Monday, March 17, 2014

Top O' the Mornin' To Ya!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this St. Patrick's Day finds you all doing well out there. Things here in Maine are fantastic and despite some cold days, the snow is melting and you can hear the birds and smell that earthy early spring smell. Perfect St. Patrick's Day weather!

I have a ton of things to share, so let's hop right in, yes? To start, some new items are going into Stag this week in the clothing arena, including: a great Irish hand-painted tie (shown below), some short-sleeved summer shirts, long-sleeved plaids in cotton for spring wear, and the amazing nautical tie and red vest shown below! Stop on by and check in, because some of these items will go quite fast!



What else? Oh! I have been doing head shots quite a lot lately for a wide range of clients including authors, professionals and even actors! My most recent head shot shoot was for Dick "Ike" Hamill, a horror author up here in Maine who wanted some shots that ran the gamut from sexy to creepy. I love how these came out and so does he! Take a look... what a great face, no?





I love surprises, don't you? Well, this past weekend, I helped plan a little surprise dinner for one of my very dear friends. We decided to go with a theme, and since St. Patrick's Day was right around the corner and she's Irish, it made sense that the theme we chose was: St. Patty's Day. We got a bunch of things from the dollar store to decorate and made a pot pie from scratch and then I baked some St. Patrick's Day cupcakes, complete with some gold coin action and a whole ton of rainbows! She was quite surprised and very happy, so we're winning! So fun. Take a look.






And that about wraps it up for this week. I'll send you off with this really cute screen shot of Darby O'Gill and the leprechaun king from the 1960's Disney classic: Darby O'Gill and the Little People. It's adorable and stars a very young (and very handsome) Sean Connery. Check it out this St. Patty's Day.



Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, March 10, 2014

Speaking Easily...

Hello Lovelies~

This could quite possibly be my biggest post ever. I haven't posted in a couple of weeks and things have been building up around here! So much to share...

To start, things are humming along as usual over at STAG Vintage. A lot of great vintage clothing is going into the shop very soon, including the amazing St. Patrick's Day tie below that's hand-painted with a harp, a pipe and a shamrock. (Nothing says: Erin Go Bragh like a leprechaun tie, amiright?) Also, that buffalo plaid hunting hat makes for sharp, early spring headwear and it's in great shape to boot! Stop by often, new things are always posting...





What else? Oh! I haven't done an original digital illustration in a long time. But, our Portland Buy Local directory (that shows local businesses and what they sell here in Portland) was running a cover contest and I decided to throw my hat in the ring. Below are some process shots, but the basic concept was to take a map of the downtown streets of Portland and incorporate some of the local goods people enjoy when they visit: seafood, artwork, great food and drinks, clothing, etc... all with a sort of worn, 1960's children's atlas feel. What do you think? Cross your fingers for me, I feel good about this one!





In photography news I have a ton of stuff to share as well! To start, I have been doing all sorts of head shots lately for all sorts of clients: real estate agents, insurance brokers and even a couple of authors! It's no secret that I adore photographing faces and making people look comfortable and their best, so doing head shots is a joy for me and because different professions require different looks, I'm learning new things as I go, too! Take a look at some of my latest work:




Another client job I'm really excited about is a Sea Bags shoot I did last fall for their Spring 2014 line that was just released today! For those of you not familiar with Sea Bags products, they are, as the name suggests, bags of all types made from sailcloth and other vintage nautical materials sold up here in Maine. They are really high-end and nice looking so it was a wonderful opportunity to shoot some lifestyle/product photography using great product and working with a ton of great models, stylists and another photographer who shot with me. Take a look!







Eeks! I did the most fun thing this past weekend with my Sweetie and our good friends! We got all dolled up and went to a 1920's Speakeasy fundraiser to benefit a local theater up in Brunswick, Maine. Well, it was a theater, so every last person was decked out and there was music and drinks and snacks and games of chance... and live goldfish. I have no idea why there were goldfish, but it was such fun! Don't we look dashing?









And speaking of speakeasies and Prohibition-era libations, I have come across an amazing design company that specializes in liquor bottle label design. Stranger & Stranger do such a beautiful job channeling that vintage vibe with their typography and illustrations, don't you think? Wow...






Until next time: unpleasant dreams...