Taco Tuesday

Last month we had the pleasure of hosting our first creative dinner. We invited fifteen creative thinkers to come eat, connect, and inspire one another. We talked about our struggles, successes, branding, networking, and everything in between. We were so grateful to have so many talented people at one table.

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Our goal is to build a creative community, get all of our creative friends to network and collaborate. Want to join us for our next one? Sign up for our mailing list for an exclusive invite. 🙂

Currently: June 2014

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June came and went so fast! It was one of our busiest months so far, we did so many events, workshops and met so many great people. I’m really looking forward to what July will bring.

Currently I am…….

Working on a Pinterest seminar. Time to start sharing my passion. Whoohoo!

Wearing  jogger pants. They better not go out of style, I own a lot!

Watching the second season of Orange Is the New Black. How great is that show?

Eating Whole Food’s dark chocolate sea salt covered cashews. Soooooooo good!

Excited about the launch of our sister company Creative R&R. New shit coming soon! You ready?

Needing a new laptop. My computer is on the fritz!!! But I can’t be mad, I got my moneys worth like two years ago.

Did two interviews here & here. Almost famous? 

Reading…. Instagram captions? Does that count? I haven’t had time to start any new books, but I hear #GIRLBOSS is a must. Have you read it yet? I feel like I’m the only who hasn’t.

Proud my sister-in-law graduated from UCSD with her PhD. That chick is so awesome! She inspires me to keep going.

Happy my family came to visit from Virginia. Nothing better than having a home cooked meal.

Wanting to collaborate with more people and brands. Its time to step out of my comfort zone.

Listening to 90’s R&B. Man, the 90’s was the best!

Obsessed with every image by Margaret Zhang

Loving Stone_Cold_Fox’s Spring 2014 campaign. This video is done just right, the narration is perfect. Watch it!

Grateful that my dreams are coming true. Sometimes I have stop and say to myself “This is exactly what  I wanted.” 

Top 5 CSUF Photographers on Instagram

Cal State Fullerton one of the universities close to our studio, and while it is mostly known for its business program, within the masses of students are talented individuals. Below are the top 5 CSUF photographers you should follow on Instagram.

Note: These are in alphabetical order by last name.

Alex Calish – @jalexanderphoto

Although Alex Calish’s Instagram description indicates he is a landscape photographer, his sharp attention to detail in his subjects creates a more dynamic and intimate feel to his photographs.

Alex Calish on Instagram


Kevin Chen – @kchensays

Kevin Chen is also a landscape photographer. While Calish seems to focus on details, Chen prefers to showcase the vast lands of his travels.

Kevin Chen on Instagram


Winnie Huang – @buffalowinsss

There is something uniquely but vaguely humane about Winnie Huang’s photographs. The mystery in them always keeps one intrigued.

Winnie Huang on Instagram


Robert Huskey – @roberthuskey

While most would assume that Robert Huskey’s forte is sports photography, it seems as though he is actually more interested in the study of motion, light, and shadows through the medium of photography.

Robert Huskey on Instagram


Alvin Kim – @alvinwkim

Without relying on far away travels or color saturation, Alvin Kim successfully creates beautiful photographs making mundane objects and muted colors incredibly interesting.

Alvin Kim on Instagram

Review: The Art of Being Pharrell

A few months ago, I completely  fell for advertising on Facebook.  Like any other uneventful day, I was scrolling through my news-feed when I saw a sponsored post by W Magazine asking Facebook users to vote for best magazine cover by “liking” one of the options.  I voted, started looking around their Facebook page, and eventually found myself paying $5 for a five month subscription to the over-sized publication. Yeah, I know… I fell for it and contributed to the success of pesky online advertising.  The worst part? I didn’t even read the articles – I really only looked at the photographs of Miley Cyrus where she dyed her eyebrows blonde. The magazines ended up pilled on my desk… until a few days ago.

