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Inspired Campaign
Cole Haan’s Inspired Life Campaign. Photographed by the guy who gets us behinds the scenes in all sorts of people’s lives– The Selby. Real people models, who actually look happy to be there. Plus, he gave each “model” a handwritten questionnaire, which they responded to in kind, and really, how often do you see actual handwriting these days?
I particularly like the ones of Harley Viera-Newton because she can write in hyrographics which would have won me over for life when I was twelve. If you are into athletic blonds who bake cookies, you will melt equivalently at the Maria Sharapova shoot.
First saw the campaign on Valet’s daily dose.
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The Various Ways to Cook
It feels like I’ve been cooking a lot lately. I’ve made sultry meatballs with yogurt sauce, and saucy roast chicken husked in shallots, murky and satisfying chicken with lentils, peppery glass noodles with crab, and I have to say, none of it is making up for the fact that it’s been raining for three days. Cooking all that stuff does not make me feel like I’m living in a world of foodblog photography of the likes of smittenkitchen‘s glowing haze, and it certainly does not make me feel like I’m curled up with Mollie Wizenberg’s cozy A Homemade Life, reading about dutch baby pancakes.
But, what is always wonderful to look through, and somehow reliably soothing is Ming Makes Cupcakes. I’ve purposely included a tempting image here, with that half-cupcake that appears to be just above the fold but is actually just an image folks! It will be by sheer force if you’re still reading this and haven’t already left to browse the cupcakes. It’s true that I have not once made one of the cupcakes reciped on Ming’s site. But personally, I don’t think this website is about the cupcakes. It’s about the sheer click-stopping power of a well designed page. It’s a zen garden of food curiosity and eager trial-and-error (see: parnsip cupcakes, what?). Check it out and don’t bother coming back for awhile.
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Selling Family
Clockwise from Boston: L.A....Michigan....Caribbean I was ichatting with a few of my brothers tonight and thought of a vintage Kate Spade advertisement. Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to show you this image because it didn’t seem to exist on the web. But now that Partners & Spade‘s website has launched in elegant orange & gray glory, I can smoothly reference it.
Andy Spade suggests in this article that their initial advertising campaigns sold product using family-lust as opposed to wealth-lust (these are cruder words than he used for the young ears of New York Magazine, I’m giving it to you straight). The photo I thought of, this one, is from a five-page narrative about a family visiting the older sister in New York City. Back when I ripped it out of a magazine and glued it into my scrapbook, I thought I liked just liked the snappy clothes. But Andy’s probably right, I liked it because it told the story of a family happy to see each other, being tired at the museum, collapsing at the hotel for a drink (see more of the photos here, though tragically the whole campaign isn’t online). Are ichat screenshots the Midwestern-family-sprawls-west-and-east equivalent of Kate Spade’s campaign? Not yet.
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Monday in Boston
Here are a couple things I’m hoping to fit into my calendar this week:
The Boston Combat Zone photo exhibit: these then-and-now photos of old & supposedly-sleezy downtown look fascinating. Photo of the lovely lady above is from the show by Jerry Berndt.
The ICA is showing the Oscar Nominated Short: the short films always seem be the most risky and inventive, and the hardest to track down to watch. The ICA’s is giving us a lot of chances to make it, and it’s not even sold out yet! (you better believe I bought my tickets before I posted this.) Now you can nod approvingly when they announce the winner.
Sniffing out Bina, a little Italian grocery market that is supposedly suspiciously close to my office, that I have never seen before in my life.
Skimming this evening: the Sartorialist has been so good lately, with the combined power of fashion week in New York and poolside Brazil.
Listening this evening: the exclusive first listen of Clem Snide‘s new album, which somehow sounds like Damien Rice, but happier.
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Finishing Well
I was a big window shopper at This is Auto (unfortunately, in typical web shopping fashion, window shopping ≠ actually buying anything and supporting them). I just clicked over there today, and though I was really disappointed to see that they were closed, I was impressed by their slick way of letting me know what was up.
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Money Money Money
Even though Joe and I spend a lot of time puzzling over/tweaking/rewriting our budget, and we try to buy decisively (I always think of that word in capital letters, DECISIVELY), of course I’m still shocked at the end of the month at how it all added up. And the absolute worst thing is when I can’t even remember what I bought in the first place.
I think that might explain why I find Kate’s Obsessive Consumption drawings one part cute, one part edifying and one part genius (does three parts make a whole? Or do we need one more?). Kate posts sketches of whatever she bought that day–milk, pens, new t-shirt–making light of the fact that she seems to buy something new every single day, but also acknowledging that a small part of her put energy into finding exactly what she needed, and that shouldn’t go forgotten or ignored.
Plain old unabashed materialism is always boring, but you can find out a lot about a person by hearing about what they spend their money on. It’s always fun to hear people talk about their favorite possessions, or something new they just bought, especially if they are the type that agonizes the details and makes mental charts of the positives and negatives for each new purchase.
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Atlas Obscura
I like what Atlas Obscura is pulling out of the woodwork for their Atlas Obscura Day (NB: the Boston component is already sold out, capacity was 15 people). Eccentric museums, little known city-artifacts, and private collections should always be organizing exposure like this (Harvard & Oxford, we’re judging You right now). Those exposed might turn into donors some day, right?
Atlas Obscura is a nicely designed, user-written site that brings strange and unexpected tourist attractions across the world to light.I think it’s successfully done, and my Midwest friends should submit their own Abandoned Railways and Crop Circles to make sure they are well represented. Around Boston, I often feel a little weird about bringing out-of-towners to my favorite parts of the city (“So, this is that intersection that I like”), like the Round House of Somerville, and the Mount Auburn cemetery. This guide helps justify my feelings behind what is really nice to see when you’re in town. It’s yelp for the uncynical. It’s wikipedia for those who are actually showing up.
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A Few Good Party Supplies
In my Saturday morning sporadic and incomplete reading of the New York Times, I found this hazy picture of a wedding reception held in a Chrysler car dealership showroom in 1984. Balloon arches! When was the last time you were treated to that sight?
Though I don’t see this much in Boston, in the Midwest I used to drive past car dealerships regularly, and even though they are not very popular right now, dealerships really are the last businesses to believe in the power of a few good party supplies.
They use flag banners in multiples,
and splurge on big balloons,
and even have the occasional festive penguin.
#1 from HereontheRoad, #2 from Samlanterman, #3 from DianaLBrks. Click on the photos to go to their sites on flickr.
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SearchStories Styles
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU&fmt=18&rel=0]
I am unquestionably a sucker for and supporter of good advertising. Rest assured, I am not skeptical enough of corporate America and their devious ways. I love to be delighted by a good commercial. Google released this video in November, but I just finally clicked on it today. When we talk about a certain writing style that follows thought-to-thought-jumps without a break we call it: stream-of-consciousness. I think this is fun to watch as a visual stream.
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Pointillclassy
I don’t believe in spending big money* on sunglasses due to several tragic mishaps, but I’m very tempted by these peppy remakes of classic wayfarers. Maya Hayuk hand-painted all of the styles, and I keep wondering if I could just buy a bunch of nail polish, pair of knock-offs, and make my own?
*$140, 50% goes to charity, buy at Sunglass Hut using the link above, though most are sold out at this point. All the more reason to make our own!