Fly

Campaign for ORA-C Jewelry

What a beautiful campaign shot by LM Chabot for ORA-C Jewelry.  

Spain: Admiring Type

In March I chaperoned a study abroad trip to Spain with my school. We visited 7 cities in 10 days, ate extremely well, stayed in some great hotels, and saw so much that our senses were happily overwhelmed.

Before the trip I was unhappily overwhelmed.

Between work, life, and everything else in between I was a bit stressed and drained — which all left me exhausted. I was really excited about the trip that would take place over our spring break, but was also drowning in all that I had to do to on top of preparing to travel. I kept thinking how that spring break would have been a great time to get caught up on my obligations as well as some much needed sleep. But there was no turning back, I was off to Spain with 28 students and 3 of my colleagues.

There is nothing like traveling, busy traveling with other humans you're responsible for, to help you get over yourself.

From day one we were literally up from 7 am to about midnight every single day. Our days were packed with field-trips, sightseeing, eating, and exploring. Every corner we turned, every tiny cobblestone street we strolled, and every single market we perused blew me away. From ancient ruins to freshly painted street art; historic facades to contemporary hotel rooms; busy streets to quiet quaint little towns we were in awe at every single thing we encountered. 

And the food. Maaannn, the food. I will have to save that for another post — but basically, I ate and ate, and ate and ate...

There was no time to complain, no time to be tired, no time think about anything else than what you were doing in that very moment. You had to be in the moment or you would miss everything — so thinking about grading, advising, blog posts, moving into a new home or freelance projects was not an option.

That kind of trip, that experience, left me so incredibly happy. I came back refreshed and ready to travel again. I love Spain.

I shared a few photos before, but now that my summer break has kicked-off (the benefits of teaching!!) I can now sort through and organize all the photographs I've taken. Which is really great because some parts of the trip have started to blur into a blob of joy. Sorting through the photos has given me a chance to relive the little details of a trip I will never forget.

To start I'd like to share the typography I saw throughout the many cities we visited. Being a visual communications designer I was intrigued by the shop signage and also the chalkboard menus for restaurants.

The menus are great reminders of the fabulous food I ate throughout the trip: paella, oxtail, and tapas. I love handwritten type so seeing the variations in different colors on chalkboard-black sparked my interest.

I also appreciate the oldstyle storefront signage I saw in the little alley ways and tiny towns.

There's something so special about the way shop owners highlight the names of their shops and restuarants.

I loved seeing how they used similar type but in very different ways.

More photos to come soon!

What about you, did you take a trip that blew you away? Do share?

AFROS - A Celebration Of Natural Hair

Photographer Michael July spent five years documenting, collecting and photographing diverse images of people rocking the halo of coils or curls we commonly know as the afro. The final collection comes in the form of a coffee-table book chock full of beautiful photos with thoughts and stories to accompany them. The book is designed and ready to go but as we all know, the publishing side of a book project is expensive — especially if you're self-publishing. So Mr. July launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing, distribution and shipping costs.

Help Afros: A Celebration of Natural Hair initiated to highlight the beauty of the 'fro by making a donation or spreading the word.

For more information about Michael July and the project click here.

Gorgeous Lookbook for Mara Hoffman

Beautiful styling and looks for Mara Hoffman's 2012 Swimwear Collection.

Free Peoples Rebellion

Lovely collections and photographs from accessory brand Free Peoples Rebellion.

NYT's Miss Lily's Variety Show

The New York Times' T Magazine captures these fly ladies in items from some of the latest resort collections, as well as highlights products from their fab beauty regimes. I LOVE the photos in this feature and had to share. Read and see more here.

Brazilian Style

Speaking of Brazil I recently added this wonderful book, Brazilian Style, to my wishlist. This collection of luscious photographs features some of Brazil's most wonderful contributions to art, sports, culture, fashion and design.

See more pages from the book here.

Cute 'Fro in this Lookbook

Dope looks and cool photos from Nasty Gal's latest lookbook.

Lovely Photos

Love these pretty photos for Etsy shop Alexandra Grecco.

Converse One Star

Photography from the Converse One Star lookbook for Target; I love seeing big hair in ad campaigns.

Vivienne Westwood in Kenya

What do you think about Vivienne Westwood's latest ad campaign shot in Kenya for the Ethical Fashion Africa Project? See more photos here.

Revu

Beautiful photograph for clothing brand Revu.

The Very Best of Julia...

...is the name of a new collection from Gold Coast Trading. I'm diggin' this photography by Sarah de Burgh.

Thuss + Farrell

Love these photographs of paper flowers from Thuss + Farrell.

Fly Style : Katie Warren

In July I went to a ReadySet DC fashion mixer event at Lamont Bishop Gallery only expecting to stick around for a little while to quickly check out the scene and snap a few photos. My plan for a quick visit turned into four hours of connecting with folks who would soon become regular hanging homies. It was a magical afternoon of creative energy.

You've seen some of those cool folks on Fly, like Jessica, Nate and Nina. Among them was Katie of GoKateShoot, whom I'd met prior to this event but got to know a little more during our chat at the mixer.

Katie is a talented photographer with a fantastic eye and a cool sense of style. She pieces vintage inspired items with color, simplicity and fun accessories. Whenever I see her I always love how she puts everything together.