I’m Joining the Sew What team

Hello followers of the Sew What Inc. Blog. I was asked to contribute to this blog on a regular basis, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about myself first, so you’d know something about the person posting.

I own and operate Grafix jam, Ltd. Over the last sixteen years I’ve worked as a graphic designer, illustrator and creative consultant to a multitude of industries which include everything from the automotive industry , sports and entertainment industries , toy and game industries to you name it. I became aware of Sew What, Inc. a few years ago through working with a long time client, Ted Nugent. As luck would have it, Megan remembered me from that project, so when she needed someone to assist with illustration of the monstrously sized Crue Fest II dual stage, she contacted me, and the synergy was instant. Since then I’ve been in-trusted with working directly on several projects for Sew What Inc’s most valued assets, their beloved clients.

This brings us to today. My love of all things stage, show and rock-n-roll and my skill-set has found a more permanent home at Sew What, Inc. I look forward to focusing my creative energy on you, the client, and working with and assisting you in any way I can. Thank you, Megan. I’m ready to get the show on the road….

Looking for inspiration? Check out our portfolios!

Whether you are staging a rock tour, designing a theatre, or planning a special event, custom stage drapes, wide format digital backdrops, and other soft goods can play an intregal part in bringing your vision to life.  But what if your vision is tenuous?  You have a general idea of the mood you’d like to create, but you are unsure of how to use drapery to help achieve that mood.  How about checking out the Sew What and Rent What portfolio pages?  We’ve got photos of many different projects that we’ve worked on in the past – I’m sure that you’ll see something that strikes a cord!

Rock ‘N’ Roll

Maybe the Katy Perry parachute inspires you towards a red, white and blue patriotic theme, or Chris Cornell’s Metal Mesh drape gets you think of a cool industrial look.  Remember, these looks aren’t just for Rock ‘N’ Roll – similar looks would work for a special event.

Theatre

Maybe the gorgeous swags used by Jennifer Hudson inspire you, or the Austrian used by John Mayer at the Nokia fits the bill.  Traditional and dramatic theatrical drapery such as swags and Austrians aren’t just for traditional theatres – they look beautiful in any venue, whether it is a concert or a special event.

Digital Printing

Whether you choose a large scale backdrop with elaborate scenes, a step and repeat banner, or a geometric pattern, digital printing can be one of the most “custom” ways to achieve your vision.  Check out the terrific images we printed for Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow, and many more.

Need inspiration? Check out the Rent What Photostream on Flickr

I’ve posted in the past about the great photos that Rent What? has posted on Flickr, but as it has been awhile, I thought I’d mention it again.  We’ve told you a lot about the various custom stage curtains, theatrical backdrops, and other theatrical soft goods and supplies that are available for purchase through Sew What? and / or for rent through Rent What?  But, as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and so if you are looking for inspiration for your next show or event, why not look through the many great photos in the “Concerts and Curtains” photostream on Flickr?

Here are some of my favorites:

LED Stardrops

Want to add some sparkle to your next show?  Thinking about purchasing or renting an LED Stardrop.  You can choose between the traditional bluish white night sky look with the Classic Stardrop, or maybe mix it up a little with color through the Chameleon Stardrop.  Check out the LED Stardrops photo set for some great visuals.

Austrian Curtains

I mentioned before how much I love Austrian Curtains – they are so beautiful and can set so many different moods. I especially like when an Austrian seems to change color magically during a show (through the use of a variety of lighting techniques) – one moment red, the next moment blue.  There are a number of gorgeous examples in the Austrian Curtains for Theatre and Stage set.

Digital Backdrops

Digital printing is such an amazing option today!  Whereas in the past, the only way to have a large scale scenic backdrop was to commission an artist to hand-paint the image, today just about any image can be printed and sewn into almost any size scenic backdrop.  From a simple 8′ x 10′ backdrop for a trade show booth to a huge 40′ h x 60′ w backdrop for a concert – digitally printing can handle it all.  Check out some of our projects in the Wide Format Digital Textile Printing set.

And these are just a few of the photo sets available – there is so much more.  So, if you haven’t looked at the photostream lately, check it out – I think you’ll find great ideas and inspiration.

Ringing in the New Year

As the clock ticks closer and closer to 2011, I thought I’d reflect a little on some of the projects that we have worked on this year.  I’d love to post a little bit about all of the projects that we worked on in 2010, but for that I would need to publish a book!  So, instead I’ll just remind you of a few particularly memorable projects.

Large-Format Digital Printing

We printed and sewed so many amazing digitally printed backdrops this year.  A few that come to mind include several gorgeous panels for Brooks & Dunn‘s “Last Rodeo” farewell tour (I love the cowgirl images!), the “Distressed Fleur de Lis” pattern for Little Big Town,  Billy Idol in black and white, and, of course, the beautiful backdrop for Kenny Chesney (third year running).  All beautiful, all unique!

