how2heroes pizza shoot

Quick delicious photo from Fiorella's Restaurant in Newton, MA where we filmed a basic pizza dough, sauce, and assembly this morning. More photos on the how2heroes blog!

Indoor Gardening

Quick update, photos tonight!

The terrariums Chad and I made with Oregano and Mint have EXPLODED and no longer fit inside their Mason Jars, so thanks to the support of Chad's family, we have more, larger jars for the plants to hang out in. We are also going to start seeds in the terrariums and make an edible container garden as the summer draws closer.

Oh, and the RISD talk went really well!

RISD Guest Critique/Presetation: April 6th

Getting all pumped up to be a presenter and guest critique(r) for Mary Jane Begin's Artistic License class next Tuesday afternoon. The class is about to get their final project introduced to them, and seeing how that class and that project seriously turned my artistic life around with new focus, I was thrilled to accept her invitation to come in.

I'm planning on going over the three major assignments for the class, including the 'Water Assignment,' which I admittedly flopped a bit on (oh ha ha) but it turned out even better than I could have anticipated.

One of my design applications for the 'Water Assignment,' was this Pottery Barn sofa that I made a repeat for and played with the orange spot color. The Merhorse design became ideal for home decor textiles after this couch, and I went on to also apply it to outdoor furniture and plates.

This is from the 'Patterning Assignment,' an introductory exploration into pattern-making and application for me. I started with octopus and cuttlefish, but eventually fell in love with the squid for their faux-floral appeal. This couch is easily one of my favorite application designs and I really hope to have this fabric printed someday.

The Lure Line! This was the second half of the 'Water Assignment' as well as my final project. Shown here are the finished prototypes fresh from Heinrich Custom Decal where they were fired and made just for me!

A glorious Lure Line photoshopped prototype using a Pottery Barn Great White plate series. This marlin design and the shark bowls design started the whole Lure Line aesthetic, plus I love the marlins the most.

So yes, very excited to talk about my stuff and to have a look at what the students are doing for their assignments! Can't wait!

Boston Events: PAX East Recap

Here's a little montage of some of the noteworthy sights from PAX East (from the opinion of a part-time nerd). General overview? It was fun! It was exhausting, there was not nearly enough water or volume control, but there were some pretty exciting games and displays that I'll go through...

Top Row, Left to Right:

Dante's Inferno, Skate 3 and Turbine Games showing off with the larger display booths--Dante's Inferno, definitely beautiful, but more annoying than anything else was the plot and some of the general controls (also, it was X Box and I'm a PS3 user, no fun). Skate 3 we just watched, while waiting in line for Red Dead Redemption (1 hour wait)--it was entertaining to watch people wipe out, seeing as the game highlights which bones you break when you fall, so its kind of like those smash and crash racing games... Oh and Turbine has a Lord of the Rings MMO, which is pretty, straightforward, and surprisingly easy to get the hang of.

Middle Row, Left to Right:
Display from Dante's Inferno booth, massive wall display for Red Read Redemption, Power Gig: Rise of the Six String van. Well to jump right to Red Dead, it was pretty damn cool, I have to say, one of the most interesting things to take away from PAX East. At first glance, its Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto with Clint Eastwood, but the game is obviously much more considered than that, starting with REAL HORSE MOTION CAPTURE (its about time a game used it, and boy does this game do it well). Its pretty, its fun, we'll be buying it May 18th. Also! Power Gig was there with their super awesome retro band van giving away shirts, stickers, and good fun. Chad was already wearing his shirt (he works for them after all), but I got a cool night shirt out of the deal. Awesome van, love the marketing idea that went into it!

Bottom Row, Left to Right:
Looked to be some sort of new Dance Dance Revolution for the Nintendo Wii, but requires FULL dance movement, including hands and rhythm. This was hanging out with the new Prince of Persia game (very pretty) and after watching the fun dancing we stopped for a breather at the Penny Arcade Panel on drawing their comics. Loved it, always nice to watch another artist work, especially guys as good-natured as these who have had a surprisingly major impact on their readers. Always have been a fan, will continue to be for some time yet.

