flood

summer 2010 volume 1

5 a visual resource, conversation piece,flood forum, catalog, community, influx and gathering of all things serigraphy.

flood

meet

Jason Munn of the small stakes

support

AuH20

recycled fems

discover

Junkstar

junk stores revisited

6

flood

flood

36 Design Trends

We met the man behind the screen and here in this article we’ll tell you where to find his work for cheap.

My completely shameless self-promotion

Socially-concious design is on the rise.

15 Recycled Fems

31 Junkstar Poster

39 Design Culture

The revival of clothing, design and feminism found in AuH20.

Freebie fold-out #1.

Wendy Richmond reminds us to use everything.

21 Junkstar

33 Opinion

Freebie fold-out #1

Kathleen Maher

Departments

28 Junkstar Poster

Columns

9 Jason Munn

7

41 Editor’s Column

51 Events

57 Media

65 Contact

44 Books

53 Resources

59 Business

67 Contribute

49 Directory

55 Letters

62 Screens

70 Index

8

flood

JA S ONM

By Nicole Brydson Photographer: Hugo Schwyzer

S

flood

9

O

ur story with Jason Munn (The Small Stakes) begins in

the summer of 2005. We had recently learned that his studio was located near our office so we went for a little surprise visit. We arrived at his front door and rang his buzzer. When he opened the door we said something along the lines of...”Hey man...we dig your stuff”. Ha, we had no idea how he would react to this unexpected visit from a couple of fans. Thankfully for us, he was super cool. He invited us in and gave us the tour of the studio. That was 2 years ago and we are still friends and we are still loving his work. In this interview we hope to introduce you to our new friend.

MUNN In addition to creating swell posters, he loves Diet Coke, pizza and has a killer bench made by his grandfather that has his name engraved in it (every designer needs one of these!). Jason’s clients include Random House Publishing, ReadyMade Magazine, Wired Magazine, Asthmatic Kitty Records, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, American Analog Set and ton of other well known bands.

Summer 2009

10

flood

“Hey man,

we

dig

your

stuff

”

Top Row From Left: Stars (Canadian Tour) two color silkscreen 18” x 24”; Sufjan Stevens (Berkeley) one color silkscreen (metallic gold) 18” x 24”; Treasure Island Music Festival two color silkscreen 18” x 24” Middle Row From Left: The National two color silkscreen 18” x 24”; Five Celebrates three color silkscreen 19” x 25” Bottom Row From Left: National Novel Writing Month two color silkscreen 18” x 24”; The Dodos three color silkscreen 19” x 25”

flood

Name Jason Munn Any relation to Clarence “Biggie” Munn?

Haha, nope Where are you from?

Neenah, Wisconsin One word for Neenah, Wisconsin?

Where?

Favorite poster you’ve created?

The 1st books poster Where does The Small Stakes name come from?

A song by Spoon of the same name. The song is about taking chances and I saw starting my own business as taking my own chances.

Did you go to a design school?

Well, I went to a university where I studied fine arts. I thought I needed a fine arts degree if I wanted to get into advertising. It wasn’t till later that I realized what I needed were classes in design.

So what did you after you got out of school?

I got 2 jobs. One was an internship for Fiskars (the scissors company) doing packaging etc. and the other was a position at a small firm called distiller design. It was cool, when I left Fiskars they gave me this pair of engraved scissors.

So what did you do?

I worked various jobs. I worked at a t-shirt printing shop, cleaning screens, packing, wherever they needed help. Then I got a job at Noise13. Around the same time a friend of mine started booking shows at a place called The Ramp and they asked me to design posters for their shows.

What is the ramp?

It was a venue located in the basement of a church in Berkeley.

Who were some of the bands that played at the ramp that you designed posters for?

Brother Danielson, Why?, Animal Collective, Damien Jurado, Rob Crowe, etc.

When did you start doing posters full time?

I had just moved into my own studio apartment (I was previously living with 4 other guys). I needed a way to come up with rent each month so I started to take my poster design work more seriously.

What were some of your early influences?

Album covers, especially from some of the mid-west bands like Boys Life, Promise Ring, and Giant’s Chair. Also Jeff Kleinsmith’s work on Sub Pop. Jeff’s cover for Sideshow’s lip read confusion really stuck in my mind and inspired me to be a designer. Besides album covers, I was really into skateboard graphics, the designs on the bottom of the decks, clothing, etc.

What is a typical day like for you?

Start working at 9am, answer emails, walk down to 7-11 get a diet coke (I don’t drink coffee), think about what needs to be done, work till 10pm , prepare a list for the next day and then wind down.

11

How long did you work in Wisconsin till you moved to the “O” (Oakland)?

