Client: Drum Creative
view site: thebloodconnection.org

This project was just recently launched at the first of June 2010. However I designed this site at the end of 2009. The Blood Connection’s main goal in this project was to reflect the new look of their recently completed Woodruff Road Donation Center (a project I was also extensively involved in). The entire site revolves around the new for 2010 tagline “We Naturally Connect lives.”

It was my task to create a site that would evoke this natural feel and yet separate the different sections of the site using colors that were incorporated into the new donor center.

This site is 100% managed by the open source content management system WordPress which allows the client to completely manage all aspects of this site including top to bottom level navigation.

[View with PicLens]

Over the last couple of months I have been needing more work surface area in my studio. I however don’t want to spend a lot of money on this but I want it to look good so I decided to see what I could build in Google Sketchup that would be cost effective yet provide the maximum surface area. I will list the materials below and shoot some photos as I build it and post them when I complete this project in the next couple of weeks. I feel like this look will provide me plenty of underneath storage but also gives it a little 60′s post modern look (remember the wood slats in your grandma’s house). The idea is really simple, I will be using 2 hollow interior doors that are 30″ wide by 80″ tall and placing them side by side and bolting them down to a sheet of plywood cut 24″ x 42″. Then add two more shelves the same size and surround the shelves using 2×4′s cut vertically to provide added stability.

2 Hollow Interior doors 30″ x 80″ wide: 2 @$22.00 each
1 Sheet of 3/4″ Plywood cut into three shelves: 24″ wide by 42″ long: 1 @19.00
Approx. 9 – 8′ 2″x4″‘s  cut into 2′ lengths: 9 @ $3.00 each
Cost Total: @$90
So for a 5 foot wide by 6.5 feet long table that will double as an extra table for approx. 10 guests for under a $100, I think this will work just fine. I’ll keep you posted as I get nearer to completion.

Don’t expect me to be doing these everyday. They take around 4-7 hours each, but I did two in a row because I am really enjoying this new technique using a traditional inkwell pen on bristol. I did mess this one up because I had an ink spill accidentally but I think it might add a little character so if you see more ink spills then just take it as being part of the process of doing these that it sometimes happens. Hope you enjoy.

So I have picked back up doing some sketches or studies as you may call them. This time I think I have found the correct way of doing it. I will be using a b6 calligraphy nib and india ink. It feels more traditional than using paint markers and finding the correct tip with paint markers is almost impossible. This is going to allow me to study techniques that I will employ in my larger drawings as part of the 36 Boards Project. Stay tuned for more of these.

I usually only post design related articles, etc…but really wanted to take a minute and talk about a little trip Mason and I had a couple of weeks ago.

For the first time he and I spent the night camping out. I wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to handle this, in fact I was very concerned when we stepped foot on the first trail at Jones Gap State Park, he jumped and ran screaming “Ants! Ants! Ants!”. However after explaining the delicate fast walk through the ants on the trail he then quickly jumped back into his vivid imagination and began explaining how “Batman” would handle the ants in trails like these.

This First Annual Father Son Camping Trip actually shaped up really great other than the fact that they placed us a half mile from the parking lot. I think Mason and I actually hiked about 5 miles after making multiple trips with our own gear combined with helping others out. The location wasn’t completely ideal and rather remote but after everyone finally made it to the campsite, I heard someone exclaim “I love how beautiful this is!”.

I started trying to get the fire lit about 4:30 which took me about a half hour to finally get really going. Of course a little “gas-a-starter” really helped do the trick. In all we had 16 guys and their sons show up to this first event. This wasn’t about having any real set plans…just getting together and having some good personal times with our sons. Mason helped me setup our tent for about 2 minutes then ran off to play swords. After getting my tent up I went over to a friends site to help him set up who of course was doing it by himself while his son was busy climbing a rock high enough to break a leg.

In fact I think the last tent was finally set about 9:30 and totally in the dark using only flashlights, but we got it done. Hamburgers were the best thing for that night and everyone managed to get theirs totally burnt with even a few ashes from the fire. Mine however I think was super well done as the grease drippings kept catching them on fire. It’s sorta hard to grab a hold of a burger with a spoon that was cut down to fit the mess bag, but I finally managed to get it out of the fire and onto homemade buns especially prepared by my lovely @leprakans (twitter) wife.

