zacharyscheffer.com

Skinny Buddha - Orlando Art, Music, and Apparel
Ever since the first skinnybuddha.com site went up over a year ago I wanted to redo it. I was rushed into putting together that one and I never thought it got to where I wanted it to be. So when I decided to redo it using Drupal I told myself I was going to take as long as needed. Well, it took over 4 months to put it all together including a completely custom theme built from the ground up (ie, Zen, ftw). The site is designed around the three pillars of Skinny Buddha; Art, Music, and Apparel. The Art section puts the art first and foremost and shows the end user a wide mix of the styles that Skinny Buddha showcases, while the Music and Apparel sections display their respective products.

Skinny Buddha finds, supports, and promotes local artists, musicians, and creators. It was the brainstorm baby of myself and fellow work-for-your-selfer, Justin Davenport. The site sells prints of artwork as well as locally screen printed apparel and music from a select few, including the main horse in the stable, the No Ordinary Cats. Artists include Swamburger, Headhunter, Tobar, Palin Perez Jackson.

So check out the site, and maybe you can find some local culture that you want to support and help us take Skinny Buddha to where it wants to be.

So the other night I was watching the Magic game and I heard the announcer say, "Orlando lives and dies by their 3's." I turned to my buddy and said, "we aren't gonna die by our 3, we are LIVIN by our 3's!!." So, the next day when local Orlando screen printers, the Heathen Bros., came to me and told me that they had some extra blue and white shirts and wanted to do some stuff for the Magic fans, I knew that I already had one idea to run with. We got together the next day, and in one day we went from design to print. Finished about 10:30 at night and then hit the streets of Downtown Orlando to see some community reaction. Not surprisingly, the "Hedo is my Homeboy" tee is everyone's favorite. And only the true Orlando Magic fans understand and appreciate the "We live by the 3" tee. But what I'm really surprised about is how many people got upset with me that I dare call out LeBron James. Now, I know that LeBron is probably the best player on the court right now, and I'm sure he will go on in his career and win a few championships, but right now, I'm a Magic fan, and I hate LeBron. But it seems the problem with most Orlando fans is that they don't understand what it means to be behind your home town team. Sure, people are going to the playoff games, but I know that during the season, the arena was pretty empty...

So tonight before the game, we will be walking around with a few of these shirts and if you think you are fan enough, and don't mind a little playful fun, come find us and maybe we will give you a shirt to represent!!

Inprogress Magazine is a online urban arts magazine based in Orlando, Florida created by good friend, Chris "Tobar" Rodriguez. He does a really good job of posting all upcoming art shows in and around the downtown Orlando area. Which is great, because I think the majority of art shows in orlando pass by without anyone knowing about them. The Orlando art scene is growing fast and can be attributed to locals like Tobar who are dedicated their time and effort.

The main goal of Inprogress is to put out a quality quarterly online magazine showcasing the art of local talents. Check out the first issue of InProgress Urban Arts Magazine.

Got to use some more of Swamburger's art to design this digital single cover for the new Solillaquists of Sound single entitled, "New Sheriff in Town". This song was chosen to be apart of the Rock the Bells digital sampler that is to be released on May 12, 2009.

Swam and my self put this together last week. It's a 14 x 20 poster print for Orlando's newest start up label, Second Subject Recordings. This bad boys are limited print and are for sale wherever good Swam merch is sold (ie Culture Mart, Phat N Jazzy, on the street..... etc).

You can't be inside on your computer forever. Sometimes you gotta go outside and soak in some rays.

2nd Subject Recordings is a group of artists, musicians, and creative writers that is based in Orlando Florida. Started by Swamburger at the end of 2008, this project is still very young. Swam invited 10 others to join him on 2nd Sub and I was one of the chosen few! So along with setting up the blog I've been working on the visual side of the music compilation cd that will be the first official release of Second Subject. Stay tuned to here and the Second Subject blog to find out about all the new music and art that we will be releasing!

The blog is a simple wordpress install with a few plugins and a little extra css and graphics. (check out the rss feed icon)

Here's a couple quick edits I worked on with my buddy Bear for the Obscura Wake Blog. Enjoy the random!

Footprints Beachside Recovery Center is a substance abuse rehabilitation center and also a sober living community in Treasure Island, Florida. They are a new business so I'm sure the content will continue to grow over the next few months. The site design was only our first step. Now I am managing a SEM campaign for them to get their name out there so they can compete with the other Florida based rehab centers.