Johnny & Hamburg

The other night i got a chance to video chat with a buddy of mine who's been in Chicago for a while now. Johnny, a copywriter, and i went to school together in Miami and then abroad in Hamburg, DE. This fucker's still one of the funniest dudes i know.

We had a great time in Germany, of course. I was then 21yrs old, living in another country for the first time, and bunking with a seasoned drinker from Buffalo, NY. uh-oh.

Here are some highlights of what i still deem my 'Coming Of Age' period.
We lived in a studio apartment, our landlord hated us (she even accused us of throwing beer bottles off of our balcony), and we had NO wifi.

I forgot what bet i lost but i got the inflatable for 3mos.
...all we ate was chicken breast (butter fried), potatoes, and bier. Oh, and sometimes pasta. Constipation was rampant.
Some weekends i ventured off with a buddy's camera.
This is still one of my favorite photos:
This is Mia, the 'other' fellow American from Miami Ad School. We held Hamburg's very first Bus Olympics.
Im always missing Hamburg.....and i NEVER made it to Berlin (next year, next year). The experience was invaluable to my design education and my drinking stamina.

win/win.

- jelsen

Intercontinental Mail x2

More mail for me! hooray! The first package is from my buddy Nora in Hamburg. She travels to nyc a lot and a couple months ago finally got to meet Bahareh. For the longest time she didnt believe she actually existed outside of my imagination. ha.

These are pics from that visit.
The second package was from my dutch homie, Benjamin, in amsterdam. He works for Frame Magazine and i just fucking love this publication. It's focus is primarily on international interior design, architecture, and they dabble in some product design.

These cats DO NOT PLAY.

The layouts of every issue is like....uhm....a well executed experiment. Graphically, photographically, typographically, and everything else-ically. I dream of working with these guys. The printing methods they switch up for the covers are always exciting, too.

The only way i get em is if he sends em to me; these bitches are expensive.
That's my re-refurbished baby nicely nestled back at the casa.

- jelsen