Welcome! Spear Collective is our artist management collective, and we're proud of it. We believe it's comprised of some of the most promising, progressive, and definitive talent in the art and design world today. Our aim is to curate art and design in a more sustainable and honest way within brands - not just as advertising, but as true reflections of what a brands mean through our artist's eyes. If you're interested in chatting with us about potential opportunities for shows, artist-series products, or if you see something that catches your eye and would like to talk about working with any of these talented creatives, please feel free to contact us today!
I wanted to give a heads up to all of you Southern Californians that there’s going to be quite the group show going on in Hollywood starting next weekend. ‘Coping Mechanisms’ is a 3-person show at the Tinlark Gallery on Sunset. Starting with the launch party this coming Saturday, April 14th, from 4-7 PM, you’ll get to see the brand new work of SC’sGrant Barnhart, Andrew Au, and Nancy Baker Cahill. I’ve included one of Grant’s new pieces here– what can I say besides “GRRRRRRR!?” If you can’t make the opening reception this weekend, the show will be going on until May 12th. I’m going to do my best to make the tail end of the show when I get out to L.A. in May. Full flyer is after the jump for your reference…
On Saturday, March 31st from 6:30-9:00 PM at the Design Within Reach store in Boulder, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and DWR are putting on their second annual White Space event, White Space II. Josh was able to attend last year’s event, and really liked what he saw– it’s basically a live art event that puts 6 local artists to the test of creating something special in a short amount of time– their final work to be sold off to the highest bidder in a silent auction that will go on during the show; the proceeds will go toward future public art events presented by The Collection, a support group of the Boulder MoCA. This year, the Spear Collective’s own Chris Cox will fill some white space with artists Pattie Lee Becker, Paul Kraus, Markham Maes, Amanda Marie, and Jenna Wilson. Other sponsors of the event include Vodka 14 and Avery Brewery– which both happen to be the makers of some of my favorite boutique adult beverages. For those of you in or around Boulder, attendance at this event is mandatory!
Adriean Koleric, a refreshing designer out Alberta (and a long time favorite of Josh’s) has teamed up with a selection of artists and given them free reign over his Monster Lamp. We’re thrilled to report that the first featured artist is Spear Collective’s very own Motomichi, and even more thrilled to show you this awesome result of the collaboration. Motomichi’s tendencies toward minimalistic use of color and monster-infused methodology blend naturally with Adriean’s lamp– I’m seriously lovin’ the layered effect of all these monsters. This one made it to the Prototype exhibit at the Toronto Interior Design Show last month, but I’m not sure where it’s living now (probably munching on someone’s living room). This is too great a surface for an artist not to turn out something worth noting, so we’ll keep an eye out for the rest of the collabs and keep you posted. Full photos after the jump…
Juicy Couture’s e-commerce site just got a little love from Spear Collective’s own jp33 (Jeremy Prasatik). It makes sense to me– if you’re a brand going for that spring time feel, who better to have add that aesthetic to your website than jp33? He’s certainly not afraid of bright colors, and while the floral designs for Juicy are a slight aberration from his trees I’ve grown so fond of, they fall into his design repertoire quite well I think. Jeremy’s a guy who has managed to stay insanely busy with his design work and is always updating his site with his most recent projects. Have a look for yourself.
As many of you know, Spear Collective member Jason Thielke was the centerpiece of last weekend’s Toxic Show at Hecklewood in Portland. The guys at Hecklewood did a great job capturing some of what went on via video footage and photos. This video is a little long, but is well worth a watch if you want a little insight into the mind of Thielke– I’m not so sure I’d consider these trade secrets, because only Jason can do what Jason does, but he gets pretty in depth in the Q&A with the inspiration behind his work as well as the specific methods he uses to create his art. Hecklewood’s ‘Art‘ page has some more photos from the show, and I’ve included a few after the jump (including the new Hecklewood/Thielke t-shirt collab, available for purchase here– the thing is sick!) Read the rest of this entry »
For all of you who will be in the Portland, OR area in the next month or so, Jason Thielke– who’s an esteemed member of the Spear Collective, and a virtual fixture on JoshSpear.com, will be showing his work at Hecklewood’s Toxic show. Starting with the launch party tomorrow night, March 16th from 6-10 P.M. with ice cold PBR’s and music from hip hopper Ohmega Watts, you’ll be able to see the latest and greatest of Jason’s industrial inspired art. If you’ve never seen Jason’s work in a live show setting, this is a must-see. And while we’re on the subject of Hecklewood, it appears as though they’ve just released some new additions to their TANNER line of leather goods, with a fresh Spring apparel line on the way. Niiice, I liiiiike!
Our buddy and Spear CollectiverTom Judd is at it again over the pond in the U.K. This time he has joined up with a group of other talented illustrators and Scott Lockhart to publish Plinth Issue 2 (The Hate Issue). In all, 20 artists have come together to produce 32 pages of “draw-rings.” Tom has a few illustrations inside, but also is responsible for the front cover (shown here). The money from the sales of these nicely wrapped, sealed, and numbered Plinth issues is going straight to what promises to be a bad ass Summer Show. Don’t wait though– they only printed 40 copies– super duper limited edition!
Christopher Cox, friend and fellow Spear Collective member recently launched his new portfolio and once again our hats are off– it’s very slick (don’t worry, it’s not nearly as hard to navigate as his desk, shown here). His new site features tons more of his work to better exhibit his talent in print, illustration, typography, motion, web and the most impressive and surprising to us– apparel. Pop by his site, have a look around and be sure to drop into his online shop to see some of his designs on t-shirts, hoodies, etc. Congrats Chris!
We have to admit we’re going to miss our friend Chean Wei Law’s old portfolio site– but the new one is just as impressive. If you don’t remember Undoboy, he created those super-fun Super-bastard box figures. His new identity is solid and interface is simple and sexy– it helps further deliver his simple message about life: Design Brings Happiness. The new site of the NY based designer shows off some of his awesome work for folks like Mini Cooper, Coke Zero and Volkswagen. Congrats on the new site, Undoboy!
The People Like Us Collective (or as I like to refer to them, ‘the thunder down under‘) have just released two new t-shirt designs. If you hurry, you can get your hands on one or both of these limited edition t’s. They’re made with PLU’s ’should-be-patented’ Super Technology, which saturates the fabric with some seriously rich and vibrant color. I have always liked PLU’s sense of humor– they describe the ‘Funk & Fury‘ design on the left: This is not abstract design– it’s actually an accurate recreation of a day’s work at People LIke Us headquarters. And of the ‘Technicolour Waistcoat‘ design by Sydney-based Karan Singh on the right: In a perfect world we would all wear shiny multi-coloured jackets all the time (even in summer) and all of humanity would be one giant sparkely rainbow. Until that utopia exists, why not support the cause with this stunningly eye-pleasing design by one of People Like Us’ favourite artists. People Like Us also fosters a giving, sharing environment– that’s why they’ll give you 10% off if you send a shirt as a gift. Giddy up!
On Saturday, March 31st from 6:30-9:00 PM at the 
Our buddy and 
We have to admit we’re going to miss our friend Chean Wei Law’s old 
