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THAT LIFE May 10 2012
Like I said in my post about Twelve Bar sometime last week, Nick and I vibed well enough to schedule another meeting. I remember leaving and him telling me to come by anytime, since anyone and everyone comes to hang out there. Last night was my revisit. This time, I brought Jovin and Bambeeno with me.
You see, Bambeeno is the newest artist to be signed to the Rick & Ray talent collective. Our first order of business is to get him the cosign from a clothing brand as he prepares to launch a very anticipated mixtape next month. Done.
Nick was right; a lot of people do hang out there. Like Overdoz and Anwar Carrots.
Shout out to Nick and shout out to Twelve Bar. Now cue that cheesy line from Casablanca...
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THINGS THAT ARE AWESOME May 8 2012
1. Doodling. I had a terrible case of writer’s block last night. I normally jot everything down in my notebook, and when thoughts weren’t connecting, I turned the page and just wrote. I didn’t know how it would turn out. I started with “Tastemakers”, and the words fell into place. I didn’t care about coloring inside the lines, about the ink smear all over my hand, about the the amount of space I was left to work with. What came from it was a series of lessons and a list of things I want you to be aware of. It ended up being an inspiring exercise. After all, words are the most powerful media. They incense the mind and stroke imagination; they require interpretation and application.
2. Maurice Sendak. I caught up with the news this morning and learned that the author, best known for my favorite book Where the Wild Things Are, had passed. I am fascinated by children’s storybook authors and illustrators, especially the ones who can transcend the woes that accompany adulthood, and capture the wonderment of childhood. Sendak didn’t say much (WTWTA was comprised of just ten sentences), but he tapped into something visceral that we all can appreciate, and continue to appreciate. Bill Clinton called him the “king of dreams”; Sendak achieved that with his remarkable story about having fun. Thank you.
3. Herschel Supply. I’ve been leaving town at least once a month these past few months, and I’ll be doing so again later this week. My Herschel duffel bag has been a great companion for these short, sometimes long trips. I first learned of them at Agenda a couple years ago; Bojo and I were impressed by their simple, quality product. So I finally got the black one with the shoe compartment (lifesaver, by the way). It just might have be one of my best travel investments. It’s been with me through miles of trek between East Village, SoHo, and Chelsea, it has withstood baggage claim and long drives, yet it remains intact. I think I should get a backpack.
4. Thrift shopping. There was a point in my life where I only shopped at thrift stores. I stopped doing that and now I’m slowly getting back into it. I would look for myself and I would look for things to flip (fun fact: I turned 15+ Members Only jackets into a hefty profit after reselling them to buyers). I’ve been paying more attention to thrift stores, swap meets, and flea markets all over LA and sometimes outside of it. It’s more than fashion; these things tell stories. Shelly just got that vintage Lakers tee below. What if the person who wore it before was a spy/assassin that worked with other heroes to save the earth from the powers of the Tesseract? (which brings me to #5)
5. The Avengers. Watch it. It’s awesome. We left there seriously wanting to be Ironman or Hawkeye. 3D is well done, the plot is good, it’s funny, and the special effects are pretty bad ass.
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JULY 1 IS NEAR May 7 2012
I don’t know if you know this, but come July 1, the ban on foie gras will take effect in California. The Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards is advocating a wide variety of new animal-friendly commitments, including cage-free birds and hand feeding, which would put a stop to the production and sale fatty duck liver from Cali menus. Foie gras is one of my most favorite foods, so you can imagine that I’m pretty bummed about this. And although I do understand the cruelty, you best believe I’m gonna make it count these next couple months.
The first stop in my quest to do so was Umamicatessen in Downtown LA, which serves foie gras donuts. I repeat, fois gras donuts. This Umami is worlds apart from Umami Burger. It’s larger, and the menu is more varied. I only had dessert there, though, because like I said, foie gras donuts (plus we just had Korean BBQ).
From the top: beignets, tres leches, and the FG+jelly.
Close ups.
Look at all that goodness.
Bye!
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EYE F*CKED May 4 2012
MOCA is currently hosting Transmission LA: AV Club, the group art show curated by Mike D of the Beastie Boys. It’s purely experiential, just as he wanted, with visuals that made me go “whoa”. I think this ends on Sunday, so you’ve got a couple more days to get eye f*cked. It’s worth it to see all this in person.
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LOGOLAND May 2 2012
Lately I’ve been immersing myself in logos. Not designing them (my Adobe Creative Suite skills are not up to par), but researching, studying, dissecting them. I’ve mentioned it a couple times here on the blog, on my Twitter, and even on my Instagram, but I’m about to start a new online gig under the Backside umbrella. It will be completely different than what I’m doing with CA; I’m only a co-editor and nearly everything will be interview based. I do, however, get to oversee the entire scope of the project. That’s start to finish. That’s aesthetics to content. Cue the logo.
I’ve always been enamored with logos. The idea that a company, an individual, a brand, can encompass their entire being into one single icon is pretty profound. I had to reference my own endeavors - CA as a clothing brand, CA as blog, Rick & Ray as a company - to get the ball rolling.
When I made t-shirts under Chicharon Adventures in 2007, the logo was a pig. It was simple, almost like line art, with a distinct “X” on its face. If I couldn’t work that pig into a design, then it was on the tag. I branded it further with stickers and it was a big part of the banner that went across my first website.
When t-shirts and sweatshirts didn’t do as well as I hoped, I focused primarily on the blog, and started to identify CA with another image. It was a vectorized handwritten CA, and it symbolized the personal. After all, blogging is personal. It’s meant to engage audiences in my day-to-day (shout out to all the readers who still find me interesting), to make you as much of a part of the experience as possible. On the current website, the banner rotates the two Chicharon logos on refresh. You get the pig and you get the handwritten one, reminding me and you of where the brand has been and where its going.
The Rick & Ray logo. It’s an “R”, an ampersand, and another “R” connected. Obviously, it’s the initials of the company. But dig deeper. The reason why the company is named that is because of a story that had to do with my late brother and his wish to meet a radio personality. It’s a chasing dreams kind of story, and that’s what the company aims to do. It helps people go after their passion through a managerial relationship. The connection of Rick and Ray in the logo is the kind of connection that the staff has with the collective.
The three of them are basic. And I’ve come to realize after all the research and references, that the more simplistic the logo is, the more significant the impact. So here I am, left with the task to conceptualize the type or the icon that is reflective of two best buds, of the feminine and the street, of the Tastemakers in the industry. Wish me luck.
Let me leave you with this, though. CA is no longer a clothing brand, and I don’t get many inquiries about how to start a brand anymore, but if you’re in that boat and you’re trying to create the perfect logo, remember this: live and die by your decision, and be secure enough with your identity to follow your vision. Oh, and don’t rely on freefonts.com (or whatever that site is)!
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