scion artist series.

It seems like Scion is advertising and marketing almost everywhere you look in art and culture scenes. Some times I question their strategies, sometimes I applaud their creativity. This is one of the times I applaud their creativity.

Juxtapoz and Scion recently let a few of their favorite artists design their ideal tC or xB. Ron English, Sage Vaughn, and Dalek took this opportunity to create some eye catching rides. Check out the full story here and vote for your favorite car.

more from kidrobot and burton.

Here are a few more collaborations from Kidrobot and Burton. In addition to the Custom board they did together, they now have a few jackets and pants. You can check out the whole collection here. I'm really loving all of Kidrobots collaborations write now. From bikes, to snowboards, to shoes they're making a lot of things look pretty freakin cool.

audi ads.

I found these pretty cool Audi TT ads that were done by DDB in Milan, Italy. These ads were only placed in snowboarding magazines. That's funny because most the snowboarders I know could never afford an Audi TT. Maybe things are different in Italy.

joshua davis.

It is pretty impressive what some people can do with creative software. Joshua Davis is a prime example of this. His work is intricate, detailed, and beautiful. You should check out his website or his flickr gallery for more of his work, it's pleasant on the eyes.

a google world.

Google now has a free 411 number to call. All you do is dial 800-GOOG-411 and tell them where you are at and what you are looking for. It will either connect you to the business of your choice or send you a text with information about the business. If you have internet on your phone it can also send you a map of the area you are inquiring about. I'm sure this is only the beginning too. Google has a way of going above and beyond when it comes to these sort of things.

merry christmas.

light writing.

I've noticed a lot of commercials and ads using light writing recently. Here's a gallery I found of some guys who photograph their light writing to create some pretty cool looking images

synthetic infatuation.

Synthetic Infatuation was founded in 2006 by two designers who were tired of working for other people. They now have a small company that has offices in Minneapolis and Chicago. Not only did I like all of the work on their site, I also really liked their design philosophy.

slow days.

When it's slow at work, some people browse the internet, others read, and others doodle. My friend Otis doodles. He worked on this box for about a month and ended up giving it to me last week. He is a super talented illustrator and designer. He's going to go far with his stuff.

what you're really looking into.

Talk about design. Check out these images of eyes taken close up. They are mesmerizing! These photos were taken by UK based photographer Rankin, who is best known for his portrait and celebrity photography.

CRS.

CRS (Lupe, Pharrell & Kanye) - US Placers [EXCLU]
Uploaded by PeteRock

There's been talks of super group CRS, which consists of Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and Pharrell, putting out an album sometime in the near future. For now they just have this little diddy titled Us Placers featuring Thom Yorke. I really hope these aren't just rumors about CRS putting out a full length album, cause that would pretty amazing if they did. For now I'll just enjoy this video though.

kidrobot x nemesis project.

Check out this track bike that Nemesis Project recently built for one of my favorite brands, Kid Robot. The bike was created as a contemporary art piece for the Kid Robot Store to show during Art Basel Miami Beach, but is 100% ready to ride. The bike is currently on display at at the Kid Robot Miami store but has a list price for $6,000 if your interested calling it your own.

fyi.

Sometimes you hear about what people do for a living and you just say to yourself, "Dang, that would be the life." That's exactly what I said when I heard about what Tom Routh and Susanna Bergstrom do for a living. These two founded FYI which is a design studio that is responsible for the Burton clothing label [AK]. The studio is located in the middle of the mountains in Pemberton, British Columbia and frequently gets visited by members of the Burton team to test new products. They have everything they need in their studio to create state of the art outerwear and apparel. Now that's the good life.

bbc/icecream lookbook.

Ever since I heard Pharrell was starting a clothing line, I've been excited to see what he'll come up with. Some of his designs have started trends, others have started laughter. I really like this new line though. He's calming down with the all-over print and bringing back classic style. Check out the BBC/IceCream 'O8 look book and see how you feel about it.

creative ads.

These ads were done by the Jung van Matt advertising agency in Hamburg, Germany for Monda Pasta. They're located in the frequently visited Hamburg harbor and read, "Monda Pasta, so you can't let go."

jeremyville.

Oh wow. I just stumbled across Jeremyville and this guy is amazing. I could have spent hours checking out his website and all of his work. I love his style! You'll have to check it out for yourself though.

2007 top 10 lists.

If you need a refresher on what happened this last year, you should check out TIME's Top 10 lists. These lists will refresh your memory for all the entertainment, news, and other happenings this year.

more container houses.

