Mmm...sneakers! Nom nom nom

The Artisan gallery is currently hosting two great exhibits for the price of one at one great price… FREE!

The main event is a broad cross section of sneaker styles, purposes and colours; some iconic, some WTF but most dialing in some form of wow factor. The display is set to a rough time line of major sneaker related events through out their history. Individual items are also numbered and are available for look up via a Supercheap Auto oil/air filter, paint code booklet on a chain deal. Some random facts are also included which made for hushed gallery library voices to be broken with honks of chuckling.

As a bonus, a side feature of the exhibit includes the Converse Blank Canvas Project where plain Chuck Taylor Cons were given to local artists to customise or convert. Some pieces were outlandish and featured a lot of intricate work while others seem like they were thrown together during morning tea at a Westfield arts and crafts kids minding stand. However, my favourite pieces weren’t artist pieces but the anatomy of a Chuck and the history of Converse wall (even if there weren’t any of the ERX series!).

Our buds over at Sneaker Freaker provided a fair portion of the exhibits and information so if you’ve been around the traps you may have seen quite a few of the items before but its still worth a look to see them all in the one place (and pick up a free copy of Sneaker Freaker mag 😉 ).

Even if you only have even a passing interest in funky footwear and 20min to spare after you’ve stuffed yourself at Harajuku Gyoza then its definitely worth a look.

The exhibit runs till August 16, 2012.

More Sneaker exhibit photos here

So where was I the last couple weeks? Why, getting head spins from paint and glue fumes of course!

Some of you may know I also moonlight under the Saru Venom/James Saru monikers for my creative projects, in this case it was for the Laced Munny customising competition held in conjunction annually with the Kidrobot Dunny release. With top notch entries in previous years I really had my work cut out for me, not to mention one of the biggest hurdles of just getting it started (unlike previous years!). So I decided to go all out and create the Diodon Battle Droid based loosely on Robotech Mech Warriors and incorporating some freshly learned painting techniques thanks to a resurging love for model kit building. Also threw some LED’s at it for good measure 😉

The competition itself had really taken off this year with 39 entries from some talented artists but the hard work paid off as I took home 1st place in the competition! 😀

Special thanks to Laced and their sponsors for hosting another great event, now how to follow it up next year??

Check the spec sheet for build information and the detailed photos below.

What a day! A proverbial rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, but it just goes to show that not even crazy torrential sideways rain can ruin a good vibe!

Much love to all those that turned up and showed their support for our talented locals!
We’ve already got some big plans for next years bash! In the meantime, stay tuned for spin off events 😉

Shout out to all of those that made the event possible…

Production Team:
Lisa – Performances coordinator
Eve – Promo and marketing coordinator
Mel – Art cordinator
Kym – Production assistant and advisor
Knovell – MC and Stage manager
Sholto – Stage manager
John – Production manager
Dion – Production assistant
Alicia – Administration
Katie – Stall assistant

Sponsors:
Footlocker
3D World Magazine
Urban Wear
Postal Entertainment
Paul from Reliabledesigns.com.au – Banner and stickers
Dave from Speaker Wrath – Advertising material

Support the businesses that support you and your scene!

Stalls:
Postal Entertainment
Yungrif – designer tees
Andy DeLore – designer tees and canvas art
Eve – kicks
Nelson – kicks
Afro Denim – designer tees
Chamellieon – photo art, custom toy art
Ben – photo art
Ryan – kicks, bags, tees
Mystique
Urbanwear
(and of course the soulbridgemedia/Fresh Out stall with all the Kidrobot items 😉 )

If you want to chase up any items that you may have missed out on during the day, or couldnt make it on the day, give the sellers a yell on the Fresh Out facebook page.

Performers:
Kuts and Drops
Mark Lowndes
Cat Thompson
Gamarang
Fergie aka H1pe
Karmin Lyricist
Macbeth dance crew
Dastardly Kuts
Hopey1
Morgan Macmanus and Omegachild
Rola D
Yojay
Illkid
The Drone Tree
Elements dance crew
[clone]

Like what you heard/saw on the day? Add your favourite performers and get along to their next gig for a full set!

And finally James and all the top staff and organisers of the Chinatown Mall and Markets!

Fresh Out 2010 Festival photos here

Brisbane gets a royal sampling!!

We’ve known for awhile that Brisbane is packed full of awesomeness, you just have to know where to look. So we at soulbridgemedia rounded up a couple of our good friends and thought we’d help the uninitiated out by hosting a cultural festival encompassing.. well, cool shit!

Expect to see and hear goodies from up and coming and established music, dance performances, art and fashion designers. It will be a day full of live music, DJ’s, dancers, fashion shows and market stalls selling anything from sneakers and collectible toys to clothing and art work and there will even be sample bags!

Best of all, you too can be part of it. We’re on the look out for businesses, promoters, DJ’s, artists, designers or even private sellers wishing to be part of or even help sponsor the event. Even if you just want to get your flyers/business promo/demo material out to the greater community, we can help!

