SKAGGS Blog

SKAGGS is proud to announce the launch of visual artist Rodney Durso’s new portfolio site. Rodney is a Chelsea-based visual artist and a fixture of the New York art and music scene.

He wanted a design that wasn’t the traditional stagnant portfolio site: the usual flip-through format didn’t suit his varied forms of expression and he wanted something more dynamic. We were tasked with programming a website that is as visually interesting and inviting as Rodney’s artwork.

“One important aspect of the site was that Rodney needed to be able to maintain his pieces himself and easily add to his collection. Over the course of his career he’s produced a huge diverse range of artworks. The site showcases everything from print works such as Mega-Something to found-object photography series like Bicycle Salad.”

— Nicole Confrey, Web Developer

“The website had to do one thing well, it had to show all of my work and projects in the same voice and with the same importance, showing all of my creative output as equally relevant and I believe we accomplished this thanks to the team at SKAGGS”

—Rodney Durso, Artist

Some of Rodney’s works presented us with unique layout challenges because in addition to his paintings Rodney has many three-dimensional pieces. He uses a lot of color in his artwork and we chose a neutral palette to make sure that the website didn’t overpower any of the artwork. From a technical point of view we were careful not to use Flash on the site since it isn’t search engine friendly. Instead, Javascripting takes care of all of the informational rollovers making the site compatible across most major browsers. It is also the top listing on Google’s search engine.

“Too many artists’ sites get bogged down with large Flash files. This can mean that sites are hard to search for, and sometimes don’t load if the user doesn’t have the latest version of Flash installed. In order to showcase Rodney’s fantastic range of work correctly we engineered the site using HTML and Javascript.”

— Robbie Edwards, Web Developer

Check out Rodney’s portfolio.

Recently Bradley and I had the pleasure of hanging out with artist Amy Helfand and her canine companion Jengo at her Redhook-based studio.

Jengo’s a big dog, but still a puppy! We’ll be working with Amy to update her identity and to create a new website which will showcase her artwork.

Amy works with many mediums but her interest in abstraction and our relationship to landscape, real and imagined, has remained a constant throughout her career.


Amy’s eye for color and pattern are evident in her rugs, made to order in custom sizes and colors from hand-knotted Tibetan wool and Chinese silk, in a workshop outside Katmandu certified by Rugmark, an organization working to end child labor in the carpet industry.

These close-up shots show the rich detail of each rug. They are all created by hand.


For her latest pieces, Amy took her inspiration from her travels in Nepal where her rugs are created. She takes photographs and develops three-dimensional artworks that then provide the basis for two-dimensional shapes and patterns which are woven into her designs.

“[Inspiration came from] prayer flags at Buddhist temples and hanging from trees.”

— Amy Helfand

Thanks for showing us around, Amy!

There’s no stopping photographer Kfir Ziv’s unmistakeable talent and ability to constantly change the game.

Kfir approached us in July to design the labels for his very own signature wine, which he created with New York’s famous City Winery. Kfir named the wine after his newborn son, Kai. Inspired by one of Kfir’s photographs, SKAGGS worked with Kfir to create the photograph used on the label. The result is a bold yet sophisticated look that matches the flavors of the wine.

I recently got a new camera (Canon S90) and while I’m no expert (and admittedly a beginner), I’ve taken on a whole new appreciation for light and the art of photography. While looking through iphoto I noticed a common theme – the light…THE LIGHT!! Honestly, I can’t take a lot of credit because on most of the flicks I’ve literally gone – “point-shoot-move on”, but I will say that the S90 is flippin’ amazing when it comes to picking up light. Below are some flicks I’ve taken over the last 2 months.

The holiday season is upon us, and with it the cards, gift boxes and wrapping paper. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans will generate five million tons of household waste – twenty-five percent more than the usual four million. That’s equal to the weight of five million Volkswagen beetles, twenty-five-thousand 747 airplanes, or thirteen and a half Empire State Buildings.

