Click on the image above, just a second or two after today's featured photo was taken. Melissa was driving and needless to say, didn't share the same road-worn excitement.

Settling In

All in all, a good week behind us.

Work was busy and all in attendance accomplished a grueling list of objectives. Lots going on at CINCO. Always is. Folks are working diligently on a multitude of projects.

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Melissa is settling in just fine. The flat is small, which has generated some talk of us “going crazy” all cooped up in these tight confines. No big whup. Patience and spatial respect will keep things cool with all who call the place home.

We need to be efficient with our space. The rent is the least of our worries, and man, that is a good thing. The place is ample, clean and in a safe, mellow, convenient neighborhood.

Real glad to have Melissa back out here. Things got a lot better when she entered the state. No shit. Our time free time has been well-spent: enjoying brisk walks, movies, garage sales, dinners out-on-the-town and made-by-our-own-hands, watchin’ DVDs, bullshitting, truing up fall plans, etc. Good times. Real good.

The cats seems to be nestling into their new home pretty well too. They spend the day getting into things, climbing unstable piles of this-n-that and shedding all over hell. Minh and Aaron make eye contact frequently and are developing a good rapport with each other, that may transcend previous feline/man-of-the-house relationships.

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After midnight “tube time” was spent watching the “Band of Brothers” DVD set this week. Couple more shows to go and it’ll be licked. Very intense stuff. Tough motherfuckers back in the day. Tough. Thanks to CINCO buddy Chris Soli for trusting the DDC factory floor with his box set. Much appreciated.

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Evan Rose, Chief Nusenow and Pat “the eYe” Bridges will be in town next weekend for the Red Bull Rail Jam. They’ll be up here to cover many bases: “loitering”, “quoting”, “bro-ing down”, “covering the event for media sources” and general “lingering.” Good to have these ratfuckers up here for a couple days. Giant pieces of shit. Family. Blood brothers. California trash, Vermont Trash, etc.

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Mark Michaylira, fellow graphic arts major, is rolling up the sleeves in the “Art Dept.” at SNOWBOARDER magazine. Word to the wise: Those so-called colleagues are gonna lie through their teeth, be late with everything and then hold it against you. Don’t take any guff from yer staff brothers and don’t give a rat’s shit to any surfers or stray rollerbladers or whatever that are employed in the building. Oh yeah: Don’t fuck the mag up. This is yer chance to slay it. Needs a good tune up…had a rough year, time for some new blood. Best of luck.

MADE IT BACK

All you worrywarts out there, you can breathe easy: We made it back; exhausted, unscathed and proud.

A comprehensive report–complete with road photos, mileage memories and cat specifications–is in the works for you: The reader of this somewhat daily wire.

Preparation W

Headin’ toward Wyoming tomorrow night.

Big S if fired up. He’s ready to go. The tires, electrical systems, oil level and a list of miscellaneous fluids have been checked and are up to code. Still have a list of concentrated objectives to complete before pushing off into the wide-open eastern lands.

DDC ROADTRIP SHORTLIST:

1. CASH: Gotta get to the bank and get a fat stack of twenties. Fuck ATM machines when traveling. Motherfucker’s gotta be ready for anything; be it peelin’ off a couple for some lot lizard’s soft touch or payin’ off the fuzz after gettin’ loose on the speedometer. We run hot, which means one has to have ample loot in his back pocket to keep the tank full and everything cool.

2. TUNES: We’ve got a Gravis shoebox full of our latest rotations, as well as a well-stocked IPOD with a lifetime’s worth of road tunes.

3. EQUIPMENT: Various Leatherman products, one drool-stained pillow, one mangy, tattered blanket, waterproof matches, one lighter, some tnt, couple of flares, brass knuckles, a short band radio, one sketchbook, one cellphone, one scheister “roaming” cellular plan, one faux-birch cellphone cover, full spare in the back, one well-charged digi-Elph, Rand McNally roadmap (expanded version) of the continental states, couple of fishin’ lures, two piss bottles, one 10gb Ipod and of course, the DDC factory floor Ibook 14 incher in case something needs to get digital.

4. BACK HOME: Gotta lock down the apartment…close the shades, secure the prized valuables (gold, titles, certificates, deeds, etc.) and make sure all the proper appliances are turned off/unplugged.

