This should be going up tonight sometime. I wasn't even sure whether this would go through because of copyright issues etc. so I'm kind of stoked! Votes and comments always appreciated.

Just in time for the coming winter season...



And a WIP for the Threadless Loves Travel challenge -

I know this is bad timing because Laser Bread just submitted an awesome, instant-print tornado design, but I thought this idea was a good fit for the Threadless Loves Travel challenge so I subbed it anyway. Probably a mistake!

It's up! Votes and comments much appreciated.

Woo-hoo! Just got a piece of original artwork I ordered from Craig Watkins, aka Wotto. It's going to be part of a gallery show he's putting on. Thanks Craig, this design rocks so much! I'll be framing it for sure. And also thanks for the bonus Wotto buttons :)

You can check out his website and store here -
WOTTO STORE

It's up! Votes and comments much appreciated!

I've decided to simplify the design. Actually, the squid isn't really working, as much as I like it. I think just the sushi on it's own makes the best tee design.

Or maybe I'll do a collab with Eric if he wants to do the "Giant Sushi" idea. Guess I'll save the squid for my submarine design.

UPDATE - I subbed it...

UPDATE - It's up! Votes and comments much appreciated!

This is Jon Turner - The Man behind the Monkey



Threadless is a great way expose yourself to the work of a wide variety of talented artists, but often the artists themselves remain somewhat of a mystery. Some by choice, others simply due to lack of exposure. This is part 2 of a series of interviews I'm doing with unprinted designers that I think deserve a coat-of-arms alongside their name. Check out my first interview in a previous blog that I did with Ginette Lapalme if you missed it.

So, who is Baron Von Monkey? His name is Jon Tuner and if you read on you'll learn a bit more about the man behind the monkey.



Talented, articulate, eccentric, an intriguing mix of old-world British charm and underground bohemian artist. He takes inspiration from the 60's, old books, sci-fi, Victorian England and many of his designs have a Gothic, Edward Gorey feel to them. Included are some exclusive, never-before seen photos of Von Monkey in his natural habitat, some of his artwork and even a video!






From the start I was amazed by his unique designs. His brilliant style, themes and irreverent sense of humour infuse all of his work. I have also come to admire him as a person, for his intelligence, humour and generosity of spirit. I've purchased a number of his original works along with some custom book plates and he's always added something extra to give it a personal touch, like bonus prints, packs of stickers or hand-written postcards featuring his designs.

Another example of his work, I'm lucky enough to own the original -



Here's a bio that he recently e-mailed me. I decided just to leave it as is because he's also a very talented writer and did a better job than I would have! So, in his own words -

THIS IS JON TURNER

Right, me, in brief: born in Essex, south-east England in 1985,
youngest of four sons, but grew up in Evesham, Worcestershire, in the heart of rural England. Childhood mostly spent making up stories, drawing, exploring old places, collecting old things, listening to trashy music, playing Nintendo games and watching 60s sci-fi shows.



Not much has changed there, except I don't play quite so much Super Mario World. Left high school with four A-levels (don't know the Canadian equivalent, sorry!) in Art, English, Media Studies and French (the latter already almost completely gone). Then went to Balliol College, Oxford, to study English Lit- put on a lot of plays, occasionally went to some libraries and the odd pub, generally spent a lot of time doing not very much!

Also worked in an art bookshop for most of that time, so lots of opportunity for inspiration there, though didn't do a lot of design work besides doodles and some posters for plays. Left with a first last year (and a thesis excitingly titled "Wagnerian leitmotif and the Tristan Chord in TS Eliot's The Waste Land"...), worked at BBC radio for a little bit and lived in London, went back to Oxford and did some theatre producing and film extra-ing, and then pretty much dropped out of doing anything productive/lucrative and started working on an illustration portfolio and other projects, wandered about a lot.



I'm hoping, among other things, to go back and do an illustration course somewhere. I would like to end up writing and illustrating my own work, but then there's lots of other things I'd like to do too. Most of them don't involve getting a real job.

Me - Thanks Jon, you've had such interesting, varied experiences , really amazing considering your age. I'm getting that you're still searching for yourself and your place in life. I think taking illustration courses would be perfect for you! I miss having the time to be creative and to really sit down and do some serious drawing, a luxury I had when attending art college.

OK, it's time -



ME - who is "Baron Von Monkey"? Is there a story behind this intriguing name?

