More/Than/This (Blog) ™

Seek not the glory but the task

Emily Pilloton and her operation in rural North Carolina, continue to be a great source of inspiration for me. Earlier this month, Ms. Pilloton delivered the commencement address at the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkely. Read.

Her advice rings true for me on a daily basis: Ideas are worth little without action. The best way to start is simply to start.

Today, Here 5/26/12

Tonight is Good Wood, an art show/fundraiser to benefit the Ride It Sculpture Park in Detroit’s Polish enclave, Hamtramck. My deck is an homage to Hemingway.

Collaborating Lone Ranger

I often think about where ideas come from. (How do they develop; who gets to have the good ones; how does one turn ideas into tangible, actionable outcomes, etc). While some trends continue to suggest that innovation is spawned from the heart of a collaborating group, I’ve always been a firm believer that the really good ideas, the game-changing/world-changing ones, sprout in the minds of the individual. The lone genius so to speak. Think Einstein, Hemingway, Edison, Jobs, and Woolf. Further investigation into this notion however, suggests that the idea of a clever inventor alone in his lab or a novelist in solitude with her words is merely a myth. It just doesn’t work that way. Or so the internet tells me.

Quote No. 017

I like to think that what I lack in professionalism, I make up for in ambivalence toward the profession.

Paul Elliman on graphic design. Full article in Eye here.

Today, Here 5/20/11

Lovely coasters designed for the D:hive Launch by our newest design resident Basia Stryjecka.

Quote No. 016

Just because thinking about graphic design isn’t a popular activity, doesn’t mean it’s not an important one

-Jeff Keedy, in Emigre

Rumination No. 016

When shifts happen, critical discourse is required.
A shift is happening in design.
When is critical discourse going to become popular again?

Last week, FoodLab – a group of triple bottom-line food entrepreneurs in Detroit – held their monthly meeting at D:hive. Lead by the always affable Jess Daniel, a Californian, turned Detroiter, turned ‘noodle-er,’ turned Doctorate candidate, turned all-around good food advocate, FoodLab aims to support and grow the number of locally owned food businesses in Detroit, working under the notion that diverse, socially-conscience food enterprises are key to vibrant, resilient and healthy places.

More Than Bread

For more than 15 years, Avalon International Breads has been a Cass Corridor staple; a neighborhood anchor in the truest sense of the word. Co-owners, Ann and Jackie have built far more than a business. They’ve built a commitment to something far greater then themselves. This short video does a very nice job reflecting the spirit of Avalon, their employees and this community. When you come to Detroit, we’ll go.

Life and Work, Work and Life

I am in the process of streamlining my belongings, which inherently requires sifting through racks of clothing, boxes upon boxes of printed ephemera, and a good number of books, most of which I’ve acquired slowly, without realizing the sizable lot I’ve come to posses.