5. NOTIFICATION OF LOVED ONES: Call the parents so they know the planned trajectory and promise mom we’ll call her nightly. VERY CRUCIAL.

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1040 UPDATE: Got the forms sent off and are gigantically pleased to say, "2002 was a very good year for the Draplindustries Design Co." We finished the fiscal year comfortably "out of the red" and even managed to squeek a healthy refund out of Uncle Sam. We did it fair-n-square, with the help of a team of thorough, salt-of-the-earth accountants. Real official. Real good. Giant weight off the collective backs of the DDC factory floor.

Saturday Night Festivities

Saturday Night: Rod Snell brokered a high-stakes deal with Sylvia and Ezekiel (of Boise, ID) for a birthday dinner at his ranch down south in Oregon City. Sylvia is an old friend from our early days at the Northwestern Michigan Community College. She was in town for a high school journalism convention. She’s a teacher out in Boise and a proud mother of young nine-year-old boy: Ezekiel. Last time I saw him he was no more than six months old, all hammed up on his beaming mother’s side.

Sylvia is still as striking as ever…all smiles with a hearty laugh that fills the room, followed by a couple syncopated snorts. Forgot about that laugh of hers.

The Draplindustries Design Co. set Ezekiel up with an art kit: A thick sketchbook, a set of colored pencils, 30-60-90 triangle, pencils, Sharpies™ and a little case to keep it all tidy. He’s quite the young artist and has a mom that will guide him onto great things. We’d like to think we’ve outfitted him "right well" on his journey.

Many thanks to Rod and Katie for the dinner and cake. Good people.

Pizza, cake, games and good conversation. A good time was had by all.

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Strung up the gee-tar with some new Martin SP strings today. Sounds like a sunrise. Goo and I stopped at a little (but amazingly well-stocked) guitar shop in the Alberta district to peep some new axes. The Portland Music Company is the business at the root of this purchase. I have my eyes on a beautiful, brand new Martin D28 Acoustic.Solid, simple, traditional craftsmanship and proudly built in Pennsylvania. An investment in the future of my strummin’. Real good.

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Kris Okins, of the “she’s kind of like a sister-in-law” variety, has a new site up. Melissa cracked the whip and I gotta give her a little press on here. Here goes: The deal is called “Polaire-Online” and offers up some interesting, crafty, messenger-bag-inspired bags, totes and other knick knacks. We wish her much success with her new venture.

DIG DEEP, BUY SOMETHING NICE FOR YER GAL OR SOMETHING:

Polaire-Online | Polaire-Online | Polaire-Online | Polaire-Online

Road Jitters, Wyomin' Memories

Ah, the weekend. My favorite time. The guards come down, the clock slows to a crawl. I savor these days cuz they are wholly mine. Do whatever I want. Sometimes lots, sometimes not a damn thing.

Tomorrow I gotta get busy. Gotta get the house ready for Melissa’s triumphant return.

I leave on Wednesday night to head back for her. Gonna try to get to Boise that first night. 430 long miles. I’m hoping to get up early, get a good day in at CINCO and jump ship a little after 2pm, or so. The next day I’m gonna push to get into central Wyoming. Find some little motel in the Rockies, call it a night. I might even go the frugal route and just pull into a parking lot and curl up in the back of Big S. More than enough room.

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Wyoming is a land of majesty. Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower, the Targhees, the Rockies, the Big Horns outside of Gillette. Lots of memories for me here.

1. Caught some of the biggest air of my life in the Targhees, hiking off the road, just outside of Jackson “Hell.” We pulled off and built a big booter…blasting and landing in three feet of fresh. Never gonna forget that feeling…anticipation and excitement as I dropped in pointing it for the kicker. That night we ate at the Gun Barrel Restaurant...giant steaks, an antelope appetizer and some other weird meats. A rugged eatery, complete with a whole kingdom of stuffed beasts staring you down as you pick the gristle and fur out of yer teeth.

2. Got pulled over one time in Greybull and almost didn’t make it out of town. That pig pulled me over three miles outside of town, for “breaking the speed limit three miles before town.” He rooked me. That cash I turned over to him went right in his fuckin’ pocket, I assure you. I remember the cashier who helped me take money out of the ATM gave me a little look along the lines of, “I’ve seen this little scam played out a million times over.” Ha. What could I do? Not a damn thing. I hope that money went to something good.

