July 01, 2009
Posted at 05:24 PM
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Just as soon as this fucking hard drive copies over, we're outta here. You know, bulking up the DDC Mobile Command Unit. 87,858 items to copy over. Then we head east. - - - - A FALLEN SOLDIER: I don't know what the USPS had against the DDC, but they've got a beef with us in High Point, North Carolina. Here's how one of the posters got "delivered" a couple days back to a confused customer. Real nice. Another one is on the way, man! - - - - MAYBE WE'LL MEET SOME OF THESE CHARACTERS ON THIS ROADTRIP?: David Lynch's very addictive "Interview Project" that is making its way across the states. Be careful. You'll get hooked on these little nuggets fast. - - - - A LITTLE ABOUT LAYER TENNIS, AND MY UNRULY DEMISE: The little varmit Hubacek beat me out in the voting, and hell, that's how it goes in this digital democracy. A lot of ruffians are writing in to rile me up, and hey, I got this much to say: I played hard. I played to win. I used my faculties the best I could. Hubacek used my little DDC schtick against me to his favor, and hell, if that's what it takes to beat me down, well, I should've known better. Lesson learned, you little gremlin! Have fun in the finals and make Minnesota proud. Mr. Inman is a seriously smart cookie, and it's my hunch he won't let Friday's sort of tomfoolery rattle him. Our prediction. - - - - FROM A GUY IN CHICAGO WITH A COOL NAME: The one and possibly only Don Guss comes in real hot with a cool link about old trucks and old station wagons. There goes the afternoon. Get in there and get wild with some of that shit. Wow. How things have changed, eh? Don't weven know where to start on this one. Wow, look at that color! Oh yeah, punch me in the face. - - - - THIS GUY IS FOR SALE: K. Michael Merrill has this much to say: Make it happen! - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Wind whipping through our hair.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Cash, sass or grass stains, no one writes for free! The new Field Notes Summer shipment is in, and our new "Grass Stain Green" edition are going fast. Get over there and get yer chlorophyll on! - - - - TOMORROW, AND WE PUSH OFF: Leigh's heading home for the summer. I'm driving her back to Minneapolis, where I'll hop a flight back to Portland on the 5th, and she'll keep going with Gary back to Northern Michigan for some summertime action. We're gonna do the route I've taken so many times: 1-84 to Boise, Crater of the Moon, Idaho Falls, Yellowstone, Cody, Grey Bull, Devil's Tower, Box Elder, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Badlands, Regarding the DDC, and all clients, affiliates and subsidiaries, well, it's "business as usual" with late shifts in hotel rooms after we hit our 350 miles a day, and a little sightseeing each day. So don't get all frisky, all you clients...the DDC Mobile Command Unit will be in full effect. - - - - ORANGE SKIN? NO THANKS: All this retro stuff I wax on has this intoxicating quality. It's easy to idealize how "things used to be" and all that jazz. I've been called a "sentimentalist" and a "nostalgist" and hell, one guy on a New Jersey freeway called me a "jack-off." I don't know where I'm going with this, but, if this link is "how things were back in the day," well, count me out. I don't know where I'm going with this. Was it all staged? All that '50s faux optimism? I love old stuff because there's this innocence to it. Or, without the pressures of "covering all the bases" you get this honest, stripped down quality to my little fascination with packaging, and, maybe, everything else. But then again, way back 50 years ago, an array of horrific things were going down behind the scenes and on the street corners, so, there's this weird paradox to it all. Maybe you are getting my drift? Progress is a good thing, but, I think it's fair to say we can simplify things more and more. I'll stop. (Thanks to Mark for sending this one in. Hope I didn't freak you out with my wandering thoughts.) - - - - RYNO DUST OFF HIS PAINTBRUSHES: ...and creates this pine-tarred masterpiece for the St. Paul Saints. Painted using Menard's All-Season Latex, leftover tempera paint from 7th grade and blood. Here's a Ryno classic, simply titled "Ninja fights a pirate who brawls a cowboy who is scrapping with a ninja." Or something. There's no reason why we shouldn't be seeing one of these each month, you big prick. - - - - LUCK OF THE IRISH: Greg Meehan of Cavan, Ireland was diggin' around on the web and came across one hell of a Frontier Airlines retrospective deal. And about the "design" of that site, the old adage applies: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies. Don't change a thing, guys! Incredible. Good eye, Greg! - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Dinosaur Jr - Farm
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Went to one estate sale over the weekend, and what treasure trove it was. A little house, just off Halsey near the Gateway District. The ad said something about the "old man being a maker of fish hooks in his basement." We arrived, made our way inside and quickly noticed a complete lack of furniture. There were just tables and tables of old tools, manuals and sharp things. Oh yeah, and a faint scent of urine. I scanned the tables, grabbed a couple nuggets and made my way to the back of the house and down into the basement... And that's where the shit went down. Here's a little Flickr set called, "A Machinist's Basement" and if you wondering what I saw in that basement, well, you should click around down there some. Sometime you gotta get dirty, and, sometimes you gotta think before you reach into a dark corner. The best treasures lay await in old drawers and dark corners. But so do fist-sized spiders! The old guy was a machinist, and had an array of scary machines in all states of disrepair, oily and grimy. Benders, sharpeners, pinchers. There'd be random piles of fish hooks, balls of fishing line or the occasional lure laying around, but this place, it was all business...all manufacturing. I overheard one of the estate sale workers saying something to the effect, "Yeah, I guess his whole family helped him down here. One would be bending them, One would be sharpening the ends. One would be packaging them." Interesting. I also heard, "The guy lived off sardines." That which comes from the sea returns to it. I left with exactly 42 bucks of stuff. 15 or so old tool-n-die manuals, some old tool packaging, some industrial grade containers and one gnarly, sharp-as-fuck fish hook, just to remind me of where I rescued this stuff. - - - - DAYWRECKER WARNING, DEPENDING ON YER TIME TIME ZONE: A glorious mess of Container Corporation of America advertisements. If I wasn't "busy as shit" I'd tried to wrap my head around this one with some banter. I'm not gonna muck it up. Just go and enjoy 'em. Here's one by the master, Paul Rand. - - - - YOU KNOW, WITH THE 4TH COMING UP, AND ALL: A little Flickr set called, "Red White Blue." Wow. Here's a fun one involving 3rd Degree burns: "Firework Shower." (Thanks, Streger!) - - - - THINGS ARE PRETTY ORANGE IN VERMONT, AND IT AIN'T EVEN THE FALL: Get orange! You need one of these. Click here and be red, white and blue and orange for any upcoming 4th of July extravaganzas. Always shipping. Free extras. Way orange. Big. Durable materials. - - - - STILL GLOWING OVER THIS GUY: That's our president. - - - - JUST LIKE IT SAYS: "Lovely Things." I'm pretty sure I've stood in front of this fine array of old oil cans at one point. - - - - RECORD HUNTERS, TAKE NOTE: Mike Cina's prob'ly got you beat. Must-read interview from Grain Edit. Now go buy a pile of books from YouWorkForThem and tell 'em, "Draplin sentcha.". Do it.
