We're talking to ....

Photography: John Keatly

Who is also ....

It's tough raisin' em' up right. Ian (dubbed above 'This Guy') does it everyday day as a Principal of Wexley School for Girls. Not to be confused with an actual school for girls because there are boys too, and it's not actually a school, but you can learn a lot while you are there. Have I lost you yet? Short slang termed 'Wexley' is an advertising agency, a purveyor of the new way. If Willy Wonka were to acquire an ad agency this might be it, creative without a glass ceiling and there are rubber chickens hanging in the front window of their compound. Really. With a roster of young creative peeps - art directors, copywriters, producers, strategists - he's immersed in the new/it/rad on a daily basis. Ian is also a proud dad to two adorbs boys. Though, he and his wife keep it real  (Ian pointed out in interest of total transparency they have some Pottery Barn furniture) making sure to inspire and encourage their boys to foster individual creativity so they're adept for the brave new world. Read on as Ian did his best to field my banter and gave solid answers about what the heck is going to happen next, Wexley using it's popularity for good by educating others, and how to get innovative with the due diligence of parenting. 

You and I scheduled a meeting via Twitter for this interview! I have never done this before. Your job is to be one step ahead of the what's-cool curve and adapt progressive ways to communicate, how do you think the 'next generation' will respond (adapt/exploit/shun) to social media?

A: My feeling is that the next generation will look at social media like our generation looks at the telephone land line. There will probably be some things that are still consistent with how social media works now, but it will evolve like everything else does and when people look back at how we are doing things today it will probably seem a bit silly. My guess is that technology will change dramatically and this will change how the media becomes social. For example if we can cam on our phones, will we need to text? Or if you can send a hologram of yourself, do you need to actually go anywhere and use GPS or will there be a Social Media hologram component? I’ve already seen where you can watch a 3D football game on TV and have your social network involved as you watch. I believe the next generation will have more ways of communicating and all of them will be richer experiences visually and technologically.

Miss school miss out. More about the class, Wexley is embracing the interest surrounding the innovative work your agency continues to offer,  sharing what 'advertising' , at it's basic core, is all about. Which is rad.  Hw/Ks motto is sharing is caring, what was the initiative to educate others about the current landscape of the advertising industry?

A: We were asked to teach an intro to advertising class by Larry Asher at the School of Visual Concepts. Larry and I had discussed the fact that advertising is really different than when I was getting into it and that an intro class really should set people up for the realities of what the industry was all about now. For a lot of people advertising still represents print, television and radio ads and maybe online banners, but now it is so much more that we thought we better teach that. And Larry agreed. We had no desire to watch student after student show print ad after print ad in each class, knowing they would probably not be doing a lot of print ads in their careers anymore. The initiative came from us wanting to see schools teaching the new talent in the advertising industry what is really going on so they are better prepared when they get out of school.

You have a lot of inspiring people with informed interests working for you, what do you continue to learn from them?

A: They keep me on my toes. From all of these diverse talented people I learn things that keep me feeling young. Or make me feel really old, depending on the day. I feel like I am always learning different things from new music, to new social networks, to new places to travel, to new creative ways to approach a problem. I love all of the different perspectives and points of view people bring to the table here, even if I don’t personally agree with all of them.


You're a creative professional, do you consider yourself a creative parent? How so?

A: Well, I don’t know if I am that creative as far as parenting. I can’t really build anything. I suck with tools. So, I have never built that really rad tree house or fort or something I wish I could have built. My wife is actually way better at doing really cool, creative stuff for them. My best creative parenting example was the way I did each of our boys' birth announcements. For my older son, I sent out a weight loss announcement (The Zachary Cohen Diet! Guaranteed to lose 7.5 lbs!) And for Max my second I did a Pick the real Max Riley Cohen, where you could pick his picture out of several other look alikes like Yoday and Captain Stubbing etc. Right now, my creative parenting revolves more around how I can creatively get them to eat vegetables and take a bath or inspire them to be creative in their lives. They both love to read and write, so I encourage that to be creative as much as possible. My older son showed me some Wexley School for Girls ads he did for me and they were awesome, including the Wexley bra. So I think the encouragement is working.

Can you recommend....

a neighborhood Queen Anne (Seattle).

a coffee shop Lame, but maybe hip in its lameness: Starbucks (I drink iced tea!) or El Diablo.

a grocery store Pete’s in Eastlake (Seattle. 

a band you might not listen to around the kids RUSH

a website Freerice.com a book- we go back to the Hardy Boys! They are still good to read and those guys had morals! The Thief Lord- awesome.

a radio show This American Life NPR (I wish I had something new to recommend).

a viral video (disclaimer, for *parents only*)  http://joshspector.com/2010/03/01/logorama-short-film/  it is long but awesome, keep watching it gets good.

a recreational activity skiing or camping.  For families I recommend  skiing Big White (Canada) it was amazing.

a publication Sports Illustrated for kids. If your kids are into sports it’s great.

a toy  K’NEX

Thanks Ian!

