You are currently browsing the archives for the Art category


Holiday Marketing Tips for You

Wow, time is flying by quickly this year, don’t you think?

We know you’re super busy at this time of the year. Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to take a breath to remember marketing, so we’ve gathered a marketing check list, starting with Gift Cards for you to consider and review.

Your Holiday Gift Cards Marketing Check List

SEO (search engine optimization)

Make sure you refer to the words “gift cards” and “gift certificates” when posting online. Is there a title and description hidden in the secret code of your website? Are images of your gift cards/certificates named? These few tips can help you get found on Google!

Design & Presentation – DO your gift cards.

Read On >

What’s your Focus?

Although technology seems to advance at a relentless pace, photography seems to be one of those mediums that (in my opinion) is resistant to change. I mean clearly digital photography is rapidly replacing film, but I think there will always be a place for it – just look at polaroid. There are effects that can be achieved with film and old film cameras that have so much character. That being said, digital has made everyone a photographer.

Now comes what could be the next step in the evolution of photography. These 2 photos are not 2 different shots with different settings  – they ARE the same photo. This is a new technology that allows you to adjust your focus after the photo has been taken.


“A company called Lytro has just launched with $50 million in funding and, unlike Color, the technology is pretty mind-blowing. It’s designing a camera that may be the next giant leap in the evolution of photography — a consumer camera that shoots photos that can be refocused at any time. Instead of capturing a single plane of light like traditional cameras do, Lytro’s light-field camera will use a special sensor to capture the color, intensity, and vector direction of the rays of light (data that’s lost with traditional cameras).”

See the rest of the article and more examples here.

What do you think? Is it as revolutionary as they claim?

Photography

Camera Lens Mug

Camera Lens Mug

You may not know this, but I am an avid photographer. I may not make a career of it, but I find tremendous joy in all things photographic–from the gear, to the process, to the final image.

 

iphone lens

iphone lens

I received an e-newsletter this morning from a company called photojojo. I love the stuff they sell and their light hearted approach. Like this camera lens mug:

Or perhaps you been looking for a fisheye lens for your iPhone?

Well, if you’re not ready to spend your cash on such frivolous items, and you have been wanting to experiment with photography – may I suggest you visit: DIYPhotography. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and want to save some money on studio lighting and such, you can find all sorts of great low cost ideas. Be warned though these projects require some resourcefulness. It isn’t all building stuff however, they also have some great instruction on a variety of techniques too.

Check it out…

Merry Christmas

We will be closed December 23rd, 2010 at 5:00pm – January 4th, 2011 at 9:00am. Enjoy the Holiday!

Creative Office Interiors

Does creativity inspire creative interiors or do creative interiors inspire creativity?

Have you ever noticed that often the most creative companies have the most interesting corporate interiors? I have often wondered if the inspiring interior space is reflective of the innovative, artistic people who work there or if that type of interior design fosters creativity.

Perhaps it is a little bit of both! Think about offices like Pixar, Google and facebook, there has got to be a reason why these companies spend so much on the look and feel of their offices, besides the fact that they are billion dollar companies. When I need creative inspiration I often spend some time looking through a books of corporate interiors. It seems to help spark my creativity. I think by creating an environment that employees feel relaxed and comfortable it does foster creativity. The more you go outside of the box to create a pleasant work environment the more employees will develop outside of the box ideas for your company.

It has been suggested that the more appealing an office is, the more likely employees are to live at the office, and volunteer overtime. Some companies strategically plan their offices in this way, offering services to staff so that they do not need to do as much running around and can maintain focus on projects, and creative brainstorming. Happy, relaxed people love their jobs!

What are your thoughts? What does your workspace look like? Does it inspire you?

– Sandra

TIFF – Lights, Camera, Action!

I seem to have a movie theme this week. The big news for avid movie-goers is that the 35th Toronto International Film Festival is under way. It opened  September 9th and runs to the 19th. The Festival showcases more than 300 films from across the globe, with a diverse selection of titles for you to explore. Festival programming is divided into programmes this year to help guide your choices. Visit www.tiff.net to get the latest news from the festival along with daily film schedules and ticket and package information if you are thinking about attending the festival. You can also join their Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/TIFF, and follow them on Twitter http://www.tiff.net/twitter for everything TIFF – enjoy the shows!