3. Driving through Yellowstone in the wee hours with Bry Aleshire…three days into our historic journey that took us west from our Traverse City homeland. What a mission. We ate in Cody that night and kept up a good pace towards Yellowstone. I remember the ranger at the east entrance saying, “Be careful in there. Being in the middle of August and all, the buffalo like to lay on the pavement, as it feels nice and cool.” It felt like we were entering Jurassic Park. There was one moment that got our blood pressure going real good: We rounded this bend and saw this giant elk ass poking out of the bushes/woods. It had to be a good six feet tall…no shit. Those things are goddamn monsters. Giant. We powered through and found a little campsite on the Idaho/Montana/Wyoming border.

4. Chatting with the inmates at the Rawlins State Penitentiary giftshop. There was this big guy there, large and gruff, peddling leather wares and trinkets that were produced in the Wyoming State Prison. He was lucky enough to work in the giftshop, on the outside, carted back in each night. I remember dad saying, “So what are you in for.” He leaned in, raised an eyebrow and stammered, “Let’s just say that the IRS and I don’t see eye to eye.” Whoa! Goddamn wild west outlaws, selling up moccasins and shit.

5. Devil’s Tower is just plain awe-inspiring. Just go there. Real weird.

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Looking forward to finding some new routes in Wyoming, open to all adventure…be it taking the “road less traveled” or outrunning smokies and hell, maybe even some loose-lipped chatter with some high mountain folk.

Poster Fever

A pile of festive emails has come in requesting purchasing info on the "Seven Years of the Draplindustries Design Co." poster. (Work example #8 in the previous post.) In all honesty, it was a piece that was printed out on postcards, and 11x17 laser prints. Small time stuff.

Which gets our gears turnin' in our thinkers. Plans are in the works to get this produced, like, for real. Also, diggin' even deeper and further updating it with the whole lot from the past eight years. (Upon thinking about it, we have been doing work under this moniker for some eight odd years. Our detailed bookworkings calculate our time operating the Draplindustries Design Co. weighs in at a whole eight big ones! Been a good run.) Maybe we should wait a couple more, and make it a "Decade of the Draplindustries Design Co." production?

Big plans: Good paper, thick inks, nice and big, rolled up in a tube and shipped out to our friends, family and colleagues.

Calls have been placed. Sources both professional and "downright not-worth-a-shit" are working up quotes. We'd do our best to keep the price down low, of course.

If you are even remotely interested, drop a comment below. We are fairly confident upon perusal of such a fine item that we'd have you rooked into a sale.

A small flood of gracious requests have come in from our readers requesting some "sneek peeks" at new work that has been churned out of the Draplindustries Design Co.™ factory floor. You hear it from us all the time; a series goddamn broken records exclaiming, "Another busy week behind us." and "Big projects on the plate." Enough of the hot air.

As promised, here are a couple nuggets for you to check out of current work, from the last couple months, that is currently out on the streets.

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10

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DDC DISCLAIMER: The featured work in this entry is strictly from the DRAPLINDUSTRIES DESIGN CO.™ freelance/self promotional side of things from our daily operations. Our contributions to the CINCO DESIGN OFFICE are in no way to be confused with the DRAPLINDUSTRIES DESIGN CO.™ examples showcased on this page. The work we've done at CINCO, easily ten times the amount shown here, will be documented, exploited and celebrated through official web sources as presented by the troops of the CINCO DESIGN OFFICE. A notice will surface once that work is up and runnin', so be patient. Very proud of all of it, be it "clandestine, after hours projects,"' or "when we're on the clock" for the good people of the CINCO DESIGN OFFICE.

©2003 DRAPLINDUSTRIES DESIGN CO.™

ALL WORK PROPERTY OF THE DRAPLINDUSTRIES DESIGN CO.™

Name Dropper

Aw, why not. I spend a lot of time of this “information superhighway.” I got a couple stops, of the "long lost little buddy" category, that get some lovin’ from me basically every day. I expect the same out of the readers of these words. With that said, waste some minutes at the following sources. It’ll give you a good idea of the sort of folk we choose to run with when the going gets hot.

