Fotonovelas, which are most easily explained as dramatic pulp-fiction tales akin to comic strips but with photos instead of drawings, have enjoyed brief success in the States, but many people internationally — including Brazilians — grew up reading (or should I say looking) at this neat story format. Curitiba’s Fabiano Vianna, who goes by the nickname Fabz, started up O Crepusculo last year, a site featuring modern fotonovelas set to music that he directs, writes and designs with the help of talented friends. Along with those who know how to (wo)man a camera, makeup and other necessary duties, some of the actors are members of a band called Os Dissonantes, and they provide some of the soundtracks. The mini-stories are done really well, in a film noir style, but are refreshingly updated with influences of Tim Burton, Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino. Fabz also throws in Hitchcock, Woody Allen and porn fotonovelas from the ’60s and ’70s as major stylistic influences. “O Ultimo Cigarro” (”The Last Cigarette”) has just been put up on YouTube, but the original version on O Crepusculo is far better.

JoshSpear.com mainstay and friend OGIgraphics has an opening at Receiver Gallery (Valencia at 25th) in San Francisco opening on June 9th. It has been more than 2 years since Ogi had his first solo show and he’s very happy to be back. The works are entitled “My Life is Your Problem” and include a handful of new paintings, drawings and even some sculpture work. OGI actually gave me a mini-tour of Tokyo last time I was there– Pop by Receiver’s site to see a sneak peak of his new work. Welcome back Ogi! Full flyer after the jump…
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Last week, Bent Air launched their retail site, a t-shirt haven for scuba divers. Designed by Catalyst Studios, their threads are funky enough to be worn by anyone and although I’ve never been scuba diving, I could totally see myself wearing any of the designs (I’m especially partial to the Sea Thief). Currently there are six designs for both men and women, but the company is in the process of adding more, and the shirts are also available at Forest City Scuba in Rockford, Illinois. A portion of each online sale goes to Project AWARE, a not-for-profit organization that helps preserve underwater environments, in particular coral reefs for future generations to enjoy as we do now. Now you can shop guilt-free…not that you were, or anything.

–Stephanie Young

Molo, a vibrant line of children’s clothing by Danish designer Louise Frederickson, is (sort of) making me wish there were more kiddies scampering around in my circle of friends. Driven by the principle that kids should be able to express their creativity with their clothing, Molo offers a kaleidoscopic selection of easy-care items that are designed without taking the opinions of parents into consideration. Not that parents don’t love the line — the kid-friendly fabrics and pass-me-down durability do a great job of keeping moms and dads delighted — but Molo’s real focus lies only on what children themselves want to wear, which results in a line of clothing that is partly whimsical, partly realistic, and totally un-boring. My favorite thing about Molo is the free-for-all attitude that they seem to embrace when designing each new season; they know that kids might choose to wear all of their favorite clothes on the same day, and that those favorites aren’t at all likely to match, and they’re wholly supportive of that fact. You can find Molo at children’s specialty boutiques in Denmark, around Europe, and one or two stores in Canada, but your best bet is probably to Google the heck-o out out of them- it looks like few of their stockists have online stores and will ship to the U.S.

Thunderdog, an NYC creative agency and designer toy label, is holding a one night exhibition at London’s Exposure Gallery tomorrow night, Thursday, May 31st, from 7 till 11 p.m. The event will feature, toys, music, live painting, drinks, and plenty of art courtesy of their awesome collective (a juicy line-up that counts Tristan Eaton, Jeremyville, and DevilRobots as members). Thunderdog is blowing up right now, and this is absolutely where I would be tomorrow if I wasn’t in Colorado — send us pictures if you go, please!

Full flyers after the jump…

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This summer will see the launch of the Neptune Foundation’s Floating Pool, an erstwhile Lousiana river barge taking its cues from turn-of-the-century public bathing pools which once skirted the waters of New York City. The longtime dream of Ann Buttenweiser, the Floating Pool endured a five-month setback after Hurricane Katrina but finally made it to moor in Brooklyn last October, where a massive retrofitting has taken place to provide up to 174 swimmers at any given time a chance to swim and relax above waters they normally wouldn’t dream of entering…even in hazmat suits. No exact date has been set for the launch, but we’ll be sure to update you as soon as we hear anything.

GoodShape is the boutique design studio of Wayne Pate– set up just over a year ago in NoHo, NYC. The idea behind GoodShape is simple: the studio was founded to create simple ideas from everyday items and hope the end results turn out good. He’s in great shape as far as I can tell because his line of t-shirts, posters and coffee mugs are really fantastic. Pop by his online shop and check out the whole series of t-shirts, they’re simple, soft and unique.

The gradual transformation of Chicago’s West Loop has been a closely guarded secret. The Fulton Market area, predominately dedicated to meat-packing and warehouses in the past, has emerged over the past several years into one of the most interesting, dynamic neighborhoods in the city — so much so that even the New York Times has noticed. The Guerrilla Truck Show is an excellent example of the underground, organic flavor of the neighborhood. The show, celebrating its third anniversary on June 12th, grants independent artists and designers the chance to reach the public by side-stepping the gallery system. Artists and students can display and sell art (literally) out of the back of a truck, plus attendees can enjoy live performances and other special events. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the area…or a Chicago resident who’s just never gotten around to it.