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Art of Marketing Workshop for Local Business Owners, April 19th

Art of Marketing Workshop for Local Business Owners, April 19th
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The Edinburg Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a marketing workshop for local business owners on April 19, 2023. Courtesy Image; Mata Image Source, Image Source: https://www.facebook.com/utrgvsbdc/photos/10160272041752707

Texas Border Business

EDINBURG, Texas – The Edinburg Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a marketing workshop for local business owners on April 19, 2023. The workshop will be held at the Chamber’s office located at 602 W University Dr, Edinburg, TX 78539.

The workshop, titled “Art of Marketing” will cover various topics related to marketing, including the identification of target market, pricing strategy, and much more. The workshop will be led by Marivel Mata, Senior Business Advisor at the UTRGV SBDC, and will help businesses improve their marketing efforts.

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Courtesy Image

“We’re excited to offer this workshop to local business owners,” said Ronnie Larralde, Executive Director of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. “Marketing is an essential part of any business, and we want to help our members improve their marketing strategies so that they can grow and succeed.”

The workshop will run from 8:30 A.M. to 10:30 A.M. and will include a Q&A session where attendees can ask the presenters any questions they may have. Light refreshments will also be provided.

The Edinburg Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting local businesses and helping them thrive in the community. This workshop is just one of the many initiatives that the Chamber has launched to support its members.

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Registration for the workshop is now open, and interested business owners can register online on the Chamber’s website or by calling the Chamber’s office at (956) 383-4974. Space is limited, so interested attendees are encouraged to register early to secure their spot.

For more information about the workshop or the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, please visit www.edinburg.com

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Gomi ‘Collection One’ Bluetooth Speakers Are To Be Marbled for Their Circular Design

Gomi ‘Collection One’ Bluetooth Speakers Are To Be Marbled for Their Circular Design

If one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, then UK-based design studio gomi’s efforts to transform 6 tons of LDPE plastic (aka bubble wrap, food packaging, and plastic bags) into marvelously marbled, minimalist portable Bluetooth speakers may prove to become a treasure trove for the design studio aiming to merge carbon neutral sustainability with audio bona fides.

Named after the word ‘waste’ in Japanese, the Brighton studio is launching collection one, a limited series of portable Bluetooth speakers swathed in a swirl of colors, a marbled design that isn’t merely aesthetic, but the result of incorporating plastic waste that otherwise would have festered for eternity in a landfill – the equivalent of 44 recycled plastic bags in every speaker manufactured.

Gomi collection one Bluetooth speaker in Panther colorway.

Gomi collection one Bluetooth speaker in Avalanche colorway.

Back corner of Gomi collection one Bluetooth speaker in Panther colorway showing power and volume buttons, alongside AUX input.

A USB-C port permits the gomi speaker to fast charge while an AUX connection invites use with a myriad of audio sources.

Furthermore, instead of relying upon virgin lithium batteries to power their speakers, gomi collection one speakers use e-bike lithium batteries salvaged and reconditioned to see yet another day.

Corner detail of Gomi collection one Bluetooth speaker in Ultraviolet colorway.

The limited edition collection features three colorways, with every speaker completely unique in their marbled design, a ‘one of one’ numbered edition – the design finish equivalent of a fingerprint. The 5.0 Bluetooth wireless speaker’s specs include an impressive 32-hour battery life and can also be used connected to a source via AUX input, as well the option to pair them to operate together.

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Gomi co-founder and Chief Design Officer Tom Meades notes the colorful and vibrant design balances both an expressive art world vibe with a functional minimalism. “We think of our aesthetic as a collision between Dieter Rams and Picasso and it’s the fine balance between the two that can be seen in collection one,” says Meades. “Our obsession with circularity underpins this, taking the lead at every step in our design process.”

Closeup of Gomi collection one Bluetooth speaker in Avalanche colorway.

The brand’s core ethos is one that perpetually challenges the team to design products where the consumer is empowered to believe they’ve purchased an item designed to last, abstaining from the use of glue adhesive to permit for a more modular and repairable approach to consumer electronics.

Blow-up views of gomi speaker's componentry,

Beyond simply using “sustainability” as a marketing tactic, gomi is backing up their efforts with the establishment of trade-in, repair, and product upgrading facilities. Each of the speaker’s 29 components can be easily separated and replaced or repaired, and Bluetooth connectivity can be upgraded.

