Inspired by the swamp!

I am past due on my inspiration blog. Weekly blogs are a great goal. But hey, I am blogging pretty regularly so I think that is success. Progress not perfection is my motto this year! Today I am inspired by seeing new things. I am inspired by places I have been before, but not on this day. Last week, I was swamped (hehe!) with work, but I was down in Baton Rouge, visiting family and working with my partner Meg. Her mom was having a birthday (I am not allowed to say which one, as said Mother reads this blog!) Ms. Barbara loves bird watching and I thought hey, why don't we head to lake martin early one morning while we are here and see if we can see some birds.

We got up at 6 and headed out around 6:30 for the hour long drive from Baton Rouge, to Lake Martin, LA. We had a cooler full of sandwiches and other yummy Gluten Free snacks.

We arrived at Lake Martin around 7:30. Wow, we were in for a treat. It's nesting time for all sorts of birds on lake martin. We saw white egrets, blue herons, and the amazing Roseate Spoonbill birds sitting all over the trees. There were hundreds of birds nesting in the rookery. White birds, black birds and pink birds. Yes, PINK. We happened upon a couple of very knowledgeable bird photographers who told us which birds were which. It was Awesome I say, just awesome.

Then we mentioned to the photogs that we wanted to go on a boat tour and they told us right where to go. We drove down to dock and we saw the swamp tour truck but no boat and nobody. Meg's mom spotted a number on the truck and said do you think we should call? I said hey I doubt the phone is going to work in the swamp, but I tried anyway. The guy picked up in his amazing Cajun accent and said he wouldn't mind at all to swing back and pick us up. They had only being going for about 10 minutes.

The swamp tour was amazing, but not as amazing as the tour guide's cajun accent. If you have never met a real cajun, I advise you head down to South Louisana, and get to the swamp & meet yourself a cajun or two. They are the most resourceful people on the planet and they might just be the nicest and the most welcoming. It doesn't matter if you are from Mars. They take you right in and offer you a beer and some crawfish.

I can't describe how pretty it is in the swamp with words. Just check out the photos and see for yourself.

This week I am inspired HATCH SHOW PRINT!

I got some great news last week. I am currently giving the Austin Grill brand, menu & website a makeover!! The company is based out of DC but has franchises all over the country.

I am always inspired by a new project. I love that my job is working with all sorts of different companies and personalities.

This project got extra cool points as the design direction was (& I quote) "very hatch show print, Lucinda Williams, vintage western inspired!" Can you say perfect fit for a client and designer? Check out what the site looks like now. Austin Grill Website

The photo in this post are my ideas for the new direction. I am pretty freaking stoked about the awesomeness going on here. I spent my week looking at vintage silk screened posters along with the amazing work over at Hatch Show Print

This week I am working on a brand new menu design. Then it's website redo time!

Once again, I gotta say, my job rocks and I am a lucky girl with a good life. Happy Friday!!

Generosity & Graditude are two birds of a feather.

This morning, I am feeling incredibly inspired & exceptionally grateful for all the love and support we have in Asheville. I am also inspired daily by Mentorship. Mentoring Antonio has been the single most rewarding thing I have ever done with my life. It's also the most difficult, but it's so rewarding when he is successful!

We have been mentoring Antonio since 2007. He is in the 8th grade and is planning to go away to boarding school next year. We believe one on one mentoring with a focus on higher level eduction can break the cycle of poverty.

If you live in Asheville, please consider dropping by this event on Thursday evening. If you can't make it, go by Lola Salon and get some raffle tickets. You don't have to be present to win.

For the full story of how we became Antonio's mentors, visit the link below.
http://roostinteriordesign.tumblr.com/post/2581098806/art-for-antonio


ART BENEFIT FOR ANTONIO EVENT DETAILS!

Help Antonio go away to boarding school for a better tomorrow!

Your chance to make a huge difference in the life of an amazing local child.

