It's a Jungle [Gym] Out There: Emily Potts with Andi (L) and Charli (R)
All Glam, All Day Long
Bookworms and Cold Beer
In 2006, everyone's favorite editor in heels, Emily Potts
( emily@rockpub.com), left her
position as editor at STEP Inside Design to begin work with Rockport Publishers. I asked
Emily how things were going.
"I don't miss the magazine except for the people I enjoyed there. Many I see - it's not like
I left Peoria. But after nine years at the magazine, I needed a change, and this was an easy
transition because I'm still working with many of the same people [writers and designers] and I
still go to many of the same conferences and events. Granted, this is different - books vs.
magazines - and it's a LOT of work putting together 20 books vs. six magazine issues a
year...but it's been really great."
As for working from home, "I make a concerted effort to leave the house every day at
lunch," Emily says, "the only hour I really set aside just for myself. And if I didn't
take that hour for me, I'd probably go bonkers." And Potts' recipe for after hours? "Grab a
cold one after work, pop the top off and guzzle."
Dog on Dog Love
Turning Green into Green
Recently, Modern Dog ( moderndog.com) helped to launch a new pet supply company called Olive
that sells "green goods for modern dogs" ( olivegreendog.com). Robynne Raye and Mike Strassburger
helped this Austin-based start-up get up and go with a smart revenue-sharing agreement that
allowed the design firm to give a lot of time and creative energy without a lot of upfront
cash (which Olive did not have). This flexible and mutually beneficial idea is similar to the
one described in the STEP Nov/Dec 2007 feature on Modern Dog. Here are the essentials:
find products/client you can love, develop a great brand image, and create product/packaging
that drives sales. Presto! The sweet smell of success. Why wait for the phone to ring? Call
someone you love and ask them to marry you - with a pre-nup.
And berry good for your dog, too.
Berlin's stinkend spinat mit bratwurst: Just Turn and Run
Nein, Danke!
Sehr Schlecht
Dr. Virginia Cope of Ohio State University and I enjoyed the vibrant holiday season in Berlin in
early December while doing research on a book. Berlin is always special, but the city takes on a
special glow during the holidays. The Weihnachts Markts are as numerous as they are similar:
Currywurst, mulled wine, Moravian Stars, mitten, hats and other "regional crafts" made in Asia.
Yet they are filled with light, life and laughter and seasonal smells. Like the one wafting
from the food stall below, the scent of bratwurst steamed with fermented spinach, a rank
delicacy that keeps Germany's birthrate nine months later at zero. Für mich? Nein, Danke!
Toronto's Lynn & Tao
Two Great Things That Go Great Together
In CA Sept/Oct 2006 I wrote about zig Advertising of Toronto led by Lorraine Tao and
Elspeth Lynn. At the time the women had not worked together on a creative project in
years, drawn apart by the demands of their growing ad agency. Both longed to work together
again and made plans to do so that coming summer. I concluded the story with
this: "Toronto, watch out. Here they come -again." I asked Lorraine how things were
going today.
"Our strategy has been to work on projects where we can make the most difference to zig. So
far that's meant helping to win new business, helping to save a client that had itchy feet,
helping to crack projects that had for whatever reason been uncrackable, as well as working
on projects when clients have specifically requested our teamwork. As for myself, I'm having
fun, I'm enjoying my work and I'm happier. What else do you want to know?"
That'll do.
Ad Mavens Elspeth Lynn and Lorraine Tao in 2006 - Happy Together
porterwrite.com
(photo by Parish Kohanim, Atlanta)
Made You Look
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home [page]. Thanks to Gaby Brink at Tomorrow
Partners ( tomorrowpartners.com)
for helping me finally launch this deceptively simple and
tightly written (thanks to writers/editors Virginia Cope at Ohio State and Alison Amoroso
in Atlanta) site. My first assignment that I can attribute to the site? A California
prospect loved Peewee on the homepage. Made you look.
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Unauthorized Maid-Rite Recipe - Try Them at Home
Loose Meat
Never Tasted So Good
Ask Chris Sickels. Maid-Rites are the kind of food that made the Heartland famous for
simple food, hard work and breath so powerful it could melt the interior of the family
Impala. A Maid-Rite is a "loose meat" sandwich from a small restaurant chain out of Des
Moines, IA ( maid-rite.com).
