We’d like to wish all our Avocado Sweet readers, writers, makers and suppliers and all the other interesting people we’ve met in 2011, the very best for the holidays and the coming year. We’ll be back posting daily from 9 January and have lots of exciting plans for 2012. Merry Christmas, love Jane and Michelle x The painting is by Paige Bridges and is available from Vintage Trailer Art.
Managing expectations is a good idea when it comes to present giving. This wrapping paper apologises in advance for the present inside. Available to download free from The Guardian this this week are wrapping papers designed by well-known artists. ‘Sorry’ is by Jeremy Deller. Below, Tacita Dean’s design is based on an image of a woman looking very uncomfortable on a sledge from a 100 year old German postcard, and below,
Another entry for our great writing series, here’s an excoriating piece by Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times, ‘reviewing’ a recent NYC wedding. The sharpness of the piece, slightly abridged here, and the awfulness of the occasion are a neat juxtaposition of all that’s irresistable and off putting about the New York intelligentsia – enjoy! *** “Recently [in] a loft-like store for arty bibliophiles, David Friedlander, a handsome guy
Tidying up has to be the most pointless activity known to man. Swiss artist, Ursus Wehrli has even tidied up things that don’t need to be tidied; sunbathers, fruit bowls, alphabet spaghetti and pine branches. However, there’s no denying the sense of order is very pleasing to the eye. T ] These pictures appear in Wehrli’s latest book, Die Kunst, aufzuräumen (The Art of Clean) which follows up his first book, Tidying
We are giving away one of these gorgeous little robins to two lucky readers as a Christmas competition prize. These unusual Christmas decorations are handmade using vintage fabrics and electric cable copper for their wire legs. Part of their charm is their dimunitive size and the obvious hand stitching on the pretty fabrics. Because the robins are on legs they can stand on a shelf or mantelpiece or perch on a Christmas
If you tend to look down rather than where you’re going, you may already have seen Slinkachu’s work. He has been abandoning little people on the streets since 2006. Both street art installation and photography project, he remodels and paints model train set characters which he then places and leaves on the street. ‘The street-based side of my work plays with the notion of surprise and I aim to encourage city-dwellers to
‘Meet me at the corner of Third and Fairfax’ is something Angelenos have been saying to each other for years. It’s even the name of one of 2011 America’s Got Talent finalists, the pensioner duo who met at a karoake bar on said corner. The location is also the site of LA’s oldest Farmers Market, described by Not For Tourists LA as ‘one of the best melting pot LA experiences
Before the rules of alcohol adverstising changed in 1975, this legendary poster campaign seemed to suggest that a mere first sip of Smirnoff vodka was a life melting, transformative experience. Substitute the word ‘heroin’ for ‘Smirnoff’ and it still makes sense. The campaign was the work of the London-based Young and Rubican agency and was, in terms of sales, fantastically successful. Marketing Director at the time, Tim Ambler, recalls that
‘Hello? Don? Is that you? Listen carefully darling because I’ve got something big for you. Avocado Sweet is launching its ad spaces – can you handle it?’ *** Ok so Don Draper isn’t on the case but we are delighted to announce that we at last have ad spaces available on Avocado Sweet, with special discounts for artists and makers. Just click on the ‘Advertise here!’ button on the right
The chattering classes may have deemed John Lewis’s seasonal effort a fail but here’s Banana Republic showing that it is possible to create a Christmas campaign that is unashamedly consumerist yet fantastically festive. Featuring the lovely Karen Elson and the (even lovelier?) Andrew Cooper, the campaign was shot by Carter Smith and depicts a Christmas to covet. And there’s no bastardised Smiths tune to assault the ears either. Bravo