Last year, Sonja Rasula, founder of Unique LA, asked me to lead a workshop at the Unique Camp, and I was thrilled to return again this year to do it again! Sonja is a giving person, empowering attendees to Dream Big (that was this year’s theme). I got chills when I read that saying as it brought me back to when I took my first Photoshop class in a community college in Miami. My amazing teacher, Pat Johnson, used this saying. I told her how I wanted to learn to print images onto tiles and she replied “Imagine printing on the tiles and creating a large image in the NY subway walls. Dream Big!” WOW, total a-ha moment. I have said this saying since.
Camp reminds you to believe in your dream. Not to get all Oprah on your ass but if you don’t believe in your dream, how’s it going to ever become real?! Creative visualization people. All about it.
I structured my workshop like so – chatted 15 minutes about how I got started, the stages of growth for Stencil1, my experience with publishing books and licensing; then a stenciling demo so everyone could get creative! We stenciled wood blocks from Art Alternatives as well as watercolor paper and t-shirts. People also stenciled items they found in nature. We used ColorBox ink pads by Clearsnap which are fool-proof and so colorful. We also used FolkArt multi-surface paints, great for the t-shirts.
The next night, the people at Martha Stewart were leading a DIY where people dyed wooden beads and also customized t-shirts. They asked me to add my stencils to the mix and it was a perfect pairing. Martha has great multi-surface paints that Plaid makes and they even have glitter paints. I have a new line of stencils with Plaid so Martha and I continue to have more in common. Both from New Jersey, both creative, I love me some Martha. I digressed. I made fast friends with Hahhah Milman from Martha, we are both from NY yet CAMP in LA brought us together!
The other classes at CAMP that blew me away were Freya Estreller from Coolhaus and her generous sharing of information on numbers, spreadsheets, and the trials and tribulations of growth. She fuckin winged it and grew an incredibly successful brand. Also Mike Del Ponte from SOMA, who created a water filter that is something you are proud to have on the table, he shared his approach to raising VC money for your business. I got to meet Andrew Gibbs who started the DIELINE 9 years ago out of his love of packaging design and made it a business, now with awards and conference shows, the next being in Paris. OUI!
The best part of the CAMP experience is meeting people. Listening to their goals, offering advice when I can, and learning from others’ journeys.
I am proud to be a CAMP Alumni now. Camp nourishes the mind and soul, allowing you to grow both professionally and personally. Don’t miss it next year!
Here are some images to give you a feel of my workshops. Creativity under the trees, ahhhh.
And another bunch of images of the event with Martha Stewart
