Crystal Head Vodka - Day of the Dead Competition Entries

Naturally when I have uni work to complete I decide to take up most of my time doing competition entries to be in with the chance of winning some cash.

Crystal Head Vodka - produced by none other than Dan Aykroyd (if you don't know who he is shame on you) - has one of the coolest bottle designs I have seen in a long time. 
Modeled after Crystal Skulls which were purported to be Pre-Columbian in origin and holding mystical properties (also the main plot device in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I might add), it's a real show-stopper of an item + the vodka tastes great too!

I noticed the other day that they were running a competition to design an image based on both the companies brand values and that of the theme of the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos or 'Day of the Dead' - so thought what the hell, lets test out the Photoshop skills I've been learning over the last couple of years and create something from scratch for a change! 

See below for the three entries I have submitted. Along with a review panel competition they are also running a community vote so if you like my designs and want to give me a better chance of winning a prize then please re-tweet my pictures (posts on my wall recently or in image timeline) on Twitter, repin on Pinterest or like on Instagram (username indieboyldn). 
Would really appreciate it! 

Thanks! 

Remembering Can Be a Beautiful Thing

Sadly I recently had a relative pass away who very kindly left me a small inheritance, rather than spending the money on random drunken nights out or other escapades (or clothes of course), I thought I would spend it on something to commemorate them.

In my mind jewellery is a perfect way of remembering someone - the act of wearing it is like a celebration of that person and a reminder of what you've lost and of course the good memories and times you had with them. And so when thinking of a jeweller there was only one that for me fit the bill - this being Shaun Leane.

I had in-fact first laid eyes on Shaun Leane's beautiful jewellery many years before when working in Menswear in Selfridges. We were selling off some old items we had found in a stockroom and not knowing what they were, management agreed to sell them off at a low price as we were in sale at the time. I instantly fell in love with a small and unusually shaped ring but being pretty poor that month couldn't justify the 40 odd pounds to buy it - a mistake I later learnt as it turned out to be none-other than an early Shaun Leane piece. I regularly kick myself for not buying it at the time and have always admired his work since hoping one day to own a piece myself.

 For those of you who are not familiar with his work, his website gives a brilliant introduction to both this, his ethos and the numerous and high calibre collaborations (with the likes of Daphne Guiness, Alexander McQueen, Boucheron and Sam Taylor-Wood) he has participated in - and in real life his work definitely lives up to the expectations provided by the pictures on his site.


I chose two identical silver pieces from the Horn collection which intertwine when worn together. They seemed to me like such classic yet modern pieces, whilst also being a lot more interesting then the usual fare offered to men.

On service I cannot recommend this brand enough! I had wonderful experiences with both their concession in Selfridges and their online team, both were attentive, friendly and efficient, and a special mention should be made to the speed in which I received my second piece from the website - it arrived in 18 hours from ordering and for free which is unbelievable!
I highly recommend this brand for both the quality of their jewellery and service.

Not a person to buy fine jewellery often I really valued the experience of buying such beautiful pieces with such ease, especially in the circumstances. I'll definitely treasure my pieces as a special reminder of my loved one for many years to come.

zombie boy

Sorry for such a long time between posts! Having just started a degree course at the London College of Fashion and a new job I have been finding that spare time is a luxury I don't seem to have. But having now found my feet I'll make sure the posts keep coming more regularly!

Onto my musing for today...

I've recently developed a fascination for Rick Genest, or Zombie Boy/Rico the Zombie as he is now known for his extreme tattoo's.
Covering the majority of his upper body they have transformed him into a living corpse complete with bugs, exposed bones and brain, and cobwebs. Being a fan of tattoo's (but not currently having any) I admire his commitment to such an ambitious and life changing project such as this; you really have to have such a strong personality to wake up one day and say 'Hey I want to look like a Zombie' for the rest of your life!

I have also been a keen observer of how he has been completely latched onto by the fashion industry, not I feel as a curious oddity (which I feel is how he was looked upon back in 2008 with his interview in Bizarre) but as a source of creative inspiration and of course a great way to market their products and ideas in an unconventional way.

from the Mugler A/W 2011 campaign

Only today WWD posted a frankly astonishing video from the skincare brand Dermablend who are using Zombie Boy as an illustration of just how good one of their products is at covering imperfections and flaws (of course this not being Rico's problem), this can be seen below:

all rights reserved by DermablendPro (http://www.gobeyondthecover.com)

There are now numerous examples of him being used in everything from Lady Gaga's video for Born This Way to Mugler's A/W campaign (as seen above),  and there seems to be no sign of things letting up for him with a soon to be seen small role in the upcoming Keanu Reeves film '47 Ronin', a line of merchandise, new website and a recently completed appearance at the Circus Circus Fright Dome in Las Vegas.

Truly he is a modern day spectacle and personality, who I watch with baited breath to see what he will be his next tattoo let alone campaign/project or venture.


