Design Inspiration

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Design Inspiration – Delta Hawk Bicycle Headlite

September 7, 2010 in 2 Wheels, Design Inspiration | No comments

Forget all those fancy state-of-the-art LED bicycle headlights – this 1950’s Delta Hawk Bicycle Headlite is the real deal, and the predecessor to what we’re using today. The Delta Electric Company was based in Marion, Indiana and claimed to be the “world’s largest producer of electric lanterns and electrical bicycle accessories”.

I came by this headlamp about 25 years ago when Mr. Walker, the ancient owner of the bicycle shop in my hometown, died. When his shop was cleaned out, there were some amazing bicycle parts in his dark and dusty attic!

Delta1

The packaging is classic and almost as good as the headlamp design!

Delta2

I wasn’t riding a bike in the 50’s, but I’ve been saving this toy for when I find a vintage cruiser to attach it to…

Delta3

DeltaColor

I like they way the colors in these photos work together. Coincidentally they look a little 50’s-ish to me – sI couldn’t resist putting together a color palette.

To see more Delta Electric Co. bicycle accessories click here.

If you like this, you might also like the vintage bicycle trailer or Bicycle Songs of Safety.

Tags: 50's bicycle headlight, bicycle headlight, Delta Electric Co., Delta Hawk bicycle headlite, vintage bicycle

Design Inspiration – Adirondack Rustic

September 2, 2010 in Design Inspiration | No comments

There’s something very special about “going to camp”, getting away from it all and being unplugged for a while. My family recently gathered on a remote Adirondack lake to celebrate a 60th anniversary.

Our time was spent lazily hanging out on the porch reading and rocking in weathered chairs, sharing lively mealtime conversations at the oilcloth covered table, building terrariums and painting watercolors, singing around the evening campfire, playing competitive scrabble by gas lantern, climbing high peaks for views, messing around in boats, and plunging into the lake.

I am enamored by the rustic charm of Adirondack camps. Buildings made from wood and stone found nearby and simply furnished. Guide boat and foot transport supplies; each item hauled into camp is carefully considered.

Perhaps this simplicity encourages relaxation. There is no electricity to power noisy gadgets, no powerboats on the lake to disturb the loons, and no cell phone reception or wifi to distract. Without technological clutter, time is made for connecting with people, self and nature. I am sure that this particular camp experience has remained unchanged for a hundred years, and I am hopeful that it will remain so for generations to come.

Photos: Poppy Gall & Rebecca Lee

Tags: Adirondack camp, Adirondack lake, Adirondack mountains, Adirondack rustic, camp living, guide boat, interior decor, rustic camp

Design Inspiration – Gone Votin’

August 23, 2010 in Design Inspiration | No comments

It may seem a little early to vote in a primary election (perhaps you’d prefer to be fishin’) but don’t forget to vote on Tuesday. Every vote counts!

Designer_SpotCo

To see more voting posters from AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) click here.

Tags: AIGA voting posters, SpotCo San Francisco, voting posters

Design Inspiration – The New Yorker Cover

July 31, 2010 in 2 Wheels, Design Inspiration | No comments

As my regular readers know, I’m a sucker for The New Yorker magazine covers. This weeks cover, a painting by J.J. Sempe, is wonderfully titled “The Joys and Torments of Solitude”.

Next week I will be in Salt Lake City at the Outdoor Retailer trade show meeting with clients, visiting with old friends and checking out the latest and greatest new outdoor gear. I’ll be back to blogging the following week.

8:2:10 Nyer cover

P.S. Check out ‘Poppy Gall Design’ facebook page. “Like” it to see what sorts of projects we’re working on and to be an interactive part of the design studio. Thanks!

Tags: bicycle art, J.J. Sempe The New Yorker cover, Outdoor Retailer Show, The New Yorker magazine cover

Design Inspiration – Camper Bike

July 30, 2010 in 2 Wheels, Design Inspiration | No comments

Kevin Cyr’s habitable fusion of bicycle and camper, titled Camper Bike, is a functioning sculptural piece that has influenced his series of paintings. To see more of Cyr’s works click here.

Kevin Cyr’s habitable fusion of bicycle and camper is a functioning sculptural piece and has influenced a series of paintings. Camper Bike certainly puts a new spin on bicycle camping!

“Like” Poppy Gall Design facebook page to see what sorts of projects we’re working on and to become an interactive part of the studio.

Tags: bicycle art, bicycle sculpture, bike camper, bike trailer, Camper Bike, Kevin Cyr

Design Inspiration – 60’s VW Microbus Ads

July 27, 2010 in Design Inspiration | 2 comments

VW Bus

Can your wife bake her own bread?

Can she get a kid’s leg stitched and not phone you at the office until it’s all over?

Find something to talk about when the TV set goes on the blink?

Does she worry about the Bomb?

Make your neighbor’s children wish she were their mother?

Will she say “yes” to a camping trip after 50 straight weeks of cooking?

Let your daughter keep a pet snake in the back yard?

Invite 13 people to dinner even though she only has service for 12?

Name a cat “Rover”?

Order escargots.

Live another year without furniture and take a trip to Europe instead?

