This is the latest in the hipper-than-hip world of cool design/art books. Silas (also known as Silas And Maria) has been doing their strange thing as a British clothing manufacturer for a number of years now, basing their collections around an odd aesthetic that includes anything from storytelling to pencil drawings to heavy psych to rocks and trees to the art/comics of James Jarvis (currently catching fame for his In-Crowd series of toys). The book collects an incredible cross-section of the art and design that drives those inspirations, neatly wrapped up as the fictional history of Silas Holmes. The main portion is 192 pages of full color pieces on varying grades of paper, with artwork by James Jarvis, Ben Sansbury, Will Sweeney and about 25 others. Also included is a slide out, full-sized paperback (44 pages) that details the fantastic world of Silas and cohorts through words and pictures. We hate to admit it, but the Brits make really cool shit sometimes.

reviewed by mgmnt