SOYU is paying homage and inspiring a new generation, by highlighting their favourite quotes for us all. To counteract the mass communication we are fed every day in our globalised society, SOYU has called upon their favourite artists to bring you their favourite pieces of wisdom. TADO, J3 Concepts, Robin Boyden, Andreas Preis and SHORT rip up boundaries and fuse together Eastern and Western culture in their own special way.

These tee shirts will retail at £29.99 + P&P, but worth every penny because the SOYU mission is to create things people want to care for and look after. These will be future classics and sort after in years to come so make sure you pick one up.

You can follow SOYU on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr

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We’ve just received word that there’s a new art site coming to town. It’s called Blutulip.com and it claims to offer gallery owners, artists and publishers the ability to discreetly trade with each other.

In the art gallery world, art stock can go unsold for many months for various reasons and this offers independent art galleries a different way to sell their existing stock to create cash flow and get new art pieces in. As a gallery visitor I guess it’s a good way to keep seeing fresh art.

It’s not just gallery owners that benefit though! Artists themselves have a unique avenue to showcase their work to galleries and offer trade prices in a way they haven’t been able to before.

It also hopes to open up the website to the general consumer in a later phase, meaning art lovers can have a more direct relationship with the art they buy. There’s plenty of exciting and positive things that are planned, like art ‘swapping’ in an ebay style way, so as a general art lover it could potentially be a hub for all your favourite art that you want to buy and sell!

As with anything, this service does come at a price, Blutulip costs £25 a month and is PAYG – so you don’t get stuck with any big bills, and you pay a commission of 30% on all items sold.

The site isn’t launched yet, but do yourself a big favour and pre register your over at www.blutulip.com it could be the start of the next big thing in the art world!

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It seems, wherever you go these days, if you pop into a cool designer shop, you’ll see the fabulous Momiji Dolls. They’re absolutely everywhere. In just about every major city in the world, sitting happily ready to be bought and given a new home. They come in so many different sizes, colours, it’s impossible not to have a favourite. We wanted to find out more about how it all started, so we asked Momiji co-founder and mother Claire Rowlands. Here’s what she had to say…

How was the momiji brand born?

The Momiji story began back in 2005 when we created our first collection of 12 message dolls; these days it’s difficult to remember life before Momiji, it has become our world!

We have a little office in Henley in Arden in Warwickshire and from here we work with great designers from all over the world to produce our collections.

Our inspiration comes from lots of different places; in the beginning we were heavily influenced by our trips to Tokyo and Seoul. These days we have developed much more of a global aesthetic.

The brand has evolved now, so as well as dolls we also have a range of wonderful stuff for the home, personal accessories and stationery too.

What’s been the best moment in momiji history?

That’s a tricky one. I always love the moment when we get a doll back from the sculptors and you see a new character in 3D for the first time.

This year we where very honoured when Gwen Stefani invited us over to LA to be part of a party she hosted to raise funds for families and children affected by the Tsunami in Japan. A Momiji painting and customisation workshop formed part of the event so it was really special for us.

I think the most emotional moment for me was when we ran a textile competition and asked people to make a fabric version of a Momiji doll. It seemed like such a big challenge and for weeks I felt sick with worry that nobody would enter! Then the entries started to arrive and each day the postman would arrive with armfuls of packages from around the world. Each one contained a handmade doll, everyone had put so much love and energy into them. I was completely overwhelmed to see how much people have embraced the brand. That was a top moment for me.

How many momiji dolls have ever been made to date?

We’re at almost 160 designs now and there are plenty more great releases arriving in the new year. We have an archive of all the designs we’ve done on our website, you can see them all here

What is the newest momiji arrival?

We recently launched a special limited edition trio in association with Sanrio to celebrate their 50th anniversary. We only made 500 pieces worldwide so they’re pretty rare.

What have you got in the pipeline for the future?

So much stuff from dolls to accessories and cool stuff for your home. Our new dolls are top secret right now but if you follow us on facebook and twitter you’ll be the first to know!

You’ll find us on Facebook as ‘Momiji HQ’ and you can follow our tweets on @MomijiHQ.

Competition

If you would like to win an incredible £75 to spend on Momiji Dolls and everything else Momiji, all you have to do is leave is a comment below stating:

Who you would like to send a momiji doll to and why?

