Rad Tad

I received one of the coolest Christmas presents this season from a guy I have met in person only once, but whose work I have been enthralled with for quite awhile. His name is Tad Carpenter and he is an outstanding illustrator from KC. Also Tad is 1/2 of the amazingly awesome Vallhalla Studios.

Almost every Tuesday on his twitter, Tad does a giveaway of some of his design work. I am a sucker for freebies (especially awesome freebies) and had been trying and trying to win one of his giveaways - but to no avail.

One day in December after Mr Tad had posted an awesome campaign he did for Macy's I noticed my name (3rd on the list) in one of his illustrations




I tweeted about it



He messaged back





In the end, I emailed him my address and he very graciously provided me with the following:





Now we are BFFs!



Big thanks to Tad for being so gracious and taking the time to mail me such an awesome gift!

Moving On Up. . .To Downs

About 15 miles west of Kansas's famed "World's Largest Ball of Twine" is a sign that announces, "Welcome to Downs, Population 824". In this town that boasts two gas stations, one stop light, and an abandoned swimming pool, lies a graphic design company who thrives and has been listed multiple times in Inc. Magazine's "Top 500 Companies" list. For years the Brush Art Corporation has found itself steadily growing in an industry that has been pretty unstable over the last decade. Their secret is that their client base is primarily large agricultural and industrial corporations: John Deere, Caterpillar, Cargill, The Discovery Channel, etc.

Seven weeks into our brand spanking' new marriage, Paige and I found ourselves faced with a tough situation: I had received news that my current employer would be releasing me at the end of October. Our task? Find a job. Stat. And that is just what we did. However, we found it in the most unlikely of places: Downs, KS. One of my groomsmen from our wedding, Ryan Barten, is currently one of the 35 individuals employed at Brush Art and told me some inside information regarding an opening out west.



Beginning October 4, 2010, that small town's population will increase by 1 as I will be moving to Downs. But don't worry, a few weeks later, after she has wrapped up a few things in Overland Park, Paige will be joining me out west in a small town on the edge of Waconda Lake.



We are excited to begin our new adventure together in a place where we know 1 person. But most of all, we are thankful to have been so blessed by God to be able to have this opportunity to work for a company willing to give us an opportunity to not have to live paycheck to paycheck. We also ask for your continued prayers and support on our marriage as we embark upon this new chapter in our lives. Our phone numbers will remain the same, and our current address is still a valid one for about 4 more weeks but then should be able to forward to our new address for the next year or so. Once we have determined our new residence, we will make sure to pass it along. If you are curious (and we know you are) here is a website on Downs. Have a look (it'll only take a minute): http://www.downsks.net/

Feel free to look us up and stop on by if you ever find yourself on the West side of a National Landmark made of twine or need a place to bed down on your way to Denver. There's always room for one more in Downs.

Hatch Show Print

Long story short, I would like an internship at Hatch Show Print in Nashville more than anything this summer.
It is the sort of place that holds many of the same values that I hold. It is also rich in its 130+ year history of using the old-fashioned get-your-hands-dirty way of designing. They still use old wooden blocks of type for printing that give each of their posters that allow for such a unique and personal quality that cannot be replicated with any technology today.

I am sending in my application this coming week, but first I had to send this thank you letter to Jim Sherraden, for his talk in Dallas and his impact on my design. He has influence me more than he will ever know. Wish me luck on an internship opportunity!!

DALLAS Pt. 1

This show in Dallas has been great!



I've been able to meet a lot of really fascinating people as well as hear some interesting speakers. I think my favorite speaker is actually the very first one that I heard, Stefan Mumaw. He has a book out called: "Caffeine for the Creative Mind" and its full of fun little 10-15 minute tasks that really do a great job of getting your mind working in the morning.
I have had the opportunity to network to people in Dallas, Houston, Truman State U, South Dakota State U, Fort Hays, and Oklahoma U.

