The Crumpler Window Unveiling Pics

We love this collaboration! Last Saturday, 3rd Ward Members Launa Eddy, Jamie Partington, and Daniel Olshansky and circuitry instuctor Joel Murphy brought some 3rd Ward ingenuity to the streets of the West Village.

This paper mache wonderland features a creature that chomps and lights up when people walk by, flying blue squirrels, winged bags, and a terrifyingly cute quatra-bird. Scroll for a selection of pictures from the opening party and see the whole album on Facebook or Flickr. And be sure to see the window in all its light-up, motion-sensored, colorful glory at the West Village Crumpler (map here) before it's deinstalled. Congrats, team!

3rd Ward Members, Launa Eddy, Jamie Partington, and Daniel Olshansky in front of their awesome Crumpler creation The view from 49 8th Avenue, West Village, NYC.3rd Ward Members Max Goodman and Ben Simon stop by to congratulate the team. The installation includes lots of fun critters.Circuitry teacher working out some bugs in the infrared sensor.

Want more? See the whole album on Facebook or Flickr.

The Crumpler Display // The BIG REVEAL!

You've seen it from sketch to skeleton to almost-there-readiness. Now the Crumpler Display by 3rd Ward Members Jamie Partington, Daniel Olshansky, Launa Eddy and instructor, Joel Murphy, is finally going to be revealed tomorrow night, March 5th, at 7:30. Click here for instructions to their West Village store and stop by for a drink, some pies, and some serious craft-hacker-bag fun.

And for new pics of the display's metalwork, circuits, and something called a "quatre bird" visit Launa's blog here.

Follow the entire Crumpler story by clicking here.

It's Alive! The Crumpler Installation is all Wired Up

The cat-tadpole-monster thing is leaping to life with some expert circuitry and fabrication by 3rd Ward Members, Launa Eddy, Jamie Partington, and 3rd Ward Circuitry Instructor, Joel Murphy. See their creature in action below. Plus, follow the process from the very beginning concept sketch here and stay tuned to the blog for the window unveiling party! 

More Members Join the Crumpler Window Display Team

When we last left Launa and Daniel, they had just had a sketch. Now the Crumpler window display has taken on two more 3rd Ward collaborators, Jamie Partington (fabricator extraordinaire, Member since ‘09) and Joel Murphy (electronics instructor and robot builder). Launa says:

Jamie can build anything and has an amazing commitment to this project and a refreshingly positive disposition, except when he skips meals. I'm not sure what this project would look like without Jamie... not nearly as awesome as it's turning out. Joel teaches at 3rd Ward and when we asked him if we could make the eyes of our creature spin and the jaw open and close he said 'yes' without hesitation. Wow. What a great opportunity it is to work with people who make just about anything you can think of possible.

Stay tuned to the blog and follow the progression of the project...all the way to the store launch!

the revised concept sketch

Jamie blocks out the scene in the Crumpler West Village windowthe skeleton emerges

 

 

See more pictures from the Crumpler Monster Adventure here.

MEMBER-MADE: 3rd Ward Members say “Holy Hellcat!” to the streets of NYC

One of Launa's sketches for the window.What do you get when you combine a Jack & Jane of all trades, total creative freedom and an international bag designer? Here’s a sneak peek at what 3rd Ward Members Launa Eddy and Daniel Olshansky are up to -- bringing their quirky and totally unique styles to the streets of the West Village in the Crumpler main window.

Crumpler has a history of top-quality, far-out window dressing; one former Crumpler window dresser went off to design the windows for Bergdorf Goodman. Launa and Daniel’s fantastical window will clash paper mache creatures with messenger, laptop and travel bags for one head-turning, definition-defying window.

We checked in with Launa about how their concept came about. Stay tuned to the 3rd Ward blog as they build, install, and unveil this fantastical work sometime around Valentine’s Day.

3RD WARD: Tell us about the concept for this piece.

Launa: We wanted to create a scene with striking imagery and fantastic creatures, to build a bizarre world where beasts and bags interact. These surreal scenes will combine playfulness and raw wilderness, with a dash of insanity.

The main character is Hello Hellcat, who is part cat, part bird and part lizard. He is an amalgamation of sentient creatures jumping through life's fire. The flying Crumpler bags will protect the little squirrels from danger. It’s fun traveling via winged bag; we highly recommend it.

There will be an interactive aspect to this installation, inspired by taking Electronics and Circuitry classes at 3rd Ward. Suddenly anything is possible.

3W: How did this project begin?

L: Daniel and I have been working together on sculptural projects like this for years. Our processes are different but they compliment each other wonderfully. When developing a concept, I will start with one main character, and let my fingers decide the nature of the beast as the ink is hitting the page. The scenes don't always make sense. The less sense they make, the better. I like the viewer coming up with their own idea of what the story is.

We had talked about a variety of characters - gentlemen alligators in pink boas and squirrels with monocles and top hats, but this giant cat monster seemed to relentlessly crash our imaginations. Its hard not to go crazy with something like this when you have complete creative freedom, so we just go crazy.

3W: Have you done window installations before?

L: This is our first window installation, but we have been making sculptural pieces - masks, props and paper mache projects together for music videos and photo shoots. It started with an amazing Halloween costume for the Danger party a couple years back. We made a Zombie Fish that I wore on my head, and from that point on we have been offered and have created opportunities to make fantastic things. It’s really something that we enjoy doing and there are no limits to what can be created. The limits are that of your imagination.

To see more of Launa’s work, visit http://www.launaeddy.com/. Daniel’s can be seen at http://serpentongue.tumblr.com.