video // CULT TACOMA : 1022 South

We produced further content for Cult Tacoma—this time featuring the epicurean artisanship of Tacoma’s 1022 South owner Chris Keil.  To illustrate Chris’s philosophy and approach behind 1022 South’s cocktail alchemy, we captured his process for creating the hand-carved ice used in the drinks.  As Sarah, who also shot and edited the video, writes for Cult Tacoma:

Nobody is asking Chris to dismantle 150-pound slabs into rugged, fist-sized rocks customized purely for patrons’ drinking pleasure. It’s a choice—and admittedly, a good one. Each a diamond in the rough, winking up at you from your glass with the self-sufficient pluckiness of a Klondike gold miner and the crystalline purity of glacier melt.

But melt is what they won’t do—at least too fast anyways.

“You’re going to notice a difference in flavor because of the difference in dilution,” says Keil. “You’re going to be able to enjoy your beverage more, whatever the drink is. It’s going to honor the ingredients more. It’s better quality ice. If you start with better quality ingredients, you end up with a better product.”

Read more here . . .

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Cult Tacoma

1022 South

“Grand Daddy Blues” by
Jelly Jaw Short

video // CULT TACOMA : Elk & Boar

Here are a couple more videos we shot for Cult Tacoma.  We caught up with the band Elk & Boar as they were preparing for performances down at SXSW last week.

Over coffee at Bluebeard the other day, we had a conversation with Kirsten—the Elk in Tacoma’s soulful Elk & Boar—about this and that and mostly, the weather. Our consensus was that Tacoma skies brandish more diversity—day to day, hour to hour—than any other place we’ve lived. From the gauzy west-facing pinks of afternoon to glowing cloud obelisks pervading the port skies at night to the otherworldly opacity of surprise snowfalls, Tacoma never fails to awe us when we look up.

Kirsten invited us to join Elk & Boar in their studio—”The Cottage”—to record a couple of their songs on just such a mercurial day . . .

Read more at Cult Tacoma!

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video // Cult Tacoma : space works for Goldfinch

Spaceworks Tacoma is a project to activate empty storefronts in downtown Tacoma with art and creative enterprise.

Spaceworks recently awarded Goldfinch—one of Tacoma’s finest local bands—a three-month artists’ residency in a Hill Top practice space next to Fulcrum Gallery.

Goldfinch plans to nest down and begin recording their new album during this time as well as open up their space to live shows and Art Walk events.

We will be shooting a series of short videos for Cult Tacoma documenting Goldfinch’s Spaceworks residency.

In this most recent episode (above), we have a christening of the space—headlined by one of our favorite 2011 Doe Bay Fest bands OK Sweetheart and also including live painting by Tacoma artist Briton Sukys, a hilarious bit of storytelling from his wife Megan Sukys (of KUOW) and some lovely pickin’ and whistlin’ by Grrr Animals‘ Mike Weller.

Click through, take a peep at the photos and previous video:

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photos // First Night Tacoma : 2011

Check out these photos of New Year’s Eve in Tacoma—First Night—which we shot for Cult Tacoma.

Happy New Year!

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video // Cult Tacoma : Big Sur

The Warehouse approached us and asked if we’d like to shoot a studio session with their upcoming house show headliners Big Sur.

Of course we jumped at the opportunity—we thought it would be a great video to add to Cult Tacoma and we loved the idea of being in the studio with the musicians as they created their sublime folk pop.

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video // Cult Tacoma : Frank Fairfield

Here’s another video we created for Cult Tacoma. Nearly all this footage was shot by Sarah who wrote for the Cult Tacoma posting:

Before you hear him, you’re not sure you really believe Frank Fairfield. And it’s not his fault.With the momentum of a Dakota stampede, a slew of indie musicians has recently waded into the sweet river of folk salvation by the seat of their patchwork pants, ready to pledge themselves to a life of dirty long johns and homemade butter churning if only for a shot at a the cover of Spin. Why, throw in a washboard, some boxcar harmonies and a canteen of moonshine. Crickets and tarnation! You’ve got authenticity.

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video // Cult Tacoma : Doe Bay Festival : 2011

Doe Bay Festival is becoming one of our favorite weekends of the year.  We spent most of it behind the camera and created this short video and collection of photos for Cult Tacoma.  See below for the photos . . .

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event // Tacoma’s Fall Free For All : 2011

In October, Tacoma’s Broadway Center hosted a weekend-long arts and cultural festival in the heart of downtown Tacoma—the 2011 Fall Free for All. They asked us to shoot some photos of  excellent music program curated by local Tacoma musician Aaron Stevens of Goldfinch.

Above is the first video—Seattle/Tacoma locals Concours d’Elegance blowing away the crowd with their tight new wave jams and captivating stage show.

Below is a look at Portland’s soulful and face-melting Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives:

And here’s some dreamy otherworldliness from Portland’s Laura Gibson:

Be sure to also peruse our gallery of photos from the entire weekend…

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Belle Creative is now The Art Dept.

If you came here looking for Belle Creative, you’re at the correct corner of the internet—Belle Creative is now The Art Dept.!

The Art Dept. is a boutique creative firm comprised of an extended family of artists—designers, filmmakers, writers, photographers, typographers, musicians—pooling their creative talents to tell original stories.  Since its inception in 2005 (as Belle Creative) by Sarah and Peter Berkley in Sonoma, CA, The Art Dept. has developed custom creative content for clients from the Brooklyn fashion industry to California’s artisan food and wine culture to the Northwest music scene.

Mary Berkley Shadley, Peter’s sister and an accomplished graphic designer, is a recent addition to the firm as Design Director.  We also often tap our talented network of close friends and family—such as product designer (and brother-in-law) Karson Shadley and musician brothers Max and Ryan Lynch—to broaden our scope of work.

Now based both in the Seattle area—Tacoma, WA—and the Bay Area—Oakland, CA—The Art Dept. continues to develop a wide range of creative products with a focus on short videos, creative writing and print design.

Please browse the site to see work completed and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to work together!