Archive for the ‘inspirations’ Category
First, melt down whatever gold jewellry you’re not using. Start with the stuff that you drunkenly buy on a whim when you get your huge royalty checks, and work your way up to gifts from exotic heiresses. Once your Crybaby is smoothly coated in glistening gold, it should look like this.
Next, reach into your bucket of reserve Swarovski crystals and apply them with glue. Not normal glue, mind you. Only glue made from the finest truffles mixed with the finest caviar and the finest limited edition special-colour M&Ms will work. Now apply them to your pedal. You can do it nice and neatly like the image below, or you can just roll the pedal around in them. The important thing is to make sure that the pedal is adequately coated and sparklesome.
Oh wait, those are just limited edition Crybaby wah wahs by Jim Dunlop, on display at the 2012 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, where I went in January, and why Miss Pilgrim had the house all to herself save for a boisterous five-year-old and a classically mismatched cat and dog. NAMM is a huge trade show where all the new musical equipment for the year is announced, rock stars wander the halls, deals are done, drinks are drinked, parties are partied, gigs are witnessed and everyone seems to congregate around Anaheim’s Mexican restaurants.
When I got back home to Melbourne, I regaled Pilgrim with my extensive collection of poorly focused photos of the goodies I saw. Here then, for your viewing pleasure, is some of the cooler stuff I saw at the show. Starting with…
Catalinbread
One of the most visually engaging effect pedal companies is Catalinbread. Their designs reflect the uniqueness and creativity of their effects, which are often designed to emulate or build upon classic designs of days gone by. At the 2012 NAMM Show (the first that they actually exhibited at), Catalinbread drew audible gasps (from me, mainly) for these ‘Fuzz Flowers’ built by artist Sharlet Thompson from Spokane, Washington.
And check out Catalinbread’s Merkin, Pareidolia, Heliotrope and Teaser Stallion…
Playboy Guitars
These Playboy guitars are officially licensed and they’re as attractive as the ladies they feature. My favourite is this model, the Playboy Covers Collage, which features tasteful (dammit) images of vintage Playmates. This guitar even features a cute little bowtie inlay at the third fret for extra bunny cred. (pilgrim sez: possibly the ONLY cool playboy licensed product, right?!)
Framus Earl Slick
Guitarist Earl Slick is one of the coolest dudes on the planet. He’s worked for David Bowie, John Lennon, Little Caesar and now the New York Dolls. His Framus signature model is based on a model called the Hollywood and its overall vibe is much like that of Slick himself: a little bit retro and a whole lotta cool.
Hayden Mini MoFo
There seemed to be a lot of sea foam green at NAMM this year. So much so that I wrote a post about it for my own blog. But this was probably the sea foamiest of them all: a Mini MoFo amp by Hayden in special custom livery. Dig how the control knobs recall the look of bakelite. Groove on how the amp’s design has a certain ‘grandma’s toaster oven’ vibe. I love this thing so freaking much.
Vox Apache Series
The Vox company has been around since the dawn of rock. Their amplifiers backed up the Beatles for almost all of their career – in fact there was even a Vox Super Beatle amplifier back in the day. The company has taken the feel of some of their classic 60s designs like the Phantom and Teardrop, and updated them in the form of the following beauties, all of which are part of the Apache series. Each includes a built-in amplifier with rhythm patterns to play along with – reggae, funk, country, rock, blues… hey, where’s Bossa Nova?
AXL Badwater
Y’know what? I couldn’t seem to find much information on the specs of this guitar by AXL, but it’s quite obviously based on the shape of a Gibson Les Paul with some minor tweaks. But who cares? It’s purple and it’s sparkly!!! I have a great love of sparkly guitars. Just get me drunk and ask some time. I’ll tell ya.
Yamaha THR amplifier
This innovative little Yamaha THR amplifier doubles as a recording interface, a set of computer speakers and an attractive faux radio device thing to look impressive on a shelf. I love that herringbone pattern over the speakers, and the pastel hue of the casing. And it sounds great too.
Fender Telecasters
The Fender Telecaster has its roots back in the late 40s and today you can buy this guitar in various configurations and price points, but for me the really great stuff is the mid-60s Telecaster Custom line. The maple fretboard was replaced with dark-hued rosewood, the body received attractive creme binding, and some models even came with the Bigsby vibrato bridge, a primitive but super-cool way of imparting some wobble upon your musical musings.