In order to cut down on this waste, people can use alternatives to wrapping paper such as old newspaper, shopping bags, reusable boxes… even old clothes. The California Waste Management Board and Associated Content both provide useful alternatives here and here.

1. Erno Laszlo Anti-aging Value Set $250.00 — 6-piece skin care regimen guaranteed to bring out "the glow" and keep wrinkles and puffy eyes at bay.

2. DKNY Be Delicious Gift Set $55 — Celebrate individuality with a refreshing spirit! The limited edition set contains 1.7 oz Eau de Parfum Spray and 3.4 oz Body Lotion.

3. Vitra Uten.Silo $425.00 — Designed by Dorothee Becker, this colorful wall tidy organizes offices, kitchens, bathrooms and children's rooms and is a veritable design icon. Available in white, black or red.

4. Rodney Durso's Funny Moment In Time $800.00 and Sunny Side Up $3000/$1050 — New York artist Rodney Durso uses bold, large-format and works in India ink and acrylic to create his vibrant and thought provoking master pieces.

5. Madelaine Chocolate Company Gift Bags (Visit website for retailers) — The SKAGGS team can certify that once you've tried the smooth milk chocolate in the gift sets, you'll want more.

6. Valley Produce Company Deluxe BBQ Selection $49.00 — Just because it's Winter doesn't mean you can't barbeque and with a hamper that includes garlic and rosemary oil, pepper cracker thins and amber walnuts you'll be firing up the grill in no time.

7. Three Tarts Box of Truffles $18.30 (box of 9) — A mouthwatering assortment of classic dark, caramel sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and lavender truffles from Chelsea's finest.

8. Salon Luba Gift Certificate (Enquire in-store) — Get pampered and coiffed to perfection at New Jersey's premiere luxury salon.

9. Le Cherche Midi $150.00 — Packaged in a wooden box, this beautiful gift set contains one of each fine fragrance candles in a smaller 2.5oz size. The perfect gift or treat for yourself or a loved one.

10. Spaksmannsspjarir Flower Accessory $348.00 — Using raw silk, the beautifully Icelandic, hand-crafted Flower necklace is bang on trend for this seasons' "oversize" and "gothic" style jewelry

According to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health, two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese. But as the health care debate continues in Washington, members of the so-called “fat pride” community are fighting what they see as a national prejudice against fat people. As the New York Times reported recently, “heavier Americans are pushing back now with newfound vigor in the policy debate, lobbying legislators and trying to move public opinion to recognize their point of view: that thin does not necessarily equal fit, and that people can be healthy at any size.”

While we may come in all shapes and sizes, as the saying goes, overweight and obesity are more often caused by eating habits and lack of exercise than by the way individuals are born. The efforts made by the “fat pride” community may be well-intentioned, but they encourage us to ignore one of the most fundamental problems in our society: our eating habits. Rather than maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, many Americans eat too much, feel guilty, and then pursue miracle solutions like diet pills. Such behavior is terribly unhealthy and – in the case of diet pills – potentially addictive. Moreover, it weighs on the nation’s health care system.

With the holidays coming up, many of us will begin to indulge in more sweets, hors d’oeuvres, rich holiday meals and cocktails. The messages advertised on television, online and in store windows will be the same: indulge, indulge, indulge. During the Christmas season, the average American will gain over a pound. And while their waists are getting bigger, the food and pharmaceutical industries will be gaining revenue, financing future advertisements.

The preferred solution to staying fit during the holidays is also the simplest: eat well and exercise. Unfortunately, this philosophy doesn’t seem to sell so well.

Scents from the Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris collection

On Wednesday, Sam and I sashayed over to Bergdorf Goodman to represent the SKAGGS team at the launch of new fragrance collection Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris hosted by KVD NYC .

