Kristin Cofer - Design That Kills

When Mandie Bee of Heartbreaker Fashion agreed to do an interview for DTK, I was more than ecstatic!  She is the designer behind some of my favorite fashions, including my go-to photo shoot dress, the Super Spy Dress.  Not only does Mandie find time to run Heartbreaker Fashion with her mom, but she indulges in her musical passions as well, singing in her indie band, The Automatic Year.  Read on and be inspired by the fashionable and lovely, Mandie Bee.

“I do not associate myself with any one social scene.”

Name: Mandie Bee
Occupation: Business Owner/ Designer, Heartbreaker Fashion
Location: The adorable and hip Downtown of Fullerton, California

What is the history behind Heartbreaker fashion?
Through high school and the start of my college years, I was very much into vintage fashion- new reproduction and true vintage. If I ever came across a great find, I would often copy the basic design idea or even buy it to copy the pattern so that I could make my own rendition of that dress.
During my sophomore year in college in 2004, I would make myself a custom dress, wear it out on the weekend and then sell it on Ebay. Occasionally, my friends would take orders of the dress right off my body! I was able to sell each dress for about $50-75 on average, which for a poor college student was fantastic.

My mother, Teresa, is actually the one with the real background in fashion. She went to FIDM in 1974 and has worked in the fashion industry for more than 25 years. She has designed for lines carried in high end department stores, designed and manufactured her own clothing line in the mid 80’s, and has taught fashion at a number of trade schools in the area as well. As a skilled pattern maker and dress maker, she knows what’s up. My mother saw what I was up to and suggested that we try to turn it into an actual business.

Over the years, we have found that my greatest skill is in marketing and promotion. My mother takes care of making the patterns and the production end of it all. Together we design and cover all other aspects of the business. We call ourselves a well-oiled machine. I need her just as much as she needs me in order for Heartbreaker to be a success.

Favorite Heartbreaker pieces?
My favorite Heartbreaker pieces are: The Super Spy Dress, The Betty Bolero, The Trixie Top, and The Sabrina Dress.  All of our other pieces are great, too- I love the fit- but I wear these particular items out the most.

What inspires you?
My favorite thing to do is peruse old Vogue fashion magazines from the 1940’s-1960’s. We also flip through current fashion magazines to get ideas. We want to be able to sell a product that’s retro-looking enough for the rockabilly girl, but also hip enough for the modern girl.

Is it your full time job?
Yes it is! and I love it. My mom and I goof around a lot. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss since I was a kid, so I’m living my dream.

Tell me about your love of music and your band, the automatic year- It seems the sounds you create musically are very different than the mid century inspired fashions on Heartbreaker-

I am into all sorts of music. I grew up with the oldies station, in high school I got into jamaican ska and jazz standards, in college I fell in love with 60’s soul. I had a group of friends growing up that were and very much still are into the indie music scene and while I got hints of it here and there, I didn’t really involve myself until I joined my current band.

I’m a singer and I really don’t have much preference of what TYPE of music I’m involved with as long as I’m doing it. I’ve sung with a reggae band, I’ve jumped in on jazz jam sessions, I was in the gospel choir in high school, and I was the music director for our community theatre group for one production.

Writing songs and playing with my indie band (The Automatic Year) is my favorite thing to do. It’s all I ever want to do. And while I love my job, I really do look at Heartbreaker as my job, and music as my passion. I do not associate myself with any one social scene.

What are you listening to right now?
I’m listening to Ella Fitzgerald- Live at Newport. I love Ella.

Ten favorite things (anything)
In no real particular order:

1. Music
2. Pear Martinis from Table Ten in Fullerton
3. Astrology
4. Yogurt Land
5. Fondue
6. Riding bikes
7. My new forest green Peacoat
8. Shopping in Antique Stores and Vintage Clothing stores
9. Dancing
10. Playing with my band

Any favorite fashion/shoe/retail websites or blogs?
I have a few staples in what I like to call my “Beauty-is-your-duty” regimine.

E.C. Star is my favorite clothing line. Very hip and unique. Wonderful quality, too! Made in the USA.

Lush makes soaps and other cosmetics from natural ingredients. Here’s to the green movement!