I have to admit I don’t really sleep that well when I go camping, never have, probably never will, I just hear everything. So I stayed up quite late talking around the fire. Mason however fell asleep around ten and never woke up all night. Of course the air mattress we had purchased the day before really helped and the next day everyone else realized I had the right idea and swore to bring one next year.

Probably one of the biggest successes were the glow sticks that my brother supplied me straight from the army. Every kid had two and were running around with them. At least we never had to wonder where they were, I could even see when Mason fell. Poor guy he fell quite often but he was such the trooper and still asks when we are planning on going on the next trip together.

The next day we packed up and headed off…okay we labored for two hours to get everything cleaned up after making breakfast and sitting around the fire for an hour and hiking back the half mile to the cars and losing things in the creek…then finally drove up to Caesars Head where all the boys loved running through the narrow trails at the top. After a packed lunch we were done, but I will remember this little quick one day trip for a long time. One of the best time I’ve had with just Mason and I. “Thanks Buddy you make it all worth it & Thanks Sweet Pea and Boo for letting us go”!

…and thanks to all the guys from Lifepoint for coming!

Client: Drum Creative for The Blood Connection | Vector illustration printed on canvas

The project was to create a piece of art that would serve as the introduction to the new Blood Donation Center in Greenville, SC on Woodruff road. This theme is continued throughout the rest of the interior with tree used to convey the message “We naturally connect lives”.

Click the link above to view the entire printed canvas which was approx. 6′ x 6′.

Our neighborhood association which is also a historical and redevelopment society turned to me to give them a new identity. After extensive interviews I settled in on the 3 foot brass whistle that was located on top of the old JP Stevens Mill which is now the present day “Lofts of Greenville”. During the early part of the 20th century the residents of mill villages lived and breathed by mill whistles. The whistle would blow to wake them, start school, lunch, and let the off at the end of the day. Everyone looked to it for guidance and we take this new identity and look forward to a brand new redevelopment period for this great historical neighborhood. MonaghanMill.com will launch in June of 2010 to support this new identity.

A “Mini-Gallery” host is a business that is willing to host a Thomas Moffett painting in their lobby or area that receives outside traffic.

If you have been in business for atleast 3 years and have space to host one of my paintings, then take a look around my site and see if you find a painting that you would like to host.

To Qualify:
• Your business must have a security system in place.
• The location for the painting must NOT receive direct sunlight at any time during the day.
• The location for the painting must be temperature controlled.

Details:
• Your business will receive a 20% commission if you sell the painting at your location.
• A new painting will be replaced in that location once you have sold a painting.
• You may have the painting removed at anytime, If it does not fit your decor anymore, we will be happy to remove it. (If you live outside the Greenville, SC Upstate area, you will be required to pay for shipping the painting each way and must purchase transportation insurance)

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You might have heard through twitter that there is a new company being formed by the creators of…Twitter. After a succesful launch a few years ago of their now widely popular Twitter, they have done it again. “Square” is set to revolutionize the way individuals will use money. If you have a smart phone or wifi enabled ipod, you will be able to get a dongle (and from what it looks like, they are going to give the dongle away for free) that attaches to your headphone jack, swipe a friends card and take a payment from him or a neighbor who you just bought that ugly christmas sweater from.

Think about the possibilities that this will have, no more excuses when your friend says…Oh I’ve got to get some cash out to pay you back the $20 bucks for lunch. You say, no problem, I take credit cards.

What’s the catch. Well just like any business, you will be charged a per transaction fee and probably a percentage of the sale, but you get your money now and quick, and you won’t have to pay a monthly fee for just having the account. Maybe you own a small plumbing business, forget having to to call in your orders to your secretary, be your own secretary and take your payments at their front door. As a designer, when I sit down for a consultation with my next client, guess what? sure I can take 50% down right now.

This could spell the end of the cash system worldwide, seriously, if everyone can process a credit card, then why ever carry cash? I think it only makes sense that we will be cashless society as somepoint, we are already heading that way. How much cash do you carry anymore?

Hold on for just a minute though…It’s not quite here, but it will be soon. According to their blog, they are currently beta testing it with a number of small businesses and hope to roll it out to everyone in early 2010.

Check out their website: www.squareup.com