Francis Kurkdjian is largely known for the fragrances he has created for Jean Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent and Guerlain. Since we’ve been working with DKNY Be Delicious we reckon we’re pretty clued up about modern scents—but we were very surprised to find out that Kurkdjian has created scents that can be considered artworks, including the scent of money for artist Sophie Calle. Even better, in 2008 he filled the fountains of Versailles with scented bubbles that gave off the fragrance of strawberries, pear and melon. Definitely unique! Naturally we were intrigued to see what he’d come up with for this new line of scents…

We weren’t disappointed! The room at Bergdorf Goodman was split into four sections, each dedicated to the four primary fragrances making up the collection. It’s all about the details…

We loved “Papier Encens,” a scented paper which burns slowly to an ember over an hour or so, without the thick smoke given off by an incense stick. Interesting… but a bit of a fire hazard perhaps?

—Sam Edwards, Creative Director

The bottles of perfume are sealed with a pure zinc cap, inspired by the rooftops of Paris. This year’s signature piece is an exquisite leather bracelet, infused with a fragrance which becomes richer as it is warmed by the wearer’s body. Scented leather bracelet infused with Francis Kurkdjian’s ‘Lumière Noire pour Femme’

In true Sam-and-Els tradition, we were hounded by the paparazzi and ended up pulling sexy faces for more than a few publicity shots. But if you’d like the real scoop on the event, check out our photos on the SKAGGS Flickr Feed.

I had the pleasure of interviewing France born - Brooklyn based designer - Sophie Theallet back in Feburary for the Celeste Duquesne website. Sophie was fantastic to interview and is one of the realest, warmest people I’ve met in fashion. Her Fall 2009 collection was absolutely beautiful - her clothes have no fuss, no frills - just simple and sophisticated detail. It comes as no surprise that she won the coveted $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fund on Monday.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund helps emerging American designer pursue their design and business plans. Award recipients are selected by a Committee of industry experts, based on the exceptional talent they have already demonstrated in fashion design and their capacity for future distinction in the fashion industry.

Alexander Wang won in 2008 and has continued to take the fashion industry by storm, with his French chic, rock grunge, rolled-out-of-bed collections. Winners (and the runners up) usually go on to have huge success and as most of us have seen in The September Issue - an approval nod from Wintour is enough to take you to dizzy new heights.

“Her clothes are not flashy or arty; she’s not everybody’s darling. She is the real deal, a designer who knows how to make clothes from start to finish, and the CFDA/Vogue Fund committee apparently saw that. She also has a point of view in her fashion. She has such a distinctly feminine eye.”

— Cathy Horyn, New York Times

Bravo Sophie! With fans that include first lady and “style icon” - Michelle Obama, increasing attention from the fashion community, consistently beautiful collections and a fearless and down-to-earth, natural charm. Sophie is a much deserved winner. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!

Follow Sophie on Twitter

View the interview on the CelesteDuquesne.com

See behind the scenes in the Case Study

Late last month, the Reykjavik City Environment and Transport Council agreed to establish a task force to increase the presence of electric cars and charging stations in Iceland’s capital. Their decision to shift toward an electricity-based model was born out of the 2008 Driving Sustainability Conference in Reykjavik, where pioneers in the movement to achieve environmentally sustainable transportation decided that electricity proved more efficient than hydrogen. The recent 2009 Conference saw continued support for electric energy, along with a new emphasis on liquefied bio-fuels.

As members of the Driving Sustainability organizing committee, Bradley and I are incredibly proud to be part of an organization that is fueling change. Iceland has an immense amount of clean energy resources at its disposal; by increasing access to electric cars, and enabling ships and airplanes to run on bio-fuel, the country could reduce its reliance upon harmful fossil fuels almost entirely. Such an achievement would greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance the national economy, and serve as a model of successful sustainability for countries around the world!

For more information on Driving Sustainability, visit http://www.drivingsustainability.org/
and if you like to read about Reykjavik’s pledge for sustainable solutions see article here:
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=351086

As the McDonald’s franchise closed up shop in Reykjavik last weekend, many perceived the company’s decision to pull out of Iceland as yet another setback for the country’s struggling economy. In truth, it was just the opposite.

