we're always trying to save pennies these days, but just recently started feeling like we want and need to buy more art to put on our walls. thankfully, in the most recent issue of readymade, we were introduced to 20X200, a jen bekman project. each week new pieces are released for purchase at super affordable prices. there's a lot to check out so go browse and buy something! we are!
It's been a while since any of the Popote gang has posted and we apologize. The times have got the best of us, and we're all trying to play catch-up, finding work, trying to stay afloat...you know how it goes.
But it's time we get back in the game and punch through some walls! Ok, I purposely wrote that last line as a really cheesy segway into what the rest of this post will be about. I stumbled across a design site, designboom. If you're into any type of modern design, definitely bookmark it. It's addicting, and I'll most likely post about things that I see on the site later.
French designer, Cristobal Karich, designed one of the raddest looking mugs to date, the "Punch Coffee Mug". I've been trying to find out if it's available anywhere, but haven't had any luck. If you come across it, let me know! So, I saw this mug and instantly thought of the 1987 film, Three O'Clock High. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. And if you haven't seen it, thanks to youtube, I'll fast forward you to the best scene in the movie. See below.
(Four minutes into the clip, the infamous Buddy Revell brass knuckles make their appearance, and I guarantee you'll want to find the Punch Coffee Mug after this!)
im a bit of a font nerd. i really get a kick out of identifying the fonts in the end credits of movies. but moreover my love for helvetica, is the soft spot i have for hand drawn type. im working on a few christmas gift and when searching for some inspiration i came across beau ideal's etsy shop and found this beautiful calendar. gorgeous hand drawn type of cultural and iconic celebrities in their birthday month. all hand screen printed in brooklyn.
1. Holiday music doesn't have to be Raffi or Mariah Carrie.
2. Contrary to popular belief, holiday music doesn't exist to make all of us non-mainstream people want to stay in the shadows during the month of December.
3. HOW FREAKING cool is the internet? That a group of bloggers can get together this time every year and put together this awesome blog where "You won't see any Wham, Band Aid, or Christmas Smashhits vol. 29... Think Christmas when the candy tasted a little sweeter, the Christmas tree was a bit greener, and the snow whiter."
Just in time for the holidays, we've released our limited edition Christmas cards. We know there a lot of bad choices out there when you're shopping around for a well thought out designed Christmas card, so we went to work on these with you in mind!
my personal graphic design hero, jason munn of the small stakes, is having an opening/reception for 20 new posters he's designed with InSound at one of my favorite san francisco stores, the curiosity shoppe!
check out more posters like the she and him poster above this friday, november 21st from 6 - 9 pm at 855 valencia.
I consider my way home from work to be one of the most important daily routines in my life. Some people it's breakfast, some people it's laying in bed before miimiis. To me it's the hour or so it takes for me to get home after work. The time on the bus or in the car or walking, is so important because this is where I have time to live life in between. In between this and that is where I let all the stresses and worries flow out of me and I let myself be overcome by music or reading. Unfortunately this doesn't happen with everyone, so I feel fortunate that music has the ability to really purge tensions that have built up. Without this time to myself I'd probably suffer from anxiety and other crazynesses. My point: Here are 5 albums you should look into if your the same. These are my current Way Home albums.