Benefit Cosmetics. This is the only line of make up that will not make my skin break out. I LOVE all of their products and I swear by it. The packaging is adorable, too.

I am also a fan of Kaboodle.com- this helps me with my internet shopping.

Any advice to others pursuing the dream of having their own fashion line?
DREAM BIG! But take baby steps getting there and be realistic with your spending- you will not blow up over night!

Heartbreaker started in my parents back patio. We worked out of their home for 3 years before moving into our current work space. We started with 2 designs and a $50 investment- Now we have over 50 different patterns for dresses, tops and skirts.

I had to keep my other job for a long time- I could not expect Heartbreaker to take care of me, but we realized how much potential it had. My mother was not in a position to worry about money. Fashion and being a business owner is her passion, so this is ideal for her. They say that if you can make it past your first year without losing any money, you’re doing it right.

You can see all of her beautiful fashions at heartbreakerfashion.com (my current fashion crush is the Molly Dress) and listen to her band, The Automatic Year here!

Howdy, readers! Meet Hang Jones–a storyteller for the proletariat in the vein of Springsteen and Cash, a wandering troubadour in the vein of Van Zandt and Dylan, a soft-centered scoundrel in the vein of Han Solo. You may already know Hang as Stephen Grillos, frontman for San Francisico outlaw rock’n’roll band, Del Bombers. But now he’s mounted his steel horse with his six-guns at his sides, ready to set forth on a solitary adventure into the territory of the concept album. And this ain’t no tumbleweed of a record—The Ballad of Carlsbad County, set in 1887 New Mexico amidst a three-way battle of the hearts, is classic Americana driven by tales of humankind’s two greatest forces—love and death.

The album and its first conceptual video will be available on October 22 via the Hang Jones website. If you’re in the San Francisco area, be sure to catch Hang playing live on October 1 at El Rio, on October 11 at Café International, and then once again on October 21 at Hotel Utah.

RW:  First off…Hang Jones: one man or a band? Or both?

HJ: When I began writing the album it was a solo project. I had spent over 10 years in a band (Del Bombers), and I really wanted to try music on my own. However, I didn’t want to go by “Stephen Grillos” as there are so many singer/songwriters out there these days. I wanted a name that could be for either an individual or a group. If I am up on stage performing solo people will think I am hang Jones, but if I have the entire band up their, then we must be Hang Jones. It is ambiguous, and that is by design.

While I consider Matt and Mayumi (Matt Cunitz: bass, piano, pump organ. Mayumi Orgino: fiddle, backing vocals) very much a part of the band, they are both very busy with other groups. So live shows will be the group at times, me solo others, and sit in players here and there. Should make each show unique in it’s own way.

All that said, as I get deeper and deeper into the characters of the story, I am digging taking on the identity of the minstrel Hang Jones.

RW: I don’t claim to know much about San Francisco, having only been there once, but my impression of the music scene there has been cultivated from listening to bands like VSS, Pleasure Forever, Vue–bands that I would consider to possess a much flashier and more urban sound and image. With that in mind, I found your music and your image to be quite out of the ordinary. Do you feel like you’re a loner in your local underground music scene? And if so, do you think that has any impact on the music you write considering that it conveys a sense of the old west and the solitary cowboy life?

HJ: I think like any urban center, San Francisco attracts them in all shapes and sizes. And while I wouldn’t say roots music is the dominant scene in San Francisco, it certainly has a long tradition in this city. Since the 60s, San Francisco has been famous for its Bluegrass and Folk artists, and the musicians here are serious about keeping that heritage alive. So thankfully I am not coming out of left field being a San Francisco artist that sings Americana music. As for the solitary sound of the songs, I think a lot of that comes from the fact that I holed up in my apartment for around a year and a half writing this record. For the first time I didn’t have a band to bounce everything off of, although my wife played that role well. Also, I had moved around a lot, and hadn’t been in the SF music scene for a number of years. So yeah, I definitely feel like not many people around here know who the hell I am.

RW: Your songs are sung in first-person and so it seems that you have taken on this character of Jacob Powell (NOTE: Jacob Powell is the bad guy, the hero is William Bishop).. Was that a conscious decision? What made you decide to tell this particular story from the point of view of someone who’s living your lyrics? Why not some omniscient third-person observer?