Chris Sickels ( chris@rednosestudio.com) and wife Jennifer
prepared some homemade Maid-Rites during my visit with them in late April 2008 (see/buy
upcoming CA Sept-Oct 2008 profile). Try this combination of beef, beer, onions, pickles
and mustard on a bun. Afterwards, you might consider opening a Maid-Rite franchise in your hometown.
1) Brown a 1lb-or-so of lean ground beef with half a bottle-or-so of beer
2) Using a potato masher, work the meat and beer until it is fine and loose
3) Drain excess liquid
4) Add 2 tbls of French's mustard (or more), 1tbls of sugar or less, black pepper to taste and mix
well - throw in some finely chopped sautéed onion if you wish
5) Prepare hamburger buns with a generous scoop of beef mixture, topped with dill pickle
slices, a scattering of chopped raw onions and a smear of yellow mustard
6) Wrap tightly in a wax paper pocket and microwave on medium-hi for 30 seconds (or heat in
a a bun steamer)
7) Serve HOT - eat out of wax paper pocket
8) Go to Church and praise the Good Lord
Salt n' Pepper Biscuits: "Remove from Oven, and Don't Look Back!"
A Little Biscuit with that Butter?
From the Makers of Lipitor
Jim Wilson and Bill Grant ( grantcollaborative.com)
arrived at a recent dinner party inspired
by the cookbook by Decatur's Scott Peacock ( watershedrestaurant.com)
and Edna Lewis, The Gift of Southern
Cooking. Bill Grant's biscuits would have even made Elvis blush before grabbing his heart, with
salty, piquant and delicious Salt and Pepper Biscuits. These heart stoppers have a special
topping: a stick of butter. Mix 'em, cook 'em, and, as Billy says, "Remove from oven, and
don't look back!"
Salt and Pepper Cream Biscuits by Bill Grant
2-cups unbleached all purpose flour
2-teaspoons sugar
2-teaspoons baking powder
1/2-teaspoonv salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
Whisk together dry ingredients. Add cream and mix with wooden spoon until dough forms.
Turn out on floured surface and knead briefly. Roll or pat out to 3/4" thickness. Cut with
1" diameter cookie or biscuit cutter to get smaller biscuits. Melt a stick of unsalted
butter, and roll cut biscuits in butter on all sides. Place butter soaked biscuits on a
baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Sprinkle each biscuit with course Kosher or sea
salt and fresh course ground pepper. Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown or until you
just can't wait any longer! Rotate baking sheet after 8-10 minutes to ensure even browning.
Winning $1400 office pool? Priceless. Scoring free tickets from team owner's daughter? Ruthless.
Super Forty-Something
Who's YOUR Daddy?
On a quick visit to Charlotte in January, I was having breakfast with David Oakley
( booneoakley.com) the morning after the Giants whipped Green Bay at Lambeau field,
setting the stage for their entry into Superbowl XLII. David's wife, Claire, is a
huge Giants fan. She called to tell him she was trying to find Superbowl tickets. Claire's
connections are impeccable: her friend is Kathy Mara. The Maras owns the Giants. Bet they
got tickets? See above. Eli Manning's Giants then orchestrated the stunning upset of
Tom Brady's Patriots. Does it get any better?
Extra! Extra!
Read it Again
Communication Arts March/April 2008
Profile of Sterling Hundley, Illustrator, Richmond, VA
Capital Commerce by Aesthetic Apparatus
Cover Art for CA May/June 2008
Communication Arts May/June 2008 Profile of Aesthetic Apparatus,
Whacked-out Designers Dan Ibarra and Michael Byzewski, MPLS
Paul Sahre's Leisurama Now
Communication Arts May/June 2008 - Book Review of Leisurama Now by Paul Sahre from
Princeton Architectural Press
The Fred and Ethel of American Design
(Illustration by Mark Kaufman)
STEP Inside Design May/June 2008 - Profile of Mark Kaufman and Jacki McCarthy of Vivitiv, Seattle, WA
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