For more information see Zombie Boy's website here.

fancied

On one of my many pilgrimages to the app store on my iPhone I happened across an app called 'Fancy'.

This self styled 'part store, blog, magazine and wishlist' is now one of my favourite pastimes when I want to be inspired by some cool new product, concept design or zany piece of urban art, which undoubtedly I can't afford. Thankfully looking and lusting is free.

Fancy is also yet another kind of social media experience now on the market as it allows its users to upload pictures and links to things they find and even gives you the option to follow a particular user should you find their contributions to your tastes. On top of this retailers are even starting to use this to their advantage and giving store (online mostly but possibly offline as well) promotions when someone 'fancies' one of their products.

Personally I find the app much easier and enjoyable to use than the webpage but its still definitely worth a look if you don't have an iPhone. My 'catalogue' of fancies is here if you would like a taster, but also see below for a few of my recent favourites:

Cat Sofa Installation by Felis Domesticus

Fruit Popsicles by Food Photographer Matthew Klein

Boxing Deer Bucks Silk Screened Cotton Pillow from Etsy

Enjoy!! 

iconic

I was incredibly lucky to receive a copy of the spectacular book which accompanied the New York Metropolitan Museum of Arts' exhibition of the late Lee McQueen's work from a dear friend recently. Having scoured Amazon for a copy only to be told there was a minimum of six weeks wait, I must say I was really relived to finally have it in my hands with such a lack of stress...but had I had to wait it still would have been well worth it.

Hologram Front Cover

'Alexander McQueen - Savage Beauty' must have been a completely out of this world experience in the flesh, however this book more than compensates those of us who were unable to make it. Massive in size with full page (and sometimes double spreads) it shows off McQueen's creativity often with quotes describing what the collection meant to him and where he drew his inspiration from - to accompany.

As a devoted follower (albeit with far too little of his clothing for my own liking) I now count this book as one of my most highly prized possessions, which I know I will gain much enjoyment from for years to come. However don't take my word for it - see below for a few stunning glimpses:

 

Finally, a brief reminder of his incomparable theatricality featuring the dress above in S/S 2001. This is definitely one of his more iconic shows but unfortunately not much footage remains, what you see is actually taken from an episode of a BBC series called 'British Style Genius' which if you can find, I heartily recommend you watch! 

Enjoy

amateur

About a year ago I decided to buy myself my first decent camera - a Nikon DSLR 3000. Don't get me wrong, compacts are great but as I see it I have a smart phone for candid snaps and now this bad boy for the truly special moments. 
It's had a fair amount of use as you can see from my flickr page but I was really pleased the other month when I had an unexpected email from Schmap (an online travel/review website) who wanted to use one of my (more mundane admittedly) pictures of Centre Point. Here's the photo below:

Whilst I realise this picture is not exactly earth shattering it's really spurred me into going out and walking the streets of London whilst snapping away again - especially as I love the thrill of finding an architectural gem or hidden bit of graffiti. But it also got me thinking about how many good non-professional (because amateur sounds a bit mean) photographer's there are out there, for now I'll start with a couple of friends who's pictures always inspire me to go that bit further with my own:

James Delaney's pictures are always varied, interesting and driven from what he sees in everyday life. I especially love them when they are gritty and a bit dark. Check him out on flickr.

Sam Jauncey by James Delaney.

Robert Attard (@wobblebobbles on twitter if you wanna stalk him) does cheeky and chic in one go. I always enjoy seeing what new crazied scenario he has come up with to tantalise his viewers. Have a look at his webpage for the full run down.

 Juliet by Robert Attard 

 As for me - when I get released from the shackles of this job I intend to be getting out and doing a lot more photography - which of course I'll post here when I do. x

and in the beginning

After a lot of procrastination I have finally got around to starting my own blog.

Having been a fan of many blogs, the likes of which include Style Salvage, Advanced Style and Business of Fashion to name but a few in the fashion arena alone, I feel its time to give it a go myself.

A brief introduction to me - I'm Mike, but known throughout twitter and beyond as indieboyLDN -  a soon to be student at London College of Fashion as I go to retrain after many years out of education for a chosen career in the fashion industry. This blog simply aims to share the wonderful things I stumble across in my everyday life and on the interweb. 

As the name suggests: I like indie music (and wear far too much AllSaints) and live in London.

However I won't start with anything too deep and meaningful as the below will demonstrate.

Unbelievably I only just found this song/video - although I am not a massive Katy Perry fan I must say that I thought the production, make-up and creative direction of it to be amazing. Am sure it gets a thumbs up from me mainly because of the sci-fi subject matter but still Ms Perry looks simply stunning in all the looks of this video.

I love this simply for the black studded lips.

One of my new indie bands of choice - love this song and again really like this simple but effective and slightly evocative video.

That's all for now.

Nite nite