HJ: I like to think of my role here as the storyteller - like I am traveling back east from the Wild West with tall tales of murder, tragedy, and romance. But you’re right, these songs are all sung in the first person, so that line got blurred somewhere along the road.
I will say that, in writing this album, I became very attached to all these characters. I had some major issues to work through, especially with William. He begins the record getting mixed up in a gunfight and killing someone, then later beats a guy to death, but he is supposed to be the hero of the story. Trying to make him a strong yet sympathetic character took a lot of time to flush out and lead to a really deep understanding of him and his motivations. I guess after going through all that I found it easier to sing the songs from their perspective. I think it makes the songs that more personal, and haunting.

RW: You and I have only conversed briefly and so I know little about you. One thing I do know is that you have lived all over the country. This may also tie in with questions 2 and 3, but do you think your roaming past has allowed you to identify with such ‘western’ characters?

HJ: I think a lot of the fixation with Western characters comes from my upbringing. I’ve always had a fixation with the Wild West. I grew up watching Spaghetti Westerns with my Dad, and have read a bunch of books on the subject. But you’re right, I think moving around a lot has influenced my songwriting greatly. I only lived in Texas for a short time, but it happened early enough in my music career to have a huge impact on my writing style. Two of my biggest heroes came out of Texas (Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt).

Also, as far as traveling around goes, a lot of isolation comes with it. When you spend a lot
of time in strange places where you don’t know a single soul you get in a lot of conversations with yourself. Having a guitar helped keep me from going crazy a lot of the time.

RW: In the ‘Legend’ section of your website, you refer to the songs you’ve just finished as chapters. Do you plan to write your future albums in the same manner, or even as subsequent volumes of this story? Does this make it, in a sense, a ‘concept album’?

HJ: The original plan for release was to have a song and a video for each chapter, so listeners could learn the story as it evolves through a cool visual medium. As an indie artist I quickly learned that would not be possible. I just don’t have the budget. So the Legend page can fill that need.

Also, I was going to release song at a time, but I got so many emails from people that wanted to buy the CD I decided to hurry up already and release it. So the album is coming out next month, and I’ve got two videos finished, but I will continue on with releasing Legends for each song so people can get into the characters and learn more about them. I am also trying to get together the cash to complete the video series, but that will end up being 5 chapters, not 12. So the videos will focus on the William - Caroline - Jacob triangle of love and murder, while the legend and album fills in the back story of those three characters.

RW: Lastly…Han Solo: perhaps the ultimate cowboy?
HJ: I am a huge Star Wars geek, so for my money there is no “perhaps” about it. Han Solo is my biggest hero (sorry Townes). On the surface he is selfish and arrogant, but when the chips are down and you need someone watching your back he’s the best friend a man could have. I wouldn’t leave him alone in a room with my wife though.

all photo and flyer design by lisa marie grillos

More Hang Jones:
http://www.hangjones.com
http://www.myspace.com/hangjones
http://www.youtube.com/hangjones

“practice and practice and practice and draw what you see in your dreams.”
-Caitlin Shearer

Name: Caitlin Shearer
Occupation: student and illustrator
Location: australia

Ten words that describe you:
curls, quiet, milk, pale, doll, swan, sharp, imaginary, secret and dreaming.

Do you remember the first thing you ever drew?
no, not my very first. it was probably a bunch of messy circles and lines. but i remember early in kindergarden there were plenty of drawings of a house and a tree and a sun and the family all standing in a little row.

Any particular artists that influence you?
i really love klimt and j.w. waterhouse. oh, and charles anastase.

How do you come up with your ideas?
they just appear in my head. some are from dreams and some are just visions that i get from thinking about things too much.

How would you describe your personal style?
shirley temple meets anne frank meets a french clown.

Is the dark haired girl seen in a lot of your work a self portrait?
i didnt start out to make self portraits, but when i look back at some of the dark haired girls, i think ‘oh my, shes got my face.’ it freaks me out a little, because its never intentional. maybe its subconcious and my hands are more truthful than my brain?

