I popped in Saturday for a look around this Atlanta institution. Not my first time here, a couple of years ago I helped a client who manufactures adorable doggie kits man her booth here, but it’s my first time since making my foray into art licensing. So it was fun to see some of the exciting products making their way out into the world and get a sense of this aspect of the business. There were many beautiful and clever things to see – and just one day for me to take it all in. The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market is held every January and July.
My husband is an architect, so we spent as much time there talking about the building as anything else. This is a product of the famous Atlanta developer/architect John Portman. Growing up here, you get to know him as a household name. In downtown Atlanta you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one of his buildings. I’m going to go out on a limb and say I’d actually like to throw rocks at his buildings.
The design of the Atlanta Mart buildings originated in the 60’s, but I don’t know when this atrium was built. It has that special 60's brutalist concrete thing going on. If I could make one quick little change in it right away, it would be to remove the blinking lightbulb trim. (oh I know this sounds picky, you thought I was about to throw rocks, but have you seen it?)
There is a decorative strip of bare light bulbs that runs down the center of the ceiling above every escalator in this space. So if it’s not enough that you are a little visually overwhelmed by all the displays you’ve been looking at all day, you can ride the escalator from floor to floor and have your memory erased by the flashing lights pulsing above you. It seems like something that, in it’s day, was a “playful” detail (I think I’ve seen this over at the Peachtree Plaza too) but now it’s kinda weird, and not in a good way.
As for 60's weird in a good way... I tivo'd designer Todd Oldham as guest programmer on TCM (my favorite channel in the universe) with host Robert Osborne (my secret crush) as they screened "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" And finally got to watch it this weekend. I agree with Todd Oldham that the costumes are fabulous, and I can see what a huge influence this movie has had on everybody, most of all Quentin Tarantino. And the campy dialog! "What a hunk a stuff!" very fun watching. Robert Osborne was not convinced though, I could tell.
Has it been over a month? not a single post? Whoa. I confess I'm pretty overwhelmed these days with lots of deadlines, and of course that's a good thing! I'll share some results soon when things have been published, but for now, I'm just showing a little piece of something I did for a local client, different from my usual illustration work, a little foray into design for Beehive Hair Co. We are working on packaging for a line of hair products - and they all smell amazing! I'm going to take pictures of the bottles on their shelves soon and in the meantime, I'm enjoying the contents. If you are in Atlanta, check out BeehiveHairCo and stop by the salon to pick up some products for yourself. I'm working on some big national projects, an ad to appear in the NY Times, some adorable greeting cards and an identity project for a pair of cookbook authors. And I'm working on music and playing more dates as a singer than ever before. Whew! I'll be back in touch soon though, I have a new website design in the works for my portfolio and am looking forward to finalizing and unveiling that design in the next month or so. On second thought, better not hold me to that. (sigh)
