I like stew

perfect purse update

2009-03-09T21:25:00.006-04:00

I forgot how much I love Fossil purses! They fall somewhere in between the Coach purses and the Target purses. I love this Hobo bag I found, very cute for spring and summer. The pattern would make it hard to pull off for the everyday, which is what I am looking for. A patterned purse with patterned clothing doesn't always mesh well.

I do really love this purse though...

Maybe I could change my summer wardrobe to just solid colors?

searching for the perfect purse!

2009-03-08T23:36:00.004-04:00

I have been searching for the perfect purse for some time now! I fell in love with a Coach purse, which is not only WAY out of my handbag budget but they even discontinued it! I found a knock off of the coach purse at Target for $11, but unfortunately the quality was in sync with the price and it started to rip shortly after I purchased it.

Anyways, I came across Infusion on Etsy and really love this purse. I love the stitching detail and the adjustable strap and of course, the zip closure! It looks like it's really nice quality, especially for something handmade—I think it would definitely outlast my purse from target!

lovely.

2009-02-07T18:50:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day is about a week away and I am loving this print I found on sfgirlbybay. It looks like you can buy the print online from ISPhotography for $30.

This picture makes me want to run away to Europe!

free fonts!

2009-01-26T18:40:00.004-05:00

22 Most Used Free Fonts By Professional Designers

@GeniusRocket shared this article today on Twitter and I thought I would pass it along to everyone!

It's not often you come across a decent free font, so hopefully this will help! I'm digging Union...

alien robot dude #2

2009-01-09T09:18:00.003-05:00

Sarah just posted about this "alien robot dude" she found in Baltimore and mentioned I had seen one in Philly, so I figured I'd share a picture of my siting!

want this!

2009-01-06T21:49:00.003-05:00

If I hadn't just completely redecorated my room in the past 6 months, I would buy this Marimekko bedding from Crate&Barrel! It's even on sale!

noggin bops

2009-01-02T10:55:00.005-05:00

I found the coolest wind up toy at Borders the other day, they're called noggin bops! I bought one for my friends birthday and I think I need to get one for myself because I keep playing with it!

I'm off to Philadelphia tonight for her bday! Can't wait!

seven things

2008-12-29T22:43:00.010-05:00

I've been tagged!

Garret has tagged me on the Orange Element blog. What that means is that I am to share 7 things about myself that I think you should know and then choose 7 people to do the same!

So here goes...

1.) I have a blog. Most people don’t know this about me, that’s why Garret linked to my design site. I have never advertised the fact that I have a blog because I have never been great about posting consistently. I figured I would share this information with everyone though, in hopes that I will be better about updating it!

2.) Everyone in my family was born in a different country. My dad was born in Scotland, my mom was born in Kenya, my brother was born in Ireland, and I was born in England. We moved to America about 19 years ago when I was 2 and half and have lived in Baltimore since! All my relatives live overseas, so when it comes to the holidays in the states things are pretty low key (which can be kind of nice, but I do miss not being able to see them).

3.) I am a designer, but would love to be a teacher as well. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about being a designer (it's part of who I am), but part of me feels like I need to be a teacher at some point in my life. I really enjoy helping people and love working with kids. I've had some great teachers in my past and I would love to have the same positive impact on young minds as they had on me. I am lucky to have had some experience substituting at my old elementary school, mainly working in the classroom (with the teacher) helping kids with special needs. Somehow I will find a way to do both design and teaching!

4.) When I was in elementary school, my mom MADE me join the Girl Scouts. I was such a tomboy and only had friends that were boys, so she made me join in hopes I would make some girlfriends. Let's just say, I was not a happy camper.

5.) I have a fear of deer, the Baltimore aquarium, and spiders.

6.) My favorite foods are fish & chips, cheesesteaks, ribs, and crabs! The best fish & chips obviously come from Britain, you have to order a fish supper and get it with salt, vinegar and brown sauce. The best cheesesteaks around town (in my opinion) come from Strapasta in Jacksonville. The best ribs are from The Cornerstable in Timonium. And last, but not least, the best crabs come from Baltimore, Maryland!

7.) I have some plans in the works for a Eurotrip Summer 2009, which I'm praying will work out! I would seriously drop everything to go and I know if I don't do it soon (like this summer) I might never get to go. Life is so unpredictable though, it's hard for me to commit! I have faith things will work out, and if for some reason it's not this summer, I WILL find another time to go!

The seven people I would like to hear about are:
Aaron Moore
Caroline Moore
Andy Bonner
Scott Zero
Sam Rider
Joe Wagner
Jessie Harte

things that make me happy

2008-12-16T13:55:00.005-05:00

My two new purchases this week :)

The first one is a "Life is Beautiful" print by Nate Williams purchased from Urban Outfitters.

