launch, launch and away!

So sorry I've been a bit absent of late — but not to worry — it's all good things and I'm so excited to share the news! One of the projects that I've been working on which has been near and dear to my heart — the Calphalon website — launched in the wee hours of Saturday morning!

It's truly one of the most rewarding sites I've had the opportunity to art direct. In fact, I even shot a handful of the Unison lifestyle photographs you will see on the site (even the main one on the homepage). I'm hoping there are more commercial shoots like that to come... I definitely got my feet wet and I am hooked.

This, of course, put even more "fire under my butt" to get my personal photography site up and running. I'm so thrilled to announce that Ali Harper Photography is now open for business! Please do visit when you get a chance.

I've truly missed Flibberty this past month, but know that there is a really good reason for it — will be unveiling that in just a few days...

friday flickr freebies.

"long legs in my dreams"

I finally got around to the beginnings of some sense of organization of my Flickr account. It was a mess! I'm hoping to use the set feature to help me categorize & select photos for my photo website (that I've been quietly building over the past month).

I also added 2 freebie desktops there for download for you — so go grab 'em up!

Cut & Paste.

A working lunch for a new pitch at work produced this little collage yesterday. (Actually, it's about 24 in x 36 in, maybe a shade bigger.) It's a mood board that was supposed to visually describe me or at best, allow for some personal expression.

I'm not so sure that it really represents me, but it was just so nice (and freeing) to put down the photoshop cut & paste tool and physically cut & paste with about 10 magazines, a pair of scissors and a glue stick. I know. I can't believe I do this for a living either! And get paid for it. Shhhh, let's keep this secret between us; I've got a good thing going here.

Found Friday - Vintage Cameras.

For the past 5 years or so, I've gotten into collecting vintage cameras — of all kinds, really. Toy cameras, plastic cameras, medium formats, you name it. I found this guy's collection on flickr, after a long evening of researching some new cameras to add to my collection. I just love how he shot them front, sideways, and back — so you could see all they different ways they are unique, yet similar. All amazing pieces of machinery.



This is my growing collection. Some are buy broken and I'll fix 'em up — and yes, I do use them. Some I just collect because they were either found in the box, all protected like a piece from a museum, so I just couldn't pass them up. Some I've had for over 15 years, and use weekly.



They really are nonchalantly placed on top of those bookshelves. I'd love to place them more specially somewhere — maybe a different kind of shelf or open box thing — a place that would showcase how important they are to me.

I was given my first real camera when I graduated from highschool (a graduation gift from my parents, so perfect). A vintage Nikkormat. I loved it from the moment I laid my eyes on it and I depend on it today to take my most important photos. It is more than reliable — it is a workhorse. It made me want to collect other vintage cameras, mainly because no other piece of glass could take photos like it. I adore the artifact of film cameras. I think when you work for hours and hours in a darkroom and have that closeness to the film that you're working with, it's just hard to give up that control. The science and art just mix and it is infectious.

So I just added a new one to my collection, via an Ebay win yesterday — a Kodak Duaflex I. I'll tell you more about it when I get it. I can't wait.

Found Friday and Family.

Well, dang. It's been a week without a post and here we are at another Found Friday again. Been traveling — for work and for pleasure — got to deliver Miss Dotty to Miss Finn personally, which she adored by the way... pictures forthcoming. In fact, I shot the weekend with my every-so-trusty Nikkormat, so we will all have to be a bit patient to get those back from the developer. I was surprised by both my Pop-Pop and Grandma; Dad drove all the way to Venice to escort them back to Otown so that they could meet all their Great Grandkids and share in the festivities. I adore them; it meant the world to me that they were there.

So my head has been a bit centered around family, history, legacy and tradition. That being said, I thought I'd share my "gallery wall"— which happens to incorporate 2 of my favorite things that my folks gifted to me when I moved here. The silhouettes.



The real big one is my dad. I don't know how old he was when he had this done, probably was done in the 1950's though. The smaller one above it (and to the right) is me. I was maybe 5, I believe. Luckily, I don't remember that bowl cut.



What's really neat about these is that the images are actually cut paper, which is how they were traditionally done. Today, you can just take a digital photo, outline your head (in Photoshop or Illustrator), enlarge and print. Done. Easy peasy, just follow the directions. But the old school way is really an amazing work of art. The artist typically has you "sit" as you would for having a portrait done, and they cut (using very delicate but sharp scissors) the outline of your head. And they do this freehand. Freehand? YES, freehand. I find this to be absolutely amazing. And, I found an amazing guy, who still does this today. Here's a picture of his work — hired by Martha Stewart of course — to do portraits of a wedding party. I just love all those little details in the ponytail that he got.