BVM - According to Debrett’s, the Baron Von Monkey was born sometime in the late nineteenth century in the now defunct eastern European principality of Simianya. Forced to leave his ancestral seat during the Chimpevik uprising of 1912 he found refuge in the travelling circus, in which he performed acrobatics before all the crowned heads of Europe. Eventually he ended up in London, where he became renowned in Society for his devastating bon mots and the ability to peel bananas with his feet… Sadly I spilt coffee on the rest of the page, so I can’t tell you what happened to him after that. Which is merciful.

ME - Haha, sounds like a fascinating individual! I bet he missed the glamorous life of the circus and went back to that. And when too old to do acrobatics he trained the circus monkeys. ;)

Just a hypothetical question - if you discovered a tortoise lying in the middle of the road on it's back in the baking sun, what would you do?

BVM - Is this to be an empathy test?

ME (in an off-handed, casual manner) - They're just questions Jon, designed to illicit an emotional response...

BVM - I’d definitely pick the little fella up. Then I’d like to think we’d become best friends and travel on together (very slowly), getting into all kinds of madcap scrapes (with hilarious consequences!) and being chased through the desert on camelback by monkeys in fezzes.

ME - Okay... *jots something down on a notepad*

This leads to my next question. Favourite sci-fi film?



BVM - Probably Blade Runner- those opening cityscape shots with the Vangelis soundtrack just take my breath away. But my real love is British sci-fi tv; I was obsessed with Doctor Who since I was about two, and still have cupboards at home stuffed with all the toys and junk I collected. Even as a kid I loved how retrotastic it all looked. And there’s just something so magical about the idea of this pacifistic cosmic anarchist, travelling through time and space in a telephone box, with whatever assortment of friends he happens to pick up on the way. Screw Star Trek, I wanted to be Dr Who. I won’t lie, I still do.

ME - Blade Runner is also one of my favourite sci-fi films and I loved Dr. Who. In fact, I always look around for super-long striped scarves because I think that's just about the coolest look.

Um, favourite colour?

BVM - Today, maybe… orange. Like Penguin paperback orange…nom nom nom…. For shirts: anything but yellow, so god only knows why I keep designing them.

ME - Ah, you mean this shade of orange :)



Penguin paperback orange is pretty awesome! And yeah, yellow is bad for me too. In fact, does anyone look good in yellow?

What hair products, if any, do you recommend?

BVM - My hair currently looks like a hideous night of passion between Jim Morrison and Kate Bush. I’m probably forbidden to give haircare tips under international law.

ME - LOL. Well, I think it's a good look for you. Very artsy/Bohemian. I wish I could grow my hair longer but I think it's pretty much decided to stop growing.

What inspires your work?

BVM - Everything. I love all kinds of vintage and retro graphics and illustration. I love getting lost in cities, wandering around sprawling suburbs, and exploring old deserted buildings, and the eerie feeling of being in mysterious places. I like dusty Victorian museums, and dusty books, and pretty much anything hidden under a thick layer of dust. Stargazing and moongazing, and anything to do with space. Finding things on the street, or down the back of sofas, or in flea markets and charity shops. Polaroids and stickers and psychedelic junk; poetry and old cartoons and weird stuff made of plastic. I also like jangly folk, twee indie pop and bad 80s electro, rock and roll, ska, and Wagnerian opera; I enjoy dancing maniacally to all of the above.

I have also been known to enjoy a nice cup of tea, and some tasty tasty cakes. I reckon all that’s gotta be some kind of inspiration.

In terms of some other artists who I think most inspire me, I love Brit illustrator Tom Gauld, Tove Jansson (who created the Moomins and lived on a deserted island), the understated surrealism of René Magritte (I think anyone could see that influence…), old cartoonists like Siné and Peynet and sixties pschedelics like Hapshash and the Coloured Coat. Book cover art of all kinds is a massive influence, and I can spend hours just rifling through piles of old paperbacks. There are also so many designers and illustrators that I see online and in design books every day that I fall in love with though, part of the reason I like Threadless so much.



ME - what kind of pen do you use to create your amazing line-work?

BVM - My favourite pens are Uni-ball Eye fine or micro, which are what I’ve used for most of my Threadless designs. They’re not exactly artist’s choice, but I’ve been using them since I was about twelve. I also use a fountain pen for more freestyle scribbling, though the risk of covering myself, and my surroundings, in ink is dramatically increased.

ME - most annoying habit?

BVM - Doing everything at the last minute. Or, quite often, like this interview, after the last minute.

ME - wow, that's my most annoying habit too!

Most endearing quality?

BVM - Umm, I can’t answer that- but hopefully I have some!

(ME - I think he just answered that. Humble and self-effacing :)

ME - I know you have a bit of a thing for the 60's, so do I actually. If you could travel back in time but couldn't get back to the present, would you choose to go back to the 60's and just stay there?