The second one is from Good Shape Design for only $35!

beautiful type

2008-12-16T11:10:00.004-05:00

Beautiful type done by Yulia Brodskaya, designer and illustrator from Russia. (Click the image to make it larger)

I can't believe it was all done with paper! I don't think I would have the patience...

Found on swissmiss.

FALL! FALL! FALL!

2008-09-23T21:52:00.005-04:00

Boots and scarves and cute jackets!

I already painted my nails brown :)

"track it anywhere"

2008-08-30T11:25:00.005-04:00

Ogilvy & Mather, Beijing, did this guerilla advertisement for DHL. The vans were meant to get the word out about DHL's Online Tracking. I like that they actually constructed an arrow and attached it to the van, opposed to just creating a sticker. The 3D-ness definitely gives it a better, more realistic effect. Watch a video of the van in action here.

Found the article at Ads of the World.

flea market find

2008-08-25T11:04:00.003-04:00

I found these vintage (from 1988) I Ski glasses at the Lutherville Flea Market on Sunday for $1! I'm obsessed.

package design

2008-08-07T12:44:00.005-04:00

Turner Duckworth probably does some of my favorite package design. I love this design they did for Waitrose honey, it is conceptual, clean, and simple- just the way I like it :)

Another favorite of mine is the frying pans they did for Homebase cookware. Such a simple and clever idea for their non-stick pans.

philly adventures

2008-07-14T17:21:00.006-04:00

I had a wonderful time exploring philly this weekend!

adventures included: sitting outside as much as possible, Buddakan, hoegaarden, people watching, spruce street, the papery, spanish festival, apples & amish cheddar

design museum shop

2008-07-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

Fun things at the Design Museum Shop in London.

(Items featured above: matchstick garden, jumper key ring, 100 years of fashion illustration, instant labeling tape, toilets of the world, and egg pants)

ikea trip

2008-07-01T22:04:00.004-04:00

Today I went to ikea with my parents to get some finishing touches for my newly redecorated room. (pics coming soon)

on the list:
bedside table
shelves
large picture frame
hooks
a not so noisy computer chair

I would say, all in all, it was a very successful trip, the only thing on the list we didn't get was a new chair.

That place seriously makes me want to take up interior decorating as a career- or maybe I would be happy just to buy a boatload of houses and decorate them all completely with ikea furniture and their fabulous knicknacks with some sort of infinite money supply. Besides the fact that I wanted to buy everything in the store, there were these little vases that I thought were just wonderful. I love the different textures they come in, especially when they are all together! (Only $1.99 each)

favorite fortune

2008-06-27T17:48:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I had a fortune cookie that read "You will step on the soil of many countries."

By far my favorite fortune I've ever gotten, especially the timing- considering all I have been talking about for the last week is how I NEED to leave the country as soon as possible!

Anyone have a favorite fortune of their own?

Stockholm Metro Art

2008-06-24T21:47:00.007-04:00

Today, I caught a snippet of the tv show Samantha Brown Passport to Europe and she was in Stockholm, Sweden. She was using their metro, called the T-bana, and they were showing off all the lovely art in the stations. Stockholm's metro stations are beautifully decorated/painted and also apparently very clean and efficient! I might have to add Stockholm as a stop for eurotrip summer 2009.

I looked on the internet to see if I could find more images of the stations and came across this cool article Metro Arts and Architecture. The site has the 50 most beautiful subway systems in the world, with a 3 star ranking system (3 stars meaning "worth a journey", 2 stars means "worth a detour", and 1 star is for "interesting"). The article rates Stockholm with 3 stars and says that artwork can be found at 90 of the 100 stations, with 140 artists contributing so far.

Here are some stations from the list that I thought looked worth checking out...

Shanghai

Moscow

Munich

new purchase: greenroom eco

2008-06-02T22:40:00.002-04:00

I just bought this set of journals at Target today. They are made by a company called greenroom eco, who create environmentally friendly paper products made from recycled paper and non-toxic soy ink. They are well designed and affordable, which makes me a fan!

Then again... not much of a surprise because I love pretty much anything from Target.

a fresh start

2008-06-02T22:06:00.005-04:00

...I hope!

I am hoping that this new "toy" will help me get back into blogging more often. I just got this camera today as a graduation present!! And I am oh, so very excited about it!! I never had a small digital camera in college because I was always scared that I would lose/break it if I took it out to parties with me (and of course financial reasons always came into play). I'm looking forward to being able to carry it around with me and capture moments (esp bloggable moments)!