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Cover artwork by Urs Fischer

I received W’s Art edition in the mail and noticed something peculiar about the cover. Contemporary artist Urs Fischer (who’s work I first saw at MOCA) created the cover artwork using one of his signature techniques: covering the subject’s face with an inanimate object. In this case, a silver hardware screw over “Happy” singer Pharrell Williams.

The interview discusses many aspects of Pharrell’s career including his earlier work, his response to the controversy of “Blurred Lines” which he produced, and even his famous infamous “Smokey the Bear” hat and its contribution to the explosion of the singer/producer’s fame. However, unlike other profiles of music artists, every page of this interview showcases a piece of visual art contemporary artists have made with Pharrell as the main subject.

by Japanese artist Mr.

by Japanese artist Mr.

 

Included in the spreads are works by Mr., Jr., Alex Katz, and Rob Pruitt. If you don’t subscribe to W, you’re about to “get lucky” because you can view these artworks online.

After actually reading this edition of W, and not just looking at the layout designs, I suppose falling for advertising this one time was worth it. My admiration for Fischer’s art only grew stronger, I checked out other artists’ work, and even Pharrell’s long journey for a successful career was interesting enough for me to finish reading the entire (several paged) article.

 

Do I think that ‘Blurred Lines’ is about gender equality like Pharrell and Robin Thicke have claimed? Ha! Absolutely not. But that is whole other topic.

Do I like Pharrell’s hat? No, but I can admit it’s become iconic.

A Brief History of John Baldessari

John A. Baldessari is an American Conceptual artist with a great sense of humor, and a great creative mind. Check out this entertaining video documenting some of his most creative and successful work. John Baldessari does not make boring art.

K.Mala Studio Summer Watercolor Series

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Flowers + Fruit : June 5th, 2014, 7pm-9pm

As summer approaches, saturated fruits and flowers are a bloom! Join K.Mala at Great Over Good for this fun class as we explore color, shape, and pattern with the help of some seasonally fresh fruits and flowers on display for your painting pleasure. Take home your painting and frame for a beautiful summer addition to your home!

Fashion Illustration : June 12th, 2014, 7pm-9pm

Strike a pose! You are guaranteed fun in this class! Rip out your favorite fashions from K.Mala’s collections of magazines, or use yourself as inspo and bring in a fabulous photo for reference. K.Mala will cover the history of fashion illustration and different styles you can explore to create your very own flirty fashion illustration!

Hand-Lettering : June 19th, 2014, 7pm-9pm 

Feeling inspired by a quote or music lyric? Hand-lettering posters are fun way to display motivation on the daily. K.Mala will cover all the basics from initial sketch and concept to techniques for rendering a beautiful poster size quote for your home or office.

 Wine  & Watercolor : June 26th, 2014, 7pm-9pm

What better combination than wine and watercolor? A beautiful vignette will be setup so you can come paint and relax with K.Mala as she leads you through a creative night of painting and drinking wine.

 About the Instructor 

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Kim Malachowski is a graduate of Laguna College of Art Design in Laguna Beach, where she obtained her BFA in Illustration with an emphasis in Graphic Design. Since then she has had a diverse experience working in design and fashion. Projects include: establishing a t-shirt line  (spotted on the likes of Audrina Patridge and Paris Hilton), showing at UniqueLA for several years, and displaying art in local galleries and art walks.

Kim most recently lived in San Francisco while working as a designer and illustrator for Pottery Barn Teen. She is looking to bring fun and art to a wider community in Orange County to spread the love and joy of art with others.

Click Here For Tickets!

Building Better Mondays

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Monday doesn’t have to translate to anxiety. Or tension. Or frustration. Or even boredom. We’re not saying the 9-5 can’t be great, but we are saying that greatness starts with YOU. Great Over Good | Pink Creative Studio | we are ROOT have joined forces to offer a series of workshop aimed at helping you Build Better Mondays.

