Tying one on for Easter
I was going to make this post a DooDad of the Day, but I love everything this company makes so thought it deserved a little bigger shout out.
There was a time I wore ties with relative frequency. Like when I worked in an office and regularly met with clients. But with a home-based studio and the interwebs, there’s just not as much call for Man’s Best Accessory. Even Papa — a fancypants DC attorney — only ties one on for big meetings anymore. So when we wear ties, they really gotta pop.
Yes, Trendy Ties specializes in adorable/handsome/trendy ties for little kids (girls can wear ties, too y’all) but they also make ties for Daddies* and Papas. So… until JJ is old enough to protest (which is kind of already here) I’m starting an Easter/Father’s Day tradition of buying us a set of matching ties. Gag on the cutesiness all you want, I don’t care.
The ties (and bow ties!) come in gorgeous patterns that are colorful enough not to be stuffy, but thankfully not a dinosaur or Spongebob among them. This is some seriously delicious stuff. Take a gander at some of my favorites, poke around their site, and please give them your business. NOTE: these are all hand-made, so if you want ties in time for Easter, you gotta order soon!
I’ve already made our Easter purchase — bonus points to whoever guesses which one!
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*Daddy is a big guy, and thankfully TT makes their adult ties in regular and extra-long!
DDQ&A: Dicken Schrader
If you’re wondering “Who the heck is Dicken Schrader?” you’ve obviously not seen this video:
That’s Dicken (a video producer from Bogotá, Colombia) with his kids Milah and Korben — also known as DMK — rocking one of their three Depeche Mode covers. I’m a lifelong Depeche Mode fan (as is Papa) and the night I came across this video we sat in bed watching and laughing so hard at how incredible it was. In addition to being amazed by the video’s cleverness and creativity, I was equally intimidated by this dad’s dedication to raising some seriously talented offspring. Dude has set the bar seriously high. I hunted Dicken down and he generously agreed to do a DDQ&A about all things DMK.
Q&A with designer dad Dicken Schrader
Tell me briefly about how DMK got started.
It just happened very naturally. My kids grew up listening to whatever I listen to, a lot of it being Depeche Mode and other electronic music. They really get into the melodies and love trying to emulate them on our keyboard. When we did our first video, “Shake the Disease,” we never thought we would do more than one, but the kids loved doing it and we just kept on going.
Why Depeche Mode?
Depeche Mode is my all-time favorite band since I was in high school. It was the band that really got me into music and it has been the soundtrack of my life ever since.
Looking chronologically at the 3 videos you’ve done, it’s great to see the increased involvement and musical skill of the kids. How old are Milah and Korben, and how do each of them contribute to DMK?
The kids are getting better and better with each video — their musical abilities growing steady. Milah is 8, loves to play the recorder and is about to take up flute. She’s very responsible and helps me keep Korben in line when we’re practicing. Korben, 5, is a little keyboard virtuoso and is amazing at keeping a beat. He’s also the diva of the band, the one most likely to throw a fit in the studio.
Happy 100th Birthday Girl Scouts!
The Girl Scouts turns 100 today (Congrats, ladies!) so I thought I’d share a project I did a bunch of years ago for them. I know I say this about pretty much everything I post here, but it really WAS one of my favorites. And it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to illustrating a children’s book.
Follow the Reader was an activity book for the Daisy Scouts (K-1st grade) meant to encourage parents to read to their kids and generally take a more active role in their learning. It was chock full of word games, matching activities, and cute-as-pie illustrations (if I do say so myself). The biggest challenge was that the book was also bi-lingual (English/Spanish) which meant 2x the type in an already jam-packed layout.
Like the Girl Scout organization itself, the book was about as inclusive as you could get. There were kids of every skin tone, all shapes and sizes, a girl with leg braces, one in a wheelchair, even a couple of girls NOT in dresses!
However, after having already completed most of the illustrations, the Girl Scouts decided they wanted to add a little girl with a hearing aid. The only problem was that none of my people had ears! So, I created one little girl with an ear so it could show a hearing aid.
I remember thinking at the time (2002) that it would be cool if they showed a girl with 2 mommies or 2 daddies. Back then it seemed a bit far-fetched, but I’d like to think that if I were hired to do an update they’d include such a family.
DooDad of the Day: Symphony in B.