Overall, a very fun trip. So glad I came...although, not so ready to get back into the swing of things on Monday :(

More to come!

Gotees & Mullets

(Had to post something about my excitement for these guys!)

Some of my very best friends are in a band called Abandon Kansas. The lead singer, Jeremy Spring, has been one of my best friends ever since he moved to Kansas in 6th grade. He and I grew up thru high school and eventually put together a band called $12 Skolarship (even won the talent show Senior year, hear a song here). That didn't last past high school for me, but as for Jeremy it was only the beginning of what would become Abandon Kansas.
They are responsible for much of the beginnings of my design work. They let me design all sorts of shirts, posters, etc for their band. It was pro-bono work, but had it not been for them, I wouldn't have had nearly the amount of contacts that I had to be able to have a semi-steady income from doing free-lance work.
I was also able to spend a whole month last summer on tour with these guys. One of the most incredible adventures I had ever been on.
I was talking with Jeremy last night and he told me some of the most exciting news I had heard all week:
Abandon Kansas is signed to a label!!!
They signed with Gotee Records who has produced such artists as: Relient K, TobyMac, DC Talk, John Reuben, Force Family 5, Jennifer Knapp, and many more of the top christian artists. This is very exciting news for the guys. I have been told it is a 3 year contract and that they will be recording their first album under the label in May.

The $455.59 Poster

My poster got accepted to a Nation Student Show in Dallas. VERY EXCITING! But at what cost?

I had to mount the poster on matte board to mail to the show. Sounds simple and cheap right? Here's the break down:

$9.99 - Matte board
$21.25 - 18x24 Poster print out
$21.25 - Second 18x24 poster print out because the colors were messed up on the first one
$50 - Parking ticket because I had to park on campus to cut and mount everything
$80 - Towing fine for my truck (the one that got the $50 ticket earlier)
$81.10 - UPS store's price for a box + guaranteed delivery for Monday (deadline for submission)

$263.59 (Total cost of getting this poster to Dallas)
+ $192 (total cost of submitting work $17 + registration for event $175)
_______
$455.49 = Grand Total (before food/lodge/swag/books/etc.)

Not to be a Mastercard commercial, but I know that after the even is over it will end up being a PRICELESS experience.
But this arm & leg stuff upfront is frustrating.

Stephen Does Dallas

About a month ago I stayed up some stupid-long hours to put together a portfolio to send to the 5th annual Dallas Student Show. This is a national graphic design show aimed at college seniors. I had planned on attending the show regardless of whether or not any of my work made it in.
I am very excited to announce (drumroll please) that I MADE IT IN THE SHOW!


My winning piece is below, entitled MacBeth:

If you notice, I am completely surrounded by students who have gone to Texas schools. This makes me 1 of just 3 in the state of Kansas that has work being shown in the show! I am very excited about this and super-pumped! Just goes to show that hard work pays off every now and again. Stay tuned around April 1-5, I will be posting more about how the conference went. You can check out more here.

Hammerpress

In November, I had the sweet privilege of going with the K-State AIGA to the world famous design studio Hammerpress, started in 1994 by Brady Vest.

I love this place. They still do the old fashioned type set printing on well-oiled old printing machines from the turn-of-the-century (the OLD one, not the most recent t-o-t-c). If you have ever seen any of my design work, you will know that I love the unique look that old-fashioned type setting brings to a very modern, computerized world.

I have such a respect for the fact that it takes so much longer, so much more concentration, a better game plan of the 'big picture' when setting the type and determining colors, size variations, distribution, etc. Each piece of everything that is printed is uniquely different from the next since it may contain just a little less ink, be just slightly in a different area of the paper, display a nick in the type a bit more predominantly than the previous pieces.

They do posters for bands and tours, cds, books, cards, invitations, and stationary. Its this raw, unique, individualism that so intently draws me in to places like Hammerpress and Hatch Show Print. Man I love this stuff, just can't get enough!