Georgia

In the airport on my way to Georgia I pick up a New York Times that has, on the cover, a photo of people in boats paddling through their neighborhoods that now, due to two weeks of unrelenting rain, are under 20 feet of water. And this is in Georgia. I have spent the last few weeks of my life so buried in work that I am completely oblivious to the fact that maybe I should have packed scuba equipment for the sales calls I have planned in Georgia.

Fortunately, everything is fine. Which reinforces a dangerous suspicion on my side that the news you read or hear has virtually nothing to do with reality - and hence can be ignored.


I can't figure out Augusta. I was expecting everything to look like, well, a really nice golf course. Instead there are a lot of strip malls, and then you go over the Savannah River (above) and there you are in the midst of this old town. Where there is a rather charming hodge-podge of historic buildings like the Georgia Cotton Exchange, modish architecture like this one designed by IM Pei (right). And a big Marriott. What pulls it all together is that everything seems to be owned by a William S. Morris of Morris Communications.















I have lunch with the director of manufacturing at MVP, a division of Morris Communications, in this great local restaurant serving hearty, simple fare like this "Fried Smothered Pork Chop" (I know it sounds cruel but the pork chop is really happy in the end)

My client laughs when I tell him how I tried to get an appointment to see Augusta National. "No one gets in there without being invited" he says. "But I don't want to play golf!" I complain "I just want to discuss printing! And besides - the guy I spoke to was so nice I was sure he would see me." Which shows how clueless I am because 1) this is the South and it is kind of a professional obligation to be courteous (ie opposite of New York City), and 2) this goes double if you are associated with Augusta National. "If someone gets invited to Augusta National and they piss other members or guests off and have to be escorted out - not only is that person put on a blackball list, and never allowed on the grounds again. The person who allowed him to come onto the property in the first place is ALSO put on the blackball list and never allowed back again!"

Who amongst your friends could you trust with such responsibility? Could you trust yourself - or would the pressure to behave so flawlessly bear down upon you with such force that inevitably you would be compelled to have too many martinis, or dress inappropriately, or get into a shouting match with a complete stranger?

It appears I will not have a chance to find out, at least not on this sales trip ....

Sea turtle Illustrations copyright Morris Communications

Things You May Need

Here are just a few things that crack me up. Who thinks of these ideas?


Astound your friends and neighbors. And who's to say that a UFO did not land in your apartment - well, who?




Having read enough extreme wilderness survival stories - including stories of those who DID NOT survive - I think I may take one of these on my next camping trip. My own Safety Orange, Tru Grip, Bible! Recently one of my clients mentioned he also wanted one, to take sky-diving ....




And, wasn't this a story about a Bunny?




Brought to you by Imago.

Back to Florida. And the Arrival of a Lot of Books

After a marathon two-day drive from the Adirondacks, we are back in Florida. I would prefer to do the trip in three days, and choose picturesque locations to stop for dinner and an overnight stay. My husband, on the other hand, could happily get in the car and drive the 24-hours without stopping provided he had an ample supply of Red Bull and the raucous chatter of Howard Stern & friends to accompany him. And what is it about men never having to stop to pee? Exasperated that my latest restroom pitstop has added 3 minutes to our travel time (according to the GPS), he reminds me: "I thought we decided that you were going to fly this time, and I'd take the car???"

The first order of business is to clear out the old book samples to make way for the new!

But SIX cartons of book samples from Imago?

There is a little bit of everything here: coffee table books and museum monographs; Bibles? Bibles! of every shape and size; children's books; decks of cards; journals; books packaged with every kind crazy product like metal cookie cutters for dog biscuits, a kit with santa's beard and eye glasses, CDs, a magic thumb, a tin and cookie mold for making Madeleines, and more and more and more.

Well, until I get a bigger bookshelf, those cartons are getting "re-purposed". Not too bad ....

This week, getting ready for my road trip to Georgia and South Carolina.

Busy

Yes, I remember: This is what being REALLY BUSY feels like!

My first week getting up to speed with everything Imago has to offer, and talking talking talking to clients. What a difference: to have something to talk about with clients that actually intrigues and interests them!

Already I've got a project booked for Imago's Barcelona facility that the publisher has stated is "the most important project on a living contemporary artist that ANYONE will publish in 2010." Wow, that's a little pressure, and it looks like I will be going to Barcelona with the book's designer to assist with the press check. Now, I just hope they don't keep us working the entire time ....

Then I closed the deal on a couple of projects with a speciality publisher out of Miami, these will print in Asia.

Finally, I've got some serious interest for several projects for Imago's India facility.

I like this!

News!

Tomorrow I being the adventure of representing a new company for book and print production - Imago. Alas I will have to leave my Italian colleagues behind. Like my friend Luciano, who wrote back to me: "What a bad news! Like a storm in a sunny day!" I will miss you, Luciano, and my other Mondadori pals, too.

But the future looks bright, and I can't wait to start blogging and showing pix of all the fabulous and creative products Imago has produced. Stay tuned ....

That's www.imago.co.uk

Going With The Flow

I just returned from a quick trip to Washington, DC and a meeting with one of my favorite clients, The National Geographic Society.

Mondadori has just finished printing a massive, multi-language production of one of the lead titles for National Geographic, The Image Collection, and I had a chance to look over the first samples with Production Manager Nicole. The book looks beautiful, and I especially love the old photos from the Geo archives, of the early explorers.

Alas, times are getting tougher for traditional printers like Mondadori, and I am not sure what projects Mondadori may work on with Nat Geo in the future. Still, I had a great meeting with Phil, the Manufacturing Director, catching up on industry news, the shenanigans of various print sales people we know in common (who shall remain nameless, Charles, ...) and life in general. So many of us in the publishing and printing businesses have wonderful friendships built upon years of working together through the ups and downs of various projects. It is a little melancholy for everyone involved when that work starts to dwindle.

But as my object was to not get too distressed with the turn of events, and to "go with the flow", I took a night off from working on the computer and sending email reports to everyone, and went kayaking on the Potomac, with another Nat Geo buddy, Rachel. It was a lovely evening. So wonderful to be out in the middle of nature, in the middle of a big city like DC!

From The Lands of Fantasy

"In the harsh cold northlands, The Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the armies of the undead and the necromantic power of the plague threatening to sweep across the land, only the mightiest heroes can oppose the Lich King's will and end his reign of terror for all time ...."

Yikes!

Another World of Warcraft project, The Wrath of the Lich King, has just wrapped up at Mondadori Verona. This latest oversized volume is a full color atlas of Azeroth and Northrend, vast regions in which World of Warcraft players do battle. Much of the lingo is baffling to the uninitiated. For example I wonder what "if there's no mage around to offer a port and your hearthstone's still got some cooldown ...." might mean??? However, these volumes are clearly aimed at WoW enthusiasts, eager to decipher the locations of dungeons and rare spawning mobs ....

I like to think that these Atlases are an example of how the web and on-line media are adding new opportunities to create projects in the print world. And like every other WoW fan, I look forward to the next World of Warcraft blockbuster!