People are People too

I had the unique opportunity to meet Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin the other day, two of the best creatives out there. They are the managing CDs at Ogilvy in Toronto and have written a fabulous book called Pick Me. They have produced campaigns such as "Dove Evolution" and "Diamond Shreddies" both of which have won numerous awards. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that I got to pick up and drop off Nancy and Janet from the airport. Basically being able to hold them hostage for a total of 40 mins to talk with them and pick their brains. Now I was nerves, two big CDs and little me in a car for 40 mins. What if they hate me, what if I have nothing to say, what if they look at me like a lesser b/c I am in school etc... However, all of my fears where put to rest the moment I introduced myself to them. They were by far the nicest and most friendly CDs I have met to date. They both quickly welcomed me as a colleague and never treated me any differently then that. When I asked if I could pick their brains they were thrilled to help me out. We spent the whole car ride talking about my questions about advertising, books, new media and life in general as a creative. The answers they gave were more than helpful and very clear. They put everything in very simple and understandable terms and they were both 100% on the same page with their advice to the point that they finished each others sentences a couple of times. I also sat in on their lecture that day and it was equally as interesting and concise. When I dropped them off there were laughs, a few hugs and an exchange of e-mails that came with a sincere offer to stay in contact.

So my point with this little story is this. No matter who someone is or how big they seam they are all just people. If you allow yourself to realize that it will make networking and talking to strangers (mom was wrong) a whole lot easier. And in the end you will be rewarded for your efforts and for breaking out of your shell and opening up.

Back from Boston

Ok so I know I have not posted in a long time so I will fill you in on the most resent details. Got through the first year of Ad/Brandcenter woo hooo. It was crazy cool and mostly difficult. I got a great opportunity for and internship at Mordernista (M!) in Boston, MA. Modernista is great, and I learned all kinds of cool things and met a bunch of very interesting and talented people. And thankfully the whole experience has brought a few things to light for me and I have a much better understanding for who I want to be and how I need to get there. Now M! is fantastic but I was forced to leave my internship early. My wife was diagnosed with appendicitis . She had to go into emergency surgery at 4am on Friday. So I hopped the first possible flight I could back to Richmond (which was not till 5 am, damn gas prices and fewer flights) She is doing well very sore and she now has three battle scares on her tummy. The whole incident was very nerve recking for many reasons but the most I think was the fact that I was torn between what to do, and I was worried what the people in the ad world would think of my decission to be with my wife and not finish out my entire internship. We are taught in school and in our internships that advertising is well just advertising, but do to the amount of work we are required to put in it is very easy to let it become much more than that. When I found out about Meg's condition I was first and for most worried about her and needed to get back to her asap, but I was also very concerned with what the people at M! would think about me leaving. After we realized that Meg was going to be ok but that I would need to be in Richmond to stay with her during her recovery time it became 10000% evident how trivial advertising really is. I had a small epiphany , it does not matter what they think it matters what I think. It matters what you personally hold to be the highest thing in your life. This is not to say I wanted to be an A-hole it is more an understanding of what you believe in and being able to stand up for that and feel comfortable in your decision to do that. No matter how much we want a Gold Lion, the approval of our CD or a Pencil all it really is, is a job. We can not loose sight of what the job is really for. It is not for the Pencil it is not for the self glorification, it is not for the approval of your peers or your boss. What it is really for is to better yourself (personally not financially ) and your family. If you loose sight of this no amount of Pencils in the world will make up for it. You have to be true to yourself about all of your feelings and all of your wants and needs no matter what part of your life they come in. If you can do this you can truly figure out who you are and what your voice will be, and in that you will be better at your job. Now I am still definitely working on this as I think it really is a new thought process for me, but just in the past two weeks of having the thought that this is the way life should be I feel better about me, my life, my attitude, my job, and just about everything.


I want to find out who I really am, what my opinions really are and have the power to hold true to them and believe in myself. I know this which I think was a big step to be able to admit to myself and truly believe it that I need help in figuring this out, now I just need to get the help to work on it. I know I will figure it out and I know I will be a better person in every aspect of my life because of it.

First post Ever

Well This is the first time I have EVER blogged.... I know, I know I'm in advertising and I am way behind the digital times. But, as they say better late then never.

First, let me start off by saying I am an Art Director not a writer so when I miss spell words and use improper punctuation please do not think ill of me, I'm doing my best.

I started this blog because of my brand concepts teacher Charles Hall. His class has been full of interesting lessons for me. I am learning to be more patient, look at things differently, listen more to others opinions even if I do not want to hear it and not to get defensive about my work. However, I think the most important lesson I have learned so far is to get off my ass. In a lot of Charles' assignments he has us do self exploration exercises. For instance last week we had to take 100 photographs. Now, my minor in undergrad was photography, but I rarely use my camera any more. I used to take it with me where ever I went and take pics of any and everything, but I have not done anything like that in a long time. Last week I had my camera on my hip the entire week and it felt good. I got lots of good pics for use in my ads and I got out and about looking at things. It felt good to remember why I got into all of this in the first place, to have fun and to see things differently.

That leads me to this weeks assignment we are to create our alter ego in the form of a character. At first I thought this was a stupid assignment but the more I thought about it the more I realized it wasn't. There are a lot of things that I disagree with and a lot of things that make me mad in the world. However, rarely do I do or say anything about them. For the most part I am a quiet guy I don't really rock any ones boat, and I mind my own business. So it seamed fitting that my alter ego would be someone or something that would speak up. I decided that my alter ego would be embodied by a symbol that I have used for a few years a small angry pickle (it's my icon on the page). The mark I always enjoyed but it never really meant a whole lot to me, it was just kind of weird and cool. When I started to work on this project it seamed fitting that the pickle could and would be my alter ego. Something you would never think of as being angry (like me), a kind of goofy (like me) idea a pickle, ok. But the idea to make it the face to put behind my opinions fit perfectly for me. The message that went with my pickle for the project was "If only I truly could speak my mind". Well when I was finished with it, it got me thinking why can't I. I can and that is why I am starting this blog, to speak my mind. That is why the title is Inspiration from a pickle. Because a silly little icon from a class project got me thinking.

So with that I will say thank you Charles for the kick in the butt.

I can't say when the next time I will post will be as this is all new to me it will probably take me a while to get into the swing of it. But I will be back.