For more info, updates and full brief go to: www.facebook.com/freshoutfesitval

So lock in Saturday October 2 in the Chinatown Mall (Duncan St. Fortitude Valley) and stay tuned for live entertainment and market sellers announcements!

08.23.2010

Image courtesy of www.daymonart.com

Those of you who frequent sneaker nut site Sneaker Freaker or have been to a few big name festivals will be familiar with the work by Daymonart, or if you’re a Melbourne local you’d probably know him as Daymon Greulich.

The bold and colourful sneaker pieces are of course our faves but there are heaps of other designs and concert/gig posters available in his web store.
Standard A2 sized posters are around a very affordable $25. Some pieces aren’t listed in the store but drop him a line and see if he can do a limited edition print for you.

With our move to the new SBM HQ winding up and the decorating beginning, we couldn’t help but to snatch up a couple more works to deck out the new digs!

If your place is looking a bit drab we suggest you do the same and check out Daymonart and drop Daymon a line, great personal service and an all round stand up guy. He is also a dab hand at animation and design so if you need work done along those lines we’re sure he’s more than happy to oblige as well.

Cheers Daymon!

12.23.2009

Ok so you want to build an army of custom minions to do your bidding or perhaps the Rsvp’s to your tea parties look a little thin? Then its time to get your Martha Stewart on.

If you’re thinking “Ay? What’s this all about?” then you need to have a quick read of this. For those up to speed, continue reading.

These are the steps to create a simple decoupage’d custom

    Step 1.

You’ll need a few supplies

Ask for help if you need to, just dont ask Ken.  He has minimal articulation ;)

Ask for help if you need to, just dont ask Ken. He has minimal articulation 😉

1.a) Hey doll! – Nooks knock off toy. These are available from Cardiology. As these are privately run franchises, stocks vary between stores. I have been getting mine from the Garden City store (Mt Gravatt, Brisbane) as the city store doesn’t stock them. Call ahead to save yourself a trip. They’re $10ea. If you’re planning on doing a few of them, ask for the loyalty card, buy 10 get one free. (unfortunately I only found out about it after I had already bought 10!)
b) Choosing your Nook. There’s quite a variety of different shapes and colours (you can get an idea from their site), so choose one to match your mental blueprints. Depending on the colour of paper, you may want to choose one that matches or best compliments the colour you’re working with. If you’re after predominately white or black characters, the mouse and the skeleton respectively are the way to go.

2. Get the – Paper. The sky is the limit for this. You can use anything from newspaper to wrapping paper to butcher’s paper. Have a look round the house or pop down to your craft/discount store. The only thing to remember, it has to be rather absorbent and not too thick so the glue can soak in, which makes it stick better and is a lot easier to work with ie. More pliable around edges and curves. Beware of papers that have a high gloss, super smooth finish or are woven, these can have
a plastic/cellophane content and are really tough to work with. If you’re not sure, you can test your paper by cutting off a small piece adding a drop of water, then seeing if it will mould and stay around the edge of the foot. If it doesn’t stick or hold its shape when you crease or fold it then you might have to choose different paper.

3. Stuck on you – Glue. The cheaper and thinner the better! You’ll need to soak the paper in glue so the thinner it is the more likely it will soak right through. This also gives a light lacquer finish on the final product. I used a simple glue pen. Great for controlled, no mess application and readily available. IGA has them for .92c

4. Ya – Tool. This will be used for applying/spreading glue and selecting, positioning and “working” pieces. I chose a couple good quality round toothpicks. Cheap and plentiful. The point is used to press the paper into creases and joins ie. Around the neck and arms and also to “magnet” pieces so you don’t need to put everything down each time you add a piece. The round edge will help you roll pieces flat, mould them to contours and edges and also to disperse excess glue. You’ll want something that will sit comfortably in your fingers, so find something that suits you, wooden skewers or disposable chopsticks are also options.

5. ob ja dart – Other bits and pieces. The rest are things you should have lying around the house and will just help make your customising a bit easier. Clear working area – little bits of paper + glue = mess in any language. Scissors – for cutting decou bits or for those corners that just don’t crease. Something small to “fence” or contain your decou clippings from exploding everywhere at the first sign of a cough or if you sit down too fast, I use a large roll of sticky tape. Damp cloth – for stray glue bits or if your fingers or tool get sticky. Drying rack – something to sit the little guy on with minimal contact while its drying, I used an up turned flat backed power adapter.

    Step 2


Prepping the toy. If you’re using lighter coloured paper you may need to go over the painted areas of the original toy so they don’t show through. You can give it a quick light coat of ACRYLIC paint in a similar colour or if it’s a predominantly white one, at a pinch you can use “white out” tape.

    Step 3

Paper prepping. Tear or cut your paper into random shapes and sizes roughly 1-2cm (Note: larger pieces can be harder to work around contours and edges). Torn paper = greater absorption and bonding to other pieces. Works better for random patterns. Cut paper = better for joining/matching up repetitive patterns. To minimise overlaps, joining edges need to be straight. As the space is filled you’ll have to start tailoring the pieces to fit exact spots.