(Thanks Mom and Dad)

The fresh start also comes with the new and improved white blog background. Very fresh.

ohhh typography

2008-03-26T19:46:00.001-04:00

Found this on sfgirlbybay and it made me laugh.

sewing project: #1

2008-03-16T20:19:00.004-04:00

Today, with a lot of help from my fabulous mother, I finished my first sewing project! The fabrics that I used are a black and white floral pattern with a solid beige and solid black cheesecloth type fabric. All purchased from the lovely JoAnn Fabrics. I proposed to my mom that we go into business together and start our own little shop on Etsy :)

my new hairdo

2008-03-13T15:14:00.004-04:00

Just Kidding.

But I wanted to see what I might look like with bangs, so I did a little photoshopping with Reese Witherspoon's pic on the red carpet.

Bembo's Zoo

2008-03-06T15:42:00.005-05:00

Bembo's Zoo is such a fun website. You click on the letter of the alphabet and it will transform the letters into an animal beginning with that letter and each one has sound to it. Bill, my teacher, showed us this website in class the other day.

attention to detail

2008-03-02T17:20:00.003-05:00

I feel as though I might have failed a little bit as a designer the other day, when I realized that for however many years I never noticed what is screamingly obvious about the FedEx logo. I like to think that I pay close attention to detail, but this makes me wonder what else I'm not seeing! It's one of those things though, that after you see it once you can never look at it the same again. How did I not see it!? I almost didn't want to admit that I didn't see the arrow, but I'm assuming (or hoping) that there will be someone else out there that sees this post and realizes it for the first time :)

Thanks to johnson banks thought for the week for bringing this to my attention.

fontifier

2008-02-27T21:38:00.004-05:00

Fontifier is a website that let's you create a font out of your own handwriting for only $9. You print out the template, write in all the letters, scan it back onto your computer, and upload it onto their site. They even let you preview it before you buy! I like the idea of Fontifer, although I think I still want to invest in a tablet in the near future.

I found Fontifier on How About Orange

woolrich weekend

2008-02-27T15:26:00.005-05:00

I went to Woolrich, PA this weekend, which is where my dad works and lives during the week. My dad is a textile designer at Woolrich. We got a chance to take a tour of Woolrich (the woolen mill) and see the whole process of turning wool into yarn and then weaving it into fabric. It was A LOT to take it, but it was all very interesting.

new purchase: sewing book

2008-02-26T15:45:00.003-05:00

I am really excited about my new purchase, Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects. I can't wait for it to arrive! I really want to dive into a handmade/sewing project to start off the semester. I am going to need to find a good place to go and get some fabric. On another note, my wish list on amazon has been growing very rapidly lately... it's about time I start building up my library! (funds permitting, of course).

Wish List + Olive Jade Flower Necklace

2008-02-17T23:25:00.006-05:00

I found this necklace posted on Print & Pattern and had to check out Pebble Jewellery on Etsy. AND! they are from England, which makes it that much cooler- it totally reminds me of something you would find at portobello market.

vday inspired

2008-02-12T09:43:00.001-05:00

Daily Candy Illustrations

2008-02-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

I am loving these illustrations on Daily Candy.

Tortoise Shell Flatware

2008-02-01T09:29:00.001-05:00

I'm obsessed with tortoise shell. I found these on a blog that I just recently discovered call Dose of Design and the flatware is from Carloyne Roehm.

First day of internship = snow day

2008-01-14T14:07:00.003-05:00

Why I missed my first day of my internship...

Boulder, Colorado

2008-01-14T12:45:00.001-05:00

I just took a trip to Boulder, Colorado with Susan and Colleen to visit our friend Jen who goes to school at CU. We went saki bombing, explored the mountains, saw Boulder falls (which was frozen), saw CU campus, had kitchen dance parties, went on a brewery tour and tasted lots of really good Boulder beer. Basically to sum up the trip, I am in love with my friends and I am in love with Boulder. It was one of the best weeks of my life, it had been about two years since we had all been reunited.

While I was there I also got to visit another love of my life, tda advertising & design. Tda was my first choice for an internship this winter, but unfortunately it wasn't able to work out because they already have 4 long term interns (there's only about a dozen people that work there anyways). It was one big (but not huge) open room where everyone had their desks, with a dog running around and a massage chair from one of their clients. I met with the senior designer Matt Ebbing and the junior designer Sylvia Suh. Sylvia had actually just graduated from MICA last year and started working for tda this past summer. It was nice to talk to her considering she had just recently come from my position (being a senior at college about to graduate and enter the "real world"). She also said she would help me out with some Baltimore connections, considering all the teachers at Delaware aren't big on the Baltimore scene I could use a little help if thats where I might want to end up. I got a glimpse of what it might be like to work in a small agency, which I think I liked. While Matt and Sylvia had a conference call, I got to bother some of the "interns." They had all graduated in the past year or two from CU. They were really nice and easy to talk to. I checked out a couple of books they had lying around and hung out some more. I was surprised that for how small of a company they are (doing both advertising and design) that it was relatively split up and separate from each other. After a lot of their one on one attention, it was time for them to actually do some work so I said my goodbyes and thank yous and left! I totally could have seen myself interning there for a month or anywhere in Boulder because I liked it so much! Maybe after graduation!??

whhhyyy?