I love the paul banks portrait, where did that come from? How come you didn’t paint the other members of Interpol?
ah, well, interpol came to sydney back at the beginning of the year and the day after the show i was feeling really inspired and decided to paint paul banks. i had interpol on constantly, so it just seemed to work. i didn’t paint the rest of the band because i didn’t have any more canvases that size.

Favorite musicians?
marlene dietrich, patrick wolf, the grates, cocorosie and cold war kids.

What is your dream job?
being able to draw all day and sew dresses all day, and be my own boss and not have to catch a bus to work in a black commuter uniform.

What do you see yourself doing in the future?
dressing all my best friends in dreamy dresses and painting pictures on the walls of my dream home.

I found Caitlin’s art on flickr and am constantly impressed by her beautiful paintings and illustrations. Artists who can draw out of their brains inspire me- Caitlyn takes her dreams and makes them tangible. You can see more of her work here and buy prints from her etsy shop.

1. 02, 2. 06, 3. 33, 4. 31, 5. 23, 6. 24, 7. 05, 8. 54, 9. 28

“I love imperfections because they are what makes a thing absolute”
-Courtney Brooke

Name: Courtney Brooke
Occupation: Daydreamer, & burglar of souls.
Location: The hills of Massachusetts

When did you start taking pictures?
When I was about 16. I had come to be friends with a canon AE1 and I just couldn’t put it down

Why do you take pictures?
It’s like a drug, some people use drugs to escape reality I use my art… in them anything is available to me. For that fraction in time this is how the world is… it’s how I want it to be. It’s my medium. I was into doing installation pieces but they take up a lot of room and although they are wonderful because they typically only live on in the minds of those who experience them, an image lasts on.

What is your artistic background?
As an artist, I started wanting to be a painter, and make lovely romantic portraits of people in nature. I grew out of that though when I was about 16 I started taking classes for photography and I had a blast. I never had the hand for painting any way and I found out how to create those portraits with out paint. In the process I also delved into sculpture and then doing installation pieces.

I wanted things to actually exisit in space in time the way I wanted them too. I eventually ended up going to college for art education, which didn’t last long because honestly I hated school. I don’t care too much about what other people are doing in the “world of art” I needed to know what the people in the world of literature, politics, science where doing I needed more then just art, I needed the world. I think that’s important too, to not just be a train on one track but to be universal, be multi-faceted, have some depth to who you are.

Favorites? Artists? Music? Anything that moves you.
.The light at dusk
.Fresh snow and it’s silence
.Heavy drumming
.Super novas
.Physics
.Alchemy
.Hyperboreans
.Grail Quests
.Arthurian legend
.Fairy tales
.Folklore
.Roller-skating
.Glitter
.Days on the lake
.Fractals
.Singing and dancing
.Cuddles
.Woodland adventures
.Vinyl Via Headphones
.Honey
.Red Wing Black Birds
.Bon Fires
.Royal Lipizzaner Stallions
.Gardens
.Hellenistic Egypt
.Tin types
.The Importance of the soul
.Fidus
.Bare feet
.Dandelion and Milkweed seeds in the breeze
.I love imperfections because they are what makes a thing absolute
.Wind in my hair
.Playing with light
.Running with my pack of dogs
.Laying in grass
.The view from heights
.Antlers
.Salty air
.Places I have yet to see
.Unicorns
.History as a story
.Alternate realities
.Fairy rings
.Brass
.Lips
.Men (the beer drinking, grass smoking, denim wearing facial hair growing, big handed, sleezy, boot wearing men)
.Framboise lambic
.The Smell of Autumn,the feel of Winter & the taste of Summer
.Tip toeing
.Found objects
.Tarot
.Eclipses
.Corn on the cob
.Geodes
.Feathers
.The Unexplainable
.Swans
.Fog
.Fireflies
.A Gentle touch

Thats just a snip it of stuff too I also love playboys from the 70’s, Vogue magazine, I love films I would love to make a film someday, a friend of mine keeps talking about doing one together, we will see how that goes. Some of my major inspiration comes from these movies though,The Holy Mountain, Zardoz, The Wicker Man (the original one not the horrible nick cage rip off), Haxan,Freaks, Young Lady Chatterley, Heavy Traffic, Popeye, Vampyres, Godspell, Die, Monster, Die!, The Dunwich Horror, Sleeper, Lust for a Vampire

