Cool Hunting

Take-G Wooden Robot Toys
Craftsman Takeji Nakagawa, aka "Take-G," doesn't simply make "toys." Rather, he creates tributes to childhood, nature and the future. The artisan crafts things like animals and futuristic robots out of four types of wood: keyaki (a Japanese tree of the genus Zelkova), teak, walnut and white ash. These four types of wood are joined through a traditional handicraft process called yosegi-mokuzougan (joined wooden block...

Matthias Pliessnig: Capsule
Although strictly sculptural, those with a bit of imagination could use Capsule as one of the nicest note/cigar holders out there. Matthias Pliessnig designed Capsule to contain its own plans rolled up inside (above right inset). Made of ebonized walnut and steel, the box is held shut by a mechanism inside—pushing the metal button at the tip opens the lid. Better known for his...

Tes One
Tes One's works is a combination of his past ten years as street art in Florida and his current life as a graphic designer in the digital world. He says his work is a direct representation of his surroundings and how he sees them. It's is a cross between his solid stencil and graffiti art background, fused with vector and digital imagery. This piece...

Eric Quebral
Sneaker aficionados find all sorts of ways to honor their favorite designs. From paintings to web sites, a lot of ground has been covered. Artist Eric Quebral is paying his respects in yet another medium-- wood. He does portraits using mixed wood grains and more recently has been bending maple wood into shoe lace sculptures....

Hank and Matlok
Unconventional in every sense of the word, Melbourne duo Hank and Matlok are causing a stir down under with cutting-edge art, quirky prints and intelligent fashion. CH caught up with the duo during their recent exhibition at Robio to talk about art, beer and fashion. (Click images for detail.) What's with the name? Hank: Blame our parents. That's what we normally do. Matlok: Yeah,...

A Paper Tiger
A Paper Tiger is a new venture that launched in January of this year selling exclusive prints by some favorite artists such as Jack Long (pictured). Usually so-called printmaking and distributor sites are unimpressive, but these guys really seem to know what they're doing. With artists like Ken Garduno, Haubs, Tesslar Lo, Jeana Song and many more, A Paper Tiger is releasing extremely limited...