Robert Sinskey Vineyards

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Erica Preo

When you’re a designer working directly with different clients, not only do you get to meet lots of wonderful people, you also get to step into their world for a while and see what it’s like. So I’d have to say that the world of wine and vineyard life in general is pretty darn sweet. And if you’re a dog that gets to live that vineyard life, it must be heaven on earth.

A few years ago (okay, like twelve or thirteen) I was lucky to get to work with just such a client, Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa Valley. And as it turns out, Rob Sinskey is also a professional photographer so we were able to use his work in the piece we were producing. After a quick scan through the shots, I was thrilled to see some that included his dog Capa and made sure to select those for the book. Capa was a handsome border collie who lived to a ripe old age of 16, and Rob says he ended up naming the vineyard after him. Now there are two dogs that have taken over Capa’s job (playing, frolicking, running up and down the rows of vines, basking in that golden Napa Valley sunshine, stuff like that), and their names are Paolo and Phoenix. Here are some of Rob’s photos of the lucky duo:

In addition to being a dog’s paradise, Robert Sinskey Vineyards is a terrific place for people also… and that’s lucky for us! Of course there are wonderful tastings and tours, but spending an afternoon relaxing on their terrace with a bottle of wine is also just bliss. Their tagline is “Fine wines from organic vines” but there’s so much more than that. I would say this vineyard and its staff really put their hearts into their work, and you can feel that passion when you walk through their doors. And you can usually smell something wonderful wafting from the kitchen…

Robert Sinskey Vineyards has a great website with lots of nifty information about their vineyard and wines (and of course gorgeous photography). In addition to offering single bottles or gift sets of their wines, they also sell stellar cookbooks by renowned chef Maria Helm Sinskey, and wool skeins and knitting kits using the wool from their own sheep! Okay, so there are some pretty happy sheep there, too. And chickens. And probably a cat or two.

You can find a separate post dedicated to Capa here.

Robert Sinskey Vineyards 6320 Silverado Trail Napa, California 94558 707.944.9090

All dog photos courtesy and copyright Robert Sinskey.

The Portraitsphere: Marz Jr.

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Erica Preo

Today’s journey into the Portraitsphere features an illustration I happened to see recently in a fall issue of Vogue Magazine (yes, I’m a little behind), printed at about 2″ in height. The feature was “The Editor’s Eye”, which is an inside look at just what a particular editor personally likes/owns.

This installment was all about Vogue’s Social Editor Chloe Malle, and the subject of this portrait is her beloved Goldendoodle Jerry by illustrator Marz Jr. And based on the other embellished items shown in the feature, it appears Marz Jr. nailed her style with the crown, table, tassels and fringed setting. One of her other favorite items, a pair of Charlie McCarthy salt and pepper shakers, initially did seem a bit out of place…until I realized that her grandfather was Edgar Bergen, and her father was Louis Malle, and so her mother is Candace Bergen. Like I said, I’m a little behind.

Here are a few more examples of Marz Jr.’s work:

Thanks to Marz Jr. for permission to use his work in this post. To see more of his work, visit his website here.

The Portraitsphere

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Erica Preo

Today begins yet another new category here on Dogs Make Everything Better: the Portraitsphere! It’s going to be a wide assortment of great dog portraits from near and far. There are so many great dog portraits out there, and not just professional ones but also simple ones scrawled onto napkins and notebooks and everywhere else…and I want to track them down.

First to be featured: this entry that I saw a few years ago at the state fair—and had won a ribbon!—drawn in charcoal by a ninth-grader named Zachary. I love the wonky ears, I love the kind eyes, and I love the smudginess and erased bits, the evidence of let’s-start-over. But what I especially love is that this is probably a very special dog in Zachary’s life and it’s absolutely captured here.

Three cheers for the Portraitsphere!

Sculptor Jonathan Bowling

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Erica Preo

Not long ago I was visiting a letterpress friend at his shop, which included a separate building where he keeps his cabinets full of metal type. This building also includes workspace for different artists, with all kinds of interesting things going on like glassblowing, painting, hammering, melting stuff, weaving things, you name it. For me, it was sort of a trip back to my dad’s workshop and my days at California College of the Arts (which used to be called California College of Arts and Crafts back then, and I wish it still was). While my major was design, there was a lot of crossover in course curriculum and campus layout so you were always exposed to all sorts of other work (and the fine artists always seemed to be having much more fun than design students).

While I was visiting this studio building, the work of sculptor Jonathan Bowling was on display. Now I’ll be honest: in the past I haven’t really loved this kind of welded-together-found-object art because I usually found it to be kind of spooky and creepy. And normally when I would see a sculpture, I would first see the “parts” and then have to figure out the “whole”. When I look at Jonathan’s work however, I first see the “whole” and then I have fun looking closer to see just what “parts” that he used to arrive there. As the Monkees say, “now I’m a believer.” Another thing is that his life-size or larger than life-size finished pieces seem to really capture the spirit and personality of the animal, like his Hound 2012 shown above. It seems playful to me, almost animated. Sigh, I want it.

