LISTEN UP!

Just in case you haven't heard of him, singer/songwriter and musician, Sean Jones is getting ready to make big moves in 2008. With a sound that channels the best pieces of Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz and Seal, look out for his album 'This Is Love' to be released next year and make sure to pack it in your travel gear for those extended road trips. Here's a sneak peak for you...

THINGS WE LOVE, DON'T ASK WHY...

This installment of Things We Love takes us to the East for the works of two of our favorite Japanse artists. Both Takashi Homma and Yoshitomo Nara explore the element of simplicity in their work with an underlying skill that lets you know there is nothing simple about their final peices.

Great picks for your personal collection or as gifts that you really don't want to give are, Nara's collection of 30 illustrated postcards entitled 'Oh My God! I Miss You' and Homma's intimate personal documentary of time spent in Japan in 'Tokyo and My Daughter'.

IT'S NOT CHRISTMAS YET!

Note to all of you creative directors and marketing managers who are fully engaging in the practice of holiday slackerage (and we know who you are); GET BACK TO WORK! Hire some interesting, terriffic and fun photographers to shoot some fantastic photos in extremely exotic and hot parts of the world! GET SOME INSPIRATION FROM ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT TORONTO (such a straitjacket town no?)!
That's all.

A LITTLE MAGIC FOR YO ASSES

This video was so delightful we decided to share it with all of you! You can tell us how significant it is to the world of design later, right now just look at the pretty pictures.

GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

Welcome to the first installment of gifts that keep on giving, just in time for the holidays! Wondering what to buy the little Chupacabra in your life? How about a tropical island - disguised as a cell phone!
You heard us correctly, Blackberry has introduced the 8830 World Edition Smartphone for a mere $10.5 million.

A limited-time offer for billionaires, the smartphone comes all inclusive with an island that is an exclusive getaway miles away from any vagrants that could cramp your style! When you break it down, the phone acutally costs $199.99 while the island is a mere $10,499,800.

Of course, we can't all buy islands, I mean there are other ways to completely squander your wealth! So for those of you who are 'less fortunate' we offer Gold Pills! Retailing for a mere $429 U.S. These lovely 24k gold leaf pills can actually be digested to 'INCREASE YOUR SENSE OF SELF WORTH'!
Merry ho ho- except for those of you in Australia....

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

K, remember that movie 'The People Under the Stairs'? With this, whole new worlds of body disposal are possible! If it weren't for the bloody stench... Seriously, we think the design is pretty brillinat and so simple, we wonder why did this take so long to get to market? Congrats to Unicraft Joinery on the invent.

WELL SAID

DEEP THOUGHTS: SHALL I LIGHT YOU OR JUST RETOUCH YOU UP IN POST? PROMISE YOU'LL STILL BE PRETTY...

So here we are surfing the web for interesting finds, when we run across a very talented firm, Retouchme, in the U.K. who display exceptional abilities in the area of post production. As we perused through the examples of their work, we both wondered - do photographers need to have real skills anymore? Obviously, retouching requires a great amount of skill, and we mean no disrespect to the post producers in question, but, remember the days before the digital craze, when a photographer was only as good as his ability to manipulate light in real time and not in post production digital time?

This is a dilemma that puts photographer's in an awkward position. Either you have skills or you have skills. Skills implies the ability to capture the shot with the light and quality a client needs without total reliance on post production and Skills implies that while you have a good handle on how to light an object, your ability to retouch that subject takes your creativity out of the box and into a whole new competitive level. The question is, which skills make you more valuable or more respected on the market? The answer? Still being debated. There are those who would say hands down, knowing your light makes you a master, but there are others who argue, who needs light when you have Photoshop?

All would be well in the world for the Skills set, if they didn't find themselves dealing with clients who say, 'Hey, I have a little digi-cam, if I can shoot my kid's Halloween costume and alter it in five minutes at the press of a filter to make it seem like he's the best Yoda ever, why can't you do that with these car shots in the Dubai desert? And by the way, why are you charging me soooo much for that five minutes?' Hmmmmm, could it be that the answer is that photographers who choose to enhance their skills through retouching have to educate their clients on what kind of work it actually takes to achieve their perfect car shot and clients have to rethink how good their pictures really look after five minutes of playing with the Gaussian Blur?

