OUCHIES NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM DESIGNS!

If you've been following along, you know we love Ouchies. With product lines for 'Boyz' and 'Girlz,' offerings like Mad-Libs and the coolest installation at this year's NY International Toy Fair, they take the edge of scrapes and small wounds. And now, we're thrilled to help them announce a new line, designed by TC: Natural History Museum bandages!


These sweet babies feature five distinct designs for both Boyz and Girlz (20 bandages total). Want more? How about five super-cool facts about dinosaurs and the early natural world on the back of the tin?


Designs range from critters and rocks to fossils and leopard-print. As with everything Ouchies, we think of each as a collector's item. So indulge your inner (or growing) paleontologist and join in the ancient-world fun. They're available now at the Ouchies Online store.


Client: Mad Over You
Team: Britt Martinez, Daniel Hulsbos, Lynn Platow

AN UNDERGROUND GUIDE TO ALBURQUERQUE

If you're in the ABQ-area, you might have seen An Underground Guide to Alburquerque. It's an annual publication dedicated to helping people visiting, moving to, and living in Albuquerque. The reviews are often hilariously honest, and written by anyone who's patronized a given business 3+ times. The book, while hard to come by (we did say it's underground), is often an experimental production, using unusual papers and materials as relevant. ABQ team members Adam and Daniel act as publisher/designer/editor and house photographer, respectively.


The Guide relaunched their website last month, dramatically increasing access to reviews and offering new photography to help consumers find and bond with local establishments. The staff were beyond excited to involve Daniel, as he brings high production values with his contagious enthusiasm, and it was easy to see how great photography would benefit business and consumer alike. Says co-founder Eric Bodwell, "Daniel captures the sense of a place, which is what we try to do with every review. We want you to feel like you've already eaten there by the time you go in." There's no denying reviews aided by Daniel's lens.


Adam, meanwhile, has had a hand in every review since co-founding the Guide in 2005. He finds it keeps his editing skills sharp, stripping the unnecessary to find precisely the flavors and details in other people's words. He thinks the site is raising the bar – not just for the book, but for all offerings in the genre: "Our writers (you could be one!) and photographer bring astonishing depth to more hole-in-the-walls than anything I've ever seen in a city guide, be it print or online."

New reviews are added weekly.

HALCOM COUNSULTING

If you have any experience with construction you've likely heard of LEED Certification. Delivered by the US Green Building Council, it's becoming known as a major step in Greening business, and Halcom Consulting is at the forefront of the field, helping architects and builders achieve that coveted seal.

For the unfamiliar, here's a quick-n-dirty summary, courtesy of the Halcom site:

LEED for New Construction is a performance-oriented rating system where building projects earn points for satisfying criteria designed to address specific environmental impacts inherent in the design, construction, operations and management of a building. [It's] organized into five environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. An additional category, Innovation and Design, awards points to LEED projects that develop new solutions, employ new technologies, educate, or realize exemplary performance in another area.

This month Kirtland Air Force Base unveils its first LEED Silver building, the Battlespace Environment Laboratory, guided toward certified status by Halcom Consulting. Of course, no one would know the building is certified if you didn't tell them, so we designed the lobby sign announcing their commitment to a Greener footprint. The building opens grandly at the end of the month.


From their website:

"The Battlespace Environment Division in the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate represents the USAF expertise on the space and upper atmosphere environment and its effects on space systems and on command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems."

The building approximately contains 145,000 square feet of laboratory and administrative space, optimized for the employees' experience and minimal environmental impact.

Client: Halcom Consulting
Team: Britt Martinez, Lynn Platow

MASTERWORKS NM: THE SEQUEL

Last week we told you that Melinda's been greeting success with all three of her submissions accepted to the Masterworks NM show. Well, we have news. At last Friday's opening reception and awards ceremony, she took 2nd place for "Massive Sky, Sandias," in the Colored Pencil Miniatures category!


Melinda says "Massive Sky, Sandias" also happens to be her favorite of the three pieces. Evidently, the judges were in agreement.

Meanwhile, it's no surprise to us she took honors, but unexpected (and good for you): none of her pieces have yet sold. The show stays up until April 29. Go see it if you haven't yet, and get yourself a miniature before they're all gone! You can make inquiries and get in touch to arrange payments through her blog or the TC website.