Bacchanales Sexuelles, Wonderwall, Dracula A.D. 1972, Dragonslayer, Blow Up, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, The Shiver of the Vampires, Caligula, Dune, Return to Oz, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Fire and Ice, Barak, .Altered States, Barbarella, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Suspiria, Alegro non Troppo, Alice, Cabaret, Photographing fairies-

Describe your personal style-
I still don’t feel like i have a style I just know what i like and i go after it. I like warm light, I like long eyelashes, I like tall grass… I have no clue honestly.

Do you shoot film or digital? Both?
Digital these days, people always assume I shoot film, and I did for a long time. I ran out of space is what happened I moved into an old barn and i just don’t have the area for all that gear… and being digital was like a new hurdle to overcome. I think digital goes bad when the person doing it has never stepped foot in a dark room or has no concept of color theory.

What is your feeling on inspiration and art? How do you start a project? I realized recently that I use the word “inspiration” far too much- So I’ve been trying to think of other words to describe how I’m feeling-
Sometimes a project is no more then me being bored. Other times it’s from me spending to much time in the sun daydreaming. I often drive around and I will see a lovely landscape or a well lit alley and say now that would be amazing if this charachter was in it, and then I place that character there and off I go. I like to create little stories.

What do you see yourself doing in the future? What about current trends? How do you feel about club photography and the plethora of “photographers”?
The future.. I don’t think to much about it.

Curent trends I am not a trendy gal in fact I ussualy can’t stand them. I find myself out of the loop most of the time any way.

Club photography…. please no. I don’t like clubs, I don’t like the colors, I don’t like the music, everything about it is my polar opposite.

the “plethora” just because you happen to have a camera does not make you an artist.. there can be a million people out there calling them selves “photographers” and fine let them be that. I don’t see myself as one anyway I made a concious discision years ago to be an artist, there is a huge differnce too, so sure they are out there thinking that because they have a poloroid they are making art, most of the time they are just documenting life as it passes them by, in my opinion real art is when you see real life, say “yeah thats great but I know just the thing to make better” I am just not interested in reality, it bores me.

Any advice to aspiring photographers-
Know what you LOVE, study it, learn everything you possibly can from it and then make it your own.

This woman is amazing, check out more of her work here and read our collaborative article (CB shot the photos, I compiled the interview) about our friend hae from Lullie Vintage in the latest issue of N.E.E.T. magazine!

favorites and inspiration oh my!

the beautiful anonymous poster and postcard designs posted on creative review

i forgot about the beauty of this suede album cover designed by peter saville and posted on FFFFound!

twitter is extremely addicting.

jordan crane reprints two of my favorite posters!

the magick daggers being dark and sultry in my headphones!

yes, i want pantone stairs!

i can’t stop staring at these new david lachapelle images.

this image by jessica-m which was right in synch with my recent rope girl work!

more your earbuds, san francisco band veil veil vanish are lovely and i’m meeting up with one of them tomorrow to discuss future evil art plans!

i watched the 2005 movie “the lost” and found it visually stimulating and great acting by marc senter who reminds me of my other favorite man, crispin glover.

the illustrations of jason thielke

my coworker, anna main, is a secret talented poster designer.

being stopped on the street for the SFstyle blog, the cure’s “entreat” on headphones, warm san francisco days, nude fishnets, and much needed heart peace are making my lips turn upward this tuesday.

1. dead daughter in the river, 2. mystery bruise, 3. your babysitter, 4. Untitled, 5. death set, 6. Untitled, 7. your fever is safe with me, 8. multiple, 9. alone at night

i met this beautiful girl in two thousand four when she modeled for one of my first fashion, sixties mod styled photo shoots- we always have remained electronic friends and recently had a friendship awakening. jessica is such a talented artist and illustrator, i am so inspired by her fashionable, dark, retro ladies- they all have such meaning behind them, you can see it in their water colored eyes and blood stained cheeks-

(dtk) describe yourself:
(jm) I am a self-taught, semi-trained, illustrator of women in trouble. I love zombies, suspense, and big hair.