As for those who believe technical ability is everything in the Skills set, we feel your pain, but don't be distressed, you have time on your side. When the light is right from the start, who needs to spend tons of time and cash on retouching? Your problems lie in whether or not, technical ability in lighting can keep up with technical effects in retouching. I have seen some shots that look damn near out of this world - unreal.

But maybe that's the point.
Perhaps we all should break for a little reality check.

'EVER BEEN TO AN AFGHAN PARTY?'

We weren't sure what to expect when we were asked, but we figured anything with 'party' on the end couldn't be that bad! Well, we weren't disappointed with our first experience on Saturday night when we shot the concert of Afghanistan's top selling star, Farhad Darya, who just happens to be in town with an all German band - what a coincidence! - except for Mitch Hyare out of England who plays a mean Dohl drum (see shot above). The music was amazing and the crowd, even though they got off to a slow start, spent the night dancing to galloping beats and ballads while shouting their love for Mr. Darya. Many thanks to our friend Rene, who played bass and sax, for the heads up and to the rest of the band who kept us laughing all night with their tour stories. Looking forward to the next round - which might be tonight! For those of you looking to see the concert, their next stop is Vancouver and then on to the U.S.

THINGS WE LOVE...DON'T ASK WHY

Welcome to things we love...don't ask us why. A showcase of all the design pieces we are currently drooling over and will some day get or at least sit on in some really swank designer showroom. This segment features pieces that creatively mingle modern hip with classic elegance while paying attention to functionality at the same time. You'll recognize a few old favorites from Eames, van der Rohe and Jacobsen. Behold the brilliance...

LISTEN UP!

Mark Ronson has been on the celeb DJ scene for sometime, but has been releasing his own work one tantalizing track at a time. Here's a sample of his latest collaboration with Amy Winehouse, 'Valerie'.

NEW FRONTIERS

Seed9 Photography and Design is launching our latest promo "Frontiers" showcasing a peak at our most recent shoots. The new studio is at 381 Roncesvalles is open and we've already had our first christening shoot with the second on the way tomorrow. If you would like to receive a copy of our latest promo, just drop us a line to comments with your mailing info and one will be on the way.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

WE'RE BAAAAAAAAAAACK! OK, so it's a bit of a cliché, but it seems only fitting with Halloween almost upon us to bring back the beloved poltergeist. I mean honestly, you would be disgruntled and banging dishes too if no one paid you any bloody attention.

But we digress...so back to the here and now shall we? After a busy summer of event planning, studio hunting, making new contracts, catching up with old contacts and battling with setting up new internet connections we finally have settled down into the bliss of studio life.

We've been keeping our eyes out for cool new design inspirations from all over the world, so check in when you get a chance to do some exploring with us! To begin, a little shout out to Webografico in Barcelona who is currently showcasing some of the funkiest graphic design out there. Check it out...

LISTEN UP!

Though there's lots to see and do in the city, you may not want to spend 30 degree days in smog and traffic. So, why not road trip? We'll be posting stuff from our adventures in the Great White North this summer so keep in touch for updates. In the meantime, we've already found our second favorite road trip song! A little ditty by Peter, Bjorn and John called 'Young Folks'. Check it out!

IT'S FESTIVAL SEASON IN TORONTO!

So, we've been a tad delinquent on the blog, but we're having a busy summer! For those of you who might be in Toronto over the next ten days, do check out the city's first Luminato Festival of Arts and Creativity which features events from the worlds of dance, film, literature, music and visual in the form of installations all over the city.

I was downtown yesterday and whizzed by the R.O.M.'s opening of the Micheal Lee Chin crystal which was in full concert swing, Yorkville's Summer of Love for all you Bohemians out there and the very packed Muhtadi International Drumming Festival. Though the city was a very balmy 32 degrees, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the city was buzzing with activity.

The festival continues on through to June 10th so check it out! For more info you can visit:
Luminato.com.

FORM & FUNCTION

Dutch designer Frederik Roijé uses his imagination to transform everyday home necessities into chic interior pieces of art. Featured first is his collection Firefly, a series of lamps created out Roijé's fascination with the lightbulb. We are invited to create our own swarm of fireflies using the variety of shapes and sizes of lamps and bulbs.

