Art that money can’t buy! The problem with being an art-lover that isn’t a millionaire, is that you end up being eternally frustrated that you can’t afford the work of the artists you love. However, a new event might be able to change that.

The Art Barter event revolves around the idea that artwork will be acquired by individuals through alternative means to money. In the past, artists such as Picasso exchanged sketches for his meals, and now, in the present, you have the opportunity to exchange your special talent, skill or offering for the work of one of 50 established and emerging London based artists, including Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Tim Noble & Sue Webster. Perhaps you can offer to clean up Tracy Emin’s unmade bed (see what I did there?) in exchange for an artwork?

So if you fancy bartering for some art, head down to The Rag Factory (16—18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ) this weekend with your items to exchange.

Visit Art Barter London for more information.

Music, line & colour. I love this video for the single “General Motors, Detroit, America” by Record Makers’ latest signing, Acid Washed. The video created by Anthony Burrill features his signature style of beautiful simplicity, producing an almost hypnotic display of colour & simple lines. It’s a refreshing approach considering the overblown production values of most modern music videos.

Check it out at Vimeo.

Update: The debut 12” by Acid Washed is available in transparent vinyl with Artwork by Anthony Burrill via Records Makers.

Want to catch the debut show of a young, up-and-coming artist? Online gallery Hang Up Pictures, in collaboration with advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy London, is launching the debut solo show of Alex Daw, a multi-talented contemporary artist, at the agency’s new space ‘The Cole’ situated in The Old Truman Brewery in London’s Brick Lane area. The exhibition, sponsored by Havana Club, will run until Sunday 29th November.

The artist, Alex Daw, brings his warped view of the world of fashion, status and advertising via his ongoing series of compelling contemporary mementos of modern life. He utilises anything at his disposal – he cuts and paints on a number of surfaces. Culling fragments of pop culture, fashion and art history, Daws’ obsessive nature to critique and de-construct objects, results in cut up magazines, and paintings on canvas and glass pieces.

If the art doesn’t grab you then there’ll also be lot’s to drink and eat. Havana Club are sponsoring the show – there will be enough rum on-site to create 400 cocktails and caterer extraordinaire Matt Phelps aka Fun Thyme will be catering live on site.

To find out more about the exhibition, or to reserve a place at the private view, click here.

Is it weird that I want to go for a ride in a bin? Designers Jan Körbes and Mantas Lesauska have collaborated on a special project in South Africa to create mobile prototypes for hybrids between bikes and garbage bins.

It’s a clever idea for re-using, and re-purposing existing objects into something that could have any multitude of new purposes.

They say he plays the banjo & drinks whisky. The illustrator Stevie Gee has a solo show entitled ‘Vengence is Coming’ over at Jaguarshoes 32-34 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London E2 8DA. It’s up for six weeks, so if you’re in the neighborhood, you can pop in and see the custom bike paint jobs by Death Spray Custom, prints, tomahawks, screen prints, T’s, etc.

See more images from the show here.

Why do architects always have shit websites? Is it an in-joke or something? I don’t know much about this, as the websites involved are so frustrating to use that they make you want to climb into the internet and stab them. But nobody cares about the details anyway, do they? Surely, you just want to see the pretty pictures. In which case, just go here and check out the lovely architectural shenanigans.

For those of you that need the details; From what I gather, these dudes created some lovely architecture stuff for this place to show off their collection of fancy rocks. Not very detailed, I know, but it’s all I’ve got.

I’m a couple of years late on this but… once upon a time there was an exhibition of lasered skateboard art. The exhibition allowed a select group of global artists to explore the idea of lasering away at seven layers of ply, in order to make their mark on skateboard decks. Only 50 will be produced per artist. Those 50 are available through the Refill 7 Shop.

For old school value, my personal fave is Mark Drew’s design, although at 500 australian dollars a pop it seems a bit pricey for me (although, in all honesty I have no idea of the value of the australian dollar. That might be cheap. I’m just too lazy to find out.)

See more images on Flickr.

I’ll catch some sleep on the plane. The Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica offers a fully outfitted, meticulously detailed, two bedroom, Boeing 727 fuselage suite. The refurbished vintage 1965 Boeing 727 airframe, which in its prior life shuttled globetrotters on South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines (Colombia) is now the most unusual and exclusive hotel suite in Costa Rica.

Find out more at Hotel Costa Verde.

Wear your helmets, people! I don’t need a helmet, but I do like the “Brain Box” Helmet by Death Spray Custom. Quite partial to their Love/Hate Bars too. Wish I had something that needed spraying, as these guys do some cool work.

See more work at Death Spray Custom.

Serhan Gurkan has restored my faith in life, design & blogging! I haven’t been blogging much over the last few months. I’ve been feeling a bit disillusioned with the whole thing. Nothing much has turned me on, and the stuff I do like has usually gets posted by a zillion other bloggers in an endless circle-jerk of incestuous linking.

But something has fired me back up again, and it’s name is Serhan Gurkan. I don’t know anything about the designer or the products, and I don’t need to know, because the Fetish Gazelle & Fetish Madame Bovary products are so beautiful they make me dizzy. The fleeting glimpses offered by the website only add to capture my interest (other still photos available by behance are just as surreal and beautiful) and give me that feeling that I’m seeing something fresh in the world.

So thank you Serhan Gurkan! No doubt a million other bloggers will post much more informative posts on you than I, but this post, due to your products, has made me realise that there is still design out there that touches me & makes me want to tell the world about it; and that is what inspired me to start blogging in the first place.)