Heads up to all those who like their tipple crafted according to time-honoured recipes with a dash of design flair: today on The Leap we're pouring you a glass of style, on the rocks, with a shot of craft as a chaser. Pull up to the bar - it's time to savour the unique flavours of Jorgensen's Distillery and their unique range of well-designed products.

Firstly, as an appetiser, some background: Jorgensen's is driven by the formidable husband and wife team of Roger and Dawn Jorgensen, who live their busy lives out on their historic family farm, Versailles, in the heart of Wellington here in the Western Cape, South Africa. Having been a career farmer and winemaker, Roger turned his interest in fine handcrafted spirits into a burgeoning career, in the process creating a range of products that feature packaging design that's simple, distinctive and with clean lines as tasteful as their contents.

Now that we've whet your appetite, on to the main serving: as he's ventured down the road less travelled, Roger has picked up some expert advice from luminaries in the distilling field such as Cognac mentors Robert Leaute of Remy Martin and Buks Venter of KWV. The result has seen Roger develop his Savingnac brandy, an award-winning fiery spirit which can stand proudly amongst Cognacs the world over. Following his heart down this path of fine spirits, the Jorgensen bouquet has expanded to take in a range of celebrated liquor: Primitiv Vodka, Field of Dreams Absinthe, Naked Lemon Limoncello, Naked Lime Liqueur and now their most recent addition to the stable, the very special Jorgensen’s Gin.

With each product's bottle having a design that's complimentary to its contents, the result is a range that stands out from the crowd both visually and in terms of taste - one sip of their Field Of Dreams Absinthe and the difference is obvious: these are spirits that put the art into artisan. The secret to their design sense? It turns out, like the Sly & The Family Stone song, it's a family affair: Roger himself designed the Savingnac label, daughter Jess created the clean lines on their Absinthe, Gin and Vodka, whilst Dawn has adapted photos she took to create the Limoncello labels.  

If you’ve been following us over on our Facebook page you would have seen that there have been some changes at The Leap, among them being that we recently moved premises. Not very far – basically about a kilometer down the road, but we’re now shacked up at the Bandwidth Barn in the Woodstock Exchange, which is currently a hive of activity as contractors rush to get the place looking shipshape. And damn, how grand it will be once it’s finished, because the Exchange is where it’s all happening. (And yes, above is the view from our desks!)

We’ll feed you more on developments at the fantastic Exchange in a post next week, but for today we’re going to put the focus on Bandwidth Barn and the CITI (Cape Town Information Technology Initiative). With a vision that’s firmly focussed on stimulating social and economic prosperity, the Barn provides an incubator space for start up companies to make their first mark in the world. So, think of it is a launch pad, where great ideas meet opportunity, and take off into the business world. With a focus on companies in the science, technology, design and social innovation sectors, there’s an interesting mix of people already hooked up and getting busy on the top floors of the Exchange.

Beyond the cool mix of companies in the creative and tech sectors, there’s also a great initiative happening this weekend – the Bandwidth Barn is hosting ‘Coders Get Creative’, an intiative designed to show that software developers and techies (backend and frontend/digital design in) are creative people.

Coders Get Creative – What is it?

It’s art, made from old computer and mobile phone parts. Each person gets a deep frame board of the same size and a limited colour palette. The goal is to make art that can be auctioned to raise funding for this initiative to be exhibited during WorldDesignCapital 2014.

Where, and when is it?

It’s this weekend (Saturday 15 September from 10h00 – 15h00) on the opening day of Cape Town Creative Week, and will be held at the Cape IT Initiative’s BandwidthBarn, 3rd floor, Block B, Woodstock Exchange, 66 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town

Who’ll take part?

10 Software Coders/Software Developers and 10 Digital Creatives

(Participants may bring a teenage child or a friend or colleague with them who shares their enthusiasm for code or design, but can work alone if preferred)

Cost:   

R 550 per pack if you want to keep your art OR R 250 per pack if you want to have a fun day making green art of out recycled computers and mobile phones but are willing to donate your completed artwork to CITi to auction to raise funds for the Creative Coders initiative.

The cost includes a pre-selected colour palette of paint and a mounted board of size 450 x 450 within which the artwork will be produced. 

No previous artistic training is required.

Support and facilitation will be provided by Studio41 - artist Roscoe Reid Masters and two art assistants

What to bring:

Participants should bring tools, pliers, a hammer and a drill with them. There will be some tools available for use as well. Please also collect and bring old, broken, unusable computer and mobile phone parts for yourself and to share with others if you have more. We will supply some as well.

RSVP:

Register and pay online at www.quicket.co.za/events/1026-coders-get-creative. Pleasure ensure that you purchase the correct ticket depending on whether you are a digital designer or software developer

NEED TO KNOW MORE?

Go: Coders Get Creative on CITI

OK, one more crazy circuitboard pic, just for laughs!

Happy Monday to you, welcome back to your 9 - 5, grab a cuppa and settle in for your week's worth of work (made bearable by our world-classs posts here on The Leap!). Right - kicking off another new series here on Springleap, today we bring you the first of our Greatest Designs Of All Time series, which will feature something fresh every Monday to help you shake off the 'oh-lord -why-does-my-weekend-end-so-soon-after-it-began' blues.

OK, enough with the intro already, let's sink our teeth into something tasty: album covers. Sure, now that we're mp3 this and wav that and Ipod the other, the artwork on an album has grown to mean something less than what it once did. Sure, nowadays we can fit 18 million songs onto a terabyte drive, but in the process we've lost the beauty of a vinyl sleeve with beautifully-created artwork on it. Which is why these all-time classic album covers are mostly from back in the day. Mostly. OK, on with it!

