We're guilty. Guilty of relying on the quick and easy method of using social networking to update folks on what we're up to. You can see the cobwebs on this very site. I don't think we've updated our work section in over a year. But I can feel it in the air ... 2015 will be the return of the blog and long-form reading on the web. No? Well, we're going to attempt that when we can. Personally, I miss it. I miss putting together (and reading) content that you could spend more than 2 seconds staring at. We'll continue to Insta-tweet, but I don't want to rely on that ... To be honest though, we have been busy. Very thankful for that. But, now is a perfect time to wipe the dust off the site and let you guys know what we've been up to for the last 9 months - and we also want to share some new things we've got cooking.

1. Thanks to the VSCO Artist Iniative, our first documentary film about artists (specifically what drives us and connects us all) begins production in July! We will be hitting 6 cities and interviewing numerous artists from many different industries and walks of life. We're excited to tell this story ... more on that here. We'll be documenting and journaling the entire experience on our VSCO Grid.

2. Last fall, we had the opportunity of a lifetime come our way: To re-imagine the historic Cinerama Theatre in Downtown Seattle - our favorite movie destination since we landed here in 2001. We created 2 massive murals that completely altered the corner of 4th Avenue and Lenora Street. The mural art made its way into a re-brand of the theatre, inside and out. We are currently working on our short film, 'Re-Imagining Cinerama' that takes a closer look at Cinerama's grand re-opening last November - and the art that went into it. We'll also have prints of the mural (and more Cinerama art we created) for sale when we launch the film this summer. Photos above by Benjamin Benschnieder.

3. Stack And Scare! is coming to Shanghai in a massive way. The Shanghai Times Square Mall will feature a large Stack And Scare! exhibit next month. Giant sculptures, play areas, toys, posters, etc. Curated by APPortfolio. We are very excited for this - much more info coming soon.

4. Wine Meets Design. We are thrilled to be the inaugural designers partnered up with the talented winemaker Aaron Pott for Bare Bottle's first release. We were first approached for this project a few years back from our friends Katie and Nathan at Eight Hour Day. We've had a blast working with them, Marta & Josh Harding - and Corey Miller, the man who dreamed this extremely cool idea up. A quick bio from their site -

Bare Bottle curates the pairing of winemakers + designers and provides them with a blank canvas through which to create. Each unique collaboration opens a window into our makers' creative processes, their inspirations, and their worlds.

The dedication to craft, quality and presentation comes across so clear with Bare Bottle. If you love wine ... and design ... it's worth every penny. I was floored when I saw the finished shipped piece ...

5. Blast Off! After a 2-year hiatus, we are back with our good friends at Sasquatch! Music Festival. We had the pleasure of creating all of the Festival art, merchandise and even the Lineup Video this year. As per usual, the lineup is amazing (Kendrick!) and happens to be going on THIS weekend. We'll have an in-depth look into all of the assets we created (including another collaboration with Ebbets Field Flannels and Theo Chocolate) soon ...

6. The amazing opportunity to illustrate my first Children's Book came up last September. We had gotten book offers in the past, but nothing quite felt right and some of the projects just plain fizzled out. When our friends at Crossway approached me about a Bible Story by Kevin DeYoung, it was a big decision. In the end, It was a project I wanted to personally see done right ... and one that I wanted to see on the shelves myself. The Biggest Story was the most intense project I've worked on to date, and also the most fulfilling - in ways I could never have imagined. I cannot thank Josh Dennis and Crossway enough for allowing me to run with my vision and aesthetic for Kevin's beautifully-written book. The Biggest Story is hardbound, 10 chapters and 132 pages. Available in August and up for pre-order on Amazon now. Below are a few sample spreads from the first two chapters.

7. Our Odd Galaxy wooden toy line with Uncle Goose is finally in full production mode and will be released in the next few months. There will be 3 products to start: Cosmo Kid, Moon Rover and Lunar Rocket, each sold separately - but of course much more fun when you own all 3. We have some fun OG launch (get it?) projects that will be released around the same time, including a window display at our favorite space store ...

8. Two years ago, we bought a 10-acre ranch, turned a 50-year old barn into our studio and then made a toy out of it. OK, so that's the short version. We'll have a nice process post on this (way over-budget and panic-attack inducing) project on our new ... well, see #10. For now, you can check out some great photos of the shop by Joshua Harding over at Bare Bottle.

9. Last, but not least, we are finally working on a new website. One that we will update. One that will work nicely on your phone thing you carry with you. We promise.

We're excited to reveal our new cover for Minorville, the upcoming album from Nashville's finest: Derek Minor. With the help of Curtis Clark (or 'Dad', as we like to call him), we designed this from the ground up in approx. 2 weeks. With over 100 feet of basswood and baltic birch, Dad took our design and created an entire city in 50 hours. Each structure arrived safely in Seattle, ready to be constructed in the shape of Derek's profile. When we were initially presented with the challenge of creating this album cover, this was the first concept we pitched - Many thanks to Derek and Reach Records for sending us off and running. Stay tuned for a full comprehensive "Making Of" film coming in the next few weeks, but for now - enjoy the teaser (Processed using VSCO film emulation):

We were commissioned by our good friends at Toth Construction to produce and direct a short film documenting their rich heritage, high level of craftsmanship and the importance of building relationships. We shot this over a period of 2 weeks and used VSCO film emulation for the final edit. Music: "When I Am Old And Gray" by the Candlepark Stars.

