Check out Aaron Munoz (our friend and neighbor) making his worldwide debut with Mos Def in Cadillac Records. Aaron and his wife, Elizabeth, were so happy last night when they found out. It has been years in the making. I know it is a small clip, but it is so amazing that they put it in the movie. You never know how these things are going to go. The producers must have thought Aaron really nailed it and have released this as the first movie clip: 

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Zhang Peng is an up and coming Chinese photographer. Her work is interesting to me because it speaks to Chinese culture, especially from a woman’s point of view. 

She has selected photography for sale at artnet. There is also one article on Arts Fair International where she describes her use of photography and she talks about the meaning behind this series of photographs. In this article, Zhang uses this line to describe her work, “What lies beneath the beauty and magnificence is endless pain that no one ever knows.” 

If I share an artist’s work on my blog that I would like people to be aware of, it is important to note that all the artwork, including photography, is the copyright of the artist. If said artist sees their work on this blog and wants it removed, please contact me and I will remove it immediately.  

Some people have asked me why I write this blog and mostly it is because I want to develop better writing skills, but I also have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and that includes understanding people, cultures, art, etc. With this information, I try to make connections. The benefit of this appetite is that I have a good grasp of marketing and advertising, which helps me in design and business. See … full circle, right?

It is obvious from the subject of my posts and the website links I have listed, that I am becoming more passionate about sustainability and what it means to us as a nation and throughout the world … but also, what does it mean to marketing and business? How are all the connections being made?

Ultimately, the marketing climate is changing and there is a need for products that appeal to people’s want of sustainable products so they feel like they are doing good for the earth, but feeling good and actually doing good are two different things. As design, marketing, advertising and business people try to sell you something, they really have the power over the truth. Right now, the need to advertise and market your product as a sustainable one is growing at an alarming rate. As consumers, we still have to watch out for frauds and as marketers, we have to be sure that we are actually giving good information to consumers.

I have found two good articles on this subject that I wanted to share. The first one is from Laurie Lamson, a professional writer and filmmaker, who emailed me her article titled, Cutting-Edge Marketing for Cultural Creatives. This article addresses the push versus pull style of selling that we have been seeing more of lately.

The other article is a free download from a management consulting firm called ReCourses. The title of this article is “The Sad Fade of Branding, and When Sustainable Isn’t.” To read this article, you need to sign up with your email address, but there are many other valuable articles for creative businesses to learn from here. Link to free position papers.

Ever wonder where your coffee comes from?

Crop to Cup Coffee Company allows you to see the farmers and know their story. Crop to Cup represents the farmer by providing technology and marketing services that will connect them to interested customers in the United States. The goal is to improve the quality and integrity of coffee served everywhere.

This is a good way to have full transparency in coffee farming and to make sure that the product is fairly traded. The great part of Crop to Cup is the availability for direct product feedback through reviews and ratings as well as message boards.

There are several coffee houses and markets in the New York and Chicago area where Crop to Cup coffee is sold or you can purchase your own online.

 

 

 

Today, I just want to share a photographer with you. I will let her glorious photography speak for itself. These two photos are from her “domesticated” series. Go to Amy Stein Photography to see more and read her statements about the work. 

If I share an artist’s work on my blog that I would like people to be aware of, it is important to note that all the artwork, including photography, is the copyright of the artist. If said artist sees their work on this blog and wants it removed, please contact me and I will remove it immediately.

I recently went on a little field trip to the Marietta Confederate Cemetery. I have passed this cemetery many times in the 8 years that I have lived in the area, but never stopped to check it out. It is located off Powder Spring Street in Marietta, Georgia close to Marietta Square.

The cemetery began in 1863 and consists of the Marietta Confederate Cemetery and the Marietta City Cemetery. There are 3,000 soldiers buried here from every southern state. Improvements have been made over the years from local donations.

I thought it was a good place to learn a little bit more about my region while practicing with my new digital SLR camera. Before I was enamored with design and marketing, my first love in the creative field was photography. The recent purchase of a digital SLR camera has helped me remember how much I love taking photos. It will be a new creative medium for me that I am happy to embrace again!

If you have any tips or critiques of these or any other photo that I have taken, please let me know. I am still learning and all is fair game! 

 

 I recently finished the book, The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloé Doutre-Roussel. When Chloé was writing the book, she was the chocolate buyer for Fortnum & Mason, a very high-end department store in London. Known for her keen sense of smell, she is now an independent consultant who gives advice to clients on cacao cultivation, refinement techniques and the chocolate making process. There are several steps to get the cacao bean to taste like a fine piece of chocolate and Chloé is chocolate’s sweetheart at the moment.

I have always had a love for chocolate, so when I saw this book on the shelf, I was immediately interested. I had done some independent research on the chocolate making process and the different cacao bean regions, just so I could be an informed customer. Even as a young girl, I liked the semi-sweet baking chips over the milk chocolate bars any day. As my chocolate palette continues to broaden, so has my education on the subject. The Chocolate Connoisseur really gave me a broad overview of chocolate by distinguishing between the types of cacao bean varieties and their location, the laws regarding labeling for cacao content and how to really taste the deep flavors in chocolate bars. 

Some say that this book is self-serving or self-absorbed for Chloé, but I find her honest opinion very refreshing. She encourages you to listen to her advice, simply because she does have a lot experience to learn from, but she also makes sure that you are tasting with your own palette … making chocolate decisions based on your own set of guidelines or moods.

Since reading the book, I have set up several chocolate tastings for myself. Chloé says that tasting chocolate in the morning, before you have had anything else to eat and your palette is clean, is the best time. I have to agree with her. My recent morning tastings have brought out flavors and smells that you wouldn’t ordinarily sense after a meal. I guess I am now looking at chocolate as a fine wine or coffee instead of just dessert. 

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in chocolate. Although Chloé doesn’t cover the injustice that has taken place in the name of chocolate, I believe that this book is only one piece of education. You can never rely on one book to make up your whole opinion. I think that Chloé’s mission of creating better chocolate and bringing attention to the subject makes the chocolate industry more transparent … more accountable.

This is a good time to study up on chocolate as it makes its way to new frontiers in the gourmet food industry. I would predict that within the next 5 years, you will see more gourmet chocolate shops, restaurants and new chocolate bar varieties in the main stream. Everyone wants a piece of this emerging market. Chloé Doutre-Roussel is working to make sure that uninspired chocolate isn’t lurking in those beautiful packages and I appreciate her effort! 

On the right side of my blog, I have a section of “Serious about Chocolate” links. Some of these are from this book and some I have found on my own. I will continue to explore this subject and refine my list as I taste the chocolate and get more information.

In reference to the book, you can visit Chloé’s site or read extensive excerpts at Chocolate.org.

Photo credits- top left: chloechocolate.com, top right: Timmy Toucan, bottom left: cstrom and bottom right: misoponia.