alex varanese: mixing up serious images w/ written humor

"this actually used to sorta make sense"

"secret identity"

"poison"

I ran across Alex Varanese's work on freshbump & was confusingly intrigued after reading his brief "autobiography". Varanese's images are visually bold with clean lines; the retro vibe plays well with his use of shapes, letters & monochromatic use of red. That being said, i'm always down for sarcasm & humor, & he's loaded with it; evidence: first pic's title.
He cracked a smile on my face so thought i'd share:)

link 2 alex varanese's website - check out the iphone tab 2 get hooked up w/ backgrounds
link 2 alex varanese's blog

always,
nic

Short Film series of note

I have to give hellz-bellz.com the credit for this discovery. I found these short films to be sexy, funny and inspiring. I hope you enjoy as much as I did! See also lastnighparty.com

brock.

EP05 from Bronques on Vimeo.

EP04 from Bronques on Vimeo.

EP03 from Bronques on Vimeo.

EP02 from Bronques on Vimeo.

EP01 from Bronques on Vimeo.

i'm from detroit, b*tch!

The D's Beats

from groundbreaking motown...

...to hip hop breakthroughs

The D's Colors

through murals...

...of all kinds

The D's Style

of past...

...& future

& The D's Loyalty

for teams with record breaking seasons...

(...regardless of the record)

since Vividbraille started in the D & is where i call home, thought i'd share a few pics of the city apart from it's bad hype. There's something to be said about coming from this city, no matter what kind of records we break.

always,
nic

Finally met Mr Jon Cole

Even living in the same city doesn't guarantee me the chance to meet up with all those Id like to. Last night I finally had a chance to shoot the shit with Jon Cole. I ran across Jon's website months ago and was instantly impressed. He is a photography and video expert. See for yourself (the videos especially caught my eye).


http://www.jcolemedia.com


brock.

Rospit Video



So nice seeing Detroit being repped like this. Rospit from Burn Rubber for sure.

www.rospit.com
www.burnrubberdetroit.com

Random pics from my Blkberry

Nicole has given me some guidance in how to blog from my phone. What better way to kick this off than to sharing with you random shit that's stored on my phone. Forgive me in advance.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tunde Olaniran

There is nothing more exciting than working on projects with other artist who share the same vision of quality and design. Tunde has recently asked me to help with the cover for his upcoming single titled "Cobra". We are also designing his website, in the meantime find Tunde at twitter.com/tundeolaniran.


brock.

seals have the life...

You know what they say - location, location, location! Well these seals hit the jackpot. I'm chilling in my fave town so far in the San Diego area - La Jolla. I was put off by the glitzy price-tag description at first, but wise words from a friend who knows me inside & out (thanks Rache!) told me to follow my own advise & not judge. Point taken. Cafe's, eccentric boutiques & galleries line the coast - I'm the kid in the candy store & digging my hands in all the tins! Not to mention the 4 stars it gets for one of my most prized pass times - people watching. Its not just for us chicks either. First 5 minutes we were here a Ferrari whizzed by me & my brother (aka tour guide). Granted, I only knew because of the drool running down his face. If you live here, I won't hate -props to you. If not, its a place you've gotta check out.
always,
nic

ps-sorry bout the photo quality. I love that technology let's me post this from my phone, but everything has a price; in this case, the camera on that same phone. The pic doesn't do the place justice.

west coast traffic from a midwest view

Taking a break from helping out Vividbraille with PR & marketing in sunny San Diego, I was not buying into the whole traffic myth of California...until I took a ride that was longer than a few miles. Alright Cali - you beat Michigan on traffic (hard 2 admit) but you've got nothin on our potholes!!
always,
nic

Shout out to Corporate America (ignore what Ive said before)

So my room mate and friend Jay to the lindsay, invited me to check out a Bulls game in the At&t suite last night. It was cool, Ive always been curious if Id like watching a game in that type of setting...I do very much. Look forward to a day I can afford a season and spoil Vividbraille clients in it. We shall see...dreams=goals=days=dreams...

Ps. Damn, the Knicks suck..sorry to my New York friends..


brock.

Woman's estore is finally ready in time for Spring!

