Paper Tiger Design Co.

Today we have Michael and Melanie Heu of Paper Tiger Design Co. located in Brooklyn, NY
One of my previous featured artists recommended Paper Tiger and these great calenders- they are pretty awesome!

What inspired you to make this product?
The Spectrum Calendar was inspired by Pantone Swatch books and the International Typographic Style (Swiss). We are big fans of things that are simple, beautiful and functionally useful. The color spectrum moves through the seasons like a thermometer (cold months are shades of blue and hot months are yellow - orange).

What inspires you on a daily basis?
(Michael) I'm inspired by things both large and small - my day "job" is one of the founders of Intersect (www.intersectnyc.com), an interactive agency located in Manhattan. So I'm always surfing the web for inspiring work but offline I have also developed an (unhealthy) obsession with letterpress. Melanie managed to find an antique table-top press which we've been using to explore the world of paper goods. We also love to travel and I find that adventures outside the normal routine are crucial to sparking ideas and inspiration. I personally love illustration, 50's style modernism and clean typography.

What sites do you frequent the most?
ffffound.com
designspongeonline.com
thefwa.com
etsy.com
swiss-miss.com

What is your process in creating your art?
Typically I start out with doodles and sketches on a white 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. We have a ton of them floating around the house. When I hit an idea that is appealing from a execution standpoint I will refine the designs and then move into Illustrator to generate the actual design. After the actual designs have been refined, it then becomes more production oriented depending on the final output (letterpress, silk screen, digital, etc). The train tends to be a great place to doodle and let ideas flow

Yorktownroad

I love the designs of Carol Gilbert of Northern California / Bay Area from Yorktown Road on Etsy- she also has her own site at www.yorktownroad.com
She makes these awesome purses and clutches as well as pillows and other accessorie. Clean lines and colors which feel a bit mens wear inspired with a feminine twist. You have to check her stuff out!

Where do you live and how does it influence your art?
I live in a community of mid-century homes that are simple in form and have great interest without bringing in a lot of different design elements. That concept is what I try to express in my work. Simple forms and usually just one base textile to create something beautiful, interesting and useful.

What are your favorite material to use?
I choose materials from the natural wool and alter them with random folds, pleats and seam-lines. Linen and wool are textiles I often use due to their beauty and versatility. I try to work with the natural character of the materials, to enhance a particular aspect of the textile and allow it to be seen in a new way.

Who are some of the etsy artists you admire?
PamelaTang - I'm really drawn to her work, both the wearable pieces and her original artwork. The linen wear is impeccably crafted and the silhouettes are modern and beautiful. I'm fascinated by her original art / mixed media work and how they compliment her wearable pieces so perfectly.

NestingEmily - Emily is such a talent. I have several of her pieces and treasure each one. She makes the most beautiful vases.

Plyhouse - Simple beautiful design. I purchased some of their pieces for gifts and had such a hard time actually giving them away.

FinalScore

Today I have Paul & Sharon Van Scott from Beckley, West Virginia. They rub the Etsy shop "Finalscore" and also have a web site at www.FinalScoreProducts.com
I just love art that is pixelated and they make this great piece of art- it's Papa Smurph but it is made up of smaller images that are Smurph related. Click on the picture to go to the listing and see another image that is a close up.
What inspired you to make this product?
I've always loved optical illusions and art that can be viewed in different ways. Montage/mosaics seemed to me to be the perfect item for fans of anything. After several years of traditional mosaic making I decided to go one better and make a few out of actual scenes from movies and TV. Being a kid of the late 70s/early 80s I was a little ahead of the Smurf craze but watched it nonetheless. Papa Smurf seemed like the perfect charecter to immortalize in blue Smurfdom with an art piece though I have to admit I also have a Smurfette and even Gargamel.

What inspires you on a daily basis?
I'm a big sports fan so obviously I get a lot of inspiration there. I grew up near DC and have always been a big Redskin fan. With that in mind it was a huge thrill for me in 2007 when the Redskins star tight end Chris Cooley purchased a piece I did of him. Then last year his grandparents bought another piece I did of him on canvas. One of the stars of the movie A Christmas Story bought two items from me and had me do a custom piece of his famous scene from the movie. I think any artist gets inspiration from the things they like. It just makes doing the art that much more easy and fun.

What are some of the websites you most frequently visit?
I visit a really weird mix of sites. Since I'm a sports fan I go to ESPN.com a lot, ha ha. As mentioned earlier I like optical illusions and theres a UK site called www.grand-illusions.com that is just great for optical illusions, cool art, articles and items. I had been visiting the site for a couple years and then thought they might like to see my stuff and they ended up doing an article on my items and I did a special piece for them. It is still on there. I also like UFO sites, moviemistakes.com and jumptheshark.com.

RozArt

Today I would like to introduce Rosilyn Young of RozArt on Etsy. I spotted this cupcake painting that she made- it looks good enough to eat! She also has her own site called Drunken Cows


Where do you live and how does that influence your art?
I live in south Texas, but am originally from NH. Being a Yankee, I would never usually be my thing to paint cows, cowboys or anything western. But I have been here a long time now and the area has affected me! Living on a working ranch one year had me (a confirmed city girl) falling in love with roosters and cows!

What are your favorite materials to use?
I always paint in oils. It's buttery consistently works well with my thick impressionistic style.

What inspired you to make this product?
I painted my first cupcake because I have baked so many for the kids, that I thought it would look great on the wall in my kitchen. When I used a palette knife to put the paint on as the frosting part of the cupcake, it was as if I were frosting one - and I knew I had something good. Ive sold a lot of these cupcakes - and I never grow bored of them!

Paige Russell Design

I am pleased to introduce you to the talented Paige Russell of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
I love the simplicity of this piece and that it can be displayed in a non-pretentious way. Her work is so clean and meticulous. Find more of her designs on Etsy or her own site.
What inspired you to make this product?
I have always had a strong affection for function & for simple beauty. Those two things took me to product design school. It was there (at Parsons School of Design in NYC) that I was introduced to ceramic slipcasting. I fell hard for the medium & the element of control over shape design and the ability to produce multiples that slipcasting provides. The pieces I've designed over the years in ceramic have also been informed by my habit of personifying objects. I want them to have personality and a bit of a story. I shoot for cheeky & hope to avoid novel!

What inspires you on a daily basis?
I'm really inspired by early to mid-century designers (both product & graphic) ie: Alvar Aalto, Isamu Noguchi, George Nelson, Harry Sierman.

What are some of the websites you most frequently visit?
www.architonic.com - for product
www.grainedit.com - for graphics
http://www.hetnago.nl/index.php - for graphics (via grain edit)
They are amazing!

Some of my fave etsy artists are:
Joanna Rutter She makes really sweet jewelry and is super nice person!

Papaver Vert Makes super yummy felted bowls, etc. Love 'em.

My mom, Sharon Russell She does kick ass modern acrylic paintings. So proud.

Paper Tiger Design Co. Check out the Color Spectrum printable calender & the Geometric Love cards. Brilliant!