___Modisch Short___

This is a short for a friends magazine... the full clip will be up shorty

Modisch can be found at: modischmagazine.blogspot.com

___The Mast Brothers Chocolate___

Now here is something increasingly rare to find. No not a pair of brothers with big beards… but to men willing to put there love of work before the profitability of there company. The brothers are based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in an incredible little shop that sets the standard for how things should be done. Beneath the bravado of the two brothers there is an amazing lust for quality and legitimacy.

The Mast Brothers

The brothers go out of their way to keep their work in house with customised bean grinders and tiny roasting machines. Their work is well renowned throughout America, by selling large amounts to equally prestigious pastry chefs and restaurants in tern this self perpetuates what they are trying to achieve.

Asides from the delicious chocolate they produce the thing that interested me the most was how they packaged there chocolate. They hand print and hand wrap all of their chocolate with hand printed heavy butcher like paper.

I have not tried any of there chocolates but I am working on it, if you have please contact me via the tabs at the top of this page.

The Mast Brothers Chocolate can be found at: www.mastbrotherschocolate.com

___Surf Land With Joni Sternbach___

Joni Sternbach is probably the only one I have come across in the past five of six years, that I can call in my eyes a genuine photographer. Joni sets the benchmark for portraits. Although her photographs are only monograph the emotion captured within them is phenomenal. Joni welcomes with open arms the difficulties brought with using old large format cameras along with the wet-plate process in inhospitable environments not meant for such equipment.

Surfland: 19.08.25 No. 9 Tony

Statement / 8" x 10' Unique TinType. Ditch Plains

Not only is Joni incredibly talented, she is also well accomplished. Her work is part of many public collections including the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, CA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Joni also won Critical Mass along with Peter Van Agtmael and has had her book “SurfLand” published.

How long have you been in the business of photography?

I have been taking/making pictures seriously since about 1975. I’ve worked in the field ever since; first at Sotheby’s photographing and printing the catalogue art work and later as a professional B&W printer at Portogallo in NYC, printing for the likes of Mary Ellen Mark and Dennis Stock etc.

How did you go about selling your first photograph?

The first photograph I ever made money from was in school--and I won a prize with the Village Voice. The first photograph I ever sold I think was to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, France.The curator then had a small budget for up and commers, like myself and I was lucky to have some early work in their collection.

What initially interested you into photography?

I began studying fine arts at the School of Visual Arts and photography was a required course. It didn’t take long to fall in love with the medium.

What would you say is more important Good Knowledge/Good Equipment?

I’d say it’s the marriage of the two. One does not work so well without the other.

Which photographer do you look up to and why?

There are so many, I could not choose just one--recently, however, I have been looking carefully at the work of 19th century photographers like Timothy O’Sullivan and Edward Curtis. Different, but similar. I admire both of them and their devotion to vision and purpose.

What genre of photography are you most interested in?

I am most attracted to landscape photography. It’s rather interesting to me now as it was not something I was very concerned with as a young photographer.

Surfland: 10.02.15 No. 11 Kassia

Statement / 8" x 10' Unique TinType. Occeanside

What method of photography do you use film/digital and why?

I work with large format film and wet collodion. I can’t say I find digital capture a good replacement for what film has to offer.

Do you like that everyone has a digital camera?

To be honest, I don’t give a shit. The digital camera is now similar to what the Brownie was years ago--everyone has access to photography and can take a picture. Of course that does flood the world with redundant imagery, but it also opens up possibilities.

What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?

My work is really process based and relies more on intuition than intense planning. I suppose I would like to see my work out there and having an impact on people and the world of photography.

Do you find it hard to turn down a day planned with your family at the last moment because of a job put towards you?

I have found many conflicts with family and work. I don’t work commercially, so justifying my disappearance during a family holiday has caused some problems over the years.

As a photographer do you class yourself at work 5days a week 9am to 5 pm or 24/7?

Photography does not only call Monday-Friday from 9-5. But wouldn’t that be a perfect world. Tide, wind weather--those are the things that call me and they happen over holidays as well. So I would say that I am definitely more 24/7. I work at the studio when I am not out shooting.

What Camera did you shoot “Surf Land” with?

8x10 Deardorff modified to take wet plates

What Kind of development do you use?

ferrous sulphate, an iron developer.

Where was SurfLand shot?

Montauk, NY, all over California and Rhode Island.

Surfland: 10.02.17 No. 5 Chris & Dan

Statement / 8" x 10' Unique TinType. Refugio

The photographs in Surf Land are not only beautiful pictures but amazing portraits, do you know the people within the pictures?

I know a few people that I photographed but mostly the series is based on random meetings with strangers.