Next is the designer's collection Storylines, which double as functional for storage and a highlight to a vacant wall space. A beautiful way to showcase and store items that might otherwise just cause clutter on living room tables and heavy wooden display shelves.

I WANT MY MONEY!

If you haven't seen Will Ferrell's comedy sketch Landlord, check it out. It's hilarious.

WHAT TO SURPRISE YOUR FAMILY WITH...AFTER YOU DIE.

Hmmm, gifts. So many choices, so difficult to decide. Friends, you don't have to worry anymore. Here's the gift that keeps on giving even after you're dead! Imagine a family member receiving a pencil from you post mortem, but not just any pencil, this one was actually part of you. Indeed, the pencil pictured above was made from the carbon of human cremains. Did you know you can make 240 pencils from the ash of one cremated body? Who needs inheritance when you can give pencils?

GO OUTSIDE!

I don't know what you've done today, but chances are the sun is now shining in your neck of the woods and if you're still in the house, YOU'RE A LOSER! Get out and do something! Take in some vitamin D instead of staring endlessly into the lonely, dark, depths of your passive aggressive monitor. Spring is here people! Find a patio, a beer and enjoy it!

BLACK POWER! I MEAN POWER TO THE PEOPLE! I MEAN...OH JUST FORGET IT.

Recently, radio DJ Don Imus found himself in hot water and jobless when he referred to the Black female members of the Rutgers Basketball team as 'nappy headed hos'. Imus was taken to task by the Black community with activists like the Reverand Al Sharpton (pictured with Imus above) spearheading the campaign. Now, in a very expected twist, the tables have turned and the debate rages on against the Black community with Whites asking, 'Why can't we use those terms to describe Blacks, if they use those terms to describe themselves in their rap videos?'

I think Whites have a point and by the way, I'm Black.

Unfortunately, many rap musicians feel that the words 'bitch' and 'ho' should be used in their music to describe Black women, citing that the usage of those words give authenticity and street cred to their message. This, in my opinion, is utterly ridiculous. It is possible to make rap music, without derogatory terminology, that still tells an authentic story. The fact is that if young Black males choose to describe young Black females this way, why wouldn't other cultures feel they have the right to do the same? Doesn't America stand for freedom of speech?

Rappers do argue that record deals are made and broken by White record executives who urge them to be 'more black' by using half naked women and crass terminology to describe those women, but pressure aside, if the Black rap community stood together and firmly refused to use those terms, the establishment would have no choice, but to make some changes. Also, there are many Black musicians who choose to do just that and send out a positive message and image about their community to the world, the problem is they do not receive the same airplay and marketing dollars as their down and dirty counterparts.

In the end I believe not only are the rappers and the executives to blame, but so are we. Gone is the era when Black music was made with respect and tact, that goes for most music actually. I'm not trying to be old fashioned, but just listen to the radio. Most of the artists are not genuinely talented, they are a product of studio sound equipment and lackluster producers who just want the next big hit. They keeping banging out sub par material and for some reason we just keep buying into it.

Here's my advice:

Black rappers, shape up. Black women are not fodder for misogyny and making them into big booty caricatures of themselves does not further any cause except ridicule. Get a bloody backbone and shut pushy execs down by standing together.

White execs, get a life, being Black doesn't mean bling, booty and bangin' rims. Your negative stereotyping may earn you dollars, but it destroys the image of a race to itself and the world. Slavery is over, don't use rap to revive it.

We the public, stop buying into bad music! You're only encouraging the music industry to make more of it! Take an active stand like the ladies of Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia who protested the scheduled concert of the rapper Nelly at their institution because of his less than complimentary portrayal of women in his videos. The concert was cancelled and sent a message to Nelly that not every woman wants to 'take off all [her] clothes' for him, no matter how hot it gets. As consumers and listeners we do have a lot of power and a lot more taste than the music industry gives us credit for.

WE ARE ALL A GAPING VOID...SOMETIMES

Hugh MacLeod, cartoonist and marketer wrote one of the best rants ever written on how to be creative. A tongue in cheek look at the struggles all creatives go through and 31 ways to prevent utter creative decimation. Click here to soak up the brilliance.