(dtk) when is your birthday?
(jm) april 15th 1984

(dtk) ten favorite things? (anything)

1. old samsonite luggage
2. white gouache
3. red and turqouise
4. travel
5. horror movies
6. valium
7. coffee
8. David Lynch
9. Speedball #104 Extra Fine Litho Point pen nibs
10. technicolor

(dtk) earliest art memory?
(jm) I have no idea! I recall being in the third grade and doing what I thought was a Picasso cubist painting. It’s of a little girl reading a book with her mother, the girl is crying and the mother is smiling. It’s very strange, I found it in my garage a few weeks ago.

(dtk) favorite shoes?
(jm) Cream colored leather peep-toe pumps with yellow snake skin. They’re probably from the early sixties.

(dtk) describe your working process from start to finish-
(jm) I like to save old photos, weird photos, and neat things that I find. I try and write down ideas when I get them, but I have forgotten at least 50, 896 amazing ideas. They always come to me when I should be doing something else. I like to do gestural sketches first and then ink the lines in. Ink is messy and I am prone to accident so most of the time I end up doing two drawings, or sometimes more. Then I paint over the drawing with watercolor. I like to use watercolor with white gouache.

(dtk) do you consider yourself an artist?
(jm) yes!

(dtk) how did you evolve to what you do now?
(jm) As a child, I always made art. It’s the only thing I have ever done. I used to illustrated little short stories that I would write. I drew patterns for clothes that I would make for my dolls. I didn’t live near any other children. I would draw on my homework, during class, even during recess sometimes. After high school I went to California Institute of the Arts- San Francisco. I excelled in design and illustration but did not enjoy the pattern drafting and construction classes. After two years, my mom became ill and I decided to come home. When I left school I decided to abandon fashion design/illustration and attempted to go back to a more traditional way of drawing, doing figure drawing, still life, and sketching with charcoal and all of that academic stuff. Then about two years ago I tried pen and ink and decided to go back to fashion inspired drawing because I never was able to break away from the nine-head model. I still do straight fashion illustration gestural sketches to warm up.

(dtk) favorite song of the moment?
(jm) TSOL “funeral march”

(dtk) describe your personal style (you and art)-
(jm) Sweet, old-fashioned, and morbid.

(dtk) where do you want your art to go?
(jm) In the near future: I am slowly gathering suitcases and handbags that I intend to paint on with enamel. I also plan on getting into printing soon. I want to make stationery, cards, posters etc. I have also been working on larger pieces recently. My best friend is working on a children’s book (she is so talented) and I am illustrating it.

(dtk) advice to other illustrators?
(jm) It’s the same advice everyone gives but I feel it’s relevant to me. If you want your work to be authentic, draw what you love. Love always comes through. Don’t forget about all that composition stuff too, it’s totally important.

links:
jessica-m has a blog that i love to read, my favorite entry is this one

she is on flickr
and the evilspace

for four years, artist, blogger, graphic designer, fashionista, nubby twiglet has been inspiring me- she is constantly creating, working, and crossing boundaries- let her amazing energy open up your world too- xo

“I love:
Art.
Design.
Business.
Typography.
Style.
You.”
-from her website.

name: Nubby
location: Portland, Oregon

(dtk) where does your name, nubbytwiglet come from?

‘Nubby Twiglet’ was never meant to be anything serious. It started as a combination of nicknames- I loved the 60s model Twiggy and ‘nubby’ was a word I used often to describe small things. When I met my boyfriend Lee Z at a party in 2004, he would only call me ‘Nubby’ since he knew me better from my online persona. That winter, I went on a cross-country tour with the The Prids (he was their drummer at the time) and basically got introduced to his entire family and friends as Nubby. It became pretty apparent that I could never live it down, so I embraced it!

(dtk) what does it mean to you?

It represents the broader vision I have of myself with regards to art, design, and a lifestyle. David Bowie seemed even more otherworldly when he transformed into Ziggy Stardust. It’s who I’ve grown into over the last few years…

(dtk) current inspirations?

