clarabellanyc.com

I need a logo - or a stylized font. I found the one for this site on a free fonts site. It’s called ‘all used up’ and I’ve been getting pretty strong reactions in it’s favor. What do you think?

There have been a few compaints that it’s not entirely readable, so I’m thinking about working with a bit to make it more legible, but retain that weathered ‘vintage’ look. I would love some feedback - that means you!:)

thanks!

NOW LISTENING:

“Angel” - Massive Attack

So, I’m sending an email out in a few minutes to announce this website. It’s been up for a minute now, but I’ve been working out some kinks and trying to get into writing a bit more regularly. My friend and colleague, Matt Fitz-Henry, was kind enough to help me out with all of this. I know nothing about HTML and CSS and Dreamweaver and all that other web stuff. I’m a quick study, but I have a long way to go before I’m really comfortable with this stuff. That said, Matt set everything up with links, a blog theme, etc… I’ve been working since then to figure out how modify my theme. I used this one initially:

http://themes.wordpress.net/columns/2-columns/202/fresh-bananas/

I worked a bit with Matt and a bit on my own and figured out how to change the colors and the images and well as the headers and the links. I’m sure that it took me about 10 times longer than it would take someone who does this for a living, but it was a good learning experience. I’m still not sure that I’m in love with the format, but it works for me for now.

In case you’re wondering, I will be doing a new website for the store launch. I won’t have ecommerce (too much to do for only one me) but I will have information on all of my designers, events, music, etc… The blog will remain active, but may take a different form. I don’t expect that version of the site to launch until late February. Until then, I’ll keep this baby up, and will try to keep you all updated.

NOW LISTENING:

still Ida - on to Blizzard of ‘78 from The Braille Night

and “Honey in the Hive” - The Bigger Lovers

There are a number of reasons why I never pursued a career in architecture. The sketch below illustrates one of them;). I can’t claim that it’s good, or even slightly to scale, but it should give those who haven’t yet gotten the grand tour a basic idea of what I’ve got.

Where to go from here? That’s the big question. Once my business registration comes through I’ll be able to work on all the permits I’ll need to commence construction. The changes are mostly cosmetic - only a few structural modifications. The normal process would be to approach a few different contractors, get quotes, references, etc, but in my case, I’m using family. My brother-in-law, Rusty, has a house painting business up in Maine. He’s recently partnered with a carpenter friend of his (Ben) and I’ve been hearing great things about their combined work.

I went over the renovations with Rusty in detail and we’ve come up with what seems to be a solid plan. I’ll bring Rusty and Ben down at the beginning of January for a preliminary inspection of the space. I want them to see what they are up against, take any measurements necessary, and look into materials needed. I’ll bring them back down on January 19, with the construction start date of January 20. We’re aiming for completion by the 26th. If all goes well, that should give me enough time to set up shop by mid/late Feb for a full launch by March 1. Lots to think about!

Now for a little tour and break down of the basic construction needs… If you’ve checked out the site a bunch, you may have already found my ‘raw space’ photos.

This is a photo of the space taken from the front looking toward the back:

There is a little wall that juts out in the center of the room - we’ll knock that out. We’ll tear up the tile and replace it with a new dark brown tile. I’m looking for something that will give the feeling of a dark wood, but won’t be as expensive as wood and won’t look as cheesy as the current flooring. My cousin is helping me out with materials on that one. The ceiling is also pretty bad. I discovered (with the the help of my broker and next door neighbors - thanks guys!) that the original tin ceiling still exists underneath the foam tiling. We’ll be removing all of that ugliness and restoring the original tin. It should also give another foot and a half of height, which always helps to open up a room. We’ll be adding built in storage shelving in the back room, as well as changing the flooring and the ceiling to match the front room.

It’s likely that I’ll be taking out the wall that separates the 2 rooms, or at the very least, I’ll raise the clearance. Right now it’s only at about 6′6″ which is pretty low. Just looking out for you tall ones!

Here is a shot from the back looking front:

Again, We’ll be taking out that 1/2 wall in the front room.

We’ll paint all walls - likely working with bold colors that give off a warm feeling - nothing too shocking.

Last, but not least, here is a shot of the outside window:

We’ll spruce up the security gates so it doesn’t look quite so dingy and of course I’ll have the store name printed on the glass;). That’s the story for now. I’ll be back soon!

NOW LISTENING:

“Lay Lady Lay” - Magnet (w/Gemma Hayes)