Custom Stage Curtains

Of course, all of the drapery that we make is custom-made according to the client’s specifications, so all projects are interesting and unique.  But some projects really stand out.  The Silver Scrim for Yusuf Islam was so beautiful and quite unusual.  The Alice in Chains project was so cool that I posted about it twice, and of course the drapery in sheers and silvers for Celtic Woman set the perfect ethereal backdrop to their music.

Mixed Media and Specialty Pieces

These are the projects in which we really “think outside the box,” using materials and/or techniques that are just a little bit different from the usual drapery style.  I loved the Metal Mesh frame pieces that we made for James Taylor and the Korn backdrop was an amazing combination of netting, digital printing, and smoke tubes.  And just a few weeks ago – who could forget the American Parachute that we made for Katy Perry?

All of these terrific projects are just a small fraction of the projects we worked on in 2010.  I can’t wait to see what projects come our way in 2011!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Korn Mixed Media Cut Drop

Such a nice surprise to find Sew What? recognized in the November 2010 issue of Projection, Lights and Staging News (PLSN).  The industry mag included a terrific article by Steve Jennings on this past summer’s 2010 Mayhem Festival in Dallas, TX, in which Steve interviewed several people at the festival, including Jim Lenahan, Set Designer for Korn.  In speaking about the set design, Jim mentions the mixed media backdrop constructed by Sew What? according to Jim’s design.

It really was a fantastic theatrical backdrop, including black netting, digitally printed elements, and smoke tubes, and looks great as part of Jim’s complete “industrial oil rig” set design.   We really enjoyed working on it – thanks for the shout out, Jim!

Want to see photos of the show?  Steve has included several terrific photos in the article – just scroll to the bottom.

Sew What Goes Country

We talk about “Rock-N-Roll” here all the time, having provided custom stage drapes and digital backdrops to the tours of so many rock artists/bands. The fact of the matter, though, is that we have worked with productions for artists and bands from many different music genres, including pop, jazz, classical, folk, and much more.

Recently, we have found ourselves working on soft goods for more and more country artists and bands. A couple of projects spring to mind. We have been so fortunate to be selected to provide digitally painted backdrops to the Kenny Chesney Tour for three years in a row. This year’s backdrop was printed in-house on a semi-translucent fabric to allow for backlighting.  After topically treating the printed backdrop for flame retardancy, our manufacturing staff the digitally printed panels into a Braille Curtain, 37′ h x 58′ w, with lift lines every 4 feet.

Photo Courtesy of Glen Rose of Glen Rose Photography

Lady Antebellum is a country band whom we have recently begun to work with.  We were approached by the production designer for Lady Antebellum, with a request for a Braille Curtain.  But this time, the designer was looking for something different – a curtain that would combine the scenic properties of a digital backdrop with the “stage magic” of scrim.  We offered the perfect solution – direct printing onto sharkstooth scrim.  When properly front-lit, the fabric appears opaque, and the printed image can be clearly seen (as if it were an image printed on traditional fabric).  Once the front light is turned off and lights come up behind it, the scrim “disappears.” 

Though we tend to think of ourselves as “Rock-n-Roll,” the truth is that we are fans of live music and production, regardless of the music genre – we just love to be a part of the show!

Sons of Sylvia Digital

It seems that almost every day, we are making a new digitally printed backdrop for an artist or band.  It is really interesting to see these backdrops in the various stages of construction.  First, the individual panels running through our wide format digital printer.  Then, the panels being matched together and sewn.  And finally, the finished backdrop hanging on our mechanical truss for the final quality control check before being shipped to the client.

Even more exciting, however, is seeing these backdrops actually in use – on stage with the artist or band.  It makes it so much more real – to know that these beautiful pieces went from plain fabric to beautiful scenic backdrop to part of an actual concert! 

One of the backdrops that I have recently seen onstage was a 30′ h x 32′ backdrop that we made earlier this year for Sons of Sylvia, the country music trio of brothers.  Printed on FR Heavy Knit, a durable wrinkle-resistant digital substrate, the backdrop was also topically treated for flame retardancy after printing, meeting National, California and New York City standards for flame retardancy.  Also included on the order was a Tear Away header, which allows the backdrop to function as a kabuki without the need for a solenoid system.

Seeing it in a photo is great, but video footage is even better.  Check out this video on YouTube – the backdrop is certainly a prominent feature in the show!

Photos on Flickr – We’ve Come a Long Way

You know – I’m not that old (I’m in my mid 40s), but it amazes me to think of how much technology has changed in my lifetime. For at least half maybe more) of my life, you needed a camera and film to take a photo .  How many times did the opportunity for a great picture arise, but you didn’t have a camera with you, or you were out of film?  I know it happened to me a lot.