Department Of Eagles isn't the answer to the next Grizzly Bear album, but it's damn close. In Ear Park is much more personal and accessible than Grizzly Bear but still feels hand-crafted and well thought out (Daniel Rossen, from GB, made his way back to the band after a few successful years away). The song structures are pretty similar to other bands that hint to a more innovative approach- think, Bowerbirds, Fleet Foxes, etc. I have a feeling that the album is just one or two songs too long, but with a few different vocal styles and music arrangements, the album definitely leaves a great mark in the genre this year. School Of Seven Bells (named after a pickpocket training academy, dope) is twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, from On! Air! Library! (great!!) and Benjamin Curtis from Secret Machines. Right now I'm still debating whether or not to see them with M83 at The Fillmore later this month. I feel like the two bands make a pretty decent pair. Alpinisms starts off feeling very much like a warm-up for M83, but starts to get less dense and makes a break for a more Goldfrapp style of pop. Kettel is on a super cool label called Sending Orbs, so first off, if you like this then go listen to the few others on the label. So far, Kettel's Myam James Part 1 is the most addicting for me out of the 5 listed here. It's mellow and minimal at parts, with super inventive and catchy beats in others. He manages to surprise you all the way through by adding in perfect little piano pieces within the layers, or for instance just after the 4min mark in this track, he throws just a little sax in then continues to change the structure of the song all the way to the end. Very Very good album. Near The Parenthesis' L'Eixample is so far the best ambient/minimal atmosphere music I've heard this year. NtP is San Francisco-based musician Tim Arndt. When I'm on my way home, I imagine everyone else listening to headphones on the bus is listening to this album and then this beautiful fog starts to creep all around me and into my nose and ears and eyes and pretty soon I'm in another place where the music is radiating from within me and as I walk the fuzz and shifts and tones of the music leave an afterglow in the wake of my body. Uhh.. I'll just say it's in my top 10 this year. Sighh. The Remote Viewer. This is the only song (of all 10 untitled tracks) I could get (through a friend no-less) off of the new album I Can't Believe It's Not Better. I don't want to have to cheat and just find this album online somewhere but seeing as there was only 350 albums made worldwide, and so far no one is offering this as an MP3 album, I might have to. If you like the song, you'll love his 3 previous albums. Enjoy the song though!
Excitement might be dying down a bit since last Tuesday, so here's some good music to get your spirits and excitement back up for the coming weeks as we watch how Mr. Obama preps for his new position. Junia and I decided to use a few songs that always stuck out to us as songs for change and songs for pushing through hard times. Obama might have some toddler shoes to fill (I can imagine W's shoe size is pretty similar to his brain size), he still has some gigantic knots to untie and holes to climb out of (with all of us on his back).
Here's 4 songs that come from Popote's history as songs of hope.
Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up was MADE for Tuesday, November 4th. Even though we all knew we were in a bad state, that night was a monumental night in the history of our country. The song is from 1970's Curtis, his first album after leaving The Impressions. Try listening to this song without moving and feeling good. If you can, you have no soul. New Order is probably my (Andres) favorite band of all time. Perfect Kiss is from 1985's Low Life WHICH IS BEING RE-RELEASED TOMORROW! Those of you into getting all the remastered albums (My fav's are The Cure and Joy Division ones released in the last few years), GET THIS 2-cd. But, you know, only if you believe in a land of love. Tears For Fears never gets enough credit and appreciation from my generation :( If you can get past the over-played singles Sowing the Seeds of Love and Shout, they have some super cool songs that I know all you kids would TOTALLY love, like this one: Change. This is from their first (and best) album The Hurting (1983). I like the idea of applying the context of the lyrics to our current situation in the country. Speaking of not enough love and appreciation, U2 is the same. I think it's because everyone only associates them with post- Achtung Baby (1991) releases. DON'T! They were HANDS-DOWN the best guitar-driven music in the 80's. Bands still try to have this sound but don't even come close. Stories For Boys is about having heroes. Our country finally saw one and I know millions of young kids are already being affected by this man.
For those of you twittering! Or is it tweeting? Popote has recently jumped on the bullet train of death that is racing down the techno-evolving-tracks of the future...or something like that.
i'm sitting at my desk at work constantly nytimes.com for election results (woo pennsylvania!). and after all is said and done i think one the coolest things that has come out of this election is the amazing art that is inspired by and supporting barack obama. this lovely limited edition print in particular is by chicago-based artist cody hudson. so go vote! theres still a few hours to go for us west coasters!