In addition to the sculpture shown here, there were lots of other pieces on display like beautiful horses, bulls, and a big spider (shown hanging in the top photo). You can see more of Jonathan’s amazing work on his website. Well worth the visit.

Update: After viewing the post and checking out my blog, Jonathan kindly sent me this great shot of his sweet dog Maci in her birthday hat!

Artist Yoshitomo Nara

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Erica Preo

A while back I became a fan of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, and what initially caught my eye of course was this white dog. He appears in paintings, drawings, and installations. At some point, somewhere (Toronto? London? Chicago? San Francisco? I can’t remember!) I saw an installation of three of these white dogs in a circle, bigger than life, filling up a room. I was smitten.

But look at this guy! I hope I can visit Japan one day and see him in person at the Aomori Museum of Art. Just look how happy these people are! And who wouldn’t be? There’s something so great about the incredible sense of scale with any piece of that size, and it would be even better if that piece is a gigantic dog!

Yoshitomo Nara has also created a sweet children’s book for Chronicle with this giant white dog at the center of the story, The Lonesome Puppy. It’s about a dog that’s just so darn big, no one notices him except for one special little girl. Aw.

To be fair, Yoshitomo Nara isn’t entirely about white dogs. A lot of his work features these little mischievous kids, they’re trouble but they’re very alluring. And who knows what they’re up to! Smoking cigarettes, fighting, swearing a little and glaring a lot. I like these kids, but they’re somewhat intimidating and make me uneasy, like the kid that stares at you on a subway and has the power to make you squirm. Oh save me, giant white dog!

Great article on artist Yoshitomo Nara here.
For some info on the Aomori Museum of Art, their website is here and there’s a good writeup here.
Aomori installation photos from flickr, here and here.

Tell Monopoly to Keep the Dog

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Erica Preo

I have to admit, when I was a kid and someone said “Hey, let’s play Monopoly!” I wasn’t usually thrilled. It was an okay-ish game, but kind of boring and dated even then. There was something kind of “what the—?” about illustrations having a copyright date of 1936, and the guy overwhelmed by offers to buy a yacht or Rolls Royce, or take a world tour, after inheriting a measly hundred bucks. But we played it, especially if it was a drizzly gray afternoon with nothing else going on. And yes, this was before video games, movies on demand, cell phones and iPads. Your only other options were to either read a book or eat an apple.

There was a bright spot—and sometimes an argument—over who could be which piece. For me, of course I always wanted to be the dog. A close second would be the car or top hat, but the other pieces, and again “what the—?” A wheelbarrow? An iron? Who wanted to be reminded about doing work when you’re trying to play a game?

So now Hasbro (what happened to Parker Brothers?) has a campaign to eliminate one of the tokens and replace it with a new one. You can vote until February 5 via Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #tokenvote to keep your favorite piece in the box, otherwise it might be replaced by a robot, a cat, a diamond ring, a guitar, or a helicopter. To add to the confusion, next month Target stores will sell a “Golden Token” edition of Monopoly which will include ALL of the original tokens plus all of the new contenders. Once the votes are counted and the lineup is finalized, that new edition will be available late this summer. Just in time for apple season.

Animal Blueprint Company

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Erica Preo

In keeping with my last architecture-themed post I wanted to share this. A few years back I saw a mention for these great dog blueprints from the Animal Blueprint Company in a home decor magazine (Elle Decor? The now defunct Met Home? Who knows!). As they are described on their website: “a distressed finish gives this animal art print the feel of working blueprints used by architects, engineers and construction supervisors of the mid 20th century.” Cool.

I think they’re really great, and of course what caught my eye was that they featured one from the Mutt Series of 20 (hooray for mutts!). Each print includes a drawing of a dog with some call-outs highlighted, then a breakdown of history and attributes under “Construction Notes”, such as:
Breed: American Mutt
Origin: Local Shelter, Friend or Neighbor
History: Rescued by those who care! While a mutt does not come with a breeder’s certificate, they are known to demonstrate all the best traits of their various breeds, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The great American family dog. Mother may have been a bit of a lady, father a bit of a tramp. Perhaps part Shepherd, Collie, Retriever, Spaniel, Husky or none of these, no one knows for sure. The love of a rescued dog is without boundaries and touches all those in its reach, often transforming the rescuee into the rescuer…

The text goes on to describe attributes such as coat, color, height and weight…of course without really being able to provide any definitive information at all! And isn’t that also a reason why mutts are so awesome? I’m guessing these Animal Blueprint Company folks have a sense of humor, stamping each print with “Canine Architect: I.M. Paws” (I.M. Pei, haha). Okay.