    Step 4

Decou-ing. I start from the top down. Apply a liberal blob of glue round the top, front and back of the head. Make sure its nice and thick, not too the point its dribbling but enough to wet and soften the paper. Any excess can be wiped or “squeegeed” later. Don’t worry about the glue drying on one side while youre working on another, it takes quite some time to dry by itself (~15-30min). Start with the larger pieces to cover more of the easy areas first. Place a piece on the gluey area then lightly dab it round the edges with your toolpick. When it starts sticking, roll from the center out, just like if you were rolling out a pizza base with a rolling pin. This kneads the paper and helps it absorb the glue and also squeegees the excess glue out. If some parts pop up or don’t make flush contact, add a couple dabs of glue on top of the paper, this will soften the paper
and make it more pliable. Some of the acute angles like on the feet or hands, you may need to soak the piece in glue and let it sit or even add a drop of water to the piece before sticking it to the body.
Stick torn pieces with a little overlap and cut pieces edge on edge to help make a smoother finish. Too much overlap it may end up lumpy, too little and youll have thin/clear spots that you will have to go over with pin head sized pieces.

Once you finish the head and body, you’ll find less dry spaces to hold, so it’s a good idea to do it in parts, allowing the sections to dry in between. I used an upturned power adapter as a cradle to sit its head in so there would be minimal contact and less chance of it falling over while drying. Those of you in countries that only have 2 prong adapters may need to find an alternative. Once dried, go over the completed areas and make sure there are no air bubbles or stray/rough edges. Some can be pressed down with your finger nail while others may need going over again with an extra dollop of glue.

For finer details around the around the neck and arms, you can choose to lock it in a London guard position by decou-ing over the joints or if you want movement you can use a scalpel afterwards.
Take extra care to roll the feet flat, the dolls are nose heavy and topple easily. When its almost dry, find a flat surface and press down hard to make sure they can stand their ground.

    Step 5

Finishing. Once you’ve finished gluing, give it overnight to dry then check for any gaps or thinner areas in the paper. Touch up accordingly, allow to dry then add your final touches, paint, pen or glue on other features or accessories and you’re done!

Here’s one that i whipped up using the dragon analogue
kid burner

Been busy? Hit us up in the comments with your own custom vinyls!

11.24.2009

Nuked Nooks

by admin

Kid BurnerA few months ago we stumbled across what can only be described as blatant ripoffs of Kidrobot Munnys. They’re called Nooks. The basic body mould and arms are pretty close (except they’re made from a cheap soft pvc blend. The arms are even softer along the lines of a dog’s chew toy, but more on that later) to that of the Munnys while the heads are an oblong sphere skewed towards the front. The main difference lies in the different styles of characters. Each one is a different “thing”, ranging from standard animals: mouse, cow, kangaroo to mythical creatures like a dragon or a Cyclops guy with a bolt through its head or people like nurses and kings. So each character has a different add on to the basic mould be it wings, tails, horns or ears along with a terrible attempt at personalising with a name, favourite game, “friend” and a rego number to take to the seizure inducing Teletubby designed website. What it is for, I can’t tell you, but as soon as I get a hold of a 5yo, I’ll let you know.

Despising aside, I thought, these could actually come in handy. Instead of spending $20-30AU to purchase a 4″ DIY Munny locally that I could potentially ruin, I can pay half that and practice on the cheapy instead. So in doing that I’ve created a little how to for those wanting to get their art on and letting a bit of creativity run wild.

The first thing I tried was a simple coat of paint to get rid of the ugly faces and colours. As mentioned theyre made from a soft pvc type plastic which causes some problems with adhesion and drying. If you apply very light coats (I used a cheap enamel spray paint) allowing drying time between each coat, the body and head seems to dry ok, however if you get it even slightly thicker in places, it will have a tacky texture. As for the arms, forget about it. They stay just as wet as the day you sprayed them. So you will need a pvc specific type paint (I’m still trying to track down the best type for the job) for it to dry and adhere properly. Not having this handy at the time I instead decoupaged it in plain paper and then repainted it.

The other option of course is decoupage from the start, basically covering the whole thing in small bits of paper with glue, paper Mache style, and this is what we’ve done. I will detail the process I used in a future post.

Till then, a sneak peak of one I whipped up. In tribute to the Kid Robot knock offs I’m aptly naming them Kid Burners (:

DSC_2537-4 copy

10.14.2009

swell sculpture festival 2
This is an annual festival for local artists who’s works are displayed along Paradise Parade at Currumbin beach, Gold Coast.
There’s always a big variety of concepts and materials and this year was no different with over 50 works on display.

Getting there while its still light helps as quite a few displays are not lit, however hanging around after sunset with a flash handy has its rewards as well, as seen in the photos (:

Complete gallery here