2007-12-31T09:59:00.000-05:00

I think I want to redo my website... I thought I would never say that. Yesterday it came over me, I'm thinking the color scheme will be browns, blacks, and greys. I'm looking for some pictures for inspiration.

Krink

2007-12-28T13:24:00.000-05:00

Krink products are the finest quality inks and markers on the market today. They are permanent paint markers that bleed down the wall for a graffiti look.

From looking through their gallery, I thought that some of the more interesting uses were for interiors as an accent on a wall or the shirts that the bartenders are wearing.

Enjoy Responsibly

2007-12-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

Double vision cans for Guinness, "enjoy responsibly"

happy holidays

2007-12-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of fun with Tattoo Santa. It's a way to send an email greeting personalized, by picking where on the body of santa you want to tattoo and what you want it to say. There's one option that you can add a picture to be tattooed onto his back.

On another note, I haven't posted anything in about a month... and I keep saying "oh, I want to put that on my blog" to everything I see or think about, but being away from school I am more distant from my computer (which I like). So, hopefully I will get around to it, a lot of it was holiday stuff... better late then never, right?

teapot

2007-12-02T14:12:00.001-05:00

Came across this teapot on NOTCOT.

“If Apple did housewares, this might be the iPot. Designer Joey Roth calls his baby the Sorapot. It’s a radically minimalist reinterpretation of the teapot — a vision transforming a familiar, everyday item into something more like modern art. And, unlike many conventional teapots, the Sorapot’s glass and metal components are fully recyclable.” -Snarfd

fashion156

2007-11-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

I saw these pictures from fashion156 on Spray Glue. They make me want to go out and do a photo shoot.

it's been a while... NYC

2007-11-15T01:07:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while since my last post... but I wanted to write about our VCNY trip last week. It was definitely a good trip, with Food & Wine in the morning and then a talk with Steven Heller in the afternoon at SVA- it doesn't get much better than that. My classmate's cousin Fredrika Stjarne is the Director of Photography at Food & Wine, who we met with. She gave us a really great tour of the place and presentation of what it is that she does. It's hard to even fathom everything that goes into just the photographs used in the magazine, everything to do with organizing the shoot, hiring a photographer, a food stylist and prop stylist (two jobs I didn't know existed), planning flights and hotels, working around weather, working with chefs and their food, deciding what to shoot, etc etc etc. The best part of their office was the test kitchen where they try out all of their recipes for the magazine :) It was so nice of her to take time out of her day and show us around, I really learned soo much. After the visit, Jessie had an interview with Vogue and Alex had an interview with Rolling Stone, so we hung around and shopped while they had their interviews. Then we had the talk at SVA with Steven Heller. I've been fortunate enough to have heard him talk at Delaware my sophmore year, although everything was much more relevant this time now that I am a senior. It's amazing to see someone so successful in the design world whose success has come mainly from writing about design, not actually being a designer himself. I would be interested in sitting in on one of his classes/lectures that he does at SVA and learn more. It was great to have him talk to us for 45min.

a bday present

2007-11-05T19:39:00.000-05:00

For my birthday this past Wednesday, I treated myself to a bday present yesterday at best buy. The Office, Season 3!! I'm very excited to sit down and watch it all, I'm so behinddd...

CA design annual

2007-11-05T19:04:00.000-05:00

My favorite issue of comm arts came today, the design annual! It was kind of perfect timing because I have been struggling for an idea for my next project. Last week, I went to Barnes & Noble and sat down with the Print regional design annual and soaked it in for a good 45 minutes, I was so close to buying it but I couldn't come to terms with spending $35 on a magazine (but really its more than just a magazine...) Anyways, some of the highlights in the CA for me are the Backseat Driver's Manual for Volkswagen by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Yonder Mountain poster by FarmBarn Art Co., the integrated branding program for Cellar Rat Wine Merchants by Berkley, packaging for Thymes Ltd. by Duffy & Partners, Spoetzl Brewery- Shiner Beer by Chaos Concept Manufacturing, sake2me packaging by Michael Osbourne Design, Pentagram's Saks Fifth Avenue packaging, Sid Lee Collective's Self Promotion posters, and the Museum of Sex poster by Lowe New York. I could probably name 20 more, but I figured I'd throw a few out there. I'm still in the process of figuring out what it is that I like to do, I am interested in pursuing one of the following for my next project: packaging, intergrated branding program, letterheads, logos, books, or environmental graphics.