Gomi’s ‘collection one’ is a limited run collection and available now for $389 exclusively at the gomi website in Panther, Ultraviolet, and Avalanche.

Gregory Han is Tech Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

BZIPPY Releases Its First Collection in 3 Years: Ruffle & Clover

BZIPPY Releases Its First Collection in 3 Years: Ruffle & Clover

After a wait of three years, BZIPPY has released something new and exciting: the Ruffle & Clover Collection. Introducing ceramic vases, planters, and side tables in fresh new forms, the drop also includes the debut of new glaze, Birch. The unique option is an abstraction of chestnut brown colored textures on a rich cream colored surface for a one-of-a-kind appearance on every piece.

The designs of Ruffle are focused on the notion of “bringing edges forward,” a deft verbal description of the undulating movement. In fact, the shapes are inspired by collars, drapes, and bed skirts, capturing the crisp shadows they’re capable of creating.

“From a design perspective, I’m most excited about the different cantilever elements along the edges of the Ruffle series,” said Ziperstein. “The combination of lifting them off the ground with a small foot and the crisp shadows the edges cast fulfills my design fantasies for the BZIPPY line! I also love that they can be easily grouped together in different combinations.”

three white vases resembling modern columns in front of a styled bookcase

Meanwhile, Clover brings together the architecture of multi-level structures with antique perfume bottles to create forms that feel romantic yet solid. The shapes are measured but soft, emblematic of the BZIPPY language and style.

three dark green vases resembling modern columns in front of a styled bookcase

Founded by artist and entrepreneur Bari Ziperstein in 2008, BZIPPY is known for its experimentation and innovation with ceramics, along with engineering methods that challenge conventional notions of slab construction. All products are produced on site in a 9,000-square-foot facility outside of Los Angeles by a team of 12 full-time, highly-skilled artists, administrators, and technicians.

three bubblegum pink vases resembling modern columns in front of a styled bookcase

four speckled white vases resembling modern columns sitting on a table in front of a styled bookcase

two speckled white planters resembling modern columns sitting on a table in front of a styled bookcase

five vases resembling modern columns sitting on a table in front of a styled bookcase

seven column-like colorful vases sitting on a shelf behind two black armchairs and a black and white speckled side table

bubblegum pink side table resembling a modern column in a styled living space

outdoor deck with two planters, a side table, a chair, and a black cat jumping off of the chair

outdoor deck with two planters, a side table, and a chair

outdoor deck with two tables, a planter, and two chairs

a collection of variously colored modern outdoor tables on a deck

three speckled white outdoor tables on a deck

To learn more about the Ruffle & Clover Collection, visit bzippyandcompany.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

The Best Art Shows This Spring

The Best Art Shows This Spring
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Opens May 18, 2023

Independent New York

Independent New York is one of my favorite ways to see a wild and wonderfully curated mix of contemporary art, lots of it, known and unknown, in one place. It’s back this year on May 11 for four days at Spring Studios in Tribeca, with 120 artists and 74 galleries chosen from around the world. Twenty New York artists will have their debuts here. Founded by Elizabeth Dee fourteen years ago, Independent New York offers up a cornucopia of themes that include: gender as a social construct, a return to childhood, post-figuration and magical realism, and career reassessments and rediscoveries. 

May 11-14, 2023

Maiden Voyage at Clearing

After a dozen years in Brooklyn, Clearing, one of the most influential young galleries that put Bushwick on the art scene, is moving to Manhattan, in a three-story building on the Bowery across the street from the New Museum. All grown up, Clearing is opening on April 26 with Maiden Voyage, a group show of every artist in its stable. Known for identifying and nurturing such emerging talents like Harold Ancart, Calvin Marcus, Korakrit Arunanondchai, this is a gallery to continue to watch.

April 26, 2023 – May 21, 2023

Bob Thompson

Bob Thompson gets a double header: Agony & Ecstasy at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery and So Let Us All Be Citizens at 52 Walker. Thompson’s life was cut tragically short by a heroin overdose at the age of 28 after gallbladder surgery, but in the eight years he painted, he managed to make about a thousand paintings and drawings—figurative, often reinterpreting works of the Old Masters, put through the mix master of his imagination using fauvist-like colors. Five large paintings from 1963, an important year in Thompson’s oeuvre that summed up the two years of his travels in Europe, along with ten other paintings in addition to works on paper, and archival photographs and sketchbooks, are in the Rosenfeld show. At 52 Walker, Thompson’s jazz-influenced style will be on view. His particular use of color, line, and figuration contrasts with the prevailing abstraction of his time. 

