The Nest

Shameless Self-Promotion Friday

We declare today “Shameless Self-Promotion Friday.” In the spirit of this new, pseudo-holiday, we are showcasing a new item from Two Birds Press…

For years now, we’ve suffered with sketchbooks for work and personal use that just weren’t quite right. Well… no longer my friends! Our new Signature Sketchbook features 96 beautifully vanilla-white blank pages, a 2009/2010 year-at-a-glance calendar, three lined note sheets, a spot for your Business Card (if you have one), and two multi-purpose pockets for your stuff… all held together by a handsome double wire-o binding. As a bonus, you also get Bookmark to help you keep your place.

You can take a closer look here, and if you would like one of your very own (for the low-low price of $12.50 – Limited time offer), you can either email us or visit our Etsy Shop.

To ensure that this Sketchbook was as durable and high-quality as it is functional and beautiful, we enlisted the help of our favorite printer – Yorke Printe Shoppe – for the production and printing. Thanks guys!

Have a happy Shameless Self-Promotion Friday, and be sure to celebrate by telling those around you something great about yourself.

2BP Signature Sketchbook

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Why we sketch logos

A bit ago, the blog Brand New by Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio (of SpeakUp fame) asked it’s Graphic Designer readership to submit the reasons why they sketched logos (before moving to the computer). From that question the little red sketchbook below was born. It is small and cool and red, and best of all, they reproduced 30 of the answers they received in wonderfully small 5pt type.

Yes, 5pt. No, they won’t make it bigger.

Why We Sketch

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Of art, skateboards and angst…

I really dig the work of Illustrator Steven Harrington. As a matter of fact, for my birthday this year, my daughters bought me a new skateboard featuring one of his illustrations… which is cool, but I can not bring myself to actually stop while riding for fear of scraping the artwork. The result is that I am the fool you see coasting up a driveway waiting for the pull of gravity to slow my forward momentum.

Check him out here or read the article at design*sponge.

Illustration: Steve Harrington

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Yummy: Retro Oreo & Ritz

Another retro repackaging, this time for Oreo/Ritz… the look is an exclusive for Target.
via TheDieline

Retro Oreo & Ritz

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What’s Your Type?

Typography Shop is a cool new website with a sweet selection of shirts… if you are a typography and/or design geek, that is. In addition, they donate a portion of all sales to Design Education programs. Feel free to help the future of the design profession by buying me a shirt (preferably this one in a Medium).

Typography Shop

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Puppetmaster

I just came across some absolutely beautiful work. These Paper Puppets from Crankbunny (aka Norma Toraya) are incredible. I bought her “how to” book, so perhaps I will post some of my feeble attempts after I get warmed up. Enjoy.

Crankbunny

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Amusing Images

Is there anything better than an abandoned amusement park at dawn? Here are some images to feast your eyes on… but you must be this tall to ride.

2 Tickets Please

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Ex Libris

I love books and all things book-related. My office and home are always in danger of being slowly overtaken by books, like a quiet paper glacier creeping inexorably forward. I can not physically bring myself to donate or toss any of my collected titles, so shelf space is at a premium to say the least. 

Recently I found a fantastic website, Emprnt, dedicated to books, articles about books and methods in which people store their books. It has a good logo to boot. Happy reading.

Bookshelf

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I Heart Moleskine

Moleskine launched it’s new site in Beta. Very nice. They have a gallery of some beautiful sketches and such done in various moleskines… I was going to post mine here, but then was embarrassed after seeing the samples on the site. They have also incorporated a new feature (called MSK) to layout pages, import contacts, import your calendar and print to fit into your Moleskine notebook. Thanks to Quipsologies.

New Moleskine Website

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Photo Friday

I snapped this with my iPhone on the way to work this morning. Unfortunately it was taken through a heavy fog and an extremely dirty windshield, but it is still wonderfully apocalyptic…

Supernova

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