W+K PORTLAND

Levi's Curve ID Gallery

Check out a number of ladies from our office that have showed up on the Levi's Store Gallery.The site is complete with 110 different body types and will allow you to put in the style, cut and size to get a sample for how the jeans might fit you.

Portlandia

From the IFC website

IFC has greenlit "Portlandia," an original comedy series that lovingly skewers illustrates the people and values of Portland, Ore. We're guessing a lot of recycling, rain gear, and coffee drinking will be happening.

Fred Armisen of "Saturday Night Live" fame and Carrie Brownstein, the vocalist/guitarist from Portland band Sleater-Kinney (and former W+K employee) will star in the series, alongside guest stars Kyle "Twin Peaks" MacLachlan and Aubrey Plaza from "Parks and Recreation".

In the series' premiere, viewers will meet the owners of a feminist book store; a militant bike messenger; an artsy couple who put cut-outs of birds on everything; and a punk rock couple negotiating a "safe word" to help govern their love life. All presented with the trademark humor found in Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's previous work. Yeah, we're talking about their brilliant collaboration Thunderant.

Armisen and Brownstein write the series with Allison Silverman from "The Colbert Report" and Jonathan Krisel of "SNL" and "Tim and Eric", who is also the series' director. The series is executive produced by Lorne Michaels. "Portlandia" begins production later this month and is shot entirely on location in Portland.

Rumor has it they may be filming at W+K!

W+K Lookbook

W+K New York Interns, Lakiesha Herman and Nia Groce, sent out a survey to their co-workers asking them a few questions about their fashion and trendy styles. Upon visiting Portland this week, they asked our office to do the same and submit photos to add to the mix. Which office will have the most style? Check out their Lookbook so far.
 

Art Cars

So much happened on First Thursday last week. We forgot to mention the 7-8 Art Cars that were parked outside of the Agency causing a big fun party out on the street. 

Photography by Doug Heoschler
 
 

IDSA Conference

 
The IDSA (Industrial Design Society Of America) hosted their conference in Portland this year. Hundreds of designers from around the globe descended on Portland. The theme of this year conference was DIY. In the opening session, John Jay gave an inspiring talk about youth and culture. After his speech John was part of a panel discussion with Nike shoe designer, John Hoke and Jay Rogers (Local Motors) on what DIY meant to them. Each offered different opinions. 

After the conference wrapped up for the day, W+K hosted a rooftop party. We tied DIY culture into the night. In Portland the Food Cart culture is exploding. New carts are popping up daily. We were just rated #1 by Travel CNN as the best street food, beating out Bangkok and Singapore. With the DIY spirit in mind, we hired our favorite carts to give our guests a sample of the current culture. Nong's Khao Man Gai, Potato Champion, Sugar Cube, Garden State, Sol Pops and Jimmy's Nuts were the chosen favorites.

To get a better understanding of W+K's work we created an interactive QR game for guests. Also iPad displays were placed throughout the space that gave a mini tour of the agency, that included work and our people.

It was a wonderful evening of conversing with different types of designers and artists.
Photography by Doug Heoschler  

Todays Numbers

At exactly 06 mins and 07 seconds after 5 o'clock on Aug 9th 2010, it will be 05:06:07 08/09/10. This won't happen again until the year 3010... stand corrected 2110

Aaron Koblin

The opening of Aaron Koblin work in our gallery was a huge success. We had a steady flow of people Thursday night. It was a treat to have Aaron there for the opening. His work will be up for the next 3 weeks. Please stop by and interact with his pieces, you can also do so online at AaronKoblin.com

Photography by Doug Heoschler

Everybody's work is equally important.

Wednesday afternoon we stopped work to meet John Fetterman. When the steel mills closed in Braddock, PA, they left behind a dwindling population living in near apocalyptic circumstances. Mayor, John Fetterman, and a new generation of urban pioneers have come with a mission- to create a new frontier from the ashes of the once vibrant town. It was this story, that inspired our Levi's team to build a campaign around the spirit and hope of Braddock. All the people you see in the TV, Outdoor and Print are residents of Braddock. It's great when a company can get behind a town and help it succeed. Levis is putting time and energy beyond the campaign to help support Braddock. Please visit the Levi's YouTube Channel' to discover more.

To learn more about John and Braddock check out this clip from Sunday Morning that aired about a month ago.

Thanks John for coming to visit us and all your continued dedication. You are an inspiration.

On Our Desk This Morning

On everyone's desk this morning was a surprise note. There is a rumble of excitement to have John Fetterman, Mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania here today.
 

Hifana 24 is out

 The wait is over! Hifana’s new album “24H” released. It’s their best release to date! Based on the concept of “1 day : 24 hours,” the album is made up of 12 audio/video tracks featuring different events that occur throughout the day. The production was the result of a collaboration between Hifana, W+K Tokyo Lab and over 15 up-and-coming visual creators. Congratuations W+K Tokyo. Click here to buy.