rainy day

2007-10-25T13:42:00.000-04:00

court tv

2007-10-21T18:19:00.000-04:00

I saw this court tv advertising campgain today in print magazine and wanted to share. It was done by Trollback + Company in NY. It's very simple and only uses text, I love the use of outdoor advertising. There was also a paper bag that said "THE STASH" and wild postings that said "THE COVER UP"

Soundmap [audio walks of London]

2007-10-16T17:51:00.000-04:00

I received my Daily Candy-London this morning to find the link to this website. [Yes, I signed up for the London email because I still want to be there.] I wish I had seen this before we went this past summer on our study abraod trip, it would have been so much fun, such a cool thing to do for tours of the small little places we went to. I will definitely pass this onto the juniors though. I am definitely going to listen to them and pretend as if I was there, and get all sad that I'm not.

I just posted this and realized that I didn't explain more specifically what Soundmap is... "Soundmap produces downloadable audio walks of London using narrators like Robert Elms and Irma Kurtz as tour guides, along with music, sound effects and interviews with locals to create informative, off-beat walks. Tours of the Kings Road, Camden Town and Soho come with instructions about where to start and end, and what to look at along the way. You’ll learn plenty; it’s like employing a physical tour guide, without needing to follow a pack of camera-wielding, besneakered piddlers (sorry, tourists) like a sheep."

vintage heart pill box

2007-10-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

I found these vintage heart pill boxes on Etsy. The seller is EpochBeads and she put vintage decal stickers onto vintage pill boxes. I would really like to replace my blue plactic pill case with one of these, I think I would choose the green onein the bottom right corner. She even includes charms inside the pillbox from her store.

a dress

2007-10-08T19:44:00.000-04:00

I found this dress on Shiny Squirrel and I love it. It looks surprisingly wearable for a high fashion dress on the runway. It's from Alexander McQueen's spring 2008 collection. I really want to start wearing all my cute fall clothes now, but this weather in the 90's is rediculous and a dress is somehow still practical!

rachelstuartdesign.com

2007-10-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

rachelstuartdesign.com is mine! I finally built up the courage and bought my domain name. It had to be rachelstuartdesign instead of just rachelstuart because rachelstuart.com is a page about a kindergartener and her friends, no fair :( but its okay. I am going to try and have the site up ASAP in hopes of getting a kickass internship for this winter!!! EEK. I've been working on the design in Illustrator and preparing my work for the web, just need to get dreamweaver down and do the damn thing. I'm currently taking a Web Design class and that is what we are working on for our midterm, so it's nice that the projects go hand in hand.

Michael Perry

2007-10-06T20:00:00.000-04:00

how cool would it be to live in an "A"

I came across Mike Perry on Random Inspiration. This guy has such playful type and illustrations. You can feel how much fun he is having in his work (or at least it appears that way to me), which makes it that much better. I enjoy his editorial spreads, they really come to life. He has a book out called "Hand Job" with all sorts of hand drawn type, definitely inspiration to do your own type and not download someone elses!

International Spy Museum

2007-10-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

A can shaped 35mm spy camera available in their gift shop.

I came home this weekend in hopes of being super duper productive. So, it's friday night and I am sitting at home with my parents trying to do work and watching Giada's Weekend Getaways on Food Network, very exciting life of a college student (only 3.5 more weeks until I am 21 and my life gets better again because I will be able to join my friends at the bar). Giada is in DC and visited the International Spy Museum, which looks totally cool. They have this exhibit called Operation Spy where you schedule a time for a 1 hour "thrilling adventure." They give you a mission and you have to solve it, the intense experience combines live-action, themed environments, special effects, and hands-on activities like cracking a safe and conducting a polygraph test of a suspect agent. It looked like so much fun and to add to the coolness, you had to figure out how to get into it. They had this random keypad on the side of the wall that you had to enter numbers into to open the door.
Operation Spy at the International Spy Museum.

NYC on thursday!