By contract, the McDonald’s franchise holder in Iceland – Lyst, which, coincidentally, means “appetite” – was required to import all of its food from Germany. The result was that much of the 650 krona ($5.29) spent on a single Big Mac ended up going out of the country, while transportation costs caused unnecessary damage to the environment and high-preservative products caused unnecessary damage to people’s health.

Lyst’s new venture, Metro, will offer a similar menu using materials and produce sourced from within Iceland. By switching to local providers, the new model will help to create jobs, reduce pollution, and keep money circulating within the national economy. Moreover, because of Iceland’s laws restricting the use of preservatives, the food itself will be healthier. If Metro is a success, it will prove to similar businesses that there is money to be made in sustainability. Indeed, the McDonald’s departure could end up being exactly the kind of “setback” Iceland’s economy needed.

Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

The Driving Sustainability Conference is produced by FTO, short for Future Energy or Framtidarorka in Icelandic. Iceland is unique in the sense that the country’s usage of energy is already 80% sustainable. Removing fossil fuel vehicles from the roads would make Iceland’s energy usage 98% sustainable and therefore the most sustainable country in the world. The conference was born out of that dream and with 3 conferences under our belts, it is beginning to happen. More importantly the issues and ideas discussed at the conference are catching on elsewhere.

This years conference resulted in identifying 5 areas that would reduce 55% of the oil used by vehicles today in 10 years through:

1. A set of clear goals of replacing oil with sustainable locally produced energy and fuels
2. Creating harmonized incentives that create a demand for low and zero emission vehicles
3. Developing new business models that lower the high capital costs of battery powered electric cars
4. Cooperation of key stakeholders
5. Public campaigns that alter the people’s travel behavior

It was also concluded that the best solutions for sustainable mobility in the next 3-5 years are:

1. The plug-in hybrid vehicles
2. Biogas vehicles
3. Electric vehicles
4. Mixed fuel vehicles
5. And continued lifestyle changes and better planning

Dr. Anne Marie Sastry, Founder & CEO of Sakti3 / Professor University of Michigan

Carsten Beck, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies

Jim Motavalli of the New York Times

Klaus Bondam, Mayor for the Technical and Environmental Administration, Copenhagen

Yours truly, Ichiro Fukue, Executive Vice President, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan, Teitur Thorkelsson, FTO and one sweet Tesla

The FTO Team after a great conference

A fresh look for SKAGGS H.Q.

Brrr, a change in the weather! Time for a brand new restyle for SKAGGS Headquarters.

As the oldest commercial area of Manhattan, a lot of history goes into our bastion of design knowledge in TriBeCa. SKAGGS H.Q. is the only two-story building in the neighborhood, holding out against the giant AT&T Building skyscraper and surrounded by classic TriBeCa apartment buildings. Ours is a highly unusual style of architecture that attracts attention simply because it’s so different. 

Design Intern Jessica Edmiston begins the painstaking task of cutting out the ravens.

“It may sound outlandish, but before we took over the corner of Walker and Church Street the building was home to a burrito bar—complete with a 3-D plastic “burrito van” attached to the brickwork.”

—Jonina Skaggs, Art Director

Many birds, ready for flight!
Creative Director Sam Edwards gets handy with the scissors.

Indeed, the building has been used as a burrito bar, a Chinese canteen and even a high-end apartment. When we arrived, we turned the dial up to 11 and we’ve been restyling the building ever since.

Creative Director Bradley Skaggs and Design Intern Jessica Edmiston check out the windows.

We soon attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.

“This time, we got crafty with the Exacto knives and scissors, creating a flock of ravens by zipping around layers of smooth adhesive vinyl. Now it looks as though the whole building is surrounded by birds in flight.”

— Jessica Edmiston, Design Intern

Not content with merely covering the interior of the building, we knew that it would give the building a distinctive look if the birds extended across the outside of the building, from our entranceway on Church Street right across the brick work to the windows.

“Soho gets its artsy charm from the layers of wheatpasted designs covering every door, wall and surface. Our street in TriBeCa has a more “austere” feel to it, so creating artwork on this magnitude certainly turns heads. As I pasted the ravens onto the brick, I was surprised to turn around and realize I’d drawn a crowd!”

