Things

Date
4 February 2012

So it’s that time of the week. That Things time of the week. And what have we got in store for you? Are you sitting down? Well then get ready to be blown away by the rockin’ smorgasbord you’re about to get served up. Our Things box was literally overflowing with goodies this week and after a proper sift-through we emerged victorious with these five lovely items clutched in hand. There’s psychedelic beach posters, photobooks and children’s books and even a bit of advice about how to bypass Tesco and head to the local park for your lunch instead. You’ll understand before long, so here we go! It’s time…

Your City is a Public Orchard Textbook Studio

Um, can you say handy? When hunger pangs come a-knocking and money is low, it’s easy to think you’re reduced to a life of baked-bean lunches, but thanks to Textbook studio I now know that nettle soup or daisy raita are never far from my plate, as long as I’m up for a bit of foraging. This generous pull-out is packed with descriptions, images, and recipes for wild food found in urban spaces. This Manchester studio is Chris, Vicky and John, who’ve worked together for a few years now to build up a “multidisciplinary creative practice.”
www.textbookstudio.co.uk

Haapa-Neitty, Mettan Tytto Nemo

Finnish publisher Nemo has treated us with a copy of their stunning new children’s book whose story draws inspiration from Peter and the Wolf, Babar the Elephant, and various old Nordic folk stories. It’s full of dense illustrations that layer character upon character, scene upon scene to create a tangled, gloriously rich mess of narrative joy. We’ve got absolutely no idea what it says (it’s in Finnish) but it looks like some crazy stuff involving a wizard and a scary woman with enormous earrings goes down. The power of children’s books to entertain us throughout adulthood is one of the undeniable pleasures in life – and we’ll never feel guilty for it!
www.nemokustannus.fi/en/nemo.html

Psychic Hearts by Sandra Croft The Velvet Cell

The Velvet Cell make very nice books. Very nice books with very nice photographs in them. Their belief is that “the book is the most intimate way of interacting with photographs”, and they’ve certainly got the material to back it up. Their publications can be leafed through with the intimacy and ease of a novel while presenting content in a spacious and well-considered manner. This one here features the work of Sandra Croft, whose enigmatic cityscapes fill the open page with a contemplative voice. Really lovely stuff from a group with a tangible love for the medium.
www.thevelvetcell.com

A New Consciousness, Issue 6 Art Licks

Art Licks has a knack for sniffing out great creative talent around London and pride themselves on keeping readers aware of what’s beyond the mainstream. The bulk of it’s presence is a website but they also curate Art Licks Magazine, “an art space in its own right, rather than a magazine about art.” Bold sentiments but not without merit – Art Licks will enhance your life. Their latest issue is the first of the year and it’s had a make-over, with fresh typefaces, new paper-stock and a couple of great collaborations with artist Patrick Coyle and Pio Abad. The mag’s lo-fi aesthetic works to its advantage – presenting juicy nuggets of wisdom with unforced insight. A great little briefing I’d feel quite cool carrying around.
www.artlicks.com

Tropical Stu Ross

Rothko would be proud if he could see Mr Ross’ work. Big, brash splashes of colour blocked-up across a nice hefty canvas. And though he’s definitely more on the hallucinogenic end of things – with retina-smashing hues layered in geometric patterns for a well-manicured optical buzz – it’s still all about using the impact of colour to create scenes of minimalist natural beauty. Think I might fancy a trip to the beach right about now…
www.stuross.co.uk

Share Article

Further Info

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.