Poppy Gall Design Studio Blog » bicycle art

Design Inspiration – James Straffon’s Cycling Shoes

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:45:43 +0000

The intersection of art and fashion with sport is always fascinating to me. The collision of state of the art cycling shoes wrapped with vintage images exploring the sport’s rich history is a great example. Clearly cycling is a passion for U.K. based artist James Straffon who has exactingly decoupaged cycling shoes with historic racing memorabilia. Most recently Straffon collaborated with cycling brand Rapha to create a shoe to commemorate the introduction of their new yak leather shoe, the Grand Tour.

When speaking about creating the shoe Straffon claims, “Working on the Rapha Grand Tour shoe was a daunting task. The decoupage needed to sit well with the company ethos. It also had to exist as an embellishment to the already apparent ‘beauty’ of the raw object, and not speak a different aesthetic language. In addition, much trepidation arose when my usual working method introduced resin-coated sanding papers to fine Yak leather. Not a moment for the faint-hearted. Grand Tour was a journey in itself.”

Straffon chose his images carefully. One flank features the line-up of the very first ‘Grand Départ’ in 1903, outside the Café Reveil-Matin, Montgeron, France. Eventual inaugural Tour de France winner Maurice Garin can be seen poised at the far right. The fated 1967 Tour is also honoured, with reference to Stage 13, Marseille to Carpentras, where Tom Simpson died the slopes of the Ventoux. Barry Hoban’s consequent Stage 14 victory is also represented. Merckx, Rivière, and Géminiani are also featured in the subtle interlocking of images.

Straffon has also collaged shoes donated by cycling stars David Millar and Bradley Wiggins. The shoes will be part of a solo exhibit of Straffon’s cycling based works LE TOUR – from maillot jaune to lanterne rouge opening June 30^th at Snap Galleries in London.

David Millar’s re-envisioned shoe

Bradley Wiggin’s wonderfully modified shoe

Via: Road.cc

For more cycling inspiration click here.

Design Inspiration – Snowflake Bike Badge

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:54:24 +0000

This intricately detailed badge adorns the head tube of a snow bike from Black Sheep Bikes. I’ve never seen snowflakes grace a bicycle before – except the kind that melt – and am dazzled by the design and workmanship of this badge. It’s like a little piece of jewelry for the bike.

Spotted at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show by BikeRadar.com.

For more 2-wheeled inspiration click here.

Happy Holidays!

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:13:39 +0000

Don’t you love this card designed by my creative cycling friend, Ann? Have a wonderful weekend everyone. My studio is closed today. I’m taking a few ski runs, decorating my tree and starting my wrapping!

A Nice Leap!

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:31:15 +0000

Enjoy your weekend!

By Jan Balet

To see more artwork inspired by bicycles click here.

Design Inspiration – Bicycle House Marker

admin — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:52:24 +0000

Instead of using a standard address marker to point the way to their Vermont home, an avid cycling couple transformed this old bicycle into a welcoming and playful sign, which they placed at the end of their long dirt driveway. What a great idea!

To see another cool use for old bike parts click here.

“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. Thank you!

Design Inspiration – Announcing the Birth of a Tricycle

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:34:24 +0000

This poster was created by Allan Peters for ARTCRANK Minneapolis – a poster show for people who love biking. When Allan got this project, he and his wife had just found out that they were going to have a baby. He wanted to do something that mixed that joy with his joy of biking.

Click here to see more interesting photos of Peters’ poster printing process.

To see more bicycle inspiration click here.

To become an interactive part of Poppy Gall Design Studio on facebook click here.

Color Inspiration – Copenhagen Bicycles

admin — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:22:51 +0000

My photographer friend Mary spent a few days poking around Copenhagen last weekend while visiting with her daughter. It’s no surprise that bicycles caught her eye and were captured by her camera lens, as Copenhagen has a booming bicycle culture that has reached worldwide recognition via the Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog.

The grit, graffiti and rust in Mary’s photos portrays a laid back urban environment. Enhanced by sensational colors and textures, they are very powerful pictures. Thanks so much Mary for sharing these radiant photos with us!

To become an interactive part of Poppy Gall Design Studio on facebook click here.

Color Inspiration – Bicycle Fork Flower

admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 07:25:01 +0000

Someone with ingenuity and skill with a welding torch created this fanciful flower (or sun?) made from discarded bicycle forks. A friend snapped this photo and sent it to me knowing how I love bicycle art and rusty objects. She spotted it in East Burke, Vermont while exploring the amazing Kingdom Trails mountain biking system.

photo: Ann Howard (thanks!)

To become an interactive part of Poppy Gall Design Studio on facebook click here.

Design Inspiration – Bicycle Poster Competition

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:31:30 +0000

I heard about The London Transport Museum’s exhibit of bicycle posters on the Bikejuju blog a few weeks ago. I apologize for being a little “off the back” in sharing the news with you, but if you get a chance to pedal down to Covent Garden in the next few days to see the show I should think it would be worth it!

The museum asked illustrators to draw the links between cycling in London, environmental issues, health and fun. Fifty of the 1,000-plus entries are now on display at the museum until August 22. Here’s a sampling of the posters…

Spokes and Leaves by Mia Nilsson

Cycle Revolution by Frances Castle

Good for You, Green For London by Rachel Lillie

Bicycle Belle by David Hughes

Life Cycles by Kevin Ward

London Cloud Ride by Julien Decaudin

Go Green by Galia Bernstein

Super-Super Highways by Maddalena Cauraro

See a larger selection of posters on the Guardian site here. If you like this post, you might also like this.

To become an interactive part of Poppy Gall Design Studio on facebook click here.

Design Inspiration – The New Yorker Cover

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:21:05 +0000

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.

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!