Saturday, May 24, 2008

Interview with Artist Ren Weiner!



name; ren weiner

shop name. firefliz

site- laurenweiner.com

location- New york

me. (bio on the website) in 22, i dropped out of art school where i was a crafts major because i wasnt learning anything new.. unfortunatly ;( so now i do my own thing. i work mainly in ceramics and recycled materials i can pull outta the trash and put to another use.

apart from creating i work with the westchester coalition for the hungry and homeless and with a community gardens program i started with local high school kids growing veggies for local soup kitchens.

materials.... anything i can get my hands on! mostly clay and bike tubes at the current moment


my design process... function! i belive art should be useful and made just for you! everyone uses things differntly whether its a bag or a mug

what inspires me? dame... when i see something broken, or that could be done better, have a better personal function (which is why i prefer to make custom pieces for folks) though i want to bring everything down to its most natural form, i don't like to hide things in my work and i like to bring out the process in the finished product

how did i get into my craft.... i grew up in the woods with no internet, tv, or video games, so i had to DO something ;)
advice... stop doodling and just do it- you will learn more diving into a project then u ever will sitting in a classroom or racking your brain for the next big thing. lock yourself up with materials and no distractions. how can u improve the space around you?

do i have anything to add? get out in your community and make a difference! you'll feel better i promise.

on the horizion... right now im doing alot of custom bike bags and getting them in bike shops around my area, in the near future looking to open an eco organic cafe with my best freind. i cant wait till i can just make cupcakes and listen to punkrock all day.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Thank you! : )


I just wanted to say thank you to my etsy customers! Because of your support I was able to make my first donation to Just Food! : )

www.justfood.org

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Inspiration Saturday- Pattern!


Pattern yay! I don't know about you but I'm constantly inspired by beautiful patterns in illustrations and textile design. I love that pattern has come back into style lately in such a big way, in clothing, wallpaper, upholstry and all kinds of other things. This guy commented in an issue of ID magazine awhile ago that he was upset that they were covering designs with so much pattern because he saw it as being "frivolous" in a time when we should be making things in more efficient and eco-friendly ways, sans extra embellishment. I whole-heartedly agree with the idea of making things using efficient and eco-friendly methods, but hey, no need to assume pattern and embellishment will always hinder that. Feel free to comment!

Anyway, here's some of the beautiful patterns that have been inspiring me lately.

The pic above is from Dries Van Noten's Spring /Summer line.





This one's from British illustrator Marta Munoz. Love it!















Check out what this company Life Is Suite is doing with old furniture, they refurbish and reupholster old pieces and give them a fun modern look! Just look at how awesome this loveseat came out once they got hold of it.....

















You can still catch this exhibit by Tara Donovan over at the Met. It's made of mylar, I love the organic shape. : ) Check out her website to see more great organic patterned sculptures. Some are made from recycled materials!