2007-10-01T11:08:00.000-04:00

Thursday was our first NY trip of the year and a pretty good one at that. Last minute, Rosie, Jessie, Alex, Laurel and I got invited to the juniors visit to see JP Williams at Design MW (YAY!). All of their work was very smart and very detailed, everything was thought about down to the littlest touches (for example having red edges of the pages on a six feet under book). I think 2 huge things that I would learn from being at a place like that is paper choice and type. I still have so much to learn about everything, but those two things alone make their work wonderfully wonderful. JP Williams talked about his creative process, which is always interesting to hear how people work. He said he starts with images and visuals and also by looking in the dictionary. At the end of the talk he mentioned that we could contact him to critique our work...might have to take him up on that offer! (...and then rework everything I've ever done).
We had the rest of the day free to do as we please! I went to Pearl River Market with the girls and it was totally inspiring. It was perfect for the sushi project that I have been working on. I ended up buying a sushi making kit, wooden chopsticks, and some really nice oriental patterned brown paper. Next on the list was some fashion inspiration at forever 21, where I got 2 new shirts and a pair of earrings. Rosie and I really wanted to get our hair cut next, I was totally ready to chop off my hair that I have been growing for over a year! It didn't work out because everywhere we ran into was completely booked or cost like $200 (which we weren't exactly prepared to do). We also stopped in Sephora for some packaging inspiration (and to test out their makeup and perfume, of course). The one thing I knew I wanted to do ahead of time in the city was go to the paper stores, I was in desperate need of nice paper! I ran out of the paper I bought in the city last semester and have been dieing to get more. Rosie and I trekked up to 18th street to Paper Access, where I wanted to buy THEE ENTIRE STORE! anyways, Rosie and I bought some paper and decided we would split white and off white because we couldn't decide. I also got these clear labels that I had been asking my brother to get for me from Virginia Tech because that's the only place I had ever seen them before. We were pretty close to where the bus picks us up and didn't feel like heading back downtown again, so we stopped in one last hair place and asked where we could grab some food and drink. We had some oktoberfest and had our first experience of sliders! (they were mini burgers, can you believe that? we thought they were a drink special).
All in all it was a very good, cheap day in new york (minus the paper purchase).

just when you think you're finished...

2007-09-24T00:47:00.000-04:00

I thought I had finished my label project weeks ago, the only lingering thing was printing them out and finding the right bottles for dressing. Today, I spent an hour in the salad dressing, marinade, sauce aisle with jr picking and choosing between bottle shapes and the dressings that came in them. I obviously was trying to make this as cheap as possible and figured out that it was cheaper to buy the 3 bottles that I liked the shape of and then purchase 2 dressing in a different brand to fill the bottles with (luckily one was already a good match). It was actually much more complicated than that, but it is impossible to explain the extent of the salad dressing, bottle choosing extravaganza. The next feat was to transfer the right dressings into the right bottles and soak the labels off. The labels wouldn't budge, so my uncle, grandmother, and I sat on my deck scrubbing with sponges and exacto blades with windex, cider vinegar, nail polish remover and soft scrub. I'm sure they travelled all the way from Scotland to help me do this (hahaha) but, regardless it was very nice for them to help and I would have been there forever otherwise. After they were finally cleaned, I measured the new dimensions and completely redesigned them!! It actually worked out for the best because I think I got them to a better place than they were before (and I thought they were finished!). The bottles also gave me a new element to design, which I think it needed.

LESSON LEARNED: buy the bottles first and THEN design around it. (but maybe not entirely because then maybe I would have never redesigned them?)

Communication Arts

2007-09-21T15:39:00.001-04:00

This past issue of Communication Arts is too relevant. Its the Sept/Oct Interavtice Annual and has an articles on second life and blogging. It has some postage stamps from Austrailia. Not to mention I am currently making my portfolio site and it's the interactive annual...

second life

2007-09-20T14:34:00.001-04:00

Today in web design we had a speaker, Debbie Jeffers, talk about second life...crazy shit. It is known as web 2.0, which consists of facebook, myspace, and flickr. Second Life is not a game, it is a virtual landscape built by its residents meant for socialization. Everyone in Second Life is a real person, it is not a computer. I could not believe the extent of Second Life, it is all so hard to get your head around. If you wanted to check out Second Life, you create a virtual version of yourself which is called an "avatar." Once you have created your avatar you are taken to Orientation Island to learn how to walk, communicate, fly, etc. (this is all from the talk, I haven't actually done this myself, so I apologize if it's not entirely correct).
In Second Life there is currency called Linden dollars and the exchange rate is $1 USD = 266 Linden Dollars. You can put in your own money in USD or you can do work in Second Life to earn Lindens. Debbie said that she uses her Linden to take classes, where she learns how to make things in Second Life (for example, shoes or textures). Only a little weird so far...but it gets better.
There are dangers that come along with using Second Life, your avatar can get raped or killed or mugged. So, now the issues are coming up in our judicial system, whether rape of an avatar can do emotional damage to someone and could that person get in trouble with the law (don't they have better things to worry about?). Also, when you are creating your avatar you can pick either male or female or even an animal, which just makes things even more complicated and disgusting. People also get married, which is actually two real people with avatars chosing to do this. You can find a priest and have a ceremony. So, then does that mean a husband is having an affair if he gets married in Second Life to another woman?
The list just goes on... there are movies made in Second Life with sets created and avatars starring as actors and actresses with extras, there art galleries to visit with paintings from real museums, U2 has played a concert, your avatar can go to dances or clubs on friday nights... SO CRAZY!
I'm sure my opinion of Second Life is pretty clear so far. I just feel like if you wanna go to a dance, go to a dance in real life and interact with people and not on a computer screen. If you want to see paintings or artwork go to a gallery and see the real thing, because a digital picture is never going to be the same as experiencing it. Other than the fact that I think its weird and slightly creepy, it is very impressive/scary how far technology has come. There are two reasons I can see Second Life being practical. One, for employees to meet at a conference instead of teleconferencing. Two, a form of advertising for a company that wants to buy their own island and create a new type of marketing.