Tip: That person, could be your closest friend or family member or someone famous who you think is a legend! Have fun, be creative!

Entries close Monday 12th Dec 11.59pm (GMT) and we will pick one winner at random, so there is enough time to spend your hard earned £75 on christmas presents if you so wish!

Good luck!

Extra Extra – more stuff to win!

Don’t forget to checkout the Facebook Momiji Page and enter another Momiji competition to win a Kindle + 6 Momiji Dolls!

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A remarkable video about how a teenage girl finally finds her voice through digital communication. It’s reaffirmed my hope in people and society, as the parents have remained strong throughout these years and not written her off. The results are amazing, and gives us a real understanding of how life really is through other people’s eyes. Definitely will take the time to understand similar situations in a different way when I come across them in the future!

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Here is the first trailer for The Avengers the long awaiting flick combining Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk and Captain America in the one mega superhero movie!

The movie, which comes out on 27th April 2012 in the UK, has a star-studded cast that you should be all familiar with and is one of the most anticipated movies of next summer.

Directed by Joss Whedon, it stars among other Robert Downey Jr (as Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Incredible Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury).

The action-packed trailer also features We’re In This Together by Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails.

The official plot description for the movie is as follows:

“Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount PicturesMarvel’s The Avengers – the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow.

“When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

“Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel’s The Avengers is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series The Avengers, first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.

“Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when Marvel’s The Avengers assemble in summer 2012. In Marvel’s The Avengers, superheroes team up to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.”

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Our brothers and sisters over at Thunder Chunky are helping to celebrate 20 years of Laurence King Publishing by giving away 20… YES 20 books to their lucky winners!

All you have to do is leave a comment on Thunder Chunky stating which book you would like to win.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW!

You can choose ANY book from Laurence King Publishing.

Here’s some books you could win.

So what are you waiting for? Get over there and get commenting!

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For a while now we’ve been thinking of expanding the Always Thinkin’ team. We are all really busy doing what we do, making art, writing, playing music, designing websites and generally living full on lives! We want to cover more and we just need more hands on deck. So with a planned relaunch in the not so distant future (watch this space), we’ve decided to cast the net out and we want YOU.

What we’re looking for

We’re seeking artisans in the fields of Urban Art, Music, Fashion, Urban Sports who are super passionate about what they’re into. Together we hope to create a common creative collective where we can share, learn and grow.

What’s in it for me?

Currently we can’t offer to fill up your wallet or purse, but as a writer we do hope to give you access to other exclusive access to offerings that come our way. (i.e. Promotional merch, festival passes, event invites etc). We can’t go in to too much here, but we like to reward good writers when can.

If you’re interested, send us a quick email and tell us why you think your opinion counts. Previous writing experience is not essential, but any links you have to your outstanding writing swagger would be superb.

This is not a test. The future is coming, be a part of it.

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It’s summer, not that we’d really noticed. A time for BBQ’s, lazy days and generally having a laugh with your mates.

To celebrate this summer season, our good friends at WKD have given us a party pack full of totally useful things that will help ensure you and your mates enjoy the perfect hang out.

Well, when we say useful it’s really just a case of Limited Edition WKD Purple , four WKD cowboy hats and four WKD sun visors to share amongst your lucky mates

Sorry we can’t also help with the weather.

Just answer this simple question to be in with a chance of winning this amazing prize.

What colour is WKD Purple?

Just leave your answer in the comments below…

This competition is now CLOSED

Feel free to tweet or Like our facebook page to help spread the word and bring the party!

Terms

Entrants must be over 18 to enter this competition and must provide proof of age if chosen.

Have fun and GOOD LUCK!

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Lisa Hassell with Illustrator Stephen Chan

Inkygoodness are a busy bunch. Since 2008, they have been showcasing UK’s finest upcoming character designers and illustrators, by organising events in Birmingham, Bristol to Berlin. We caught up with founder Lisa Hassell, last month just before their super feature show at Pictoplasma.

Hello, can you let the readers know a little more about what Inkygoodness is?

Inkygoodness is an art collective, founded by our passion for illustration and character design, developed during our degree courses and lots of trips to exhibitions and creative events over the last few years. The initiative started off as a small exhibition showing just our own work back in 2008, and quickly evolved into group shows with our friends and other like-minded creatives. We want to showcase new and emerging talent in this discipline alongside more established artists working in the field, offering a unique oppotunity for networking and collaboration, and allowing up and coming artists a platform to promote themselves from.

