attack of the posters!

Tony Adler (Art director at the Reader) fowarded this message to me this afternoon:

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We need your help !

The 1st Chicago International Poster Biennial exhibition,
presented by SMART Papers, is scheduled to appear in Chicago's
Daley Bicentennial Plaza this Friday, September 26th. Between
today and Friday, this world class exhibition will be constructed
at a warehouse of our friends at RTC. It will take the efforts of
many members of the Chicago Design Community to make this
international design event a reality. If you can spend a few hours
on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday this week to create and install
the Biennial, please contact the CIPBA office by email at:
info@chicagobiennial.org.

All volunteers will receive a 304-page color exhibit catalogue as
soon as it comes off the press. The catalogue is courtesy of our
print sponsor, Graphic Arts Studio in Barrington and SMART Papers,
and it features color plates of all medalists and finalists, bios
and work of the jury, and articles by Victor Margolin, Steven
Heller, and Todd Lief.

Here is an overview of volunteer needs over the next 3 days:

Wednesday, September 24th:
8:30 AM
We will need volunteers present at the warehouse at 3101 South
Kedzie Avenue to unload poster kiosks from the delivery truck.

9:00AM - Noon
First shift of volunteers to paste posters to tubes. We will be
working on plastic sheets and/or drop cloths on the floor, using
water soluble paste and brushes to adhere the posters to the tubes.
Dress very casually.

3PM - 6PM
Second shift of volunteers to paste posters to tubes.
We need to have all 169 posters and captions mounted by 6PM.

Thursday, September 25th:
9AM - Noon
First shift to apply Polycrylic sealer to the tubes and posters.

3PM - 6PM
Second shift to apply Polycrylic sealer to the tubes and posters.
Dress very casually.

4PM - 6PM
Use epoxy to secure end caps to bottoms of tubes.


Friday, September 26th:
5AM
Pray for sunshine.

6AM - 9AM
Volunteers to warehouse to load tubes onto rental truck/trucks and
deliver to Monroe Drive entrance of Daley Bicentennial Plaza
(south end). Unload tubes and place into position.

9AM - Noon
Drive smaller, flatbed / pickup trucks into park (we have vehicle
permits) carrying sand bags. Drop 250 lbs worth of sandbags into
each tube. Place lid on top.


This is a very rare opportunity for the Chicago design community
to come together to demonstrate the power of graphic design on a
grand, public stage. You can play a crucial role, so we hope you
can join us. THANK YOU.

CIPBA Board of Directors

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This is the inaugural year for the Chicago International Poster Biennial Annual
The finalists were named in June of this year and the gold medalist and honorable mentions are to be named sometime this month (I'm assuming at the private reception Friday the 26th). The exhibition at the Daley Bicentennial Plaza in Millennium Park opens Saturday the 27th and will run until October 30th.

CIPBA is co-directed by Lance Rutter and Yann Legendre. Yann Legendre is a relative newcomer to Chicago but already a respected visionary in the graphic design world. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the AIGA 2007 Fresh Talent event. His work can be brash and at times vulgar but so visually stimulating. Along with Legendre, the jury is filled with some graphic design legends including: John Massey (President of the Jury), Michel Bouvet, Shigeo Fukuda, Alfred Halasa, Yossi Lemel, Luba Lukova, German Montalvo, Jay Ryan, Lanny Sommese, and Martin Venezky.

The jurors' and finalists' works will be on display in its natural form - in public, for everyone to experience. This show should not be missed.

chocolate makes chicago go round

On Saturday my friend and I popped into the Vosges on Michigan Avenue for some pick me ups after doing some shopping at Nordstrom. I love the warm purple packaging and designs on the store walls - so rich and luxurious just like their truffles! Our favorite Vosges guy that usually works at the Armitage store was there and asked us why we haven't been to an event in such a long time. True and sad. Sometime in 2007 Vosges launched a series of tasting events for their Chicago area patrons. My girlfriends and I attended the first ever tasting event which was a blast. The theme was chocolate and cheese which sounds like an odd pairing - but worked so well! The set up was amazing. For $35/person there were platters of truffles in every corner of the store. Passed hor' doeurves consisted of: while chocolate and mozzarella panini's, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with white chocolate, and ahi tuna on watermelon rind topped with while chocolate shavings. There was and endless flow of drinks at the coffee/ice cream bar at the back of the store - the highlight was the chocolate martini which was like a meal in itself! They also offered a beautiful red malbec which went great with the dark truffles. About half an hour into the evening after everyone had settled, Jen, the manager of the store had walked us through the proper way to eat a Vosges truffle. She had us close our eyes, smell the truffle, lick the top of it, then take a small bite...delicious! After having our fill of more than 5 or 6 truffles, two rounds of hor'doeurves, and three or four drinks we decided we were all chocolated out. On our way out of the store we were handed gift bags with a box of 4 of the featured truffles of the evening, some treats and coupons from local businesses, and recipes for the featured hor'doeurves. Well worth every penny!

