Elm Company X Chace Infinite - Designer Music

Designer Music-

Designer Music – Music has changed. Music is disposable. More people seem interested in the things that their favorite artists’ are into, more than their music. Today, everything design related has taken precedence over the music. It is as if the music is secondary to sneakers, clothes, hats, and gadgets. As a result, artists spend more time developing their product, and less time perfecting the music. Some artists even view their craft solely as a platform to launch merchandise.

Designer Music is an exclusive, limited line produced in collaboration with Chace Infinite of Self Scientific and Kevin Sanchez of Irvine. The series is inspired by the images and sounds that shaped Golden Era Hip-Hop. For those that know, the hats are intended to pay homage to the songs they represent. For those that don’t know, we intend to educate, and elevate.

Designed by Chace Infinite and veteran designer Kevin Sanchez , the hats are limited and only sold at select Elm Company dealers. Every hat is made in Downtown Los Angeles using the finest fabrics and craftsmanship.


Summetime - The Summertime hat was inspired by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith’s classic song “Summertime”, the quintessential Summer anthem from their classic album Homebase. Although Jeff & Will are considered some of the most commercial rappers of all time you can’t deny their groundbreaking classics like “Brand New Funk” , “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Summertime”. Not to mention, DJ Jazzy Jeff is one of the most respected and legendary DJ’s of all time.

Who can forget the images in the video? The classic Summertime BBQ seemed to capture the feel of the season. So we decided to take the inspiration from the BBQ scenes and created a hat that embodied the vibe of the song.

The fitted features a the traditional red/white gingham patterm, raised embroidery watermelon patch, and a sublimated cloud print liner. The Summerime hat also features a quote from the classic Summer anthem, which is also fitting ( pun intended) for the hat series “Just a little something break Monotony
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Amazing Feats of Creativity

I am constantly amazed by the huge and apparently endless variety of creative accomplishments I see on the Internet.  The Skittle Wrapper Prom dress is one of those amazing things that I never would have seen without the wonderful world of blogs.  I first saw this on the Craft Gossip Blog Network. The dress is made entirely of Skittles candy wrappers.  It is a stunning dress, beautifully designed and executed, and truly original. It looks very well made, too. The young lady who made it for her prom dress is simply a genius.   Please follow the link below to see photos of this VERY COOL dress and to read more about her process and, of course, the prom.   Note the matching shoes, too. Everything about this outfit is so inventive.  I am particularly impressed by the way she acquired her materials.  WOW!

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=243397.msg2687230#msg2687230 

Reading about the dress led me to look at more candy wrapper art, which was a delightful journey in itself.  I've seen small candy wrapper handbag at a local eco clothing store.  They were too small for me (I like a roomy bag) and not inexpensive either.  It turns out that there are lots of websites with tutorials on how to make these bags and other accessories from all sorts of wrappers.  Here are just a few.  I'm wondering about trying the weaving technique with fabric strips.

www.candywrapperpurse.blogspot.com     http://rubyreusable.com/artblog/?p=805   http://iwannanewbag.blogspot.com/2007/04/purses-made-from-candy-wrappers-etc.html    http://fluffyland.com/blog/?page_id=50

Fun, interesting, plus an excellent  and very responsible reason to eat more candy!!!

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Make Art Every Day

This is pretty much my new mantra, the answer to most problems, and apparently the path to a happy life.  I started early this summer, and I must say it really helps me in lots of ways.  If I'm upset or frustrated, my first response  now is to make art.  If I'm at home, I go to the studio, but I can do this anywhere, anytime, and with just about anything, even if it's just a matchbook sketch or a plastic straw "sculpture".  It's almost addictive, a delightful high of sorts (without the hangover or legal issues) - the more I do, the more I want to do.  I rarely miss a day.  This is probably about endorphins.  Too bad I have never been able to get exercise to work the same way for me.

It didn't take long at all for this practice to become a firmly established habit.  Interestingly, the results don't seem to matter.  My internal critic seems to have no place in this process, no voice at all, which is LOVELY!  Now that I think of it, I haven't heard from my internal critic in a while.  Maybe it's dead!?!  Hooray! 

I think that part of the reason that the results don't matter is that I am not striving at all for completed works.  My idea is to have art making time, not to make this, that, or the other thing.   I can make something if I choose, but not having that as an objective is very freeing and satisfying.  Even cleaning the studio satisfies me, makes me feel better, happier, more energetic.  I've spent many happy hours lately sorting, culling, and reorganizing art tools, supplies, and books.  I've rediscovered all kinds of things I had forgotten about.  A large give away pile is steadily growing in the middle of the room. It's rather interesting that after all the years of believing that acquiring art materials would lead to making more art, it turns out now that giving stuff away is having that effect.

More about this later...

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O sertão JÁ virou mar.

Tantas coisas mudam...
Não tenho muito o que dizer, já que duzentas coisas estão passando pela minha cabeça agora e é impossível escrever assim. Só sei que as coisas não estavam certas, não estavam mesmo! Porém, o que fazer quando você não perdoa seus próprios erros e não consegue não se afogar no seu próprio mar? Eu sempre fui meio difícil, meio perdida nos meus pensamentos e, mesmo assim, sempre agi como se tivesse certeza dos meus atos. Sempre pensei demais, analisei demais e várias vezes deixei de ver o que estava na ponta do meu nariz. Não acho que isso seja errado ou certo - não dá para simplesmente mensurar a minha personalidade ou julgá-la. O fato é que eu não gosto do rumo que as coisas tomaram, mas não consigo achar minhas soluções ou respostas. Minha cabeça dói, meu mundo gira e eu ainda procuro mais uma das minhas verdades...

