Recap: Day #2 of Polish Hill Arts Festival

I was sooo thrilled to be able to attend Day#2 of the Polish Hill Arts Festival and meet so many amazing folks at the artist market and at the Civic Association. I'm sold and definitely want to take up residence in this wonderfully eclectic and friendly, community-oriented neighborhood.

Recap: Day #1 of Polish Hill Arts Festival

(Beautiful sunset view of neighborhood by Polish Hill’s Mark Knobil; postcards available at: http://www.phcapgh.org/phca-gear.html)

I had a beautiful afternoon yesterday on Polish Hill for their 3rd Annual Arts Festival. This year, lots to do and see with the addition of Free4All Music Festival by Project 53 and all the new local businesses -- Urban Gypsy, Lili Coffee Shop, The Copacetic Comics Company & Mind Cure Records. Pop City said it best: Punks, nuns and pierogies: Polish Hill is not just for kielbasa anymore.

Recap: Rivers of Steel - Babuskas & Hard Hats Tour

Photo from Rivers of Steel Archive, Mark Fallon Collection, women in Babuskas posing in front of the Carrie Furnaces: http://riversofsteel.pastperfect-online.com/32278cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=90FC3B9A-66DE-4DDF-9308-118872677844;type=102 (Beware: clicking on 'Random Image Search' may result in the loss of several hours to viewing thousands of fascinating images:)

Ever wonder why there is an abnormally high amount of hometown & neighborhood pride in Pgh? Or, why the love of the Stillers is in the DNA of every homegrown & transplant resident alike? Or, why there are so many bars in South Side? Or, why Pgh weddings have a cookie table? Or, the history behind the Hot Metal Bridge and its namesake? Or, what all those industrial relics are called and what they were originally purposed for that line our city's trail system and reclaimed brown areas (like Station Square, The Waterfront, South Side Works, etc)?

Then, I highly recommend taking the Rivers of Steel Babuskas & Hard Hats Tour. In addition to answering to the aforementioned questions, you'll also quickly discover that our great city was build with the blood, sweat and tears of several generations of men & women in this geologically and culturally unique, mini-melting pot of a region where the Three Rivers meet.
http://www.riversofsteel.com/things-to-do/event/babushkas-and-hard-hats-tour/

International T-Shirt Day: Pgh Style

What an amazingly fun themed happy hour last night (Mon, June 21st). If you missed it, you missed out!

Lindsay Patross (I Heart Pgh), Brett Wiewiora (Only in Pgh) and Dan Rugh (Commonwealth Press) joined forces to host the Pgh celebration of International T-Shirt Day at CWpress and at Over The Bar Bicycle Cafe (OTB) for a happy hour. Responding to a Fb call for collaborators on Friday morning (6/18), myself and Jon Brentzel from AIGA Pgh were added to this great team to help spread the word to our Pgh networks.

http://iheartpgh.com/
http://onlyinpgh.com/
http://www.cwpress.com/
http://www.pittsburgh.aiga.org/

Great conversations were had and new networking friends were made. Additionally, everyone walked away with at least one more awesome t-shirt than they came in wearing. I started the day by buying one $15 shirt from CWpress (my new favorite) and went home with two more... what a deal?! I won my last t-shirt which is of the Pgh neighborhoods that's by my design buddy, Phil Mollenkof: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Pittsburgh-Map/446144

This Pgh T-Shirt Day celebration is intended as a promo / build up for 'The Pittsburgh Shirt Show.' So, there's still hope for you to get in on all the fun that you missed out on last night. Visit iheartpgh's blog and sign up for their email list. You'll be kept up-to-date on the upcoming event (tentatively set for July).

While you're at it, stop by CWpress in the South Side (Carson and 20th, across from Utrect). I bought my Pgh tee over my lunch break in order to be ready for the festivities. All the guys at CWpress are super cool, they have a ton of great shirts available (http://www.compressmerch.com/) and the screen presses are visible from the entry way. Best of all, you'll be greeted by Art of Board's recent installation -- see all about it and interior pics of CWpress here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=186249&id=133099328675&ref=pb

Looking forward to future collaborations with this electic group of movers-and-shakers. Kudos again to all participating parties for a great evening!

See Jon Bretzel's photo recap: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240934&id=60713112

Nuggets of Wisdom: AIGA Pgh Fellow Awards

Last night was the AIGA Pgh Fellow Awards honoring Rick Landesberg and Dennis Moran for their long commitment and significant contributions to excellence in the field of design. AIGA Pgh President, Greg Gibilisco, in a brief speech before delivering the awards, described Rick and Dennis as design community leaders, mentors and inspirations; in short, motivators.

The event was held at the August Wilson Center... perfect location. It was nice to see a good turnout from the design community and to catch up with all the former/current AIGA board members.

