Anne Wilkinson

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Funnily enough, my introduction to the work of artist and illustrator J. Otto Seibold was through a Norstrom holiday display many years back. The entire store was bedecked in Olive the Other Reindeer regalia. It took me forever to part with my Olive the Reindeer shopping bags, so when I later discovered that Olive was, in fact, a recurring story book character (not simply some character fabricated solely for the holiday display), I was pretty psyched and have been a fan of all the ragtag J. Otto Seibold characters and books ever since.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

A colonial-style fishing village on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, San Juan Del Sur is becoming a popular tourist location but has remained largely unspoiled by the tourist dollar. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

It’s official, I’m back into jewellery after detoxing from the 2001 chandelier earring craze. Aurélie Bidermann used to work at Sotheby’s New York in their Impressionist and Contemporary Art department but has been slowly raising though the ranks as one of the most innovative jewellery designers around today. Her website doesn’t showcase her fantastic Spring 09 pieces. Check out the accessory report on style.com for a good look at some of her new work.

WE'RE THINKING

Autumn Whitehurst creates beautiful vector works. Her bold use of colour allows her often cheekily themed line drawings to really leap out, creating a sense of visual serenity despite the occassionally dark subject matter.

WE'RE READING

LA’s premier art and design magzine, Arkitip, has gone all out with the ‘free’ giveaway for issue no. 0045 and has included a 9″ x 12″ Evan Hecox 2-color silk screen print signed by the artist! Read more

The Australian film collective behind the sci-fi spoof, The Time That Time Forgot, perfectly capture the look and feel of awkward, low-budget rip-offs from the ’70s — the psychedelic lighting, bad dubbing, and amazing hair. One almost wishes Italian Spiderman was for real. [more about Italian Spiderman]

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Fate is the record, Dr. Dog were destined to make a timeless yet contemporary distillation of the band’s open-armed, big-hearted sound. Inventive, magnificently realized, and absolutely irresistible, the Park The Van Records release sees the Philadelphia-based quintet filtering the gamut of American popular music into its own idiosyncratic brand of blue-eyed, dilated-pupil soul. As ever, Dr. Dog makes magic from an enduring pop palette of intricate harmonies, shape-shifting melodies, and ramshackle audio ingenuity all presented through their slightly skewed and utterly individualistic outlook.