I can be a perfectionist at times and had to make sure the photos and layouts presented my goods exactly how I felt they should be. Thanks to a great team back home, it appears we have done just that. Goods for ladies range from scarves, crews, t-shirts, v-necks and tunics. As always our goods are all hand finished and made in the USA with thought and meaning attached to every piece. I hope you ladies enjoy! Email me at sales@vividbraille.com you ever have any questions with ordering. Follow link for happy happy shopping! http://vividbraille.com/shop-women.htm




brock.

Small world indeed...

I get so geeked sometimes by the littlest things that are probably trivial to others. It was one of those moments when my boy Kamal informed me that one of his friends was in town (Chicago) he mentioned her name (Lynnette) and that she was a dope photographer. Crazy thing is I met Lynnette at some random get together in Las Vegas years ago. Her work stood out and stuck in my mind. I have yet to meet back up with her, although we've tried a couple times to no avail, ha. Here is a peek at some of her work, check her out online.

www.lynnetteastaire.com

love - it ain't just for valentine's day

thoughts on film La Vie En Rose: biography of Édith Piaf

Soundtrack of my childhood: my mom singing "La Vie En Rose" - a song made popular by Édith Piaf (a French cultural and fashion icon, & highly recognized singer). As childhood memories often do, that song fell victim to the passing of time - until I ran across a film entitled La Vie En Rose a few weeks ago. Subtitles or not, it was time I gave the lady behind that song a shot. Some two hours later I was left feeling inspired, inferior, motivated & in awe all at once; a conversation towards the end of the film still resonated in my ears:

Interviewer: If you were to give advice to a woman, what would it be?

Édith: Love

Interviewer: To a young girl?

Édith: Love

Interviewer: To a child?

Édith: Love

Édith Piaf was plagued with continuous struggles (click here for further info) but instead of embracing the victimization status one would readily grant her, she fought for better. While talent is lost in the best of us, Édith made sure never to get lost. Her compass? Simply - love.

Love wasn't a concept celebrated on a circled day in Édith's calendar; it was a natural constant. La Vie En Rose's understated but poignant theme was how love - love beyond word & definition itself; love encompassing all realms of life - gave Édith a reason to live, a reason to succeed & a reason achieve her dreams: a true love story. In contrast to her unapologetically brash & rebellious personality was her ability to love life unconditionally; the people closest & most influential to her growth as a woman (positive or negative), the true love she found in a man, the love of her music, & the love of life around her. This love she allowed for herself to feel afforded her strength in a life seemingly destined for poverty.

Édith Piaf is now an inspiration of my own & in true full circle, may not have been discovered if not for the love she passed on to my mother of music. Maybe it was never an aspiration of Édith's to be inspiration for others, but what an amazing presence of a life in the ability to touch generations past your own. Her life was vulgar & naive, run of the mill & traumatic...but it was made extraordinary because of her love of love.

This was an amazing movie - subtitles & all. Check it out if you enjoy biographical films that focus on the realities of life & success.

listen to La Vie En Rose in english

listen to La Vie En Rose in french

always,

-nic.

closer look into the man, the name & the inspiration behind vividbraille

We wouldn’t be doing vividbraille or MIperfectjob.com justice without passing along this article to you. Since owning & being the creative force behind a successful fashion line takes more than talent & luck, Brock Willsey’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. Willsey was contacted by MI Perfect Job (a company dedicated to highlighting top businesses founded/based in Michigan) and requested an interview. Click here to read the full article & learn more about Willsey & the inspiration behind seen & felt.

click here to follow brock on twitter

click here to become our fan on facebook

always,

-nic.

vividbraille installment VI

Check out the latest look books for men & women in Installment VI; few pics above, and links below. Installment VI includes "muse", "contrast", "works of art" amongst others - we'd love to know what you think.

Installment VI - women

Installment VI - men

(to check and see if your favorite is available for online purchasing, check out vividbraille's eStore)

gavin smith x vividbraille 2010 photo shoot

The final photos from our updated men's & women's installment VI collection are in! We've included a couple of photos that'll be included in the lookbooks. Thanks to a crew of uniquely talented individuals - Gavin Smith Photography, Angie Yaldoo (stylist), and Carl McMurray - the shoot was a great success.

If you want more info on Gavin Smith Photography, check out his website or blog.

Visit our eStore for current looks available for online purchasing.