Things #2: Dandy giants, ceramic pups and bad jokes. Welcome to Things!

The sun is shining! Bus drivers are smiling! We’ve got a bunch of cool stuff to show you! Among this week’s offerings is a teaser for the illustrated children’s book about a sartorially-inclined giant, a dictionary of British slang for Americans, a peek at a conceptual artist’s sketchbook, a book of beautifully-drawn yet horrendous jokes and some kitchen bling from Rob Ryan. Y’all ready for this?

Have you made something special that you’re super proud of that you’d like to see in Things? If so, please send items addressed to “Things” at the address here. Unfortunately, due to the volume of work that gets sent through we’re unable to return any items sent in.

Edouard Baribeaud: Martin the Dandy Giant teaser

The incredibly talented Edouard Baribeaud popped in the other week to show us this beauty – a dummy for his very exciting new book, Martin the Dandy Giant. Drawn in his painstaking and incredibly impressive fine-liner style, the book is all about a giant called Martin who loves wear beautiful clothes, and promises to be a fantastic publication. Just take a look at that cover illustration and dream of the things to come. Corrrrr.
www.edbaribeaud.com

Rob Ryan: Tiles

It takes quite the creative mind to make paper-cutting not only incredibly beautiful but also really cool, but the very lovely Rob Ryan has made it his life’s work. The latest in his long, long-running collection of designs is this beautiful pair of tiles designed to make hearts all over the shop melt into big sparkly puddles on the floor. Sentimental in the best way.
www.robryanstudio.com

Andy Smith: 4 Fonts Walked Into a Bar

We love a cheesy joke over in the It’s Nice That bunker, and we’re also unabashed fans of hand-lettering, so it only makes sense that Andy Smith’s 4 Fonts Walked Into a Bar was met with cheery praise from us. There’s something to be said about having to work a while for the punchline, too – in case you were wondering, this one is “and the barman said ‘we don’t serve your type in here!’” Ba dum tsss.
www.asmithillustration.com

Erik Steinbrecher: Art Lover

Far be it from us to try to imagine what inspires the vast conceptual artworks created by people like Erik Steinbrecher, a German conceptual artist who has been making work ever since he can remember. Fortunately we don’t have to imagine because he’s gotten together with publisher Nieves to make this charming little book, Art Lover, documenting a selection of the sketches, drawings and doodles he makes to outline works of art. Who’d pass up an opportunity to peer inside his brain? Not me.
www.eriksteinbrecher.com

Justine Braisted: British Slang According to an Ignorant American

One in only a series of unsolved mysteries of the universe, listening to people of other nationalities try to get their heads around the weird idiosyncrasies of the English language will never cease to be funny. To help our American friends come to terms with these phrases, Justine Braisted has made British Slang According to an Ignorant American, which deciphers everything from what “bloody hell!” actually means to the classic pants/trousers mix up which everybody has smirked at at least once. She translates “I can’t be arsed” as “When you have absolutely no desire or willpower to complete a fairly simple task,” and explains that “a dark alleyway and expired milk can both be considered ‘dodgy.’” It is, though isn’t it? It’s funny. It just is.
www.justinebraisted.com