I love this idea of turning old cargo containers into well designed homes. Adam Kalkin is an architect and artist who uses these containers to build very unique and modern looking homes.

james datz.

Check out James Datz and his fun designs and illustrations for his independent design firm Neither Fish Nor Fowl.

common's new ad.

Common - Lincoln Promo
Uploaded by corporatetakeover1

Check out Common's new ad for Lincoln set right here in Chicago. I sure hope I can upgrade from the el to a Navigator some day.

mans' best friends.

Check out these amazing photos taken in Nigeria by South African based photographer Pieter Hugo. The series is titled The Hyena & Other Men and the portraits are of a group of men who use their rather scary looking pets in street performances.

10 deep.

Some companies just know how to do things right. 10.deep is definitely one of those companies. The company started back in '95 as a design firm and a creative collective but their main output is their clothing line. And that is understandable because their clothes are sick. Every line from 10.deep is original and unmatchable. I love their company motto too, "Forget everyone and listen to yourself. Strength lies in the hands of an individual (10 fingers), not in the approval of one’s peers." Check out their new Holiday '07 lookbook here...

nish.

Steve Nishimoto, aka Nish, is an artist, designer and one of the minds behind Zoo York. He's done work for a large number of clients from clothing labels, to skate and snowboard companies, to television networks, and other large corporations. I really like his style. He uses simplicity to his advantage and creates well thought out designs and layouts.

boombox bikes.

I just had to post this. There's this new trend in New York where kids are building huge sound systems for their bikes and forming little bike gangs. This is great. What will kids come up with next. Read more and see more photos here...

wants for sale.

A New York City couple recently started a pretty genius project called Wants For Sale. It's pretty simple. They paint something they want, then sell the painting for whatever the item or service is worth. After the success of that project they started Needs For Sale, in which they paint needs that people or organizations have, then sell the paintings for whatever the items are worth. I like this project.

heartbeats: live.

Heartbeats by The Knife is my favorite song of all time. Here's the live version of the song from their new release Silent Shout - An Audio Visual Experience 3-disk deluxe DVD set.

container cottage.

I think I have found my dream home. This cozy lakeside cottage on Lake Aylmer near Montreal is the work of architect Pierre Morency. He used three large storage containers to construct this treehouse-like cottage. It has open air rooms, grass floors, and a garden on the roof. And since he used old metal containers for the main part of the structure he was able to build this cottage for under $150,000.

necker island.

If you ever think you might need to get away to your own private island for a day you should check out Necker Island. Necker Island is Sir Richard Branson's private island that he apparently spent over $10 million dollars to convert into a luxury resort for a max of 28 guests. Private beaches, several pools, personal chefs, and much more for only $46,000 a day.

lookin forward to this.

Yesterday marked the 25 anniversary of Michael Jackson's multi-million selling Thriller album. However, the special 25 Anniversary Edition of the album will not be available until Feb. 11. It'll be worth the wait though. Not only will there be previously unrecorded tracks by Michael, there will also be remixes by Kanye West, will.i.am, and Akon. The special addition will also contain other rarities and several music videos. I know I'll be looking forward to it's release.

snow.

I guess fall is officially over. We now have three or so months of this to look forward to. Where's the nearest mountain at again?

57Even.

Steven David Muller, aka 57Even, does it all. From branding, to ads, to industrial design, to fashion design, Steven Muller creates amazing pieces. He has a high attention to detail and it shows in all his work. This dude has talent.

neuralbrand.

I wasn't able to find out much about this company, but I really like their fun, clean, colorful design style. Check out their sight here...

happy friday.

Sorry I couldn't find an actual video to this song, but I think the song is enough in itself. Just listen and try to sit still.

rami niemi.

I'm starting to get into digital illustration and let me be the first to say it's not as easy as it might look. I can definitely appreciate digital art more now that I'm trying it out for myself. Take Rami Niemi for example. He illustrates only using black and white, but he makes it look so good.

denis darzacq.

Denis Darzacq shoots people falling. Literally. His photos are not manipulated to make it look like people are falling, he actually spent several hours with each model to capture the perfect fall. Luckily most of his models are break dancers so they know how to make it look easy. He was able to create some pretty cool images though. Check out more of his work here...

mickey factz.

If you are wondering where hip hop might be headed in the next couple of years, you should check out Mickey Factz. His electro/hip hop style uses mash up beats to accompany fluid rhymes. He samples anything from Fall Out Boy, to Bjork, to Daft Punk to create a unique, catchy sound. Be sure to download his Heaven's Fallout mixtape for free on his sight!

that time of year.