After that event I also attended the Sushi and Chocolate event, Find your Dosha (partnered with TeaGschwendner) , Tapas and Chocolate to debut their Gaudi chocolate (partnered with Cafe Ba Ba Reeba), and the Belgium Beer and Chocolate (partnered with a representative from a national beer distributor). Since the beginning of this year, I haven't been able to so to an event, but Vosges guy made us regret the latest one we missed on Thursday - Sake and Chocolate! He said that they imported boxes of beautiful sakes and had an exceptional sake made of plums that is made in America and imported to Japan! He also said it was much more fun because it was an intimate group of about 25 guests - they had more than enough sake, sushi and truffles to go around! My friend and I wanted to slap ourselves in the face after hearing that. But we promised we'd go to the next one.

Here's what the Armitage store is planning for the next two months:

Oct 16 & Oct 23 – Zion Collection Launch Parties
Nov 13 – Single Malt Scotch + Exotic Caramel Tasting Soirée
Nov 20 – Cheese + Chocolate Collection Launch Party

Usually events cost from $35 - $50 (the scotch event is bound to be $50). The whole store is discounted 10% for all guests the evening of the event and you always leave with a gift bag of truffles and other goodies. You must attend at least one event - you won't know what you're missing out on if you don't!

it's wine and craft time!

Two of my favorite annual events are coming up this weekend:



-and-



Date: Saturday, September 13th, 2008
Time: 11am - 10pm (wine tastings from 2pm - 7pm)
Location: N. Wells between North Ave and Evergreen

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Both events feature live performances, food, and an all around good time. Come out come out! Rain or shine.

shoes and bag don't match your dress? no problem...

2 Sisters Boutique on Madison has come up with a fabulous idea:


Buy the Dress Borrow the Rest! Buy ANY dress from our collection and we will happily loan you everything you need to complete the look! Choose from our selection of shoes, handbags and jewelry! Stop in or contact us for details!

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I've stopped in on many occasions to find a last minute top or dress to go out in on a Friday night. The owners are great and the prices are hard to beat! Cute tops start at $10 and fun dresses start at $49. Loaning accessories is such a great idea! The stars do it all the time, so why can't we?

summer seoul lovin'

I haven't done much with this blog but for the two or three of you others that read this, I'll be writing on this blog from July 17th - Sept 1st.

rushdie the enchantress

This afternoon I had the pleasure of sitting in on a Salman Rushdie reading at the Harold Washington Library. I have to admit, his novels are always so long, daunting and intense that I have to put it down for weeks at a time to process what I've just read. Seeing him in person and listening to him read a few pages from his latest novel The Enchantress of Florence, I was a little surprised...has he gone off the deep end? Evidently he did a great deal of historical research for this novel that takes place between two very different worlds - the Mughal Empire and Florence, Italy. He seemed to be in this constant state of glibness. A bit full of himself and highly amused with his own writing. Although historically based, his writings were filled with elements of fantasy and exotic perversion. I guess once you establish yourself as a critically acclaimed novelist, there's nothing else to prove so write as you will...

oops...

I had some time to kill before a friend's surprise engagement dinner...

Maybe I was feeling a little melancholy...another friend bites the dust.

So I decided to hit up GuiseIChic to see if their selection of women's wear had improved much since the opening event hosted by Lucky Magazine and Skirt PR. It was quiet in the boutique and I took my time browsing the very organized racks. They've definitely improved on the buying and were having some pretty good deals. I fell in love with this:

The Rag and Bone Mac A-Line jacket. The owner walked over and told me how nice it looked on me.(But of course - working his charm) He told me all jackets were 30% off. I twitched. At $475, that still ain't cheap. I lingered...I cried inside...I tried on again and again then sighed and put it back on the rack...

Having been brought up by a frugal Korean mother who never had any qualms about haggling, the inner-Korean haggler came out in me. I schemed while taking a walk on the mens side pretending to look for something for my pretend boyfriend, I walked back over to the jacket and gently touched it as if I were petting an endearing friend. I could sense the owner was watching me so I hammed it up a little me. I smiled, walked to the register with jacket in hand and he asked me what I thought.

"I can't lie, I really love it" I said in a cautiously enthusiastic tone. "But I'd like it more if it were a little cheaper, say...__% off?"

He laughed out loud. "It does look good on you...I'll do it. You can't tell anyone!"

I thanked him heartily and we made small talk about the worsening economy and what he's been doing to stay afloat. He told me to come back often - I'd only come when the sales were happening =)

I am officially ready for Fall.