We Made This

Massive hair growth

Like just about every other designer in town, we've been loving the image bookmarking site Ffffound! which started up this year. We're not heavy users (you can see our meagre selection here), and there's a fair amount of crossover with our blog; but we do love the way it seems to represent the visual zeitgeist.

Our favourite image so far is the shot above, taken by Flickr user Dubstyle (also known as the illustrator and designer Luke Worley) as part of his Whiskerino set.

Whiskerino is an annual beard growing competition, curated by web designer Michael Eades. The rules are that you start cleanly shaven on November 1 2007, and then grow your beard, agreeing not to shave in any way for the duration of the competition, which runs until at least February 29 2008. Contestants then post an image of their growth to the site at least once a week, with various themed image days to spice things up. It's mainly happening stateside, with only six beards going on in the UK so far.

It might be a bit late for Blighty to catch up now, but how about next year gentlemen?

Thoughts on Paris?

Salut!

We Made This is off to Paris for a couple of days next week, and we're frankly rather excited about it. We've got a few great ideas for things to do from the rather fantastic Go Go Paris, but we were just wondering if anyone has any other top tips for things to check out while we're there?

If you do, just drop us a comment in the box below.

Merci beaucoup.

Make your own path

Those lovely folks over at Keep Calm have just launched a new set of prints by Douglas Wilson.

Make Your Own Path is a limited edition of 90 prints, featuring letterpressed woodblock text printed on top of paper cut from Wilson's collection of antique maps; and they're utterly delicious.

They're selling fast, so if you'd like one, you might want to get over there sharpish...

Poster winner

Thanks to everyone who entered our Free free posters competition. We'd love to give you all a set of the prints, but unfortunately (in the words of the Highlander) there can be only one.

So a big fat dollop of congratulations to Hamish Robertson from New York, who is that one, and who now gets to run around yelling "I won, I won, I won".

To the rest, a hearty hug of condolence.

Free free posters

As we mentioned previously, Transport for London were very generously giving away limited edition posters last week.

They were each printed with an edition number on the back, and if you've got number 20616 then you've won a set of signed copies of the artworks.

But just in case you don't have that particular number, and perhaps didn't get time to go and pick up the posters, we've got a full set of them to give away to one lucky reader of this blog. They're not signed, but they're still lovely.

Just drop us an email before midday (GMT) on Friday 7 December, and we'll pick a name at random.

Away in a manger

So, this year's Santa's Ghetto has moved a bit beyond the confines of Soho. And beyond the confines of London in fact. Truth be told, it's not even in Europe:

"This year we've moved out of Oxford Street into a former chicken shop on Manger Square in Bethlehem opposite the Church of the Nativity (where Santa Claus was actually born)."

The show kicks off tonight, and you can check out all the work on show on this slideshow, or check back on this blog page about the exhibition.

Banksy's Dove painting (above) is apparently still at customs in Tel Aviv, but they're hoping to set it free in time for the show.

They'll be opening an online shop shortly, in case you can't make the trip out there (though there are travel tips on the site), and they've also been doing a bit of local decorating on the West Bank Wall and surrounding area.

Alternativity

You wait ages for a good street art show to come along, and then they all pitch up at once.

Following hot on the heels of the Shepard Fairey show, and running at the same time as Santa's Ghetto, comes the Alternativity group show put together by Stella Dore.

It sounds like a stormer of a show, featuring Eine, D*Face, Sickboy, Kid Acne and Pure Evil amongst others, and runs at Studio 95 at Brick Lane from December 6th to 10th.

Read more about it in this Independent article.