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Sunday, and we kinda rest. Did a little work in the shop, caught up on shit around the house, etc. Nothing to report. The sun is out in Portland and people are out and about. I'm retreating for the shade.
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It's Saturday and it's real nice out and all that, but I can't think of a place I'd rather be than right here, catching up on all the badness. Just me and the building. Nakamoto just left to go fishing. Leigh and Ewan are going to the see the Jonas Brothers tonight, and that'll be the last time those little teenyboppin' dicksquirts are mentioned on this blog. The image above is one of many things I've seen and instantly thought, "This one is for Minneapolis Mike Davis." Get a (down)load of that thing! From a milk carton of all things! Nowadays, when I have cereal, I'm staring down some shit-ass little cow. Where the fuck did we go wrong with all the graphics, big world? A question that punches me in the face when I find something like this out there. That milk carton was picked up, dusted off, shot, and put right back in the place I found it, in the garage of what proved to be the most intense estate sale I've been to in a long, long time. I wish Dale and Jess could've seen that mess in the basement. Full report on Monday, friends. - - - - SETTLE DOWN, TRUCKERS: Yesterday's Layer Tennis match, like everyone I've ever been in, proved to challenging on the mind, mouse finger and spirit. Hubacek proved to be a formidable little gremlin, and came at me with a big, dripping dose of my own goddamn medicine. And man, a day later, the wounds are still oozing! But I think I gave that little Hubapod a good run for this money! He rattled the DDC schtick pretty good. But hey, this schtick ain't some passin' fad, it's my fuckin' life! My dilemma. Thanks to everyone who wrote in, and for each and every vote on the Layer Tennis Twitter deal.
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June 26, 2009
Posted at 07:26 AM
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IN 34 MINUTES: Hubacek vs. Draplin! Layer Tennis! Here's the hot link to get you court side. Hubacek's a rising star and the kid's got skills, and, Minneapolis in his blood. A dangerous cocktail. - - - - LEAVE THE LITTLE MAN OUT OF THIS!: Hubacek hits below the belt, and brings the dachshund into this feud. Oh man, you didn't? You did! - - - - HOLY 3D-NESS: Did you see the 3D intro deal on Coudal.com?!!! Incredible. Bravo, Steve...and bravo, Ref! BEST ONE YET! - - - - FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS: Hubacek is gonna be tough. I'm gonna need strength and cunning for this match. So I need to call on some of the meanest motherscratcher I know for support... Yo, Colburn out in Boston! Alert the boy scouts! LET'S DO THIS! Leeeeeeeeerrroooyyyyyyyyy Hubaachhhhheeeeeek......!
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June 25, 2009
Posted at 09:08 AM
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TOMORROW AT 10PM CHICAGO TIME: Layer Tennis Semi-Finals! Draplin vs. Hubacek. I've trained for this match all my life. And Hubacek, you Minneapolis River Rat, just so you know who you are messin' with, a little bit of banter for ya: IT IS ON, MAN, IT IS FUCKIN' ON! Here's what Hubastank had to say, er, link: "Words from the Macho Man, himself." - - - - WHEN WE TALK ABOUT "EXTRAS" THROW IN WITH EACH ORDER, WE FUCKIN' MEAN IT: Here's some proof, and here's even more proof. That poster will wreck yer day, alright...in a good way! Buy now. Going fast. Very orange. Big as hell. Thick paper stock with a "good tooth to it." Free poster tube with each order. - - - - THOSE CRAZY RUSSKIES: A collection of Russian record covers. And to think I was afraid of them in 1983. Sheesh. (Ripped off outta Coudal's daily signals. Bunch of communists, anyway.) - - - - THIS ONE'S BEEN ON THE LIST FOR SOME TIME: Milton Glaser: To Inform And Delight. Can't wait. - - - - FINALLY, A RETURN TO FORM: The 76ers do it right. About goddamn time. Bring 'em back, bring 'em back. - - - - WHOLE LOTTA LOVE?: More like, "Whole Lotta Eye Shadow." Easy with the styling, guitar greats. Cousin Scott sent this one in, and it looks pretty interesting: It Might Get Loud. Jack White is always interesting to me. Even with all the hats and shit, he still is pretty cool. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Little Wings - Light Green Leaves
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June 24, 2009
Posted at 11:14 AM
