Le Shouvre

This pair of espadrilles were commissioned to match some rather fetching swimming trunks; needless to say they’ll stand out nicely on the beach in the Floridian sunshine, where they’re being sent.

More pics here

For the most recent pair, I was asked to adapt another famous Banksy image to a pair of shoes. Not wanting to cover the entire canvas in off-white cracked bricks, I decided a patchy approach would effectively get the point across, while leaving plenty of blank space for the canvas to breathe.

The initials “A.D.” were painted on the backs of the shoes, as requested by the customer.

More pics here

UPDATE – I only just found this out, but this pair were featured on banksy.org back in December. Should really keep an eye out for these things…

So for those that don’t know, Le Shouvre’s designer and blog updater extrodinaire – moi – also started a band this August, called Royal Native. My friend Jules and I have been doing our best to overcome the obvious and significant obstacle of basically always being in different countries by building up a bit of an online presence.

Anyway, today marks the release of our debut EP, L’Orangerie. We have recorded a fair amount of music in the fifteen days that we’ve actually seen each other since mid-August, and this particular bundle comes mostly from the time we spent in an old orangery in Normandy. Five songs that span a range of genres and emotions, and will hopefully offer an accurate slice of the sort of music we make, and of what’s to come in the future.

What’s more, we’ve put the EP up for free download – so there’s really no excuse not to give it a listen. All you need to do is send an email to:

orangerie@royalnative.com

… and you’ll receive an immediate automated response with a link to download the EP. And no, we won’t bother you with other crap.

If you hate it… well, at least you didn’t pay for it. And if you love it, then why not take a trip over to our (recently revamped) myspace, website, soundcloud or twitter page… some inquisitive exploring will reveal a host of other songs, and plenty of surrounding information, should you desire it. Go on!

(Shameless plug over.)

This is last minute, I know, but I’ve been asked to present Le Shouvre as an example business at a Market Research workshop being run by iCUE and LAUNCH.ed of Edinburgh University.

The workshop is tonight, Tuesday November 10th, from 19:00 to 21:00 in Appleton Tower LT1. There will be 3 other businesses presenting, all varying in product / service, and the idea will be to brainstorm methods of market assessment and try to identify target markets, and the most effective ways to reach them.

So if you’re in Edinburgh, and you’ve got an interest in marketing or entrepreneurship – especially at an entry level – it could be really interesting, so I’d recommend coming down. The event is free, and I’m told there will be pizza and beer too!

No one likes a static website. They’re boring and you stop looking at them because they never change.

Alas, Le Shouvre is becoming more and more like said website, much to my dismay. The simple fact is that everyone is just so busy at the moment, including myself. I tried blaming the economy, and I tried blaming the government. But I alone must take responsibility for my own schedule.

Do not despair: there is a definite chunk of my life being dedicated to the Avenue du Shouvre, as well as its future expansions. But there is also a sizable portion going to other things, such as (gasp!) my university degree, which is nearing its final chapter, and a dubiously large pile of admin forms – applications, plans, registrations, etc etc etc…. and there are only so many hours in a day.

I am even starting to make semi-regular trips down to that looming expanse known as London… these are unquiet times.

All this means, for now, is that the face of Le Shouvre has become semi-static; it shall change, but realistically, it will not advance significantly before the new year, due to other commitments.

So please stay tuned, as the ball is still rolling – it’s just eased to a gentle spin at the top of the approaching slope.

(Artwork above by Stanley Donwood)

How. Cool. Is. This.

…well, apart from the Age of Empires music in the video. Found through Abduzeedo.

Political preferences and positions aside, does anyone else think the British Prime Minister could pull off a mullet?

These sketches my friend Lyle and I did for a laugh are like a “before and after” series from a drug trafficking documentary. “The one they call El Marrón was last seen at the Mexican border two years ago. Police can only speculate his whereabouts now – but suspicions suggest Cuba….”

So this is just a quick post about an illustrator I came across while perusing the blogosphere, as you do.

She’s from the west coast of Canada, and basically her watercolours are awesome. It’s a very defined style, and I like the way she’ll stick to a certain colour scheme, and rarely seems to mix hot and cold colours.

Click here to visit her website