They also have tons of purebred dog blueprints with factual information, here are a few of them. Oh, and there are cat breeds and a few horses available, too.

You can order their prints framed or just matted, and I just saw that if you order by TODAY (December 17) you can still give one for Christmas this year. Maybe this idea will be perfect for that tricky someone on your list, or even yourself.

Click here for the Animal Blueprint Company website.

PS: I should probably add here that products and books that I feature on my blog are just things that I like, not revenue-generators. And when it’s a designer (like me) being an entrepreneur (like me) AND I like what they’re creating, it’s definitely the trifecta!

Westside Story

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Erica Preo

UPDATE: Not good news, folks. I checked with Westside German Shepherd Rescue today and discovered that the group did indeed lose their funding and so now they’ve lost this beautiful facility. I’m leaving the post up because it’s still a beautifully designed space, but more importantly because WGSR is an amazing and dedicated group that deserves attention. And even more important than that, this development serves as a reminder just how delicate budgets are for rescue groups. If you’re thinking about donating money this year as holiday gifts, please consider a shelter or rescue organization. :-)

So it turns out there’s something else that makes everything better, and that something else is DESIGN! I’m not only saying this because I am a designer, but also because it’s true. And, in my opinion, one of the areas where design really moves mountains is when it’s applied to projects that are typically mundane and just a little too darn utilitarian. Case in point: the beautiful new design for Westside German Shepherd Rescue in Los Angeles, designed by RA-DA. Instead of a sad, depressing shelter, they’ve created a comfortable and beautiful environment with a Cape Cod flavor for some special guests while they get ready for their new homes. Of course dogs love comfort, but if you’re thinking that dogs don’t care about beautiful environments, think again: if it means a shelter is more inviting to potential new families, I think they’re all for it!

As RA-DA states about the project: “This project reconceptualizes the environment surrounding the adoption of pets. Replacing the concept of adoption is an idea of ‘re-homing’. With this term comes the implication that these animals are well-adjusted and just going from one home to another home. The design responds directly to this and although the site is in an industrial area, the architecture is more residential from the exterior siding to the interior design. Past the front lobby area is a gallery that is designed to resemble an outdoor boardwalk. The kennel rooms line the edges of this boardwalk as a series of separate ‘houses’. A training yard at the end and large doors connect the space to the back of the property, used every day for exercising the dogs and on Saturdays for adoption events.”

So big high-fives to RA-DA for designing such a beautiful stopover home for German Shepherds on the move, and also for just using their design power for good!

If you’d like more information on Westside German Shepherd Rescue, click here. There’s also a wonderful video about this rescue organization and its founder Robin here.
For more information on the West Hollywood-based architecture firm RA-DA or to see more of their stunning work (which includes some other animal facility projects–yay!), click here.

All photographs courtesy RA-DA. Photography by Ralf Strathmann.

The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Erica Preo

A few months ago I did a post about covers from The New Yorker magazine that feature dogs, spawned by a 1966 cover I bought to frame. Well, I’m psychic—or maybe psychotic—because a few weeks ago I stumbled upon this new release, The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs. The book features articles from past issues, cartoons, and also lots of covers interspersed here and there. Malcolm Gladwell even wrote the foreword, which is equally weird since I loosely tied him into my post as well (yes, I know he writes for the magazine, but I wouldn’t expect him to be the go-to author to write a foreword for a book about dogs). Eerie.

So of course I bought the book, and I’m really glad I did. It’s one of those books that you can pick up, read something short or long, have a laugh, or just flip through. It’s also one of those books that makes a really great gift, especially for the holidays since it’s already red (so just add ribbon, because even when you wrap a book everyone knows what it is). Some of the contributors include Roald Dahl, Maira Kalman, Arthur Miller, John Updike, and E.B. White.

Here is a detail from a 1938 cover, and below a more recent cover by artist Mark Ulriksen.

In addition to essays, there are other interesting spreads mixing things up like this one with a poem titled The Unruly Thoughts of the Dog Trainer’s Lover by Elizabeth Macklin. Opposite the finished poem are the author’s notes and scribbles.

There are also fun little details here and there, like these section openers:

And of course, cartoons are everywhere. Here are a few laughs to wrap things up:

Sally by the Sea

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Erica Preo

My favorite time to visit the beach is in the fall, when the weather is still pretty nice and the summertime crowds are gone. Water wings, folding chairs and suntan lotion are out; quiet fishermen, the odd jogger or dog walker is in! This is Sally’s favorite time also, she thinks it’s always best when the shore birds outnumber the sunbathers. Another benefit of a crisp fall day at the beach is the constant breeze, with Sally’s ears at full sail.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here and across the sea!

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