PRINT VS DIGITAL

I am definitely a huge magazine nerd and any chance I can get, I will spend my hard earned money on hot rod, pinstriping, music and skateboarding magazines. Magazines are, without a doubt, becoming more expensive. But the main problem is that actual, physically printed magazines are slowly going the the way of the dinosaurs and becoming extinct.

Now since moving to Toronto, I’ve known of a magazine called “King Shit“…yes, you read right “King Shit“, and it is a locally produced skateboard magazine based just a couple of blocks down from where I live. I finally found a copy of the mag at a great skate shop called Sanction.
The reason I’m mentioning this magazine is because I think all magazines should be run like this…the magazine is FREE. Everyone likes free stuff and everyone likes to give away stuff. So the stores are looking good by giving away these mags and more people are picking up the mag and reading it, which in turn gives the advertisers a broader marketing base.

I’m not going to argue with anyone that picking up your iPad or laptop and downloading the magazine for free, or next to nothing is a bad idea. But for me there’s nothing better than having that magazine in my hands and being able to store it on the book shelf to read over and over again. “King Shit” is such a mag…the quality of the paper and print is amazing (better than some other skate mags I’ve read), the photography and design is brilliant and a great source of design inspiration and the articles are well written. I’ve read a lot of people complaining about the quality of the interviews and writing but you know what…when you have people offering you a free skate mag with great photos, ads and info, I really don’t think you should be complaining.

SUMMER AFTERNOON PHOTOGRAPHY

It has been a while since I’ve had chance to photograph anything and a couple of weeks back I was lucky enough to have attended a barbershop’s one year anniversary party with a great atmosphere, hot rods, bands and free booze.
I was able to grab some great shots of the day which have been published on the Toronto Rockabilly website (www.torontorockabilly.com) and will be published in a Canadian publication in the next couple of months.

So I thought I’d share some of the photos:

KOFFIN KITTEN

Had the opportunity to revamp the look, feel and corporate identity for Koffin Kitten Hair Accessories from logo design to the packaging, marketing material and the website.

A fun project that I thoroughly enjoyed and it was a challenge to keep the “psychobilly” feel of the brand alongside a girly and more rockabilly feel that would appeal to all the ladies with style out there!

The website (www.koffinkitten.co.za) and relaunch was only a couple of weeks ago and already the response has been great. A retail store catalog is the next project which will be out soon. Keep posted to the website/blog for the latest Breath Of Fresh Air news!

ROCKABILLY COFFEE BOOK

Although I tend to try and leave any “personal” work out of the Breath Of Fresh Air blog, it is rather hard to keep it out when that is some of the work I am the most proudest of.

I have spent most of my life playing in rock-n-roll bands and the last project I started about two or so years ago was a three-piece rockabilly outfit called The Mystery Train Gamblers.

We had two great photographer friends that would come along to almost every show and shoot the band live on and off stage. Having moved to California I’ve had to put the band on hold and thought it would be great to put a hard covered coffee style book together. A limited few were produced and I could not be happier with the outcome. I rather do enjoy doing layouts such as these and will hopefully be putting a few more coffee style books together for future clients.

You can view the entire coffee book HERE.