PeeJay "Hoss" Chmiel
Lots of activity, and well deserved at that, down the way at pjchmiel.com. Hordes of sad-sapped sonsabitches are leaving trails of broken sentences and broken code all over his newly updated “daily word” section. That rat-bikin', meal-documentin’ motherfucker–who has a grocery list of strident convictions that keep him as sharp as a tack–is worth a visit each day. They broke the mold with this high seas marauder. Enough talk: Get over there and get it on.

Kurt "Ballsey Halsey" Fredriksen
Kurt Fredriksen is still gently stirring up things with his supple paint flicks, pastel jabs and honey-voiced shit talkin’. Our question: How does Vanessa–of such high caliber and class–keep this little shadowdancer in line? Take a stroll through his work, maybe you’ll end up sheddin’ a tear or callin’ a long, lost love. All in all–through the thick, and the thin–we remain brothers.

Ryno "Just Plain Mean" Simonson
While we’re down real low, get a little bit over at Ryno’s Super Duper Backslashin' Webworld.com. He’s been busy, gettin' all tangled up in computers and two-by-four’s. Do some clickin' around on here, you'll be sure to enjoy yer stay. And of course, he’s fighting for Kirby.

Evan "Flaccid But Determined" Rose
Lots of new DDC “lowgos” over at this shaving shithole. Get a (down)load of his latest post, lots of DDC mentions. Does a website good.

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SPECIAL “ADVICE SECTION” FOR KURT:

1. Answer the phone like a man. You got a little lady to protect.
2. Cuss all you want...but only around men, horses and cows.
3. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
4. When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
5. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.

There you go. Give it a good read; you might learn something. I’ve been around a couple more moons than you, and take pride in coaching you toward the right path.

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CINCO UPDATE: Whoa man, things are in high gear. Gigantic productivity was enjoyed by many, grumbled by few, all week long.

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I’m heading off to pick up Melissa in a little under two weeks. Her parents are going to bring her across the Dakotas and I’ll grab her in Wyoming. Then we’ll turn around and cruise back. This whole mission is going to go down “Cannonball Run” style. Big S is gearing himself up for the mission. Here’s some links that always get me fired up for the open road.

Kodak's American Mile Markers | Roadside Americana | Roadtrip America

(Man, these little clickers get my fuckin' blood boilin' for that open road!)

My roadtrips are my most hallowed chapter of my life. Feeling free, from state to state. You see SO much, for so long day after day. Sensory overload. The digi-elph is charged, the sketchbook is empty. Take it all in.

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And now, we offer up a collection of "design culture" links worth yer wondering eye:

NEWSTODAY® | TYPOGRAPHICA | FOUNDATION33
COUDAL PARTNERS | FAT TRUCKERS UNION | K10K

These links get me inspired...keeping in touch with interesting, creative things going on out there...

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Stay tuned, "The Mother Of All Posts" is coming soon, with all sorts of good livin' to be shared with you, the reader of this somewhat daily wire.

Anniversary Revelry

Happy April Fool's Day to all the jackasses out there.

Big news: Today is my "One Year Anniversary" with the CINCO DESIGN OFFICE. Gigantic news. One whole year down, with hopes of squeezing a couple more out of the joint.

I've honed the colorful dynamics of client relations, improved my photo-tuning process, developed intense catalogs, walked ads through start to finish, designed a watch that made it to production (!) and most importantly, my pong game has wickedly improved. The "community" atmosphere is the best part. We are a team. We bounce ideas off each other and push the process in good directions. Autonomy is cool and all, but man, having multiple voices throwing their two pennies in is so much better. Many eyes is better than two.

Many thanks to my colleagues who keep me going. Namely: Goo, Dean, Wakamoto, Ben, Chris. We roll hard.

Good folks, good projects, good surroundings, good pong and good times.

To the "Top Brass": Thank you for the opportunity. Much appreciated.

I look back on my two-year stint in California and cringe. What a hellhole. Good people down there made it memorable (Chief, Rose, Bridges, Baker, Michaylira, Tevis, Jared) but man, no thanks on livin’ there. My overall "quality of life" factor went through the roof! Rain. Clouds. Cold nights. Moss. Grass. Empty freeways.

My year up here has been so much better.

Thanks to my colleague periphery too: Rod, Jay, Fred, Nemo, Faz, Robin and the guy who works at the Plaid Pantry on 22nd & Hawthorne.

It gets better: Melissa will be back in a little over three weeks. Good stuff all around.