Bob Thompson: Agony & Ecstasy at  at Rosenfeld Gallery, April 1 – May 26, 2023; Bob Thompson: So let us all be citizens at 52 Walker, April 21 – July 08, 2023; 

Ellsworth Kelly at Glenstone

Ellsworth Kelly would be 100 this year and Glenstone, Mitch and Emily Rales’ idyllic museum in Potomac, Maryland, is celebrating him and his career with one of the biggest retrospectives he’s ever had. Ellsworth Kelly at 100 will show nearly 70 works—paintings, sculptures, drawings, collages, and photographs—across his seven-decade life as an artist, from the 1950s to the 2010s, confirming his deep contributions to the language of abstraction. His dedication and ever-playful probing of shape, line, color, and space will be on full display. Yellow Curve (1990), Kelly’s monumental floor painting covering about 1000 square feet will be exhibited for the first time in thirty years. After nearly a year at Glenstone, the party will continue: first stop Paris at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, next, Doha at the Fire Station. 

May 4, 2023 to March of 2024

Uman at Nicola Vassell Gallery

Uman’s show I Want Everything at Nicola Vassell Gallery is a romp through this self-trained, multidisciplinary artist’s very painterly practice over the past decade. Uman was born in Somalia, grew up in Kenya, spent her teenage years in Denmark, her twenties in New York City, and now lives in upstate New York. She brings all this and more to the lexicon of mythical beings and geometrical symbols that mingle on her canvases. Uman is an artist who has many stories to tell and this show presents a new chapter. 

May 4 to June 17

How to protect your photography gear

How to protect your photography gear

I had written a post not long ago providing tips for traveling with photography gear. However, a reader brought to my attention an additional aspect of gear protection that I had overlooked in my article. As a result, I have decided to create a follow-up post to address this.

Photography gear is a significant investment for photographers, and protecting it should be a top priority. Whether you are a professional photographer or a hobbyist, your gear is essential to your craft, and it’s important to take measures to ensure its safety. So, let’s look at additional protection for your photography gear.

Take photos of your gear.

One of the easiest ways to protect your photography gear is by taking photos of it. In the event of theft or loss, these photos can be used as evidence to support an insurance claim. Be sure to take photos of each piece of gear separately, as well as any accessories or attachments. You can also take photos of your gear before and after each use will help you keep track of its condition and identify any damage or missing parts. Just a thought?

Record serial numbers.

Recording the serial numbers of your gear is also an important step in protecting it. Serial numbers are unique identifiers that can help authorities track down your stolen gear. Write down the serial numbers of each piece of gear and keep them in a safe place. It’s also a good idea to keep a digital copy of this information, such as in a secure online storage account.

Invest in insurance.

One of the most significant steps you can take to protect your photography gear is to invest in insurance. While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, insurance can provide peace of mind and financial protection in the event of theft, loss or damage. Some insurance policies may also cover the cost of equipment rental in the event that your gear is being repaired or replaced. When shopping for insurance, be sure to read the fine print carefully to understand what is covered and what is not.

Pack your gear securely for travel.

When traveling with your photography gear, it’s essential to pack it securely to protect it from damage. Invest in a sturdy camera bag or backpack with ample padding to protect your gear during transit. If you are flying, carry your gear with you in your carry-on luggage to avoid the risk of loss or damage during checked baggage. If you must check your gear, ensure that it is securely packed and labeled with your contact information.

Protect your gear from the elements.

When shooting outdoors, it’s essential to protect your gear from the elements. You don’t necessarily need to invest in a high-quality camera cover to protect your camera and lenses from rain, snow, and dust. A cheap plastic poncho can do the trick and it can be easily stored in your camera bag. A lens hood can also help protect your lens from scratches and damage. Be sure to keep a cleaning cloth with you to wipe down your gear if it gets wet or dirty.

Maintain your gear.

Regular maintenance of your photography gear can help prolong its life span and prevent damage. Clean your gear regularly with a soft cloth and appropriate cleaning solutions to remove dirt and dust. Check your gear for any signs of wear and tear, such as loose screws or worn-out rubber grips. Address any issues promptly to prevent further damage.