March, 3rd, 2011 5-9 pm
An evening with hor d'oeuvres + wine tasting + great art to buy + tons of
raffle offerings + proceeds go help Antonio go to boarding school!

71 Starnes Ave, Downtown Asheville (28801)

If you can't make it buy some raffle tickets anyway!

RAFFLE TICKETS FOR SALE NOW @ Lola Salon, 60 Biltmore Ave.

You do not have to be present to win. $1000+ worth of prizes!

VISIT THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE TO RSVP
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177870388918686#!/event.php?eid=177870388918686

Participating Artists:
+ Simone Wilson : http://www.pleasanthughstudio.com/
+ Meg Reilley : www.megreilley.com
+ Molly Sieburg Courcelle : http://www.mollycourcelle.com/
+ Genie Maples : www.geniemaples.com
+ Cheri Brackett : http://www.amerifolk.com/painting/CheriBrackett/index.php
+Nicole McConville
http://sigilation.com/
+ Allie Good
+Jess Kit portrait session
www.photokitt.com
+ Mimi Strang

RAFFLE TICKETS FOR SALE NOW @ Lola Salon, 60 Biltmore Ave.
You do not have to be present to win. $1000+ worth of prizes!
$5 raffle tickets gets you a chance at these offerings :
+ haircut by Rebecca Biggers at Lola Salon (6 stylists, 6 haircuts!)
www.lolamakesmebeautiful.com
+ Limones gift certificate
www.limonesrestaurant.com
+ Early Girl Eatery gift certificate
www.earlygirleatery.com
+ Homegrown gift certificate
www.slowfoodrightquick.com
+ art scarf kit by Stacey Budge Kaimson
www.urbangypz.com
+ Spotted Dog Farm beeswax latern
www.spotteddogasheville.blogspot.com
+ Kate the rolfer session
www.katetherolfer.com
+Haircuts by Frankie Bolt (4 Haircuts!)
www.eclipseasheville.com
+ Neck warmer by Lupe Perez
+ Angelique Tassistro of Fly Coop Studios
a scalloped flower dip platter set
www.flycoopstudios.com
+ Katie and Mike at LADY LUCK FARM
$50 bouquet delivery
www.ladyluckflowerfarm.com
delivered floral arrangement worth $75
Aria Floral
www.blueridgeflowers.com
& the list is growing daily!

We hope to see you there!!

typography may have peaked in 1897!

This week I am inspired by the 1890's. When I designed the R.O. Frank's Aviation Company logo in 2008, I researched the time period. The 1890's are when hot air balloons were invented. At the time, flying machines were all the rage. The hot air balloon is the only flying machine that is still around today. That tells me, it must have been pretty good design, if it's still in use over 100 years later.

I have actually flown in a hot air balloon. It's one of the most amazing things I ever did in my life. I recommend you get up there and try it! It's so wonderful quiet, (except for the whoosh of fire, every once and a while to keep you floating) and a perspective I have yet to experience before or since.

I am also interested in Wet Plate Collidion Photography. This is the photography process that was invented in the 1850's & peaked in the 1890's. My partner Meg and I took a wet plate collidion class in D.C. back in the fall… and man the camera and lenses we used were incredible examples of good design. We photographed with a big studio camera, called a century camera. I will post some of those images another day.

The way type was handled during the end of the 19th century is my favorite historical use of typography to date. It's like everything that was type set was made to last and the design was well thought out. Not like today, where everything is thrown together by anybody who has photoshop. Not that people who are not trained as graphic designers can't be awesome. Sometimes they are awesome, but becoming a great graphic designer is about practice, practice and more practice.

I read something once, that if you do anything for 10,000 hours or more, you are likely an expert at that 10,000 hour mark. I am definitely past 10,000 hours of graphic design but whether I am an expert is debatable. I still love it, so that must count for something.

I am including the original logo ideas I showed to the client and the gift certificate I designed for R.O. Frank's so you can see the historical reference at work.

image of century camera book cover from : craigcamera.com
image of the clown ad : mechanicalbanks.org

The Year of Inspiration Blogs 2011!

