artist Interviews! First up is Berlin-based artist Kyle Bryant.

Ann Wood + Small Shoulders event at FIB

We have exciting things happening at {fill in the blank} Gallery right now, one of which is a free monthly community arts event that we’ve been working on called Small Shoulders. The idea is to bring the community together to experience art as a whole, using supplies that are very basic (the last one was prints made from fruits and vegetables) and easily accessible to create intricate and beautiful results.

Our next project is called Cardboard Stampede and is a project developed by Brooklyn-based artist Ann Wood. She has even been gracious enough to donate supplies for this project and we are so excited to be partnering with her on this! Please see more information about the event here.

We wanted to highlight some of her other work today. Her bio on her blog explains her work best:

“I work with mostly found, and salvaged materials, many of them vintage or antique garments. There is a kind of affection and tenderness in the re-use and re-purposing of things that were once personal and perhaps treasured possessions. Much of my inspiration comes from these materials as well as from many of the ideas I have been infatuated with my whole life : smallness, intricacies, miniaturization, collections, repetition; lost or abandoned things discovered and rescued; the idea of haunted and enchanted places, things and creatures; the setting of a tiny stage.”

You can see more of her work on her website: annwood.net. Enjoy!

Seagull Bags, custom handmade messenger bags

I am totally blown away by this company! If you are looking for an amazingly constructed, custom designed, high quality messenger bag then look no further. It is obvious that here at Seagull Bags they take the utmost care to create a product that transcends beyond it’s function into a piece of amazing art.

Seagull Bags started as a one-man operation run by Daniel McKewen. Working out of his small basement in Columbus, OH, McKewen spent hours refining his designs and construction plans, making numerous models for friends and family, all the while continually working towards the perfect bag. Seagull boasts it’s one of a kind cam buckle strap system, a variety of bag styles and designs as well as amazing craftsmanship.

Looking to change the way that people think about messenger style bags is one of their goals and all that hard work has paid off! Still located in Columbus, Seagull Bags now has it’s own storefront/workspace and website where you can shop their premade inventory {all ready to ship}, or work with them to have your custom design made.

Here is just a small sampling of their huge repertoire of bags, but be sure to look at their gallery for more incredible designs.

Wallnut Studio Textiles

I’ve been watching a lot of Project Runway Season 2 lately and its been making me think a lot about fabric and patterns, wishing I had time to make clothing again. I did some searching for fabric designers and while there were so many amazing ones, Wallnut Studio was one of my favorites that I stumbled upon. Check out a few of their designs below and see the rest at wallnutstudio.com.

Also see printpattern.blogspot.com for more great patterns and textile designers.