In My Bag
Inspired by MIJLO, a Dutch-based collective, who reached out to designers and creatives, asking what essentials they carry in their bags and what they have at their desks, I’ve decided to share a few items that I have in mine.
Married the girl of my dreams
An absolutely amazing day.
Video credit: Memories in High Def
And then there was that time I got hitched in Vegas
Last week, with twenty of our closest friends (and a fantastic Elvis impersonator) in attendance, Lori and I got hitched in Las Vegas at the Graceland Chapel.
This is the first of two weddings planned for this year. A larger, family wedding is set for September here on the East Coast.
For those interested (this is you, Mom), there’s a few photos and video after the jump.Read More
Holy heck, SXSW was awesome
I went. I saw. I experienced the sights, sounds, and the swag of South by Southwest Interactive 2011.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, SXSW is an event I’ve wanted to attend for quite awhile. Even without a conference badge, it totally lived up to and exceeded all of my expectations. While I would have loved to listen to some of the best in the biz speak during the conference, I still feel like I learned a lot. You can learn so much and get inspired just from interacting with and speaking to fellow designers, developers, and entrepreneurs at some of the non-conference events.
There’s something really great about talking to and interacting with peers in your profession. In a time when it feels like we’re drifting further and further apart, while we text, Tweet, message, and “poke” each other, nothing quite compares to a completely non-digital conversation over a beer. For me that was one of the best parts of SXSW. I left Austin on Monday feeling somewhat exhausted, but completely inspired and ready to take on the world.
What SXSW blog post would be complete without at least a small mention of the parties. Because without those, it’d be tough to meet some of these great people face to face. Blocks and blocks of parties thrown by some of the coolest companies in the world. Free drinks, free food, free swag for what seems like miles.
After having such a great time this year, I’m already looking forward to visiting Austin again in 2012.
A few SXSW-related shoutouts go to: My girlfriend Lori, my good friends from Boston, Chris and Andrew, Fast Society, Ignite, Groupon, Gowalla, Foursquare, Media Temple, Squarespace, rdio, Loopt, Yobongo, CNET, Mashable, Revsion 3, Zappos, and Crowdtap.
Check out a few of my photos, over on Flickr.
Headed to SXSW For the First Time
Suitcase is packed. Hotel is book. About 3 million parties have been RSVP’d to. Yes indeed, tomorrow I fly from Long Beach, California to Austin, Texas for my first trip to the South by Southwest Interactive Conference. SXSW is something I’ve wanted to go to for quite awhile. For some reason or another, those plans always fell through. This year though I’m excited to be going with my girlfriend and meeting up with a couple great friends from back home in Boston (shoutout to Chris and Andrew).
I’ll be tweeting updates. So if you’re at all interested, you can follow me on Twitter @brianwilkins. I’ll also try to upload photos to my Flickr account.
For those of you also going, I’ll see y’all in Téjas!
2011 New Year’s Resolutions
1. Shoot more digital photos
2. Shoot more video
3. Travel to a foreign country
4. Attend SXSW (finally)
5. Blog more often
6. Drink more water
7. Create 2 large paintings
8. Begin classes/training for my pilot’s license
9. Visit the Grand Canyon
10. Visit 5+ new museums or art ahows
San Diego Comic-Con 2010
Last weekend, my girlfriend and I attended San Diego Comic-Con. I’ve want to attend this ever-growing geek mega-event since I was 11-years old. Back then, I was a hardcore comic book fan — not just looking up to Batman, the X-Men and Iron Man, but also to their creators — especially the artists.
Artists like Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, J. Scott Campbell, and Rob Liefeld were both my inspiration and my heroes. Of course, back then like any comic book fan, I was regularly reading Wizard, a magazine that covered the happenings within of the comic book industry.
Every year they’d have great photos and reports from Comic-Con. I’d read about the artists interacting with the fans, the impressive booths, the thought-provoking panels, the merchandise, and more. Every year, I’d think “Man, I need to get there.” For one reason or another, timing just never panned out. The fact that I lived on the east coast, 3,000 miles away from the convention probably didn’t help.Read More
Get “Twestive”
Last weekend, I helped launched the temporary “save the date” site for the Los Angeles chapter of the 2010 Twitter festival — Twestival.
Twestival is an annual charity celebration, which takes place in hundreds of cities around the world, brings together thousands of Twitter users offline to rally for an important cause.
If you’re in the L.A. area on Thursday March 25, 2010, join us. If not, see if there’s a Twestival in your neck of the woods.
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