Work hard, be kind:

It starts off hysterical (natch), but towards the end, Conan O'Brien's commencement speech from Dartmouth is inspiring and awesome:

So, at the age of 47, after 25 years of obsessively pursuing my dream, that dream changed. For decades, in show business, the ultimate goal of every comedian was to host The Tonight Show. It was the Holy Grail, and like many people I thought that achieving that goal would define me as successful. But that is not true. No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you. In 2000—in 2000—I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.

Many of you here today are getting your diploma at this Ivy League school because you have committed yourself to a dream and worked hard to achieve it. And there is no greater cliché in a commencement address than "follow your dream." Well I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that's okay...

I have told you many things today, most of it foolish but some of it true. I'd like to end my address by breaking a taboo and quoting myself from 17 months ago. At the end of my final program with NBC, just before signing off, I said "Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen." Today, receiving this honor and speaking to the Dartmouth Class of 2011 from behind a tree-trunk, I have never believed that more.

I can't think of better advice to give to recent college graduates--and anyone, really.

You can read the text of the speech here (but it's much more fun to watch it).

Inspire me, Main Street

Last week I was in Westport, doing the very important task of buying make up. In and around Main Street, there was all kinds of crazy inspiration:

Ann Taylor: First of all? Yes, AT, a sale is a girl's best friend. Second, how much do I love these colors? Something about the bright yellow, coupled with the bluish teal dress on the far right (of course the photo isn't doing the color justice at all. You all simply must run down to AT to view it in person. And, perhaps pick yourself up something nice while you're there). These colors scream summer to me. Well played, AT.



Lulu Lemon: There's something wonderfully playful about the handmade letters--especially since LL is a chain, and lord knows how the chains love their helvetica (yeah, I'm talking to you, Gap).



Coach: OK, the only reason I went into Coach is because they sent me a 25% off coupon. And who doesn't love 25% off? Or Coach, for that matter? Or, the colors on this bag?

Seriously, while I don't think I would buy this bag for myself, I do love the pattern, and the colors. I'm a sucker for all things silver and shiny, and the pewter/purple/yellow is just lovely for fall.



J. Crew: J. Crew, on the other hand, did not send me a coupon, but I went in anyways (because that's how much I love J. Crew). More hand cut letter love: the woman in the photo was cutting those letters out as she was hanging them--adorable. What the picture doesn't show all that well is that quite a few letters were cut out of patterned paper. Love. It.



PS. Coach's website says it's time for new fall shoes. Um, OK. If you guys insist...

The children are bored on Sundays

My second or third "design" job out of college was laying out a trade magazine for eyewear. Like any other job, it had it's ups: high fashion photo shoots (that made me feel oh-so-important), MAJOR discounts on glasses; and it's downs: a LOT of grunt work, especially on said photo shoots. But I got some great experience, got to meet and work with some really cool people, and above all, got to see just how much the world of eyewear had to offer.

One of the more fun brands I was exposed to was Oliver Peoples. Recently, Oliver Peoples signed on Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson (of Garbage fame) as the faces of OP. Even more recently, I stumbled upon this 2 1/2 minute OP promo movie starring the two: Les Enfants S'ennuient le Dimanche (The children are bored on Sundays). Filmed by Autumn De Wilde, and set to Just You and Me, by Zee Avi, the movie is quirky, fun and adorable--a great burst of inspiration which immediately brought me right back to my days at the magazine.

Which, in turn, made me feel younger (Thank you, Oliver Peoples).

Leaves!

Because it's November 20, and my windows are open...

Because fall is the most awesomest season. Ever. Don't even try and argue...

Because if this Abstract City post doesn't get your creative juices flowing, well... I don't know what to tell you.

Inspire me now!

Being the art-eeest that I am, I'm always looking for inspiration. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes I have to go searching for it, and sometimes--OK, a lot of times--it's from the internets.

Ladies and gentlemen, inspire me now!

A simple site, with almost no text (save for a link at the bottom of each photo), chock full of interesting things, products, ads and photography.

Very, very cool.

Before

So I cleaned off my desk this weekend (it was pretty scary... a little like Al Gore's, but much less organization. Or space to put things, for that matter. Or the sweet 3 monitor set up. OK, my desk was just a mess). In doing so, I came across a folder I had created for inspiration. Of course, the folder was buried under so much other stuff, that the last time I was inspired was about 6 months ago.

Getting into artist mode, I realized that I need to be inspired more, find more creativity and beauty everyday. Surely I can't find one thing every day to be inspired by?

So I did it. I challenged myself to find one thing every day that inspires me. And then yesterday I went out and bought this notebook to put together my diary of inspiration:



So I will keep you posted on how it's filling up. I'm sure the "After" picture will be quite different.