I'll just get this out of the way, and say IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! HOORAY! Usually, in years past, I haven't gotten too excited about it because it generally ended up being a letdown. This year, however, I took the day off of work (great start with that!), and have made weekend plans with some close friends. In the past, every year on my birthday I waited for the flood of Facebook notifications and text messages to come in throughout the day. In the years after I graduated college, I've noticed that this "flood" is now more of a "trickle". As sad as it was at first ("Why don't people like me?!"), I just kind of got over it. Those people weren't really good friends anyway. And even the people that I work with, whom I once considered good friends, I now realize are simply work friends. They're just people I talk to while at work, and that's it. In a way, I'm kind of glad about that. The past few years have definitely been trying, especially with my parents divorce and with good friendships being put to the test (with some of them not passing!). Even through all of that, if you're able to get through it and keep your head up, I think it really does make you stronger. It makes you realize the important things in life, and to not waste even one more second on the things that aren't. I think the older you get, and the more distanced from high school and from college you get, the more you realize who's really there for you. Those friends are the one worth keeping. Those friends are the ones to be thankful for, and be happy that they're in your life and you're in theirs. Those friends are in it for the long haul. And to those friends, I say thank you. On another, somewhat similar note, I got an email today and in it was this quote: "Don't just count your years, make your years count." How perfect is that?! It fits right along with everything I've been trying to do with my life, and with Ruby July, and I think it's a great mindset to have. Make the most out of every single day. I know I have the tendency to get wrapped up in the daily routine, and just let life fly by. That's not something I want to do anymore. It only took me twenty-seven years, but I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of them. No thanks, quarter-life-crisis, I'll have none of you anymore! I will have some of this polar bear cake though! YUM! :D
Alex Register, from my previous post, is a local artist to the Twin Cities area. He works with Zeus Jones, a creative agency located in Minneapolis (literally blocks from my apartment, actually!) that centers around modern branding.
I did a little digging through their website, and I loved it. All of it. With my getting reacquainted to the world of design, it is really refreshing to see what kind of agencies are out there. And for this one to be so close is pretty amazing. THIS is what I wanted to be a part of when I moved to the Twin Cities. You don't find many companies like this in small-town-Wisconsin. They work with big name clients, like Google and Cheerios, and they also work with outside designers. Zeus Jones kind of gives me that large family feel. They have a lot of staff, and they're proud to showcase every one of them, but they also work with a variety of other artists. It's like a huge, wonderful family, that I would love to someday be a part of. Zeus Jones also worked with Tad Carpenter, who is an illustrator that I discovered awhile back. For some failure of a reason, I haven't pinned any of his designs yet, but I do follow him on Twitter. Weird. Anyway, here's a poster he designed as part of a collaborative project for Purina ONE beyOnd®, with other designers and with Zeus Jones.
Cats! Dogs! Yes!!! All in all, I really like what Zeus Jones has to offer. They have a great creative team, and a fresh mindset that is so important to have in this wonderful age of social media. And it seems like a really cool place to work. (Methinks I will be creeping around their employment site... hey guys, 'sup? ;) ) So go check out Zeus Jones' website here. While you're at it take a look at their blog here, for tips, links, advice and everything that is definitely worth your time to check out. I will probably be spending the rest of my night browsing and looking around as well. :)
Alright, we're back at it. After a lengthy bout of laziness and some employment rejection (hooray... :/ ), we are back at it with the Pinterest Find of the Week. Since I didn't do one last week, this one just so happened to work out to split into two lovely posts. Here we go! So I did some perusing today, and came across this pin, by designer Alex Register:
I liked the retro kind of vibe it was giving off, and the simple, clean design style. As usual, I clicked through to Alex's website, where I discovered even more great design. He has everything from wedding invites (his own!) to screenprints (love!), and even a giant 4x8 foot woodcut print.
Yes, 4x8 FEET. Huge. Either way, I gotta love me some of that Midwest. :)I liked Alex's style with all of his work. It is all very clean and precise, which I appreciate as a designer myself. I think sometimes it takes more skill to know when you have enough, than it does to keep adding and adding until you have something totally cluttered that kind of works. I lean towards simplicity, myself, and I am always drawn to this particular style. I think Alex does it extremely well, and I think he's another designer you should definitely check out. Click here to view his website, and check out some of his other work! I did a little more digging, and discovered that he is actually a local artist, and that is AMAZING. I love seeing the work of other creative people in my neighborhood, and this leads me to the next Pinterest Find of the Week: Zeus Jones.