coexist

With summer just around the corner (and productivity invariably slipping), it was the perfect time to break away—1300 miles away—to sunny Denver, CO for a nice jolt of inspiration. The city hosted the 2010 HOW Design Conference, which I was thrilled to attend on behalf of the CX design crew last week.

The conference boasted a panoply of sessions on design, business, and inspiration, delivered by a panel of industry luminaries, including my personal favorites: Gail Anderson (of SpotCo), Debbie Millman (AIGA president), Mike Perry (midwestisbest.com), and Armin Vit (of Brand New). (more…)

It’s always beneficial to tap NYC for some fresh inspiration.

Making the most of a quick weekend getaway – I always find comfort in the amazing street art across the city, but this time, a more formal exhibition created the spark that I was looking for.

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Taco trucks hit my radar about two months ago when I read about the blog Taco Truck Columbus started by a student at Ohio State. Next I read about a taco truck bike tour and most recently I saw a Columbus Underground meet-up event at Los Guachos on the west side. That’s all I needed, a hint of an invitation. I had to try it out and see what the hype was about. So Wednesday night I ventured out to the west side of Columbus to try my first Taco Truck. (more…)

It’s Comfest time in Cbus again and it’s great to see the community rally behind this yearly ritual. Brightly colored plastic mugs of beer dot Goodale Park like Christmas lights and the sound of local music cuts through the sweltering heat. I felt a little more connected to Comfest this year as Coexist was loosely associated with several Comfest participants. I was beaming like a proud papa as I was reminded of the absolute privilege that it is to be able to work with such a vibrant mix of Columbus’ artistic culture. (more…)

I love how the Wexner Center (wexarts.org) pulls together groups of movies so I started pulling some together on my own. (more…)

I know enough people that complain about Columbus. “There’s nothing to do.” “It’s boring, I’m moving to [insert Chicago/NewYork/SF]”

I suppose I felt the same way several years ago—but all it takes is a little proactive seeking, and the “boring” becomes beautiful. Quirky events start to jump out at you. Agora 2009 at Junctionview studios felt like a culmination of all these little Columbus quirks, and it also felt like some sort of summer kick-off. I suppose that Coachella back in April may have been the real kick-off for the festival crowd, but I like my little bubble where seemingly random artists, musicians, and vendors get together for a care-free day of fun for the steep $5 admission price. Trendy button included.

So, despite the rain, which pushed everything back ~2 hours, the day was a massive success. Particularly for Tawd of Rad Dogs, who was serving up meatless dogs non-stop until he ran out of buns well after “closing time.” Delicious.

My personal “best-of” included the Couchforts set towards the end of the evening as well as Paego Paego, a great group from the Dayton area. I was also pleasantly surprised by the dance troupe that was performing indoors (Corner 1-4-1 Dance) throughout the later half of the day. Normally not my cup-o-tea, but I couldn’t look away. Kudos!

Already looking forward to next year—and everything inbetween that goes down in this awesome city.

This past Thursday night, the Coexist partners and their significant others attended an intimate little event at the OSU Wexner Center for the Arts entitled Bare Walls: An Intro to Art Collecting. Whether you’re a designer or not – there’s just something forever rewarding linked to collecting the passions of others. It was quite refreshing to sit back and watch local art gallery owners spar with local independent artists as we all seem to be looking for the answer to the ever pressing question of “how do you spot the next emerging talent” before he/she hits mainstream?

While there may not be a simple solution for finding the next Shepard Fairey, one of the panel experts of the evening and friend of Coexist – Chop Chop Gallery’s Craig Dransfield, left the audience with the most memorable snippet of the night. To get a better feeling for the vibe of particualar artists, a new website has been gaining momentum in the underground art world and once you hear the site name – you will never forget it…www.fecalface.com. Check it out.

It’s always fun to look back at the pics from the trip. I have three impressions of BCN. One leading up to the trip — thinking it must be like my trip years ago. It wasn’t — I was much younger, drank much more and spent more time snowboarding than anything.

My second impression formed while we were there. There’s a natural form of intoxication that comes from having no agenda — following you’re nose and suggestions from locals. We bought a painting from an artist from Paris. She spent her last euro on flyers for her first exibition. She was thrilled to have sold a piece, introduced us to her friends and made sure we made our way to a friendly hang-out for artists and musicians which was the beginning another sensory experience.

Another impression all together forms when I arrived back home. I dove right back into work and every little thing was back to normal. BCN feels like it’s much further and much longer ago than it is. We got under the nail, found the grit and spirit of the City. The bones of the city are slabs of stone and ancient narrow streets lined with shops but the shops themselves are, for the most part, incredibly modern and run by the younger generation — at least where we were. If we couldn’t ride bikes there or walk there, we didn’t go. There was a real spirit of creativity, ingenuity, modern design and spontaneity. A gallery of goods made from reclaimed city banners popped up over the course of two days. They coated the walls with white metal, embedded magnets in everything and stuck everything to the walls in tidy grids. It was beautiful. Their low-fi web shop luanched on the same day and even their business cards were made of reclaimed banners — of course.

When you work in a microagency 24/7 – there is nothing better than jumping outside of your world and into another that fully appreciates what it means to live by a “micro” mindset. Just last night, my wife and I decided to visit the culinary stylings of Dragonfly – a local vegan restaurant that prides itself on offering a place that embraces agriculture, artists and gourmets alike.

As you pull up to the restaurant located just south of the Ohio State University campus, you will notice a small garden in back that has been meticulously set up to grow all sorts of vegetables and herbs – most of which you have probably never heard of or even seen before. The garden’s completely maximized use of space, no bigger than a typical 2-car garage, can feed up to 50 diners with the efficiency of a full on corporate kitchen. Obviously I can’t help but draw parallels with the Coexist studio and our approach to efficient collaboration and I begin to blush.

Once an order has been placed, the very personable waiter teases diners with a mini salad-type of appetizer aptly dubbed “micro-greens” and the presentation of color and ultimate pay-off with a burst of unexpected flavors makes me smile as I contemplate the beauty of this micro-offering. The subsequent plates that follow are amazing in both originality and taste and it just becomes so crystal clear as to why the micro-approach from dining to creative agency makes so much sense.

I am sitting in this quaint, yet perfectly sized restaurant and everything speaks to me in this moment – from the host and waiter to the seating to the artwork on the walls to the dim lighting to the ambient music piped through at the perfect decibel – this is the way it is supposed to be. Intimate, personal, original, inspiring and fulfilling.

A very peaceful hour and a half later we get our check as well as a complimentary order of micro-beignets and again I reflect on this wonderful evening. Wow – what a difference a focused micro-approach provides. Whether it be some strange mushroom dish that I can’t wait to tell others about or that new online demo we just launched that must be shared with others – the micro way is the only way to go.