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We'll be crossing Iowa a couple different ways later on this summer, and fall. You can be sure of that. Plans are being drawn up. - - - - THE PECULIAR DESIGN SENSIBILITIES OF THE GDR: An interesting article called "The ABCs of East German Products." From what I've read, it was a scary, bleak, paranoid place. It's fascinating to see how the cultural barriers of "pure functionalism" drove the design of the place, and how eveything was just kind of screaming out to have that extra little bit of optimism, but couldn't, or something? I don't know enough about it all, so I'll keep my trap shut. Be sure to go through the product details section. Some beautiful stuff in there. (Thanks, Martin.) - - - - SOMETHING FROM THE OPTIMISTIC "OLD DAYS": "The Timberline Motel" of Wenatchee, Washington, sent in by one Brenden Stromberger of the United States. Nice find, man. You guys steal any towels? - - - - REMEMBER ALL THAT TALK OF "LONG DOGS" AND "FINLAND" AND SHIT YESTERDAY?: Well, we put it out there, and then stuff like this comes in. That hound does not look amused! Ha. As they say in the chatrooms and painfully dry officeland inter-memos, "LOL!" - - - - THE DDC WILL LIFT YOU UP: Literally. Little brother Matt Cooley came by and we had a nice lunch, catching up on all sorts of shit. This link has no real value to yer day to day battles, but is meant to illustrate "how shit goes down" around these parts. Fuck, time for a haircut. - - - - THIS LITTLE LINK IS FOR EWAN: Print-and-fold Taco Trucks. We'll do one this weekend, man. (Thanks, Schille!) - - - - IF YOU'VE BEEN UNDER A ROCK, RECENTLY LET OUT OF PRISON OR IN A COMA: We're selling a career-spanning poster called "Pretty Much Everything Up Until May 24th, 2009." Good for halfway house rooms, lean-to ceilings and hell, wherever you lay yer head. It's a good time to "get orange." You need one of these. Each order comes with a free poster tube and extra. This small piece of hyperlinked text right here can get you going on the road to being "very orange." I'm getting "an email an hour" about them showing up all over the globe. Good news. And for those of you that still haven't received it we've got two line items for you: 01. Sorry. 02. It's on it's way, I assure you. - - - - NICENE CREEDERS, UNITE!: Here's how we started out our day this morning: On the way down to the shop, I stopped off at the record store and bought the new Pavement Brighten The Corners Nicene Creedence Ed. vinyl beast. And that's what we're listening to right goddamn now. Wow. Lost tracks. I drive by Malkmus' house daily and can't help but just smile thinking about that smarmy fucker and all the amazing shit he's made over the years. Incredible. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Pavement - Brighten The Corners Nicene Creedence Ed.
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When I was up in Skykomish, Finnish Union/Coal specialist Joni Makinen was nice enough to translate "Wiener Dog" into his native Finnish tongue. I asked him to translate, he said it a couple times and he started to laugh, "It also means "12-pack of beer!" and showed me what a Finnish 12-pack looked like with a crude sketch. Basically, something like this. That's pretty long. Long dogs and long packages. You know how we roll. - - - - 434 AND COUNTING: 434 reasons can be found right here for going to the Tike Ranch Flick deal. Some great stuff in there like this, this and this. Randy Jones, you got "the eye." Keep up the awesomeness! I even found one for Rose in there: Here's some shit that creep would prob'ly like. - - - - AND YOU THINK YOU ARE TOUGH?: When up against these cahracters My buddy Adam Bagerski is embarking on a 5-month-long trek of the Continental Divide Trail, and, hell, will be hiking every God-blasted mile from Montana to the motherfuckin' New Mexico border with Mexico. Five months, people! Here's the site that'll track their progress: Everything's Gonna Be Okay. Adam swung by the shop on Friday for a hug and some Field Notes. I loaded him up the best I could. In fact, he's taking one DDC Clic Pen for the whole trail. It's last. States and state of ink, brother. Explorers...Men...Ramblers...Bad-ass Trailfuckers! Watch out for the bears out there! Good luck, guys! We're rootin' for you. See you in November. - - - - COUNTING DOWN THE MINUTES TO THIS ONE: The Lips are putting out a double album this summer, or fall, or something. And new tracks will be floating around soon enough. So good. - - - - ADD THIS ONE TO THE LIST FOR "THING I NEED TO SEE": A documentary about Alabama's Dexateens. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS: A long plate for a long dog. (Sent in by a guy named Steve. Thanks, Steve.) Here's how we woke up this morning: Leigh got up early, and let Gary out to pee. I slept in for another 30 minutes, woke up, called for Gary to come "help me out of the darkness and into the light" and the little shit jumped up on the bed with massive excitement, rolled over on his side and promptly peed approximately 20 drops of the stuff onto our clean sheets. Just the facts, readers. - - - - THE IDWF ON NOTCOT!: I'm a card-carrying member. Are you? - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Michael Nesmith - 16 Original Classics ("The Crippled Lion" over and over.)