In between busy work schedules, we've managed to design and create three new irresistibly adorable Popote cards! Head on over to our etsy shop to check out the new vinyl greeting cards that have just been added! If you were one of the many awesome people that were able to make it to the Capsule Design Festival, you may have seen these cards at our booth (see pics below!). We got a lot of great feedback, and hope that you all adore them just as much as we do!
And just a reminder, for a few days we had sold out of Sweet Calavera cards, but we've since made more, so make sure to check those out as well!
After we've all voted today (which we hope you all do as well), Popote is getting together to talk about new designs for the upcoming holidays, so we'll make sure to keep you posted.
thanks to diane over at bunnyshop.org, popote has been featured in the november issue of nylon magazine! our 8-bit love card is gracing page 134 in a section devoted to the "country's finest". popote is featured with fellow esty-ers:yokoo, rovakada, tumbleweed bead co. and michelle antonisse. we are all so excited to be a part of the issue, and to be featured with some truly talented people. and the best part, we can now say as seen in nylon magazine! so go out an buy a copy, it's the one with paris hilton on the cover.
Something I have been dying to do for Popote's blog is post about the music we're currently listening to. I'll be posting our current musical favorites frequently, so all of you who love music, be sure to comment and give us some other good bands to check out! For the first post, I've decided to go with the "Pop" in Popote. These albums were on heavy rotation during the last week while we prepared for Capsule Design Fest. What better music is there than good jangle/twee/freakbeat/indie pop to get you through those late nights with your friends?
Math & Physics Club is a band you have a love affair with. They're from Seattle and just like the good ol'days they have a ton of EPs with only one LP to choose from (since their beginning in 2005). Math & Physics Club always feels slightly like an affair because all of their influences are so obvious, sometimes you wonder why you aren't just listening to Morrissey or Belle & Sebastian. Charles Bert's vocals sometimes sound identical to Stuart Murdoch's (B&S). But that's the point! I love Morrissey and Belle & Sebastian. People are always going to say "they're so-and-so wannabees!." Get over it! This is fresh and it's made for people who love to feel good listening to pop!
Same goes for This Is Ivy League. They've put out a self-titled album this year that is definitely in the running for one of my top 10s. With all the politics and economic craziness going on, these Brooklynders managed to put out an album that's like that spot of sunshine poking through the gloom. Fans of a Simon & Garfunkel-style pop will love this album.
And speaking of pop icons, here's a must-have for anyone into old 60's garage/mod-rock. Most people here in the States have never heard the name Joe Meek. Back in 60's England he was a producer/song-writer for TONS of indie rock bands. This year an amazing compilation was released called Joe Meek Freak Beat: You're Holding Me Down - 30 Freakbeat, Mod & R&B Nuggets. Here's one of my favorite tracks from the comp from The Blue Rondos. Finally, we have Lykke Li. Some of you may have heard this song on a Victoria Secret commercial and probably didn't realize it's this wonderful song from Swedish singer Lykke Li. So far this year, Lykke Li is one of the best Swedish imports you can find. She has a great blend of pop, pop-electro, and indie-pop in her album that's been on rotation for weeks here at Popote. I look forward to posting more tracks!
Sunday at Capsule went better than we hoped! Thanks to the awesome crowd at Capsule, those few sweatshop nights before Sunday were not in vain! The day went super smooth (except the caca weather) and in the end we were very excited at how well we felt we were received. Next time around we're definitely going to register early so we get a good spot (hopefully as close as we can to either La Boulange or Frjtz!) Here's some pics!
Set up! After stopping at Four Barrel Coffee to get one of the BEST cups of coffee I've had, we made out way over to our space and set up our ez-shade tent! (btw, thanks to Rene from Scribble n Scratch for letting us borrow the tent!)
That's Annie and Adrian, our Popote partners setting up.
This guy was probably our favorite customer of the day! Thanks for your buy!
As you can see, we had some NEW cards at the event! look for them soon on our shop!