About a year and a half.

Did you have a job lined up before you moved here?

Nope, I just grabbed my portfolio and went. When I got here I was trying to get jobs at some of the local firms but, I got here at the wrong time (right in the middle of the dotcom bust) so no one was hiring.

Summer 2009

12

flood

Mogwai four color silkscreen 18” x 24”

Grizzly Bear two color silkscreen 18” x 24”

Blonde Redhead two color silkscreen 18” x 24”

Mark Kozelek two color silkscreen 18” x 24”

$25.00

$30.00

$25.00

$25.00

When did you start getting the bigger jobs?

I started to get know many of the bands that played at The Ramp.

If they were coming to town I would contact them directly and ask if I could design the poster for the show. I met Death Cab for Cutie’s management and they hired to me to do a poster and some merch designs for them and it received a fair amount of attention and that led to more work.

Around this time there were some guys in Berkeley that put together a book called The art of modern rock. I submitted some pieces for that. The book did really well so, that led to more work as well.

Why did you use found imagery?

At first I wasn’t confident in my abilities to draw, plus it was a huge part of the learning process for me.

I was learning how images work together but, as I became more confident, I started to incorporate more illustration into my work.

What’s it been like to make that transition between working exclusively with found imagery to a mix of that and hand drawn?

My posters take longer to create.

Plus, it takes a while to come up with a strong central image.

I’m also adding different types of found imagery. For example, in the Bright Eyes poster I used real flowers and scanned in black pieces of paper for the bow.

For Stellastarr’s poster I used a wedding veil for the hair.

So we are at the end of this interview. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Before we go, do you have any weird stories you want to share?

I found an image of my old house on Flickr and someone wrote “Being a designer doesn’t mean

you’ll be rich” ha that’s classic!

flood

13

What

Q and Not two color silkscreen 18” x 24”

Why? (comb) two color silkscreen 12.5” x 19”

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

Where

Joanna Newsom two color silkscreen 19” x 25”

The Small Stakes thesmallstakes.com Jason Munn is originally from Wisconsin but now calls Oakland, California home. Arising from a love of independent music, design, and making for the sake of making, his posters soon became a fixture in the local independent music scene. Jason’s work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, Step Inside Design, Étapes, Computer Arts Projects, and Creative Review.

Summer 2009

14

flood

Gold Leaf Dress, $40

flood

15

AuH20 Recycled Fems

By Nicole Brydson; Photographer: Hugo Schwyzer

I

t’s Spring! Woo-Hoo! Spring for me means new beginnings. And for those like myself that are finding the economic hardships are affecting their opportunities in their chosen field a new beginning sounds pretty good right now!

Currently I am dealing with still looking for a full time position as an assistant designer. I’m getting really burnt out on writing cover letters and attaching my resume but only good things can come from it.

In the mean time. I have been selling clothes online and doing custom orders for people which helps keep me a float. All anyone can do is just find a job no matter what it is. For me, I am to the point of searching for work in retail. With my degree I’m sure I could get a management position and still be in my industry.

AuH2O is an eco-friendly and socially conscious clothing store owned by Kate Goldwater. AuH2O is “Goldwater” in chemical symbols: Au=Gold, H2O=water.

Kate Goldwater makes all AuH2O clothing from recycled materials, such as old t-shirts, sweaters, ties, vintage slips and dresses, costumes, curtains and other unwanted fabric. Goldwater sews everything herself at her store, so no sweat-shop labor, mass-production, or carbon-dioxide emitting shipments are involved.

Plus, every piece is one-of-a-kind. AuH2O clothing also advertises feminist and political beliefs, with slogans such as “Reproductive Freedom Fighter”.

Kate Goldwater is a graduate of NYU with a concentration in art and clothing as social justice. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she lives in Brooklyn, works at her store, and volunteers for Planned Parenthood. Goldwater has been making clothing for several years. Her first piece was a pair of pants made out of a Fisher-Price tent in eighth grade. They were held together by staples and duct tape until her mother bought her a sewing machine for her 13th birthday. Covered in “Keep Abortion Legal” stickers, her machine is her baby.

Goldwater also makes art to display her beliefs. She depicts topics including: reproductive rights, violence against women, and cruelty to animals among others.

See her artwork at the online archive and museum of women’s health, or at her photo sharing site. Other than sewing, painting, and feminist activism, her other interests include soccer and tennis.

“Everyone loves fashion, but only a

few people

are in those tents,” said Goldwater about

fashion week

09

Goldwater insists on keeping prices modest. Shirts at AuH20 sell for $20–$50 and dresses and skirts from $45 to $150. Among her signature pieces are a skirt and tie made entirely of plastic subway fare cards fastened together with black thread, a blouse made from an old “Reproductive Freedom Fighter” T-shirt and silk lace and flowing patchwork skirts.