As creatives who have flown the cubicle, we’ve already done the footwork: made the stupid branding mistakes, confronted the SEO disasters, and followed all the wrong people on Instagram. While we’re in the middle of fixing some mistakes and we’re still learning from others, we have luckily already mastered most of them. Building Better Mondays is our attempt to pass this valuable knowledge along to the rest of you out there who are struggling with many of the same issues. Our workshop series is designed to walk you through the basics of legality and brand luxuries (translation: the digital must-haves to brand and market your product). Even better, you’ll gain the opportunity to make connections with fellow creatives – people who very well might launch your product into success.

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 INSTRUCTORS

 

Amber Materna, Founder of we are ROOT and Content (Building and Pitching) Gypsy

Amber Materna, Founder of we are ROOT and Content (Building and Pitching) Gypsy

Amber Materna is a writer, editor, publicist and founder of the creative digital marketing firm we are ROOT.  She’ll be teaching your Content course in the Summer Workshop Series.

Inspired by the ever-changing millennial culture, her work has been featured by Yahoo! EducationLady HolidayBetter Living SoCal NetworkGreen Home Builder magazine, RivieraOrange County, and numerous other national and regional media platforms. Her client record includes major content monetization and PR firms specializing in architectural design, education and wellness, including NewGround Co. and Vantage Media.

2014 has truly been the year of open doors for Amber: she was recently named one of Yahoo!’s top contributors for 2013, and appointed as a member of the advisory board for 501(c)3 nonprofit UP (she’ll be doing their PR, naturally).  She’s constantly glued to her phone, but if there’s ever a time you can’t reach her she’s probably trying to conquer a a yoga inversion or lost somewhere in the wilderness.

 

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Kenia Gonzalez, Founder and Creative Director of Pink Creative Studio

Kenia Gonzalez is founder + creative director behind Pink Creative Studio, an organization that specializes in brand development for Women Entrepreneurs & Small Creative Businesses. Her ideas and inspiration come from everything she’s seen around the world; including vintage fashion, psychology, typography, international cultures – all things pretty and feminine, art-related and PINK, of course! Kenia has successfully launched and influenced numerous women looking to make the jump from free-time to full-time. She’ll be leveraging her expertise in getting legal and branding as the primary instructor for the Building Better Monday workshop series.

Kenia is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and English. Her diverse Spanish and Dominican background has influenced her fascination with other cultures. When not competing in triathlons or working on a new blog post, you can find her wandering museums or traveling the world; she’s already visited 6 continents and countless cities.

 

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Naadine Koi Founder and Creative Director of Great Over Good

Naadine Koi is the power-house behind Santa Ana’s creative space, Great Over Good. After growing up on the East Coast and dabbling in different industries, including fashion design and visual merchandising, she finally made the fortuitous move to California. In the last seven years since arriving in southern California, Naadine has remained loyal to her dream of pursuing a career in the arts. Her background in Pinterest marketing and her successful social media presence makes her the perfect woman to teach people how to master the art of Getting Social.

While always maintaining strong ties to the fashion industry, Naadine ultimately settled on an endeavor that combines her love of creativity and people: curating. Thus, Great Over Good was born. As the owner and creative director of this unique creative space, she has spread her artistic wings, while encouraging others to do the same by organizing events and workshops for like-minded creatives.

 

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06.23.14 // Business Basics I: Getting Legal

07.07.14 // Business Basics II: Building a Digital Presence

07.21.14 // The Psychology Behind Branding

08.04.14 // Does Content Really Matter? (Yes, It Does.)

08.18.14 // Getting Social

BUY TICKETS!

#BuildingBetterMondays

Lego’s New Documentary “Beyond the Brick”

They’ve been used to build spaceships, dream homes, sea monsters and robots and have been enjoyed by kids around the world. The one-of-a-kind building blocks, Legos, have been entertaining kids and grown ups alike for decades and now the company is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of the beloved pastime.

At the Tribeca Film Festival this week, LEGO premiered its first documentary ‘Beyond The Brick: A Lego Brickumentary’ that explores the impact LEGOs have had on pop culture around the world.  It’s not in theaters yet, but you can catch a sneak peek at film below.