Matthew Cruickshank cited the Boston-based character design firm Studio Espinosa as one of the inspirations for his Neo-Mickey animation. Espinosa is run by a husband-wife team who are just beginning to see their wealth of ideas realized. They have a line of greeting cards; an animated series in the works; an awesome-looking children's book coming from Scholastic next year; there's mention of children's furniture; custom toys; and it's all happening while they raise and entertain their two kids to boot.
I'm sure we'll see other Espinosa projects here soon, but these two jumped out at me: Leo Espinosa custom-painted a couple of one-off bags that totally rock. He did a messenger bag for an exhibition at R.E. Load Baggage, the total custom messenger bag manufacturer in Philadelphia, which I think he kept for himself. It's an elaborate work of art that happens to carry stuff, including, if required, baby gear.
More practical but equally awesome is this camo Diaper Dude, which he covered with simple, monochrome line drawings. I think this was a gift for a friend's new baby, and the Studio blog sounds like they're too busy these days to take on any outside projects at all, never mind labor-intensive, hand-modded diaper bags. Still, the effect is great, and it's a great proof of concept for any aspiring diaper bag artists out there. Meanwhile, check out the rest of the Studio Espinosa portfolio.
Studio Espinosa [studioespinosa.com]
Previously: custom-sewn messenger/diaper bags
