If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

IndyPlush - Endangered Species Plushies and Cool Stuffed Toys With A Conscience.

IndyPlush, who creates imaginative, adorable and hip plush toys made in Los Angeles, has just launched their Endangered Species collection (some shown above) from which a portion of all profits goes toward educational or wildlife protection organizations. But before showing you that collection, first a little background on the company and their original line of plush products.

IndyPlush Original Collection:

It all started with Plinio Garcia and Andrew Ruesch's son Luke, who was in Franceil Masi’s kindergarten class. Masi, who is not only an elementary school teacher, but also an artist as well as an author and illustrator of children's books, annually asks her students to draw a picture of an animal at the end of each school year. She then turns them into plush toys as a remembrance.

above: Luke's dog is now one of their best sellers.

When Luke brought his plush dog home, Plinio Garcia and Andrew Ruesch loved it. At the next teacher conference, they asked Franceil if she wanted to start a business and that’s essentially how IndyPlush started. Now, Luke’s Dog is one of their best sellers.

above: the Large Owly is their priciest plush at $99

Cute, cuddly and cozy with an edge (moustaches, skeletons and pirate patches), the toys are made with sustainable and eco-friendly materials in Los Angeles. They presently offer 26 different plush toys with prices ranging from $30 to $99 depending upon style and size.

Bunny Skelly in various colors:

Long and Short-haired Wooly Cats:

Spiny Monsters in various colors:

Pigwy:

Skelly Cats and Señor Cat:

Señor Pigwy:

Owly Pirates in various colors:

The pink, bald Love Monster shown in the first image is also available.

The Endangered Species Collection
Now, their newest collection, The Endangered Species consisting of 13 lovable characters from which a portion of the proceeds benefits educational and wildlife protection programs:

Just look how good my own Indy Plush Endangerd Species Tiger looks in my home:

Franceil, Plinio and Andrew now design, create and construct their adorable and hip plush toys in Los Angeles, California and they can be purchased here at their online store.

For other purchase inquiries or questions, please contact rick@indyplush.com

Bewitching Promos For American Horror Story's Coven Are Spectacularly Spooky.

Two nights ago, the first real promo for the upcoming third season of the FX Network's American Horror Story: Coven began running. Preceded by five 20 second teasers (all of which are also shown in this post), the latest promo, Initiation, is the first to reveal the cast and is absolutely impossible to ignore. Beautifully shot and accompanied by an eerie rendition of House Of The Rising Sun, it is compelling enough to get just about anyone to tune into the premiere on October 9th.

Annette van Driel and Francis Nijenhuis are the initiators of The Urban Campsite, a campsite where camping and art come together for six weeks a year. From August 16 to September 30, 2013 Urban Campsite (located on the Vliegenbos campsite in Amsterdam) has one of a kind, artistic, unusual and sometimes just crazy mobile facilities in which you can stay overnight. Several of the mobile structures there have received architectural awards and honors, one of which is the expandable mobile camper designed by Eduard Bohtlingk.

“May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.”

These words are the final part of the mission statement of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center in New York City. As the nation and world mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, If It's Hip, It's Here shares the sentiments of the 9/11 Memorial and calls upon readers to make Sept. 11, 2013 a day of commemoration.

above image by twitter user @bjornverhoeff from Holland

Take a moment on this day to remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001. Thank your local first responders for their dedication to protecting your community. Remember the many Americans who have served and are currently serving in our nation's military— many of whom enlisted as a response to the 9/11 attacks.

A new campaign honoring the memory of the 9/11 tragedy which occurred 12 years ago today has been created by BBDO New York. The campaign, which asks you to “Take a day to remember the day that changed us forever.”, consists of videos, print, digital ads and a presence on Facebook, (where you can download the special memorial cover image shown below for your page), Pinterest, Google+, Twitter and YouTube.

above: the downloadable Facebook cover page can be found here

Actor and New Yorker Robert De Niro narrates the following two video clips which are to be shown on screens in Times Square and stadiums like Citi Field as well as on ESPN and WABC-TV. Mr. De Niro declares: “On that day, a nation became a family. With nearly 3,000 loved ones lost. On that day, after witnessing the worst, we embodied the best. On that day, we came together. We were all New Yorkers.”

As Stuart Elliot reports for the New York Times, Lynn Rasic, executive vice president for external affairs at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum says “We decided with the 12th anniversary that we wanted a new campaign, a campaign that would look forward to the opening next spring.”

The campaign is meant to let people know that “wherever they are” on the anniversary “they can share in the commemoration,” she adds.

“As we get further out, we still have a collective responsibility to commemorate 9/11,” Ms. Rasic says. “Those who were alive and remember have a responsibility to teach.”

