This past Sunday March 29, 2009 marked the most recent ELY Senior thesis show.  The ELY is an annual contest held by the illustration department at the University of the Arts in center city (my alma matter).  Considered to be a right of passage for all illustration students within the department, the ELY’s make or break many young folks anxious to graduate and start working in the real world.  Let me just say from personal experience that having your senior thesis publicly displayed and judged/ranked can be both stressful and exhilirating, and with that in mind I would like to personally congratulate this years graduating class on a job well done.

The winner of the event this year is none other than my friend Steve Streisguth, who brings together woodcut prints, ink, and some subtle digital coloring to produce amazing textural illustrations.  You can view his budding portfolio at his website www.streisguth.com.  The poster for the event was designed and illustrated by Lawrence Hugh Burns, and the photos provided of the event are courtesy of Daniel Fishel (two upcoming talents soon to graduate from the department as well).

This year’s ELY looked amazing, and I can’t wait to get back and really take my time looking at all of the great illustration and design, each year there are always more surprises than let downs and 2009 was certainly no exception.

Can’t wait for Portfolio Day!

Meet some of the 168 team…We are always stylin’ and hip, trying new trends. This spring/summer the sun may be bright but not as bright as the neon sunglasses that Urban Outfitters is selling! Check us out (Photo Left To right: Me - Leah, Lee, Chris, Brad) . We were in Philly together after the Go Green Expo at the Convention center on 3-13-09. We did some walking around Center City to check out some fresh designs after the show, and discovered vibrant colors are definitely in this season. We will be keeping the new color palette  in our thoughts as we concept.

Peace_Love_168Design

Below are some designs that were drawn by one of our newest creative –Linda’s son, Ben.  The team thought that these were really great, so I posted them.  Looks like taglines and creativity definitely run in the family.

(My personal favorite is the mid-life crisis one, by the way.)

enjoy

I just wanted to let everyone know that we haven’t only been working on redesigning our own homepage 20 times, we’ve also had time to complete a few website projects!

Check them out:

http://www.elitelandscaping.com/

http://www.legalcost.com/

http://www.therainharvestco.com/

The Pics pretty much say it all.  The Titanium Voodoo 29er is a BEAST…   The classic feel and modern innovation make this bike a real delight to spin.  Check out the one of a kind, 29 Velocity Blunt 29 Teakwood rims…  With the Phil Hubs.

Enjoy… Special Thanks To Steve at Bells Bikes in South Philly. His shop is one of the best I have ever been to. It’s not a ritzy, swanky show shop, though you will need an appointment. Trust me, behind that Garage Door is the most diverse and plentiful stock of any bike shop!  Plus Steve is great too.

This is a new spot that we have been visiting quite often on 13th street.  The Bar is super fun, hip, clean and modern.  The drinks are very unique and there are so many elements that are used to make their signature cocktails.  Look them up and be sure to visit the roof top bar that opens April 1.  Nick, the head bartender, is super cool and is one of the most knowledgeable bartenders I have met.

Here are some pics of the bar drinks, as well as Nick in action.

Cheers

http://apothecarylounge.com/indexApo.html

Just back from Daytona Bike Week 09.  It was a crazy few days in Florida!  So many bikes and an entire city taken over by us Biker Types!!!!!

It was a fun filled week of riding and a display of Motorcycle Iron that is truly mind-numbing.  Enjoy just a few pics of the week.