Author: avery

Today is A Day, Ten Years in the Making

May 3, 2012.  It might not mean much to you – just an ordinary day.  But to my friends-of-a-friend, Matt Lemche and Chris Redman (who are old pals with my beloved Jenn Scott), today is a very big day.

Matt and Chris are working on something called The Decades Project.  In 2002, they made a film where they interviewed themselves 10 years in the future.  Of course, it would take 10 years to finish the project, so their “2012 selves” could answer the questions that their “2002 selves” asked.  They threw a dart at a map, randomly picking the place they’d meet on May 3, 2012.  And to show how serious they were about it, they each got it inked on their bodies with a tattoo.

I knew these guys (a little bit) in 2002.  Watching this reminds me of how much we’ve all changed.  You could call the project self-indulgent or navel-gazing, but I knowing these two, it will be humble, introspective, and riveting.

Watch the video above, and follow their progress and make a contribution on their IndieGoGo webpage.

New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See

I know, I know, I wrote something about New York yesterday.  But I just saw this in my daily Fast Co Create email, and had to share. There’s a new book out called Blown Covers: New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See. The book was compiled by the New Yorker’s art director, Francoise Mouly, and features some covers that were never published (and never seen, not even on Mouly’s blog, also called Blown Covers).  I like Mouly’s commentary on the covers, and her explanation why a cover didn’t work.  Apparently that commentary is in the book too.  Neat.

[via Fast Co Create]

 

 

Old Timey Photos of NYC

New York City’s Department of Records has launched an online photo database of over one million images from the Municipal Archives (going back to the mid-1800s).

“Taken mostly by anonymous municipal workers, some of the images have appeared in publications but most were accessible only by visiting the archive offices in lower Manhattan over the past few years.  Researchers, history buffs, filmmakers, genealogists and preservationists in particular will find the digitized collection helpful. But anyone can search the images, share them through social media or purchase them as prints.”

I love the one with the men on the suspension wires of the Brooklyn Bridge (above).  These photos really make me want to go to New York.

[via the UK Daily Mail]

A Fresh Coat of Paint (Before and After)

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

Sometimes it takes me a loooooong time to get around to things.  About a year ago, I was thinking of painting our master bedroom.  Remember this?

With the help of my friend Carol, who is an excellent painter, I finally have new gorgeous dark blue/grey walls (the paint colour is Benjamin Moore’s Gentleman’s Grey). There really wasn’t anything wrong with the old colour, but for some reason I can’t explain, I really didn’t like it. I think it was just too cheery for me.  I love the new colour – I think it’s sophisticated and a little bit moody.  It also looks fantastic with all the white accents in the room (and the yellow accent on our Dwell Studio duvet cover) – the high contrast really makes the colours pop.  I’m so pleased with the results, and I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner!  Oh well, better late than never.

I love Aaron James Draplin

I’ve been a fan of graphic designer Aaron James Draplin ever since the release of Field Notes a few years ago.  For the last two days, I’ve been hanging out at the FITC conference in Toronto (c/o Ladies Learning Code – thanks ladies!).  The definite highlight so far has been Draplin’s talk.  I don’t know if it was recorded, and if it was, I’ll try to hunt down a video link for you.  You can watch this talk he gave at Creative Mornings Portland though, and while not identical, a lot of it is the same.

I’m short on time at the moment (writing this in between FITC events), but I wanted to share the “Canada Collected” poster (above) that Draplin designed and printed.  Cool, huh?  I bought one from him yesterday.  Now I just have to decide where to hang it…

Want to Learn Photoshop?

Ever tried to open an image in Photoshop to do a basic edit, and find yourself totally confused?  What are all those things in the toolbar?  What’s the difference between canvas size and image size? And what the heck are layers?

Spend a day learning the basics of Photoshop in this fun, not-too-technical workshop, taught by me!  You’ll discover how to enhance and retouch your photos, add text, and combine multiple images into a collage. Adjust the colour and brightness, learn how to remove dust spots, fix blemishes, and even remove objects from your images. And once you’ve transformed your photos into masterpieces, you’ll learn about resolution and how to optimize your images for printing, or for publishing online.

This workshop is perfect for small business owners, bloggers, and hobby photographers.  No previous Photoshop experience or graphic design skills necessary.  Bring your laptop, your enthusiasm, and appetite (delicious catered lunch is included!).  The workshop is limited to a max of 25 participants, so there will be lots of time for questions and one-on-one support.

Saturday June 2,2012
10am – 4pm
Alterna Boardroom, Centre for Social Innovation
215 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

$99 per person
delicious catered lunch included

New! Early-bird Pricing! $79 per person if booked before May 4, 2012

Click Here to Register

The not-so-fine print:

  • Workshop registration is non-refundable, however, your ticket is transferable to a friend or colleague if you can’t make the event at the last minute.
  • You must bring your own laptop and power cord – computers are not provided.
  • You’ll need to have Photoshop installed on your computer.  If you don’t have it, you can download the free 30 day trial from Adobe’s website.

Are You Afraid to Prepare Seafood?

Does seafood intimidate you?  Not to eat it (yummmmmy), but to prepare it?  You know I don’t cook, so of course preparing seafood scares the crap out of me.  But I’ll let you in on a little secret – it kind of intimidates the live-in chef in my house (aka husband Ian) too.  Just a little bit.  He’s less adventurous cooking fish than he is with meat. Which is silly, because the few times he’s grilled fish or scallops, or steamed mussels (and made frites from scratch), it’s been amazing.

There was a great article in the Globe and Mail last week that covered 12 Simple (but Essential) Rules For Buying and Cooking Fish.  Super helpful.  But if you still need assistance, or want to take your skills to the next level, check out Hooked, the awesome fishmonger in Leslieville.  They just announced their Spring Classes, where you can learn to shuck oysters, grill fish, and more. Heck, I might even sign up.

[image of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton from one of my favourite scenes in one of my favourite movies, Annie Hall]

 

How I’ve Been Using Pinterest

Have you tried Pinterest, the new(ish) social media/photo/shopping website that everyone seems to be talking about?  And if you did try it, did you kind of play with it for a while, and then forget about it?

I did too.  I thought it was pretty, and I liked the neat-o images, but it seemed more like a time waster than an actual tool.

Then, a few weeks ago, I was trying to collect my thoughts (and collect inspiration images) for a landscape design project. We’re going to rip up our front yard (we have a tiny patch of grass that’s about 80 square feet – so silly) and put in a perennial garden. I started flipping through magazines, thinking I’d scan the images into my computer, and then I remembered Pinterest. I started a pinboard for landscaping, and started to add images with notes about what I liked about them. I searched for landscaping images that were already on the site, and then I added some from other websites.

Check it out – here’s my landscaping board on Pinterest.

Have you thought of useful ways to use Pinterest? Or do you just look at the pretty pictures and drool on your keyboard?