Battle of the Bags at Callejeronyc.com

So i got an email off the messenger list serve about a messenger bag vvote-off ....I'm actually really curious to see the results! I think there's a few companies missing (Pac, Bailey, freight, Under the Weather, just to name a few of the "bigger name" ones), but overall it should be interesting if enough people actually give their input. We're always glad to hear about things that people would like to change about our bags, or reasons why they prefer others. I think you actually have to register to vote - which is of course a bit of a deterrent - but if you have the time, go on there and put in your choice for 2009!

*btw, I'm abstaining from voting due to obvious conflicts of interest :)

Bzzzzzzzzzzz !

A little while ago I posted about how much skill R.E.Load as a whole has when it comes to custom graphics and applique. At the time I was missing proper photos from our newest graphics team member, Brie. Although she has been doing this for far less time that Carrie, Gerik, Ellie, Ingrid, or myself, she has been progressing at a very steady rate, and - as is the case with all of our best stitchers - has been developing styles and techniques of her own.

Brie made the above bag as a piece for the Compound Warehaus' November opening, which had a "Nightmare on Elm Street" theme.



Not having seen the flap work beforehand, I was pretty surprised to see the level of color layering and attention to detail on the bag. Not because I didnt expect great work from her; it's just that the artwork represented here is something that we normally dont have that many opportunities to do, since if this had been an actual customer order, the graphics charge would turn most people away. So, most of the time something that might have started with an idea like this would have been filtered down, with several layers of color eliminated, and a lot of detail simplified, in an effort to get the graphic down into a customer price range. But since this was for an art show, Brie had time to go as far as she wanted with the design.



I think one of the most impressive things here is that you really get the feeling of the "hair" on the body of the bee; it LOOKS like fuzz. Although it is a bit hard to translate through a computer screen, the body - as well as the honeycomb - are livened by appropriate texture, which is a style that is very difficult to pull off. You can see how many indivudually-colored sections are in just this part of the bag alone. This takes an extraordinary amount of planning and focus. And I think it speaks very well of the overall design that the graphic, color selection, and technique employed to create the image are all equally compelling.

Check out work from Brie, Carrie, Chika, Ellie, Gerik, Ingrid, Jean, and Ro on our flickr page!

The best blog posting I've ever read

This has nothing to do with bags, but it DOES have to do with music - and thus my music series - and the man who inspired me to start the series in the first place. Arguably the best producer ever to touch an MPC: J Dilla.

I was randomly skimming through the web looking for some new music and I came across this post from Questlove about one of his experiences with the late Detroit producer/mc....check it our here.

I've been putting off making another Dilla bag for the music series, but most likely I'll be making two of em a bit after the new year. One is going to be mine (the one pictured above is mine; I made that particular bag about two and a half years ago), and one will go up for auction, with the proceeds going to the J Dilla Foundation.

Keep posted!