learning, just because.
I have a fairly long list of skills I’d like to learn ‘one day’, and this weekend I finally made progress on one of them by taking a (free!) knitting class at the library.
My project at the end of class. Wobbly, but better than I would have done figuring it out on my own!
The sad part is that I really can’t remember how long it’s been (if ever) that I learned something in a group setting just for fun. Here, my only motivation is to learn something — not to earn a grade or be the best at it — but because I want to learn. Plus, after years of following online tutorials and trying to figure things out by myself, the experience of learning alongside others is just really fun.
handmade, craft, Greenville, life,“Sometimes you have to keep ideas for decades before they have any use.”
— Marc English, via Quotes on Design
quotes, good ideas,life in greenville.
I spent part of my Saturday working on the Life In Greenville project, an idea that was first introduced to me over 2 years ago. I remember this because 1) it was also the day I met most of the (now) CoWork crew, and 2) at the time, I was the only person in the room without a Twitter account (which was remedied shortly thereafter).
I’m very excited about this project, partially because of the way it’s taken place. The idea itself: Use our talents to create a good looking website for Greenville. One whose design more accurately represents the city we live in than the existing ‘official’ Greenville sites. In short, help outsiders realize how great Greenville is.
Fantastic site design by Jeremy of Headlamp Creative in progress
Because everyone stays busy with their own projects and jobs, nothing usually comes of ideas like this — no matter how great they are. But CoWork planned a hack-a-thon/design-a-thon for this weekend to make sure the idea didn’t get neglected. Organizational meetings, content writing, design, illustration, development, and everything else it takes to build a website was done by a team of about 2 dozen people working off and on over a few days. The entire project was built by people who love Greenville.
CoWork Greenville headquarters
There will, of course, be bugs and improvements to be made after the fact, but if you know anything about website building, you know how amazing it is to create a full site from scratch in such a short amount of time — not to mention a responsive site that looks amazing on any device. It shows what amazing talent exists in the Greenville web community.
The developers writing their various languages and doing what they do.
I did a tiny bit of content writing and a some design support — helping select and resize images to fit the amazing site design. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but I feel privileged to be part of this project even in a small way.
The site launches later today, so check out LifeinGreenville.com to see the final product!
All photos courtesy of Life in Greenville.
Business, Greenville, good ideas, local,If you’re thinking about making resolutions for the new year, I’d like to suggest this approach instead. Not only does it seem more effective, it sounds like a fun way to try new things and actually reach personal goals. Just imagine what could be accomplished in 30 dedicated days!
Ideas for my 2012 goals include: 30 days of
· making the bed
· not eating dinner in front of the tv
· sketching something every day — like I had to for drawing class
· reading (besides facebook and twitter)
· going to the gym
I first saw this video several months ago and loved the idea, but looking toward a new year seems like a great time to give it a try!
a collaborative effort.
Something I’m learning to appreciate more and more is good collaboration. I think some of the best products out there are a result of people with different strengths and passions coming together to create an end product that each party couldn’t have accomplished alone.
Since Andrew and I are both designers, we always want to design and produce our own Christmas cards. But for the first time in six years, we decided to look outside of our own capabilities and resources to produce something truly amazing.
We came up with our concept, inspired by our love for letterpress and these business cards. Our goal was to create something simple that highlighted the message but would also make people think about how it was created. We contacted Concrete Lace, an Atlanta-based letterpress printer who we met at Indie Craft Parade this year. Katie was great to work with, and was kind enough to send a few photos of the process over so I can share. Our card has a blind embossed (letterpressed) message on a beautiful heavyweight cotton stock. We then dip-dyed each card to add color and interest.
Below are a few photos of the process — from letterpress to dyeing.
Concrete Lace Studio, photo courtesy of Katie Daniels
Letterpressed! photo courtesy of Katie Daniels
Testing the dipping process/mixing colors
Dipped cards drying
The final product
Although I love print design, I’m fascinated by the thought this card doesn’t use ink at all!
christmas, handmade, products,on expectations.
“When a lot is expected of you, it’s very easy to let the pressure of meeting those expectations get to you. In fact, it can be paralyzing, and that’s not good.
What is good is that if you succeed and you meet those expectations, the cumulative impact is exponential. That’s because expectations are just leftover praise. You’ve earned them by doing something great.
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed by expectations, just remember that if you weren’t capable of meeting them, they wouldn’t exist.”
— Words of wisdom (part 1) from Chris Shifflet at Brooklyn Beta 2011
Business, design, quotes,o christmas tree.
The prospect of not having an actual Christmas tree for a second year running was a gloomy one, so after looking at several different tree options, we finally settled on a small live tree. I’m so glad we did! It was fun unpacking all the ornaments that we never pulled out last year and remembering the ones we’ve purchased or been given. Here are a few of my favorite additions this year:
Crochet snowflakes purchased on Etsy last year.
Delicate tin icicles from Tinworks.
Porcelain pears from Crave Studio.
Now to finish choosing what will go under the tree!
christmas, craft, handmade, products,good memories.
Tying these shoes on this morning made me think of my Grandma Jumara. She had feet even smaller than mine and they often wore shoes like this.
It seemed like a good day to wear the pearl she gave me.
family, life,
Spreading the word, via Indie Craft Parade
Download a hi-res version of this graphic or a desktop background at their site!
handmade, products, local,the story of our city.
One of my favorite things about Greenville is that we have people who know how to make things happen. Whether it’s Greenville Forward and their community-sourced idea generator What If Greenville, the folks at CoWork (more on them later), or one of the many small businesses and restaurants, Greenvillians are definitely not sitting still.
CityStory is one of the latest and greatest things happening in our town. Instead of talking about the fact that Greenville should have a coffee table book that shows off our city — these folks went out and made it. Not only that, it looks like they’ve done it well — a crucial factor in the success of any venture.
This team of writers, artists, and photographers set out to share the story of Greenville, South Carolina through words and photography. The final product is a beautiful monochromatic hard-bound book. You can see a sneak peek on their site, or check out a few of the spreads below.
Preview spreads from the book, Greenville — Imprints of a City
This project not only capitalizes on our city pride, it tells the story behind the buildings we see every day. CityStory has also produced some really beautiful videos using imagery from the book and interviews from locals. Even though I’ve spent hours digging through old pictures of Greenville online and reading about its past, I can’t wait to pick up this book and learn more about the city I already love.
If you want to check it out in person, the official book launch party is this Friday at art & light. Details are below!
CityStory Greenville Launch Party
Friday, December 2, 2012
art & light gallery, from 6-9pm
Pendleton St. in West Greenville
