je me souviens.

i finally got my act together to deliver my first care package to the souvenir shop, a design-based project that aims to reinvent and revitalize the art and craft of the canadian souvenir. when i met with one of the founders, todd, he filled my brains with good ideas for souvenir buttons that would be in keeping with my personal aesthetic tastes and rules. and, although i am working on some new slow-going projects for them, i started with an old design that i am very fond of.

pictured above are the confusion corner buttons i made to celebrate my love for winnipeg. confusion corner is a real intersection just outside of orborne village, the navigation of which presents a striking iconography. sometimes i like to display these buttons when i travel to see who knows winnipeg. the conversation usually goes something like this:

"hey, are you from winnipeg?"

"no, but i am a fan."

"i know a guy who has this tattooed on his leg."

"yeah, i know ron, too."

for the souvenir shop, i have started packaging these in sets of three. the design was based on a photo provided for me by my friend, michal grajewski. the packaging, as always, was set and letterpressed by nicholas kennedy of the trip print press. and i would also like to thank stacey bode for unwittingly providing me with my profile picture for the site.

the site at large is an impressive time vacuum for me. every time i go there , i seem to find new and amazing projects to read up on. the souvenir shop really lends itself to conceptual projects that are also decortive/populist (ie. just my thing). today's divergences included krystal speck's ghost town tea towels, wendy walgates' 5461 slipcast bird project, and chet domanski's energy bracelet. oh, and for all of those who have commented on the scissor necklace i wear all the time, its maker, allison wells, also has some of her crazy new items up on the site.