Summer 2009

16

flood

Goldwater markets her clothes as ecologically sound and regularly scouts secondhand stores for material. “People like my clothes and my store because I’m an everyday person,” she said. Goldwater’s creative urges stem to her youth, she said.

At age 12, she stitched a pair of pants from a child’s play tent and, for her senior thesis at New York University, created paintings made from her menstrual blood.

Making many of her own clothes in college, she said, “People started stopping me on the subway my freshman year and asked me to make the clothes for them.”

With the help of an investor, along with personal savings and profits, she opened her boutique last summer.

AuH2O is not the typical East Village boutique. If you like something but it doesn’t quite fit, Goldwater can alter it for you on the spot free of charge.

I’d always wanted to do have a store ever since I was little. You know how kids will make friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss indian-bead-loom necklaces and think they’re going to open their own store someday and sell their jewelry?

I was definitely one of those kids. I was a crafter ever since I was young.

I loved drawing, painting, doing art projects, and making anything I could, and by about middle school I decided that I wanted to express my creativity with my appearance. I pierced my thumb nails, drew magic marker tattoos all over my body, and wrapped my hair in yarn and rubber bands. I realized that my favorite outlet was clothing, and I started going through my mom’s old clothes (she used to be an aerobics and fitness and wellness instructor so she had crazy spandex prints and stuff) and cut them up and reworked them to make them fit me. I sewed by hand, or I used a stapler and duct tape, until my mom got me a sewing machine for my 13th birthday (that I still use today!).

Then I was hooked on making clothes. I would find anything unwanted in the attic—upholstery material, table cloths, even a fisher price tent, and rework it into clothing. Then I discovered the unlimited supply of unwanted materials at thrift stores, and started using t-shirts, scrubs, aprons, anything. It never even occurred to me to go and buy fabric or a pattern from a fabric store and use for sewing projects that wouldn’t be nearly as unique. I wanted to be sure that no one else would be coming to school wearing a pair of thick wool thigh-high hockey socks sewn on to cut off jean shorts with floral embellishments. I just loved sewing.

As I got older, my style started to chill out a little bit (though I was still voted “most outrageous style” in high school) but I still made my own clothes out of

flood

Petal Tunic, $40

17

Summer 2009

18

flood

Red Evening Medium

White Linen Small

OPAL Small

Follow Me Large

Newcastle Medium

Obama Dress Medium

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

used clothing or materials, though the final products weren’t as loud or mis-matched. at the same time, I started getting interested in social justice and the environment. I was a part of my school’s “global action” and “students against social apathy” clubs. I’d always thought it’d be fun to open up my own shop, but never considered it very seriously. At NYU, I was in the Gallatin School, or basically the “design your own major” program, and studied art, clothing, social justice, gender studies, and took a lot of independent studies where I focused on clothing as activism.

I also did some internships that I strongly believed in the causes— one was NARAL Pro-Choice NY and one was the Jewish Women’s Archive (in Boston) to feel out if that’s what I wanted to do for a career. Even though I loved the work I was doing, the people I met, and the change I felt was making, I was bored of just sitting at a desk.

I needed to be doing something creative. That was when I knew I had to go down the artistic path.

As much as I wanted to work for a non-profit relating to women’s rights, the environment, or social justice activism, I just couldn’t.

Meanwhile, I was still making and wearing my own clothing daily, pretty much teaching myself. I’m not entirely self-taught though; I worked at NYU’s costume shop for four years, and I loved it.

Not only did I learn a lot, but I was sewing all day long. I loved it more than my desk-job internships.

This juxtaposition helped me see I had to go the artistic or fashion route. I took a graphic design class my senior year that taught me how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver and make a website.

That was pretty much the start of my business. I was able to sell online, take personal orders and showcase my work.

I graduated NYU in May 2006 and spent the Summer contacting lawyers, bankers, accountants, real estate agents, etc, and formed an LLC, found a space, signed a lease in August. Then I had a ton of work to do before opening, but I finally got a credit card processing account, bought a mirror, painted, renovated, bought mannequins, supplies, etc and was able to open up on October 1, 2006.

flood

19

What

Floral Bag Multicolored

Jersey Dress Jersey Dress

Plaid Dress Multicolored

Floral Halter Two color silk

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

Tee Dress Large

$30.00

Where

AuH20 auh20designs.com You know how kids will make friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss indian-bead-loom necklaces and think they’re going to open their own store someday and sell their jewelry?

I was definitely one of those kids.