EXERCISE SHOULD BE THIS MUCH FUN

Check out the latest video for Here It Goes Again from OK Go. Choreography + Treadmills...we like it.

ANIMAL CRUELTY

WHAT NO TO DO WITH BARBIES

WATCH IT WIGGLE, SEE IT JIGGLE....

Look out for Liz Hickok who gave new meaning to playing with your food when she created the series 'San Francisco in Jell-O'. The artist constructed scale models of the city and used them to make molds that she quite creatively cast in Jell-O. Hickok's work has been featured in the New York Times, as well as, USA Today. She is currently up for Food Network's 'Best Use of Food as Art Medium' Award to be awarded this month.

LISTEN UP!

The latest remix of Coldplay's 'Clocks' Cuban style already has us thinking of road trips in the summer sunshine! Find that track and more on newly released Rhythms Del Mundo. The album fuses the soothing sounds of Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of Buena Vista Social Club with a host of other artists into the latin remix vibe and into supporting victims of natural disaster worldwide via Artists' Project Earth. Simply brilliant.

SCHOEN UND SCHICK IM HAMBURG

Hamburg. Have you seen it? We made the trip from Berlin to this lovely port city just a few days ago. Beautiful waterfront, so much to see and do from museums to Repperbahn and lovely hotels with lots of charm. You can have a business meeting, a shopping bonanza, a gallery tour, a lively conversation with a down and out crackhead or an inspiring and/or frightening encounter with a lady of the evening!

The thing we will remember most about Hamburg? On a sunny week day afternoon, the park benches and cafes were...empty! What? No starving artists talking about concepts? No mommies pushing their kids in strollers around the city for the 17th time in one day? No unemployed people lounging over leitungswasser? INCREDIBLE! Instead we saw, business men and women going to and from meetings, offices that were fully staffed and, God help us all, work being done.

This is a city where you get service with an actual smile. UNHEARD OF! A city where you have rare grooves and soothing house music as the soundtrack to your vodka soda instead of brain shattering techno! A city where they put timers at the stop lights to let you know how many seconds you have left to change your radio station or refresh your lipstick! Bravo Hamburg!

We'll be back.

WAS IT GOOD FOR U?

This section is dedicated to debating whether or not advertising actually entices or repulses us when we are looking to buy a new product or try a new service. The first installment might be familiar to you as the controversy around this ad has garnered a worldwide response which might have been more than the designers originally bargained for.

In February Dolce & Gabbana pulled the above ad from the Spanish market because the Women's Institute of Spain, a government agency, released a statement saying the ad glorified "chauvinist violence". At the time, Spain was also responding to the recent murders of ten women, one of whom were murdered the day the ad was released.

D&G's response was to ask stylists to "boycott" the Spanish market and threaten to pull out of advertising there altogether saying that Spain was "behind the times" and that they were only trying to convey "an erotic dream, a sexual game."

In a perhaps unexpected twist on the part of D&G, their own government wasn't so keen on the ad either. The Italian government demanded an apology from the designers and stated that if the ad was not pulled before International Women's Day, it would advise a boycott on D&G goods. Other countries, including the U.S., followed suit. In the U.S. the National Organization For Women called the ad a "stylized gang rape."

We should also add, that we did see commentary on the ad that went in the opposite direction from the public, some of whom felt that the ad was too over the top with oily, half naked and slightly effeminate men who probably just wanted to steal the model's dress.

If the ad was intended to provoke Dolce & Gabbana's consumer market into brand awareness, it certainly did that by raising the controversy level to new heights. Yet it begs the question, is that kind of awareness good for a brand keeping in mind that most critics did not object to the ad's sexuality, but it's depiction of what they felt was violence against women?

We also wondered why, if D&G truly felt their advertising was innocent in it's intention, did they issue these statements? "We have decided to cancel ... the advertising image that has caused such repercussions within human interest groups and individuals,", "We were looking to recreate a game of seduction in the campaign and highlight the beauty of our collections," and "It was never our intention to ... offend anyone or promote violence against women," Doesn't this also negate what they were trying to do in the first place by back pedaling?

What's your opinion?