The dialog/chemistry between Rick & Dennis was entertaining and their career/business 'war stories' were both comical and packed with valuable nuggets of wisdom. An added bonus, Ray Werner was the event's moderator.

The complete presentation was recorded and I will post the link when it becomes available. For now, I'm including a few of my favorite quips and -isms that I can remember:

• Don't work for jerks (RL)
• Always keep a sharp x-acto knife (RL) ... you'll have to see the video for the whole story
  
• Two traits of a design entrepreneur: an inquisitive mind & tenacity (or strong 'ego' as Dennis called it).
• In this business, we get to learn a little bit about a lot of different stuff. (RL)
• I've only ever met three real geniuses -- they were all designers. (RW)
  
• All the 'true' designers, the real greats of our industry, have been the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met; nice to a fault, a rare-breed. (RL)
  
• I miss the illusion of magic. What we (as designers) do used to be highly esteemed for its craftmanship/artistry. Now, there's this idea that anyone who has access to the programs/tools can do what we do. (DM)
  
• It's tough having employees in this business. When I was managing a group of designers -- really creative people, but with very strong egos (the strengths as weaknesses thing) -- I was the most miserable I've ever been in my career (DM)
• I was never very employable... I knew very early on that my only option was to be an entrepreneur (DM)
• My adaptation of the Pocket Fisherman, the Pocket Portfolio, was the best sales pitch tool I've ever had. It's so compact and portable that I would bring it with me on the old 'three-martini' lunch meetings. (DM)

Feel free to add your favorite quotes (or your corrections to the ones I've posted:) in the comments.

AIGA Studio Tour: Duquesne Design & Press; Miller Group

I always enjoy getting a behind the scenes look into the design studios of Pittsburgh. It never ceases to amaze me how many creative firms call Pittsburgh home and how much the work, company cultures and working environments vary.

Several times a year, AIGA Pgh selects 3 design/design-related spots in a neighborhood for a walking tour. Last night, we toured Duquesne University's Design Dept. & Press and Miller Group.

Now that I am an in-house designer again with my full-time gig at Northwood, it was particularly great to meet the team at Duquesne and to see their work, workflow and working environment. The design team works closely with their in-house Press Dept. which we also met with and toured their facilities. As a whole, the group seems to work well and have a good time together while producing great, creative work and maintaining/policing the Duquesne brand.

Sadly, I was too beat by the end of the tour to attend the wrap-up at Souper Bowl to talk more shop with the studios and other tour participants. However, I'm excited to have the time/energy again to participate in the design community through AIGA Pgh and other professional association events and activities.

Upcoming AIGA events in May that I am attending/volunteering at include:

• The Fellow Awards, honoring Rick Landesberg and Dennis Moran on Thurs, May 6th at 6:30pm
  http://pittsburgh.aiga.org/registration/?event_id=43542569
  
  
• Adobe CS5 Workshop on Thurs, May 13th (all day)
  http://pittsburgh.aiga.org/events/

eDG (Eco Designers Guild) is the other local group that I hope to reconnect with this summer: http://ecodesignersguild.ning.com/

More details/posts to come on the happens of the local design community. Until then, Happy Friday!

Panelist: Creative Careers Seminar

http://sites.google.com/site/creativecareersseminar/Home

I (Stephie) will be a panelist this Friday at the Creative Careers Seminar at CMU. I'll be sharing my experience in the field while at Bally Design and also talking about the transition to the freelance world to promote On The Vine.

Click for more information and hope to see you there!

Support Upcoming Events

It's seriously been crazy working three jobs — finishing up at Bally, getting On The Vine off the ground; and maintaining my Mary Kay biz as well — but I'm optimistic about the future as the next chapter of my life begins.

I wanted to share a few upcoming events that I am also involved in extracurricularly:

Kenya Benefit Concert is tonight (10/29) at 7 pm
New Hazlett Theater (Allegheny Center, North Side)
Music by Greg and Rebecca Sparks
The special community concert will benefit the children at the Kenduiwo Orphanage in Kenya. The musical event is part of an effort to raise $25,000 for a new girls dorm for children who currently have insufficient shelter and housing. More info: http://www.sharingmalezi.com/events.html
I'm coordinating volunteers at the event and have a few extra tickets... let me know if you can make it!


BHHC: 1st Annual Fundraiser Gala
THE HEARTFELT EVENT
Friday, December 4th 2009 7-10 PM
4863 Ellsworth Av., Pittsburgh, PA 15213
$25 suggested donation $10 minimum donation
benefits BHHC + chinese and silent auction

HEALTH PROVOKING TESTIMONIALS (7-8 PM)
SOUL INSPIRING ENTERTAINMENT (8-10 PM) featuring Earth Rhythm, InterPlay, Amethyst Bellydance Group and DJ Eric Justin.
www.balancedheart.org
More details to come... save the date!