New Merch and Design Work

I’ve been pretty busy lately with design and web and there’s quite a bit to show for it.

There’s three different places you can currently find and purchase merchandise featuring artwork I’ve done for the Bike Commuter Cabal, an informal bicycle commuting group on Google+.

First up, I launched a Redbubble store to sell t-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers and iPhone and iPad cases. Response has been pretty good and I’m donating a portion of any proceeds to bike-related charities. In special recognition of the month of May being Bike Month and also hosting Bike to Work days in many larger cities, I’m donating 100% of all proceeds from May to World Bicycle Relief. Popular sellers have been t-shirts and stickers.

Also related the The Bike Commuter Cabal, some months ago during the winter, the group held an impromptu contest of submissions for jersey designs to be produced at a later date. I’m glad to say my design was one of the three finalists, and I also just completed the Bike Commuter Cabal Shop where preorders are going on for the three jerseys from now until June 7th.

Finally, as a special request for one Cabal member, I set up a design for personalized frame decals for The Bike Commuter Cabal through a third party vendor, VeloInk.com. Although it was initially a one-off, for one specific member, they’ve turned out to be very popular with a bunch of other folks ordering sets up as well.

On other fronts, I’ve completed a number of web design projects recently which have turned out pretty well.

A few months ago I completed a new redesign and launch of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick website and I’m currently working on helping them with the French version. I also worked with them on a mini/sub site within that for SlimeWatch, a program to monitor algae growth in the Bay of Fundy.

Finally, just a week ago, I launched the redesign of my buddy Ross Neilsen’s website to coincide with the release of his new album, Resurrection. It’s very good and Ross and the boys have done an excellent job on it, I encourage you to check it out.

Storytime with Lynyrd Skynyrd

Jumped in the truck the other day and caught Skynyrd’s ‘Freebird’ on the radio. Very 80’s moment, I know.

It’s a shame that this has become the cliché/parody of itself that it is now, but maybe that’s precisely because it remains one of the baddest jams out there.

When I was working with a band in the mid-90’s we played some shows in Florida and happened to be staying at the same hotel as that era’s lineup of Skynyrd as they spent a week preparing to go on tour. We met a few of the guys by the pool and they were downright awesome. Shared all kinds of tales from the road, plane crash stories – the full nine.

I mean, these guys were rock legend at this point. We were just some young alt-rock wannabes – they didn’t even have to give us the time of day. But not at all. They were very humble, encouraging and I think even a bit proud (they’d every right to be) of the longevity they’d enjoyed, especially in light of all the ups and downs they’d experienced as a band of brothers.

It was a rather silly scene – I remember stepping away for a minute and coming back to see my friends all sitting on the ground, legs crossed, in a circle, around a lounge chair where Leon Wilkeson was perched, telling tales. It looked – for a minute – like storytime at school. Bizarre.

Then they took us to a local – ahem – ‘Gentlemen’s Establishment’.

What I remember of it was an amazing time, and what I’ve forgotten was probably even better.

Epilogue: In what was the most amazing move yet, they invited us to hang backstage during their show that was coming up in 2 days, but the agonizing truth is that we had a flight out booked before then. We scrambled to get it changed, but couldn’t and in vain tried to find some alternate method of getting home, but alas, couldn’t. The guitarist for the band hosting us down there had offered to drive us back to DC, but there was 6 of us and gear and all he had was a 2 door hatchback. So. Close.

The 100 Thing Challenge: Checking In

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I set out to tackle the 100 Thing Challenge, outlining my thoughts here.

Well my self-imposed deadline has past and I’ve dropped the ball. Probably one of the things I should have gotten rid of.

Truth is, once I set out to ‘declutter’, I found the biggest task was finding things to actually give up. Turns out maybe I don’t have as much stuff as I thought – at least not mine anyway. 9 times out of 10 when I come across something, it’s more ‘family’ or ‘household’ owned than just me, personally.

I never got around to actually counting what I had and intended to keep – something I should probably do. However, as I was wandering my house, trying desperately to find stuff to unload, I kept stumbling into road blocks. Can’t get rid of the Christmas tree stand. We need that. Is that considered mine anyway?

Oh, here’s that broken rocker/glider that Lyn wants fixed. Can’t get rid of that. Even though we’ve moved it 3 times and still haven’t ordered the replacement parts. Sigh. Not. My. Call.

The things I have the most of, it seems, pose the hardest question, and that is tools. I have a lot of tools. Over the years I’ve accumulated them performing various projects on all the houses we’ve had. I always justified the purchase and ownership of them with the fact that I was doing maintenance/projects – that it would cost me double to have someone else do – myself, but the fact of the matter is that I also enjoy having my tools and being able to do the work.

Could I get by and old school it with all hand tools? Maybe. Could I just rent tools as I needed them? Prolly. The sense of security having them on hand at all times ready to do whatever is needed (or wanted) at any time is worth something though.

I have, many times, enjoyed the acquisition of tools, from time to time indulging in ones that would ‘make things easier’, or ‘take less time’ than their hand operated or out-dated predecessors. Is that a bit too much ‘consumerism’? Maybe. I think my original tenet that the tools are used primarily for the good of the entire household still holds the most water in defense of their line-item exclusion from my 100 Things List.

Clothes and bike stuff, I think I still need to work on though. I shan’t get into that now.

In the end, even reading the book and thinking about the Challenge has made me reevaluate how and what I buy, and why. So that is a good thing. I definitely use it as a yardstick now when buying anything.

In closing, I have rid myself of some stuff, though I STILL have 3 baby gates that I’ve tried to GIVE away to no avail.

But I used to have 4, so even THAT is progress.