Good News: Building sweetness

I love the smell of gingerbread at the holidays. My mom used to make a big pan of it, and I can just picture sitting in our 1960's kitchen licking the whipped cream off the beaters, while Frank Sinatra and Burl Ives played on the stereo.


Made and Provided by "EdibleArt" on Flickr.com


I found a website called Gingerbread House Heaven the other day. It has photos of fantastic gingerbread houses, as well as recipes, templates, and step-by-step instructions. Don't miss out on the links to the videos as well.

"And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread."
– William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost

Prep & Landing

It's been looonnggg while since we've had a new entry in the Christmas TV Special category to get excited about. The premiere of "Prep and Landing" - a Disney/Pixar animated creation - looks promising. I'm going to check it out Tuesday, December 8th at 8:30pm on ABC in hopes that its a classic in the making.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gozzi's Turkey Farm: A holiday tradition

Food, Oh How I Love Thee

Switerland

Italy

France

To get folks jazzed for Switerland International Food Festival (they had me at "hello", BTW), a very clever Swiss ad agency created these very smart, beautiful, nationality-appropriate mouth-watering images. You enjoy them all at this link while I go grab some lunch ...

Heartless

Putting aside just how smooth the music is for a moment - check out the animated motion sequence of this music video by The Fray called "Heartless". It is mesmerizing watching the heartbroken boy in the video have his emotions visually come to life from the doodles sketched in his notebook.

For those of us old enough to remember A-Ha's "Take On Me" music video - which in its heyday (circa 1984) was creatively ground-breaking - "Heartless" is an all-grown-up spin-off.

And for those of you youngsters who have never heard or seen "Take On Me", here it is in all its 80's glory, complete with gelled out hair and heavy synthesizers (but no denying, still retains some of its cool factor):

a-ha - Rock The Deuce - MTV Shows

Thanks for Yesterday & See You Tonight ...

Yesterday, I was honored to participate in a social media panel discussion at the New Haven Business Expo which was hosted by the Technology Council of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford.

We have a lively discussion, excellent questions, a packed room with interested participants who asked excellent questions. All this made for a very enjoyable event and I hope we are invited back again next year.

Next up, I'm speaking at 4:30 today at the New Haven Free Public Library on "Twitter for Non-Profits" as part of the Subway Supper Seminar lecture series. The event is free and open to the public so come on and join us! For more details, click this link.

Good News: The Pink Glove Dance

Here is a video that is going viral and you will see why. It's cute, catchy and makes you feel good. But it also furthers the breast cancer awareness branding in a smart, unique way (pink glove theme and I love the people making up the pink ribbon at the end). When I speak about taking social media channels and finding your own unique way to use them for your company or organization, this is one very cool example.

Highly Recommend Kumo for Dinner!

Dinner at New Haven's Kumo Restaurant was exciting and superbly delicious. How this egg didn't crack is beyond me ~ and this was just his first act!

Elements @ the Movies

This weekend, I went to see this delightful and rather funny film "Pirate Radio". The story was original and Philip Seymour Hoffman was superb, as usual. It was also a great "date night" movie because my husband loved the music and the unique plot ~ a group of rebellious male rockers on a boat. What's not to like?

Florence + The Machine

What we're listening to - fabulous + mesmerizing Florence + the Machine.

Pretty Paper Lanterns

As we are planning our December 7th Open Studio Holiday Event, we've been thinking a lot about pretty paper lanterns ...

The Power of Our Postcards!

Our newest client, Rose, with an array of our Elements postcards, proving once again that good marketing works. Rose even asked me if I could send her the postcards mailed before May (she only had from May forward and wants the complete set)! Rose also cleverly reuses our beautiful postcards as bookmarks – how clever, and GREEN! We love it!

Garden Inside...Without Dirt!

I love these images by lolh4x snapped of Window Farms, a concept originally developed and designed by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray. These gardens are grown hydroponically (in water, no dirt) using recycled water bottles. No "small potatoes" here (pardon the pun) – Britta and Rebecca were able to grow everything from basil to lettuce to tomatoes inside their New York City apartment – putting my country-bred self to shame. I do NOT have a green thumb.

From Britta & Rebecca's project description on Eyebeam.org:
"We are creating several different designs for suspended, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield light-augmented window farms using low-impact or recycled local materials. These prototype window farms, to be located in high-profile windows throughout the city, are intended to inspire other New Yorkers to design and implement their own window farms. Signs in the windowfarms will challenge New Yorker to create their own and direct them to a website where we can all share photos, plans, designs, and information. Together, we will derive viable methods for growing food under the local conditions of our own homes in a way that is efficient enough for New Yorkers' lives."

There is a growing community of self-proclaimed "window farmers". Check out their blog for more information and how-to manuals.

Good News: Yale Grad Inspires Young Women

This week's Good News is a story of strength and giving back to one's community - check out this inspirational story of a young woman from a small Texan town who beat the odds and was accepted to Yale. She is now back in her hometown mentoring the next generation.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

CTAM New England

I honestly enjoyed speaking at the CTAM New England Conference last Thursday, November 5th where I spoke about social media marketing.

What an impressive, well-thought out event. (Images of Boston skyline above taken from my car en route home). Thank you to everyone who sat at (as at least one participant called it) 'the cool table'.

Don't laugh, but I was impressed with the quality production of the laminated signs CTAM made for the event (as I am a designer, I tend to notice these things). So much so, that Brian insisted that I take the sign with me back to the office. I said I would if he posed with it. So, without further adieu, here he is folks - Brian Ferney of Comcast with my very own CTAM sign.Thank you, Brian, for inivting me to speak and thanks to everyone at CTAM for such a warm reception, great involvement and excellent questions. We had fun! What a great group of folks. Hope to see you next year!

{all images: © A.Graver 2009}

Happy Friday!

{image: ©A.Graver 2009}

A Real Good Experiment

As social media enthusiasts, we're always on the hunt for "gate-jumpers" - folks using the same social media tools as everyone else, but in a clever new way unlike anyone else.

My latest discovery is by Blu Dot, a designer and manufacturer of modern furniture, who had a successful - if not limited - following. On November 4-5, 2009, they decided to take 25 Blu Dot chairs (called aptly the "real good chair") and leave them on the streets of NYC for "curb-miners" to discover and claim as their own. The chairs, however, were fitted with GPS locators and Blu Dot shared their journey publicly via a website, Flickr and Twitter.

In real time, we could follow along as the chairs were dropped, spy on who picked them up, and tracked them on their way to their new homes - satisfying the voyeuristic nature in us all.

The REAL GOOD Experiment is a great model in the power of social media. It created a buzz, furthered their brand awareness, tells an interesting story and does it all in a new, exciting way.

How will you differentiate your business using social media? Tell us!

Jelly!

PechaKucha: Tomorrow, Wed. 11/4 6:30 pm at Bentara in New Haven

Tomorrow night in New Haven the second of two PechaKucha events will take place in New Haven.

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

WHERE?
Bentara
76 Orange Street
New Haven, CT 06510

WHEN?
6:30 - 8:15 pm

Free!

Presenters:

• Eric Epstein Experiments, Live;
• Laura Clarke talks about Swiss Art in New Haven;
• Jennifer Jane talks Photography;
• Ian Applegate takes us on a Tour of Tangential Ideas;
• Erin Pascale proposes a Way Out of the Haven's One-way Maze;
• Design New Haven designs a New Haven Greenway;
• David Coon concentrates on State Street Structures... to poetry;
• Chris Ozyck takes the Initiative to Renew Urbanity

For more information visit PKN's website.