Thursday, June 21, 2012

LOGO LOCO

I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
You'll be hungry like the wolves hunting dinner dinner
And we're moving with the packs like hyena ena
Barbarella look like she's my dead ringer
When I'm dogging on the bonnet of your red Honda

I'm a road runner
I'm a world runner
I'm a road runner
I'm a world runner

-Bamboo Banga, M.I.A


How impossible is it to create the perfect logo for a brand? To me, I would not know where to even start! I know a few people who are automatically programmed for it, and seem to really enjoy it, but to me too many possibilities = too many headaches!
I do recall doing a module on it at design school, but have no recollection of creating anything (which is, anything worth noting), so for 'thecowboygeisha' I called apon a Spanish artist who would win no matter what he created.
That artists name is Ricardo Cavolo. (check him out HOLY HECK! When you check out his art, you will understand how the creation of my logo was going to be perfect no matter what.)
I first became aware of him through my equally talented friend/painting extrodinaire Mia Taninaka (check her out TOO! frig!) when she sent me and my lover a photo of a mermaid in love with a sailor in a glass bottle under the sea. She sent it because the painting reminded her of us and because she was next level frothing on his work.
I then contacted Mr Cavolo to buy this very art as a print. Thinking I was going to get a response from a robot on the other end, it was the man himself. Nek minute, we are talking about a collaboration for the brand and it all kind of rolled from there!
This dude is literally sky rocketing out the galaxy right now, and is even being commissioned by high rollers such as Urban Outfitters to paint murals in their stores etc. pow pow! Go Ricardo Go!
The only notes I really gave him was not to get too literal with it (a geisha in a cowboy hat for example) and he drew it anyway cause he thought it would be awesome and i was like "eff yeh, ok cool!"


I wanted to share with you the little journey of creating the logo for 'thecowboygeisha' and my main advice is this: only work with someone who is 100% your vibe and that you 100% trust, therefore you will be happy no matter what! (for example, I would not have hired a graphic designer from a big corporation who designs logos for accounting firms, cause that would have been a hell of a waste of time. obviously)
So without further a due! (with the mermaid/sailor pic to keep you up to speed!)
x










Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Killa

Look at these pros.
Look at these clothes.
Look at this dough.
Look at this go, looking evil.
Look at me then look at these hoes.
These bitches ain't fucking with me. Killa!

Killa! Killa, killa!
Killa! Killa, killa!

My money on it we now gon' knock on it to set it low.
Bar don't need to come down let it ride they'll go before we know.
Mind will lead they can tell I know. I know me they can tell me no.
If you got heart let it beat then while they're sinking don't let your thing go.

Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.

-'look at these hoes', Santigold


holly effing new camera!
holly effing hair cut!
there ain't nothing bound to get you snap happy more than a new toy and blunt ends!
the camera is purely for work purposes (of course), but i couldn't help but give it a little trial run today. 
the hair cut was severely over-due to the point where once cut off, anyone could have honestly mistaken it for sea-weed on the hairdressers floor. I actually feel lighter, and feel it has improved the sharpness of my head turns !

On a vibe note, I spend the last month in Sydney having some serious dance-off's to M.I.A and Santigold. It more than re-kindled my love for them in my heart....it gave me a kind of nasty/bad-ass style influence out of nowhere.
Here I was wearing magenta structured suit vests and Lover lace dresses, when BOOM!>>> 
Camo, hard-wear and grunge hit me hardcore. 
Don't get me wrong, the whole army/military/any sort of 'service' attire is always a staple in my closet (I actually often get people asking me if I am off to a dress-up party, or how perfect my outfit would be for halloween)....so when people report it as a 'trend' it confuses me terribly. 
But camo print...camo is a tricky one. 
I like to compare it's life-span in the spotlight to the quickness of colours such as fluro green...
They are out even more quickly than they are in.
I remember once I was totally head over heels for the idea of a fluro green 1 piece cossie with "stop acid rain" printed on the front of it. Let's just say by the time I designed and handed it over for development, I was questioning my abilities.
So in a round-a-bout way, what I am trying to say is: camo is in right NOW but will probably not be in next week, so quickly grab it from the back of your wardrobe and rock it like you mean it.
Ksubi has an abundance of it in stores now, so if you burnt your camo collection from 2002 (or ended up using it as rags), I recommend investing in their range.

p.s if it is already out by the time I publish this post I would not be surprised, so if you want to skip it altogether, there will be no hard feelings here! (....or 'hard feelings there'?! here or there, that's always the question)
p.p.s off the topic I read something terrible today. Someone quoted "just because it is vintage, doesn't make it cool". What a lamo. Whoever said this probably wears Arnette sunglasses and the high-heeled version of Crocs. (gasp!)

Camo Tee: vintage, Leather harness: room mates, Camo shirt (worn as skirt): vintage. Belt: vintage.
Crystal ring: Celeste Tesoriero (available online and in stores soon), Bone ring: One Teaspoon, Silver Ring: Mania Mania
Shoes: Jeffery Campbell

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

O-man

Tic tac toc I shoot non stop
Tip-toe don’t make you rock
What they say that’s not ‘nough
You long long what you know I got
Bla bla bla against the wall
So pee-wee cyber tall
Ring ring ring when duty calls
Now now now to word it all

Big mouth, big mouth, quiet now, you said enough
Got a big mouth, big mouth, my my my, you said enough

-Santigold, 'Big Mouth'


I thought I'd give you a little sneaky peak of behind the scenes of the shoot I styled the other day, seen as though it may be quite a while till the finishing touches are placed on the final images, and working on this was super frigging awesome.
The model Teresa Oman (get the title of the post now?! huh?! get it get it?!!!) is currently blasting off to the other side of the universe, doing her thang being the 'next big thing' and all, so I'm glad I got to catch her before take off. She is full of energy yet super chilled, full of smiles and a full blown legend!
'hang on a minute, should you really be posting behind-the-scene shots of a shoot that isn't released?!' I hear you ask...
don't sweat it peeps, I slept with the photographer (ha! seriously though.)
( Please note:  If you are alarmed by that last comment, please refer to numerous posts below...he's ma bf DER).
p.s I like getting pics from behind, you guys should know this already. yeh? good.