The “All the Buildings in New York” book launch party is just a day away – have you marked your calenders yet? It brings a bit of NY to LA, but James has specially created LA tote bags for the raffle during the party. In today’s interview with James Gulliver Hancock, we find out more about the time he spent in LA, and his pal Jessica Koslow of Sqirl who will be bringing her treats to the event!

1. LA is clearly a stark contrast from NY, but how do you see it through your own eyes, in comparison to NY?
They are both amazing, and I would find it hard to choose again, they really are like chalk and cheese. They both have some amazing nature outside of the city, one desert, one quite lush and green. I think what I find interesting about LA is that it’s a bit hard to access on the surface. NY is very easy to enjoy as everything falls out onto the street. But in LA you have to be a bit of a detective. The best sushi might be behind a doorless slab of concrete on a deserted street, you just never now. Hence it’s much more about knowing a local and seeking stuff out, it’s harder than NY. Does that make it a touch more rewarding?

2. Like New York, you’ve spent a fair amount of time in LA too…what first brought you to LA?
My wife is a musician and she started her solo career in LA. We had a great time in LA for about 4 years. It’s such a great city to get things going people can be up for trying new things and getting stuff happening. In contrast to Australians who can be a bit too laid back sometimes.

3. Can you share with us some of your favorite spots in LA?
Spirl, obviously, because I can go there, eat great food and probably run into a friend. Forage in Sunset Junction is pretty awesome too, I love places you can eat like you would at home. I love hiking the canyons up to the observatory too.

4. You’ve done some work for Jessica of Sqirl…what do you enjoy about her jams and food?
Jessica’s work is amazing, she seems to of carved herself such an amazing culinary path. She symbolises what I love about America, how she’s started her own business from a small thing such as jams and built it into a full brand. I love that she mixes very local flavours and isn’t afraid to try different things together. She plays with food like I play with pens and pencils!

5. Describe Jessica in 3 words.
Awesome, focussed, determined.

6. What was your inspiration for the designs you’ve created for Sqirl Kitchen?
Together we’ve made a stop motion film, a tote bag and a mural in her space. All three elements have a concept of magical preserves. That the things inside the jars are extra special, are stardust mixings of amazingness.

7. What do you want people to carry in your LA Tote Bag?
Some Sqirl jam of course. A signed copy of my book some cheese from the Silver Lake Cheese Store along with a baguette, some fruit from the Silver Lake Farmer’s Market, a picnic rug, your best friend, and directions to the canyons.

All the Buildings in New York Launch Party
Date: Thursday May 23rd 2013
Time: 7-10pm
Location: Poketo Store
820 E. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-537-0751

Find out more details about the event and RSVP here.

Our launch party to celebrate the new book ‘All the Buildings in New York’ is just days away on Thursday 5/23! By artist and illustrator James Gulliver Hancock, the book is an artist ode to New York City as rendered in his signature colorful and whimsical style. We spoke to James to find out more about his prolific and mammoth project to draw all the buildings in the Big Apple, his love for the city and notions of home.

1. What is the premise behind ‘All the Buildings in New York’?

I’ve been doing these obsessive collections of different cities as I’ve travelled. I’ve done prints for ‘All the Cars in Los Angeles’, ‘All the Rain in London’, ‘All the Bicycles in Berlin’. But when I moved to New York, this project became more intense, as I used the building drawings to get to know the city. By drawing my new surroundings I made myself a kind of map of the places I liked. I love this idea of really getting to know something by drawing all of one thing, of focusing, but at the same time having a massive, almost unrealisable focus.

2. What do you look out for in a building before deciding to draw it?

I started by drawing all the interesting buildings I saw in my close proximity, all the great brownstones I’d seen in movies, television etc. Now the project has taken on a different turn, where a lot of people order commissions of certain buildings. So this takes me to very different parts of the city, and as an outsider it’s been a great way to see parts that the tourists don’t see, and also really get a feel for how people live in New York, the reality of which I was pretty unfamiliar with having grown up in Australia.

