Charpie

Rest in Peace, Donald A. Charpentier (1923-2008), loving son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and hero.

He was known to most simply as “Carp,” but to me he was Grandpa. He was a master of stories of “buffalo as far as the eye can see!” while rocking one of the most impressive comb-overs with a Schmidt beer in hand.

Carp served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II as part of the 1st Battalion; 5th Regiment; 1st Division. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his extraordinary heroism.

He is survived by his wife Marcia Charpentier, daughter Carma (John) Forward, sons, Ron, Marti (Bert) and Perry (Amy) and many loving grandchildren.

He will be missed.

Feel free to post any comments or stories. I know there’s a bunch out there!

I recently dug up this little gem. It’s a video I made with my mother for her submission to last year’s “So You Think You Can Cook?” contest put on by Rachel Ray. We thought it would be fun to make it a mash-up of food, football, and reality TV. Although we never did get accepted to the contest, it was a good time with food and friends and that’s what counts. See more on the finale here.

Thought it be fun to post the video for everyone to enjoy. Yay internet!

This picture from our local paper shows a little piece of the shape downtown Fargo is in right now. Media was dubbing it “Death Storm 2008,” and many say the blizzard that rocked the midwest was aptly named. I say this is North Dakota and it’s winter. You were expecting something else?

The car I was in on Saturday night was pretty much directly below the arrow. Good times.

Photo by Carrie Snyder.

Time to grab our skis and head to Park City, Utah! The Dandy Dwarves just recently found out that their short film, Pencil Face, has been accepted to the Sundance Film Festival. Great work guys!

Dandy Dwarves is a production team that I helped start way back as a freshman at Savannah College of Art and Design. The team started out as a hobby and has now grown into a nice business in San Rafael, CA. I still try to work on as many projects as I can with them cuz they got mad skillz.

Zip zing!

When designer denim and fashion boutique Luxe contacted me to create a new logo for them, I was faced with a challenge. The store catered to both young fashionable women from age 16 to more mature women with refined style up to age 55.

My initial designs always swayed one way or the other. I struggled to find a middle ground between young, fun and innocent and bold, sophisticated, yet not highbrow.

This is how this design was born. The custom Luxe typeface seems to have two personalities. That of a younger still emerging and developing style as depicted at the base of the word to another as you continue to scan up the logo and the initial personality becomes more defined and even refined as it appears to almost grow and lift off the surface.

Zip zing!