Lladro figurines

I love these photographs by Bangkok label Sretsis. They're based on antique porcelain figurines - pretty close to the ones we had when I was a kid (top). More at StyleBubble.

NIKE "Write The Future"

Whoa! Looks like big budget advertising is back. Must say, of the many football-themed promotions cluttering my daily life, this NIKE ad definitely is getting me amped for the World Cup. Great editing and memorable cameos, especially by Gael Garcia Bernal.

Dolls by da_bu_di_bu (?)

I have tried to track down the designer and photographer of these beautiful dolls, but the Google search for the artist send me to a strange, foreign page. Pity. I want one.

via fffound

Kronk Konsume

The uber talented Kronk is another friend who has joined the NIKE Originals campaign team and is doing phenomenal work for them (see the awesome promotional video here and spot him - the white kid in the specs), including the South African team kit for the massive World Cup 2010 here. I am excited to be doing a job with him in the upcoming future. Be warned: tread his flickr page lightly as there is too much awesome work to take in at once.

Max Mogale

A friend of mine seems to be hitting the big time - Max Mogale. His photography celebrates the gritty energy and individuality of street culture - no surprise that he is rumoured to be doing work for the latest NIKE Originals range.

via Between10and5

Tithi Kutchamuch

My brother is about to start studying Industrial Design in Beijing and I send him inspirational links now and then. I just sent him the link to Tithi Kutchamuch and her amazing body of work which moves somewhere between sentimental pieces of jewelry and everyday pieces. This project called Companion Parrot (2009) is truly stunning and inspired by the memory of household pets that have died.

Do check out the other award-winning pieces on her site. A great mix of Japanese-meets-Scandi inspired pieces.

Le Crush 100

Ok, I noticed this a while ago, and thought to myself, "I will ignore it as its just another one of these things that perpetuate that Cape-Town-cliquey-crap I hate so much" - Look Out! It's name-dropping out there! But then some of my friends have appeared on it and suddenly, I have to look. Why? Who? Again, why? So weird.

Mingo Lamberti

Local t-shirt brand Mingo Lamberti has finally hit the interweb and even though many of the tees in the range are sold out, drooling over his collabs with great artists and designers is still a great site.

Sassquatch

Infamous Cape Town DJ Sassquatch has made a pretty damn danceable mix for too-cool-for-school local shop a-store. Get yours here.

Kate Prior

Very cool and striking illustrations from Kate Prior - the ones with her hand lettering are especially great.

BISON

Killer pieces from local design-illustration collective, BISON, who participated in the local Smirnoff Vodka packaging range. Doing wonderfully experimental stuff. I want that mug!

Check out an interview here.

Little dynamite

Who is this little girl and why has she achieved a level of hyper-cool at such an early age that I can only aspire to?

via The Sartorialist

Skull and Bones

Skulls seem to be making a reappearance again. I have no idea why, but I know that I want one.

Check out these sculptural pieces from Jiri Geller's "Dead Boy" (his Donald Duck inspired series is also very cool) and these beautiful shots in the recent Hedi Slimane diary entries (always a treat).

Mrzynk & Moriceau

Hopefully, you have checked out the Sebastien Tellier vid I was telling you about. The perfect art direction comes from a team I have followed for a long time since they did Air's "Don't be Light" music video (you can watch it on their site too). They released a calendar of 365 drawings last year - too many, too awesome.