SPF 45

Yeah, what he said!
…same goes for me except I may find the time to blog…who knows!

Be back May 11th, hopefully with some sort of tan!

The Duke Spirit

Wow. Am I late to this party? Please listen to The Duke Spirit if you haven't already. Leila Moss' voice is seductive and the band's mysterious punk/drone/rock sound is addictive. Cuts Across The Land is the best album I've heard in a long time.



Preview MP3s here (under songs) or on MySpace. Purchase the album here and on iTunes (not in album form).

Thanks to Courtney Love for recommending The Duke Spirit in a recent NME article.

Sodding Sladky

B and I were talking about Korova Milk Bar today and I pulled up some stills from A Clockwork Orange (the Kubrick film).

Damn, I am loving that type.

Reading the words reminded me of how intrigued I was by the slang in the novel by Anthony Burgess. I dug around and found an introduction to the Nadsat Dictionary by Stanley Edgar Hyman. Here is an excerpt:

“Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the book it's language. Alex thinks and talks in the "nadsat" (teenage) vocabulary of the future. A doctor in the book explains it. "Odd bits of old rhyming slang," he says. "A bit of gypsy talk, too. But most of the roots are Slav. Propaganda. Subliminal penetration." Nadsat is not quite so hard to decipher as Cretan Linear B, and Alex translates it. I found that I could not read the book without compiling a glossary; I reprint it here, although it is entirely unauthorized, and some of it is guesswork.

At first the vocabulary seems incomprehensible: "you could peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom or one or two other veshches." Then the reader, even if he knows no Russian, discovers that some of the meaning is clear from context: "to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood." Other words are intelligible after a second context: when Alex kicks a fallen enemy on the "gulliver" it might be any part of the body, but when a glass of beer is served with a gulliver, "gulliver" is head. (Life is easier, of course, for those who know the Russian word golova.)”

Garden Update

I'm starting to see broccoli, broccoli rabe, beets, marigolds and snowpeas! I was beginning to worry that I had a serious brown thumb but it looks like this summer's garden may be fruitful after all!

I've got a thing for hood graphics

Saw this sweet Trans Am in the Village this weekend and grabbed a shot. I'm feeling really inspired by cheesy-but-awesome firebirds lately and this one caught my eye!

Just fucking with you

Op Art carpet, designed by Antonio Boggeri for Polymer Montecatini Edison, Italy, c. 1966
From Sixties Design by Philippe Garner.

Quickies

A few type sketches:

I don't wanna work…

I just want to bang on de drum all day…



My lovely Ludwigs arrived yesterday. HOLY SHIT am I excited!!! Now if I could only free myself of deadlines…



This Ludwig Custom Accent CS is a really sweet intermediate rock kit for me to learn my chops on. It plays great- even the pros are impressed by the quality- the rich tones, huge sound of the bass drum, fat snare, sturdy hardware. I'm still saving up for the vintage Ludwigs of my dreams, but for now, I'm psyched to have this beauty to bang on!

The Price is Right: $63.37

It's PAYDAY!!!

El Presidente

Alex White (a.k.a. Richard Potato a.k.a. Dick Tater) was my 2D design foundations professor at Hartford Art School. Next month, he is being named the president of the Type Directors Club, which is very exciting stuff. Alex was instrumental in helping me develop my skills as a young designer and has been very supportive of Faust Haus. It's great to see him getting props, he deserves it!!!

If you are in New York City, try to make it to TDC Salon where you can hear the pros lecture about their methods, ideas and history, then mingle with them afterwards! (I should practice what I preach!)


Alex is currently a professor of graphic design at City College, FIT and Parsons in New York City. He is the designer and author of How to Spec Type, Type in Use, The Elements of Graphic Design, Thinking in Type and his newest book Advertising, Design and Typography which will be published in 2006. I would recommend his writing to any designer serious about working with letters, especially Thinking in Type which is an excellent book containing a concise history of type, fundamentals of design and philosophy of typography. You can purchase his books online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

For a taste of his writing style and sense of humor check out this letter he wrote detailing his thoughts about Herb Lubalin’s Avant Garde.


Blast from the past bonus: here is a study of the letter W that I painted in gouache for Professor White's FWS110 2D1 class in 1998, complete with grade sheet! I don't have the original assignment and can't remember what font that W is copied from. Any guesses?

Intern, wherefore art thou?

It can't be this hard to find a summer intern! If you know any talented youngstaz that live in tri-state area that would be interested in working at Faust Haus from May through August (and beyonndddd) drop me a line. Or better yet- have them drop me a line: leah@leahfaust.com

Want to work for Faust Haus?
We are looking for someone with superstar talent, an eye for fashion, an interest in subculture and a little bit of an anarchist attitude. Spend the summer months showing off your mad skills!!! Projects may include assisting with design for small business all the way to contributing to national campaigns. You will learn more than your brain can handle! This is a perfect opportunity for a young designer who is willing to bust ass and wants learn the ropes of working in a small creative shop.

Requirements: Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite. Obsession with graphic design. Innate sense of style. Must love rock n' roll! Must love pugs!

More info: Work on our machine or bring a laptop. Studio empties out into a backyard, with a pool...beer on fridays if you're of age! Weekly Stipend provided. College credit ABSOLUTELY- We will be happy to meet with your advisors and submit a review at the end of the summer. Start date: May 25th (ballpark)

How to apply: Tell us about yourself, your work, send a link to your portfolio or contact us first if you'd prefer to send a PDF. Please do not send images in the body of your email.

About our Haus:
Faust Haus is a graphic design studio that specializes in creating logos, custom type, pattern and illustration for branding, as well as carrying that identity throughout all print collateral, packaging, advertising and web presence. We work with luxury brands, entertainment industry, fashion industry, non profit, arts and community organizations and corporate clients such as lawyers, doctors and small start-up businesses.

We have temporarily re-located from NYC to NJ as we prepare to move our business to Los Angeles in November.

Rorschach Brooch

Amelia Toelke makes some unbelievable enamel jewelry. Above is one of her meticulously handcrafted Rorschach brooches. The Image doesn't do it justice. These brooches sparkle with a black-mica-colored enamel on the front, and gleam with polished silver on the back.

Amelia is an artist in residence at The Fire House Studio in Kingston, NY where she has access to a sprawling glass blowing, metal smithing and wood working studios!!! She is also Arielle's kid sister- it's pretty obvious that creative talent runs in the family.