Our friends Klaus & Erik over at Toth Construction commissioned us to design a set of wooden architectural nesting blocks for their top tier clients this holiday season. Each hand-signed and numbered set includes a sliding laser-etched Russian birch wood lid and 19 individual sugar maple blocks. Special thanks to Jonathan Cowles over at Patronus Design for meticulously handling the production of each set. We also collaborated with Rachel Brandzel to create hand-made letterpressed cards to accompany each box. Oh, and do yourself a favor by perusing one of Toth's latest works of art, designed by Jim Olson.

This past summer, our good friends at Vulcan Real Estate commissioned us to create one of the biggest jobs we've worked on to date - literally: A 100' x 30' mural that faces one of their new Amazon.com buildings in the ever-growing 'city-within-a-city', South Lake Union. Home to Amazon HQ, fine dining, upscale living & shopping, South Lake Union is full of life, culture and color. Our job was to reflect that with a vibrant and whimsical take on what 'building a city' could look like.

This project presented a fun challenge: Taking digital art, scaling it way up and painting it traditionally without compromising quality and its original style/intent. Finding the perfect partner to bridge the gap was important to us. To do that, we teamed up with artist (and mural pro) Don Rockwell and Foley Sign Company, which has served the Pacific Northwest sign industry for over 85 years. A huge thanks to Don, Mark Metcalf and the team at Foley for bringing our creation to life.

The process between IC and Foley was so fascinating to us, we had to document it. 'Keys To The City: The Making Of A Mural' is embedded above for your viewing pleasure. Special thanks to Alex Goose and Jake Troth for supplying the instrumental version of their amazing song 'Alexandra'.

But c'mon ... this is just the internet. See it in person on Thomas street between Boren and Terry. More specifically, here.

And of course, none of this would have happened without Josh Lackey and Vulcan. Thank you. We can't wait for the next one.

This past week, my wife and I had the pleasure of celebrating our 10 year anniversary in the land of the rising sun. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, did lots of shopping, lots of walking, took lots of trains, drank a lot of coffee, learned the correct way to say "thank you," and got tattooed. This was also Leroy's first trip back to his birthplace.

Always fun to see. Two ESP&G tattoos in the wild. Courtesy of KC Lange and Brandon Green.

So it's kind of a long story, but when my buddy Vijay, who owns and operates Artist Series Guitar, mentioned that his good friend, Ryan Hurst, would be doing a photo shoot for his custom Demon Hunter and Throwdown guitars, I had to make sure I was there. For years now, people have said I look like Opie, a character that Hurst plays in the always-enthralling Sons Of Anarchy TV show. All of us in Demon Hunter have become huge fans of the show over the years, so this was a really cool opportunity. Oh, and my wife made the dope leather vest Hurst is wearing in the shoot. Checking off that bucket list, one day at a time.

Here's a fun photo of our grandfather, Don Clark (great name, right?) at around 10-12 years old (which should put this at around 1938-1940) with a few home-made wooden toys he had created. Dad got his supreme woodworking chops from this man. Love that Model A-esque rig in the background!

... Was going through some old files tonight and found this great photo of JF I saved a few years back.

New commission for the shop shelf: Seriously bitchin' war-torn battle-scarred vintage Leroy C. by the talented Dril One. Epic.

Thought this was just too bitchin' NOT to post. Tommy Perez (who just sent us a paper Leroy C. to construct) created a miniature paper version of his cubicle. And I couldn't help but notice the IC posters. Awesome.

Leroy C. took a little trip to Arizona and came back with some new work, courtesy of the talented Asher Emerson.

If you're local, you've undoubtedly heard the buzz about Seattle's next great neighborhood: South Lake Union. With hot new restaurants + retail spots, Amazon's brand new HQ, a beautiful waterfront and loads of new modern living spaces - the 'SLU' neighborhood is definitely the new destination within the city. IC was challenged with the task of developing a simplified and whimsical take on the neighborhood by the fine folks at Vulcan in conjunction with their annual Block Party blowout. If you are familiar with the area, you may have a little fun locating a few hot spots.

Block Party posters are available at the event on August 12 and we'll have a few in our shop on August 13th.

You can grab (and unfold) the full SLU neighborhood poster (below) by picking up the latest issue of Seattle Met magazine, on newsstands now.

A few details:

Huge high-fives to Josh Lackey and Larry Asher for making this such a fun project to work on. See it a tad bigger here.

Awesome. Done by Louie Figueroa at Rube’s Tattoo.

Thanks to Josh for the heads up.

Our buddy Josh surprised us with a nice little gift last Saturday in San Diego. Killer engraving by Garrett Patz.

Hayley Rader sent us this amazing charcoal drawing of Ryan. I thought it was great and had to share. Don't tell my brother.

So, instead of trying to explain what happened today ... my good friends at Eight Hour Day have already tackled it. Let's just say we met and shook hands (and had a quick little chit-chat about rainbow sprinkled doughnuts) with the leader of the free world today, all by chance. Because the 3 of us were so in shock and giddy like the Double Rainbow guy, we didn't manage to capture any of us shaking hands with the dude. If anyone out there has photos or video, please contact us! What a surreal day, and a great start to the EHD tour.

Photos by Nathan Strandberg.

Well, thanks to you guys - our Lil' Happy Invisible Creature S.A.S.E. Club was a success. We are still counting envelopes, but it looks like we received 200+ submissions. We can honestly say that you guys made our trip to the post office something to actually look forward to (and subsequently brought smiles and fun comments from USPS employees - which usually isn't the norm), so our mission has officially been accomplished. Now it's time for us to return the favor. Since we received so many envelopes (and the shop has been busy), we're running a tad later than we had planned. But like we said when we launched this, have patience. It will arrive.

Since this was so fun, we'll be making this an annual tradition each summer. Thanks again, everyone.