Gathering Inspiration

Four Years. Go.

I was feeling sluggish this morning (that second latte is helping, finally...)

But this definitely kicked it into gear.

a moment to share the limelight with others...

Waking up this morning had that special somethin' in the air.

Beautiful blue skies, birds chirping, warm weather,
7 hours of sleep (yay!), and receiving that email saying the
2008 St. Helena Hospital Foundation Annual Report I designed,
won a GOLD ASTER AWARD! (The Aster Awards is a medical
marketing awards program allowing healthcare organizations
and advertising agencies to compete against similarly sized
competitors from across the nation and world.)
Talk about instant perk! I was smiling from cheek to cheek!

The link above takes you to the actual link at the hospital's site
where you can preview it as single pages (easier to print out
that way rather than as spreads), but I'll repost here some
sample spreads for a demo. A BIG thank you to my clients
at SHH Foundation for having confidence and faith in me to
take them in a new direction on the 2008 annual report.
It's hard to believe, but I've been designing this report since
2005. The '08 report was a big bold break from the previous
versions. Gratitudes to Kirsten Bickford, an amazing writer
and Megan Reeves for her ability to understand how my heart
& mind works — capturing the vision in gorgeous photography.

And to think, I feel that the 2009 annual report
(currently being coiffed and buffed before
releasing to the printer next week) is even better!

     

Rooftop photoshoot - can I just say "ahhhhh"

Location: St. Helena, California - rooftop of St. Helena Hospital

Birds chirping, beautiful blue skies, still air, breathtaking views...what's not to like? (Maybe the fact that we were 6 stories high on St. Helena Hospital's roof, getting ready to do a photoshoot with the hospital president and board chairperson. AND, nothing to prevent one to take a killer (literal) mistep to a hard concrete pad below.)

Still it would be a gorgeous last view to take, right?

(all completed successfully - thanks goodness!)

the girl effect: macy's: mother, daughter, you

the girl effect is so simple and profound.

and to see it in action...

  

Macy's Rwandan Baskets
the retailer is trying to do something good for rwandan widows. macy's has struck a partnership with basket weavers to sell their wares in stores in new york, atlanta, chicago and online. macy's originally purchased 650 baskets last year in a test run. more recently, macy's bumped that number up to 31,000 baskets to sell this fall in stores, according to the associated press. the partnership is proving successful for the widows. the money the weavers receive are enough to feed herself for a month. it amounts to an average of $24, or about one-third of the retail price of the basket. weavers make about $4 a day, compared to the average income of 56 cents for day, said the associated press. most of the women lost their husband's during the country's 1994 genocide. by the way, I checked out the baskets at macy's web site and they are just beautiful. they can be used for all sorts of things such as to dress up a room or display fruits. check them out at here.

amazon tribe – songs for survival

this album will raise funds for survival international.
survival helps tribal peoples defend their lives,
protect their lands and determine their own futures.

Bruce Parry, star of BBC's ‘Tribe’ and the forthcoming ‘Amazon’, has teamed up with some of music’s legends for a fundraising album for Survival International, human rights organisation for tribal peoples.

Musicians involved include KT Tunstall, will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Johnny Borrell (Razorlight), Tom Baxter, Mystery Jets, Jason Mraz, Yusuf Islam, Hot Chip, the Go! Team, Mike Oldfield and Guy Berryman of Coldplay whose track will also be used for the end credits of ‘Amazon’.

All tracks were exclusively created for the album. (read less)

bruce parry, star of BBC's ‘tribe’ and the forthcoming ‘amazon’,
has teamed up with some of music’s legends for a
fundraising album for survival international,
human rights organization for tribal peoples.

musicians involved include kt tunstall,
will.i.am (black eyed peas), johnny borrell (razorlight),
tom baxter, mystery jets, jason mraz, yusuf islam,
hot chip, the go! team, mike oldfield and
guy berryman of coldplay whose track will also
be used for the end credits of ‘amazon’.

you can get it here.