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in Friends, Inspiration, Interview, Uncategorized on February 21st, 2010
Just outside Chicago’s Humboldt Park at North Central Park and Potomac Avenue, I approached a somewhat clandestine warehouse where a burly man donning all the gear you’d a imagine a Hell’s Angel to have in his closet—plus the imperative lengthy grey beard—stood outside. He tugged on his golden retriever’s leash.
I’m not a dog person (you can blame my parents for never getting me one), so I instinctively took a step back for every one I took forward as the retriever leapt toward me with thick drool flinging from its mouth.
“Hot Glass?” the Hell’s Angel asked me.
“Uh…yeah!” I answered.
The Angel opened…
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Posted by
in Friends, Interview, Marketing on January 15th, 2010
Two years ago I studied abroad in Florence, Italy where the wine is cheaper than water, and certainly cheaper than Italy’s version of my usual drink of choice, Coca Light. After four months under the Tuscan sun, I returned home somewhat plumped from copious servings of everything and teeth, to my dentist’s disdain, tinted purple from habitually making the more economical choice of hydrating myself with the house vino—a thrifty decision in terms of saving Euros. And the more fun one.
Part of this wine-drinking four month rendezvous can be attributed to the fact that I was enrolled in my Italian…
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Posted by
in Friends, Inspiration, Interview on December 17th, 2009
For full disclosure, I’ll admit, I am no comic book connoisseur. The closest I’ve gotten to reading comics are Simpson’s episodes with Comic Book Guy cameos and the most recent Superman movie. That said, I know a Clark Kent when I see one. And I met one last night. Ryan Browne is a total Clark Kent. On top of the fact that he sports way cool thick-rimmed glasses, there’s no way he doesn’t spin through revolving doors at the speed of light in order to change fast enough from his graphic design day job to super hero comic book writer…
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Posted by
charles
in Friends, Inspiration, Interview on December 7th, 2009
We sat down last week with one of America’s preeminent artists, David Garrison. Considered a master of pastel and oils, Mr. Garrison has exhibited in major galleries and museums across the United States and in Europe. He currently lives and works in Normandy, France during the winter months and otherwise lives in Iowa where he teaches pastel and oil workshops and pursues his own projects. We asked him what makes him tick, and how technology has played a part in his career and art over the last decade.
Q: Once you knew you were going to be a visual artist or…
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Posted by
in Friends, Inspiration, Interview, Reviews on December 4th, 2009
As a recent University of Michigan alumnus, I’ve actually always considered Ann Arbor a kind of Hogwarts away from home – especially come winter when white snow and shimmering icicles dangle off English Gothic buildings in combination with bountiful pitchers of butterbeer – or Long Island Iced Tea – turn the campus into a magical winter wonderland. And although by spring the snow is melted, a clever and ambitious bunch of U of M students/alumni brought that Hogwarts feeling back to campus last April with their original production of A Very Potter Musical which was produced for one fleeting weekend…
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in Friends, Inspiration, Interview on November 11th, 2009
Many will tell you that when you boil it down, the stand-up comedy scene belongs to men; an underground world in the dingy basement of some bar festering with beer and fart jokes. The ratio of men to women performing stand-up may be a bit heavily weighted to one side, but that doesn’t give one gender full reign over the funny world. Take, for example, (drum roll please!) Cameron Esposito. She’s a Chicago favorite, and she proves that it doesn’t really matter what sex she is. She’s funny. And without the fart jokes. Plus, she prefers whiskey.
Although Cameron got her…
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Posted by
in Friends, Inspiration, Interview on October 31st, 2009
Sick of that hand-me-down coffee table wilting in the corner of your living room? Dump it in your alley, and hopefully Bladon Conner will find it, bring it to his studio and give it a second chance. And by second chance I mean make it into the hipper, urban-chic version of itself it only dreamed of being back in the day…
As a corporate architect, Bladon Conner never quite felt truly grounded. He worked 70 to 80 hours a week, traveled too much and found himself spending more time on Excel and email than actually designing and drawing. Today, though, it…
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Posted by
charles
in Friends on September 28th, 2009
If there’s one thing that makes Chicago a wonderful place to live in and move through, it is its dedication to public art. (Of course, the city has a darker tradition of censoring public art, as well) Public art makes us feel like a community. It showers us with messages of belonging, history and purpose. It inspires us to think big and colorful. It transforms sprawl into tapestries of the human experience. It tells a story.
This is why we appreciate the Chicago Public Art Group, a non-profit organization that has for over 2 decades assisted in the creation of hundreds…
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Posted by
Ryan Nasipak
in Friends, Inspiration on May 4th, 2009
If you missed our first panoramic post, you’re in luck!
We’ve updated the labs photo viewer to accommodate a second gorgeous image by our friend Dean Vukas. Click on the day / night buttons to view either shot.
You can download the images on flickr by clicking on the link in the top right corner of the photo viewer. Check it out on labs by clicking here… or on the image above.
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Posted by
Ryan Nasipak
in Friends, Inspiration on April 8th, 2009
Ever wondered what the city of San Francisco looks like from a rooftop deck? If so, we have a great image for you (taken by one of our good friends Dean Vukas). We thought the photo was so great, we built a little Flash viewer for it.
Check it out on labs by clicking here… or on the image above.
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