postering: part 3

The poster for Proof turned out to be quite a challenge. Another play that has a stigma attached to it - since it's about a mathematical proof, people expect to see, well...numbers. After talking it over with the director, I decided to hand write actual proofs to create the title of the play. We wanted to convey the questioning that is present throughout the play as well as the look of notepaper that has been sitting, forgotten in an office for years. 

My regret on this poster is that in all the hours I spent copying down proofs, none of it osmosed into my brain. It still all looks like an alien language to me. 

Ah well. We can't all be mathematical geniuses.

wishbone identity

Wishbone has gone through a lot of cosmetic changes in the three years since its inception. As we have slowly but surely figured out ourselves as a company, our logo has reflected those changes. This year I wanted to distill all the past explorations into something that will grow with us for years to come.

Our season theme for 2011-2012 is dedicated to the lost and wandering which also fits in with the company's mission of seeking pleasure on one's journey regardless of the destination. Using photographs I took of us at last years shoot, I created a visual interpretation of the theme that can be used on all our marketing materials this season. At the time I took these 'walking' shots I had no clear idea of how I wanted to use them. When we landed on the theme for the season everything clicked into place.

For the first time ever, we decided to create some giveaways and collateral to promote the company. I designed these buttons and have been pinning them everywhere. They are tiny and somewhat disarming in their cuteness.

We also ordered stickers which are further contributing to the thrill factor.

aaaand business cards. I wanted to keep them very simple, but unique. I should probably get on the ball and order my own!

I think our season is off to a good start :) 

postering: part two

This is another of the season posters that I designed for Clemson's performing arts department. The Children's Hour is the story of two teachers who run a boarding school and whose lives are torn apart by the actions of one malicious pupil. We wanted to use the poster as a way to convey something that was both reminiscent of childhood but sinister at the same time.

I decided to experiment with the paper chains that children make and created one of girls holding hands and then began tearing and crumpling them to get the effect I wanted. Photographing them gave the whole piece this nice, shadowy effect. Mission accomplished.

on the devil being in the details

I posted some images of these antique children's clothes on my tumblr a few weeks back, but the work is so exquisite, I wanted to share the more detailed photos I took here.

All these pieces are handmade and were rescued from being thrown out (I know! Sacrilege!) by Anthony's mom who now keeps them safe and sound. 

When we were in Providence, she brought them out and we spent the afternoon admiring the hours and hours of hand work that must have gone into making them.

I literally cannot imagine doing this without the aid of a sewing machine.

Can you imagine putting this level of handcrafted detail onto what is essentially underwear for a toddler?

The photo below is my favorite piece: a teeny tiny skirt of cream cotton covered with a pattern of cornflower blue. If the waist wasn't all of about 10 inches, I would be wearing it all over the place.

postering: part one

This is my second year designing posters for Clemson University's performing arts department. The 2011-2012 season is an especially good one with shows ranging from a classic musical comedy (below) to an austere staging of absurdist theater.

For Guys and Dolls, I had the challenge of presenting a show that has a very iconic look in a fresh way. The director suggested reading some of Damon Runyon's work as the plot of G&D was compiled from several of his short stories. The unique style of Runyon's writing along with the time period led me to the idea of propaganda posters showcasing the two main story lines competing for audience attention next to each other.

 

on a good looking dude

After our last show on Sunday, fellow Wishbone member Brandon and I headed out to take some photos for an event he is participating in this week.

Brandon heads up most of Wishbone's sketch comedy revues and with good reason - he's a pretty hilarious guy. I think we were able to capture that in the above photo. On a separate note, not many guys could pull off a bright orange shirt and suspenders, but he totally makes it work!

on sad truths

Topics include: great works of literature, important social quandaries, the history of our universe as written by a man-robot, biographies of great minds and lives, the failure and successes of the human race. All things I really want to learn about. Honest.

Topics include: dragons and, um...vampires.

...

I'm not sure I like what this says about my priorities.

on good eating

A little rundown of the meals that began and ended our vacation.

Pre-dinner refreshments. Have you ever had Cocchi Americano? It's the perfect mix of sweet and bitter and is totally delicious. I don't even like to mix mine with anything except occasionally a little lemon.

Flatware

A last minute dinner - pasta with some rustic tomato sauce, basil and Parmesan. Simple and very (ververy) tasty.

And clams. This was my first time ever tasting a clam that wasn't deep fried and crammed between a bun on a Friendly's clamwich (which I don't even think they carry anymore). They were delicious and oh-so-rich. Then again, I'm partial to any food that requires submersion in melted butter before consumption.

A dash of vegetables because they are good for you.

Prior to total demolition.

Summer flowers.

the week in tumblrs returns!