É isso, então, eu acho...

********************

Senti-me morta tantas vezes que quando a estrela da vida brilha dentro do meu corpo, fico sem saber como agir. A sensação de mudança nunca me trouxe conforto, mas eu nunca fui de me acomodar. Seria um novo caminho ou mesmo caminho com passos diferentes?

********************

Beijo e namastê ;)
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SEO and Adsense-the Common Factor

SEO and Adsense-the Common Factor
By Vickie J. Scanlon

There are some things that SEO and Adsense has in common. Surprised?


SEO Defined

SEO (search engine optimization) is the utilization of keywords within the Meta tags and within the body of your content to help the search engines to identify what your web page/website is
about.

If you and the search engines' algorithms are on the same page you will be rewarded with a good page ranking, so your target market will flock to you in groves. But this is the kicker, SEO is not an exact science, but one of trial and error. So be patient.


Adsense

Adsense is Google advertising. Once you sign up for Google Adsense, you can place pieces of java script code onto your site. In turn, Google Adsense will come by and place, hopefully, relevant
ads on your web page.


Once you have experimented with the color, size and positioning of your ads on the page, you are ready for the Google spider to roll through your site and put relevant ads on your site to give you a side income. Now that we know a little about SEO and Adsense, what do they have in common?


Adsense and SEO Common Factor

So what is Adsense and SEO's common factor. The spider:

1.cannot read images-you need to enlist the use of a title and the alt tag to identify the image for the search engines.
2.has trouble with Flash and dyanamic content (urls that have ? within it <>. Spiders get skiddish and will back out if it is too complex. And let me emphasis it needs to be simple.

To conclude, SEO is the hub for you to work on. Though quality content is important, it is the SEO work you have done that will help to get the quality ads from Adsense and people to your site.
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Adventures in creating a design wall

I moved from the tiny bedroom studio to the converted carport studio several years ago, and left my old design wall behind.  I missed it, but there just wasn't a good place in the new studio because every wall was busy, with doorways, windows, bookcases, birdcage, etc.  I developed some amusing work arounds, like going up to the loft and looking down over the edge to my worktable below to get some perspective.  Not great, but I thought it was the best I could do until I saw the perfect answer on Pamela Allen's blog http://pamelartnews.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html .  It's a rolling design wall, made from an inexpensive rolling garment rack and a sheet of rigid insulation board.  It's fabulous! So, I got started figuring out how to make one for myself.      

First some problems to work out.  Our local big box home center stores only had Styrofoam insulation board, which is weak and kind of floppy and the edges break down easily.  Solution Laminate the Styrofoam board to a sheet of luan.  Second, how to attach the upholstered board securely to the garment rack.  This took some fiddling, but I think my cable tie solution worked out well.  Velcro could have worked too, but I didn't have any on hand, and getting it snug might have been an issue. 

I am DELIGHTED with the results.  It rolls easily, works great, looks great, didn't cost much, and serves some bonus purposes I hadn't even considered.  When my naughty little studio mate Mylo Birdie shrieks (parrots are SOOOO loud!) I simply roll the design wall in front of his cage and he becomes quiet as a little mouse.  The quiet is followed by his soft, contrite, flirty voice, saying sweet little things like "I love u" and "Hi, baby".

I will soon add light storage, too, by hanging large pot hooks from IKEA over the rod at the back.  This should be ideal for stuff like aprons.   I may even suspend another hanging rod from the garment rack for a few small folded quilts.  I have written a tutorial to show how I created my design wall http://quiltrobin.typepad.com/quiltrobin_my_creative_jo/design-wall-tutorial.html. 

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I am so excited about having my own blog.  My goal for this blog is to document and share my creative journey, and all of the really cool things I find along the way.  I began reading blogs written by other textile artists  a couple of months ago.  This adventure has been a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement, and discovery for me.  All the wonderful things I've read and seen have given me a great burst of energy and a "can do" perspective on reaching my creative goals.  I am completely amazed at the abundance of brilliant tutorials on blogs and other websites!  For example, this one on making a custom ironing board cover is sheer genius http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2008/01/super-easy-iron.html .  I sewed one up immediately.  It was indeed very easy, super fast, and quite beautiful!

I love taking classes and workshops, but I've been struggling to find just the right venue for some time.  I read about the City & Guilds courses in Quilting Arts Magazine, and I read Linda and Laura Kimball's book "The Painted Quilt" earlier this year, but hadn't seriously considered undertaking such a long term and costly commitment as their City & Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Certificate Course.  Checking out the student gallery images on their website http://www.lindakemshall.com/studentgallery.htm really clinched it for me.  I knew immediately this is exactly what I wanted to do.  I signed up for the course right away and have been spending just about every free moment since then working on the course.  It has been so much fun!  I've been dyeing fabrics, making mono-prints, transfer printing, designing, sketching, and so much more.  This truly is the very best decision I have ever made in my creative life.

So, welcome to my blog dear readers.  I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I do!

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