In conclusion, protecting photography gear is essential for any photographer. Taking photos of your gear, recording serial numbers, investing in insurance, packing securely for travel, protecting your gear from the elements and maintaining your gear are all important steps in protecting your investment. By taking these measures, you can ensure that your gear remains in good condition, and that you can continue to create stunning images for years to come.

If you think I’ve left anything further out, just drop me a line, always happy to add to this list.

Interactive tours in Shelby Township draw crowds, photographers to see bald eagles

Interactive tours in Shelby Township draw crowds, photographers to see bald eagles

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Over the weekend, guided interactive hikes in Shelby Township welcomed and observed some of the newest members of the community – bald eagles.

For Joan Bonin, photography is preservation.

“It was the eagles; it didn’t have anything to do with photography,” says Bonin, who has been documenting eagles through photography for 15 years. “Driving down the road on 28 Mile Road and I saw my first eagle there out on the ice. I was hooked after that. 

Bonin remembers vividly that first eagle encounter and each of the thousands of photos she’s taken since.

Among her latest photos are the eagles that have recently nested in Shelby Township’s Holland Ponds Park.

“Oh, I think it’s amazing, I love eagles,” says Jerry Allen, who stopped by the park with his wife, Michele.

Community members flocked to the park where Shelby Township naturalists, with the assistance of Bonin, held guided hikes so anyone interested could come see the birds and their nest from a safe distance.

“I collect statues of eagles, books of eagles, so when my wife told me about it, I couldn’t resist not coming,” Allen said.

Like many of the sightseers, Bonin says the photos being taken, whether it’s through a quality lens or not, are helping document their lives, mannerisms and if they’re in danger.

“If the eagles get hung up on fishing line, you know, you need to know that and you can only do it through photography. You’ve got it documented and you can send it to whoever needs to see it,” Bonin says.

Past, Present, and Future Converge in Dustin Yellin’s 10,000-Pound Glass Sculpture at the Liberty Science Center

Past, Present, and Future Converge in Dustin Yellin’s 10,000-Pound Glass Sculpture at the Liberty Science Center

“The Politics of Eternity.” All images © Dustin Yellin. Photos by Gus Powell, courtesy of the Liberty Science Center, New York

Drawing inspiration from the systems and networks that connect us to one another, the world around us, and realms we can’t even see, Dustin Yellin (previously) encases detailed narratives between numerous layers of glass. At the Liberty Science Center in New York City, Yellin’s 10,000-pound The Politics of Liberty explores historical time—past, present, and future—as part of the center’s 30th anniversary Big Art program.

As the founder and director of Pioneer Works, a multidisciplinary center with a mission to build community through the arts and sciences, Yellin is no stranger to exploring ways that art can educate and communicate about important topics. Using paint and clippings from print media, the Brooklyn-based artist creates elaborate, allegorical scenes that tap into viewers’ emotions and consciousness and encourage new ways of thinking about society and its infrastructures. Yellin embraces interdisciplinary approaches and says the Big Art initiative demonstrates the “fundamental belief in the ability of ideas to exist fluidly across different domains, inviting us to consider the different ways in which an understanding of our universe can be expressed and to feel the expanses of our minds.”

 

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

In The Politics of Liberty, seven columns are presented in a chevron layout depicting two landmasses on either side of a watery basin. He spent around 20,000 hours—that’s about 834 days!—painstakingly composing tiny details between sheets of laminated glass. One section portrays a fictive community gathered around an ancient totem, followed by a society of the future in which its denizens don jet packs within a “techno-metropolis” that rises up around a rocket ship. From each of these areas, waterfalls feed into a central world full of tall ships, supertankers, rafts, and drones.

Rather than a linear expression of time, a mashup of technologies, climates, and terrain merge seamlessly into one another. By portraying the past, present, and future simultaneously, Yellin prompts viewers to consider the interconnectivity of all time periods and how our actions in the past and today will continue to influence the future.

The Politics of Eternity is on view at the Liberty Science Center for the next year. Explore more work on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

A sculpture made of layered glass, paint, and paper clippings depicting an imagined world.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Past, Present, and Future Converge in Dustin Yellin’s 10,000-Pound Glass Sculpture at the Liberty Science Center appeared first on Colossal.