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PEP TALK: It's Monday and I'm am busy as fuck and here's what is going to go down. I'm gonna get a mountain of stuff done over the next five days, and I'm going to give 100-motherfucking-percent, and I'm gonna listen to 100 records, and I'm gonna look at 100 great sites, and I'm gonna try to learn 100 guitar licks on the D-35, and I'm going to eat 15 wholesome, life-giving meals, and the whole time... ...I'm going to love doing it, and it's gonna be fun as hell. Here's goes, everyone. Have a kick-ass week. - - - - THIS STUFF IS GETTING OUT OF HAND: Reading Between The Leading interviews me about my early days, and how I got into this stuff, and I talk way too much, and well, it's up for the world to listen to. Here you go: "Reading Between The Leading vs. Aaron Draplin." Thanks for the airtime, fellas! - - - - ONE OF THE GREATS: Five questions with by Jay Farrar. - - - - THERE GOES THE GODDAMN MORNING: "The Lubalin Archives at Cooper Union." (Offered up by one Darryl Norsen of the Massachussetts variety. Incredible link, man, incredible link.) - - - - THIS FRIDAY: Layer Tennis semi-finals! The DDC vs. Hubacek. Gonna be a fun one. More details as they roll in over the next couple days. - - - - CATCH IT BEFORE IT'S GONE: Guided By Voices' Watch Me Jumpstart on Pitchfork. So American. So Ohio. So good. - - - - SPEAKING OF OHIO: Here's one Joseph Hughes sent in, featuring the photographic prowess of his better half Casey Myers: "Ohio China Wholesale, Co." Good work, lady! Check that "O" with the state shape! Nice. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Guided By Voices - Vampire On Titus
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It's Sunday and the sky is blue and filled with clouds. I'm in the shop catching up on all the nastiness. The only thing I'm living for right at this point in time is that Tyson documentary later tonight. Looks interesting and Leigh and I will be hiking across the river later on to see it. Upon reflection, last week was one of my greatest of the year, work-wise. I got a mountain of shit done over the workweek, and then celebrated by "having nothing to do graphically" all day yesterday. And tomorrow, the same ferocious focus will be applied to all projects that fill up the day, all the way to Friday. This is all about "ramping up" for the upcoming summer onslaught: A pile of magazines, advertising, web sites, logos, things, stuff, riff raff. Summers are busy for me, and I'm gonna slay 2009's warm's months, doing my damnedest to free up time for the Fall. Summer, we could care less about you. Fall, you know right where we stand. Let's get busy and keep the air conditioning locked at 69 degrees.
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OUR SATURDAY LIST: 01. Breakfast at Tosis with Ewan and Leigh. That was a great Saturday, girl. Thanks. - - - - JUST THE FACTS, MAN: The little trees logo thing was from the side of a box of nails, discovered on the back deck at the estate sale in Saturday Line Item No. 07. You know, I don't even know if it was for sale, but they still took 10 cents for it. Hmmm. That little package is still wet from the afternoon shower that poured down upon it..
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Gas prices are on the rise. Like clockwork. So it goes. Each morning I drive to work and notice a couple pennies here and there. Weird. These words are typed out with the sound of Dale in the background, feverishly breaking down boxes, cleaning up this and that once and for all in the dark, forgotten corners of the DDC factory floor. It's Friday and we're getting to the bottom of some shit. - - - - SOME HEAVIES ON THE COURT: All day today, layer tennis. All sorts of badassery. See you over there. I'll be in and out of that arena all day long, checking out the action, studying the competition. I'll be battling Hubacek next Friday, and man, it's gonna get wild. The kid's got Minneapolis behind him, so I'm gonna have to dig real deep. Gonna be tough. Plus, he's got one of these there to mess with him some, so, you know, that poster works/harms on many levels. Hey Hubacek: Be ready. - - - - WE'RE CALLING BULLSHIT, ER, DOGSHIT ON THIS ONE: What, dashshunds don't get their own little, cutesy baggies? That's the just fine for us, as we use the "Where It Drops, It Stays" method in our walks and forays around town. - - - - SPECIAL GODDAMN THANKS TO: Every bad-ass who bought a poster this week. Another big load is going out tonight. Very orange. All over the world! - - - - 47 DAYS OUT!: World's Longest Yard Sale. And of course, we're locking down plans for our "2nd Annual World's Longest Yard Sale Adventure." This thing is going to kick some serious butt. - - - - THIS LINK MAKES ME WISH I WAS MORE OF A BEER DRINKER: Shiner beers, and the incredible packaging that surrounds it. Wow. Brought to you by the McGarrah Jessee firm of Austin, Texas. Good work. Phew. (This link was passsed on by Tyler Barnes, who quite frankly, isn't one to mess with in the typography department, either. My stock just went down a couple points. Fuck.) I've got a coal in the fire with the good people of Farmer's Brewing, Shawano, Wisc. They are starting up a new deal that, and if everything works out just right, will be a project for the DDC. Fingers are crossed! - - - - I'VE SEEN SOME BIG ASS MOOSE IN MY DAY... : ...but this one takes the cake. - - - - BEEN HERE AT LEAST 10 TIMES ALREADY, AND ALWAYS ENJOY THE VISIT: A tiny little Flickr set called "Miniatures" that has big, big greatness. One of the best things I've ever seen. I swear. (Sent by Anthony Mercer and a handful of other patriots. Thank you kindly, guys.) - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Paw - Dragline
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Last weekend we were lucky enough to hit a couple estate sales real early one morning. Digging through some oldtimer's garage out in HIllsboro, I came across this little piece of packaging. Old, dead and discarded, I rescued it from the bottom of a pile of old car parts, sharp things and forgotten stuff. And that little logo you are seeing up above was enough to stop me right there in my tracks. And at that specific nanosecond, a billion things a billion different ways went through the empty space between my ears. And just one of those things said, "Man, that is a cool, little logo." Something like that. It's Thursday already, you beasts. We got one more day to kill it. - - - - SOME PROOF, TO ALL THOSE "ON THE FENCE" ABOUT THOSE POSTERS: "Very orange on the East Coast!" Just check out how that thing "oranges up" that zone. Thanks, Avantaggio, and hell, everyone else who bought a poster. Shipped out another 12 proud orders yesterday. You could be in the next load. Get with it and get orange! SOME PITCH FOR YOU: Each order comes with a free poster tube, which we implore you to reuse for years to come. Also, each poster comes with "free extras" meant to compliment/complicate each and every nugget on that poster. You won't be let down. - - - - SENDING A DREAM PROJECT OFF TODAY: The new Richmond Fontaine record packaging is done and signed off on, for both domestic use and international editions. Very, very proud of this one. Can't wait to show it to y'all. As soon as I can, I'll get it up on here for viewing. - - - - FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, OF ALL PLACES: "Illustrated Newspaper Supplements." How they used to do it, long, long ago. (Sent in by K. Henry of Blackcap Studio. Thanks, man.) - - - - REQUIRED VIEWING: Mr. Tschihold by way of Mr. Rand by way of this link. The masters, people. - - - - NOWHERE NEAR THE TROPICAL PORT OF TRINIDAD: Trinidad, Colorado, people. And here's what Jeremy Firth had to say about it: "I lived in Trinidad, Colorado for four months, and they have some great old signs." Click that link and check out the better moments of Trinidad. Don't even know where to start on this one. Wow. (Thanks, Firth!) - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)
