Yesterday was about observing and absorbing. Today was about distilling and imagining. This evening, that was about reporting…
Each of the four Alabama Design Summit studios participated in a Pecha Kucha presentation tonight, and the results were inspiring. Our group chose to not only sum up the personal experience of our studio in working to solve for Alabama’s Nature Deficit Disorder, but to also attempt to capture the collective experience of what it means to be a part of this prototype in what will hopefully become a long line of Design for Good events.
We defined the problem and relayed our impressions, but we also chose to discuss Hope, Excitement, and a little something extra.
I have to make at least two trips to Mississippi per year: the first correlates with my mom’s loving demand for my presence at Christmas, and the second, for the past 10 years since I’ve lived in New York, has been related to the weddings and first borns of my best friends from elementary, junior-high, high-school and college (this sounds like a lot of different people, but when you’re me, it’s actually the same four fabulous ones). What to do now that they’re all married and well onto their second and third child?
THIS. IS. EXCITING. SO. GET. READY! My friend Tina had the idea (after helping her 5-year-old apply her eighty-hundrety really ugly temporary tatto) that there should be a web store for designerly temporary tattoos. Thus Tattly was born! I’m super proud to be the designer of two of the original designs going live when the site launches. The first is called color burst…
The second is a page of rainbows, meant to be cut out and applied, well, anywhere you need a little color…
I hope you’ve heard by now: this Saturday on my thirty-second birthday, I’m getting rid of over 400 items from my wardrobe! As challenging as it might be, it’s got to happen if I want to get down to the 100-items-or-less closet. I felt I needed to find a way to let go while also celebrating my birthday, and true to my nature, the whole thing has turned into a crazy, hopefully wonderful production.
Through an outstanding collaboration with the DUMBO Improvement District that still seems too amazing to be true, my birthday has become the Hole Sale and Rainbow Birthday Spectacular, and it will be held on April 16 in the Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge (a.k.a. The Bridge Hole). There will be second-hand items to purchase, rainbows to wear and eat, music to parade to, and girls to send to rock camp. Does this all seem a bit confusing? I hear you. There is a lot going on! So here’s a handy dandy guide to help clarify…
Instructions for a Hole Sale and Rainbow Birthday Spectacular
Dress yourself head to toe in a single, bright color. Or at least give it your best shot!
Have your spring cleaning done and set aside any items* you no longer need.
Show up at the Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge, a.k.a. the Bridge Hole, to donate said items.
Buy some awesome second-hand stuff.
Maybe eat a rainbow cupcake.
Feel awesome because the stuff buying you just did benefits Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. And because you ate a rainbow cupcake.
Hear 12-year-old Tiger Bey performs her original song, Willow Tree, complete with rainbow lyrics. (1pm)
Make an appearance in the rainbow video being made by Sunny Jang.
Situate yourself in chromatic order and be a part of the Rainbow Birthday Parade, that’s right PARADE, with Raya Brass Band. (2pm)
Buy more stuff. Feel even awesomer.
Head to Superfine for a post-event drink. It should probably be a rainbow drink of some sort. (5pm)
*If an one item is bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey, you probably shouldn’t bring it for the reason that it will be difficult to cart away if it doesn’t sell.
If you haven’t already, watch this terrific video featuring my friend Alex Blagg of a bajillionhitz.biz.
So this is where we’re headed for the next 5 days… You tell me, should I be worried?
Truly, I’m just happy I’ll get to reunite with some of my Studiomates (past, present and future). Man, I’ve really missed them! Plus I’ll get to hang for the first time with some of the people I’ve fallen in love with over the Internet, like Alissa Walker. And let’s not forget there’s reconnecting with some of my new friends from TEDActive, like Kestrin, Jonathan and Scott of {RV}IP. Yes, {RV}IP is a karaoke lounge inside an RV. No joke. Here’s Creighton in the RV, singing karaoke, as we go barreling down the California freeway at a top speed of 45 mph just one week ago today (good times)...
Carolyn Sewell sent a hand-drawn typographic postcard to her parents every day for a year. Reading them, I find myself trying to figure out the circumstances under which they were drawn… was Carolyn in a good mood that day? An angry, bad or silly one? Where did she find the inspiration for her phrase of the day? I also imagine her parents, walking to the mailbox to find their daily candid phrase. How happy it must have made them to have this special daily glimpse into their creative daughter’s life? “Pants Status: On” especially cracks me up, because I believe that comes from an illicit Tweet sent from my account.
