The Hippest Christmas Nutcracker You'll Find This Year.

Last year, West Elm carried some cool modern versions of traditional nutcrackers that I posted on my list of hip christmas decor over at ThisNext, but not this year. But alas, no need to cry because this year CB2 has one of the hippest takes on a traditional nutcracker.



The Inked nutcracker is carved from white pine and painted red, white and black. He is tatted with "Naughty" on his right arm with an intricate montage of skull and candy cross bones. And the word "Nice" scripts his left arm in a cozy scene of fireplace logs and mistletoe.




The man in the big red suit has a permanent place in this nutcracker's heart in the form of "Santa Baby" etched on his chest. "Ho Ho Ho" banner decks out his handle. Cool.





dimensions: 4.75"Wx4.25"Dx16.25"H
details:
• White pine
• Silk screen print and painted details
• Wipe with clean dry cloth
• Made in China

$29.99 buy it here

Scott Campbell Breaks Out Of His Shell. Graphite Illustrated Ostrich Egg Interiors.

It's no secret I've been a fan of Scott Campbell's work for awhile now, having written about him numerous times. The Brooklyn-based tattoo artist has quickly became a celeb favorite and force in the art world. He's inked Marc Jacobs (both Marc and Scott have his "Bros before Hos" tatts), created leather bags for Louis Vuitton (and drew faux tatts on the runway models with a Sharpie marker), cut up currency, burnt tortillas and is now drawing inside broken Ostrich eggs with graphite.


above: It's a skull. It's a woman. It's both. And beautifully rendered on the interior of an Ostrich Egg shell by Scott Campbell.

His untitled eggs feature tattoo-like imagery delicately rendered on the interior of the shells. The eggs illustrate the juxtaposition between birth (the eggs) and death (the morbid skeletal imagery inside them).

















The image used to promote his first west coast show, Noblesse Oblige, at the OH WOW gallery in 2011:

Scott Campbell:

images courtesy of Scott Campbell, OH WOW Gallery and Marc Jancou Contemporary

Tattoos and Tentacles. Julian Murray Captures Inked People with Things That Squirt Ink.

Tattoos and Tentacles is a new coffee table book featuring a collection of photographs of inked people, wearing very little except their body art, and draped in cephalopods that squirt ink (that's a fancy way of saying octopus and squid).

The slimy but sexy photos were taken by Minneapolis based Julian Murray with the art direction, digital retouching and layout by Lacey Haire.



Below is a selection of 20 images from the book, some of which have been cropped for this post.



















Shopping for props:

Shooting the book:


The 9"x12" 144 page book in hardcover format has full color photographs throughout.




In addition to the book, 11 of the photos are available as posters:


Buy the book and/or posters here.


About Julian Murray Photography and Design:
Minneapolis based Photography and Graphic Design team specializing in the music, fashion and advertising industries. From creative concept photography, marketing campaigns and family portraits to website design, company branding, and print collateral + everything in between.