Freshsince76 - The Life and Works of Lloyd Gomez: April 2008

Creative thinking.

I spent Saturday morning having breakfast with Rocknswift while the fam slept in. Just to drop you a brief on Rock, he's a man of creative thought, a poetic genius and the biggest music connoisseur I know. We hit up this joint called Scramblz Kountry Kitchen for the first time and I have to admit, it was the ish! I'm a man who appreciates a huge breakfast and a huge breakfast is what I had. Great portions, super good food, and an eclectic mix of random decor which then sparked creative convo. Rock and I are planning on cooking up a few new projects.

Hmm...

My breakfast consisted of 2 eggs, over easy, 2 strips of bacon, 2 sausage links, hash browns doused in tabasco, a stack of pancakes, and a mountain of bisquits and gravy. Oh, and I was diggin' the allover print table cloths.

Yes, I killed it.

We then headed off to gain a bit more inspiration via architecture design. The homeowner, Jeff was kind enough to welcome us for a tour of his amazingly designed home. It's crazy how you can sense people's character and genuinity from a hand shake and a smile.

Stay tuned for the complete build up.

Atmosphere Ignites.

It's a new season and with that calls a newly designed booth for upcoming trade shows. Specifically Outdoor Retailer which is our industries largest show. In the works is a larger foot print and a new look and feel that's consistent to our Fall 08 and future Outdoor branding/direction. Kurt of Atmosphere flew into to present our second phase development of our design. Working close with a team that puts the same passion you have, if not more, makes a project much more exciting. Our Executives, BW, and I am extremely feeling the direction and looking forward to phase 3.

Materials swatch, textures, etc. It's in the details.

Meeting continued onto lunch at our usual mexican eats, Las Casuelas. Kurt shared much of his background in industrial design, his 40ft. yacht in Sausalito, and the beginning days of Atmosphere and where they are now. Inspiration once again.

Kick hawkin'.

Howard, who oversees Hi-Tec's Outdoor Apparel line for International knew I was hawkin' these kicks so he was kind enough to give them up. Literally off of his feet! He only wore them a day and only a few pairs of these exist. Thanks Howard!

Crew.

My man Gonz was down from a recent photoshoot and to meet up with our good friend Crumbs who happened to be throwing a gig at a local venue. Gonz happens to be a super talented artist and you can catch Crumbs in the flick Step Up II.

We keep it cali... we keep it freshcoastin'.

When the boys are in town it's dinner at our usual taco joint.

Global Initiatives.

To be great, surround yourself with greatness. We were recently visited by Hi-Tec's Global Group Head of Marketing, Simon Bonham, from the UK who accompanied our team on our global photoshoot. Simon is responsible for overseeing all global marketing and creative initiatives and is a pure genius. He also maintains a good laugh with his great sense of humor, wit and positive energy. It was great having Simon's presence in our US headquarters. We'll be seeing him again in a month for Global Launch. (L to R, myself, BW, Josh Park, Mike Sai, Misty Terrell, and Simon Bonham)

We're playing host to Hi-Tec's Global Launch event held in Napa Valley. Planning out the details.

Jason Larke, our Global Brand Communications Leader and Simon both arrive to the US days before our Global Launch Event. Jason is a creative jack of all trades and is one of those down-to-earth kind of guys. His latest project has been the identity behind Hi-Tec's newest technology Ion-Mask.

I took the gentleman to Dewz for a nice dinner and wine. I killed the prime rib.

The following evening we fancied ourselves to Galleto's.

Good company over good food always produces the great ideas.

Jeepers.

I'm into 4x4's. I couldn't help but shoot this cool jeep driven by some hip looking parents and cool kiddies.

Ponti Joints

I received these CR Black/Military Ponti's in the mail today from the folks @ Commonwealth. I'll have to admit Creative Recreation continues to up the ante in the premium sneaker game. Great design and materials.

New design within.

I'm appreciating the new layout and complete content of DWR's new catalogs. I've been a collector of their catalogs for sometime now. Several years worth are stashed in my offices.

Daddy Hugs

Chloe calls me at the office today and says "Daddy, I have a surprise for you!" Sure enough it was a new book called Daddy Hugs. Bedtime stories are a must in the Gomez household. Thank you babygirl!

Maybe it's my fault.

A recent Brand Jordan spot produced by the minds at W+K.

It Glowed. Thank you Kanye.

The show was amazing to say the least. Lupe, N-E-R-D, and Rhianna ripped their sets and gave the fans what they wanted, an ill show. Blown by design, storyboard and all of the forethought that went into Kanye's show, he has risen the creative bar once again. Truly a magical genius on stage. His emotion and charisma during an hour long (non-stop), story telling performance of his crash on some planet with his spaceship Jane, proved Kanye's purpose of being fresh to death! The images don't do justice but it's all my Blackberry can produce. No cameras allowed. Enjoi.