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Happy Birthday to my mom. All the way back in Michigan. Wish I was there with you! I'll be back this summer, so prep that couch. please. Happy Birthday, Mom. - - - - SOME REALLY NICE TYPE IN HERE: The Bureau of Communication's impressive offering of "Fill-in-the-blank stationery for everyday correspondence." Fun stuff. Been done a million times, but, often wayyyyy off the mark. These look pretty good. (Sent in by D. Schille, Chicagoland.) - - - - THIS ONE'S FOR DALE: More beef and less bun. And by the way, Dale: We hate you. - - - - TAKE A BREAK FROM WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING: ...and check out the photography of John Wildgoose. Hell, the last name was enough for me. Beautiful stuff. And man, that guy gets around! - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Magnolia Electric Co. - "Josephine"
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What yer seeing above is the way Dodge would tell you "this Dodge manual is the 1960 edition." Perfect. - - - - POSTER UPDATE: Based on our half-ass Monday afternoon shipping, those posters should start showing up all over the globe today, tomorrow and so on. "Oranging Up" America one poster at a time, and Canada to the north, as well as in distant exotic lands across the globe. You know who you are. Watch those mailboxes. - - - - ONE MORE REASON TO KEEP GOING: Just like the good people of Quality Vintage said, "Nice orange CASE tractor and lettering right here." Here's one more a couple clicks after the Case one. Use this image for strength. - - - - OUCH: A Flickr set about "electricity and how fun it can be" for you and me: "30 Ways to Die of Electrocution." I've taken note all 30 applications as, I want to live a long, long time. Just sayin'. (Thanks to Mitch for sharing!) - - - - COWLICK CONTROL: 10engines adds the "DDC Hair Organizer" to their "Taking The Ferry Look No. 2." post today. I gotta say: That's a pretty good look. I hope to be taking a ferry this summer over to Mackinac Island with Leigh. My hair will be organized the whole day. Hers too. Buy one of these combs. They're pretty dumb, but they're just what yer head needs. - - - - DAN MAC SPEAKS THE TRUTH: "As usual, things went to shit in the mid '80s." Always the story. - - - - THE PAUL RAND RESOURCE: Mr. Rand's graphic design legacy. Have respect for the masters of the craft, readers. Learn something here. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. "Josephine" from the upcoming Magnolia Electric Co. release.
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POSTER UPDATE: Here's what it looks like when a post office receipt is 10 feet long. I think we might've set two records at the post office yesterday: 01. Just how many poster tubes can shipped at one time: Tons. Let's break some more records! That's a lot of posters, people. Thank you for yer orders! They are on the way, so watch those mailboxes, parcel drops and the prison trustee bringing by correspondence "from the other side of the bars." - - - - I KNOW WE'VE BEEN DOWN THIS ROAD/AUTOBAHN BEFORE... : Old Porsche posters. But they weren't organized this well. Of course, it's Grain Edit doing them justice. Incredible. (Thank you to Andrew Cheatham for offering this link up to us via e-mail.) - - - - THREE MORE REASONS TO ROLL YER EYES ABOUT THE DDC: Fish from down south interviewed me a couple weeks back, and I did my best to answer all his questions in a timely, respectable fashion. Part 1 of 3 | Part 2 of 3 | Part 3 of 3 Man, I yap a lot. All in good fun. Thank, Fish! Much appreciated. Stay strong down there! - - - - TWEET, TWEET, TWEET, ETC: We swore it off out of "being too busy" and "not quite understanding the full potential of the thing" and of course, "just being lazy about it." But that is changing. We're dropping into the Twitter deal. Too many requests, too many threats, and just maybe, another avenue to push all the DDC horseshit to the highest heights in the masses. You asked for it, you beasts. Here goes nothing... - - - - YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE: You are out there on the road, and just got done driving a 12-hour stretch, and yer eyes hurt, and yer butt hurts, and it's time to bed down for the night. And you pull off the interstate, and the fuckin' choices are, "Days Inn" and "La Quinta" and "Econowhatever", etc. Homogenization. But every now and again, you pull off and you find some of these: Motel America. As the little mom-n-pop joints get with it and wired up with internet service and all that, well, the reason to go "big box" lessens and lessens. Things are changing, people. Let's hope so, at least. Just north of us here in Portland, up on Interstate Avenue! (Sent in by Chris and Tatum Browne, who know a good thing/link when they see/click it. We love you.) - - - - JUST A COUPLE BLOCKS TO THE EAST OF THE DDC: Studio 3 updates. Tons of stuff to check out. Bravo, Felt! When I took my tour of the place, they had a Winnebago parked inside their studio. How's that for "room to work with." Pretty serious. Nice collection of old signs too, and, the greatest Seattle Space Needle ashtray of all time. I was lucky enough to see it up close. (Felt: Lunch. Soon)
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Unfortunately, Shellac was sold out last night and the "big night out" turned into a "little night driving around town with Dale." Sometimes, that's just how it goes. They are playing tonight again, but, the posters call, so Leigh and I are in here going to town on these fuckers. What you are seeing above is what it looks like when you load up a mountain of posters to be sent to proud people who believe in the DDC. If you haven't just yet, you should order a poster. You think this weblog has sass? Wait until this orange monstrosity takes over yer wall. I mean, come on. This was "our very best effort" and we think you should have one. Details right here, folks. - - - - SPECIAL THANKS GOES OUT TO: My lady Leigh. She was integral in the "getting the posters out the goddamn door" phase of this undertaking. Seriously. - - - - AND THEY'RE OFF: What Leigh and I went to see this afternoon: Weiner Takes All: A Dogumentary" It was pretty good. Of course, the dogs melted us right off the bat, but, like anything, it ain't really the dogs—it's their goofy-ass owners, and man, this movie delivers you a handful of 'em. Fun for the whole family. Longest dogs going. King of the breeds. Leigh's got a couple cool clips on her internet site.
