It will soon be time to say farewell

I apologize for my lack of posts over the past few weeks. I am in the process of moving from the place I've lived in for the past 2 years and it turns out I have acquired quite a lot of shit, for lack of a better word. So I have been spending my evenings as of late going through everything and trying to dwindle it all down, which apparently I'm not very good at which is evident by all of the boxes I have staked up all over the place.

I only have 4 full days left in this wonderful city of Minneapolis. And although I keep saying it, and have already said goodbye to a number of dear friends, it still hasn't hit me yet. Maybe it's just one of those things that will happen as I'm getting in the truck to leave. I suppose it's also because by this point in my life I have already had some very painful goodbyes of the years, perhaps by now I just know that I'll be fine. I've learned that your true friends will still always be there for you.


These boys have always got my back. I suppose you could say they are right on top of it... hahaha

Aveda Congress '08 - David Adams' Team

As some of you already know, I just participated in Aveda Congress '08 this past week. For those who don't know, Congress is a show Aveda puts on every couple of years, and it brings in thousands of hairdressers from all over the world. It is really an amazing show. This year it took place on Sept 14th and 15th at the Northrop theater on the U of M campus.

I was modeling for David Adams, the brilliant colorist from London. His whole theme was ' A World Without Colour ' To sum up his show, he had girls with black and grey hair come on first, and then he did a demonstration about coloring hair, and then it models with vibrant colors came out.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy

heart,
K




My hair processing


Finished haircut and color


David Adams working on the lovely Julia


David Adams' team


These heads are everywhere in the Aveda Institute


Models for David Adams


The color model's costumes


Yours truly, just before we went on stage


Our Finale'

Wedding Invite

I recently created a fictional 'save the date' wedding invite, and I decided to complete the entire set. I'm really happy with the way this turned out. This will definitely be going in my book.

heart,
K - O

Neem Tree Farms Redesign

If you are one of the few people who read this blog, you know that I am trying to work more on my design capabilities, with specific focus on my type skills. I decided to reuse an assignment I had once in a product design class at MCAD. The assignment was to re-design the identity/packaging of either one of three categories: beauty/cosmetics, home-wares, or food/beverage.

I thought it was a pretty good assignment and process to go through, considering that's what most designers do every day. Always trying to one-up themselves, creating new and exciting work.

From experience, about 80% of the organic product companies have absolutely terrible design, so I figured that would be a good place to start looking. I came across this website. I feel that Neem Tree Farms has some really excellent products, but their design is terrible. I personally would be far more apt to buy a small, $8 bottle of shampoo if the packaging was totally boss. Don't you think?


Here are some of Neem Tree Farms products in their current packaging.


This is what I came up with. Perhaps I should try to contact someone at Neem Tree Farms and convince them to buy my designs... hmmm

Anyway, I hope you like. And as always, I'm open to any criticism you have.

heart,
k

New Etsy Account - kogiraffe

Hey guys,
I have finally gotten around to setting up an etsy account. I have several of my favorite pieces of jewelry for sale (which many of you haven't seen), as well as a few prints.
You can check out my page HERE

Enjoy!

heart,
k

The MonaLisa Breast Cancer Benefit

Local B-Girl, "MonaLisa" has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lisa's friends, family, and community are all coming together to help her raise money and help her in her fight. I heard about the project/event through
Rob who designed the fliers and promotional material for the event. The flier I created was more of an personal exercise.

I'm just bummed I can't actually go to the event because I'll be in SF by then. But if you're here, even if you don't know Lisa, I encourage you to attend the event.

Rug

After going on hiatus for awhile, I'm back at creating type. Specifically the type for my house-hold objects book. So here is the word "rug". In retrospect the letters look a little bloated, It's difficult to tell when you're working on it. So I think when I actually shoot this it will be thinned a little, but still a bolder font. And I must add, this was a total bitch to put together because the white fabric gets fuzzies everywhere Good thing I own a vacuum...

The Show is Up!

Come and check it out! "The Scene" is now up for your viewing pleasure in the Bhakti Gallery in Hopkins. Ryan and I got up super early this labor day and hung the show. Thank you Ryan!! I couldn't have done it with out you. Here are some photos, but you'll have to go to the cafe to see the work in all it's glory =)

heart,
Karen



The Bhakti Cafe in Hopkins.






Ryan's the best... look at him go






The vinyl lettering is left over from my senior show... I knew it would come in handy some day =)