G'Day Bklyn

Like It, Want It

I Like It Too!

I love graphic arts; probably something to do with my job at a graphic design magazine and writer’s thirst for the brief, catchy one-liner. Well, I discovered this Anthony Burrill print hanging on a friend’s wall at the weekend and wanted to take it home.

“I Like It. What Is It?” was exactly what I asked my host, several times, in fact, until he introduced me to Burrill, a UK-based designer whose work spans witty posters, to film and Internet projects. Trained at the Royal College of Art in London, Burrill has designed ad campaigns for London Underground, DIESEL and Nike, among others; and covers for The Economist and Wallpaper. He’s also produced interactive web-based work for bands such as Kraftwerk and Air, murals for Bloomberg and Priestman Goode, and designed the identity for KesselsKramer’s London base KK OUTLET.

But it’s his woodblock posters, each one signed in pencil, that I really fell for. Burrill uses traditional woodblock letterpress techniques to convey his message on 100% recycled paper.

His appreciation of simplicity comes across loud and clear in his trademark one-liners. He’s not saying anything particularly deep or cerebral, but the direct, uncomplicated style makes it something you want to repeat, or at very least hang over a desk someplace visible.  His limited edition prints – including one of the most well-known “Work Hard and Be Nice to People” – have become mantras for the design community and beyond.

The April  issue of Creative Review also features Burrill’s cover art. To see more of his work or to buy one of his woodblock prints, check out his website www.anthonyburrill.com.

Ring in Spring With Tacos, Markets and Ball Field Feasts

Yay! Finally something useful is moving to a street I frequent. First Oaxaca Tacos opened around the corner from us on Smith Street, making for the first fast, friendly and delicious place for delivery or a quick late-night meal at the bar. Now, Oaxaca is opening an outpost on 4th Ave., between President and Carroll Streets, which is wonderfully convenient for me, since it’s right around the corner from where my children go to school.

Fourth Ave. is otherwise pretty barren, save for Root Hill Café, Brooklyn Lyceum a bit further down and the down home Latin American food at Yomaris Restaurant. So the addition of Oaxaca Tacos is most welcome. I already predict after school visits for a quick bite, or stopping in for a late lunch when I arrive too early for school pickup.

I’m a fan of the soft tacos, especially the fish, or the bowls of rice and beans with chicken mole or carne asada and all the trimmings. There’s no opening date yet beyond early April  for the new Oaxaca at 250 Fourth Ave., according to the website, but the sign is up and the bodega it replaces is long gone.

What a nice change to have something I like in a useful location. From our Carroll Gardens address we manage to be just far enough away from everything we utilize; walk up to Henry Street for bread and bagels (Mazzola + Marius), hike up Court Street for Citibank and CVS, down to Atlantic Ave. for cheese, olives and pita bread (Sahadis + Damascus Bakery), Atlantic again to cruise Urban Outfitters and soon Barneys Co-op. Now if we can get someplace on Smith Street, near Degraw please,  to get a good cup of coffee and a fresh baguette, I’ll stop complaining.

Oh, and speaking of good stuff, I should mention that the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket, which sets up outside of PS 58 and across from Carroll Park, resumes Sunday, April 11.

Also good news for fans of tacos and beyond, the beloved Red Hook Ballpark vendors will be setting up their stalls again May 1.  And the satellite vendors at the Brooklyn Flea’s Fort Greene and Hanson Place venues will be at your service from Sunday, April 11.

Spring is in the air at last …

Obama Framed

Obama A La First Grade

It’s not every day you invest in art. But we did a week or so ago, at our children’s school Arts Day, an annual fundraising event where each class creates a saleable project for parents to bid on. There were quilts and pictures and bound collections of children’s art, and then there was this, I think fabulous, tiled painting of President Barack Obama.

Created in a similar vein to the works of famed American artist Chuck Close, who is known for his paintings based on a grid pattern, it can take a minute or two of staring from a distance to work out who it is, as we discovered when some friends glared at it with a confused squint. But once you get it, you can appreciate the colors and delve into each child’s individually colored and decorated tile.

It just happened to be the work of my son’s first-grade class and we just happened to lodge the winning bid and bring home this colorful piece, which will eventually grace a wall. I was in the classroom to help the children decorate their tiles and it’s no small miracle that it actually turned out looking like a person, let alone the President.

Loving Lady-Like Liberty

I never line up for anything. It has become a sort of personal creed for me, especially since moving to New York more than a decade ago and being  stunned at how willing people are to queue in this city – and in such an orderly manner. Australians are largely a cynical bunch, and lazy, so the whole lining up thing doesn’t work well. A French friend, also stunned at the orderly American queue, said lines in her homeland were notoriously rowdy and crooked, with people going in all directions.

That’s why today was notable. I surprised even myself and stood in line with about 200 other shoppers to get first dibs on the Liberty of London for Target range. Thankfully, the line moved fast, and I made it inside in about 15 minutes at what was probably peak time around 12.30pm. Was it worth it? Well, yes I believe it was. I scored three pretty sundresses, of course in Liberty printed fabrics; a couple of tea mugs and floral tumblers as well as an armload of frocks and bikinis for the daughter, all of which actually fit.

I was pleased to find the dresses were modern cuts and the fabrics didn’t feel cheap and nasty as has been the case with some other designer for the masses collaborations. Target seems to have really hit a home run with this latest teaming, raising the question among just about everyone I chatted to in that long line: why isn’t there a Liberty of London store in New York?

The pop-up store was beautifully decorated with planters galore of spring flowers, and hyacinth perfuming the air, which was also adorned with massive cutouts of home wares, umbrellas and yards of wallpaper and fabric in the famed Liberty prints. The umbrellas, by the way, were sold out by noon today and a lot of the smallest sizes in the lingerie and some of the most popular dresses were in need of restocking too. Still, a woman next to me was thrilled to find a row of bras in 36 DD and beyond! There were plenty of staff scattered about too to help answer questions, though most people wanted to know about sizing, and that was the one thing the staffers seemed clueless about.

Most things are sized x-small, small, medium or large etc., although in an odd twist, some maxi dresses were sized numerically in British sizes. For the record, a UK8 is about a 6 in the US and a UK10 is an 8. I found the dresses run large, so opt for the smaller size. It was also tough to navigate the children’s clothes, since there was no guide on what ages the S, M and L were for. If it helps any, my almost 5yo was fine in the 5T and XS selections.

So here’s what you need to know if you plan on hitting the pop-up store; go early and unencumbered because it will be crowded and you probably won’t see everything properly, partly because the layout of the pop-up store is muddled and partly because in a flower-filled room full of Liberty-printed platters, clothes, rain boots, lingerie, bathing suits and so on, it all begins to look the same after a bit; and don’t bother with the fitting room lines unless you really must.

Afterwards, head home for a nice cup of tea, preferably in a glossy new Liberty print teacup.

The pop-up store is at 1095 Sixth Ave. at 42^nd Street, near Bryant Park through Saturday. It hits Target.com and Target stores beginning Sunday, March 14.