B. Toys is at it again, unveiling the next most awesomest toy you your kid just has to have! (It’s at the top of JJ’s list for birthday #3…)
Check out this cute video — proof B. Toys’ latest musical wonder was both kid tested and approved…
JJ’s been a fan of their creations for a while, thanks in large part to the fact that Dad digs their non-primary color palettes and clever toy names. Like the Meowsic keyboard. The B. Zany Zoo activity box. Alphaberry. Parum Pum Pum. Times Square. Toulouse LapTrec. Take It Easel. Wheeee-mote Control. You get the idea.
Learn more about Symphony in B. here, where you can view it in 3-D, and even test out some of the music.
DooDad(s) of the Day: The Red One, The Yellow One, The Green One & The Purple One
I’m a sucker for cool packaging and clever copy, a combo that Ella’s Kitchen serves up with savory style. While on the hunt for creative ways to sneak fruits and veggies into JJ’s diet, I came across these cute, little smoothie packets, awesomely named…
and
Lest you think these are run-of-the-mill banana, strawberry, apple or grape flavored sugarbombs, take a closer look at the fruit icon codes at the bottom of each. They include such unique (all organic and no added sugar) combos as mangoes, bananas, apricots + apples (The Yellow One) and blueberries, apples, black currants + bananas (The Purple One).
In addition to the adorable simplicity of the packaging and the smoothies’ nutritional value, the pithy copy peppering the pouches gave me a giggle. First off they’re called “squished smoothie fruits.” And the info on the back reads like the packaging on a child’s doll: “Hello, I’m 100% bananas, mangoes, apricots + apples with a dash of lemon juice.” and “I’m produced for and distributed by Ella’s daddy’s company…” I just love it when the same amount of detail put into a quality product also carries over into its presentation.
And do yourself a favor and check out Ella’s Kitchen’s web site, which features tons of other cool/cute/presumably healthy vittles for kids — things like “Chick-chick Chicken Casserole” and “Mangoes Mangoes Mangoes.” Plus the site is animated with buzzing bees, popping flowers, floating clouds and the occasional mole.
Oh yeah, and JJ LOVES them.
Bully pulpit
Following in the footsteps of the “It Gets Better” campaign is a new documentary called Bully. Though not due for release until March 30, it’s already garnered lots of press, due largely in part to the efforts of a bullied high school student.
The MPAA has given Bully an R rating for language. But the filmmakers (and a whole lot of other folks) are lobbying the ratings board to change it to PG-13. They fear the R rating will prevent the film from being played in schools or allowing kids to see it without adults, thus limiting its reach and effectiveness. Based on the trailer, Bully isn’t about a bunch of adults telling teens to stick it out till they graduate. It’s about kids helping kids, rallying together to make outsiders feel in, reaching their troubled peers where they are. The message being – while it does get better after high school, it should be better now.
Speaking of kids helping kids, high schooler Katy Butler (herself a victim of bullying) launched a petition for the PG-13 rating that has already garnered over 190,000 signatures in less than a week. While it’s often unclear how much difference petitions like these make, it’s clearly getting Katy, the film, and the subject of bullying extensive coverage — so it certainly couldn’t hurt.
I’d also like to echo Lee Hirsch, the director of Bully, who admonishes on the film’s web site: “Everyone has a story when it comes to bullying, what’s yours?”
MY STORY
My sophomore year of high school I was the target of several months of bullying by a guy named Ken, a senior on the football team. We lived and went to school on an Air Force base on the small island of Okinawa, Japan, so there was no escaping the torment. I was punched and pushed out of the way walking the halls at school; cornered and yelled at in the bowling alley; hit and called “faggot” when I went to the movies. He also came to my house a couple of times — one terrifying night when I was alone, but even scarier was the time he cursed out my Mom who had gone to the door to tell him to leave. I even skipped the cast party of a play I was in, on the off chance my tormenter might show up.
The most painful and isolating part was feeling like none of my friends really saw or understood what was going on. And I was ashamed to tell them how scared I was. Because Ken had come to my house, my parents knew — but like most teenagers, I was embarrassed and tried to keep them out of it as much as possible.
I became so lonely and frightened to go to school (or anywhere, really) that one night I searched the house for pills, thoughts of suicide floating around the back of my mind. Luckily my search proved fruitless, and I managed to brave another day.
I don’t remember exactly how the bullying ended, but Ken eventually moved on to other conflicts. Not long after, he got kicked off the football team for fighting. He then proceeded to get kicked off the basketball team, out of high school, and eventually off the island and back to the States. Later I heard he’d enlisted in the Air Force, but had then been discharged and ended up in jail. Clearly this was a troubled individual, and I’ve sometimes wondered how many other victims of his hostility there were along the way.