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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT A POSTER!!! Wow. - - - - -
Love that band. Since the first time I saw them in 1994 or 1995 at the Old Miami in Detroit. (With Mule!) Last time I saw them was in 2006 in Pittsburgh in this church place. So loud. Derek D was down there with me for a couple days of sightseeing and being sick on Primanti Brothers grub. Barf. Dale, don't head over the river without me! - - - - HAD A BLAST WITH POTTS YESTERDAY: If you missed it, be sure to check out the tongue-in-cheek nastiness going on in our Layer Tennis bout with Potts yesterday afternoon. Things got pretty gross. So fun. - - - - NICELY, NICELY DONE: Classic records as penguin books. Just like it says. Something to be learned here: The grid won't let you down. Ever. - - - - OUR STOCK IN TOWN JUST WENT DOWN WITH THIS ONE: Monorail. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS: When the pants come off, the little man take a load off. Sounds kinda weird, eh? You filthy bastards, you.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The DDC factory floor will be closed down today from "High noon until we're done with Layer Tennis." And that's that. The court calls. Here's a quick link to get you courtside. - - - - TO OUR PROUD ROSTER OF CLIENTS: Sit tight. We'll be back on everything once we're off the court. I swear to ya. That means you too, Chuck! I got some magic to show you. - - - - THIS AIN'T OUR FIRST RODEO: But of course, Potts' skillz have got us sweating. "Nakamoto vs. Draplin" "Glass vs. Draplin" - - - - CALLING N.Y.C.! YOU THERE?: Hey Potts! Let's do this! - - - -
Dale's here and taking orders, so, you know, business as usual on the Orange Front. OH YEAH, ANOTHER DESPERATE POSTER UPDATE: Posters go out after Layer Tennis!
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June 11, 2009
Posted at 03:03 PM
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POSTER: Just gotta pick the shit up from Kinko's, and off those tubes go....
BACK ON THAT LAYER TENNIS COURT THIS FRIDAY: This time around, I go up against Sam Potts. A formidable opponent. Serious skills. Big city saavy. This is the guy who did those cool Hodgman book covers. This Friday at 2pm Chicago time/High Noon Portland time! It turns out that Sam wins the coin flip! These are the quarterfinal matches, working up towards a final in July. This week, it's a doubleheader on a Friday. Next week, four more contestants battle it out. Then, on the 19th, Glass vs. Hubacek go first! Who the fuck do I root for? Man. Hard decisions. Ohio vs. Minnesota? Man. Gonna be a fun match. When those turkeys are down, then the shit hits the fan(s). Potts and I climb into the ring and go to war at 2pm sharp! I don't know Sam one bit, and just might be better for the "path of wrath" I plan on unleashing upon him and all of New York City around him. Let's do this. Just know this much, Potts: I've been training for this match all of my life. - - - - SCROLL DOWN FOR A COUPLE GEMS: Old Tennis Balls cans. - - - - NOW WE'RE TALKING: Here's a nice mess of old tennis ball cans. Get to clicking, people. - - - - LOOKS LIKE THIS JUST BE THE HOLY GRAIL FOR TODAY'S FODDER: Just like it says: Vintage Tennis Cans. And man, enough to fill up Wimbleton. You can see how this "searching shit" goes. You find one, then another, then stumble on to the link above and, well, find the motherload. Could do this all day. Often do. Unfortunately, I didn't have the extra 46 seconds to scrounge up some "retro tennis cans from the '70s." So, if any of you pirates have a link, send that shit in! That goes for racquet ball stuff too. So good. - - - - THIS SITE JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER: The Dieline tackles, "Crayola crayons over the years." (Thanks to Dave Caskey for sending this one in!)
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I've been "a day behind on everything." Sorry, people. Don't leave us in the dust. Kinda busy right now. And by the way, I've got the shipping all ironed out, so don't fret. Both domestic and international orders are lined up and ready to fly away. Going out as soon as the "extras" are done. Worth the wait! - - - -
The nicest guy ever came up to me at my so-called Art Show and handed me the little token you are seeing above. And for the life of me, I can't remember who. I remember this much: He told me a little story about the token, and how he had set aside just for me for when we met, if ever. That made my whole night. Seriously. Well, the planets aligned and I got a handshake from the guy that night, and a beautiful little Red Point token from way back when. Thanks again, man. It'll be in the DDC Archives forever. - - - - I'LL NEED ONE OF THESE FOR THE COLLECTION: TOUCH AND GO MAGAZINE: The Complete Years. (Sent in by Mark "Wroidable Raging" Phillips of Portland, Ore.) - - - - "LIKE, TOTALLY" OR, "PASS ME THE ZINKA": Skate tees from the '80s, back when we didn't know any better. Rad as fuck. - - - - A LITTLE UNDER EIGHT WEEKS OUT: The World's Longest Yard Sale! We're gearing up for our second "running of Highway 127." Still in the planning stages. The first foray was a smashing success. Mere images don't do it justice. We kicked the shit out of that route. - - - - DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT IT'S FOR, BUT IT SURE DOES LOOK COOL: The "iPhone Stencil Kit" for sketching up newfangled application ideas. Anything stamped out of polished metal looks great, but this one really hits some new heights. Cool. (Sent in by the ever-iPhone-saavy Alex Birch. Thanks, man!)