Image from Planet Awesome Kid

Image from Planet Awesome Kid

Image from Planet Awesome Kid

Planet Awesome Kid creator Julia Samersova and family I adore the blog Planet Awesome Kid , an exuberant celebration of children's style, and draw inspiration from it daily.  So do a lot of others. The blog has received a ton of well-deserved press and praise for good reason. This interview  with the HIP creator Julia Samersova feels cool and connected, a sense of community even though we've never met face to face! A big timin' casting director for the fashion industry, Julia is using her keen scouting powers to shine attention on all the awesome kids worldwide. Together Team Awesome (including Julia's husband, Andrew, responsible for a lot of the photography) is on a mission documenting children's style and character and simultaneously working to support local and global children-based charities.

Hw/Ks:  You're a busy lady - Casting Director extraordinaire and you and your husband are new parents to a lovely  Ms Violet!  When did Planet Awesome Kid come into the mix and what was the inspiration?  

Julia: Violet is the light and joy of our lives.  She is also our constant inspiration!   I was walking her through the park in Brooklyn one fall afternoon, in October, and BOOM, it just hit me.  There were so many amazingly cool kids all around us, and we had to document it!  My husband is a photographer, so we just went out on the streets of NYC and looked (and found) the most awesome kids!

Hw/Ks: Global Action for Children, an amazing organization, is the newest partner for Planet Awesome Kid. How do you 'find' partners, or how do they find you?  

Julia: A lot of the events occurring around Planet Awesome Kid have been incredibly serendipitous.   Global Action for Children actually found us and contacted us!  My partner Christiana Tran and I were looking for the right charity to link up with and just as we were doing the research GAC contacted us!   One of the young ladies who works at GAC is a street-style hound, and found us on the internet and thought we would be a great match!   They came to NYC from D.C. to meet us, and it just CLICKED.  We are very excited about the benefit we are throwing for GAC in March in NYC.  It will be awesome and 100% of the proceeds we raise will go directly to GAC!

Hw/Ks: Planet Awesome Kid has been described at the Sartorialist of children's fashion, this is très cool but I feel like you have a such unique ingredient, spirit! How do you spot your subjects, what makes them stand out?

Julia: Being an "Awesome Kid"  can literally mean anything.  A child who just shines in a crowd, a child with a unique look, or a cool hobby.  Its not only about fashion to me. It is about the SPIRIT and ENERGY of a child.  A smile, a cool skateboard, a way a child thrown together a rad outfit, a talent.  It could be anything.  It goes without saying that I feel ALL CHILDREN are awesome. 

Hw/Ks: What’s your take on top designers doing collaborations and/or in-house lines for kids wear? (Stella, Comme, Marc...)  

Julia: GIVE US MORE, but please, can it be a bit more affordable? I think it speaks to the strength of the children's market.  In the midst of a great recession, the children's market remained extremely strong.  I think this is a very smart move for a designer to incorporate a kid's line.    I know that for me, personally, even though we had a bit of a rough year financially, I still could not resist buying my daughter items that truly stole my heart.

 

HwKs: Can you reccomend.....

A neighborhood - Windsor Terrace is a gem.  Its on the Southwest side of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and we love it!

A restaurant or cafe -  Miriam's in Park Slope for brunch!   HEAVEN!  

Music you might not listen to around kids-  Biggie Smalls, Tupac, and Lady Gaga

A favorite shop- Zakka in Dumbo  

A website -  Stroller Traffic, Mamaista, Weelicious, Cool Mom Picks, and everything that is blog rolled on Planet Awesome Kid.  

A book - Happiest Toddler on The Block......GENIUS!  

A recreational activity (w/or w/o kids) -  We live in NYC, so museums, zoos, parks, restaurants, beach, trips! We go everywhere with Violet!  I believe strongly in exposing your children to EVERYTHING.  

A publication - Vogue Paris is my style bible.  I worship Carine Roitfeld.

A toy - We love books.  For the 1st year we could not live without the Whoozit.

Something that every parent should own - Baby Bjorn Soft Plastic Bib and Beaba BabyCook

 

JULIA THANK YOU!

 

WOOOHOOOO thanks Seattle Metropolitan and the lovely Style Editor Laura Cassidy, who has her own radical blog BTW Wear What When . Link here to see this Style Counsel and others.