Let you give up your job with a smile?

And mean it?

Congratulations.

Before the VW microbus became a hippie-mobile it was marketed as a station wagon. The creative ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach produced funny and honest VW ads in the 60’s. The theme of cool chic, used in the ad campaign, suggested that one had to be courageous and different – desirably different – to drive the bus as a family car.

One ad, “How does it feel to show up in one of these?” showed an elegantly evening-gowned woman emerging gracefully from the front seat of a bus at the Plaza. A woman who drove a VW bus back then recalls, “It made me feel cute as a button and interesting as hell.”

This ad makes me realize that marketing to women (and men) has come a long way since the mid-60’s. The above-mentioned desirable female attributes are the norm in my circle of women friends of the next generation, many who have driven microbuses, lived in teepees, traveled solo and grown their own food. Perhaps their mothers drove microbuses?

Excerpt from Think Small; The Story of Those Volkswagen Ads by Frank Rowsome, Jr.

If you like this, you might also like this

Now on facebook, “Like” Poppy Gall Design to see what sorts of projects we’re working on and to be an interactive part of the design studio.

Tags: 1960’s VW ads, Doyle Dane Bernbach VW ads, Think Small; The Story of Those Volkswagen Ads by Frank Rowesome Jr., VW microbus

Happy 4th of July

July 2, 2010 in Design Inspiration | No comments

Aaah – a long weekend coming up! I’m crossing the lake to join my family in the Adirondacks for our annual 4th of July gathering. I’m scrambling around today to pull together a piece of artwork to show at the Family Art Show tomorrow afternoon. It needs to be portable enough to be transported by motorcycle, so I guess Lacey The Cow is out of the picture! Perhaps a recent monoprint?

I hope that everyone has a lovely and relaxing weekend. What are you up to?

stars

P.S. These stars are made from silver foil paper, cardboard, crepe paper streamers, glitter, stick-on foil stars and tomato stakes.

“Like” my Poppy Gall Design facebook page to see what sorts of projects we’re working on and to become an interactive part of the studio. Tell your friends too!

Tags: 4th of July decorations, 4th of July party, paper stars

Design Inspiration – Be Delighted!

July 1, 2010 in Design Inspiration | 1 comment

How can you not be delighted that it’s July? Collectively, we move so quickly in our digital, high-speed lives that we sometimes forget to relish the small wonders that surround us. Here are a few things that I am delighted by. What delights you about July?

BeDelighted

Flickering fireflies

The taste of fresh strawberries

Skinny-dipping in the brook

Riding my bike until dark

Loons on the lake

Tailwinds

Making jam

Watermelon

Fireworks

Creemees

Rainbows

Morning mist

Fresh basil

Outdoor showers

Long days

Going barefoot

Picnics

Sleeping under the stars

Bees

Dew covered spider webs

Lying in the grass

campfires

Seashells

Picking vegetables

Getting to the top of the climb

Homegrown flowers on the table

Red newts on the trail

Cumulus clouds in the shapes of animals

Songbirds at daybreak

Dragonflies

Hooting owls

pistils and stamens

Thunder and lightning

I’m also delighted by CoCo Flowerfont, a collaborative photofont project created by participants at FontConf at the CoCoMSP workspace in St. Paul, MN on 6.19.10. Click here to see more letters.

May I suggest becoming a “friend” of Poppy Gall Design on facebook? You’ll be able to contribute comments and ideas on a variety of projects in various stages of completion. Thank you!

Tags: Coco Flowerfont, flower alphabet, flower art, flower font, July, Summer

Design Inspiration – Carol E.S. MacDonald

June 29, 2010 in Design Inspiration | 3 comments

Whether you are a knitter or not, it is difficult not to appreciate the depth and texture of Vermont artist, Carol E. S. MacDonald’s knit-inspired monoprints. They are both of, and about knitting, as well as conceptual works about teaching, the art of printing, and community. The work also speaks to the wonder of possibility, as she says, “That you can make a fabric out of a single thread.”

2-Knit Fragment IXweb

Knit Fragment IX

Carol places pieces of textile that she has knit herself onto her hand-operated press, often layering multiple images onto the same sheet of paper to achieve her final print. Depending on the piece, she may also draw or paint into the print giving it additional depth. Many of her prints have an almost photographic-like detail in the knit stitches.

3-Knit Fragment III, Ink Drawing, Monotype, 48 x 12

Knit Fragment III

Visit CarolMacDonald.com and you will see many more of her wonderful prints, many inspired by ravens and crows, nests and labyrinths. Using knit textiles as a medium in her work is relatively new for Carol, and I anticipate exciting and unexpected works from her in the future.

1-Regenerate II

Regenerate II

MacDonald currently teaches printmaking at the Community College of Vermont. In her studio, she leads monthly Monotype Workshops for artists and runs a summer art camp program for young people. For many years she led No Limits for Women Artists support groups. Community arts organizing has been a passion for MacDonald, who worked for twenty years with the Women’s Caucus for Art and was a founder of the Art’s Alive Festival of Fine Art in Burlington, VT. MacDonald has been a leader in organizing the community of women in the arts.