FINALLY! (the stamp project)

2007-09-20T00:09:00.000-04:00

This is a cool stamp series I found of all the states.

So, Rosie and I may have finally just cracked our current project. We've have been struggling all this week to figure out what it is to make this project work, but I'm glad we pushed through. To explain the project a little, we decided to promote our hometowns by encouraging the locals, neighboring areas to take advantage of all the great stuff going on in the city. Maybe not the typical things that everyone knows and has done 100 times. We wanted to give people a reason to just do something and get them out and doing things, whether it's with their family, or their friends, or their significant other, or just themselves. We thought stamps would be an interesting form to use as our promotion. We figure stamps are bought at your local post office and could be sold specifically in your town. So, I am from Baltimore County and Baltimore City is the city I would go to (approx. 20 min away) and for Rosie shes also approx. 20 min outside Boston. Then this is where we got stuck...

We couldn't think of a way to tie together the purpose of the stamps and what goes on them. Of course we knew of plenty of places to go, but what were they going to look like and why? We toyed with several ideas: type, funny sayings, double meanings, using 2 stamps, icons/symbols, line drawings, photographic, definitions... etc, etc. Then we realized that it was more than just telling people places to go for food, art, culture, or recreation. People actually need to be given a time to do these things, it is more about events going on, on specific dates that people might not know about. The stamp design is going to reflect an event that takes place and give the date. So, for the aesthetic we figured it would make sense for the stamps to be mini posters advertising these events (and in the booklet of stamps a list of all the events and dates with more info?). Rosie and I are thinking this project has more legs that we ever thought it would, but we are gonna tackle the stamps first and see what comes next. We are making sure we don't get ahead of ourselves... hahaha.

We also started wondering why advertising hasn't taken over the postage stamp market? I asked Ann (our ad teacher) if there was some government law or postal service rules on stamps, but she said anyone can design stamps these days and it will probably lead to such things.

Sailor Jerry

2007-09-18T17:33:00.000-04:00

I was doing research for my Baltimore project and stumbled upon a Baltimore Tattoo Museum that I never knew about before. I read into it and they are a functioning tattoo parlor and have a huge exhibit of tattoos, including Sailor Jerry. Last year a small group of us went to Philly to visit Gyro Worldwide, the ones responsible for turning Sailor Jerry and his tattoos into a brand.
A little bit about the brand from Gyro's website>> "Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins is a legend. He's the Elvis Presley of tattooing. And Sailor Jerry Ltd is a Super iconic American brand that has the potential to one day sit along side the likes of Jack Daniels, Harley Davidson and Levis.
And, the best part about it is, GYRO 100% owns the brand (in conjunction with the heirs of Sailor Jerry's estate). We started Sailor Jerry from scratch back in 1999 and have grown it into a multi-category lifestyle brand that makes everything from jeans, to jewelry, to glassware- we've even done some very successful licensing deals with Converse to make shoes and William Grant and Son's to make Sailor Jerry Rum."
After we visited Gyro, we all went to the Sailor Jerry store located below their studio. We took all the catalogs and cards laying around and browsed at all the clothing. There were definitely some pieces that I loved and wanted, but obviously being a college student couldn't afford. I don't feel like im edgy enough to rock Sailor Jerry, but I wish I was (I want to pull off the tiger dress... maybe there's hope?) I love the idea of what Gyro has made Sailor Jerry into, I think making a brand out of a guy's tattoos is such a cool concept. And, not only is it a clothing line it has developed into a brand of rum, it seems limitless.

My Baltimore

2007-09-17T11:22:00.001-04:00

Last night Rosie and I brainstormed for project ideas and have decided to do a hometown pride slash tourism project (which I will explain later in another post). So, basically Rosie and I got super homesick and wanted to be home. Luckily, school is only an hour away from Baltimore and I am going home this weekend because my grandmother and uncle are visiting from Scotland. I would definitely love to have crabs one more time this year before it gets too cold, that might be wishful thinking though. I really want to go downtown at least to the harbor or fells point. Fells point festival is Oct. 6th and 7th, the same as Oak Knoll here in delaware, I would like to make it to both of them!