(left to right) Sarah, Danny, Mike, Nori, Tom

Disclaimer: Listen to The Not-It's! at your own risk of spontaneously busting a move and/or singing along. The Seattle-based band is an eclectic ensemble come together to highlight an underrated genre - indie-rock for kids! They sing songs about helicopters, taking a bath and dressing up  to the tune of 'crunchy, rockin' guitars and lovable pop-infused melodies. Their uniforms include pink tutus (girls) and glittery Chucks (boys).  If you follow the band, you know they've been playing a hard to beat game of tag-and-go with the release of a new album and a jam-packed-with-fun performance schedule. I caught up with them long enough to get some insider, additional hipster-cred, facts about each member:

Mike -  (drummer) Rides a unicycle and wore a bolo tie all thru 8th grade
Nori - (bass) Knows how to play the Philippine nose flute (the tongali)
Danny- (rhythm guitar) Favorite movie is The Sound of Music
Tom- (guitar) Has six tarantulas in his class room (he's an elementary school teacher) and has full sleeve tattoos
Sarah -  (lead singer) Saw Blondie in concert when she was twelve

OH! Another reason to check out their website , um Karaoke!

 

Meet Jen (middle), May and Finley.  

 

Jen O'Neill is the designer and founder of My Tree & Me, a cool company that designs and customizes modern genealogy charts. She and her husband (not pictured) are both artists and when they had their first child, Jen felt compelled to apply her aesthetic to interpret the family's history. Launching the website and online store this past April and with two kidlets both under the age of 5 to add to the craziness, I was very excited to catch up with Jen over a few post bedtime e-mails and get a brief lesson on the roots of My Tree & Me and some recommends for nurturing one's inner artist. 

 

Such. a. great. idea. When did you launch and what did you do prior to My Tree & Me? 

I guess the site launched in April of this year but I've been working on it for at least a year prior to that during naptimes and after bedtimes. oy. Prior to this I was working full time raising my babies, prior to that I worked in the fashion industry in L.A. 

 

What kind(s) of design and/or designers influence you the most? 

I'm pretty influenced by textile design because of my fashion background. I really love flat, bright prints - Vera, Marimekko, I have a huge collection of vintage scarves, clothing and fabric scraps that I'm always drawing inspiration from in some way. 

 

My favorite design is the Slice of Life, is there a 'most popular' design?

It's a tie between the Proud as a Peacock group and Birds of a Feather.  

 

Is My Tree & Me available in stores? 

Right now we are in Wing & Clover in Rhinebeck NY. They are being so amazing and supportive as we figure out this wholesale thing. I'm hoping to develop more DIY designs to wholesale in the New Year and expand to more stores. My husband is an artist too and we have all sorts of big plans to silkscreen them. You know, after the kids are in bed - ha! 

 

I feel you would like this blog http://myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com/ , what do you feel is important about learning one's heritage/lineage? 

Wow that blog is great - thanks for passing it on. 

I think it's important to learn about because it's a way of honoring all the individual's lives who came before you. Sort of like the aim of that site - to show how awesome all those people were who had a hand in creating you. Each had a story just like we all have a story that we are creating now. I look at my chart all the time and think stuff like "what did great great great grandma do when her kids were squabbling?" or "damn, life must have been even more exhausting than I am now when you had to work on the farm and raise 5 kids without a dishwasher". For me, taking a moment to consider this keeps your heritage alive a little bit.

 

How far back have you been able to date your family history? Was anyone else an artist? 

I have one line on my dad's side that goes back to 1657 even listing the ship my ancestor came over on. I sort of got lucky there in that I have a woman in my family who was a certified genealogy researcher.

 

Can you recommend  ....

a neighborhood - The Mission in San Francisco

a coffee shop - On the Rise Bakery in Richmond, VT - It has a has a huge garden out front, locally produced food, great coffee and a playground across the lawn. Kid/Mommy paradise.

a grocery store and/or farmers market - It's kind of a zoo but I love the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in CA. My sister knew an avocado farmer there who would make us fresh avocado diced in the skin with salt and fresh lime juice. Then we'd walk around and shop eating them. Heaven! 

music you might not listen to around the kids - Bright Eyes, Wilco, Feist, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, M. Ward, Flaming Lips.

music you listen to around the kids - I actually listen to the classical radio station all day. It gives me something calming to focus on when the kids are going berserk! 

a website - I just learned about Kideos.com which I think is genius and I love Pandora so much I should work in their PR department.

a book/ mag publication - Domino may it rest in peace. I'm a fan of the first issue of Lonny too - seems like it's going to be full of similarly amazing content.

a recreational activity - Biking with the kids in the Burley to the beach. We have great bike trails here in Burlington right along Lake Champlain [VT]. I go at least once a week in the summer hauling lunch, towels, sand toys, etc. I think pro bikers should borrow our overstuffed beach bound bike trailer to train with.

a toy - the dress up box. Our kids are something new every 10 minutes I swear. Right now my son is a pirate and my daughter is a ballerina pirate. 

something that every parent should own  - a phone with the pizza delivery place programmed in.