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So long, farewell

There are still at least 50,000 people milling about the grounds here on 601 Brannan (seriously, lines were around the block!) but post-event libations are calling and your faithful team must depart for more alcoholic pastures (we Twitter-wished for more wine, but only one glass arrived).

Back here in the graphic design nook, winners have been announced by a very hoarse-voiced Mary Scott and Phil Hamlett (compare to his Glengarry Glen Ross speech from this morning). For undergrads, the winners were  Kathryn Kuo and Kathrine Nieh, and for MFAs, Ashley Ciecka (see her project The Soft Spot) and Carl Bender (see his project Anarkon). Each of them got a book from Fabrica and $1000, and in addition, one winner in both undergrad and grad was given the “Chipotle” award, which I can only hope means a lifetime supply of Burrito Bols.

It’s been a long day, and we’ve learned more than we ever thought we’d know about the benefits of sugar cane toilet paper (can you eat it if you get hungry?). And on that note, we are very, very hungry. So we must leave you now. Until we gelato again…

Sugar rush

We ordered and Gelateria Naia delivered. And boy, did they deliver. Six flavors custom-selected for their extreme pairability by yours truly: Stracciatella, Dark Chocolate, Nutella, Salted Caramel, Pistachio and Strawberry Sorbetto. My personal selection? Stracciatella and Salted Caramel. Primo! With lines that stretched across the room, we probably scooped out 400 cups of luscious, creamy gelato. Actually, we is not quite correct, Pamela Williams of Williams + House and Marc English, of well, you know, kilt-wearing design fame, got behind the cart and dished out nearly all the servings, speaking to guests in a gelato-pidgin language combination of Italian, French and Spanish. (”Bonjournito!”) Thanks to everyone who came out!

Immediately afterwards, the President’s Reception began. Glasses of white wine clinked into hands as models streamed into the show wearing the evening gowns by the school’s fashion designers. Elisa Stephens took the stage for some remarks about the show. Her grandfather actually started the school in 1929—which by my calculations, should make riding out this recession a piece of cake for the Academy! She also gave an awesome shout-out to Gelatobaby and everything we’ve been doing here today. So thank you, Elisa!

Judging has begun back here in the graphic design nook, but reviewers continue to stream into the show, with many more expected as the workday ends. No more gelato but plenty of cool work to be seen. Check out the photos by Trent McNair and Jason Permenter, none of which would be possible without the fantastic Linda McNair, Kim Rogala and of course, Randy J. Hunt, who has been released from his top-secret design bunker and is now roaming the show freely. If you’re still on your way, be sure to come find us! We’re the ones wearing these buttons. The only ones. We swear.

We all scream

Alrighty, my fine frozen-dessert friends. I promised something amazing would be happening around here (besides all the other greatness happening around here, have you checked the the photos?). And I do hope you are already on your way. Because from 2:30pm until 4pm, we will have a Spring Show with Gelatobaby Pop-Up Gelateria by the nice people at Gelateria Naia!

Come for a scoop (or two) and get the scoop (or two) on some very cool student work. All you have to do when you come in is tell them you’re with GELATOBABY. Because you are!

Academy of Art
601 Brannan Street (do NOT go to New Montgomery!!!)
San Francisco, CA 94107
(the map is located above)

See you then!

Greetings gelato lovers!

If you’ve been following the gelato drips I leave behind me like a trail of sweat and tears, you must know I’ve been plotting something pretty cool for the past few days. And now, my friends, as you can see, it’s finally happening!

The Academy of Art approached me a few months ago with the idea of somehow reporting their Spring Show. I was excited about capturing this major event, from chatting up the bigshots from the industry flying in to swoop up new talent, to hearing the perspectives of all the incredible students who are hoping to teleport their unique brands of optimism into the real world.

We talked about liveblogging, but really? That’s like totally 1998. Who needs blogs when we’ve got Flickr, and Vimeo, and Justin.tv and, yes, that devious Twitter? And thanks to one Randy J. Hunt, who is currently ensconced in a high-security web design bunker at an undisclosed location, this beautiful site will be up and running all day, so you can meet all the students, faculty and reviewers I’ll come across, and witness all of the talent they possess, in a cool new way.

So stay tuned, look at the pretty pictures, laugh (hopefully) at my 140-character quips, and if you know of a student with excellent work that I’ve just got to check out, or you’re on your way over here yourself to check out the work, or you just want to say hi, let me know via Twitter. I’m @gelatobaby. Of course.

However, if you are here in San Francisco, I hope that you can come be a part of Spring Show, live. More details on how that will happen later, but I highly suggest keeping the hour-and-a-half from 2:30-4pm free. Or, if the boss will allow, the rest of the afternoon as well. It will be simply delicious.

Spring Show with gelato, baby

Here is what you need to know:

  • It will happen on Thursday, May 21 from 11:00am to 8:30pm.
  • It involves young, raw, intelligent, unfathomable talent.
  • It involves gelato. Prominently.
  • If you are in San Francisco, you should set aside the hours of 2-4pm on Thursday, May 21.
  • If you are not in San Francisco, you should set aside the hours of 2-4pm on Thursday, May 21 for crying.
  • Just kidding about that last part, you’ll actually be able to participate as well.
  • But it would be a lot better if you were in San Francisco.
  • This whole thing would not be possible without the sleepless nights of Randy J. Hunt, Ross Pike and everyone at Citizen Scholar.
  • Like every sentence uttered in 2009, it includes Twitter. If you’re not already, follow me @gelatobaby to join in on the fun.
  • More information will be revealed on a need-to-know basis at springshowwith.gelatobaby.com. It’s not live yet. But it will be.
  • In the meantime, get out those spoons.