Lorena Siminovich

2007-09-16T12:57:00.000-04:00

I was searching through some of my bookmarks for my web class and came across Illustrator, Lorena Siminovich. I love her simplistic, colorful, playful collages. Here are some of my favorites...

Making patterns!

2007-09-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

I was sitting in the studio on thursday and decided to teach myself how to make patterns in illustrator. Surprisingly, the help in illustrator was helpful. It turns out that making a pattern is pretty easy. Basically, you create your pattern and then drag it into the swatches so that it becomes a fill option. Then you make the shape that you want to be patterned and fill it with the pattern swatch you just created.
Here are a few that I was experimenting with...

Dieing to own a home!

2007-09-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

Today I've been really overwhelmed with wanting to move into my very own house, or more realistically, apartment after graduation. I want a place to decorate immediately. I think I have been trying to satisfy these urges to some extent by decorating my desk/wall in the senior studio (I guess that will have to do for now). I can't wait to pick furniture, color combinations, wall paper, art, knic knacs etc, etc, etc!

These lights were posted on sfgirlbybay's blog. I'm not exactly sure how they would fit in with the decor I have imagined my house would be, but maybe I could make it work! I have quite some time to figure this out...

...and I kinda really love this chair. (from Urban Outfitters)

You Tube- Braille Graffiti

2007-09-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

Braille Graffiti, watch the movie on youtube.

"do things you care about"

2007-09-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

My moto for this year and the rest of my life.
Main inspiration from our talk in London with Peter Saville.
I wanna make this a poster...

2 JANE

2007-09-11T22:54:00.000-04:00

Color by number pineapple wallpaper! Holy crap.

These glasses are cool too. Double-walled half-pint glasses keep beer, water, or juice cold and tea and other hot beverages warm. I want my half-pint from london in one of these bad boys.

First Crit

2007-09-11T10:36:00.000-04:00

The 4 of us had our first critique of our label project yesterday, which I think went pretty well. It's nice having our small group. Everyone had good ideas... Laurel is doing salsa and has two kinds called "hot 'n horny" and "mild 'n modest." Rosie is doing ice cream with the flavors based on emotions/associations people have to eating ice cream, such as Rocky Road having something to do with breaking up with your boyfriend or Espresso Chip when you are studying during finals week. And Jessie is doing a combination of "PB" "&J" and played around with schmearing peanut butter and jelly onto her scanner.
I got feedback on mine as to which ones were working best, the most simple one of course. So, I reworked the colors a little and had to work on the series. For my labels, I was thinking that I would want to print them on an off-white/cream paper, but now I'm thinking (with Jessie's help) that a white, slightly textured paper would be good to go along with the fresh, light, clean feeling of the labels and the dressing.

On another note, I have two ideas of imagery I came across brainstorming that I wanna use. I like these antique frames that I want to use, maybe put stuff in for labels or maybe packaging. The other one is these vintage sewing patterns that I found on etsy.

"Studio Stew"

2007-09-09T20:26:00.000-04:00

"Studio Stew" is what Jessie, Laurel, Rosie and I decided to call ourselves... cheesy (i know), but we really just needed something to name our files. Someone had the idea to resort to Dr.Suess for inspiration and somewhere in "Oh, the places you'll go" there was the word stew and we all liked it. If it was practical, we would have probably taken all the words from the book as our name because it's so fitting. Basically, the 4 of us have stepped away from a single defined path in VC and have taken our senior years into our own hands (to make a long story short). We are all working on the same projects both individually and collaboratively for 3 credits and then pursuing our own interests and projects for another 3 credits as an independent study. VERY EXCITING!

Our first project we came up with for ourselves is called "In your fridge!", we are picking a food product you find in your fridge and redesigning labels. We figured working in 2D was the best idea for getting back into the swing of things since its the beginning of the semester.

This was the first thing I came up with, there are 2 others that go along with it. The inside of the lime would be cut out so that the dressing would show through. And, after the whole thing I realized that I misspelled the company, it's actually Fischer & Weiser... you know, only a minor detail.

Getting things started!

2007-09-09T16:17:00.000-04:00

So, I've put off starting my blog for a week now because I couldn't think of a name for it (pretty typical). I decided it would be named "I like (something)", posing after my London blog that I named "I like fish and chips." There's so much that I have wanted to write about that it was pretty stupid putting it off because of a name...so, the new blog is I LIKE STEW!