4-Knit Stratum VI

Knit Stratum VI

4a-Steel & Silk II, Monotype, 8 x 14

Steel & Silk II

5-Knit Structure VII

Knit Structure VII

6-Rift II

Rift II

7-Knit Pattern IV

Knit Pattern IV

If you like this, you may also like my Knit & Purl blog posts.

“Like” my Poppy Gall Design facebook page to see what sorts of projects we’re working on and to become an interactive part of the studio. Tell your friends too! Or share this post with others by clicking the “share” button below.

Tags: Carol E.S. MacDonald. Carol MacDonald monoprint, knit, Knit Monoprints, monoprint, printmaker, Vermont artist, Vermont printmaker

Sleeping Under The Stars

June 23, 2010 in Design Inspiration | 1 comment

I spent my fifteenth summer backpacking and rafting in the Idaho wilderness with a bunch of kids and a counselor. It didn’t rain much, and dew didn’t fall during the night, so we slept almost every night under a carpet of endless stars.

When I returned home, and to sleeping in my own bed, I felt crowded and claustrophobic. Adhering glow-in-the-dark stars to my ceiling and throwing my windows open wide didn’t help much. Rolling out my sleeping bag and sleeping under the stars is one of my simplest joys, and under my husband’s tutelage I’ve learned many of the night sky’s constellations.

Stunningly graphic “See The Milky Way” posters proclaiming “half the park is after dark” are now on display now in many National Parks. They feel both modern and retro.

Acadia2010

Chaco2010

Grand Canyon

JoshuaTree2010

NatBridge2010

Yellowstone2010

To see more posters click here. These, and other posters and artwork can be found in Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks by Dr. Tyler Nordgren describing the world of astronomy on view to everyone who travels to the national parks.

Tags: Acadia National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Dr. Tyler Nordgren, Grand Canyon, Half The Park Is After Dark, Joshua Tree National Park, milky way, National Parks, Natural Bridges National Monument, See The Milky Way posters, sleeping under the stars, stargazing, Stars Above Earth Below, Yellowstone National Park

Design Inspiration – Linda Gass’ Art Quilts

May 24, 2010 in Design Inspiration | No comments

A blog reader, who rightly thought I’d be fascinated by her art quilts, introduced me the textile art of Linda Gass. Gass is a Californian whose work is informed by her environmental activist passions. She hand paints and stitches aerial views of endangered landscapes on silk crepe de chine. With needle and thread she magically makes bird’s eye views of oil refineries and water treatment plants beautiful.

Her work focuses on creating awareness of the struggle for water resources in California and the American West. Growing up during the drought years in California made Gass keenly aware of the preciousness of water, an irreplaceable element for all life. She has done research on the history and practice of water management and hopes to use the lure of beauty in her work to encourage people to look at the hard issues confronting us. Visit Gass’ website to see more of her work. Click here to see where her work is exhibited.

Title: Refined? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h

Refined? detail

Artist Statement: Refined? is an aerial view of the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, CA. The refinery extends over 2500 acres and processes 225,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The site of this refinery is on the edges of San Francisco Bay and was chosen for the convenience and efficiency of delivering oil by tanker ship. The water quality of the bay has paid a high price for this convenience. Dioxin and PCB discharges from the refinery have polluted the waters around the refinery – eating any oysters or fish caught in this area is a serious health hazard. Having industrial processing like this right next to the bay highlights the vulnerability of the bay and the vigilance we must maintain in protecting it.

Title: Sanitary? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h

Sanitary? detail

Artist Statement: Sanitary? is an aerial view of Newby Island Sanitary Landfill in Milpitas, CA one of several landfills right on the San Francisco Bay. Newby Island is a 342-acre pile that is estimated to be 14 years away from reaching its maximum permitted height of 120 feet. The facility processes 4,000 tons of garbage daily. According to the company website, the landfill is an island surrounded by a levee which keeps its runoff from directly entering the bay, and the water that drains from it is treated in the dump’s own treatment plant. The landfill has a composite clay layer beneath it and that in combination with a synthetic liner and an underdrain system keeps contaminants from leaching into the groundwater. These many layers of mitigation are susceptible to failure and underscore the vulnerability of the bay and ground water to contamination.

Title: Treatment? Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h

Treatment? detail

P.S. I have a new ‘Poppy Gall Design’ facebook page. “Like” it to see what sorts of projects I’m working on and to be an interactive part of my design studio.

Tags: art quilts, environmental art, Linda Gass, Linda Gass art quilts, textile art

Design Inspiration – The Bokja Bug

May 11, 2010 in Design Inspiration | 1 comment

Having had a love affair with VW beetles since before I even owned an orange 1972 bug, I was especially smitten when I discovered the ‘’Bokja Bug” on designboom.com.

Bokja Design has taken the iconic Volkswagen and entirely covered it with car stickers and a patchwork of vintage textiles from the Middle East. It was recently exhibited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi during the 2010 Milan Design Week.

The whimsical bug, auctioned on ebay, brought in 1,004 euros which were donated to Fondazione Francesca Rava to benefit the children of Haiti.

Imagine how spectacular it would be if it were a rag top!

photos: copyright designboom