3. What originally brought you to New York, and how long did you live there for?

My wife and I lived in Los Angeles and thought we would like to move to Europe, but for both our careers thought the USA was better for us. It’s such an inspiring, encouraging place! So we compromised and moved to New York, maybe the most European city in the US.

4. What was your home in Brooklyn like and do you have a drawing of it?

I do indeed, our first place was in Carroll Gardens, above a shop. A very cute little flat with wainscoting in the hallway. It was our first experience of tiny New York apartments and how you can make such small spaces work really well. I’ve actually drawn all the places I’ve lived. Though I just moved and am in a new place now, but here it is anyway. Our first Brooklyn place is on the bottom in the middle:

5. What is New York City like, as seen through your eyes? What do you like/dislike about it?

I love that it is so dense, that you can pretty much walk down any street and there will be something interesting, there will usually always be people on the street and interactions with strangers are commonplace. I love that. Being from such a naturally beautiful place as Australia though it’s hard to come to terms with the grittiness. I miss the beach and walking around bare-foot, and fruit trees on the street like there are in Sydney.

6. Are you partial to a certain neighborhood in New York and why?

I love Brooklyn, my friends are there, people are just trying things all the time, so many little start up shops and businesses, so many studios of people making stuff happen. You can feel this walking around. It’s like a very professional DIY.

7. Having lived in a few different places, do you experience culture shock when you’re settling into a new city? Are there any instances that come to mind?

I think culture shock was way more in my face when I was travelling much faster. I travel mostly for work now, so it’s usually for a reason and is all set up. When I was younger I would just show up in a city and figure it out, that became quite a thrill, working out the culture, where to stay, what to eat. It’s such an intense jump in the deep end.

8. What is the next thing that you plan to draw everything of?

I do this project in a number of cities, I’m sure something will grab me the next time I’m in a new place. That’s really the fun of travelling and getting into new places and finding what sticks out for me.

9. You will be offering a raffle to draw people’s childhood home at the event. Why the childhood home?

I think there will always be something special about our childhood homes. It’s maybe where we learnt to walk, where we first felt the earth beneath our feet, and it is usually filled with cloudy 1/2 formed memories of times passed. It’s nostalgia that makes architecture really stand out.

10. What can people expect at the book signing?

It’s going to be fun! we’ve got a few giveaways, Sqirl is going to drop something awesome to nibble on, we’ll have plenty of books on hand as well as a little installation of some of my prints and original drawings from the all the buildings series. A good change to get a behind the scenes on me and my work.

All the Buildings in New York Launch Party
Date: Thursday May 23rd 2013
Time: 7-10pm
Location: Poketo Store
820 E. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-537-0751

Find out more details about the event and RSVP here.

For our next artist interview for the City Wallets series, we find out more about Emily Dumas, the designer and illustrator of the Brooklyn wallet. Dumas runs Flowers in May, a design and illustration studio north of Boston that specializes in uniquely handmade art prints, paper goods, invitations, and miscellaneous housewares. Today, the self-professed concert junkie shares with us her artistic inspirations and recommendations for visiting Brooklyn!

1. Please tell us more about yourself, and share with us your background, how you got started as an illustrator and how you define your artistic style.

I graduated from a state school in graphic design 8 years ago and was interested in Illustration from early on. I did the big ad agency job as a designer for over 6 years but knew ultimately I wanted to have my own business. I always considered myself as having two jobs. When I was done with work, I’d go home and work on my own personal projects. My love for illustration grew when I started working on invitations for friends and family. And Flowers in May was formed.

Simple color palettes and tiny details are what I’m all about. I love clean lines and symmetry. I work in my own strange way, it’s not always the same every time. But I do pick a topic, a color palette, write out a list of words, do quick sketches and then create them in Illustrator.

I’m constantly rearranging my illustrations until they fit into the perfect puzzle that I want. The sizes of the images as well as the flow of color are really important when I’m working.

2. How did the design for the Brooklyn wallet come about?

I had a lot of fun with this one! I’ve not been to every Brooklyn neighborhood. But I love it! Brooklyn is so hip. It embraces art, music, trends and culture. So this design focuses on all those things.