Sweet Calavera was our best seller! We actually sold out! Sorry to those trying to find it on our shop, we will be making some more very soon!
Sunday, October 19 is the Capsule Design Festival, and guess who will be there? Us! We're hoping for a sunny day and big crowds, so bring all your friends. There will be about 200 venders with lots of creative goods, so bring your pockets full, as it will be the perfect place to get some early x-mas shopping done. The festival will be held in Hayes Valley, so also come with an empty stomach because there are a ton of places to chow on some good food. Make sure to stop by and check out all the new cards we've been working on! See you on Sunday!
There's an awesome project that recently took place in Lyon, France with tons of creative artists called PANOS 2013 FAKE STREETSIGNS. A collaboration of artists from all over the world came together to place their artwork on fake road signs. What came of it was a "delightful sense of humor, lots of playful absurdity and a wonderful scale". Now if only we could see some of this happen in the city with artists like Barry McGee, Sam Flores, Andrew Schoultz, and more; I'm sure there would be a great response. In the meantime, these were some of our favorite fake streetsigns.
We're totally stoked to hear that one of our favorite graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim, is going to be turned into a film! First thoughts were "Ah, man!" (in a bad way) because we read that they weren't going to animate the film, but then we looked at who was going to play Scott Pilgrim, and our reaction was "Hell yeah!". So who is going to play Scott, Michael Cera!
photo from: comicfoundry.com
On his website, Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim, has told everyone not to get too crazy yet because filming hasn't even begun. But to nerds like us, there is much to be excited about! For those of you that aren't familiar with this series of graphic novels, the story revolves around 23 year old Scott Pilgrim, his rock band, roommates, and his relationship with dream girl Ramona Flowers. The series is up to volume 4 now, so go grab your copies and catch up! They're fast reads because they're so entertaining and hilarious. Kinda makes you want to be an irresponsible young adult again. There's a great article/interview for more of the story behind Scott Pilgrim here.
We're about to start October in a week. That means it's time to start thinking of how creative and original you're going to make your costume this Halloween! We've been thinking about ours, but that shall remain a secret until we actually put something together to share. Right now we're all talk and ideas.
I used to be really pumped for Halloween. I'd shop the local Party City on the days closest to Halloween to get all the sales, but always wound up with the plain cat costume, or ugly witch. I think I started to give up on dressing up when I considered that dressing up like Winnie Cooper would pass for a costume.
Hmmm, kinda reminds me of Andres and I...
Since I've known Andres he's been obsessed with Bomberman and has tried numerous times to get the both of us to do a Bomberman pair. Maybe this will be that year (since he did get me into playing the xbox online version!)
Start thinking about those costumes, or else you'll end up the plain black cat with cardboard cut-out ears, or the ugly witch with the wig that's impossible to untangle!
We went to high school with a group of guys that tattooed the city's logo on the inside of their arm. Just today I was reminded of them, and got to wondering, why the Chula Vista logo? Take a look: It's not bad. Simple design. Clean. I get it. We all come from somewhere.
Then I just got curious as to the design a city takes to represent itself, and here are some of the more interesting logos I came across:
This logo belongs to the city of Seattle. Pretty badass, no? I'd rather have this one tattooed. This one to Calexico, "Home of The Mariachi Festival Sin Fronteras", and where "California and Mexico Meet" (as stated on their dot gov page). I partially chose this one because I grew up taking a two hour long drive to El Centro every other weekend, just minutes away from Calexico. This one to Wilsonville, Oregon, which according to Wikipedia was originally in black & white, but later Photoshopped to appear mint green. You'd think Wilsonville to be full of greenery and cute mom and pop shops just from their logo, and you're right! Based on the fotos I came across, I actually wouldn't mind taking a much needed stress-free vacation there.