HUZAHH! I arrived at my office this morning to learn Carolyn is now extending the postcard love “to her peeps.” Being one such peep, I can officially report first hand, getting a hand drawn piece of mail totally brightens your day! Especially when it reads “DOUBLE ROYGBIV” in every color of the rainbow.
Admittedly this post is a bit late for a party that took place on December 14, but my head still spins just thinking about it! AIGA/NY, James Victore, LIVE Karaoke, Mint Juleps and a Rainbow Skirt!!!! Where do I even start?
A tad bit of back story… In June I became a board member of the New York Chapter of the AIGA. That in and of itself is pretty awesome because it means I get to hang with the rest of the board (all amazing designers and people) and help plan some great events for our 3,000 members: Printmaking at Etsy, Designer Bowling, you get the picture.
For our December event at Galapagos Art Space, our President, Jennifer Kinon, set a specific directive: we’ve been working hard ALL year, and now it’s time to have some fun! So we decided we’d throw a Winter Bash. We asked the talented and always entertaining James Victore to come talk to us about what he’s been up to (spoiler alert: it involves shot guns), and then hired the fabulous Crash Course Karaoke to give our members an opportunity to be the rock stars they’ve always dreamed of. Mint juleps ensured everyone was feeling festive, and a fun photo booth filled with fake snow brought out everyone’s wacky side. As if all that wasn’t enough, my mom made a special skirt for me… and it’s a RAINBOW! This is the grown up (and I use that word lightly) version of the Rainbow Princess costume I made for Ella at Halloween. (Photos of the two of us together are coming soon!)
My own personal highlights from the evening included…
The original equation went something like, beer + studiomates + friday = x
Over time, the equation has morphed into something more like, beer (bottles + growlers + kegs) + studiomates + great friends (neighbors + colleagues + clients + kids + out-of-towners) + video games (rocking + singing + dancing) + theme (costume + craft + movie) + friday = x
In both instances, x = Beer Friday, and while the equation may have, um, expanded over the past year, the heart of the matter is still very much the same. All that’s really necessary to the success of the formula is to get amazing people in a shared space with a shared motive of relaxing and having a good time. That’s really what our co-working space Studiomates is all about.
Now on to this particular, most recent, December 3rd Beer Friday…
Speaking of Miss Piggy, how much would she LOVE this new style from Toms? She’d probably karate chop anybody who tried to stop her from owning them. I’ve had a pair of gold glitter Toms for years, and whenever I wear them, little girls gasp and tell me with wide eyes how much they like my shoes. One even asked, “Are those princess shoes?” to which I earnestly replied, “Yup.”
“But Jessi,” you say, “I thought you didn’t buy anything new.” That’s true for them most part, but Toms is one of the few brands for which I happily make an exception. Why? Because for every pair of Toms bought, a pair gets donated to a child in need. Toms is a super cool company with sustainable business practices (they even won the Cooper Hewitt People’s Design Award). These shoes meet all my major criteria: they’re colorful, they’re responsible, and I can run away in them. I whole-heartedly endorse Toms, and someday I’d like to go on one of their shoe drops. If you’ve got a little one in your life, check out these adorable tiny sizes!
I’m so thankful for the inspiring setup we’ve got here at work. Sure, the view is phenomenal, but what makes it truly special is the camaraderie shared by all the studiomates. Coming to work is like showing up to hang out with friends, and by friends I mean amazingly talented, creative, motivated people I somehow get to collaborate with. Every day is an adventure in smart people and projects, and somewhere at the center of it all, you’ll usually find this guy. He’s an instigator who pushes everyone to “do something.” He’s got a zero bullshit policy, so you have to be willing to back up anything and everything you say. He’s also a warm, fuzzy heart who calls himself a “sad panda” if he has to miss out on any group fun. You can count on him for either honest perspective or pee-your-pants humor, depending on his mood. Actually, a lot of the time it’s both. Everyone should be so lucky to have Cameron Koczon, lover of pipes, music, scotch, westerns and awesomeness, in their lives. So today on his birthday, this thank you reads…