The Fender Custom Shop is offering a 60s-inspired Custom in a whole range of gorgeous colours this year. Check out this small sample.
Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod
The Gretsch company was responsible for some of the meanest, rockin’est rockabilly guitars ever, and their designs are still very much in keeping with this aesthetic. As part of this, you can occasionally find Gretcsh Brian Setzer Hot Rods in custom colours inspired by hot rod culture. Imagine these babies screaming down the street and pulling up at Mel’s Diner to order a chilli dog, potato salad and a cherry Coke.
Z.Vex pedals
Last but most certainly not least, Z.Vex pedals are some of the most fun, noisy (in a good way), creativity-inspiring little boxes ever devised. And in keeping with their spirit of frothing, uncontrollable artfulness, most of their pedals are available in handpainted versions. No two are exactly alike, and some of them are pretty freaking different. Check out this small selection from the huge Z.Vex display case of wonder.
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thanks for the take over, peter! mmmm colorful guitars!!
maybe i’m not completely a grown up yet, because i seem to relentlessly look forward to the postman visiting even though its always bills and bank statements (and those are almost as depressing as the bills!) BUT when its NOT a bill or a bank statement – all my excitement is justified – especially when its something as fun as the mail i got from rin at papered thoughts - its a message in a bottle!
no, she’s not shipwrecked, and if she is then i need to visit that fun and inspiring island! take a look at the treasures she sent me: handmade confetti, balloons, a glow stick, cocktail umbrellas, and some washi tape bunting. its a party in a bottle without the headache the next morning!
checkout papered thoughts blog and leave her some love. now, go and visit her store and stock up on ephemera so you can surprise a friend with cute mail – trust me, this has made my whole week! wouldn’t you like to make someone’s week? thank you, rin!
harajuku fashion meets disneyland, magic ensues.
is anyone still looking for a halloween costume? well, if money is no object why don’t you pop over to tokyo disneyland and see if you can borrow one of these wonders for halloween? i was pretty impressed by the costumes in the parades there – they were just that extra bit crazy in the best way!
can’t pick a favorite disney princess? why not dress up as an entire ‘land’? top left: main street & fantasyland, tomorrow land, toon town and frontier land.
we visited tokyo disneyland in just. late june. but this is an easter parade. just go with it… there’s harlequin checked tights!!
and there was buzz lightyear girls!! by the way these photos are from two separate parades. things were crazy, but not THAT crazy. it wasn’t easter meets toy story or something. one was a celebration of disney, one was a celebration of easter.
or why not go all out and just dress up in an egg!
if anyone knows how i can get to be a costumer at tokyo disneland.. call me! dream job, right?
leave it to sally at lulu to unearth another quirky cool treasure! on a recent visit to lulu i snapped up this color pop diary by standard number and i’m fighting the urge to chuck in the filofax and start 2012 early in this cute diary.
i know, i know its sacrilege to speak ill of the filofax and the fact that i love filo so much is what’s stopping me from diving right into the color pop. but come january 1 2012 i’m changing it up a little bit. i mean, how can i resist?
the color pop diary has stickers for its customizable cover! and graph paper! and colored, patterned craziness inside! don’t you love stumbling upon these cute little products?
in amongst all the shopping and eating we found ourselves with a ‘spare’ day towards the end of our trip – and disneyland just a short train ride away. what to do? we went to disneyland of course!! we got rained on, we queued for ages, we walked our feet to the bone (no seriously, i got the worst mega-blister ever – i think i could see bone).
i was interested to compare tokyo disneyland to the original disneyland in california, and it was largely the same – but different. it was bizarro world disneyland, where just about everything has a slight twist (the haunted mansion takes on a whole new threatening tone when the voice over is in intelligible japanese)! one of the best ‘twists’ though was the ‘small world’ ride. the ride itself was the same, but the exterior and the ‘load in’ were different – might i go so far as to say… better? take a virtual tour through the queuing area and admire the mary blair-inspired murals that set the tone for ‘the happiest cruise’ that ever sailed…
getting lost in a foreign city has its benefits when it turns up little goldmines like raak. this itty bitty boutique was tucked away in the back streets of gion, kyoto – it would’ve been easy to miss, but once we’d found it, there were raak stores popping up on every corner! and just as well, because i was smitten!
