The $4 Desk Chair

My wife and I had a week without the kids (thanks mom and dad!) so Saturday morning we got to do what we love most -- hit some garage sales! Those of you outside the Central Ohio area may not understand how big garage sales are here in Clintonville. After living here for over 10 years, we can honestly say that our house is almost entirely decorated with another man's trash. Often we need to sand it and give it a few coats of Krylon, replace the hinges, or simply give the piece a good scrub down, but in the end, we have a beautiful piece that cost a fraction of what we would have paid for it new.

Every once in a while you find a REAL diamond in the rough; that's what happened on Saturday. My favorite sales are the indoor estate sales where everything has a pricetag on it. In this particular house, the folks told us to check out the basement before we left. I got to the bottom of the stairs and immediately saw a chair that was unmistakably a mid-century Emeco Swivel Desk Chair. The tag on the bottom confirmed it. The $4 sticker on the top meant it was going home with me! 

When I paid the kind lady for the chair she gave us a look that said "you poor kids...what would you want with an old piece of junk like that?" She was almost blushing with embarrassment that they even had it to sell. I imagine she thought it strange that I didn't haggle over the price. 

In case you are unfamiliar with Emeco, they still hand make these chairs in Hanover, PA. Originally manufactured for the U.S. Navy, they have become icons of American ingenuity and new versions of the Swivel Desk Chair are now sold through Design Within Reach for upwards of $1000. There are many rip-offs out there but none compare in quality to the original Emeco chairs. 

After 30 minutes with a roll of paper towel, steel wool and degreaser, this chair really shines! I'm excited to use it.

So next time you drive by a garage sale sign or flea market on your way to buy furniture, take a couple of minutes and see what they have. You might come across a $4 chair that will outlast anything you can buy at Office Depot, and it will look a lot better too.

 

 

 

Thank you!

I just want to take moment to say "thank you" to my amazing clients who allowed me to take a relaxing vacation with my family this past week. We had a great time at the beach. As you know, "play" is an important part of my creative process. Getting away from the computer for a week and focusing on the important things in life recharges my design battery and allows me to do my best for for you.

You rock!

Here are a few photos from our trip if you are interested.

Affordable vintage camera prints for your wall!



One poster becomes four 8”x10” art prints—a wall-full of art for only $39. That's four prints for less than $10 a piece! Post-a-prints are silk screen printed on the highest-quality, acid-free, 100 lb. archival stock—which means your art won’t fade or yellow. Each print is perfectly sized to fit an 8x10 frame or matte. Illustrations by Jeremy Slagle, based on vintage film cameras collected from garage sales and flea markets around Ohio.

CLICK. SNAP. WHIRR. Light and science with a touch of imagination, film cameras have captured the vision of folks for generations. Wayward orphans rescued from dusty attics and yard sales find their place on mantles and bookshelves—and now on your walls.

Click here for more information or click the Buy Now button on the right to order yours.

Screenprinted by the talented folks at The Half and Half

 

 

I LOVE my iPad.

Apple's newest product has undergone alot of scrutiny since they announced it a few months ago. No stylus, no USB, too heavy, impractical, doesnt use Flash, just a giant iPhone, "iPad," what a silly name... Most of these comments were penned before anyone outside Apple's top-secret product development department had ever even touched one.

After they released the first (non-3G) version I visted the Apple Store no less than three times to pick one up and play with it for myself. I decided to buy one once the 3G enabled model was avaialable.

Well, I've had mine for a week now and I can say now without hesitation that's it's the coolest, most usefull piece of electronics I have ever bought. No, it will never replace my desktop computer but it's not designed for that. It's the most elegant presentation tool I have seen. For a small group, you can set it on a stand and present concepts--moving from slide to slide with the flip of a finger. The screen is bright and beautiful. For a board room, you can connect it to a projector and present to a large group.

It's also the PERFECT portfolio. Being able to update it on the fly rather than messing with printed books is a real plus. And, after realizing that a meeting took a different path than you had expected, it's nice to have all of your work on-hand to show examples from projects you probably wouldnt have brought along had they been bound in books.

Sure, six months from now, there will probably be a 4G version with a camera, 3D monitor and built-in dust-buster, but I'm really happy with my purchase and will use it for a good long time. It will pay for itself almost immediately by replacing color copies and book binding expenses.

Go iPad!

BTW: I did order a DAGI stylus on Ebay. It's on the way. I'll post a review once it gets here. I am hoping for a third party pressure sensitive stylus to come out at some point. That would really make the iPad the ultimate tool for me.

I love my fountain pens

It's been a while since I have really used my fountain pens to draw and it's a shame. I picked it up for figure drawing this morning and it felt like I was hanging out with a long-lost friend. Looking back I really love everything I do with them. I recently read a book called "Drawing from Within" by Nick Meglin. I highly recommend it for those who want a fresh perspective on drawing. Nick is a former illustration professor at the School of Visual Arts in NY. From day one in his classes he makes the students use an Esterbrook fountain pen. Initially they hate it. Drawing with ink keeps an indelible record of every mistake. If you draw the line wrong the first time, you have to redraw it the right way next to the wrong one. Your brain eventually teaches you to slow down, observe more, and draw it right the first time. In the book Nick writes:

"Learning anything is an experiential process. Children learn to walk and talk through experience, not from a book" "Learning to draw is a similar natural response."

If you really want to draw better, you have to recognize your mistakes, and nothing shows off your mistakes better than permanent ink. No erasers, no white out, just you, a pen and your subject. Try it sometime. And Don't forget who you are drawing for...yourself. It's your sketchbook. Think of it as a book of beautiful mistakes.

One more quote from Meglin sums it up:

“…I tell this to my students—I taught drawing for twelve years—if you don’t want to be told you’re a lousy artist by someone out there who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, don’t draw. Don’t fill a white page with lines, because once you do it, you’re at risk. But if you are going to do it, put everything you can on that page, everything you are or what you feel, what you think, your perception, you alone, not what you’ve seen, not what you think you’d like to do. React to that model, be at one. You’re the only artist in the world drawing that model tonight that way, in your way. No one else can do it.”

“Bet the whole roll and put yourself at risk. If not, you’ll never win. You may not lose, but you’ll never win. Go down swinging. Lose trying. But put yourself at risk. And that’s what creativity is.”



Pray for the Gregory family

As many of you know, I have been a huge fan of Danny Gregory's books. His first book Everyday Matters is about how creativity and journal-keeping got him through a horrible time in his life when his wife, Patti, fell in front of a NY city train, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Danny and his wife inspired so many people to begin drawing as a regular part of their daily routine. His first book was so well recieved that he released one of my favorites: Creative License--a book which motivated me to begin drawing again. In 2008, his books had touched so many people that he released An Illustrated life, Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers. If you haven't read these books, you are seriously missing out on some great stuff.

Tragically, Danny's wife Patti, passed away this weekend at age 50. I won't go into the details. You can read about it here. Please take a moment to pray for Danny, their son, Jack and extended family.

More about Danny, his art, and his books can be found on his website: http://www.dannygregory.com/