BVM - Yeah man… there’s so much about sixties culture that I love, though I could say that about just about every decade of the twentieth century. But I guess there is always something special about the sixties. I’d love to have been in London through that period (my mum was, though I think she’d say she wasn’t exactly swingin’), with the mod culture early on, and later the whole summer of love mentality. I’d probably end the decade living on some commune in the Hebrides, thinking I’ve only got fifteen years til I can go and meet myself and do something crazy to the fabric of the universe.

ME - for the gals out there, are you single? And if so describe your ideal woman.

BVM - Actually, the lovechild of that Kate Bush/ Jim Morrison night of passion is sounding like someone I wanna meet…yeah, I’d go for that…

ME - LOL. Ok, that kind of limits your dating pool though.

So, what's a typical day for Baron Von Monkey?

BVM - Sadly, befezzed monkeys play very little part, unless I happen to draw one. At the moment my average days are fairly uneventful, unless I happen to be travelling about, which I do quite a lot. Depending on where I am, they generally involve a lot of time spent doing nothing/doing nothing on the internet; some drawing and doodling, sometimes for someone or something particular, oftentimes not (yeah, I’m well pro); drinking a lot of tea and coffee; sometimes getting around to writing something; sometimes going out to explore; generally some dancing. There is usually a lot of sleep involved.

ME - You've been printed on other sites, I've lost count, but do you think you'll ever get printed on Threadless? (I happen to know you will, because it'll create a rift in the space-time continuum if "Seven Ages of Mandelion" doesn't print).

BVM - Oh god, it’s the death knell for any design when someone says “this is a definite print”; it’s like some kid in a slasher film saying “hey, I’m just going down to the dark basement for some more beers, what could possibly go wrong..?”. But yeah, I’ve had, and will have, tees printed elsewhere, but it really would be something else be printed by Threadless- I mean, what other site gives you a little medal?! And a mousemat- A MOUSEMAT!!!

ME - Ha ha! Yeah, it's the little medal that does it for me, and the coffee mug. Ok, you definitely won't get printed, sorry to break to you...
(there, I've lifted the Von Monkey curse)

BVM - I’m just pinning my hopes on Isa’s monster mash, which I think pretty much qualifies as the Best Thing Ever. With Stickers. Maybe we should make a mousemat too…

ME - I loved your Mr. Hyde character your drew for that, he was so awesome! That might very well be both of our 1st prints. It's so cool that if it prints our drawings along with so many other amazing artists will be on the same tee.



You've been involved in the theatre, and worked as an extra in films. I've dabbled in the film industry myself and know what a tough and competitive business it is. How is it in Britain? And do you think you'll ever get back into this?

BVM - When I graduated I thought this was probably where I would end up, but I found that unless you’re in a creative role it’s actually not all that exciting- there’s a lot of admin involved, and I find that pretty terminally dull. I love acting, but I know I’m not cut out for doing it professionally, though a lot of people I worked with at college are now making it big, which is awesome. I think only as a writer/director (i.e. the hardest things to break into) would I want to pursue that industry any further now, but for the moment I’ve pretty much decided that I want to go the design/illustration route, partly because I’d much rather work freelance. This does mean I’m gonna have to do some more study, which may end up horrifically expensive and leave me in even more debt, but I’d like to learn how to do stuff properly. Ideally, in a few years I’d like to be working as a freelance writer and illustrator who also does some work in the
theatre; sort of what I’m doing now, only, y’know, better.

ME - I live in Canada as you know (although I was born in the US), so I have to ask, what is your general impression of Canada, and the US for that matter?

BVM - Although I haven’t been to either (I’d really love to go to both), I think a lot of people assume that because Britain and the US (and English-speaking Canada) have a shared language they are culturally similar, whereas I would say they were probably worlds apart. As with Britain, there are so many amazing things to come out of US culture, especially in the twentieth century, and a lot of bad things, like social darwinism and Starbucks. Canada, maybe unsurprisingly, seems to me to have more in common with the British state of mind- a more liberalised society, something a bit more alternative culturally, and that same sort of underdog mentality. From what I’ve seen on Threadless Canada seems to be a breeding ground for some pretty awesome alt art too! Maybe I should come and study there. The idea of so much open space, in both countries, is also infinitely appealing.

ME - Ha! That would be awesome. You could take classes at OCAD with Ginette and Jan. Actually I've considered getting my B.A there and might be attending in the winter or spring myself. We could go out for cheap coffee and lunch at the Grange. I actually miss doing that.

Here's what you'd be in for:

OCAD



Reading, books, philosophy are sometimes themes in your art and obviously important to you. Do you think the days of people reading actual books are numbered?