raak was established in 1615 specializing in tenugui, traditional japanese facecloths. the range today covers face cloths, scarves, and furoshiki cloths – to wrap gifts, or fold into bags. their designs are spectacular, some more traditional and simple, and some bright, busy and contemporary!
the smallest soft, lightweight cotton cloths on display
did i mention i picked up some souvenirs? because i did. a lot.
just a little head scarf i picked up – to brighten my wintery days back home!
a contemporary chair design by raak
hydrangea cotton gauze scarf
rolling landscape panel
images taken from raak and my shamelessly extensive personal collection of raak products
as you would imagine, shopping in japan is BANANAS. the first day was really tough – we had two weeks ahead of us, but we were seeing so many amazing things already. would we make it home without exceeding baggage limits? would we go broke before we even bought dinner? as time went by we got a little more jaded, but it was still a shoppers paradise! sadly i was too, er, ‘amazonian’ to fit the shoes or clothing. perhaps for the best, financially speaking! but here are a few treasures that made it home with me…*
*not pictured: 900 pairs of socks. japan loves socks!
swimmer/chocoholic tape, vintage stamps from ‘pinups’ in kitchijoji
flower push-pins and push-pin hooks!
i’m a big fan of buying fun but practical things while on holiday. i like to be able to use the things frequently, and each time i do, i get that little thrill i like to call “reverse buyers remorse”.
cute memo pad and faux-marimekko letterset from kiddyland
picture puzzle dominoes
are these for me? or for my son? hmm… both. but mostly for me! don’t worry, he got plenty of presents all to himself.
cute stamp stickers! erasable rainbow pens! cram cream memo pad in my favorite design!
i came to love these little face cloths really fast! because its so humid a little discreet blotting cloth is essential. and in typical japanese style, even the sweat rags are beautiful. i’m almost looking forward to a hot australian summer to use these.
false lashes and mary quant daisy hair clip
i almost passed out when i saw the mary quant store. i love mary quant and so to own one tiny little mary quant item is really exciting. and can a girl ever have enough falsies? no. so i bought about 12 or varying style. eep!! blame it on the ¥100 store!
scandi treasures from parco
i found a fab little corner of parco stocked with scandinavian treasures! i thought the elephant bank might help me save up for a trip back to tokyo soon. and the apple dish towel? practical AND chic!
tokyu hands was the most mind blowing place of all. i’d heard people reccomend it as a “department store that sells everything”. in my mind “everything” meant carpet, clothes, mattresses, luggage.. y’know. everything. but apparently “everything” means E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. umbrellas, suitcases, wood, fake flowers.. and lots and lots of stuff for crafting, creating, and making with! what colored perspex rod would you like? did you need some bright green leather? hey weren’t you just saying you were running low on silversmithing tools/flocked styrofoam balls/miniatures for your train set? yes. everything. my brain almost fell out and it was difficult to take in. on our first visit we experienced an aftershock, but i’m almost certain it was my mind being blown. so i bought a pom pom maker and some glittery plastic. because i’m pretty sure i’ll need them sooner or later. australia doesn’t have a great range of anything, if you want something you have to search online and sacrifice a kangaroo in hope of them shipping it to you. so this might not sound exciting to you americans and europeans, but it was like candyland to a supply starved australian! if i lived near a tokyu hands i would never ever ever stop making EVERYTHING.
furoshiki fabric
furoshiki is all about giftwrapping using beautiful fabric – but i’m thinking i might just giftwrap my head with this one!
fab fabric! it would be easy to blow tons of money on fabric in japan – but what am i going to do with it all? nuthin’ that’s what. so i only bought a couple of pieces that i know i’ll put to good use. the fabric above is latex backed and is going to turn into a swim bag for my son.
handmade fabric bento
and lastly, an extra special little present for my son. play-sushi! he also got socks, some crazy bath salts that turned his bath chartreuse, some candies with hello kitty’s face in them, and a totoro all of his own.
i can’t wait to show you one more special purchase next week – in a post all of its own! ooh