This is more like a summer recap in tumblrs as I was mighty negligent in my posting duties this summer. You'll have to forgive me though - in Chicago it is cold and dark for so much of the year that when summer comes around, replenishing the vitamin D supply takes priority over just about everything else.

The main project of my summer has been working on Spandex which debuted at the Chicago Fringe Festival last week to a great response. We spent weeks building the story and characters from numerous rounds of improv and Harolds and really thought provoking discussions about the American legal system. Above is half of our super talented cast modeling their costumes.

A few weeks ago, Fiat held a little event near one of our favorite restaurants. Since I am a tiny bit obsessed with Fiat we paid a visit and were rewarded with free gelato, a test drive and the above gem of a car that I wanted to steal and keep foreverandeveramen. Look at that little thing. Don't you just want to take it home and be best friends with it? Can you tell that I miss driving soveryverymuch?

I spent a good majority of my time this summer working on re-branding Wishbone's identity and creating a look for our season theme. Above is some of the collateral that we had made for our Season Announcement party in July. I love how they turned out and have been pinning the buttons to everything I own.

On my birthday, Anthony took me to a spectacular dinner at Gilt Bar which is the only restaurant I have ever wanted to permanently take up residence in...that's how good the food is. If you are in Chicago, you have to eat there if for no other reason than their mint chocolate chip ice cream is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Other things that are also out of this world include the entire rest of the menu. It's all I can do not to lick my plate.

on highly competitive word games

Among Anthony's family, Scrabble is not for the faint of heart.

It is a ferocious all-out-battle that sometimes demands an audience.

The stress is intense. I doubt world championship chess matches demand this much brain power.

This man is a ruthless Scrabbler. On our third date he challenged me to a game and I, being the naive and sweet tempered girl that I am (ha) thought 'oh, how cute. I love words. This will be funnn.' Yes, well, after losing by a several hundred point margin I realized that I was no longer in the Scrabble-Kansas of my youth. Za on a triple letter score still gives me PTSD episodes. Unless I am the one playing it of course.

The Consultant.

Do you see that?!? Equine on a triple word score. This is what you go up against when you challenge a Dumville. Whenever I sit down to play, every lovely and eloquent word I know flies out of my head and are replaced with cat, hat, bat, etc. And if I don't have a 't,' well, then it's a REAL problem.

on morning confections

A surefire way to get your weekend off to a top-notch start!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Baking time 20 minutes 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter or margarine, cut up

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg, beaten

1/3-1/2 cup candied ginger, chopped

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease cookie sheet. In large bowl, combine flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and the baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or hands cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in milk and egg until just combined. Add chopped ginger. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and knead about 4 times until dough just holds together. Divide dough into 8 parts and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut into 8 wedges but do not separate.  

Bake 20 minutes.  

Makes 8. 

on weekending

Let's be honest - the weekend is not a time to dress up, think about dressing up or even finding clothes that match. The weekend is for laundry and errands and recovering from nights that may have run a leeetle to late (see also, watching many episodes of The Wire while lounging on the couch, reading George R.R. Martin novels and eating leftovers). SO, since we've now established that The Lazy is a large component of my weekends, I've been trying to find comfortable things that go together (adult garanimals if you will) and are not too fussy. H&M actually is a great place to find such things. This skirt? FIVE BUCKS. Seriously. 

Also I have kind of this sordid love affair going on with Madewell. After carrying around a canvas grocery bag as a purse for a year (because it could hold EVERYTHING), I decided to look for something a little more substantial. Enter the most beautiful perfect tote bag in existence. We will never part. I will carry my future children around in this.

I hope your Labor Day was comfy and fun!

on impulse purchasing

Now, I feel as though I am pretty level headed when it comes to shopping. While I do enjoy it, I try and only buy things that I know I will wear on a regular basis.

That being said...

On Tuesday I went to H&M for a little, um, let's call it recon mission, and something caught my eye. And in a second, my practical, color coded little closet goals flew out the window. It was all wrong for me as it was fairly grain-sackish in shape and I tend to gravitate towards things with more structure but what with the ochre and the navy and the scalloped trim and the oh, I don't know, rational flew out the window and I bought it.

And then I got home and was all...'um, okay, what now?'

And then I thought back to all those hundreds of episodes of TLC makeover shows that I've watched while eating vats of ice cream, never imagining that anything would stick and all of a sudden, BAM. I had the answer!

Well, not just a belt - the shirt helped downplay the um, fanciness of the dress a bit. I think with some navy tights and brown boots it will be a good fall outfit for a night of drinks and a friend's play opening. I think I'll hang on to this one for a little while.

Here's hoping your Labor Day Weekend is off to a good start!

Cheers and fancy-yet-affordable chiffon dresses,

Kim