Friday, April 30, 2010

Magic with a photocopier



Whenever I think of a "Gig poster" the first thing that pops into my head is an 8.5" x 11" sheet of white paper (Goldenrod if you were rich) with crudely drawn artwork and hastily scissor and glue design. Spelling corrections? Why bother? If you had an hour to spare, you could whip up something pretty awesome. As a young whipper snapper I had the walls of my room plastered with these masterpieces. and don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing these, I really loved them and still do. It was a time before blogs and Myspace music sites (which seem just as out of date), so this was a bands main source of getting you to come out to their poorly organized shows..

I recently came across a pile of old fliers from shows ranging from the late eighties through the nineties. The thought of these turning to dust before anyone else who was either involved or just interested in crude graphic design could see them was too much to bear. I posted a bunch of these up on my Facebook page and people where crawling out of the woodwork to pipe in about either being at the show, being the band that was playing or being the person responsible for designing the flier. So, here is a small taste of the pure genius pouring out of Winnipeg, Manitoba from '89- 95-ish.








This last one was kind of an homage to the old gig poster done by Eddie Ayoub. It was for a Michael Jackson themed exhibit we did in 2003.

Monday, April 26, 2010

En Masse presents The Dice Show

Finally! The En Masse crew will be bringing their amazing work to the HQ Gallery this May with the "Dice Show". For those of you unfamiliar with the EM Crew's work, here's the general idea. A group of guys and girls meet up and begin working on large scale, black and white, collaborative pieces all using the same medium. This gives each completed work the signature EM look.

The Dice show will be a unique experience for the viewer and the participants as the show will literally evolve and shift throughout the month. The main piece consist of forty-five 2' x 2' panels mounted on the wall. There will be 3 sessions throughout May (the 6th. 13th & 20th). At the end of each session, dice will be rolled and the results dictate the placement of the panels, mixing up the the work and morphing the overall piece into something new each week.

The final results of the piece can be seen on May 28th here at HQ at the Dice Show finishing party.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Vintage Mart



Phew! The first Vintage Mart is ready to go! We just finished setting up and everything looks pretty awesome.
So, we hope to see you all out tomorrow and Saturday. I know, I know, it;s supposed to rain for the next week but unless you're made of sugar or are the Wicked Witch of the West, then a little moisture wont hurt you.
Oh, and remember, it's cash only (no tax) for the vintage stuff, so be sure to hit a bank machine before you head over.

There is also stuff for dudes, so don't be shy to drag your boyfriends along!





Vintage sale hours:
Friday, April 16 6pm-9pm
Saturday April 17 11am- 6pm

See you soon!

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Vintage Mart

Coming to HQ very soon, the Smart Design Mart team bring you, "Vintage Mart" A two day sale of vintage dresses, jewelry, shoes, accessories, jeans, and tees and polo's (for the dudes).

All items in the vintage sale are cash only and tax-free!

Everyone is welcome, so bring your friends!

Vintage sale hours:
Friday, April 16 6pm-9pm
Saturday April 17 11am- 6pm














See you there!

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Burned Toast

"It Eats" by Meka $90.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Yanick Blanchets "Burned Toast" group exhibit. The turnout was fantastic and spirits were high with amazing art, great music (by DJ Garry Vickers) and the peanut butter toast flowing freely (which made HQ smell amazing, BTW).

"Urban Toaster" by Osmoze $50.

Silkscreen print by Tetsouille

"Untitled" by Fred D $200.

"Grille-Pain" by Avive $150.

"2 Little Freaks" by Yanick Blanchet $200.

"Demon Toast" by Tyson Bodnarchuk $150

"Repo Exuro Ferrum AKA Crawling Burnt Iron" by Dale Hayward $150.

"Bioman Moustache" by Theimu $70.

"Chip Au Ketch" by Benjamin Deshaies $180.

"Face De Pet" by Benjamin Deshaies $30.


"Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars" by Tyson Bodnarchuk $25. each

"Spaghettoast" by Tetsouille

For those of you that could not make the opening, the show will be up for the entire month, so feel free to drop by and check it out!

"Whats For Breakfast?" by Mike Giles

"Adventure Love" by Andreas Schuster $75.

"Cote Cour/ Cote Jardin" by Melanie Baillairge $85.