Wearables
bioephemera | March 8, 2010
A friend of mine recently turned me on to the great street art blog Wooster Collective. Check out this unexpected street art in Richmond, Virginia: pairs of old shoes dangling in trees seem mundane by day, but by night, they're like streetlamps from a Tim Burton cartoon. Solar panels inside the shoes supply the light. No idea who the creator is.
Check out more stealth art at Wooster Collective.
bioephemera | February 28, 2010
From the Center for Biological Diversity, "Endangered Species Condoms":
To help people understand the impact of overpopulation on other species, and to give them a chance to take action in their own life, the Center is distributing free packets of Endangered Species Condoms depicting six separate species: the polar bear, snail darter, spotted owl, American burying beetle, jaguar, and coquà guajón rock frog.
You can even sign up to win a lifetime supply. Whatever that is.
bioephemera | February 11, 2010
Just in time for Valentine's Day: the "Copulating Earthworm Necklace," from heronadornment on etsy.
Also love her anatomical heart locket.
bioephemera | January 25, 2010A quick plug for Fashion For Nerds, a fun blog by a San Francisco biologist with an eye for mixing thrift store finds. See? Living in the lab doesn't mean you can't have style.
bioephemera | January 21, 2010
Here's one for PZ: the lovely proprietress of Sea of Shoes shares two stunning, huge jeweled cephalopod pieces by Paris-based jewelry team Hanna Bernhard. These are some seriously impressive wearables.
Many more photos at Sea of Shoes, plus a short interview with the artists.
bioephemera | December 31, 2009
With the Mallard Heels from anthropologie, you can say "Yes, I'm wearing a 3-inch high duck decoy!" with confidence. But alas, I waited too long to blog these - they're out of stock. :( Sorry, Isis.
bioephemera | December 31, 2009
This explanatory video from Wired/the Exploratorium shows how "Dr. Megavolt" (Austin Richards) created a birdcage-topped stainless steel bodysuit, so he can play with the giant Tesla coil he built. This guy knows how to have fun, man.
bioephemera | December 19, 2009
Photo: Jana Asenbrennerova / The Chronicle
SFGate has a great interview with Raven Hanna of madewithmolecules! I love Raven's stuff an am thrilled to see her getting recognition.
bioephemera | December 18, 2009
"Insectopedia"
Kiff Slemmons
Self-taught metal artist Kiff Slemmons' classic series "Insectopedia" is a collection of metal pins fusing insects with typography. She's also known for working with found objects like shells, stones and bones, as in the following pieces from her recent show with Kay Sekimachi at Velvet da Vinci in NYC:
"Corallary 2 & 3" Brooches
Kiff Slemmons
"Atoll" Necklace
Kiff Slemmons
View a complete set of photos from the Velvet da Vinci show here.
More:Article on Kiff Slemmons at Ornament Magazine
bioephemera | December 13, 2009
Dress by Alison Lewis,
Photography by Carlos Linares III.
Read all about it at iheartswitch.
bioephemera | October 8, 2009
Okay, so this apron by Aksel Varichon is awesome. Very fun. But what's with the oven mitt?
If the premise of the apron is that we're seeing internal anatomy partially revealed on the wearer's body, doesn't the matching mitt imply that we have little hearts and kidneys in our wrists?
The artist also makes tablecloths and placemats with similar designs, but those don't really bother me, because it's not like your table has viscera to be revealed. I'll admit, it's not like the apron's anatomy is accurate - it has one lung, a really bizarre circulatory system, and it's missing many major…
bioephemera | October 1, 2009
A gift idea for the person who already has everything: spider silk couture! (Or the closest thing to it). It took one million spiders to produce the silk for this textile from Madagascar (although the wild spiders were released after their silk was extracted, so some of them may have been repeat donors.) The video is absolutely fascinating:
The silk is naturally golden and undyed. Each individual thread in the cloth was made by twisting 96 to 960 individual spider silk filaments together. I would love to touch it - I can't really imagine what it must be like, can you?
Via Wouldn't You Like…
bioephemera | September 26, 2009
Writing a dissertation is rarely fun. Most scientists I know look back on grad school as, well, a circle of Hell. But it's interesting when AAAS, the professional organization of scientists, endorses this viewpoint - as they appear to do in this T-shirt, which comes free with membership.
Come on, kids! Show everyone how you really feel about your degree! Remind your family that you're not "that kind of doctor!" Relive the horror of finding a typo in a footnote and having to reprint your entire dissertation on the day it is due!
I get the cynical humor, but why didn't AAAS have xkcd design…
bioephemera | September 21, 2009
On how many chilly fall days have you woken up and thought to yourself, "it's too cold for bare legs and too warm for wool tights - I need some vintage cell division illustration leggings"?
Okay, maybe never - but now you will.
From regeneration's etsy shop. Thanks to Laura for the heads up!
bioephemera | September 20, 2009
For the bibliophile who can't bear to leave all his or her books at home: a one-of-a-kind necklace of eleven miniature leather-bound books by TheBlackSpotBooks. Via NotCot.
bioephemera | September 19, 2009
This toddler t-shirt from Twisted Twee comes in sizes up to 4 years, and is inspired by "just a few of the items my young daughter Betty consumed in her first year." The buttons I understand, but the toy soldier? And what is the toy soldier doing to that cow?
Remember, parents: B is for baby, barium swallow and bougienage!
Check out their "ride-a-dad" set, too. Cute!
bioephemera | July 18, 2009
While browsing etsy this weekend, I was impressed with some of the unusual pieces from seller 19moons. These salvaged, chimeric pieces look much more expensive than they are.
from their etsy profile:
19 Moons is an eco-conscious creation of San Francisco Bay Area native Niffer Desmond. Inspired by re-use, machinery and DIY culture, her designs integrate these concepts into fashion. Vintage and recycled materials are combined to create wares that are both unique and Eco-friendly. If you like to stand out in the crowd, 19 Moons is your lunar gear station!
While I'd love a little more detail…
bioephemera | May 7, 2009
Long pin (detail)
Hand-made paper with cast silver seed inclusions and fine silver.
Sabrina Meyns
Irish artist Sabrina Meyns makes jewelry out of paper and silver. This piece may be less durable than your typical jewelry, but it's certainly more robust than the fragile poppies it mimics, and the translucency and delicacy is breathtaking. Unfortunately, her site only has a few examples of her work, but hopefully we'll see more of her in the future.
Via Daily Art Muse
bioephemera | April 17, 2009Jewelry designer Delfina Delettrez is young, a fourth-generation member of the Fendi family, and apparently obsessed with anatomy. Her most intriguing creation is a Skeletor-like carpal gauntlet:
The silver hand will cost you about $24K. If you haven't got that much disposable income, she also does smaller pieces: earrings and necklaces inspired by eyes, lips, spiders, cephalopods, frogs, etc. They're pretty, but I keep coming back to that hand and thinking it's so cynically appropriate to put a bony skeleton hand on a fashion model.
Found via haute macabre
bioephemera | April 12, 2009
Zombie Stomper by Iron Fist, via Haute Macabre
Yup - Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is the project the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is doing next. While my review of P&P&Z was pretty positive, I'm not sure I can in good conscience encourage this trend.
Also, note that while P&P&Z has surged to the top of the bestseller list, the New Yorker was not as charitable in its review as I was. Perhaps these shoes by Iron Fist might serve as a litmus test for whether you are likely to enjoy P&P&Z. Tongue-in-cheek fun or thoroughly foul? You be the judge!