THE STORY'S IN THE RETAILING: Some Weird & Wonderful Store Signage & Packaging

WTF?! Do these retailers have no clue? :-P

This first one makes me remember the time on Upper Broadway, when my dear friend Martha said, "Nice box!" to this big, handsome man in an expensive suit passing us in the crosswalk, sporting a sizeable...suit box from Barneys.

 

Or my idea for a Hooter's counterpoint called, "The Big Basket," staffed by muscle-y men in tight clothes, where all the food is served...in baskets.

But I digress--to get back to unintentionally funny retail signage--the Target sign was actually an Easter promotion for a company oddly named 'A Brilliant Basket.'

This one (sorry for the bad pic taken at Sur La Table back in the day with the bad camera on my old bad Blackberry) is hilarious--almost like those sadly misguided--and clueless--"teabaggers."  The manufacturer's website has better images of their flavored mixes intended for 'rimming' glasses for mixed drinks.

And finally, this one from 99 Ranch, the California Asian supermarket chain, over a refrigerated case with pre-marinated meats. I know this starts to cross over into ethnic-restaurant-menu territory and that's really a whole other story... 

Any you'd like to share?

A WILD STORY

I have another piece in another show: I created the hand-made book,"the seasons of point reyes" for the 2010 Wild Book Show on exhibit at Gallery Route One in West Marin through March 28th. The Wild Book Show was created by our friends Steve Costa and Kate Levinson at Point Reyes Books as a fundraiser for G.R.O.'s Artists in the Schools program.

This is the most recent in a series of handmade books I've created using my words and photographs; I'll do some short posts on some of the previous ones soon. The theme for this year was "Rain or Shine: The Atmosphere," and I decided to focus on the seasons and what created their distinctive weather patterns of wind, fog, sun, and rain. The design concept arose from one picture of Schooner Bay off of Drakes Bay that seemed to include all the seasons in one image; I used that on the frontispieces with windows cut into the cover showing different types of weather. From there I decided to create windows through the pages to tell the story. Here's a quick video walk-through:

These are some photos from the exhibit opening this past Sunday; there are many beautiful books to see if you happen to be up that way, and bids can be placed any time in person or by phone or email for the silent auction closing on March 28th.

Quick Thought Post: On Weekends and Private Time

So, in an effort to "start as I mean to go on*" in my blogging as far as sharing my feelings and not just relating events and opinions,  something my good friend Martha said reminded me about a dilemma that we face that I'm sure many other people share: when you work hard and long hours and have other commitments during the week, how do you balance the need for privacy, rest, and recuperation at the end of the week with the pull of traditional weekend 'socializing' and the fact that it may be the best or only time to see or do things with friends or have people over?

We tend to keep the weekend as private time with some regular things we like to do, and by planning way ahead try not to over-schedule.  So I did wonder how a weekend away with another couple would feel, especially because we always go away alone.  But it was really nice: we had plenty of private time and space, and the hiking, eating, and hanging out by the fire was more enjoyable together; definitely because Donna and Dan are such fun, easy-going friends and have their camping down pat, and also because of the rustic setting and relaxed timing of the whole trip.

Also, thanks for all the emails and support I've been getting on starting my blog and my first posts--it really means a great deal and gives me ideas and juice to move forward.  But please go ahead and share your input as comments on my blog--I would really appreciate it and I like to think it helps keep the conversation going.  And don't forget to subscribe or follow or share if you are enjoying it...

*I love archaic phrases like this and "giving it the old college try," or "excuse the boardinghouse reach..." Do you have some faves???