Friday Finds 8.27.2010

Miyoko: The Incredible Quilling of Yulia Brodskaya

I recently discovered the unbelievable work of Russian artist Yulia Brodskaya in a book I was flipping through (and will be reviewing here soon!). Her quilling is the most spectacular of its sorts that I have ever seen—and it brought up fond memories of my great-grandmother (appropriately nicknamed "G.G.") who was a quiller herself. My sister has a piles of pre-cut paper and the tool you use to spin the paper and after seeing Brodskaya's work (and clicking through the images for longer than I probably should) I'm dying to borrow her crafting box and give it a go myself.

Ethan: But Does It Float

In it's 20-year stint, first generation OG design periodical Gebrauchsgraphik published some superbly striking covers. I love the wide array of influences represented here—traditional, surrealistic and folk art all share equal time and a yummy grid alongside the stellar design of the day.

Jaime: Trent Jansen's 'Cycle Sign' bike reflectors

These cool bike reflectors, which attach to your wheel spokes and the front and back of your bike, are made from repurposed scraps of road signs by Sydney designer Trent Jansen. The straps are made from recycled bicycle tubes. They're available from Cycle Style, a bike-centric online shop, based out of Australia, that also sells cute legwarmers and kitschy oilcloth double panniers.

Michele: Jazz Lost and Found

I was so, so, so, so—dare I say—jazzed when I heard the news that the National Jazz Museum acquired the "Savory Collection," a rare archive (almost a thousand discs!) of live recordings of jazz pioneers from the late 1930s. While we wait with held breath for official releases from never-before-heard Lester Young, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, and so many others, some samples from the collection can be heard here. DO NOT MISS a listen to the 4.5-minute "Blues Jam" by Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, and Jack Teagarden. Your ears will thank you over and over again.

Sam: Inside Insides

The produce section of your local grocery store as it might appear in a doctor's office. These magnetic resonance images of foodstuffs make for trippy viewing, like this one of celery.

Brendan: The Visual Language of Herbert Matter

This Sunday, August 29th, I'll be going to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco to check out Joel Shepard, film curator of YBCA, in a special sneak preview of a documentary on legendary graphic designer, Herbert Matter.
 

Dakota: Autografik

Autografik is a flickr archive made by designer Jonathan Turner that features scans of photographs and illustrations of modernist graphic design applied to vehicles. Most of these are corporate identities from the 60's and 70's. There are a lot of nice moments to see here on awesome automobile shapes. Via my pal Sam's blog.

Kathryn: Younicorn

I don't have an iPhone, but I want one. This app makes me want to even more—not only can you turn yourself into a mythical creature but it's clean good fun for babies and pets too!