Posts Tagged ‘leather’
Customized Trainers for Worthless Charity
Nike donated a sneaker, and Jon turned it into art for a charity art show benefiting the MS Society of the UK curated by Pollocks.
Inspired by the recession and compelled to create something positive, ‘Worthless’ is a live art installation that explores the value of material objects in the heart of Seven Dials. For one week only (May 22nd–29th) members of the public were invited to bring their own ‘worthless’ items into the store, and have them transformed into pieces of art.
The event pays homage to the institution that once was Woolworths, via ironic references throughout the installation space. A team of Pollocks creatives worked continually throughout the week on transforming items into works of art. The experience cumulates for the customer, when on collection of their item, they will be asked to pay how much they feel the new item is worth.
A pick’n’mix of ‘worthless to priceless’ creations will be exhibited in the store from June 1-5, with several items being auctioned at Octave Jazz Bar on behalf of the MS Society.
I wonder if the lucky bidder will keep it under plexi? I wore my DC x KAWS kicks, and I still don’t regret it.
Nike Magnificent Seven
These Nike “Magnificent 7″ sneakers (aka “trainers,” “tennis shoes,” and “kicks”) doodled upon by Jon were only available in Europe in 2008. Turns out he collaborated with Nike to create kicks centered around a Venus Fly Trap doodle. The set includes pairs of Nike Shox R4, Nike Shox NZ, Nike Air Max LTD 2, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Max 1 and Nike CBW. From the article Top Illustrators Decorate Nike Trainers:
There was two themes, ‘Recognise the Original’ and ‘Seduced by Innovation’. These were concepts already developed at Nike, and was the starting point for exploration of the themes. We then art-directed our chosen illustrators to get designs that we could use. Mainly Illustrator/Photoshop files, but some illustrators still sketch with a pencil, then scan [them in] for approval before working up the designs. They were given a trainer template too, but told to ignore it.
Adidas Adicolor
Jon hand-customized a pair of sneakers (that’s ‘trainers’ in the UK or ‘tennis shoes’ in certain parts of the US) and a cap for the Adidas Adicolor Exhibition in Taiwan in 2006.
Wallets and Coin Purse
Jon made a bunch of money-holders in 2006 including, (left to right):
- a chunky leather-style tri-fold wallet, with chain attachment and characters printed on the inside. Approximately 90×120x20mm when folded.
- a small credit card wallet with plastic pockets for credit cards and business cards. It featured an exterior character design and measured 75×105x10mm
- a flat, zipper-top coin purse printed with a sticker collage design. It measured approximately 115×85mm
Sneaker Pimps Customized Sneakers
Jon customized a pair of Royal Elastics for the Sneaker Pimps show in 2005. Here’s a Flickr set of the show. And here’s another pair of miscellaneous one-off custom kicks by Jon.
Custom Levi’s Labels
Jon was commissioned to paint on leather labels for the 150th anniversary of Levi’s 501 jeans.
Custom 