BVM - Nah! Have you tried reading a book on a computer screen? Brrrr. I’m sure they’ve been prophesying the death of the book since before most people could read. The experience of having a story unfold just for you, with you as the narrator, you doing all the voices- that’s unique to book reading. Kids have a greater choice than ever of good books- proper stories- something that was a bit thin on the ground with the new books when I was growing up (no offence Goosebumps- you had cool covers at least). I’m a bit jealous.



ME - You're right, I have the same feeling. There's something about reading a book that is unique, and it does have a warmth that a computer screen will never have. And also it's still a surprisingly efficient way to package information I think. Which leads me to my next question. What are your feelings about technology in general?

BVM - Some things are awesome, like the internet, of which I think the good far outweighs the bad. A lot of technology is rubbish, or completely charmless. But I’m just waiting for my robot butler. Then I’ll be happy. Until they overthrow mankind…

ME - you once referred to yourself as a "hobo" in your profile. Was this a metaphorical description? In perhaps the same way Kafka used the imagery of a man turning into a giant insect to describe his feelings of alienation living as a writer? Maybe I'm stretching...

BVM - Kafka actually was a giant bug, didn’t you know? I guess it was more what I think my ideal state was, though I do go through periods of quasi-hobodom. I’d love to live, for a while at least, like the proper old-school hobos, where you could just travel from place to place doing jobs for people, but sadly that kind of existence is pretty much a thing of the past. Now homeless people are left to be just homeless.

ME - Damn, that sounds like kind of an appealing existence. Lots of travel, variety... we should start an old-school hobo movement!

Finally, is there's any general kind of statement you'd like to make to the voters and staff (if any of them happen to read this) at Threadless?

BVM - You’re all amaaaaaazing. Thanks to anyone who supported my work, and thanks to all the artists far cooler than me for giving me something to aspire to. This is a fantastic little community, in the truest sense of the word, and anyone who’s had a part in creating that should be proud. Also, some robot butlers would be nice- get on it, threadless.

ME - Haha, yeah, robot butlers are way overdue, and flying cars for that matter.

Thank you so much for your time Jon, this was tons of fun. And for anyone reading this please check out Jon's last submission "The Seven Ages of Mandelion" and leave an after-comment urging Threadless to print this masterpiece.

*cough* Well, sort of. I say sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands ;)

There are a couple of cool companies called QOOP and MOO that are affiliated with Flickr under the "do more things with your photos!" banner on the home page. You've probably seen them if you're on Flickr. They print calenders, posters, books, stickers, greeting cards etc. Anyway, QOOP can print images on canvas so I had one of my weird designs printed up and it turned out really well I think. The quality of the printing is excellent, the colours spot on and the resolution impressive.

Anyway, if you were wondering whether these places did a good job or not I can say from my experience they really do, promise I'm not getting paid to say that!

This is hanging over my desk now -



I also had some greeting cards printed at MOO and I loved the results. They're really high-quality and the price is pretty decent. It costs around $20 for a pack of 10 and you get to choose a variety of images that are pulled straight from your Flickr (or they can pull them from your computer as well). My family and friends will be getting some of these on birthdays and holidays -

This is a pending sub for the "Threadless Loves Drawing" comp. Any suggestions for a title? If I use your title a free tee along with something else cool if it gets printed...



UPDATE - Thanks so much everyone for your help. This was a tough decision because I had so many awesome titles to choose from!

After much consideration I've decided to go with David T's "Tooniverse". Congrats David! It sounds really cool, is clever in it's use of word-play and pretty much sums up the spirit of the design.

So, check it out if you have the time -

I attended Zine Dream on Aug. 25 in Toronto, a small craft fair with over 40 local artists and zinesters. I was tipped off by Ginette Lapalme because on Threadless she had blogged about setting up a booth to sell her awesome zine among other things.

Anyway, there was a lot of cool stuff on display as you'll see in the photos and most of it was dirt cheap. I bought a bunch of things, some of which I've posted, and then afterwards went out for a drink with Ginette and her boyfriend, Stefan. Really had fun hanging out with them!

I apologize for some of these being blurry, but it was very low-light and I never use a flash.



Ginette's table -


Zine loot. The buttons were a steal at $1 each, I just bought the whole set including the felt cloud. Her zine "Mimiko in Dream-Land is" is awesome. Check out her Flickr page if you want to see more of it! (sorry, I'm no good at doing links)




Ginette hiding and her boyfriend, Stefan -


Ginette out of hiding -


More cool stuff -


I regret not getting this dog poster -


Ginette's wall o' cats -