Our kids at work

There are always certain privileges when working for brands and especially when you work for the creative department of the brand. My team and I at Hi-Tec are always on the look out for possible leads to potential models (men, women, and kids) to shoot for upcoming product line catalogs, ad/web campaigns, creative and what have you. The enjoyment is when we get to involve our own family members especially our very own kids. We shot lil' JDub for our fall/winter catalog. My man Mark, formerly CD at the GAP SF, recently told us that his daughter Brooklyn was modeling for GAP's upcoming Halloween costumes. How adorable is that? Chloe and Levi are ready to shoot for some upcoming projects as well...stay tuned.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie put on an amazing production. A total of 48,000 people came to witness performances by Katinas, Jeremy Camp, Lincoln Brewster, P.O.D., Mercy Me, and a testimony that touched thousands.

Midnight Bliss

MIDNIGHTBLISS @ THE NINES, a sexy, sophisticated yet soulful venue brought to you by the collective groups Vibe Right and LYDGMZ. Filling the void and delivering uniqueness to Modesto’s trendy nightlife and creative community. Refreshing the mind and spirit with flavorful eargazms of true hip-hop, r&b and neo-soul by Dj Chris Legaspi.

Friday, August 31 10PM-2AM
The Nines | 101 10th Street Downtown Modesto
Hip-Hop. R&B. Neo-Soul.
21+ Only. No Cover. Tasty Giveaways.

We cordially invite you to join us.

Worx-N-Effect

The SevenSix (7 marks stacked with 6 letters defining each mark) monogram tees just left to press. Limited to 50pcs. which will be given as gifts to my clients that actually read my blog. So that equates to 49pcs. pretty much up for grabs to everyone that sends me a message via myspace.

"Engineering Client Satisfaction through Innovative Design Solutions". That's their mission at one of the Central Valley's prestige civil engineering firms, NorthStar Engineering. I had the opportunity to work with Sarah who plays role as NorthStar's director of marketing on a number of projects. Handling their identity, we re-branded all marketing print collateral, advertising, and launched the re-design of their website.

"Always bringing the latest and cutting edge looks and styles". Treo aka Tony is an individual with style and a keen sense in design. We've been good friends for many years and I've handled a lot of creative work for his business Bang Bang Hair Studio. Treo and I met to catch up on life, the salon industry and his future ideas and endeavors. For as long as I've known him he has been a man of determination and on the hustle. Something I quite admired. We're in the works on something new from Treo.

When I first met Paul I instantly remembered him from high school. I'm not sure if it was from chem class or what but I do remember he was into his books. Alas after 13 years Paul is VP and founder of a business called United Pacific Assets. A biz that locates lost money for individuals, large corporations and government agencies. I received a call from Paul inquiring on web stuff so we set a meeting. We sat a few days later going through some creative initiatives he plans on launching within the next few weeks.

Chris, a friend and local DJ who spins at the finest joints in the city, called to meet up for coffee at The Queen Bean. We were then accompanied by an old friend of mine Nick. Nick and I go way back. We used to go to all the Hiero and Living Legend shows and Nick recently picked up the hobby of photography using Nikon gear. Keep doing it man! What came of meeting up for coffee and to discuss flyer creative for one of Chris' gigs turned into a collab effort for a nightlife event. Time to pull the wabbit out of the hat!

Meebo on iPhone

The team at meebo informs us that meebo is ready and available (and hopefully, much improved) on the iPhone. Just like normal meebo, there’s no download required; you get chat history for all your buddies and their buddy icons, and your IM accounts are all in one place.

Hot steppin'

I just wanted to take my time to congratulate Sabra Johnson, the dancing hottie, on her superb win of So Ya Thank Ya Can Dance:Season 3. With only 4yrs. experience in the dance game she knocked'em out the box!?! Her dance exemplifies passion, commitment, dedication, and love. Truly GOD given. You go girl! -Your biggest fan.

The illest performance this season. The song, choreography, and dancers...on point!

Editorial wannabe

I was so not a writer... but what came of doodling the latest fashions and having the inspiration of one day becoming some sort of designer guy, I was asked to write a column on Hip Hop fashion for my high school paper! WTFreak!? Who in the world proofed my submission!?! LMAO! Hehehe!

Paper Formation

NICEBUNNY has been producing loads of free downloadable character-toys for quite a while now and is currently producing a brand new paper toy every week on his blog and is pending an appearance at the coming Urban Underground Project. His paper and vinyl creations are fueled with creativity. I am truly amazed by his latest Hedkase editions of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. These turned out pretty freakin' cool...

Click here to download the Optimus Prime Hedkase
Click here to download the Bumblebee Hedkase

Must sees

A few movies on my hot list to see. September: The Kingdom. Starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. December: I am Legend. Starring Will Smith.

On the agenda

I'll be in sunny San Diego for this year's Agenda.

Protect ya pod

From their FAQ's page: "Will all iPod models (and iPhone) fit? Of course! The Zune is so incredibly huge that there’s plenty of room for any iPod or iPhone along with your choice of accessories, a sack lunch, and maybe a small cat."