Coming in at #1, the untouchable Sergeant Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band. Madly psychedelic and heavily detailed, this one always holds interest even for those who've seen it a million time.

Next - 'Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols' by the Sex Pistols. A howl of a cover, it's an unmistakable design which has gone on to spawn many imitations. Simple, bold, and ever so slightly angry.

We couldn't possibly have a greatest album covers selection without this one: swimming babies clutching at dollar bills? Never mind, it smells like teen spirit.

What's this? It's an absolute classic and arguably the most influential electronic album of all time, the one & only Leftfield 'Leftism'.

Leaving you with a bit more to chew on before your week truly kicks into overdrive, some covers which are compulsory viewing merely for the sake of providing a well-rounded selection:

Grace Jones's 'Island Life'

Roxy Music's 'Country Life'

and lastly Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention's 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh!'.

Had your fill of great album cover design yet? No? Ah, well, step right this way...

Coming at you like a Dia de los Muertos-decorated Art Nouveau bordello that's heaving with lovely yet haunting women, Glenn Arthur’s art is nothing short of gorgeous! His acrylic on wood paintings feature seriously sexy fantasy girls who could easily be drawn from Alphonse Mucha’s imagination, and are always marked with his signature hummingbird. The sum of his pieces evokes a timeless Nouveau sensuality that’s an inspiration to a growing fanbase and collectors the world over. Springleap puts the spotlight on him and gets the lowdown on what makes this artist from Orange County, California, tick.

SL: Hi Glenn, and thanks for the opportunity to interview you for our community blog. First up – did you study to become an artist, and if not, how did you develop your talent?

GA: I did study, but not in a classroom environment. School was not really an option for me because of many factors however that did not stop me from studying any type of art that I could find on my own accord. Art books, comic books, online tutorials, museums; all of these things were, and still are, my constant teachers. 

SL: Your work largely seems to be rendered in acrylic – is there any particular reason you prefer this, and do you work in other mediums?

GA: When it comes to painting I really enjoy acrylic because of its immediacy. It dries quickly and allows me to layer and render without having to wait too long. I come from a drawing background so it works out great for me. However, I do work in other media such as ink, watercolor and colored pencil. I love to experiment and I think the next thing I try will be oils.

SL: There’s  a strong Nouveau flavour to your work, as well as Day of the Dead iconography – why do these appeal to you, and are there other sources of inspiration for you?

GA: I'm very much driven by aesthetic and my surrounding. I come from a Hispanic background which is where the Day of the Dead comes from and I've always been very into organic and fluid shapes mixed with symmetry, which is where the Art Nouveau comes in. I also love anything that is extremely ornate such as Victorian style patterns and architecture as well as anything with a macabre twist to it. 

SL: Are there other contemporary artists whose work you admire?

GA: Absolutely! My all time favorite artists are Alphonse Mucha and J.C. Leyendecker. Living artists that I am inspired by are Audrey Kawasaki, Charmaine Olivia, Jason Levesque, Jessica Joslin, N.C. Winters and Adam Hughes just to name a few.

SL: Lastly, could you let us know the story of the hummingbirds that feature in your work?

GA: I've been fascinated by hummingbirds for as long as I can remember. They are so unique with such an ethereal and magical quality about them but they are always gone from sight in the blink of an eye. I started drawing and painting them because I adored them so much, but they quickly became a signature in my work and now I can't imagine creating anything without them in it.

Ladies and gents, put your hands together for Glenn Arthur, a true fine artist and a gentleman to boot. Too see more of his work, take a click over to his website and read his blog for updates on latest work.

Enjoy the interview? Check out Springleap's other interviews in the Spotlight On series here.

Shazam! Kapow! Like a superhero pitching up at your local bar, here we are out of the blue, with another in our Spotlight On series, where we focus on great illustrators and shine the light on them and their work. 

This time round, we have the one and the only Robson Borges. His work has graced many a contest here on The Leap, and his 'Song of Mermaid' has been a winner here on The Leap and won oohs and ahhs from many an admiring member of our community. And it's no surprise - his unique style of blending light and dark to create striking silhouette designs which have great depth and emotion are truly in a class of their own.  Without any further toomfoolery, poppycock or indeed delay, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Robson Borges! 

SL: Your illustrations have great composition and use of colour - did you study art? 

RB: I never did art courses. The use of colour in my work has always been very important to value the concepts that are usually very simple. I need a taste of colour to feel accomplished and always hope that people feel the same as me.

SL: Your designs use few colours, but communicate great emotion. What reaction do you hope to create in the person seeing your illustrations?

RB: I prefer to use a small amount of colors to facilitate the reading of the art and production. I adopted it as part of my working style, perhaps as a personal brand.

SL: Many of your designs feature great use of vertical lines and natural scenes. What are you influenced by, when creating your illustrations?

RB: The inspiration comes from within and I am not influenced by other artists, because I always seek for originality. I love using natural elements, shapes and colors that make me feel good. Sometimes I seek inspiration in photographs.

SL: You have your particular own style, but are there any artists that have influenced your direction in life? If so, who are they?

RB: I love the work of several artists around the world, but I'm not influenced. It is extremely complicated to seek inspiration in the work of others. I hate it when someone copies my style or use elements of my art. I study every day to improve my style and originality. Sorry for my bad English and thanks a lot :)

Well there you have it, folks - gifted and humble, that's Mr Borges. Keep your eyes peeled for more in this series, where we'll be featuring interviews with great illustrators and designers both from here on Springleap and elsewhere. Inspiration? We've got it, in spadefulls! 

Like to see more of Robson's work? Go here. 

Enjoy the interview? Check out Springleap's other interviews in the Spotlight On series here.