ode to a jar of bonne maman

the jar of jam lasted a little over three months. having served its bestowed life as a container of fruit preserve, it then became a part of our own. not a bottle, not a container, but a living memory of those three months and its hurried breakfasts – a silent yet active listener of our talks of unrealised ambitions and plans, of highway escapades and late night films, of books and distant flea markets…

Image Courtesy: Fiona Sami

…the smell of fresh ink

And so we finally see the Juggler t-shirt in print. It feels good to be published about, real good. The book Typoshirt One can now be purchased here. Image courtesy: Peter / wordboner

index books to publish juggler t-shirt

The Juggler t-shirt we designed for Dubé, a juggling equipment brand in New York, is now to be published by Index Books of Spain in their new book called Typoshirt One, a compendium of typographic t-shirts designed by studios across the world. Its pure pleasure to feature next to studios such as 55DSL, graniph and Levi’s!

of air and sophie and xavier veilhan

Air is one of my favourite bands of all time and when I first looked at the cover for their album ‘Pocket Symphony’, it excited me to see that it featured miniature figurines of Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, the band themselves. The figurines seemed to be made in stereolithography, a process I was also exploring at the time in my design of jewellery.

It was only later I came across the work of Xavier Veilhan and realised that it was indeed stereolithography. I also learnt that Xavier Veilhan was no ordinary man. He created many such objects and figures of various scales using a variety of processes. My favourite pick from his work is Sophie, the yellow lady who now spends her time on two levels of the Parisian restaurant Germain. The interiors are by India Mahdavi and you can see the making of Sophie at Xavier’s website here.

barbapapas meet graniph

I grew up with Barbapapas. Barbapapa is the name of the lead character and of a series of books written by the french duo of Annette Tison and Talus Taylor in the seventies. The freeshaping Barbapapa, his beloved Barbamama and their seven very interesting children (my favourite is the furry black Barbabeau!) are together known as the Barbapapas. In their cartoon version, they were my Sunday morning lifeline on Indian television back in the 80′s. All I ever wished for back then was to be like Barbapapa, assuming any shape I wished to suit my small missions across the garden, the neighbour’s backyard and whatever terrain defied my small frame. So when I learnt of graniph’s new collaboration with Barbapapas, celebrating 40 years of world saving blob-ism, I screamed in sheer barbapapesque joy!

Sadly, graniph’s range of 12 designs is only available in Japan, and so I guess I shall just head over to e-bay and wait a while.  Anything for Barbapapas!

delhi’s super pastry shop

Nobody ever told me about Wenger’s. Like most people who’ve spent a part of their lives in Delhi, I guess I just knew. I also have little idea how long they’ve been using this box with the cherubs graphic; though it shows all the signs of dating back to 1926 when the shop first opened its doors. My current favourite is the Peach Danish, a definite evolution from the countless chocolate eclairs and patties devoured during college in Delhi.

And if you still didn’t know, you can find Wenger’s right next to exit gates 7 and 8 of the Rajiv Chowk metro station in Connaught Place Block A.

bonobo

Bonobo releases a new album next week. Bonobo is Simon Green, a musician from the UK. Ive always enjoyed his music for more than the rhythm; each piece makes me feel and somehow imagine how I might express myself in music if I were to step onto a virgin beach and a forest beyond on a new continent that I had just discovered. I especially like a track named Noctuary, which is such a beautiful word, from his album ‘Dial M for Monkey’. Black Sands should be equal in pleasure! Download a free single from the new album here.

the drawing dutchman

I came upon Parra’s work through one of my favourite magazines – Its Nice That. His drawings and type style are so very enjoyable and fluent; and the colours seem to be the exact language I want my walls to scream in. The amazing dutchman offers an interesting insight into his life in this interview. Oh and if you preorder the print version of Its Nice That – No.3 like right NOW, they’re throwing in a Parra print for free!

draw me a word

My recent acquisitions include a copy of Anorak – The Happy Mag for Kids, and I’m totally floored. I think I need to get back to drawing, to childhood, to colour, to learning with my mind wide open… to just about everything happy and wonderful! The magazine publishes quarterly and each issue is based on a simple theme that ties the content together. Order your subscription here; the wonderful people at Anorak deliver anywhere across the globe.

message in two bottles

Now and then, along come products you wished you had designed instead. But its all good, and the fact that they exist is exciting enough.  The one on top in the picture above is the Rethink hanger designed by Xuan Yu. The one beneath is by Teale Merkeley.

The Rethink hanger and Teale’s wire hanger both require you to screw on two used plastic bottles to complete their function as clothes hangers.

Buy the Rethink hanger here.