You had to finish the roll of film (12, 24 or 36 frames), take it to be developed, and then wait for the results (when I was younger, it took several days to a week, but eventually you could pay extra for one hour service).  Only then would you have your photos (and the negatives).  Want to give a copy of a photo to a friend or relative, customer or business associate?  You had to take the negative to the store to have a copy made, wait for it (just like before) and then give or mail or Fed Ex the photo to your friend or customer.  Not exactly a quick process.  And if the negative was lost or damaged?  Too bad – the photo is gone forever.

Today, it is so quick and easy to take, store, and copy photographs – all digitally.  We have digital cameras that are about the size of credit cards.  Our cell phones even have cameras, not to mention e-mail capability, so we can snap that pic and instantly e-mail it to a friend or colleague. 

We can save the photo files to our computers and back them up to DVDs or Flash drives – so that they last forever.  We can distribute them electronically or print copies ourselves in an instant using a color printer.

And then there is Flickr – which gives us the opportunity to make our photos available to thousands of people all over the world.  On some of my previous posts, I have included links to photos of our projects on Flickr.  Well, I was looking in Flicker today, and I thought, how amazing is this!  There are so many incredible photos on Concerts and Photostream – 152 in all.

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know how much I love the Rent What? Silver Satin Series.  Well, there is a set just for those drapes.  There are also sets for Wide Format Digital Printing, Austrian Curtains, and much more.  And new photos and sets are continually being added, so it is always fun to go back to the photostream to see what’s new.  It’s definitely a photostream to bookmark.

I have always been pretty computer-savvy – my father had one of the first home personal computers, and I have used computers in one form or another for many years.  Even so, I can’t help but be amazed when I consider the changes brought by technology within my lifetime.

And I haven’t even mentioned Facebook or Twitter or Linked In, or DVRs or Wiis or iPhones or Blackberries or Kindles…I’m excited to see what’s next.  How about you:?

Digital Printing Portfolio

We’ve been offering wide format digitally printing for quite some time now, but, since we didn’t have a dedicated digital portfolio page on our website, most of our digital project photos were either displayed on one of our other portfolio pages, within the product pages, or in this blog. 

Well, I am excited to say that we now have a digital portfolio page on our website!  There are ten projects highlighted on the page – just a small percentage of the number of digital projects that we have done, but a really good representation of our work.

To mention just a few of the projects featured on the page:

Brooks and Dunn “The Last Rodeo”

This was a recent project that we really enjoyed, that included a main “tour logo” backdrop along with two “cowgirl” backdrops.  For more info, check out my previous blog post.

Great American Food Fest

This was a huge project – dozens of digital backdrops and signage for this Northern California event.  I got so excited with watching the progress of this project that I ended up buying tickets and driving up for the weekend to attend the event.  And guess what?  I took the photos shown on our portfolio (OK, I don’t claim to be an expert photographer, but I think they turned out pretty nice).

Soulja Boy

I blogged about this digital / mixed media awhile back, but at the time I didn’t have a photo to add to my post.  Well, check out the photo on our digital portfolio page – it really is impressive!

Want to see more?  Head over to the Digital Printing Portfolio.

Backdrops for Tegan and Sara

We worked on a fun digital printing project last month with Benjamin Price, and he recently sent us some great photos that I thought I’d share.

Benjamin was working on the Tegan and Sara tour (if you aren’t familiar with Tegan and Sara, they are a Canadian indie band lead by twin sisters Tegan Quin and Sara Quin).  While looking for a provider of wide format digital printing for a series of custom backdrops for the tour, Benjamin contacted Megan, and we were off and running.

Rather than make one large backdrop, the decision was made to instead print a series of five backdrops, each 24′ h x 6′ w.   Emmy Story’s artwork, composed of a series of diagonal colored lines, is beautiful in and of itself, but the repetition and crossover that occurs when hanging the five panels side by side with space in between, emphasizes the drama of the artwork.

Backdrop Image: Emmy Story; Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Price

Lighting also plays a big part in creating a dramatic effect.  The backdrops were backlit using 2 Martin stage bars per panel – one for a short throw and one for a long throw.  During portions of the show, they were also frontlit using a Martin Mac 700 profile with a custom Bar gobo for each panel.  Here’s another photo to show the effect that lighting has one the artwork:

Backdrop Image: Emmy Story; Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Price

This really was a fun project to work on – it is so rewarding in our business to have the opportunity to work on digital backdrops, custom stage curtains, and other soft goods for so many talented artists such as Tegan and Sara, and to see our work looking so gorgeous on stage as in these photos.