—Bradley Skaggs, Creative Director

The view from inside the office.
The result! Come visit us on Church and Walker!

This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten artsy with our building and it won’t be the last! Click here for a visual diary and more images.
—What do you think? Leave us your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

There’s something to be said about the power of fragrance. When you find a scent that you love, you treasure it forever. When you’re assaulted with a less than alluring whiff you don’t necessarily treasure it but you definitely remember it. Luxury fragrance company Le Cherche Midi are giving their customers the opportunity to design and create fragrances to treasure with their new Bespoke service.

“The Le Cherche Midi Bespoke team will guide you through the fragrance development process, where you will work directly with our perfumers and laboratory team to create a one-of-a-kind fragrance. The process often starts with a basic concept – it could be an idea, image, color, smell, feeling, texture – anything that comes to mind.”

Bespoke clients even have the opportunity to customize their packaging to better suit their needs. The best news? LCM keeps a record of your unique formula so that you can recreate your Signature Scent time and again.

Sweet.

Steel Grate

Since I was a youngster, I’ve always had a passion for photography. I was obsessed with it when I was in High School to the point that I talked my Dad into letting me build a darkroom in the basement of his office building. I spent hours down there trying everything possible with an enlarger and photographic paper. I even got to the point of developing color negatives and doing color prints. That was time consuming and very difficult. If I wasn’t down “in the hole” as it was said, I was out shooting, shooting and shooting.

Then, I graduated, got accepted into architecture school and there wasn’t a lot of time to shoot and forget about spending hours in the darkroom. If I had a free hour that I wasn’t in my studio I was either sleeping or at a bar. Suffice to say, while I didn’t loose my passion for shooting, I didn’t have enough time to do it. Skip ahead several years and I found myself looking for a form of self expression outside of SKAGGS. I thought long and hard about what I should do. Should I start cooking? Try to paint? Sculpt? I wasn’t sure.

Then one day this past Spring, I was headed to the Princeton Club in NYC and I walked by The International Center of Photography. Well, I didn’t exactly walk by, rather I found myself staring at this beautify photograph in the window and that is when it hit me - I needed to pick up a camera again. A lot of things have changed since the days of my trusty, built like a rock, Nikon FE and F3 and rolls and rolls of Ilford 400. I began to walk slowly again on down the street to my meeting but all I could think about was shooting. I realized just in that last block how many amazing things were going on around me and how many were just wanting to be caught on film.

The next time I went by there, I went in an picked up some information on classes. I had decided it was time to shoot and so I enrolled in a one week, intensive class just to get my head back into again. Wow, what a blast! Each night we would meet from 6-10pm and discuss all aspects of photography, camera operation, basic principles, and we’d be given an assignment and we’d go out and shoot for an hour.

The assignments weren’t difficult but they were a bit challenging. For example go out and find a subject that was romantic, dangerous, melancholy or mysterious and shoot at least 20 pictures. Being next to Bryant Park in the Summer, romance was everywhere, however, I wasn’t keen on going up to couples kissing and sticking my camera in their face. I guess it’s just not me. There were some people in the class who did, or better, tried and well, you can probably guess what happened. I chose mysterious as the sun was starting to set, the sky was turning a dark blue and the shadows were growing bigger and darker.

We would do exercises like this all week and on the last evening, we took our favorite top pictures and printed them out, hung them on the wall and looked at what everyone had produced. It was really amazing to see how it such a short time, everyone had taken some really great shots. I was happy with 2 of mine and there are a couple of other ones that are OK as well, but mostly I’m glad I picked up the camera and started shooting again. It feels great and it’s been just the thing I needed!

And the moral of the story you might be asking? If you want to do something, then do it. You have but one life, so follow your dreams. You’ll be happy you did.

Bryant Park Chairs

Man on Platform

The Window

White Light

Clark Street

Fly on a Flower