– Kathy

Pop Life: Art in a Material World

This summer, if you are fortunate enough to visit Ottawa, I highly recommend visiting the National Gallery of Canada to see the Pop Life exhibition. It runs from June 11- September 19th.

As it states on the National Gallery website, Pop Life: Art in a Material World explores the complex relationship between contemporary art, marketing, and the mass media that has evolved since the 1980s when Andy Warhol’s uttered his provocative maxim that “being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” The exhibition includes over 250 various mediums from paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, videos, and installations created over the past 30 years. Very cool!

I am most interested in the Damien Hirst performance exhibition featuring twins. The gallery is recreating the 1992 performance where Damien commissioned a set of identical twins to spend time sitting in front of his trademark spot paintings. Dressed in identical clothing, the twins could do various things, as long as their actions were mirroring each other. The original performance was about “surface appearances, individuality, and making a scene”.

Being a twin myself, of course I wanted my sister and myself to apply! How awesome would it be to be a part of the artwork at the National Gallery of Canada! My sister is going next week to see the exhibition.

Other featured artists include Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Peter Nagy, to name a few. Visit the gallery website for more information.

Damien Hirst
Daniel Oliver & Christopher Oliver (detail), 2009, household gloss paint on wall, chairs and twins, dimensions variable. Installation view: Tate Modern, London, 2009–2010.
© Damien Hirst,
courtesy Science Ltd., London.
Photo: © Tate Photography


If you are not able to go to the Gallery before the exhibition closes, you should go to the online store to order your memorabilia. I think I’d like to get one of the Pantone mugs, or the Keith Haring Radiant Baby watch.

—Kathy

Fabric Printing

One of my favourite resources, Colourlovers is offering something very cool. Have you ever wanted your custom designs printed onto high quality fabric? Well, now you can! They have partnered with Spoonflower, an on-demand fabric printer that allows people to design, print and sell their own fabric designs. This is perfect for all you artsy types – you know who you are. Why not have your favorite designs printed onto fabric instead of paper! I’m thinking … I need new wall art…and curtains…and pillows….the possibilities are endless! I like how print design is overlapping with interior design today.

Browse any pattern on ColourLovers to purchase it in fabric form, or visit the Spoonflower site to check out all they have to offer.

As their website states, Spoonflower digitally prints using eco-friendly, water-based pigment inks on natural fiber textiles. No additional chemicals are used in the printing or preparation process. I love it!

I’ve signed up for a free account to receive community emails. Follow them on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.

—Kathy

Art or Marketing, you decide!

Yesterday, Mashable featured a piece on a new video where a “Guy Walks Across America” that is quickly hitting viral status. At first glance, it seems like a project that can be considered a work of art. I have a hunch that this may be a subtle marketing campaign, but you be the judge:


READ MORE TO SEE MY THOUGHTS

Continue reading →

Journaling

While I was writing my blog last week, I was thinking that it was sort of like writing in a diary. Remember those growing up? Although, the new term for this is called “journaling” – writing down your thoughts and experiences. By getting your thoughts out of your head and putting them on to paper, you gain insights you would otherwise never see. This process can enhance both your personal and professional life.

A diary is more of a descriptive list of the day’s events, and a journal is more of a reflection of the day’s events with expressed emotions. Both are “old school” in the sense that you are using pen and paper instead of a computer. “New school” is Blogging, or creating an online diary. www.blogger.com is a great site to visit if you are thinking about creating a personal online journal.

This prompted me to buy a diary at Chapters this past weekend, and I wrote my first entry already. I was flip-flopping between two different covers when choosing it, however. If you’re like me, and you like books with nice covers, www.cafepress.ca has a large selection of journals to choose from with very cool covers – whatever you fancy. They come with a wide variety of papers to choose from, as well as one-of-a-kind journaling designs. You can also look for journaling gifts and custom journals to make your writing experience more meaningful.

There are also online tools to help make your journal experience a positive one. www.journalingtools.com is a Canadian site that does this. Very interesting. My weekly Blog posts might benefit by me reading about some of these tools. We’ll see. I’m sure that some entries will be better than others!

—Kathy