For graphic design, VectorTrash always leaves me in awe. For style and advice, I adore Gala Darling. My favorite collage artist is Antigirl. My friend Star is an illustrating genius. My brother is always inspiring me. Also, my NYC friends always keep me on my toes: My longest friend there (8 years and counting!) Voltaire always takes me to the most amusing clubs and bars! Bianca is my fellow Virgo photographer friend- she does photoshoots of me is always supportive. Seze is my art buddy; we always hit the gallery scene together.

(dtk) you are known by many on the internets- (LJ, your blog, and wardrobe_remix) for your striking red, white, black and green outfits- how do you describe your personal style? any fashion tips? what is your current favorite piece of clothing/accessory?

It’s a dash of space-age whimsy, stark lines, simple shapes, slightly elfy, 60s mod, super stripey, and Thriller-era Michael Jackson.
what are your biggest influences? and dreams?

(dtk) i know you have a love for NYC- and even lived there once, do you want to move back? do you like portland?

I dream of working a job I adore in design / marketing / branding and doing large-scale art shows worldwide. Traveling, shopping and living a simple but rich life and staying humble is all part of the plan. As much as I love New York (I’ve been there 7 times!), I grew up in Portland and have a strong connection to the city. We recycle everything and the public transportation is super good. My brother also lives here and I love my internship at Nemo Design. So with Portland vs. New York, there are always a lot of lingering maybes…let’s put it this way: If I was rich, New York would be my playground!

(dtk) when did you start to collage? how did it turn into the large art installations you currently produce?

Collaging started to happen during high school; I was in loads of fine art classes but I didn’t like drawing. So, collage was a way to still get my vision on paper! My brother started art school while I was still going for a business degree and was always experimenting with collage on wood. He started building me wood boxes and red crosses and taught me to pour epoxy resin. The process has evolved over the years.

(dtk) tell me about your relationship with your brother, black smokey- as children did you both want to be designers? have you always been close? you are also private about your boyfriend, who you live with, lee Z- do you two collaborate often? he seems to be a positive influence on your work-

My brother and I are only 2.5 years apart and grew up liking all the same things. We both have a dark sense of humor and are pretty mean when we hang out; it’s like a devious force comes over us! We both made art projects constantly as kids, but I never took it as seriously as he did. He started his t-shirt line when he was still in high school and basically showed me that it was possible to make a living being creative! Lee Z is definitely a driving force behind everything I do, though he likes to keep a low profile and stay in the shadows! He’s been a graphic designer / screen printer for 10 years so I’m always asking questions and learning from him. He prints all my merchandise and really pushes my boundaries. We talk about design ideas and business constantly.

(dtk) what music are you currently listening to? favorite food/drink?

It’s true that I listen to TONS of Journey and all of Steve Perry’s solo work, but I also dig the free MP3′S that Dave Allen of Gang of Four posts to his blog Pampelmoose every week (I intern at Nemo where he works and he always has the coolest new tunes)! Also, Michael Jackson, Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode and Tegan & Sara are in constant rotation. Favorite Food: Anything with tons of carbs! Pad thai especially. Drink: Chai or orange juice.

(dtk) any advice for aspiring graphic designers/artists/fashionistas?

Keep going; as long as you do something related to your dream every single day, little by little, the pieces will fall into place and your vision will become a reality. If you’re passionate and dedicated to your cause, nothing can stop you! Always be willing to share; there’s no point in hoarding your ideas; if you’re a true original, your work will speak for itself and get the recognition it deserves.

(dtk) ten words that describe nubby:

Whimsical, graphic, stripes, typography, contrast, bold, small, determined, focused, modern.

nubby links:

nubby twiglet’s blog/art/portfolio

nubby on flickr

download nubby’s well designed 2008 calendar here

dearest vectortrash,
for months now, i have observed and adored your work- please, tell us some more about you, your inspirations and amazing vectors.
Love, Kristin

and his response…

oh my, in march stefan sagemeister is giving an AIGA lecture and i can’t find anyone to attend with me!

darling readers, he is only a design genius!  found a really cool interview here!

who wants to go with me?
xo

i met kat bret on a rainy thursday evening at amber bar - i first saw her work on flickr and was intrigued by her dreamy snow kittens photoset…

she is a beautiful beret wearing black haired girl and together we drank red wine and talked about music, art, moving to new york, novels, films, etsy, photography, daydreams-

(dtk) where are you from?