“One of our goals is to connect with a generation that’s growing up now that may have no firsthand knowledge of 9/11,” she says, adding: “That’s the core mission of the museum. We need to tell this next generation about the history of 9/11, the enormity of the loss and how we came together.”

above: this ad reads "Remember The Day Your City Became Your family" (image courtesy of NY Times)

That is reflecting in one of the print ads in the campaign, which depicts a young girl holding several flags. “Remember,” the headline reads, “and teach the ones too young to remember.”

The interest in reaching out to youth, says Michael Frazier, vice president for communications at the museum, is a reason “we work very hard to build out our social platforms.”

“Through our various social networks, we are not only engaging younger generations to participate,” he adds, “we are exposing them to a history that some are unaware of, providing context for a better understanding.”

The campaign is being financed by a combination of paid and donated media. The ads were created on a pro bono basis by BBDO New York, part of the BBDO North America division of BBDO Worldwide, owned by the Omnicom Group.

The National September 11 Memorial (9/11 Memorial) is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing on February 26 1993.

Please, do as the campaign asks and “Take a day to remember the day that changed us forever.”

God Bless America.

The official 9/11 memorial website

A Poet, An Astronaut, a Photographer and A Model in Cole Haan's New Ad Campaign + Videos (And A Look Behind The Scenes).

In 1928 Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan created the Cole Haan brand and to celebrate their 85 year history, they've launched a campaign, "Born in 1928", photographed by Daniel Jackson.

The print and digital campaign features individual portraits reminiscent of the Blackglama and old GAP campaigns, both of whom used famous personalities posed in their clothes and shot in black and white.

The Cole Haan campaign features writer and poet winner Maya Angelou, photographer Elliott Erwitt, astronaut of Apollo 13 Mission Jim Lovell and model China Machado - all of whom are 85 years old (except Machado who is 84).

Shown below, clockwise from upper left, are China Machado's modeling photo, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, one of Elliott Erwitt's fabulous photos and Jim Lovell on the cover of LIFE:

"They are all vibrant examples of how timelessness and true style are born out of confidence - and that never expires," said Cole Haan vice president of marketing Erin Riley. "They are as relevant today as they were in the past, and they all represent various perspectives that we thought would resonate with our consumer."

All of the personalities wore Cole Haan shoes including the official campaign shoe, the Silver Limited Edition Lunar Grands, worn by Jim Lovell (below):

"There's real clarity and real conviction for what we want the brand to stand for and what we are committed to bringing to light in all of our channels from advertising to marketing," Riley said, explaining that this includes looking the brand's heritage to inform its future.

The campaign was shot in New York at Pier 59 by Daniel Jackson and styled by Tiina Laakkonen.

The Print (3 examples)

The Videos
Here are the videos that runs on Cole Haan's site to accompany the campaign:
Maya Angelou:

Elliott Erwitt:

China Machado:

James Lovell:

"We need to look back to look forward," Riley concluded. "At the same time, we are a very modern brand and we don't want to be perceived as a traditional heritage brand. We're more about attitude than an age group."

The black-and-white photo portion of the campaign debuted on Sept. 3 and has launched on colehaan.com, their social media networks, and in its store windows. Next month the ads will appear in November issues of GQ, Elle, Vogue and Vanity Fair, among others. Billboards featuring the campaign will pop up in major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Behind The Scenes
And finally, some photos from behind the scenes at Daniel Jackson's shoot in NY:

and this photo of Maya Angelou at the shoot photographed by Taylor Jewell for Vogue:

all images courtesy of Cole Haan

Related Links:
Cole Haan
Daniel Jackson
Maya Angelou Books and Audio Books
Books about Jim Lovell and Apollo 13
Elliott Erwitt Photography Books and Prints

It's Monday. So, Here's A Three-Legged Kitten Wearing Tiny Paper Hats.

Author, illustrator and now miniature milliner, Adam Ellis recently adopted a three-legged kitten/cat named Maxwell.

Renowned street style photographer Phil Oh of Street Peeper was enlisted to shoot this year's installment (the third) of StyleCaster's "The 50 Most Stylish New Yorkers."

Swagger New York teamed up with illustrator and designer Michele Moricci to create a fantasy fashion world consisting of pop culture cartoon characters clad in some of today's hippest fashions to honor the beginning of Mercedes Benz 2013 New York's Fashion Week.

A self-initiated design project by FormNation, they took it upon themselves to give such US Tax forms as the ol' W9 and 1040 a much needed makeover for both hardcopies and digital. No one likes doing taxes and the fact that these painfully necessary forms are both confusing and downright ugly does not help.

Original and redesigned US Tax Forms 1040 and W-9:

Setting out to prove that design can help to innovate, promote ease of use, and add value to business and society, FormNation streamlined the fonts, clearly prioritized the sections and added color to help distinguish the forms.

The redesigned 1040 form:

The redesigned W-9 form:

“Change in the broad sense can be transitional, revolutionary, and transformative. It’s about making life easier, and making things more possible.” - FormNation