New York artist, Sun. K. Kwak produces such creative "sculptural drawing" installations from simple, black masking tape. Using intuitive freehand techniques she creates some really cool artwork. Check out the video for more insight on her work and process.

www.sunkkwak.com

I am in love with this company's style. Shwood specializes in handcrafted eyewear products that are so unique in design and material. The photographs and videos on their site are simply amazing. Browse through and you'll find so much innovation in their work, from making sunglasses out of broken skateboard decks to crafting a surfboard from reclaimed wood. The entire site is definitely worth a look. Enjoy!

www.shwoodshop.com

Augustine Kofie creates some really incredible things with pen, paper, wood, and other mixed media.

keepdrafting.com











Submitted by: Kim Lam
tqs / art

CapitalEyewear.com



Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / design

Complete instructions for this episode of Weekend Projects can be found at http://makeprojects.com/Project/Optical-Tremolo-Box/2276/1



Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / music / design

Check out this video. I am digging it for so many reasons. 1. I’m a sucker for anything handmade. 2. I love seeing how things are made. 3. Wood is one of my absolute favorite design materials. 4. I love lamp ;)



Submitted by: Kim Lam
tqs / design

We've been producing a lot of new posters in house lately and it's been a really cool experience. As many of you know, as part of the company we love custom producing as much as we can, so of course it was also an exciting part of the process to actually make the screen printing table ourselves. Check out these images of the table I helped Fabian design and build, and get an inside look of where your TQS posters are each made!















Submitted by: Kim Lam
tqs / design / art

Something I love about working with a brand like TQS is how hands on we are, which gives us the chance to bring in our personal interests and experiences. So when Fabian asked me to help create a custom TQS clothing rack I was stoked to be able to incorporate my background in architecture and design into the company.

Check out the clothing rack we put together to display our t-shirts and other artwork. I designed the rack using a simple 3D program called SketchUp, and Fabian and I built and painted it together in total TQS style! Something to make it a little unique to TQS is that the rack separates for multiuse and different types of displays, since we have an assortment of products. It's designed to serve as one piece with the rack and shelves interlocking together, or can come apart so the rack and shelves can stand alone when we want to display items separately. It was a really fun project and we plan on doing a lot more designing and building like this in the future. Can't wait!















Submitted by: Kim Lam
tqs / design / apparel

A couple of weekends ago the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium hosted the Atomic Holiday Bazaar, an annual indie craft show. We are always excited to check out and show our love for all the great things other fellow artists are into, so it was a lot fun to see such amazing talents come together. Here’s a glimpse of some of the really cool stuff we saw at the show. Much love to all the artists and participants!


Jewelry made from recycled liquor bottles, by Urban Artifaks


Hand blown glass balls, by Somewhere Glassworks


Duct tape wallets, by Craftysarah


Bottle top art, by The Art of Drinking


Acrylic painted t-shirts, by Andre De Journette

Submitted by: Kim Lam
tqs / art

I'm excited to introduce a new T-shirt design in our online store today. The print was designed by a good friend of mine, Anthony Hook, who hand-crafted the original collage with some good old-fashioned paper, scissors and glue. We documented the entire process on camera and uploaded the video to the official TQS YouTube page for everyone to watch. I think you'll enjoy the unique behind-the-scenes footage and hopefully learn a little bit more about how custom T-shirts are made. The whole project was a blast and I can't wait to post more T-shirt designs in the near future.

Photos taken with Minolta SRT201 35mm Camera
Model: Jason Burrows

If shirts could talk...
Artist: Hall and Oates
Song: Private Eyes
Album: Private Eyes (1981)

----------------------------------
The screen printing was done by CLOTHESLINE. A gallery, t-shirt boutique/screen printer located downtown Sarasota, Florida in the Historic Burns Square neighborhood. Please visit them and support them at:

clothesline.bigcartel.com
533 South pineapple ave.
Sarasota Fl, 34236
941-724-6667


Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / music / apparel

I found this beat up single speed bike at a garage sale.  I can't wait to fix it up.  Alex is running point on this project. This bike is gonna turn out sweet, I just know it.  Ill probably raffle away the final product at our next event. Keep in touch, and I'll let you know when that is. Peace.