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Just. One. More. Binding. To. Squeeze. Out. - - - -
DON'T KNOW IF I'M FEELING THE "SCALLOPS": "Dishes that men like." Sent in by a guy with "Hunter" as his middle name, Matt Hunter Ross. Pretty awesome. Thanks! - - - - VERY, VERY ORANGE: Buddy from way back When Chuck Pearce might've just found that "storage container" I've always wanted for the backyard. Wow. That shit's tight. Dale, you in for a run over to Vancouver? - - - WE'RE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU: Sexy paper. (Thanks, Katie!) - - - - ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS GOING: Josh Keyes and his new art show. Impressive, odd, beautiful stuff. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS: Knick-knackery, in full effect. Not necessarily crucial to civilization, but great nonetheless.
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POSTER UPDATE: Everything is packaged up. Just gotta load the van. Wait until you see this shot. - - - -
It's Sunday and I'm in the shop with Marty and we are getting pretty nasty with plastics. Every color under the sun. - - - - ALWAYS GOOD TO REVISIT THESE: Dieter Ram's Ten Commandments. Universal. So much to learn here. Have respect for the greats. - - - - BRAZIL, WE GOT IT FOR YOU: An incredible stamp from 1984, from SoMuchPileup. - - - - A POSTER SHOW IN NYC, WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE IN: Numbers: A Silent Auction to Benefit the TDC Scholarship Fund. Check 'em all out. Some good stuff in there. Like this one. Or this one by old MCAD buddy Will Staehle. Bravo, man. One of the nicest guys I met at school. So good to see you out there getting awesome! Here's the one I made: Simply titled, "Bernie." Wipe that fuckin' smile of yer face. 65 Billion dollars. Say it one more time. Way to go, Bernie. Cool name, bad legacy. Wish I was in the city this weekend to see it go down. Good luck, TDC!
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POSTER UPDATE: We put the labels on all the tubes today. You oughta see the stack. (You will, of course, in due time.) It's a full time gig! Sheesh. These things are ready to go. Mr. Postman, get ready.
The "KF" you see above is from a train controller package that one John Allen of Tamap, Flor. sent in. The box showed up last week. There was an odd weight to it. And cryptic handwriting. And it smelled of something peculiar. Hmmm. And after seeing all that weird Unabomber shit in D.C. at the Crime & Punishment museum, well, my halfwit mind got to wandering. And it got the best of me. usually, I get shit like records and simple envelopes in the mail. Or the occasional box of books from Youworkforthem or whatever. But this thing had this, uh, vibe to it. And just before tearing into it, I just kinda seized up for a second. It's one of those moments where for just a split second, it crosses your mind with complete terror: What if there is something scary inside this box?! Huh? Why? What the..." (I don't know. This is the kind of shit I think about it. Prob'ly explains the trainwreck I am.) And then I opened it with reckless abandon, and stood in awe of the graphic goodness inside... It was an old model train controller! Awesome. Great type, wrapped in copper, a big, meaty knob and ancient cords, all housed in a beautiful three-color box. Here's some shots of what I found inside: 01. "A mysterious box..." Thanks, John. A care package is readied for you. It'll be shipping when all the posters go out.
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June 06, 2009
Posted at 10:18 AM
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Just about done with the "extra stuff" that goes into each poster tube. Well worth the wait, or so we hope.
A GUY FROM ITALY SITS NEXT TO ME: Martino is here and we are making snowboard bindings. And damn, they are looking pretty boss. And yes, we are working over the whole weekend. Gotta strike when the iron is hot. We only convene 3-4 times a year, with a list a mile long each time. So we bust it all out and enjoy the other 50 weeks for other kick-ass things. - - - - HARD LESSONS FOR JUNKERS: 13 Things Your Thrift Store Isn’t Telling You. Found over at Things I Found At The Thrift Store the which oddly enough, has that odd, musty, freshly-laundered smell that punches you in the face when you walk into a thrift store. You know what I'm talking about.
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POSTER SHIPPING UPDATES: Some hard words to type out. No need for alarm or anything, just, I've got a mountain of posters ready to ship, and went to start shipping them and got some rough news: Due to the size of the poster tube at 4" x 26", it puts the shipping cost into the spendiest category. Now, for domestic orders, not much changes. I will simply eat what the overage was. Lesson learned. But for Canadian orders, the shipping cost was double what I had expected, and that puts a damper on things this afternoon real hard. For international orders, it's just about triple what I expected. Fuuuuck. And I did my research, or so I thought. Fuck. Feeling a bit blindsided. Blindsided when I was trying to orangeside you guys! So, notices will be going out to all the good people of Canada about the shipping drama. Quotes are going out soon to all you guys far away past North American borders too, so sit tight. You know, I don't really worry too much about profits or margins or whatever. I just like to go for it. As long as I can cover my costs, make a fraction over and above what I put into it, and cover all shipping and shit along the way, I am cool. But man, the poster tubes are a flat rate and shit jumps fiercely when they leave the United States. It's the same rate it would cost to go from "Portland to Vancouver, BC" as it is from "Portland all the way over to Nova Scotia." So, a minor setback. Be patient, everyone. Those posters are going out VERRRRY soon, with extras, goodies, trinkets and 936 square inches of the baddest-ass orange you ever laid eyes upon. For our Canadian friends, that translates to 2378 square centimeters! Some serious real estate!
