Cool Hunting

In conjunction with Timbuk2, celebrating the launch of their new Artist Canvas Bag - a traditional messenger bag designed to be hand-customized - we tasked three New York-based artists, Lucas Irwin, Yuri Shimojo, and Joseph Ari Aloi (aka JK5), with adding their own imagery. The results range from JK5's tribal purple-and-yellow icons (pictured above, left) to Lucas' collage juxtaposing woodgrain, guns, sunsets, and birds (pictured above, center) to Yuri's snake that encircles the entire bag (pictured above, right). Starting today, the bags by our chosen artists will be auctioned on Ebay with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Humane Society's efforts to help animals affected by Hurricane Katrina. (In Spring of 2006, Timbuk2 will auction bags by six other artists they chose.) The auction will close on 8 November 2005, so go bid now to get a one-of-a-kind piece of functional artwork and to support a good cause.

More images and info after the jump.

Each bag has been customized by the artist with their own original design and is waterproofed for protection.

Features:

• Rugged Cordura side panels

• 100% cotton, untreated artist’s canvas center panel

• Waterproof vinyl liner

• Heavy-duty stitching

• Quick-adjust side-cam shoulder strap

• Removable cross strap

• Internal organizer pockets and key ring tether

• Reflector tabs

• Safety flasher attachment loop

• Size: Medium Classic Messenger Bag

• Dimensions: 18.75” W x 10.5” H x 7.75” D

Joseph Ari Aloi (aka JK5)

A custom tatoo artist for 13 years, Joseph Ari Aloi (aka JK5) lives and works in Brooklyn where he relentlessly develops and expands his visual iconographic and textual languages through a diverse range of media. Most recently he has contributed graphics for Surface2Air and Nom de Guerre and formed a creative agency called Make Believe. He is working on his 2nd book, a series of seven toys called the JKid Flowbots (in collaboration with Kidrobot and scheduled for a Summer 2006 release), and lots of new personal work for exhibition.

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Lucas Irwin

Lucas Irwin was the first design director of the award-winning ReadyMade magazine. He's also designed for the likes of Kidrobot (he's responsible for their original logo and their Brooklyn Qee editions I and II), participated in their Dunny shows, and has made a line of vinyl toys with Toy2R. Currently he's a designer with Tristan Eaton's Thunderdog Studios and heads up Filth Robotics.

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Yuri Shimojo

Yuri has been expressing her life through painting, drawing, writing, and dancing since she was 3 years old. Her upbringing in Tokyo was a very unconventional one - learning Japanese traditional arts and experiencing foreign culture through traveling abroad. These two elements have influenced her work throughout her life. Now, living in Brooklyn, her daily inspirations come from collaborative "jam sessions" with her family of artists, the Barnstormers. She also practices Ancient Hawaiian healing therapy.

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