We designed these print ads to help the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau extend their message to the tourists and commuters using San Francisco’s BART.  We love seeing our work placed in such a prominent position—a little taste of Sonoma Valley’s Real Wine Country beckoning to the weary travelers.

Lucky, lucky us. We again had the good fortune of joining Seattle’s only (and best!) mobile food tour as it added a local band to the mix for a night of indie pop, mouthwatering eats and a four-wheeled foray up, down and all about town and into some of Seattle’s best kept culinary secrets.

We’re firm believers that White Moustache gastro-guide Bryce Lathrop is one part Bacchanalian storyteller, two parts food anthropologist and three parts epicurean shaman. Meaning, he has the epicure for all that ails you and you’ll emerge from your food coma two days later boasting some anecdotal food history to boot. In a perfect interlacing of the senses, he invited one of our favorite up-and-coming bands OK Sweetheart to serenade a busload of gleefully gluttonous traveling tastebuds.  Bryce played raconteur and the band played songs sweeter than milk and honey and everyone filled their bellies with cupcakes, barbecue, fried pickles and heaven.

Take a look at the video above (or the shorter videos below) for a glimpse at the night.

If you like what you see, don’t hesitate to purchase tickets for the next Musical Plates food tour!

White Moustache Urban Adventure Co.

music by
OK Sweetheart

food by
Trophy Cupcakes
The Barbeque Pit
Take 5 Urban Market
Po Dog
Pinky’s Kitchen

These are videos we recently produced for Cult Tacoma as part of their coverage of Tacoma’s recent Squeak + Squawk Festival.

Much has been made of the ‘death’ of Merlot, and now, its ‘comeback’.

At Gundlach Bundschu, they’ve never wavered in thir love of Merlot, because they believe great wine transcends fashion.

We shot this video in one day—all based on Gundlach Bundschu’s stellar concept.  Here’s to a good glass of Merlot!

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Gundlach Bundschu Winery
gunbun.com/merlot

shot + edited by
The Art Dept.

“Tangie & Ray” by
Fruit Bats
fruitbatsmusic.com/

We at The Art Dept. love food.  Even more so now that one of us is pregnant. And we’re really digging this food truck and street food revolution happening up and down the West Coast.  Truly amazing chefs are putting their hearts and souls into these accessible mobile marvels for the masses.

So, when our friend Jace—the musician behind one of our favorite NW bands Fort Union—approached us to create a logo for his brand new Portland food truck, he had us at “fried.” Our creative juices began eagerly flowing (along with a fair amount of saliva.)

Of course, it didn’t hurt that he provided us with directives like, “I want to have a retro diner feel to the brand” and “something that feels like it’s already an established favorite place to eat” and sent a bunch of inspirational Googie signs and sharp contemporary fonts.  We love it when clients speak our language. (Did we mention we also love food? Greasy yummy breakfast food?) At any rate, it’s been a satisfying project on so many levels!

Fried Egg I’m In Love is having a grand opening in Portland on April 1—learn more on their facebook page, or you can just look for this:

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

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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music by
Elk + Boar

sound by
Ryan Rood

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.

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:

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

Happy New Year!

Fire-breathing dragons were on parade, kids were break-dancing and spray-painting, the tough girls where on roller skates and rabbits and tigers soared overhead. It was New Year’s Eve in Tacoma.

And shortly before the last night of 2011 suddenly became the First Night of 2012, Portland natives and Tacoma favorites Drew Grow & the Pastors’ Wives took to the stage to unleash the passion of a hundred fireworks shows. Or, at least, unleash the sound—as evidenced by Mr. Grow’s blown off hat and our blown out camera mic.

Check out these photos of the Dragon Parade and a live set by Portland locals (and Tacoma favorites) Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives.

Happy New Year!

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music by
Drew Grow & the Pastors’ Wives

shot + edited by
The Art Dept.

presented by
First Night Tacoma