JOYENGINE: cause sharing is cool

So, my good friend and partner in bike related crime, Sean from Vecchio’s had a sick nasty, old skool Bianchi time trial funny bike frame laying around the shop last week. I sort of have a thing for Bianchis and was ready to do whatever it took to ride that thing. After some serious negotiation it came down to a framed print of Josh Holland’s piece “Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder” for the fully built bike. I would say it was a win win for everybody involved and damn does that print look good framed… now you just have to finish up my bike Sean!

So, yesterday we mentioned that shit was gettin’ really arty again over at the Bonatakis x Holland household (our home away from our homes), well here’s some further proof. We’ve all been discussing toy design a great deal lately and been brainstorming various ways to better share conceptual toy design with one another and the general toy-loving public. Mr. Holland translated all that discussion into his first two conceptual custom Munny designs in the form of one of his favorite characters, Pubear. Josh has been drawing Pubear since college, and has even narrated and illustrated a brief comic around the character.

We’ve seen lots of toys, lots of customs, particularly Munnies, being the designer toy-geeks that we are. But… these two Munnies are FUCKING SPECTACULAR. Josh’s illustration style is hands down one of our favorites. Knowing Josh and how he thinks makes these two characters that much more powerful and visually engaging. I personally have a shitload of toys, arguably too many. These two, while not fully realized yet due to their conceptual nature, sit atop the heap. Nice work bro. Inspiring and all that shit… I guess I’ll get a closer look when I pop by to catch up on the Alexander fight?

josholland.com

It’s been a while since we dropped any of our close friend, Josh Holland’s work on the site. Josh has been super busy. He’s changed jobs, he’s now working with his gal, Shannon Bonatakis, they’re both illustrating full time (as they should be) and they’re fired up. Both Josh & Shannon are gettin’ rollin’ on new bodies of work, redesigning their websites, and yes, everything we’ve seen is awesome. Josh has recently revisited some of his “ADAPTATION” screen prints on wood and has been experimenting with our boy, Mike Dunn, the wood wizard, on some new framing techniques. The pic above is of a one-off frame Dunn designed for himself. There’s also a super lo-profile recessed variation thats lookin’ hot. It’s amazing how changing the frame style of large, intricate works can really change their feel.

josholland.com | shannonbonatakis.com

Josh’s show opened April 13th and as we thought he pulled together some extremely fly goodies for his opening night. If you have been following the blog, you might have caught word of the tricks and treats he was planning on putting together. He did a limited run of tees, poster sized prints of the custom framed and screened large wood panel prints. Whoa! We hadn’t had much of a chance to round up some photos of any of these works and such, until now. The past week has been dedicated to getting a lot of this put together and rounded up and uploaded to the website and on the blog for “presentation.” Josh went far and beyond the average persons expectations when doing a show. We all like to think the bar raises every show, and Josh did just that.

To pay homeage to the man himself take a look at some samples of his work or swing in the shop to get an extra close look at it first hand. Just remember that this is a great example of what you can do if you dedicate yourself to an idea. It takes a lot of work but has it pays off in the end… So take a look and spend your dollars!! Word.

josholland.com | *ALL OF THIS GEAR CAN BE FOUND IN OUR ONLINE STORE…

Ever seen screenprints like this - on high frikin’-end hardwoods? We’re gonna guess not… Josh Holland is a bad, bad man. Enjoy!

NOTE: Better photos are coming soon… It’s Saturday and our attention to detail is a bit tapped. Josh’s work will be available via our online store early next week. There’ll be some limited edition edition custom Holland t-shirts (run of 30) and a top-secret additional screenprint as well. If you need a Holland and just can’t wait until they hit the online store - HOLLA! (303) 449.1967

josholland.com

The South wall is hung. We’re ready for Mr. Holland. It was burly… it always is, but we think we nailed it this time. Josh’s work should start rollin’ around noon. Doors open at 4:30. Prepare to crap your pants. Scot and I think we just did… whoops! But, it comes down to this: What the hell was Alex about to get into with 2 chicks and a big-ass pizza at 2:00am? Would you like some sausage with that?

