What’s New At Red Headed Frog?

We have our new design up! Take a look below. Don’t forget to check out our new organic and hemp tees.

New Organic and Hemp Tees

We have a new design for the month printed on organic and hemp tees. The men’s tee is made of hemp/organic cotton, and the women’s tees are made of 100% organic cotton.

5 Fabulous Digital Compositions

Once again I have indulged in one of my favorite pastimes. I spent a little time looking for a few fabulous pieces of art and design. Some of these artists are among my favorites. I really admire their work, and I figured I should help spread the word. Enjoy!

Patricia V. • Ton3.net

Dave McKean • The Art Of Dave McKean

Dave McKean directed the film Mirror Mask. This is the first movie Dennis and I watched together. Part of the film was actually filmed in the Embassy Court building here in Brighton. We live about ten minutes away from it. We had the opportunity to view a few flats in it, and they are absolutely gorgeous now. The views are fabulous! The restoration process was well worth it.

Square One Organic Vodka

I am not really a vodka drinker, but I recently read about this product. I did a little research on it and was quite impressed. I was first attracted to the fabulous bottle and package design, but was further impressed by its organic ingredients. How can a vodka be organic? Well, I asked the same question. Evidently, most vodkas are chemically flavored. Square One Vodka, on the other hand, uses organically grown American Rye, and is created from a certified organic fermentation process.

The rye itself is grown in chemical free compost and fresh water throughout its entire life cycle. Additionally, the company only uses organic yeast in their distillation process, which has earned them certification from both the Oregon Tilth, the U.S.’s most stringent and prestigious U.S. Organic Certification Agency, and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP).

I haven’t tried this just yet, but I am interested in having a martini or two. I am certainly interested in trying one of their Organic Tea Cocktail creations. You can find recipes in their Mixology section under the Town Square link. Let me know if you have tried Square One. Do you recommend it? Do you have any favorite mixes using Square One?

4 Funky Posters

I found these on a few of my outings through the Lanes. Some of these are event posters with itineraries and one is a studio advertisement. I am particularly fond of the Bloom Festival fold out poster. It’s just so very funky.

Glad I Left This Behind I Hope

I don’t usually like posting about this, but it hurts when I have to deal with it.

I was at the corner market a few days ago when a man started shouting profanities at the clerk followed by, “Go back to wherever the hell it is you came from!”. I didn’t really pay much attention to him until he started shouting. I honestly thought he was yelling at me. I quickly wondered how he knew, but realized he wasn’t talking to me when I turned to face him. When he left I smiled at the clerk and said, “He needs to chill and go have a drink or something.” The people around us laughed and so did the clerk. Hey, at least I left them with a smile.

This little incident reminded me of similar situations I have gone through. I’ve had the old, “Go back to wherever it is you came from!” line used on me a few times in the States even though I’m American. I am glad this particular incident wasn’t aimed at me, but it still hurt to see it used on someone else.

Montezumas British Chocolate

I love Montezuma’s chocolate! We were told it was some of the best chocolate in Brighton, and I believe that is a very accurate statement. Montezuma’s is an award winning company that specializes in producing organic and fair trade chocolate. Can you tell why I love this company already?

I spoke with some of the staff about their ingredients and products recently. They did let me know that all of the ingredients in their chocolate are fair trade and organic as far as they knew. However, they did let me know that certain ingredients like certain liqueurs used to flavor certain products could not be sourced organically quite yet. I really did appreciate their honestly, and I appreciated their tremendous effort to stay green.

I do recommend giving this chocolate a try. It will not disappoint. I was pretty fascinated by their Montezuma’s Revenge Truffle. This was the first chocolate I tried there, and it was amazing. I have to say, I didn’t experience the little side effect it is rumored to have. I guess Monty might have known I was one of him.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen • Design Collateral

Dennis and I decided to try out the Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Gardner Street here in Brighton. I actually walked all the way to Preston Park that day and noticed the restaurant was pretty happening on my way back home. I mentioned it to Dennis when I got back, and he suggested we just try it out. We had seen the restaurant before, but were hesitant to try it because it was a burger joint pretty much. We wanted to try out European food our first couple of weeks here, but our fondness for that delicious comfort food eventually brought us back. We were not disappointed!

The burgers are massive and delicious. The atmosphere is very comfortable, and it is contemporary with a retro twist. I loved that their ketchup bottles are shaped like tomatoes. Their burger selections are just as funky. I had the Avocado and Bacon Burger and Dennis had the Satay Burger. They were both fabulous.

Now to the really cool part. As we were walking out I noticed that their design collateral was printed on recycled paper. I was attracted to the typography on their take home menu, and the colors they used are one of my favorite combinations. The menu itself was very well organized, and the font they used was just perfect. All in all, I think they did an excellent job with these pieces. What do you think?

I do recommend heading over to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. If you are not into design, there is always the delicious burger option.

Charm City Cakes

I first heard about this designer bakery on the Food Network back home. I loved the show, Ace of Cakes, because their final product was always flawless. Charm City Cakes is a designer bakery based in the Baltimore area in the United States. They create fantastic made-to-order cakes for their customers.

I want one of their cakes so bad for either my birthday or my wedding someday. I recently found out they don’t deliver outside the Baltimore area so I was a bit upset about that. However, I can completely understand. I can imagine how hard it would be to deliver something so fragile across the street let alone across the Atlantic.

I certainly recommend giving their site a view. If you live in the Baltimore area then you are in luck, but if you are one of the unlucky ones living too far away I still recommend viewing their site for the awe factor. You will not be disappointed. I decided to write about them, because you don’t really see many people writing about food design in the design community. I have a great appreciation for food designers since I had the opportunity to view a few in action in the past. Anyhow, here are some examples of Charm City’s creations.

Funny Pepsi Twist Ad

I am a pretty big fan of Pepsi Twist with lime. I try not to drink it too much because of health reasons, but I can’t help myself sometimes. It is a cheat day drink.

A friend of mine sent me this ad a while ago, and I recently found it again. I love this Pepsi ad. It makes me smile a little bit inside. Who am I kidding. I laughed my butt off. Very clever!