*Photo from http://heidiwdurrow.com/book


I have been thinking about my blog a lot in the last couple of weeks. (thinking about it, but not actually blogging!) I have decided to blog for one year about my inspirations.

I am feeling very inspired about 2011. There are a lot of big changes in the hopper… Change inspires me, new places inspires me, trying new things inspire me.

So, this will be the first of many posts about inspiration.

Today, I am inspired by literature. I have loved to read since I learned how in the second grade. I have a mild case of dyslexia, so I was slow to read at first, but man… the summer between 2nd and 3rd, I was tearing up the pages. Back then it was mostly books like Ramona the Pest (Beverly Cleary) and Super Fudge (Judy Blume).

These days, my favorite reads are non-fiction books about African American United States poverty, social class, racism and plain old social injustice in the United States. I just finished reading "The girl who fell from the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. This was an amazing book about race, class and social injustice. I got the book for Christmas and just recently made time to read it. I don't need much time. I read the entire book in one day. I have to say the cover design is why I got the book. This is the UK cover, but it the most nicely designed (in my humble opinion)!

Other books I have read in the last year that might be of interest if you are curious about the subject matter of poverty in the US.

1. Random Family : Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

2. There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the other America, by Alex Kotlowitz
Alex has a new film that premired at Sundance and is an official Sundance selection!! The film is about the violence in the poverty world. I say Alex, like I know him as he actually wrote back to me when I wrote to ask how the boys in his book are doing now. He is a really amazing author and man. Can't wait to see the film. Check out the trailer here.
http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/

A must read is "Understanding the Framework of Poverty "by Ruby Payne.

I love to read up on the subject of poverty so I know what Antonio is up against. I would love to hear what books inspire my readers. Please write to me. You can visit my web page at www.luckydesign7.com to get my address.

Happy New Year! 2011 is our year.

Happy Holidays? whoa, slow down 2010, I am not quite ready for 2011

Man, have I been busy. I just can't seem to figure out where the days go. I have been working on a few different things. A holiday card, a business card design for roost interiors, a pro-bono project for the annual art fundraiser for open doors of Asheville, stickers for Early Girl Eatery's edibles line, & my new website!

My new website is in the midst of being programmed and I am working on writing copy and pulling together all of the work I want to use in the portfolio section. It has been really fun to look back over the last year of my work.

I have been doing a lot of personal work this year and it really helped my professional work. Thank you Al-non, somatic therapy, and a long daily walk/run with Meg. My mantra for the year, was acceptance. Wow, what amazing things can happen when you accept what is. So, I ended up with a lot of happy clients and successful projects.

My personal life is also super busy. We are still working away on getting Antonio into boarding school. He continues to amaze me. He is making daily process & he is so open to discussing his reservations about leaving home next fall. We are talking through each issue. Antonio cares so much about his family, and us.

We are down to two schools. Rabun Gap is one and St. Stanislaus in Mississippi is the other. I might look into other schools again in January just to be sure we didn't miss anything. They both are a good fit for him, for different reasons.

At Rabun Gap he will have access to music and the arts like never before….along with a great education and all the help he needs to be successful there.

St. Stanislaus is also a good fit… the education is a good solid catholic education, along with some amazing sports experience. Stanislaus often wins state championships in all sorts of sports. Antonio would have access to all any sport he would like to play here. Antonio's main goals is a college scholarship, so this is a top runner for all involved!

Otherwise, things are going well around here. The christmas decorations are up. We celebrated the holidays with my family (our North Carolina family). Meg & I had a lovely lunch at Homegrown with my mom, dad, and older sister yesterday. It was good to spend some time with them.

Christmas this year will be little in the gift department and super big in the love & blessings department. That is just what I wanted for 2010.

There are some BIG changes being planned for 2011. Stay Tuned!!

Happy Holidays everybody! blessings!!