This is hilarious! Although fake, the minds that came up with this are brilliant. Check out the Hide-A-Pod here.

And if you're like me who stores their entire music collection in the iPods, here are some solutions to transfer songs from your iPod back to your Mac or PC. Straight from WIRED.

Strategic Mullets

All sites that depend heavily on users to create content, from YouTube to MySpace, run a risk: While it's an efficient way to generate tons of traffic, advertisers are wary of associating with what the rabble produces. This has led to many sites employing what is being called "The Mullet Strategy," according to Buzzfeed, as in "business in the front, party in the back." Sites like YouTube, Facebook and even CNN.com are relying on professional editors to keep a clean fa??ade on the home page while an anything-goes battle-royale rages in the comments section of interior pages.

As reported on College Candy: Tricky web companies let us users have control of the site because duh, we produce the traffic, but they choose to keep their front page clean and appearing professional to keep their advertisers happy, so when Pepsi or some other corporate sponsor comes a-knockin, they’re satisfied to see their pretty little ad in a pretty little box on a pretty big webpage, with no 14-year old comment clutter nearby screeching ‘Yo GuRL! GiMme yo ASL BaYbEE! DaT Nu YouNg WeezY vId Wizzeak! LyKE Yo Pix u SeXii! fReind me thnx!’.

Inspired

Today has been a very chill day. Super productive, but chill nonetheless. Chill enough to sit back and analyze my inspirations for life, love, work and anything in between my daily grind.

Mr. West graduates

Just a wee bit over a month and Graduation hits store shelves and on iTunes. Cover artwork is pretty hot and of course designed non other than Takashi Murakami. Check out Kanye's visit to Murakami's studio in Asaka and what came of Kanye's bling concept.

Harvest in the valley

The past month or so, my eyes fell victim to the strong and consistent branding of Greg Laurie and Harvest 07 throughout the city Modesto. I'm sure everyone including their ma dukes has seen these bumper stickers, banners, city buses, stop benches, and homes supporting this campaign? I had to dig deeper...

Greg Laurie, a pastor, evangelist, and author, quotes "Jesus did not say that the whole world should go to church. Essentially he said the church should go to the whole world." Nicely put. With Harvest 07, Greg Laurie created a catalyst to wide spread the gospel message. A weekend of fellowship and performances by an incredible line up with Katinas, P.O.D., Jeremy Camp, Linkin Brewster, and MercyMe is slated for August 24-26 at Cal State Stanislaus.

I'm Mac

It's sleek. It's sexy. It's here.

Touch the SKY

Exclusive. Sophisticated. Chic. Stimulating. Saturday, August 11th, SKY San Francisco located at the Straits Bar and Lounge in the San Francisco Centre, 4th Floor above Bloomingdales. 21+, 25 over preferred. Music by DJ's Apollo, Shortkut, Graham James, and Sake1. Crowd movers Fran Boogie and George White. This will be dope ya'll....see you there.

D'Luxe

Inspired by the everyday, DVS's new Luxe edition is like a breath of fresh air. Their new collection for Summer/Fall is nothing but clean and simple with great combos in color palette. I'm really diggin' the design of the Slauson model with the repeated over sized polka dots used as a functional ventilation feature. Nicely added to the details.

KR steez

Graf artist KR throws up his signature tag with Krink's Squeeze Markers.

HUFvision

The crew at Riottt put together HUFvision which takes us on a quick tour of HUF's new skate boutique.

Hoo-Ra

October is going to be a great month! As posted on SneakerFreaker, I'm excited for the release of the Nike Huaraches and in this particular colorway, Skin/Orange/Blue, from the original Nike Mowabb. Mowabbs and Huaraches bring back the good ol' high school memories of my very first job working for Champs. I'll admit it...the checks were going right back to the company from coppin' pairs of these lovely joints.

Dub's on 5th Ave

My partner in crime BW was in NY this past week and made a trek to Apple 5th Ave. He took some amazing shots of the city along with the ever so stunning 5th Ave Apple store lit up at night. Dub was out on business as usual...stayed at the W and had productive meetings with several accounts. BW is Director of Marketing for both of our brands and is one talented human being. From building wooden crates to building brands, we refer him as a jack of all trades kinda guy.

Upon his arrival he had to tease me with this...

Dark Markk

The dark branding of Undefeated has been pretty consistent in their recent collab initiatives. I was stoked to see the final packaging design they pulled off with Jason Markk's product. Super clean. For all of you sneaker heads Jason Markk x Undefeated will be releasing this special pack at Undefeated stores August 4th. Keep'em clean!

OMG!

The man of miracles was with him.

Milk Tea

Pandas are amazing creatures and having it as a nick your bound to admire anything panda. Milk Magazine along with the World Wild Life Federation collaborated with Medicom on two Bearbricks, Milk Milk and Tea Tea (Milk Tea). This collaboration was to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the two pandas Le Le and Ying Ying that China's mainland brought into Hong Kong after their take back. These Bearbricks are adorable and make a great addition to the collection.