After the amazing weekend we just had (helllllo, Sun!), I don’t think I need any more encouragement to get on my bike. But these prints and t-shirts from Chris Thornley definitely up the ante. With titles like “I Don’t Want To Die In My Sleep.” and “It’s All Down Hill From Here.” they just sing to me to get a move on, fast! See more of Chris’ work on his flickr page or support him over at Threadless.

Happy New Year! It’s Meighan here with a new post, I recently found Ralph Stollenwerk’s well err, work on Wallfarmer’s blog where they did a Q&A with him. I really dug his sense of humor and style and I thought you would get a kick out of his work. Specifically, his silk screened images of bicycles on wood . They really caught my eye.  I asked Ralph to tell me a little bit about his the bike prints:

“Well, I love bicycles, riding them and printing pictures of them. I love printing bikes because of all the fine detail you can get from them, spokes, chainlinks, even down to the chipped paint and dirt on the frames. Also, they have really good curves to work with, the shadows you can get from the tubes is always nice, the curve of the handlebars. They’re a challenge to print, which I like too. It takes a long time to register the colors when screenprinting images of bikes because of all the tiny detail! I like to print on pieces of wood, i love how the woodgrain and the bike go together.”

I don’t think I could have described his work any better.

The two pieces above are from a trip Ralph took last winter to Berlin. The contrast in these are super. Plus, that graf in the blue one says I LOVE YOU!

This is Ralph’s favorite piece, a 12 wood panel, 2 color print of the Ben Franklin Bridge with his bike leaning on the railing, its 3ft high by 4ft wide. So rad.

These panels are of three color bikes. A red and gold, titled “Shaky’s Bike” and the one below with black and gold is titled “Fernando’s Bike”.

You can see more of Ralph’s work through his blog, Crucial Brutal which is NSFW fyi. Or check out his screen printing joint, Awesome Dudes Printing. Until next time you can check me out at ML4U.

Coming up next week, Simon Peplow will be showing new work here at the shop. Along with original work, limited edition prints specifically designed for Superb will be available and on show as well. The show is looking great. I’ve posted a little sneak peek for you all to see. Sprocket Rockets opens on December 4th at 6-8 p.m. They’ll be drinks and snacks! Hope to see you there!

I got all fancy with the photoshop machine tonight, cutting, cropping, slicing, dicing to show you a ton of things. However, it’s at this point that I’d like to take a moment and apologize to the people of the male persuasion that read this blog. As I preened my images for upload tonight I realized, oi vey this is some girly-esque stuff I’ve piled up here. So boys, I apologize if this is a wee departure from what you’re used to…but we know girls read this blog too. Plus, there’s stuff here I know you’ll all like. PLUS PLUS. PLUS. The holidays are coming! Don’t forget Festivus.

Let’s get started! (Starting above, from right going clockwise). Last Saturday Steve ESPO Powers’ solo show opened at White Walls in SF, I thought you guys would really appreciate ESPO’s awesome hand lettering. I know I do. I really dig the beaten leather and hand hammered grommets of Hambone’s Balzac bags (available in brown and white as well, so sweet.). Hillarietasche’s Yellow Ten Speed print would make a great, inexpensive gift. As I think we’re all broke, right? Lastly, one of my very favorite illustrators Gemma Correll made this tandem “Let’s Ride” tote that’s not only functional but hilarious.

Next! Ok, now is when it starts to get a little girly…kinda sorta (yeah, that tote wasn’t femme at all). Lee Meszaros makes these killer Merit Badges. This little red number is for “tooting your own horn”. Don’t deny it, that’s cute. I couldn’t help it, I double showed Hillarietasche’s prints. This time it’s red. Michael C. Hsiung is a hilarious illustrator who has a totally normal fascination with weird hybrid dudes (mermen, centaurs, and just plain drunkards). I just threw his print in for some merry good measure. Lastly, I found Death and Texas’ etsy store recently and am enamored with their unique handiwork. The old timey, mattress ticking of the handle bar bag is unique but classic and super sturdy. Oh and girls, it turns into a purse once you’re off your bike.

I’ll kick off my first post with some images from Simon Peplow who will be showing the first week in December here at Superb. We’re still ironing out details, but I wanted to give you a tease of some of the work that’ll be on view. Simon lives and works in England. He’s an avid cyclist, who loves to say things like “toodle pip” or “visual tinkerer”. Some clients he’s worked with include Carhaart, 2012 London Olympics (hell yes!) and various magazines around the globe. Stay tuned for more info on the show!