South Carolina's First Food Cooperative

There's kind of an adrenaline-fueled feeling of pure ecstasy when you finally finish and release a project you've been working on for a while. I got that rush yesterday when I posted this video that I conceived, produced, filmed and edited for Hub City Co-op in Spartanburg. 

This is South Carolina's first food cooperative so this video will be integral in educating people about how and why it's important to shop local and support smaller farms and businesses. 

Have a look and let me know what you think in the comments below and/or like/comment on youtube and of course I always appreciate new channel subscribers. 

New Tee & Bag Designs for Hub City Co-op (200 Words)

Just wanted to share my latest design project for Hub City Co-op.

I designed these t-shirts and tote bags based on the original mural I painted inside the store. They came out so great and hopefully they are gonna fly off the shelves. 

I put a lot of thought and research into sourcing these.

The tees are super soft polyblend material that people will actually love to wear. They are manufactured in Nicaragua by Next Level, a socially and environmentally responsible and WRAP certified (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) which means no sweat shops, no child labor and environmentally responsibility. 

The 100% organic cotton tote bags by econscious donate a portion of sales to non-profit Partners like 1% for the Planet, the Rodale Institute the Organic Trade Association and Green America. 

They were printed and delivered by a local business, Carolina Headwear. 

Not only are they fun & functional merchandise, but they also serve as grassroots marketing, as long as customers wear and use them in public. My focus here has been ideas and promotions that are win-win-win and benefit all parties involved, especially the local community. 

So thankful that these peeps let me keep experimenting with and expressing my creativity! 

Mural Methods, Madness & Monsoons (550 Words)

I'm a little late in writing this. I'm still getting acclimated to the full-time freelance schedule which entails a really inconsistent but exciting work-life balance. 

The original design.

Anyways, Hub City Co-op liked the first mural I painted outside enough to commission me to paint another one inside. The space is approximately 17' x 9' (5.1 m x 2.7 m). They requested a creative way to display the Seven Cooperative Principles, which are supposed to guide all cooperatives. 

In retrospect, I slayed this project. It took me five days from concept to completion. Most of my git-er-done motivation came from the fact that the block party to celebrate the first mural was being held that Saturday and I couldn't stand the thought of the mural being seen as anything less than awesome by all the people I anticipated would attend the event. 

Projecting/tracing: my least favorite part. 

In contrast to the rainbow garden of yummy colors outside, I kept this one much simpler. It's important to consider the mural surroundings when planning the design. I selected just three fonts and two colors to contrast the hodgepodge of endless products surrounding it that are already competing for your attention. 

WIP

I picked shapes that, to me at least, represent traditional Southern cooking and culture: a lemon (lemonade), a skillet, a mason jar, etc. I knew there were some obstructions on the wall but I wasn't sure exactly where so I intentionally created a design with puzzle pieces that I could move around if necessary. Of course it ended up being necessary.

So here's how it happened:

Monday: Design (5 hours)
Tuesday: Projection & Tracing (4 hours)
Wednesday: Painting (6 hours)
Thursday: Painting (10 hours)
Friday: Painting (17 hours)
Total: 5 days, 42 hours

See what I mean about the inconsistent schedule? Now I wish I had started at least one day earlier to save my sanity during that last marathon painting session where I started talking to my wall, specifically, Missiour Poulet, the French-speaking rooster. (Read the full, funny story on Buzzfeed.) 

WIP

When you look at the finished product, it looks easy. Except that it's not and its a pretty tedious process: paint 2-3 coats of white, outline with black, fill in with multiple coats of black. Each "puzzle piece" averaged about 3.5 hours to complete. 

But it's totally worth all the effort. I'm happy with how it turned out!

Finished! 

I just wish I could say the same for the Block Party. The party had infinite potential but attendance was no doubt hindered by what seemed like a monsoon sent by some spiteful, mural-hating deity that I must have unintentionally offended.

It literally hadn't rained a drop all day until minutes after the celebration started. There was thunder, lightning, a diagonal deluge of rain and all of our smartphones chimed in unison with flash flood warnings. I had an epiphany and realized where the term fair weather friends must have come from. 

I want to thank all my friends and family who did come, especially my bestie Christina who is a face painting pro and helped me transform kids into butterflies, cats, dogs and other assorted, creative creatures. We did it for free but had a tip jar that collected $51.51 which we donated to the Children's Advocacy Center here in Spartanburg. 

I definitely earned my monthly massage for July!

 I really enjoy creating public art & design and think more places should have it, but obviously I'm biased. What do y'all think? 

My First Solo Mural (600 Words)

I'm back to my regularly scheduled blogging now that I have completed both my European wanderlust and painting this 130 x 10 foot (40 x 3 meter) mural in my hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

It's incredible that less than two years ago I was planning and organizing this massive mural project for Whole Foods Market in downtown Miami, secretly fantasizing about doing street art myself, and now it's reality. 

I was home for Christmas during a break from my year-long travels. My dad excitedly told me about a call for mural design submissions in the local newspaper placed by a local Co-op opening soon. I immediately started brainstorming and sketching since the deadline was about a week away. 

I first researched the top fruits and vegetables grown in South Carolina to speak to the fresh, local produce and the important community-owned and supported aspects of Hub City Co-op. These foods include: corn, wheat, peanuts, oats, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, squash, beans and sweet potatoes. 

I nixed two of my original three ideas since the designs didn't really answer the brief nor work well on the wall, which was rife with obstacles like windows, doors, fences and other equipment. My final submission included designs inspired by Mandalas - or “Mirandalas” when I design them in my own style.

In traditional Indian art and culture, mandalas represent microcosms of the universe working together in harmony, but have become positive symbols of happiness and relaxation in the west due to the recent popularity of adult coloring books.

The collages of produce also represent a diverse yet cohesive community. I felt it was important to incorporate the business name to maximize the potential of the space and attract new residents and visitors that might not otherwise be aware of Hub City Co-op.

Work in Progress

I submitted my design in March, a few days before boarding a plane to India and didn't receive any further correspondence from the Co-op until I was in Nepal in April. I was ecstatic that my idea had been selected despite the fact that I wasn't able to start the project until June when I returned to the States. 

I arrived home on Saturday, June 4th, slept most of Sunday and then had a meeting with the client bright and early Monday morning. It turned out to be great timing, since the buzz around the store had died down since their April 1st opening and this would be some fresh, local (pun intended) publicity. 

Everyone I worked with at the Co-op was helpful and friendly including Russell, kind of their mural consultant, who ended up doing me a solid by helping me project, trace and therefore tame the intimidating wall beast that night. I'm also thankful that he introduced me to Jamarcus Gaston, who invited me onto his local show to talk about the mural. 

So 109 hours over 15 hot and (thankfully) dry summer days later, I can say I successfully completed my first official solo mural project. I've been a longtime admirer of the street art community and now I can say I'm a member of it and have a deeper/more sincere appreciation of it. 

I have to give a quick shout out to all the artists I've met and worked with that inspired and/or helped me to pursue and achieve this dream: Jessy Nite, Atomik, Jenny Perez, Jorge-Miguel Rodriguez, Kazilla, Luis Berros, MONz, Nate Dee, Noah Levy, Rei Ramirez, Trek6, Yuhmi Collective, Paul Walsh, Russell Bannan and Eli Blasko. 

Keep dreaming, y'all!