I recently was invited to speak at the Savannah College of Art and Design to a room full of students. It has been awhile since I have been to Savannah. The last time I was there I was a student at the college studying design.Being back not as a student was great. It was an interesting experience to be on the other side of the classroom.

One of the sign up boards and flyers for the talk. 40+ students ended up coming to the lecture and it was standing room only by the end.

I was nervous before the talk, but as the room started to fill up with students I started to feel more comfortable. I was exactly where they were not so long ago. I decided to just talk about how I got to where I am now from where they are (it’s what I would have wanted to hear when I was graduating). Thank you to everyone that showed up to hear what I had to say! The Q&A was great and I gave out some t-shirts and stickers.

After the lecture the school set up a series of video interviews and photo shoots with me for their promotional material. The lights were very hot and bright, but I did my best to give the students an understanding of what it’s like after graduating. It took me awhile to get my first design job out of school. If it doesn’t work at first don’t give up. Hard work pays off in the end.

After my obligations to the college were done. I rented a car and headed to Atlanta to visitStandard. They are a great shop that stocks the Benny Gold line. While I was there Bun B, of UGK stopped by to say what’s up. Definitely a nice way to end the trip.

Finally got the artwork sized and ready for the printers for FW09 shirts. My office is full of hats and accessories right now. As soon as the shirts are in FW09 goes out to the shops. Thank you to all the shops that placed orders and to the customers that keep asking when it’s all going to drop. It’s coming soon - our biggest season yet!

Desired Hearts recently released the second round of shirts as part of their relaunch. I had the pleasure of working on their first collection and logo for the launch. Good luck guys. All the best with the relaunch of the brand. I am glad I was able to help.

God is in the Details? There is an old saying “God is in the details”, meaning that whatever one does should be done thoroughly — leaving no detail overlooked. The strongest part of any brand is consistency. As our offerings continue to expand we are staying focused on the branding. We want the customer to know a Benny Gold piece when they see it, therefore, Gold is in the details! Here is a look at some of the details of pieces dropping in a few weeks.

Apartment Therapy posted a nice write up about our Glider Plane Candles. They definitely are unique and off the beaten path from the usual offerings. Make sure to pick one up for your apartment before they are gone. They are now available in our shop along with some other limited items.

Contemporary men’s footwear brand Thorocraft recently offered me a chance to design their new logo. To reflect the brand’s focus on craftsmanship, quality, durability, and comfort, we tailored the T into a modern hammer and enclosed it in a “C” to give it form and substance. Finally, the custom type treatments were developed from the remnants of the shapes to round out the iconography.

Following up on the success of this years Mash collaboration with Cinelli I worked on a new colorway for a 2010 spring release. The frame is getting debuted this week at the interbike tradeshow. The custom paint and frame stickers are meant to resemble the shape of the Mash lighting bolt and give the bike a feeling of speed. Cinelli will continue to offer the classic color as well as the new color option. And yes it still will have a paper planesnuck in!

With the largest bicycle tradeshow happening in vegas right now I’ll keep the posts as bike related as possible. Fixed Magazine was nice enough to run a feature on me in their newest issue. They touched on the skateboarding / bike crossover and my artistic contributions to the bike community. Stop by your local bike shop to pick up the issue or download it here.

With the Interbike tradeshow happening this week Here is the first look at a two tone rim that I have coming out with Velocity. The collaborative rim are getting debuted at the tradeshow this week. I wanted to keep the rims classy but still be unique to what is already available. They all come with a gold colored aluminum card and custom sticker. The black section of the card is chemically etched into the metal. Each card has the set number stamped directly into the metal.

As the new product starts to crowd my office, I will give you a first look at what’s hitting the stores next month. This is the first time I produced socks for the line. Custom patterned argyle with signature paper plane flight pattern are woven into an athletic sock in two colorways. These are good to go for a little extra pop under your outfit and strong enough to ride your bike or board with.