Totes amazeballs

Not content with printing up some t-shirts with the id-iom certified logo we’ve got our hands on some blank tote bags and so decided to print up a couple of those too. Basically I’ll stick an id-iom logo on just about whatever I can lay my hands on.  It does look classy though if I do say so myself.

As you can probably tell this shot is not at all staged. Just me walking down the street completely natural like. I’m even pretending to use my phone so my arm isn’t hovering strangely in the air as I try not to obscure the logo. The troubles we have to go to…

Cheers

id-iom

Advertisement

Things not to do on the hottest day of the year

Given that it was 34 degrees in London yesterday and I could easily have stayed at home in the relative cool I decided a good walk (just to work up a sweat) and some screen printing was in order. Say hello to id-iom’s new ‘faded stamp’ t’s. They’re for our percy pile so don’t think you can get your grubby mitts on one…

Cheers

id-iom

It’s more fun in Switzerland!

It’s more fun in Switzerland!

After digging round in the attic at our family home I came across a box containing some items that belonged to our long lost Uncle Lou. Apparently he was something of a womaniser and a card-sharp and would ever be in search of the next loose woman and dodgy card table. He mysteriously disappeared on a trip to the local butchers one day and all they ever found of him was his rusty sheriff’s badge (which he always wore). He left behind a box of mementos and this is a little something from one of his jaunts around Europe in the late 60’s and looks to be an annotated map of his adventures. It appears it involved lots of women, drink and skiing…

I’ve never actually been to Switzerland myself but I have plenty of friends who have and they all seem to really enjoy the place. I’m pretty sure I would enjoy the skiing and cheese aspect of a visit there but it’s been many years since I wore a timepiece and I’m not a massive fan of chocolate so they couldn’t really impress me on that front. Anyhow I’d still give it a go as apparently ‘It’s more fun in Switzerland!’ and I’d be willing to see if it lives up to the claim.

Working on maps is really rather enjoyable and this piece has been lovingly created on a large vintage motoring map of the region. She features at least 12+ different screen print levels (including our id-iom seal of approval), hand-done red hand-stitching around the Swiss border, many stencils and a load of hand annotation in paint pen (not done by me as my writing isn’t neat enough!) If that wasn’t enough it also features the Transformer Soundwave about to steal a load of ‘energon’ from the Large Hadron Collider on the Swiss border. Naughty Transformer!

For further information about us and what we get up to you can visit our flickr page and we’re also on twitter (@thisisidiom).

Cheers

id-iom

Bark or Bite?

Bark or Bite?

We sold another version of this picture a short while ago and then a friend got in touch saying she’d failed in her attempt to snaffle it on eBay and could she commission another from us. As it’s her birthday very shortly we sent it along as a gift in lieu of the fact that we will be unable to attend. So ‘Happy Birthday!’ You know who you are…

It’s based on an old Celtic design that was in a book which was lying around in our dearly departed studio. This was one of several designs that I was thinking of getting it done as a tattoo so I thought I’d see how it looked before I’d commit ink to skin. As i’m a fickle beast I have since changed my mind and will, in fact, be going for a photorealistic teal duck. Probably. Maybe this one will get a look in next time…

Cheers

id-iom

When the Muse is away…

When the Muse is away…

I’ve somehow woken up today with an awful cold but that hasn’t stopped me from doing a little art, it cures the soul apparently. So even if it isn’t going to get rid of my cold it will clear my soul. I’ll take whatever I can get at the moment to tell you the truth. Sometimes when I’m writing these posts the Muse just deserts me and I’m left wondering how to fill a small paragraph or two. Today would be a pertinent example of it.

You can probably tell as I’m halfway into my second paragraph and I’m still prattling nonsense unrelated to the picture above. This picture was in fact a small experiment at a more sketchy style stencil using a limited colour palette. I just thought a simple picture of a pretty girl would do it, no need to wallow in grimy hate filled pictures today, it just doesn’t seem right. There, whilst not under the Muse’s direct control and a little bit ill, that’s about the best I can come out with. It’s not funny, merely related information about the piece. I can also tell you that it’s hopefully to be used as a part of a larger piece but was initially done to see how the style would look once it’s sprayed. That’s all I can manage. Even I know when it’s time to quit so cheery bye for today…

Cheers

id-iom

The lack of money is the root of all evil

The lack of money is the root of all evil - A3 print

I used a smaller version of this design on the Paperwallet we did a while ago and decided that I liked this quote enough to reproduce it on a larger scale. According to the all knowing power of the internet the quote ‘the lack of money is the root of all evil’ is attributed to both George Bernard Shaw and Mark Twain. After a little more digging I still can’t seem to come up with the answer. They were both around at the same time so maybe one said it, the other affirmed it and it has therefore been attributed to both. They clearly didn’t have the internet back then so information must have spread a lot more slowly and it’s whilst it’s possible they both came up with it independently I would rather believe that one simply repeated the quote he’d somehow heard from the other and it was therefore attributed to both in posterity. Maybe one of them was some kind of professional quote thief? Who knows?

Cheers

id-iom

Beware the fury of a patient man

Beware the fury of a patient man

Despite the fact that it’s Friday and i’m in a pretty good mood I just can’t come up with anything witty or amusing to accompany this piece. So perhaps i’ll just go through the basics.

It’s a screenprinted commission on A3 card and is due to go to the framer any day now. The quote is from English poet John Dryden and is featured in his poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel‘ from 1681. Aside from the obvious interpretation of the line – that a patient man is slow to anger but that his anger will be mighty once roused – I’m not sure if what, if anything else, it’s meant to signify. The quote in context is:

‘How ill my fear they by my Mercy scan

Beware the fury of a patient man’

According to wikipedia ‘the poem is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for discussion of the background to the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion Crisis.’ All that is a little beyond me at the moment but i’m sure it’s all true.

I’m particularly pleased with the distressed feel to the piece and the slightly worn ‘id-iom certified’ stamp came out beautifully. Onwards and upwards…

Cheers

id-iom