design

Out and About with Fermentation Fest

News flash!

Fermentation Fest event guides are hot off the press and heading out to exciting venues throughout Wisconsin. This 24-pg, can’t-miss guide is bubbling with interesting articles, art, class listings and city map—all the ingredients necessary for two weekends of culture convergence at Fermentation Fest. You don’t want to miss the Fest or the guide!

I’ve got to say helping promote Fermentation Fest is one of my favorite projects of the year. It’s a melding of interests, from food and art, to agriculture and travel. This means artists, chefs, poets, foodies, farmers, cheesemakers, brewers, musicians, performers, and so many more people all come together for an autumnal celebration of good life. I’m very proud to design for it, very honored to be part of it.

In the weeks ahead I’ll be delivering guides to various venues (I love promoting my clients!). Check back to this page often for an updated listing of where you can find them. And don’t forget my social media because I’m also big on featuring interesting venues.

Here’s where I’ve been so far. Yep, all the way to northern Wisconsin!

#GetYourFermFestGuide2019Here

Listed in order of cities are venues where you can find Fermentation Fest guides. If you’re not in these areas, check out the Fermentation Fest website or join the mailing list.

Stevens Point Area Co-op, Stevens Point
Cafe Coco, Washburn
South Shore Brewery, Washburn
Downtown Grocery, Wausau

See you at Fermentation Fest in October!

Drink Up! With Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama visits Watertown WI for Drink Up campaign

On Thursday Michelle Obama visited our little ol’ town of Watertown, Wisconsin. That morning my daughter called to say she was able to get tickets to the event—did I want to go?

Of course!

Politics aside, I’m a big fan of the First Lady. I like her choice of initiatives and she’s a very classy lady. My daughter and I figured we’d be reliving high school gymnasium days in the remotest of bleacher seats, so imagine our delight when we found ourselves in real chairs, in the very front row. Yes, I actually did take these pictures!

Michelle Obama and Eva Longoria visit Watertown WI for Drink Up campaign

Anyway, Michelle Obama, along with actress Eva Longoria and Lawrence Soler, the CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America, was here to kick off a new health initiative; the Drink Up campaign. It encourages people to drink more water for better health.

Watertown, WI chosen as city to kick off Michelle Obama's Drink Up campaign

Perhaps they chose Watertown because of its name. Or maybe because we’re home to two major bottled water distributors, Wis-Pak and 7-up Bottling Company (also major soda distributors, coincidentally).

Most likely, it’s because in 2010 Watertown was recognized as having the best tasting water in the state.

Michelle Obama visits Watertown, WI to promote Drink Up initiative

Encouraging Americans to drink more water certainly has its challenges. It’s not the most exciting product, after all. And then there are those critics who, no matter what a First Lady does, will automatically disapprove. But Michelle Obama splashed water’s health benefits well (one of her many humorous puns) and reminded us that it doesn’t matter where you get it, from the tap, a water bottle, a water fountain—just drink more water.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this campaign takes off. There’s a great simplicity to it, from the purity of drinking water (it’s not even something you have to buy!) to the clean lines of the Drink Up logo and the brevity of the First Lady’s message.

Keep your eye out for the Drink Up brand. And, yes, drink more water!

 

A VIP Culinary Celebration

Rock County Historical Society Breadbasket Exhibition, Janesville, WIThis past weekend I was super proud to be part of the Rock County Historical Society’s VIP opening of the Breadbasket: Seed to Spoon Exhibition. Earlier in the year, I did the logo for this upcoming marketing campaign. Well, the upcoming is now here, and their yearlong celebration of Rock County’s culinary heritage has officially begun.

Breadbasket: Seed to Spoon, Rock County Historical Society, Janesville, WI

Executive Director Mike Reuter did an amazing job coordinating this initiative. When we first discussed the project back in December, I had no idea to what great extent his display plans were. He and his team put together a huge exhibit complete with interactive projects, newly hatched pheasants and a very large cow.

Breadbasket: Seed to Spoon, Rock County Historical Society, Janesville, WIUsing food to showcase a historical society is, in my opinion, brilliant. As Mike said at Saturday’s opening, the society wanted to join together the diverse entities of Rock County and what greater common bond is there than food!

It’s always a thrill to see one’s design work done up in real life. Here, they used my logo on everything from small notes and recipe cards to 6-foot banners.

Breadbasket: Seed to Spoon, Rock County Historical Society, Janesville, WIAnd how’s this for cool? They even had the logo printed as a plexiglass panel for their door. I love it!

So, folks, if you’re in the Janesville, Wisconsin area, be sure to check out the Rock County Historical Society. It’s architecture is stunning and this celebration of culinary heritage is super fun.

 

Earth Day and the Ultimate Designer

Do you ever do mood boards? Graphic designers often do them. So do interior designers and fashion designers. They put together these collages of images, type, color, texture and anything else that helps them visualize a sense of style for the project they’re working on.

So it being Earth Day and all, I couldn’t help thinking of mood boards as my husband and I hauled wood. I’m always amazed how the elements of design actually are elements of nature. Even in this monochromatic, pre-spring time of year, there is artistic beauty everywhere I look.

God, the Creator of our Earth, is truly the ultimate designer!

colors of split wood

It’s fascinating how the colors of nature naturally go together. Here, I loaded my photo in Photoshop and touched the eyedropper tool to various points. Eureka! A very Arts and Crafts color scheme.

 

split wood shows color scheme

Historically, brown is considered to be down-to-earth, wholesome, stable and of substance. Yet, combined with black and near-white hues, these browns takes on a luscious and upscale image. Think ambrosial chocolates or a richly-paneled law firm.

 

natural rock shows complimentary colorsCheck out this rock from one of my gardens. The pinks and greens are opposite each other on the color wheel, meaning they are complimentary colors. Such a demure and romantic color scheme, yes? Perhaps a women’s clothing boutique or a hotel master suite.

 

lichens growing on a cut of wood

Aren’t the lichens growing on this slice of wood beautiful? So delicate and interlaced. And then there’s the blue with brown, a color scheme that’s rather ubiquitous these days.

So, here you have it. Mood boards straight from nature! This week, in celebration of Earth Day, take a walk outside and really open your eyes. Check out work of the ultimate designer!