And you know what I'm gonna do? Hire him to make one of Ellie. Because that's totally what's missing on the portrait wall... my kid, albeit a puppy kid.

The First Found Friday.

In thinking about my Friday found post, I wanted to share yet another home decoration/interior design blog that I have fallen in love with. And she totally delivers on her blog title, Absolutely Beautiful Things, as I've yet to gaze upon anything she shares that isn't more than inspirationally gorgeous.

Well, I promised a peek into the 'ol homestead for Friday, and then realized today that I had no decent camera to shoot with. Witt took the Canon with him to New York to find another lens for it... one that is extra-wide angle, which is very wonderful and exciting since I feel like I've been shooting all zoomed in. So now I've found myself having to take pictures with my iPhone. Whoopsy!



This is what my hallway looks like at 6:30 in the morning... It's a small little nook. I have always loved the 1930's homes that have that little built-in telephone nook in the wall (this 1940's home just missed that design)... for some reason, it just seems like the perfect place to have a telephone. It's the most thoughtful, perhaps, because you'll never end up interrupting anyone since you aren't chatting away in a room and are somewhat sequestered. So I did my best to recreate that thought with a old style phone and a found metal stool. In any case, I truly need to get some details of this space photographed, and, in color.

Will work on a better Friday Found for next week. I promise. New lens and all. But until then, just think about that quote up there for a second... "She designed a life she loved." Isn't that splendid? Makes me want to take a step back from this crazy, tired week and swash giant brushstrokes of big-picture plans across tomorrow. You're with me there, right? What a wonderful (found) inspiration.

Come on in.

Ok, so my last post confused a few of ya'll... no... sadly, those are NOT pictures of my home. Oh, I wish they were! And yes, A, that is a stretched map on transparency paper, illuminated in the window light. I know, it's perfect, right?

That book has amazing ideas, and I've definitely used (stolen) a few of them. That said, I'm working on a found Fridays weekly post that will give a little glimpse into the old homestead. I can't promise anything too inspirational, but hey, who doesn't like to peer into someone's space every now and then?

I've been a shade absent from posting as of late and it's totally Dgirl's fault. Her "to blog or to read" post got me thinking that I need to read more (or more like put down the laptop more), and now I'm hooked on the same book she was hooked on that made her leave her blog nest for awhile too. So, go blame Dawn. Enough said. I'm off to bed to read-sleep.

Found.

Today, my (very talented) friend A gave me one of the highest compliments that I think you can ever give somebody: she said that she will be taking inspiration from my home in regards to considering her new space (she is moving into a new apartment, which is always very exciting).

I love sharing my ideas about nesting, but by no means am any expert, or even slightly trained in interior design (how I would give anything to go back to school for it). I just think when you combine being a graphic designer + having slight OCD tendencies + a fascination with collecting, finding, rehabbing and reusing old things, well, one can't help but get obsessed with directing their surroundings. I spend way too much time considering my space: always moving objects and furniture around the house to create little vignettes. I like to look at areas of my home as personal snapshots that have been lovingly and thoughtfully arranged. I also know that I'm probably the only one that sees them this way, so that's why when A said that to me, it couldn't have made me happier to know that my manic behavior was in some way both understood and appreciated.



I, myself, take a huge amount of inspiration from a book that I happened upon about a year ago: Found Style, by David Butler and his wife, Amy Butler. Oh yes, that Amy Butler again. Not only is she a fabulous designer/crafter/entrepreneur but she has this ridiculously talented designer husband who owns a design firm, aptly named, Art of the Midwest. Should we hate these folks for being so damn talented and lovely? I want to. (Not really. I would rather be them.)



In any case, the book is full of yummy ideas and photos that show you just how to combine those random antiques you've had for years with that modern-looking family heirloom you inherited and thought wouldn't/shouldn't work together. And that's just it: combining those two aspects is what I adore about design... that messy side with that structured side. I've never understood people who felt they had to follow preconceived notions of everything in the living room should have the same wood grain, or worse, everything in the dining room needs to be of the same period. Bah.

Just feast your eyes upon some of the tasties from this book:




Actually, I think the Butler's said it best...

"...With found style, it's not back to the department store to try and find bookshelves in the same finish as the rest of the furniture. Instead it's about finding a more creative (and usually less expensive) alternative... Found style combines organization, comfort, and personal voice. It will invite friends and family in to relax, and make them feel special, maybe even honored to be in the space. Your surroundings will tell a little bit about who your are - all you have to do is decide what you want that little bit to be."

Great, now I'm getting the urge to go rearrange the mantle. Again.

Things I have learned in my life so far.