Oh yeah, it's Friday and we are busier than you. Wish that wasn't true right about now. The little button above is from an estate sale we hit last weekend. I paid way too much for it. 25 cents. Wait, that's my dad's line. - - - - VANNIN' WILL SET YOU FREE: Versimilitude. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
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ORANGE UPDATE: UPS will be showing up any time with a mountain of boxes, filled with the most magical of poster mailing tubes. Burly as hell. Reusable. Free with each order of that goddamn poster. Posters are rolled, numbered and ready. UPS, please show up. Let's rumble.
The image above, aside from being really, really nice is from a Canadian Forest pamphlette that one Andrew Eakett of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario sent in. Thanks so much, man. I'm no stranger to Sault Ste. Marie. Grew up a couple hours south of it, and have crossed through that little town a number of times. Last time I rolled through was in 2006, and man, things looked pretty rough. Lots of boarded up this and thats. I always wonder how Michigan's problems affect its neighbors? I hope things are on the up and up for all towns back home, always. And thanks again for sending that booklet in. Much appreciated, man! Here's another one from it: Some good lookin' rings. - - - - WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN KNOXVILLE, TENN.?: Well, it doesn't matter, cuz you can visit Yee-Haw Industries online at their Etsy store right here. There you go. Nicest group of people you ever met. Visited their shop in 2006 and it was incredible. Got a tour of the upstairs and heard man, many tales about ink, woodblocks and big-ass posters. All of it = Awesome. They offered up a, "Comeon back and stay with us, and print some stuff!" And hell if I'm not planning to take them up on that hearty offer. You asked for it. - - - - GREAT PHOTOS, GREAT NAME: A photo blog called, "Fat Of The Land." Some seriously great stuff in there. Like this one. Wow. (Thanks, Richter!) - - - - REQUIRED VIEWING: Nick Sambrato, we salute you! 550-year-old technology! Sometimes, it ain't the design. It's the machine. (Sent in by Eli, who hates Radiohead.) - - - - FROM A KID IN SAN FRANCISCO: Chad Riley sends in a cool one from the ever-impressive Swiss Miss. This little link is called, "Fonts." - - - - GETTING INTO THIS ONE A LITTLE LATE, AND LIKE I CARE: 1971 CHATEAU Club Wagon RARE A/C Original 60,000 Miles!!! Pretty serious vannin' going on there. Gorgeous. (Sent in by Michael "Road Warrior" Nieling from some stretch of Interstate in our great nation. Thanks! Honk!)
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June 03, 2009
Posted at 11:01 AM
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ORANGE UPDATE: Holy hell! The poster orders have been rolling in like crazy. And let us assure you, we are ready for all oncomers. Poster tubes are showing up tomorrow! You want in? Click the ad below and get on the list! - - - -
HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME TO PROPERLY RIFF ON UP, BUT WILL: Here's some cool posters from the movie, by Eric Tan. Good work, man. Great movie, Pixar. (Sent in by someone going as, "Lemon." Thanks.) - - - EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT: The art of Up. Incredible stuff. Hell, the logo for the Wilderness Explorers alone/a> was enough to sell me on the deal. (See above, of course.) Man. To whoever designed those icons: Thank you, so much! Great work. Here's a little closer look at the Lou stuff. Best thing going. And the plane tickets to Venezuela! Those were incredible too. (...via the freedom fighters of Coudal Partners, Chicago, Ill.) - - - - I'M CALLING "SIZEISM" OR SOMETHING ON THIS ONE: What, you don't make these in XXL?! - - - - RECOVERY HITS THE STREETS: Let's rebuild America! Hands over the hearts! Wow. - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. No Age - Nouns
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IT'S TIME TO GET ORANGE, LONG HAUL TRUCKERS: Starting right now, we're taking orders for that poster, so click here to get it going. OUR PITCH: "I've wanted to make a so-called "career-spanning" poster for some time now, showing every little logo, wordmark and whatever else I could fit into it. It's been on the project list going on four years now. And each year, the jobs would starting lining up and I'd say, "Oh shit, just wait a month, and you can put this/that into it..." And the years went by. So yeah, with my so-called art show at Office coming up fast, the time was now. So I started going through the files. And I mean EVERYTHING, all the way back to the dawn of the DDC back in 1993. So gross. And that's what you get: A poster called "Pretty Much Everything Up To May 27th, 2009." MORE PITCH: Act now. Going fast, Kinda limited edition. Let's set a record. All proceeds go to the DDC and all shady subsidiaries. Ink on paper. Easy instructions. Free poster tube. A fair price for years and years of blood, sweat and tears. Lots of Futura Bold. Lots of DDC crap. Client stuff, too. Thick ink on durable paper. Very orange. Hard to miss. Built to outlast all of us. Smells good. You need one of these. Are you lost? You can also click here, and it'll take you to the same spot above. If you want proof of the sweat that went into this thing, find the section called, "SOME SCENES FROM THE PRESSCHECK" in this post right here, and get dirty with us. Many, many thanks to all who've written in. Now it's time to act. We're ready to start putting posters into tubes and right out the door. Put us to work. Let's get orange, people. Thanks. - - - - SO GOOD: The Art of Penguin Science Fiction covers. (Sent in by Brian Rigazzi somewhere down there in California. Thanks!) - - - - CAN'T REMEMBER MY LAST HANGOVER, AND THAT'S A GOOD THING: I don't drink too much, so, the whole "hangover thing" is something I can count on one hand. Rough mornings. Yuck. Here's a cool, little owl from a campaign that was meant to reach yer aunts and uncles back in the day. (Sent in by a rather festive Kent Hernandez of North America. We love you.) - - - - ON THE PLAYER TODAY: 01. Fleetwood Big Mac - Poster Rolling Blues
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