I love this time of year. Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is quickly approaching. Holiday decorations are up everywhere and most people seem to be in good spirits. It's also a good time to do some last minute Christmas shopping. NOTCOT's gift guide gives a new list of cool, trendy gifts everyday from now until Christmas. So if your still shopping or just curious what cool gifts are out there, check out this guide everyday for a nice collection of gadgets, art, fashion, and food.

online mags?

I've come across a lot of online magazines in the last few years, and I think I've finally found one I can enjoy. Nothing Fancy is an online magazine who showcases submissions from artists, designers, and photographers around the world. They don't try and write articles or fill up pages with advertisements. They just fill up their virtual pages with art. They also have links to each of the artists websites so if you like what you see you can check out more work from the artist. I'm hoping this format catches on with other magazines.

jim denevan.

If you ever find yourself on a beach that looks like it's covered in "crop circle" like patterns, its probably just the work of Jim Denevan. Jim finds wide beaches with wet sand during low tide and spends up to seven hours creating massive images in the sand, using only a piece of driftwood and his eye. Amazingly he is able to create these shapes without using any measuring devices or instruments. Check out more of his work here...

bat for lashes.

I was introduced to Bat for Lashes a few month ago, and have been loving what I've heard from them since. This UK based band's first album Fur And Gold is full of melodic, eerie songs with beautiful vocals. And what about this video for the song "What's A Girl To Do?" A nice long continuous shot with masked men on BMX bikes? Interesting, but fun. Also check out the song Horse and I, one of my favorites.

watch out IKEA.

That's right IKEA there's a new store in town and it is looking pretty cool. MUJI just opened it's first flagship store in the U.S. a few days ago in Manhattan. MUJI is a Japenese retail company that is distinguished by it's design minimalism, emphasis on recycling, avoiding waste in production and packaging, and no logo policy. They sell items ranging from men's and women's clothing, to writing pens, to kitchen utensils, to bedroom furniture. The retail chain has around 285 stores in Japan and many more in Europe, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea. Welcome to the states MUJI.

emil kozak.

Emil Kozak is from Barcelona, Spain and loves skateboarding. He is also an amazing designer. He has such a unique style filled with clean lines and an attention to detail. He's worked with plenty of clients who appreciate his youthful designs and well thought out images. I would love to be half as good as this guy someday.

recycling Goodwill.

Did you know that Goodwill discards clothes that have been on the floor for 30 days and have not sold? Well, Nick Graham, founder and designer of Joe Boxer, found this out and is going to be putting those discarded clothes to good use. Graham has teamed up with Goodwill to start a boutique style clothing line called William Good. Designers use whole pieces or scraps of clothes from the discard bins to turn waste into hipster treasure. The first store will be opening up inside a Goodwill in San Fransisco, but items can also be bought on shopwilliamgood.com. To read more about the story go here.

another collabo.

Here is another street wear brand and snowboard company teaming up for Winter 2008. Rogue Status, a respectable California street wear label, and Arbor Snowboards, a company who has been turning heads the last couple of seasons, have done a pretty cool collaboration, which is set to release Dec. 17th.

happy friday.

It's true Michael may have fallen on some hard times, but just look how happy he was back in the day. I love the start of this video, he loves his life. Check out this video too for some of some of his amazing live footage here. This dude can jam.

mmmm.

As it gets colder outside, I usually think of a nice mug of hot cocoa or maybe some hot cider to warm my insides. Apparently back in the 1960's Dr. Pepper wanted customers to warm up with a big hot mug of hot cola. This was an actual ad from around 1968. Funny what companies will do to sell their product sometimes.

chuck anderson.

It's no wonder that Chuck Anderson has an impressive list of clients that most ad agencies would be jealous of. His work is beautiful, creative, and pretty genius. Lucky for me he's having a show at the Threadless store down the street from my work. I can stop by any time this month and check out his work in person!

the cool kids.

Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish are two Chicago natives who have been keeping heads bouncing in clubs all over the country recently. The duo is known as The Cool Kids and they have been getting a lot of attention for their unique beats and fun rhymes. I have seen these guys live three times and it gets better every time. Their live shows are full of energy and enthusiasm. Their much anticipated LP "The Bake Sale" has been continually pushed back, and there is still no set date for its release. I'm looking forward to it whenever it comes out cause these guys know how to make some good hip hop.