(kb) I was born in San Francisco but am a duel citizen of here and the UK

(dtk) tell me about yourself in ten words-

(kb)
1. Crafty
2. Multi National
3. Spastic
4. Wry
5. Visual
6. Distracted
7. Eccentric
8. Cerebral
9. Circitous
10. Discombobulated

(dtk) when did you first pick up a camera?

(kb) For serious or just literally. Seriously in High school when I took a photo class as the only small bastion of creativity in a very jock catholic high school where I had few friends and had little in common with the majority of the polulous.

(dtk) first poignant photography memory?

(kb) I have a terrible memory and have to say I do not remember much about growing up. I remember going to photo class where everyone had nice new cameras and all I had was this old rolleiflex I borrowed from my uncle in England, and having a mess of trouble because everyone else had 35mm and we had to shoot slides which ended up a whole other can of worms.

(dtk) favorite music?

(kb) My musical tastes can be quite schitzophrenic. I like industrial, brit pop, mod rock, jazz, among others. I love Belle & Sebastian, Blur, The Good Bad & The Queen, Edith Piaf, Dirty Pretty Things, Hello Goodbye, Death Cab, Amy Winehouse, Feist, The Horrors, The Noisettes, Gnarls Barkley, Art Brut, Scissor Sisters, and Combichrist just to name a few…

(dtk) how do you come up with your concepts/ideas?

(kb) By accident, driving, being bored, reading books, looking at art in other mediums. Inspiration can come from anywhere and is often a surprise, then again that is the best kind.

(dtk) how do you find your models?

(kb) Started with friends, moved on to internet modeling sites, now I try to test with agencies, though they are never willing to give you their best ones without a price, have they never heard of starving artists?

(dtk) what are your goals?

(kb) To make money as a photographer and not get a day job, to never have to grow up, to colour my hair pink again, to loose 7 lbs, to travel more, to eat more fish, to go to the gym again, and to learn all the settings on my sewing machine, make fab clothing, and rule the world through crazy style and photography, oh and never take life too seriously and to always have fun doing what I am doing.

(dtk) what is your dream?

(kb) Well, last night I had this odd dream where I was running through this old abandoned house. I was being chased with this big creepy guy with a knife though I could not see his face. I ran into the bathroom and happened to look in the mirror, but my face was not my face. I was someone else. Then this dude tried breaking though the door. So I jumped out the window but I was a few stories up. Last I remember was hitting the ground… but that may be because I was watching tv in bed for once. I wish I could remember my dreams more, normally they just involve me dying. Weird huh?

(dtk) advice to other photographers-

(kb) Gosh, I could do with some advice myself. I say don’t bother with an overpriced art school education. Go out there and learn from doing. Past that, I don’t even know what I am doing. I seem to just happily stumble through life, but I am fine with that. I like happy surprises.

(dtk) if you could do it all over again would you change anything?

(kb) Yes and no. There are things in my life I wish I had handled better or did differently, but I regret nothing. Overall my life has been pretty good and I have had opportunities to do things not everyone gets to do. I am not stuck in a dead end job with a life I find dull. I have had the freedom to go through university a few times and had a couple do overs in terms of careers. The key is focusing on the bad but appreciating the good.

(dtk) describe your photographic style-

(kb) Not sure I have one. For the few years of art school I did attend, the teachers went on about figuring out your style, I just shoot what I think looks good. I don’t just shoot one way with one aesthetic. I find I have a very short attention span and get bored of doing just one thing for too long. That is why my series never seem to go past 4. For a semester I had to work on one project. I ended up with 12 or 13 steampunk images but as a result I got soooo burnt out on the theme I have not done another one since, even though people really seem to like them.

(dtk) do you miss film? what camera are you currently shooting with?

(kb) Miss film, I still shoot with it. Though I find a lot of it is in my refrigerator and never gets developed. I get a lot of project with tight deadlines and the processing place is only open weekdays, so I shoot digital along side to meet the deadline. I shoot with a Mamiya RZ67, Canon 5D, Holga, and Rolleiflex.