Boston Events: Cochon 555 Recap

Well I certainly had a full weekend...more food and nerdiness than I might usually partake on, but if this is a sign of things to come, sign me up (and hand me some extra bottled water please).

The weekend kicked off early with a Friday night event at VOX populi on Boyleston Street--a sold out wine tasting event to celebrate VOX's 5 year anniversary, complete with Nina Hayes' delicious Vegan Cookie Dough Bon Bons (see photos from the shoot in previous entry). Photos coming as soon as I get them off of my second camera...

Second was an all-day event on Saturday at PAX East, a gaming convention brought to Hynes Convention center (photos coming for this too) for the first time ever on the East Coast. TONS of awesome nerds (I am one of them, yes, but not nearly as extreme as the guy in the Wookie costume). Chad went because First Act and 745 Studios were showing off their new game Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, which he has been designing the menus for. Again, more on this later.

Finally, Sunday evening was dedicated to Cochon 555, a literal pig fest, with 5 pigs being given to 5 major chefs who then turn around and serve a pig-tastic spread to the audience (us) and a panel of judges. There are also 5 major wineries, a Vermont cheese maker, and St. Germain. I went with how2heroes as a guest/photographer.

Ok. The food was, for the most part, delicious (some got a little too greasy, others a little too salty). My favorite might have been Matt Jennings' 'Pig Mac' (he's based in Providence, RI at Farmstead) because it was one of the easiest to eat and screamed comfort food. "All-pork patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame & lard bun." He also had these chicharrones with a lard & crackling rice crispy treat. Strange? Yes, but delicious!

Another table of great note was Hungry Mother, possibly the table having the most fun with their decor and great attitudes. I have it on good authority that they also fed the judges pig testicles. Huh. They might have had the widest variety of food at their table, guaranteeing that you'll find something that you'll like, no problem.

Oh, yeah what a shame I had to toss back several St. Germain cocktails out of thirst (my first time trying the AMAZING liquor). I might start filling up my Brita filter with that from now on...

quick note

Cutest. Thing. Ever.
So the kids of Mrs. D's second grade classroom sent us thank you letters today from our Tuesday shoot (read all about it on the how2heroes blog) and the portraits alone are amazing. We have posted them on our fridge, but because it is a class of 19, we didn't have a big enough fridge, so we also have them posted on our tack board and taped up around the office.


thanks guys!

how2heroes montage recap

I've got that montage feeling! Here's a collection of recently filmed/aired chefs and their dishes that I'm especially proud of.

Icelandic Chef Thorarinn Eggertsson who came for Boston's Iceland Week and his two dishes: Cod Fillet w/ Bearnaise sauce (above) and Pan Sautéed Langoustines w/ Carrots (below). He was filmed at the Rustic Kitchen in Downtown Boston and has a charming accent! His videos are now live on how2heroes, so check them out!

Sushi Chefs Jacky Poon (left) and Kin Chan (right) of Fish Market Sushi Bar in Allston, MA. Their dishes were delicious, with a Spicy Salmon Maki (left) by Jacky, and a Baked Spicy Scallop Maki (right) by Kin. They also taught us the basics of selecting sushi grade fish and making sushi rice. Awesome! These videos will be live in the next few weeks.

Smiling Chef Adria Handley of the Italian Restaurant Radici in Portsmouth, NH with her two fantastic dishes: Tiramisu (above), and a Lobster Arancini (below). We filmed in Portsmouth to prepare for Restaurant Week--good luck and enjoy their fantastic food! The Tiramisu video is now live on how2heroes.com

Adorable blogging couple Kristen & Dane Zdunowski made us a beautiful Classic Chicken Pot Pie that we, admittedly, gobbled down like there was no tomorrow. They were awesome, as was the dish, and the video will go live in a few weeks.

Chef Damien DiPaola of Boston North End's Ristorante Damiano treated us to these amazing seafood dishes: (Ahi) Tuna Meatballs (above), and Sea Bass Pistachio w/ Fennel Salad & Blood Orange Sauce (below). The flavors were amazing and tangy and delicious and I NEVER knew I liked cooked Tuna until I tried those meatballs. Both of these videos are live now!