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Archive | October, 2013
Posting these two as well for an extra dose of cuteness. I can’t handle her facial expressions. #iftttwp
31 Oct
I don’t know what’s funnier- how much she really looks like The Grinch’s dog Max or that “I’m going to cut you in your sleep, Mom” look on her face. #iftttwp
31 Oct
via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/gI1o9tN_9m/
#DearCongress Video for NBC’s TODAY Show
30 Oct
As October comes to an end, I look back and realize that this month has literally been a whirlwind since day one. The morning of Tuesday October 1st I awoke with the rest of the nation to find that certain members of Congress had proceeded to shut down our federal government instead of compromising on a funding measure to keep it open and running.
I was upset and frustrated at the news that such a small group of people were so poorly representing the interests of myself and my fellow citizens. I shot off a few aggravated tweets over coffee using the #DearCongress tag as organized by NBC’s TODAY Show.
As the day went on it became apparent that a lot of people agreed with my feelings. My twitter rant caught steam and by mid-afternoon I was contacted by NBC to provide a quick Instagram video of myself reading my tweet above. It ended up airing on NBC’s TODAY Show pretty early the next morning.
It was a surreal experience that I am very thankful for. I am happy and hopeful that my message provided others with a sense of understanding regardless of our political preferences as individuals.
Thanks again to NBC and the TODAY Show for allowing me to share my thoughts. Take a read and watch the segment my video was featured in (if you know what I look like, it’ll be hard to miss my face, don’t worry) http://www.today.com/news/you-shouldnt-be-getting-paid-viewers-send-shutdown-messages-congress-8C11306978
P.S. I broke the cardinal rule of the internet and read the Facebook comments of the post NBC shared of this article. Mostly, folks agreed with me. The only really negative comment I remember is some woman accusing me of being a man, which basically means I’VE MADE IT YOU GUYS!
From Start to Finish
28 Oct
I was digging through last year’s files a few nights ago and found something really special with an interesting story behind it.
About a year ago at 2012’s Fall High Point Market Joseph and I sat down on a slow afternoon in our space to get some administrative work done. We were exhausted in the midst of our first showing at High Point and I remember saying “Let’s try to make something positive come out of these few hours.”
After a few minutes of chatting about different work topics we ended up talking about new design inspirations we had in mind. We both had been exploring different seating options so we began to elaborate on that mutual thread.
I think one thing that really helps Joseph and I understand each other as individual designers is that we both find inspiration for designs often from the most unexpected places. Joseph once found a leg shape for a table by looking at a shade drawn on an airplane window just so. While this is exciting and always intriguing, often times our initial sketches end up looking something like this:
While these hieroglyphs may look impossible to decipher, once I found the paper I showed it to Joseph and we immediately began to trace the progression of the design from where we went from a single back rail to three, where I drew my vision for the initial overall shape of the piece and so on. It was quite neat for us to look at these scratched down shapes and know it was a map in a language that only we could understand.
We were really brought full circle when we put them next to the finished product, our latest dining chair design at Joseph Thompson Woodworks.
Now it all makes sense, doesn’t it?!
Finding that scribbly piece of paper really reminded me of why Joseph and I do what we do and just how powerful the combination of inspiration and positive energy can be. I hadn’t thought of that tired afternoon till I found that piece of paper and suddenly I became very pleased that this design progressed so naturally and beautifully despite it’s conception occurring in not the most exciting or pleasant of circumstances.
I thought this little story would give an interesting glimpse into our process as designers and makers. Sure, some incredible ideas come from great brainstorming sessions with a crisp sketchpad and freshly sharpened pencils with precise measurements made with a straight edge, but sometimes all you have is a beverage napkin, your third cup of coffee for the day and bags under your eyes. But when that inspiration hits you in the most inopportune of times you better grab a pen and whatever paper you’ve got and get to work.