Can you explain the Character Totem project please and how it came about?

We were keen to do something a little bit different for the next Inkygoodness project. Pitching to Pictoplasma was our sole aim, but we knew we had to think outside the box to secure a spot on the Character Walk, one of the most prestigious gallery opportunities out there.

We had been talking about doing an installation for a while, but we weren’t sure what form it would take, other than customising objects, or cut-outs. We also wanted to create a show that would be fun to do, and of course incorporating character design, which is central to the Pictoplasma event. Pulling these elements together gave us the concept of the Character Totem.

Who will we be seeing at the show?

We are very fortunate to have met and befriended a wealth of talented artists and illustrators, many of whom have been involved with Inkygoodness at past events. Our background in illustration has really shaped the creative output of Inkygoodness and our understanding of the type of artists we want to work with. This year we are happy to be reunited with McBess, Felt Mistress and Good Wives & Warriors, Jason Devine, Toyfactory in addition to selection of up and coming artists such as Hannah Baber, Neil Keating and Liam Barrett.

Do you have any favourites?!

Oooh that’s a hard one as they are all so great! Liam Barrett’s piece is absolutely stunning, he’s a remarkable talent given his age. We love the plush Totem by Felt Mistress too. We can’t wait to unpack the Totems in Berlin and put the show together, its almost too hard to pick any in particular.

Our Colour Me Totem project has also attracted a wonderful selection of entries. We weren’t sure if it was really going to take off, but we’ve been very impressed with the standard of work so far and our favourites will be at the show!

Did you ever think that your projects would go international? It must be very exciting exhibiting in Berlin!

Absolutely, and incredibly exciting to be in this position. Hosting an international event has always been on our agenda – although, after just two years, it has come along a lot sooner than we could have hoped for! We’re thrilled to be exhibiting in Berlin, particularly as part of Pictoplasma – an event we’ve attended for the last 4 years. It’s an honor and a privilege to be rubbing shoulders with the best in the industry.

Berlin is such an eclectic and arty city especially from a creative perspective, we can’t wait to attend Pictoplasma and cant believe this year we are exhibiting!!

What is the next big plan after the Totem project?

That’s an interesting question! We’re open to new opportunities and collaborations that may present themselves after Pictoplasma – anything is possible. The last few years have been a lot of fun, we feel we have achieved a lot in a very short space of time, and our goal is to continue to work hard, build our reputation and eventually concentrate on Inkygoodness full time. We’re keen to diversify and try other avenues to showcase new talent, be it publishing, apparel or more events. We’re excited to see where the future takes us.

How can arty types found out more and get involved in your projects?

Our blog is a good place to start, we love blogging about projects we’re working on! We also feature artists from time to time, so its always worth sending in examples of work. Plus, we’re always happy receive submissions from interested artists & illustrators – we keep every e-mail submission on file and always make that our first point of call when we start a new project.

What next?

Travelling the world, organising bigger projects, it would be great to do something simillar to Pictoplasma in the UK even! We’re very keen to move into publishing later this year too – an Inkygoodness book would be amazing.

Check out all the events over on the Inkygoodness site and stay up to date with daily goings on their twitter and Facebook pages.

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Be the envy of your mates this summer with the stylish new HTC Desire S. Boasting a sleek aluminium ‘unibody’ and a 3.7 inch touch screen – the HTC Desire S is the phone to be seen with.

To celebrate Three bringing the power of all-you-can-eat data to Pay As You Go from just £15, Always Thinkin is offering one lucky reader the chance to get their hands this cool handset. Pre-loaded with a PAYG SIM offering all-you-can-eat data, you’ll be free to stream, download, tweet and surf the web without ever worrying about the cost – there literally are no limits.

For more details, visit http://www.three.co.uk/Pay_As_You_Go/

So you’re saying to yourself What do I have to do to win?

There are 3 easy ways to enter:
1. Simply leave comment on our facebook page.
2. Simply retweet the following –

“Win a #htcdesires in 3 easy ways – http://bit.ly/kwXBCO”

3. Simply Leave a comment on this page.

(You can enter in all 3 ways to triple your chances)

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Competition ends on Thursday 12th May and we will choose a winner at random and announce a winner within 7 days.

That’s it! Easy right? Good luck!

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