I have also gotten to know people from photographing them and as a result, made several pictures of them over the years.

Is Surfing important to you?

I am not a surfer, but surfing is important to me.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been working on a series of portraits of native American girls at the Shinnecock reservation in Southampton, NY and I have also been photographing in western Utah.

More of Joni Sternbach's amazing work can be found at: www.jonisternbach.com

___The Cloud Commission___

The Cloud Commission Made me believe in the term “beautiful graphite”. The work he produces is sharp and although it has a cartoon quality it still has feeling and pulls you in. The overwhelming fact I commend him for is the verity of work he does, namely he beautiful woodcut badges and neckties.

What’s your name?

The Cloud Commission

Where are you from?

Norfolk, UK. The seaside capital of the world (not the seaside capital of the world)

How old are you?

Old enough to know better. Young enough to excuse my mistakes

What’s your background in design?

Other than my mixed bag of ‘Art and Design’ course at college (from papier-mache to making lamps out of toilet brushes)... not much! I pretty much studied in a field removed from the illustration/design specialisms and worked more in art theory and concepts. The drawing came as a personal therapy after, having not picked up pen and pencil in a serious way for a few years. I challenged myself t

o design 50 characters... just for the crack and its kinda stuck.

Thankfully its working out ok, and after a while, a few opportunities came my way to learn new processes, exhibit in interesting ways, link up with designer makers and thats how its all opportated since. My de

sign education came from working directly in the field, learning on the job so to speak.

It pays to get out of the studio and speaking to people. Nepotism rules the roost and most of my opportunities have come from going out and getting to know the right people.

Promotion For “We Reign Supreme”

Is there a reason behind your name? Where did it come from?

The Cloud Commission was something that cropped up a few years back. I decided to just draw cloud formations for a while. It was something that most illustrators do in a uniquely different way. For me... I hadn’t sussed a way that worked for me or complimented my style... so I just smashed it for a while. As part of the process, I started to read up about the clouds and their individual names/behaviour etc. Word on the strasse is that by the early 20th Century, each country had a world of different ways of categorising cloud formation and it was deemed that a global conference was needed to standardise the catorgorisation of clouds. The said conference was called ‘The Cloud Commission’.

Where do you get your inspiration behind your work?

As a young illustrator, I soaked up as much of the scene as possible and my work skitted around different styles whilst I tried to suss out my own. Once I started to create work I could begin to believe it, I found it healthier to keep my head down, out of illustration books and away from other peoples practices. Its all too easy to beat yourself up comparing or wanting to pinch bits and bobs from here or there. Ultimately, my own work and those working locally are all I really keep a firm eye on. The rest, I enjoy and admire... but I make a point not to look to hard at it.

Most of the things that keep me going from day to day are organisations doing good things, being playful, being open to others, making events happen that are a little different to the friday saturday nights on the town. The likes of Inkygoodness, Best Joined Up, The Project Club, Betahaus - Berlin... I could go on

Could you explain your style of work?

Simple. Big round head... dots for eyes. It aint that exciting, or individual... but it gives me a reason to pick up a pen and paper every morning and as long as it keeps moving forward, I’m happy. For the most part, I work in pen and ink... moreoften that not, on a large scale no smaller than 6ft. Recently, I have been forcing myself to play around more with illustrator/photoshop as well as working sketchbook scale and in pencil a little more. This has lead to a few different opportunities as opposed to the usual stree

t art schtick or murals.

“Collar and Cuffs” by The Cloud Commission

How would you define your overall style?

A bit like the above really... its just drawing, simple as that. I’m not a big fan of the ‘urban’ style... although I have come from that, and toy around on the fringes, I’m always trying to move away from that as much as possible. I’m much more attracted to the illustration scene proper as opposed street art... I’ll still put work up in the streets, dont get me wrong... but I never set out to do street art, and then that whole concept came along and stunk up what was until then, an already health scene of putting illustration up in the streets without a label. Now, all the kids have had ago and there’s alot of stink out there and people making alot of money without necessarily anything other than a very good agent

In the time I have been following your work you have gone from prints to wood cut cufflinks and brooches, what’s next?

I’ve just knocked out a few silk scarves for ‘Designed and Made’s ‘Love Me Live With Me’ project (www.lovemelivewithme.com) that went to London Design Week. Since then, another little stab at some new laser cut jewellery bits, poster design, private commissions etc. 2012 will see a bigger push with a more diverse range of products and jewellery bits... but these will move out from under ‘The Cloud Commission’ moniker to something yet to be revealed. Trying to take things a little more seriously. Until then, we’ll keep messing about doing what we do best.

The Cloud Commission can be found at: http://www.thecloudcommission.com