RANDOM SIDENOTES:
1.) Word on the street is that Ray Young Chu is bringing Kimchi for everyone!
2.) Some sources might say Small-BUT-Dangerous is more of a “man” than ever.
3.) Eva may be in the house, yeah, that’s right Eva. F-R-E-S-H!
4.) As much as we all want Shitty to handle his mural up in Summit, Co. We hope it snows so he can’t make it up there and ends up showin’ at Holland’s show
5.) Scot and I should probably go to sleep now… it’s 5:29am

josholland.com

So after much anticipation, our sign arrived yesterday. Now we have a glowing beacon and you can all find your way. Big props to Husky Signs for handlin’ the whole deal. Come by tomorrow for Holland’s show and check it out. It fucking glows!

huskysigns.com

We’re gettin’ close… The highly anticipated Josh Holland show (Josh’s first solo show ever!), appropriately coined “Adaptation” is right around the corner - Friday, April 13th - doors open at 4:30. Josh is almost done bustin’ his skinny hump. Get ready for some of the most ill screenprints you’ve ever laid eyes on. Can you say mahogany? We can. I was up at the Holland/Bonatakis pad this afternoon peepin’ Josh’s work and I could go on and on about how frikin’ wicked both Holland and his work are, but you’ll just have to find out for yourself on Friday.

Here’s a preview of whats to come… the Holland/Bonatakis pad in pre-show mode. On a side note, this pad is probably one of the most significant centers of creative energy in the fucking universe. Wordup.

josholland.com

Some might love to disagree with me on this but, I think this is one of the most awaited shows coming up in Colorado. Thats right, big stuff in a big way. Josh Holland has one of the cleanest and interesting illustration styles I have ever seen. His flyers alone are worth framing. He’ll have new screen prints and tees for sale at the show as well. His first solo exhibit, “Adaptation”, will be held at JoyEngine this coming Friday 04.13.07. That shit is like six days away still, so there is no reason for excuses, be there help support local art.

Two of our close friends/posse members/heros/golden boys/all that shit… Josh Holland and Markham “Shitty Kitten” Maes traded masterpieces with one another yesterday. As we all wept and watched two of our favorite pieces leave the building, it was oddly beautiful - although Alex didn’t seem to notice. They’ll be missed - that’s for f’n sure.

Who’s the real sucker? You tell us… send your replies to lucian@joyengine.com

Josh “arm bar” Holland ‘ll be droppin’ his first formal JOSH HOLLAND private label t-shirt design at his JoyEngine x Josh Holland “ADAPTATION” show on April 13, 2007. Here’s a glimpse (actual photos coming soon!)… These nasty lil’ suckers are gonna be super limited and only avaliable at Josh’s show. Doors open at 4:30, so we recommend gettin’ here early if you wanna rep some Holland steez. We know we do. Damn straight.

josholland.com

The ANTHEM BRANDING crew is like family. Our arty homeboy, Josh Holland, calls Anthem home during the work day (yeah, the same Josh that’s having his first ever solo show at JoyEngine in April - SICK!). Anthem was founded by our close personal friend, Ted Church just prior to 2007. Ted handles shit to say the least and the Anthem team kicks out DOPE product day after day (we produce a good deal of our gear and associated collateral with the Anthem crew). With recent additions of Pistol Pete and Dr. Joel, Anthem is on the up’n'up and makin’ moves.

We just got done tag-teaming Anthem’s new site with Josh and Ted. We borrowed a little JoyEngine steez and mashed it up with Ted’s euro-clean sensibility and some of Holland’s Nintendo inspired artwork (see the “design” page). Peep the site and be on the look out for fresh product and new ideas from these guys. There always up to something.
anthembranding.com