Fun in the Village

For my upcoming whirlwind trip to Japan, I’ve been making a list of cool stores I must visit and Village Vanguard is one of them.   Their website is entirely in Japanese but that doesn’t stop me from taking a quick browse and making a shopping list:

The Book of Bunny Suicides 1260 Yen

Funky T-Shirt 3360 yen

Camera Bag 1470 Yen

Unfortunately, the Village Vanguard online store does not ship overseas. I will have to mad shop when I get there in person.

Tags: Accessories, Creative, Stuff we buy

Save the World: One Pair of Shoes at a Time

Being a hero is not hard!  Here’s how:

1) Show your pretty face at the Typhoon Ondoy Fundraiser on Tuesday Oct 6, 2009 at Box Studios (1622 Frankin Street)

2) Bid on the pair of custom Cocopunkz that we donated for the silent auction

3) Enjoy envious stares when they announce your winning bid for our one-of-a-kind hand-painted shoes!

Tags: Auction, Shoes, Take Action

Winners of the Submit Your Own Shoe Idea Contest

Remember the Cocopunkz Submit Your Own Shoe Idea Contest on facebook?  Well, here are the winners and their shoes!

This first design came from Sheila’s concept of leopards running in a jungle/dessert.  I decided to go with the jungle as the colors served as a nice back drop for the leopards to really pop.

Here’s Sheila with her new shoes!

This next design came from Tracy who wanted shoes which are professional in the front and party on the side. The shoes would have a look of classical elegance meet a little bit of Divaism. The front of the shoe would look “Classy” with Blue Teal coloured tips. On the side there will be a funky Demask pattern in black and white.  Ada changed the color scheme a little and did the sides in teal to give it a lighter look.

Here’s Tracy with her new shoes!  Look how the shoes matches the shirt she’s wearing completely! :O

We hope you girls enjoy the new shoes!  Send us some pictures of you wearing them!

Cocopunkz Sneak Peek #4

It doesn’t get fresher than this! Just finished custom hand-painted shoes:

First off, a mix of Raincity and Obsession by Ada.

Then we’ve got a reversed version of Peonies, Nightfall by Miranda

And finally, Miranda’s (failed) watercolor effect test project:

Not only was I unable to achieve the watercolor effect I was hoping for, but these were also one of the most time consuming pairs I’ve worked on ever!  The headpieces on the girls head were so intricate and detailed that I my face was literally 6 inches away from the surface of the shoe the whole time.  It didn’t help that I saw a whole buncha cheap mass-produced printed-on canvas shoes at the shopping centre today (some were just awful, though the Reebok ones were kinda cool)…not a big bang for a whole lotta work.  Never again will I work on something this intricate unless my reward is a three hour massage at the spa to alleviate the resulting back-pain. But I did enjoy wearing them today though!

Tags: Shoes, Sneak Peek

Smile On Your Brother

Last Monday, I went down to Live Stock to check out the “Smile On Your Brother” exhibition conceived by Mike Giles and Annie Lam and co-curated by Bob Kronbauer. The art show centered around original artwork done on to skateboards.

The idea behind not only the show, but also overall project is to hopefully inspire people to think about their first skateboard and what it meant to them. For many skaters, this still represents a pivotal moment in their lives, with every last little detail, fresh in their minds. Bringing together contemporary artists both in, and affected by the skateboard industry to help raise funds to go towards the first goal of Contributor which is to donate 100 skateboards to disadvantaged youth across Canada in 2009/2010.

Here are some of my favorites:

The show is on in Vancouver until August 31, 2009 at:

LIVE STOCK (VANCOUVER) in association with KNOWSHOW
239 abbott st (gastown)
Vancouver, BC V6B 2K7.

Then it moves on to other Canadian cities:

Sept 4th-6th 2009
LIVE STOCK (CALGARY)
103-2115 4th STREET SW
Calgary, AB, T2S 1W8
calgary@deadstock.ca
T: 403 245 1444

Sept 11th-13th 2009
MOMENTUM (SASKATCHEWAN)
2-960 attridge dr,
Saskatoon, SK, S7S1P1
T: 306-341-2743

Sept 25th-27th 2009
LIVESTOCK (TORONTO)
116 spadina unit G1
Toronto, ONT, M5V 2K6
toronto@deadstock.ca
T: 416 360 5483

October 1st-4th 2009
OFF THE HOOK (MONTREAL) in association with POP MONTREAL
1021a Ste-Catherine Ouest
Montréal, QC, H3B 1H1
T: 514-499-1021

October 16th-19th 2009
MORGAN BRIDGE GALLERY (QUEBEC CITY)
Galerie Morgan Bridge
367 rue du pont
Quebec , QC, G1K6M5
T: 41 85 29 16 82

Tags: Art, Creative

Cocopunkz is on Funky Trends!

Check out Funky Trends, a blog dedicated to all things funky. We’re loving the bottle cap jewelery and the ink filled glasses!

The Shoe Show

Art and functionality collided in Grace Gallery’s latest group exhibition on August 14. Here are some pics of our shoes that we exhibited at The Shoe Show (part of the Olio Festival).

Urban Overload by Miranda

Propaganda by Ada

Tags: Shoes

DIY – Leather Necklace

Besides our passion for hand-painted shoes, we also have a passion for funky jewelery.  Sometimes we make our own and they turn out horribly, but this one’s so easy there really is no excuse to go out and pay for something like this.

Stuff you need:

- scrap pieces of leather

- 2 hoops

- 1 lobster claw

- 1 old chain

1. Find scrap pieces of leather (I cut mine off of a skirt that I made shorter)

2. Cut leather into rectangle of whatever size you please

3. Cut fringes into the leather. Basically cut straight strips but leave around 1 cm at the end attached.

4. Poke holes using a thick needle near the upper corner of the leather. (Upper being the part where all the pieces are attached)

5. Attach a hoop to each hole (I used hoops left over from the minipunkz project)

6. Attach lobster claw to one of the hoops

7. Find an old chain that you don’t really wear anymore and attach it to the necklace (hoop to lobster claw)

8. Attach additional dangling bits to hoops

9. Wear it!

Tags: Accessories, DIY, Stuff we make, Stuff we wear

Front Page news #2

Hong Kong Nights and Obsessions on the front page of Etsy!