While the subject of bullying has obvious connections to my role as a father, you might be asking “What does this have to do with design?” Well, it has everything to do with everything. From my earliest memories I’ve been drawing and wanting to be an artist when I grew up. And by surviving those few months in high school, I got to grow up and live out my dream. As a bonus, I have gotten to work for many companies and organizations that help children. And I got to be a dad, and to teach my son all about color and drawing and super heroes and music and helping others. My hope is to also teach JJ to not only stand up for himself when he can, but to ask for help when he can’t.
SIGN THE PETITION • LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FILM
In addition to signing the petition and supporting the film, I encourage you to share your story, whether it’s here, in the petition’s comments, or with family and friends.
A day just to read? That’s what all of us need!
Today is March 2nd, and whaddayasay?
It’s also NEA’s Read Across America Day!
So head over to Target, and plop down your kid.
They’ll hear a fun story, just like my kid did.
They’ll hear stories of fishes of hams and of hats.
Then they give them some goodies! What do you think about that?
If you think that’s a lot, there’s still more, so just wait…
Today Dr. Seuss turns one hundred and eight!
And oh yeah, The Lorax opens in theaters.
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And the Oscar goes to…
Between the schedule that comes with being a father of a toddler, and the lack of movies that tickled my fancy, I was less excited about the Oscars than in quite a few years past. But this morning I had a goofy idea to spend the day taking photos of JJ illustrating the nine Best Picture nominees. Be the first to post a comment here listing all the correct films (sorry, some of them are a stretch…) and win a prize!
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Update: Congrats to Teri and Patty for pretty much simultaneously answering correctly (Patty on Facebook and Teri in the comments here). So ladies keep an eye out for your prize in the mail! Correct answers have now been filled in. Thanks for playing! -DD
And the nominees are…
"The Artist" (Best Picture winner!)
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"The Help"
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"Midnight In Paris"
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DDQ&A: David Sopp
David Sopp is the head designer- and illustrator-in-charge at Wry Baby, one of my all-time favorite baby product-making companies. David is also co-owner with copywriter wife Kelly, where they have birthed such awesome creations as The Drooly Bib, Punkifier Pacifier Case and Eeek! It’s a Monster Hooded Bath Towel, all of which Designer Daddy JJ owns and loves.
Q&A with designer dad David Sopp
How long have you been a dad? How many kids?
I’ve been a Dad to one amazing boy for 11 years.
How did you get started in design?
My first paid job was illustrating a hose-handling guide for the Orange County Fire Department. I was in Junior High and it sounded as hilariously dirty then as it does now.
Designer Daddy's rendering. Not from actual guide.
I spent 15 years as an advertising art director in San Francisco. I worked on pretty much everything from Dell and Nortel to Star Olive Oil and an IHL hockey team called the Spiders. That’s what I like most about advertising, getting really smart about all kinds of businesses in really short time frames and nailing their problems.
Tell me about how Wry Baby got started.
Our son came with a free t-shirt at the hospital. It said the hospital name and the wrong month and we thought, “How lame! Why didn’t they just put NEW! In a red starburst and call it a day?” So we made that shirt and it was the first Wry Baby product.
Happy Birthday Papa!
I got to play full-on SAHD the other day, so took the opportunity to initiate a craft project with JJ. I see all these amazing books, blogs and segments on TV on how to make incredible crafts with your kids and am genuinely intimidated. How will I find the time to come up with ideas? What if JJ’s not into drawing or art or creative stuff? What good will I be to him as a dad?!?
But then I remember he’s still just two, and his favorite things to do still include making messes, touching everything, and destroying stuff. So while he’s limited on how much he can actually create, we’ve got a few more good years of dad/son craft-bonding ahead of us.
The chosen project was to make a birthday card for Papa. Have you ever tried to find a birthday card (or any card for that matter) for a “Papa”? I’ve come across a couple of Father’s Day cards (some of which were for grandfathers) but generally the Papas of the world get the shaft when it comes to cards, books, TV shows, etc. So we had to represent.
I knew I needed to keep it simple for JJ, so it was fun (and challenging) enough to just let him go to town scrawling wildly on colored construction paper with his jumbo Crayons and markers. I then cut them out, punched a bunch of star-shaped holes in them, and strung it up like a mobile. (Bonus: this serves as a fun spelling tool!)
Papa was very pleased, so I’m hoping this will become an annual tradition – with JJ getting more and more involved, and me moving into a more art directorial position. And I guess eventually just the guy who buys the stuff and cleans up.
The artist and his handiwork