Summer 2009

20

flood

flood

21

By Jessica Little; Photographer: Frazer Spowart

Summer 2009

22

flood

The result: Junkstar Products

flood

23

my

shame

Me on one of many late night studio sessions.

less

self-promotion

T

his is a product line that takes the “green” mentality and redefines it dramatically. It is a product line that is a reaction to the current trend of eco-friendly design and the emphasis on earthfriendly, or rather, products that LOOK earth friendly. I questioned this trend and decided there could be other solutions to explore on how to re-use existing products by breathing new life into them through serigraphy.

The true beauty of serigraphy, or silk screened images, is they are simple, sharp and can range from one to multiple layers of color. For this first batch of products I chose to print only one color to keep cost down as well as to not completely dominate the object’s second-hand store quality.

Summer 2009

24

flood

Top Row From Left: Bear Throwing Fishes, Little Wing, Weeds Middle Row From Left: Fleeting Thoughts, Free State, Diver Bottom Row From Left: National Novel Writing Month two color silkscreen 18” x 24”; The Dodos three color silkscreen 19” x 25” Opposite Page From Left: Heart Throb, Syd Barret, SoFly

flood

Products are all objects I collected from local thrift and junk stores.

I then re-create each object’s purpose by silkscreening found imagery which I also recycle from old books I find in local thrift stores.

I would like nothing more when I graduate this month from the Savannah College of Art and Design than to freelance for your award-winning publication as a graphic designer. I believe my educational background, previous work experience and skill set are all a strong match and I would love to be considered for this position.

As part of my graphic design graduate curriculum, I have undertaken and excelled in several projects ranging from identity, publication and non-profit print design to environmental and design for the web. My academic training coupled with my technical expertise in industry standard computer applications such as

25

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, among others, will help me be a contributing member to your design team. I also have previous work experience in publication design which taught me the standards of preparing files for print and the importance of managing my time effectively.

I possess three years of industry experience, two years of which, I worked as the Creative Director for Youth Photography Project, a nonprofit organization which works exclusively with Covenant House Georgia. Incorporated in New York City in 1972, Covenant House provides a variety of services to homeless, runaway and throwaway youth. I also have gained extensive publication design experience by working as the sole graphic design intern for six months for the Atlanta-based Paste Magazine and previously have worked as one of many design interns for Time Inc.

Summer 2009

26

flood

Butterfly Tin Purse one color silkscreen (one color logo on back)

Star Teacups (Set) one color silkscreen (three to a set)

Star Teacups (Set) one color silkscreen (three to a set)

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

Through my interactions as a designer I have gained experience and know the importance of teamwork that goes in developing a successful visual product that best reflects a client’s idea and business philosophy. As a person, I am highly motivated, organized and adept at meeting tight deadlines which are so common in our industry.

I have attached a current resume detailing my work experience and educational background for your review. I would welcome your comments and feedback in person regarding my portfolio of work.

Should you need to contact me, I can be reached at 404.563.2901.

flood

Junkstar Plaid Skirt one/two color silkscreen patchwork

$25.00

$30.00

What

Junkstar Mason Jar (Set) one/two color silkscreen (three to a set)

27

Where

Jessica Little jessicalittledesign.com Currently, Junkstar is in the process of being trademarked and until that happens I will continue to repurpose thrift store goods as a personal recycling methodology rather than a business. Once I have completed these legalities I’d like to offer Junkstar as a diverse product line but also as a brand that reflects originality and an appreciation for typically disregarded goods.

Summer 2009

28

flood

flood

29

Summer 2009

78565432000 flood magazine 1400 Peachtree Street Atlanta GA 30309 www.floodit.com

Editor and Designer: Contributing Editors:

Customer Service: General Manager:

Jessica Little DK Holland, Design Issues; Wendy Richmond, Design Culture; Ernie Schenck, GOOD; 404.563.2901 Jessica Little

Subscribers: Send subscription orders and inquiries to 1400 Smith St. SE Atlanta, GA 30316/jessica@jessicalittledesign@gmail.com 1 flood is published 6 times a year in February, April, June, August, October and December by F + W Media, 4400 Galbraith Road, Cincinatti, OH45365 Attention, Retailers To carry Junkstar in your store, call Jessica Little Phone: 404-563-2901 Subscription Rates U.S. $57 for one year, $114 for two years, outside the U.S. $98 Postmaster Send address changes to Dive, 1400 Smith St. SE Atlanta, GA 30316. Printed in the U.S.A. Privacy Promise: Occasionally we make portions of our customer list available to other companies so they may contact you about products and services that may be of interest to you if you prefer we withhold your name, simply send a note with the magazine name to List Manager, F + W Media, 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45873