Today was a good day

A Pleasant Surprise from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune

This morning, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune business columnist Dick Youngblood wrote a very favorable column about our business here in Red Wing. It was a lot of fun getting to know Dick over several conversations and meetings, and I really didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, I was very happy and a bit embarrassed by the attention.

But it was the sub-headline on the second page of the hard-copy article that really made me smile. For many years, I thought I was a "washed-up sales rep" when, in fact, I was only a "burned-out sales rep." Imagine my relief.

You gotta love it. 😊

The article can be found here.

Thanks for the article, Dick, and thanks for the support, Dave Murphy from Red Wing Shoes.

Flyway Film Festival countdown

2nd Annual Flyway Film Festival

This weekend is the much-anticipated 2nd annual Flyway Film Festival. The event kicks off on Thursday night with a meet-and-greet reception, and the opening night of movies begins on Friday night with "Storm," followed by "Ink." In many cases, both actors and the directors of the films will be at the festival to answer questions. Over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, more than 30 independent films will be shown.

Saturday will be a bit different, featuring a one-day, genre-specific event of classic and cutting-edge independent zombie films. And everybody loves a good movie about the undead :)

We are proud to be a red carpet sponsor of this ambitious art endeavor and to have provided the large format graphics to promote this event.

Details are available at FlywayFilmFestival.org. See you in Stockholm this weekend!

Why don't you take a picture? It will last longer.

Capturing Moments Before They Disappear

For the humor-deprived, the title might seem borderline inappropriate, but it's actually quite fitting.

Photographers have a duty to document the world as it is. Many iconic pieces of our existence are vanishing, and once they're gone, they're gone forever. A drive-in movie theater, for example, lasts only as long as the economics of local development allow. Once the land becomes more valuable for another purpose, adios drive-in movie theater.

Pay attention to everything and take nothing for granted. Don't tell yourself that you'll take a certain photo someday. Take it today.

AmericanPoverty.org

AmericanPoverty.org Exhibit Kicks Off at Catholic Charities USA Annual Conference

Last week, Catholic Charities USA kicked off their annual conference in Portland, Oregon, with the large format photojournalism exhibit produced by the In Our Own Backyard photojournalism team. Entitled AmericanPoverty.org, this exhibit aims to raise awareness of people living in poverty in the United States. Catholic Charities has set an ambitious goal to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2020. They understand that the only way to meet such an aggressive goal is to set the bar very high.

In Our Own Backyard is a team of skilled and seasoned photojournalists who have witnessed firsthand the struggles of extreme poverty in the United States. This team includes talented photojournalists such as Steve Liss, Jon Lowenstein, Brenda Ann Kenneally, and Eli Reed. They have crisscrossed the United States, capturing exactly what it means to be poor.

It has been a delight to be involved in this project. The deadlines were tight, and God bless overnight delivery. There are at least six more cities that will be hosting this exhibit over the next year, so we look forward to future involvement. Learn more about this large format photojournalism project at AmericanPoverty.org.

New Red Wing Shoe Store and Museum

Red Wing Shoe Company: A Pillar of the Community

Red Wing is a company town, and the name of that company is the Red Wing Shoe Company.

Red Wing Shoe (or 'The Shoe' to the locals) has been manufacturing shoes and boots in Red Wing for over 100 years. The company manufactures and sells purpose-built footwear. Some of their target markets include oil and gas, construction, iron workers, agriculture, hunting, and hiking. Their largest manufacturing plant is in Red Wing, Minnesota. Almost all other footwear today is manufactured and imported from low-cost countries, so a work boot made in the USA is unique.

The Shoe is paternal about the City of Red Wing. When The Shoe announced last year that they were going to purchase a blighted downtown building and create a flagship shoe store and museum, it was a major announcement, especially locally.

This past week, The Shoe moved their World's Largest Boot (20x a normal boot) from a warehouse to the new store. It was an exciting event that garnered a lot of attention. As exciting as that was, the energy level is even higher inside the store as employees scramble to meet an aggressive deadline in opening the new store.

Red Wing Shoe understands the value of visuals and is an image-oriented company. We are proud to have provided the graphics and framing for this exciting new venue. The store opens August 3rd, and the museum later this month.

Jon Hassler paintings

Remembering Jon Hassler: A Multi-Talented Artist and Novelist

It's been 18 months since Jon Hassler passed away. While Jon was well known for his literary prowess, many people are not aware that he was an artist before he became a novelist. He spent his school years teaching English at high schools and colleges, and during the summers, he was a regular on the art fair circuit. He began writing relatively late in life—his first novel, Staggerford, was published when he was 44—but he always enjoyed painting whenever he had the chance.

Much like his books, Jon's paintings exhibit recurring themes: rural landscapes, long light, complex skies, and almost always a strong vanishing point element. In fact, they are almost exactly what you would expect if you've read any of his novels or short stories.

We came to know Jon five years before he succumbed to complications from progressive supranuclear palsy. Jon and his wife, Gretchen, entrusted us with 22 of his original paintings (pictured above left, 'Snowfall', 20"x16", oil on canvas; pictured above right, 'Road to Johnson's Farm I', 16"x12", oil on canvas), all of which were painted in the late 1980s. These remarkable originals are now available for sale, with a portion of each sale being donated to CurePSP (www.psp.org).

The tale of the table under the tent

The Picnic Table: Social Networking 1.0

Think of the picnic table under the canopy tent in the parking lot as Social Networking 1.0. It is the most fundamental device for creating community networks.

World problems have been solved, and judgment passed on every local politician at this very table.

Just last month, under this tent, Leah Nesbitt was declared the 2009 Downtown Red Wing Macaroni and Cheese Smackdown Champion (she used all Wisconsin natural ingredients).

At night, the little Japanese lanterns are lit up, and the table becomes more of a 'night spot' where topics are dissected, examined, and reassembled, often over fermented nectar and usually in hushed voices. In the mornings, it is a destination for coffee and a newspaper.

Warren Buffet would appreciate how effective this $70 picnic table is as a marketing tool.