SEED9 PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN. GET INSPIRED. WWW.SEED9STYLE.COM

APPLE BOXES FOR EVERYONE!

Ever wondered about the afterlife of apple boxes once you've thrown them out of your studio? Just when those crates of unconditional love think the end is near, in walks: INTERIOR DESIGN MAN. Able to resurrect anyone's trash into the next man's treasure, INTERIOR DESIGN MAN knows that the apple box is not just the working man's footstool, it's the rich man's accessoire! All hail to the apple box we say. It's the new, old, hip thing of now..... and again! We bet being kicked to the curb never felt so good.

WE'LL GIVE YA AN UPDATE

So today we checked out Update in Berlin. The showcase that promises photographers the opportunity to have 'direct access' to the movers and shakers in the magazine, production, publishing and agency world. At first, we weren't sure what to expect. We had heard that in the past years the event didn't necessarily give photographers the chance to really strut their stuff as areas were restricted and sometimes it felt as though the movers and the shakers wanted to move and shake only amongst themselves in private areas.

Nonetheless, we had to see it for ourselves to get a better perspective on how it all worked. Update did offer photographers the chance to show their portfolios in the lower floor Bibliotek for a fee of 60 Euro - on top of the entrance fee of 20 euro per day. Photographers were asked leave their books behind and interested agents etc. would indicate their interest in an artist by leaving a card on their book and granting them a time for a one-on-one discussion.

We're sure in the planning this seemed like a good idea, but two things were a little in question. One, the area with the most agents was restricted and invitation only on the second level and two, when we passed through the Bibliotek we immediately experienced portfolio overload. There were just so many portfolios to look through we wondered if the few agents who wandered down to the lower level would actually want to look through them all.

We decided to forego Bibliotek and work the booths. This way we spoke to the editors, publishers, etc. in person and asked their views on what they were looking for and how they liked to work with prospective candidates. This was actually quite good, keeping in mind that a discussion doesn't mean that a job will follow. It allowed us to dig a little deeper into what possible clients really thought of the industry, where it was going and what they really were looking for.

All in all, we would check out Update again. Our consensus is that the experience is what you make it. You can very easily pay the fee and just coast through the room without engaging one person or you can take your chances on how you will be received when delving into a discussion and simply go for it. If you choose the latter, at the end of the day you lose only 20 euro and you might gain a prospective client. A client which you may not have been able to access with just a cold call.

We would be interested in hearing other points of view on the event, from both sides of the fence. For the prospective clients: Did you feel that you took the opportunity to seek out the up and coming photographers and would you take the risk of hiring them in the future if you had not worked with them before? For the photographers: Did you feel that you had enough face time with the people that mattered and that you might have made some good connections at the end of it all? Let us know.

NACHMITTAG

Thursday 3 pm. We decided to do some brainstorming the Berlin way. Go to a cafe and capitulate about how many wonderful concepts you have over ten glasses of leitungswasser. We didn't get any brainstorming done, but we recommend the water. It's very, very good.

WHY GOD WHY?

This section is dedicated to random items which give us no clue as to what their actual purpose in this world is. Our first selection has been called "utterly exclusive" by the designer's camp and "Frankenstein's Monster" by fashion week critics. Without further adieu we introduce the Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag.

First of all the name is so long, it begs for ridicule. How would you tell friends about your purchase? "Oh hi Buffy, you'll never guess what I bought today, the Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag!" or "Hold on, I hear my phone. It's in my Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag." If we're lucky, the name will be cut down to a well needed, but still too bloody long, acronym like the LVTPB which sounds more like an STD than an accessory.

To be fair, before we dismiss this intriguing mish mash of art and commerce, let us mention that the handy dandy LVTPB retails for a cool $45,000 and is already sold out. To the waiting list with you hipsters! What we keep trying to imagine is, what could we do with $45,000? Buy a bag? Invest in house! Buy a bag? Buy a car in cash! Buy a bag? Pay for a child's education - ANY CHILD will do.

Here's an idea Louis, give us $45,000 and we'll make you a bag with some old locks, purses from our grandmothers' very large collections and two strands of fake gold chain from our favorite neighborhood Vanilla Ice. You get street cred and we get a chance to make some wiser investments.