3. What are some places to visit/things to do in Brooklyn that we shouldn’t miss out on?

Every time I go to Brooklyn, I want to find a new record store, coffee shop and Mexican food (I’m a huge fan of fish tacos) I love Mesa Coyoacan in Williamsburg. But for a first timer, I’d recommend you get a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge (day or night). and check out the Brooklyn Flea.

4. What is your best travel memory?

I’d have to say my trip to Paris when I was in college. It was my first time out of the country. It’s a beautiful city. I packed so much into one week because I thought I may never come back here. I have to see it all!

5. Which destination(s) is high on your travel list this year and why?

Austin, Texas. I love discovering new music and I’m a sucker for a live show.

6. You describe yourself as a “concert junkie” on your website…what kind of music do you enjoy, and how does music influence your work?

Haha, I am a concert junkie! That’s what I grew up doing. My parents took us to shows, we didn’t go to Disney World. I worked in a record store in high school and college. So music has always been a big part of my life. As far as what I like, I’m all over the map. I love alternative country and folk but I’m also a huge hip hop fan.

Music certainly influences my work. It sets the mood. I always listen to music while I’m working.

In our first artist interview for the City Wallets series, we chat with James Gulliver Hancock, the artist who illustrated the Los Angeles wallet. Originally from Sydney, Australia, James is obsessed with cities and drawing, and is known for his whimsical, colorful and upbeat aesthetic. The avid traveler has been around the world, to places like Japan, China, Russia, Southeast Asia and Europe. He now splits his time between Brooklyn, New York and Sydney, Australia.

1. What was your inspiration for the Los Angeles city wallet?

When I live in different cities I get obsessed with different things, and in Los Angeles it’s the cars. I lived in Los Angeles for 4 years, and just couldn’t stop drawing cars. I love taking on an aspect of a place or an environment and exploring it obsessionally and seeing where it goes. I ended up producing this print as part of that process.

2. What is your most memorable experience in Los Angeles?

I am a massive Eames fan, so when I finally made it up to the Eames house in Santa Monica I was so excited. It’s such a little oasis, and such a beautiful example of ‘lived in’ modernism. The most magical scene unfolded when we were swinging on the swing in the garden and a huge deer walked past with massive antlers, it was like a ghost appearing and disappearing as we played, really magical.

3. Can you describe your artistic style and share how you got started as an illustrator?

My style varies quite a bit, but I guess the thing that binds it all together is the hand generated element and the naivety that that brings to the lines and mood. I love pen and pencil on paper and am constantly drawing everything around me. People are always taking my napkin drawings and framing them. It’s hilarious to go to a friends house and see our throw away drawings framed on their wall. I think this element of obsession is an important part of my work, and my success. The drive to constantly make and create is what gets my work seen.

4. How has traveling influenced your work?

Travelling is a big part of my work. Seeing different objects and how they are used by people. Seeing how different people and cultures see their world is a big part of inspiring me to create. I have travelled extensively since I was little kid, being half from the UK, half from Australia. I actually love working in different spaces, setting up makeshift studios on the road. I’ve done some of my favourite work waiting for trains or planes.

5. What fueled your obsession with cities?

I think I have a healthy love of nature, but cities really grab me. I’m not obsessed with every city, but I think it’s hard not to appreciate massive collections of people, organising themselves like ants and interacting every day. It’s amazing to think of all the different personalities in a city. I tend to do a lot of my making by myself, so it’s great to be able to walk down the street and see and wonder about people.

6. Which destination(s) is high on your travel list this year and why?

I’m coming back to Los Angeles this year and can’t wait. I’ll be spending a decent amount of time there. It’s actually quite similar to my home town sydney in some ways. But I love being around my inspiring confident American friends… and the cars!

7. What are some of your travel essentials?

All I need is pencil and paper.

8. What are some current themes that you are working with?

My obsession with obsession is never ending, it’s my main overarching theme, and by its nature it is infinite, so I guess I’m stuck drawing everything that ever existed for the rest of my life – fine by me