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / design

I'm trying to clean/rebuild this family heirloom.  Its an antique, AND it's a musical instrument so I'm super happy to have it.  We think it dates back to the year 1916.  The fretboard is cracked and has separated  from the neck and all the metal hardware is rusty.  I'm gonna break it down, clean it, and then rebuild it back up again.  I want to get it up and running as soon as possible so I can record music with it and become a pop country music star.

I want to restore each little piece (as shown above) and then put the whole thing back together again.  This banjo/mandolin has been in the family for many years, so it is really important for me to get it right and make it look good.  It has a lot of sentimental value.

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / music / design

After the mold was complete, I got some much needed help from my dad.  We mixed and poured the concrete into the mold and it went suprisingly well. Concrete can be a tricky material to work with because it's heavy and it dries super fast, but we nailed it on our first try.

I gave the concrete some much needed time to cure before finally pulling off the wooden mold to reveal two solid concrete pieces (a top impression and a bottom impression).  This is their home (pictured below).

Now i'll use a car jack to apply some pressure and smash some boards.  Wish me luck.  THX

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / design

I overheard my good friends Jason and Hook talking about some rad storage shelves that they saw at Amoeba Records.  That conversation inspired me to try and make my own shelf. This particular unit is a custom design hand-built out of wood, painted white, and topped off with a little bit of high-gloss clear coat.  It's a house warming gift for Jason and I can't wait to see what it looks like hanging up in his crib!  I'll be making more soon, and as soon as they are done I'll throw them up in the store for purchase.  Peace!

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / design

I've been wanting to make my own custom skateboards for a while now, so I'm glad that I finally got started on my own hand-built skateboard press.  It was tough at first, cause I'm not used to working with intense curves and contours but I learned a lot from being hands and I'm glad I did it myself.

I got the details for how to build the mold from  www.diyskate.com.  They break down the whole process and provide excellent blue print drawings.  Check em out :)



The basic end objective, for the mold, is to build a box that has only one side missing.  This will be the side that you pour the concrete from.



Put an uncut blank in the middle so that you separate the inside of the box into two different compartments.  (The threaded rods will be utilized later when the actual press is built.)



The next step is to pour concrete in from the top.  Pictures for this will be included in the next blog entry.

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / art

These particular Puma shoes are my favorite shoes to wear cause they are so extremely comfortable and I love the look.  For me Puma shoes will always be synonymous with soccer and I love that!  I decided to throw some paint and a TQS logo (laser cut wood), on this particular pair to jazz them up a bit.  It's always tough to wear them after I've spent time painting them, but I really do hope to rock this pair in the near future.

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / apparel / design / art

This guy is the real deal Holyfield!  I'm a big fan of these glasses.  I love his attention to detail and I love that these frames are hand made.  Gotta get me some.  #suckerforhandmade



Artist: Scott @ Urban Spectacles
TQS Favorite Frames: REHNER, PHORD, CHECHEN

http://www.urbanspectacles.com

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
tqs / art / design / apparel

"These Quiet Sounds" is a phrase that came to me late one night while I was listening to a song called, "Gravity" (Coldplay version).  For some reason, that particular night, I really started to appreciate all of the subtle pads and tones that were tucked away in the background of the composition (At 5:33 the main instruments peel away and reveal all of this great musical goodness).  A lot of times it's the main vocal melodies or guitar riffs that I seem to focus on, but that night I was really digging all of the subtle sounds that were tucked away in the background.  I couldn't stop thinking about how pivotal they really were to the success of the overall composition.  From there, I sort of extrapolated this concept of "These Quiet Sounds" as a brand, that could maybe represent all of the people behind the scenes that make this world go round, but don't get noticed often.  I'm sort of just trying to pay homage to those "quiet" people out there who have been struggling for a long time and still don't COMPLAIN!  An homage to the people behind the scenes who keep busting their asses.  A voice for the unheard.  A platform for those who we, at TQS, think deserve to be heard.

c

Submitted by: Fabian Manzano
music / art / apparel / photography / design