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…
that last picture is adorable! keep an eye on our flickr page as more photos come in!
we had a little surprise party today to celebrate the birthday of the assistant to our president…
happy birthday to you!
One EskimO is a london band, who have actually been around for a few years, but are just getting noticed here in the US thanks to the single “kandi” off their debut album! what’s interesting though, is that the band has teamed up with warner premiere to create a “visual album” consisting of ten videos in a series called “the adventures of One eskimO.” they are available for download on itunes.
if the animation looks familiar, its because the videos are produced by passion pictures, which also animated the gorillaz music videos. each band member in One eskimO takes on a character — the singer is the eskimo, the drummer is a giraffe, the guitar player is a penguin and the bass player is a monkey. i’m sorry, but that penguin is so cute! check out a chapter in the animated series below, for the song “kandi.” what do you think about the idea of making “visual albums?”
for more on One eskimO check out their myspace page!
good morning! happy tunesday…just wanted to remind you all to send me your picks for the best albums and songs of the year! i’m making a list and i’ll share the results with you next week along with a playlist of your choices.
leave your picks in comments section or send them to blog@freepeople.com!
kate hudson wearing a free people romper in california over the weekend…while we were getting buried by snow in philly!
the holidays are approaching but we’re still hard at work in the home office!
some of our designers working on a presentation for upcoming silhouettes…
…another designer hard at work on a sweater
and our accessories buyer going through samples for april 2010!
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!
“the woods are lovely, dark and deep, but i have promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep, and miles to go before i sleep.”
– robert frost
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!
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!
for more information about philadelphia’s mural arts program, visit their website.
