Sketchy

Need/Want

Christine & Justin are artists from NYC, who think quite differently. They have two websites that intrigue me. One is called "Needs for Sale," the other is "Wants for Sale." Basically, they create charming paintings of things that they want (a shopping spree in SoHo!) or things that are needed by specific charities such as Habitat for Humanity. The price of the painting correlates to the price of the item needed or wanted. You get an adorable painting, and they use the money for the purpose highlighted in the painting. It's a bit like paying it forward, I suppose.

They also update a flickr album with images of the paintings that were bought and the actual items the money was used on.

I love it. Here are some examples. For more work, visit their website. Click here.

Labels: design, illustration, wish I had thought of that

826 Valencia

Founded by Dave Eggers (McSweeney's editor), 826 Valencia is a nonprofit tutoring center with a twist. Eggers & team found the perfect location for their tutoring center, but were told that due to zoning, they were required to also have a storefront. In true fashion, the team involved decided that a Pirate Supply Store would be best. Let me clarify, this is not a store that sells pirate toys. This is a store that sells supplies to pirates. We're talking glass eyes, peg legs, hooks, and parrot food.

Recently, 826 Valencia enlisted the help of San Fransisco design firm, office, to develop the store's new identity along with about 50 new products. The results are fabulously fun and creative. All proceeds go directly to benefit 826 Valencia's writing programs, which have now extended to New York (Superhero supply store), Boston, Michigan, Seattle (Space Travel supply store), LA (Time Travel mart), and Chicago (Spy store).

This is the culmination of creativity, design and community service at its best. You can watch Dave Eggars' Ted talk about this initiative here. It's well worth the 24 minutes.