Nate Burgos's Blog, page 29

The Tactile Craft of Sign Painting: Ches Perry at 32nd CreativeMornings in Chicago

Photos by Nate Burgos. View more.

“Heritage” was CreativeMornings’ global theme in July, 2014. It was fitting that Chicago’s chapter centered attention on sign painter Ches Perry, and his son, Alex Perry, from Right Way Signs, to speak. For the first time, the format of this talk was done as a live interview, conducted by Kim Knoll, the organizer of CreativeMornings/Chicago.

Ches is a traditional sign painter. Demands of this discipline include applying ink to a vertical surface—one contro...

Pride, Work, and Necessity of Side Projects: Shauna Panczyszyn’s Three Word Stories

What are you working on—on the side?

My side project is called Three Word Stories. Late 2013, when I was doing lettering warm-ups in the morning, I realized that creating three-word lockups* seemed to be the easiest for me, especially to get my hands warmed up and ready to work. That eventually progressed into the idea of lettering three-word stories, or three-word sentences. From there, I’ve invited several friends to participate in the project and work on adding more myself.

How do you manage...

Katie and Joseph Thompson, Designers and Makers in All Things Wood

Solo show at Dwelling’s LOCAL Maker’s Series in Charleston, South Carolina

Since discovering their seat design, dubbed “The Perch,” I’ve easily became an admirer of the husband-and-wife team of Joseph Thompson Woodworks in Eutawville, South Carolina. Here, they share both their respect for wood and joy for making bespoke, heirloom-quality furniture in addition to a range of objects, from candle holders to wall pieces, with the home in mind.

When did you start your fascination wit...

Patronage Package 7 of Duly Discovered

Apps

Backer Camp: “Launching a crowdfunding campaign is really hard.”

Sound Transit is “a collaborative, online community dedicated to field recording and phonography.”

Books

“Book Your Trip: Select Your Mode of Transportation”
by NPR Books

“Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry into The Value of Work”
by Matthew Crawford

“Archetypes in Branding”
by Margaret Hartwell

“Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies”
by Alastair Bonnett

“Your Call Is (Not That) Importa...

Pride, Work, and Necessity of Side Projects: Margot Harrington’s Sunday Sauce Brands Workshop for Start-Ups and Non-Profits

What are you working on—on the side?

My newest side project is so new that it’s not even been announced yet! It’s a workshop I’m doing with a fellow independent designer, Veronica Corzo-Duchardt of Winterbureau. We’re really good buds and have worked together on a side gigs before, so we’re teaming up again! This workshop is called Sunday Sauce Brands, and we’re focusing on other micro-businesses, start-ups, and folks with their own side-hustle, but who don’t have the bandwidth right now to do...

Facing the challenging medium of clay: Justin Hart, the Problem-Solving Ceramist

By participating in the tradition of ceramics, Justin Hart persists, as he put it, to “create functional objects of beauty.” Here, he generously talks about his zeal and experience in meeting the demands of making ceramic art that satisfies a rigorous process of design and execution:

On being a ceramic artist

You made the transition from a project manager 
to a ceramic artist. Can you please elaborate on this journey?
I’ve been working in ceramics for most of my life and have been more...

Pride, Work, and Necessity of Side Projects: Ben Derico’s Documentaries

What are you working on—on the side?

One of my side projects is Bikes 4 Books, a fundraising model I developed in 2012, in looking for a way to fund a documentary trip to Uganda. Bikes 4 Books partners with education-based non-profits to host long-distance bike rides where riders collect pledges for the participating organizations. By way of Bikes 4 Books’ model, participants, who join at no cost to themselves, ride to raise both money and awareness for their organization by fundraising throug...

Pride, Work, and Necessity of Side Projects: Jena Buckwell’s Volunteer Staunton and Studio Jewelry

What are you working on—on the side?

Currently, my main focus, in terms of side projects, is on Volunteer Staunton, which is a non-profit, web-based catalog of volunteer opportunities in my city. The site is currently in the development phase, and I have a Kickstarter running to raise hosting funds. I chose to make this project happen because I really love small-scale, big-impact volunteer work. I currently volunteer with a sustainable meat farm, an educational vegetable garden at Virgini...

Designing Bags and Driving a Biking Culture: Maria Boustead, Founder of Po Campo

Maria Boustead is the founder of Po Campo, in Chicago, that specializes in making bags that achieve both style and utility. Her products focus on the urban dweller, but are especially oriented for the bicycle-riding enthusiast. Here, she shares her takes on the challenging and satisfying experience of realizing an idea for a product, and using this as a springboard to launch a business:

On being a product designer 
and product-based company founder

I appreciate how you arrived at the i...

Pride, Work, and Necessity of Side Projects: Dan Granata’s Acting and Writing

What are you working on—on the side?

I’ve been an actor and writer for most of my life—I double-majored in English and Theatre, and I can’t think of a period where I wasn’t working on at least one writing project, in rehearsals, performing in a show, or all of the above. I’ve done Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, helped shape brand new plays in Chicago storefronts and theatres, played with a house team at iO (formerly ImprovOlympic), been in commercials for national brands, created shor...