what are you doing new year’s…

with new year’s eve just a couple days away, i decided to ask what some of our home office team members are doing to celebrate…if you’re still undecided about what’ you’re doing, maybe this will spark some ideas!

i’m taking my son to “new year’s eve with the kids” at north bowl in philly!  it’s a family event where kids can bowl and jam out to some live music, along with other activities.  it starts at 5 and ends at 8pm with a new year’s toast for the adults!

i will be ringing in the new year at the loews hotel downtown in philly!

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i’m going to see the radiators from new orleans at my club in ardmore…its called the palombaro club and was originally an italian club to help immigrants get settled here…it’s almost 100 years old. today it is more of a social club but we do lots of charity work.  last year our big project was raising money for the variety club freedom playground being built this spring.

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i’m going to boston! a bunch of us will be there to celebrate on new year’s eve, and then we’re going to the winter classic hockey game at fenway park on new year’s day!

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i am going to see my favorite band, the disco biscuits, at the nokia theatre in times square! i have been seeing them on new years for 9 years, it’s become a tradition that i share with many friends around the country.  my boyfriend is the lighting designer and he’s amazing,  so it makes it even more special for me- i can’t wait!

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i’m thinking about checking out this warehouse/factory party in brooklyn that looks pretty interesting…www.newlostcity.com.

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in germany, where i grew up, the tradition is to eat a marzipan pig with a four leaf clover for new years, for good luck –  so that is “something” i will be doing!

so, readers, what are your plans for new year’s eve?

bottle it up

i am not a huge wine drinker but i would try these in a second! they are called “wines that rock,” a new line of wines by the mendocino wine company, that are based on iconic music. winemaker mark beaman took the words right out of my mouth: “i can’t believe that this is my job. i get to taste wine, listen to music, and think about how to put it all together in a bottle of wine that truly captures the essence of an album.”

i love the descriptions for each bottle of wine:
“to capture the intense, brooding character of the dark side of the moon he turned to a classic wine variety, cabernet sauvignon. a varietal with a deep, complex character that takes a relaxed environment to fully appreciate, cabernet sauvignon reflects the hauntingly dense, timeless character of pink floyd’s masterpiece album.”

“the music of woodstock celebrates community, individual expression, and breaking with the past. inspired by this message, winemaker mark beaman created a ‘naked’ style chardonnay. unlike other regions which grow more muted flavored chardonnays (which are then dressed up with oak and malolactic fermentation), woodstock chardonnay is an expression of pure fruit character and the land it was grown on…and as mark likes to say, “sunshine in a bottle.”

“to capture the essence of forty licks, the 40 tracks that cover the rolling stones’ career, winemaker mark beaman chose to work with merlot. this varietal captures the comfort of turning to a solid classic that stands the test of time. much like the band itself, mendocino county winemaking stays true to its roots with a consistent and confident character not caught up in fads or trends.”

for more info check out their website.

holiday craft swap update!

good morning everyone! if you are participating in our holiday craft swap, it’s about time to get your crafts in the mail if you haven’t already!  the photos are starting to go up on our flickr page, and i’m so impressed with what i’ve seen so far…

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that last picture is adorable! keep an eye on our flickr page as more photos come in!

book club update!

as i’m nearing the end of on the road i was inspired to take a look at the fashion of the beat generation.  beatniks were characterized by their rebellious spirit and anti-establishment, anti-materialistic philosophy, and they expressed this through stark and simple fashion.  jack kerouac and his crew wore old, ripped jeans and t-shirts because they didn’t care how they looked, while others wore head-to-toe black with berets or glasses.

what else about the beat generation’s style and culture is still resonant with you today?

share your thoughts in the comments section!  also for those of you reading on the road, try and finish by january 4th if you can, and check the blog for a final post about the book!

dallas shaw

dallas shaw is a delaware-based artist who’s work ranges from acrylic and watercolor paintings to notecards and tee-shirts. she also happens to be a big fan of free people! dallas was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me and picked out some illustrations that she feels are representative of free people.

when and why did you decide you wanted to be a professional artist?

oddly enough i knew i wanted to be in art in some way when i was very young. i wrote a letter to the head animator of walt disney world when i was in 6th grade and asked him for a job! i think i was a little too young, but i worked at it since grade school, kept drawing, majored in illustration… as i grew older i really began to love the fashion industry and wanted to work in fashion but the right opportunity hasn’t come up just yet so here i am!

i read that you’re inspired by fashion and music…what designers and musicians are your personal favorites?
i do listen to music when i paint but i am really heavily influenced by the fashion industry. my personal favorites change by season but i am currently crushing on collections by phillip lim, lanvin & peter som.

what do you like to do when you’re not drawing and painting?
i don’t have a lot of free time on my hands this year. if i do end up with a few extra hours during the week i try to make time to spend with my really supportive husband. if I’m not with him during those couple of hours you’ll find me shopping!

to see more of dallas’s awesome work, check out her website!

he-art & sole

on wednesday i took a little field trip over to city hall to check out the philadelphia mural arts program’s winter art exhibition, which featured the work of their very talented big picture and mural corps students. big picture students designed and painted sneakers and large-scale mixed media “treasure maps” representing their ideas on how to “be the change you wish to see in the world” (based on the gandhi quote). mural corps students explored notions of identity through self portraits. i spoke with some of the students and they were so proud to show of their work, which was available for sale to raise funds for the program…and they have every right to be proud- they are seriously talented!

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for more information about philadelphia’s mural arts program, visit their website.

evergreen…

what is your favorite holiday tradition?

i used to love going to the christmas tree farm when i was little…it was one of my favorite things about the holiday season.  i have vivid memories of riding around on the tractors and getting yelled at for jumping on and off the wagon while it was moving.

something you can do this weekend wherever you are…tomorrow just happens to be look for an evergreen day! so if you haven’t already done so, head on out to a tree farm where you can pick one out and cut it down yourself…