In honor of Stefan Sagmeister's inspiring lecture tonight (and book that I just had to have, it is wonderfully thoughtful), Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far, I decided to come up with a list of 20 of my own learnings. Not at all to belittle his amazing ones, like my favorite, "Complaining is silly, either act or forget", I just was very moved by his way of being able to talk about them like he had really been able to learn from them. As if he had some sort of way of truly having 20/20 hindsight — seeing into his past, perhaps even looking into his future or maybe just being keenly aware of where he is today. I wanted to write (and share) a few things that I've learned thus far in my life too. I think it will be interesting to refer to them in a year or so and see what has changed, or what I'd want to add. Here goes:

- Judging someone is much easier than getting to know them (unfortunately).
- Planning feels better than being spontaneous, but being spontaneous usually makes me happier.
- Just because things look organized, doesn't necessarily mean that they are.
- If you say what you mean you don't have to say as much.
- Being creative doesn't actually mean that you have to create something tangible.
- Having everything in its place doesn't really change things.
- Keeping a journal allows me to think out loud.
- You must own up to your actions.
- White lies are still lies.
- Seeking validation from others doesn't accomplish anything.
- Just because someone agrees with you doesn't mean it is right.
- Trying to be liked by everyone is overwhelming and unnecessary.
- Being a perfectionist is never a good thing (unless you are a surgeon).
- Being positive is hard, but inevitably, worth it.
- Everybody is not out to get me.
- Sometimes you get the short end of the stick; it's what you do with it that makes the difference.
- Change is inevitable; it is best to just go with it and ask questions later.
- Being comfortable in your own skin is a worthy accomplishment.
- Loving someone can hurt you deeply, never loving again can hurt you even more.

And, of course...
- Following someone else ignores your own path.

So, the really cool thing is that you can contribute (designing it like he has done similarly, or not so similarly) your own "mantra" — that is, enter it online via his website. He says that if you actually visually create the sentence it is like you have lived it, learned it, and can then move on from it. I like that I idea. I may just have to try it. It reminds me a little bit of Post Secret, which is also very cathartic.

Even Stefan Sagmeister keeps a diary.

This event held by AIGA/Atlanta should be amazing; I'm really looking forward to it. I actually haven't attended an AIGA event in probably 3 years now, yet I've been a member this whole time. For some reason, this one really peaked my interest. Well, it is Stefan Sagmeister. And hearing him talking about his personal growth will be very, very enlightening. I really like the design of this poster, and particularly the statement on one of the learnings (click on image to see them all), "Keeing a diary supports personal development". I'm finding this to be very true, once again.

I kept a diary when I was a teenager. It was quite small, with lined paper, and had a shiny gold lock on the side with it's very own key. Yes, I locked it every night after I wrote in it, usually in my favorite bright green ink. And yes, I always began my entries with, "Dear Diary". I loved that. It felt incredibly special, even though all my girlfriends did the same thing. Perhaps it was because it was something that was truly mine, and not shared by my family or friends — secret, intimate thoughts that seemed very important at the time. I wish I still had it.

I wonder if teenage girls still keep diaries... or perhaps, they just blog?

iPhone, uPhone, weallPhone.

I was gifted this beauty from my fabulous Witt for Christmas. (Yes, I am a very lucky girl and now feel extra bratty.) I don't know if he knew the type of monster it was going to turn me into when he gave it to me, but folks, lemme just tell ya. I have officially Mac'd out.

I loved the iPhone the day it came on the market. Never thought I'd be an owner of one, since my 3 year old and practically taped together Samsung wasn't bothering anyone. Well, that's not true.... actually, it was. I never realized it before, but I never took said phone out of my purse, much less bothered to input names into speed dial, nor even begin to learn how to text. To me, it was something that I used "In Case of Emergency", and just called the person back once I got to a landline, well, if I remembered to. I was a bad cell-phoner. (And I'm so sorry.)

So I've been figuring this little piece of technology genius out over the past few days and finally realized that I haven't used my .mac account to it's fullest capabilities, and that's just embarrassing. The syncing stuff that is... but now my computer at work and at home are harmonious with each other. Like they are best buddies or something, making sure that what I did over here is working over there and viceaversa. It's like I have a secret assistant or something. I feel so special. And there are no excuses anymore like "the dog ate my homework" because just about everything is accessible from everywhere. And you know how I feel about accountablility. (Happy happy, joy joy.)

So I went to get the car scrubbed the other day and looked up to notice 5 out of the 20 some-odd people there had iPhones. Math tells me that's a really good average and that Santa gifted out a lot of these puppies last year. And we all kept looking at each other. And even talking to each other. Like a secret phone club. I have to say, I used to think this was silly, but I'm actually loving it. All different types of people getting excited about the same thing and wanting to share in that excitement. It's just good branding.

Happy happy, joy joy.