So I know you guys are DYING to know how our saturday at Treasure Island Music Festival went! Maybe not, but we like to share our thoughts anyways. We wanted to get there early so we could enjoy the vendors and scenery of the festival before it got too crazy. Since festival food is crazy over-priced, we made a first stop here in the neighborhood at Andronico's. This super market is notorious for ridiculous prices. They try so hard to be upscale that it's actually more expensive than markets in the Marina or PacHeights. And we're in the Sunset mind you. So we go in to grab a sandwich for our lunch later in the day, but we walked out empty handed since the cheepest sandwich was this:
THIS IS A 7 DOLLAR CHEESE AND BREAD SANDWICH! Cool right!? I mean, why buy a whole load of bread, a brick of cheese and maybe some lettuce or something when all I want is just one sandwich? So after laughing out loud (or LOLing) in the Deli isle we took off and just stopped at Quiznos before we hopped on this awesome FREE limo bus:
First stop we made was with SF Zinefest's Francois Vigneault who was hanging out at their outdoor reading lounge. Oh yeah, thats Andrew Schoultz painting a mural behind Junia and Francois. RAD!
As we were browsing the many vendors we stopped into Oakland's Nopal and met Daniel Sanchez Glazer, the artist behind Nopal. When we were walking we caught the name and what looked to me like Billy Holiday on their banner and knew we had to check them out. They had a few items that definitely made Popote's wish list. One being a shirt with Nopal printed large on the front (which they don't have on the site!) and the other a print titled La Paloma
We made another stop at Vivi Dot's booth where Junia, who happened to need a hair clip that day, found a super cute one. Vivi Dot takes old fabric and paper patterns and uses them to make buttons and other various circular thingies with them.
A very cool part of the whole festival was it's green-ness. Behind the compost/recycle/landfill bins in this pic, you can see 2 large solar panels that powered the stage! It was funny because every now and then there would be some sound malfunctions, but everyone seemed ok with it. I think it added to the whole experience. Especially this being an indie-music-with-indie-music-fans festival, there was definitely a great feeling of understanding, acceptance, and calmness that flowed throughout the day.
I think the highlight of the day for Junia and I was (Nortec's) Bostitch + Fussible's set. Even though it was only 30 mins, by the end, the whole crowd was chanting "OTRO!" and "CULERO!" Of course we were chanting up front next to a guy wearing a Mexican flag! The set, although awesome, definitely felt too short. I loved that everyone was going nuts over this accordian player!
Here are some more photos of the day. All in all it was a good day. We didn't stay for Justice. TV on the Radio just wasn't doing it for us since we weren't up close, and I didn't feel like pretending CSS was any good. So we decided to book it and relax in that awesome limo bus again! Can't wait for next year!!
Junia's getting hit on by that awesome accordion player!! He's like "OYE MIJA!".. JK!
Foals was great! they almost convinced us to leave and see them again at the Mezzanine after the festival!
The crowd during Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp trying to pretend she wasn't cold as hell up on stage in that cool streamer nightie.
This Ferris wheel had a long line alllllll day. We didn't get a chance to experience the great view of the bay and downtown SF from up top. Next year!
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Start thinking about those costumes, or else you'll end up the plain black cat with cardboard cut-out ears, or the ugly witch with the wig that's impossible to untangle!
It's not bad. Simple design. Clean. I get it. We all come from somewhere.
This logo belongs to the city of Seattle. Pretty badass, no? I'd rather have this one tattooed.
This one to Calexico, "Home of The Mariachi Festival Sin Fronteras", and where "California and Mexico Meet" (as stated on their dot gov page). I partially chose this one because I grew up taking a two hour long drive to El Centro every other weekend, just minutes away from Calexico.
This one to Wilsonville, Oregon, which according to Wikipedia was originally in black & white, but later Photoshopped to appear mint green. You'd think Wilsonville to be full of greenery and cute mom and pop shops just from their logo, and you're right! Based on the fotos I came across, I actually wouldn't mind taking a much needed stress-free vacation there. 
