TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX

Today is Photo Show day, Photo Show day, Photo Show day! We're thrilled and excited for tonight, for our photographers, and for you to see all the amazing work that's gone into this. So we're putting in the finishing touches with - psst, follow us on Twitter if you want a peek. But we can't wait to see you tonight!

TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE

How great is this? Nilda is the featured Style Crush over at New Brahmin. Read all about her fantastic beauty secrets, personal style, and what it means to be Latina Chic. *g* (Photo credit, Boldfacers)

TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR.

This week, in the lives of all of us at PHI, it's finishing prep for our very first photo show which, if anything, we're all incredibly thrilled for. Michelle had a little adventure on Thursday, getting her work organized with Mark, and as you can see the PHI mobile is nothing short of a fabulous model for a sneak peek of the results. There's so much to do today - last minute prep work, a few meetings, setting up for the event tomorrow, a getaway shopping trip to H&M - I kid. You're going to see all of in the South End, for sure.

We're really excited and looking forward to seeing everybody there. We have such a strong and diverse group of photographers that we're so thrilled to be able to share with you - and we're all very proud to host this show and without doubt, looking forward to the next quarter for our next one. So remember, there's still time to RSVP for tomorrow night here if you're interested in coming. And follow us on Twitter, while you're at it, today's going to be a fun day to chronicle.

TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE.

A happy Friday and a happy Father's Day weekend to all the dads. This Friday Favorites' entry is going to start off with such an easy favorite - one for both Nilda and myself. Zoe Joan Sweeney. A huge congratulations to her for graduating today from sixth grade, being a brilliant and amazing girl, and for getting ready to start the next phase of her life. Nilda, in her own words, would like to say:

"My friday favorite is easy this week... Zoe Joan Sweeney. A huge congratulations to the most beautiful girl in the world. So proud of her accomplishments. She has made motherhood fun, exciting and culturally relevant. Everything is a teaching moment, even Rihanna + Chris Brown."

This photo was shot by the amazing Cheryl Richards, whose work can be seen here.

Other favorites?

DAUCUS CAROTA. Graphic design guru Jess Sutton is one of our favorite girls (and favorite go-to-girl!) and her blog is full of wonderful, gorgeous inspirations that you can't help but check in on every day. It's a delightful experience and if there's anything that I love, it's beautiful, beautiful pictures of lovely things!

M.I.A. So we'll call this favorite, a favorite future curiosity. M.I.A. drops her third album Maya on July 13 and if you haven't already seen the controversial music video for her new song "Born Free" or read up on her battle with the New York Times and journalist Lynn Hirschberg (and that not-so-flattering article), you know this album is going to be nothing short of incredibly fascinating. And let's face it - she's never boring.

DANCING IN VHS. This speaks for itself in more ways than one. Still have old VHS tapes? I'm pretty sure there's a Disney collection somewhere in my house, but such a cool pieces from Scianca - a dress made from VHS bands. Check it out.

WORK OF ART. And this is going to be called the Work-In-Progress favorite. But if you haven't, you should turn into BRAVO's Work of Art because, if anything, it's a fascinating experiment in seeing if reality television and art are two worlds that are somehow compatible. So far? I'm being won over. This second episode features the likes of Jon Kessler, who I love, love, love. (Yes, I'll tell you again. LOVE.) I've definitely committed myself to blogging about it every week - so if you're watching it, let me know.

THE MINISTRY OF DESIGN. The Club Hotel in Singapore is a very cool project by the design studio that looks like it got lost in Alice In Wonderland or in A Clockwork Orange. There's a lot of humor, a lot of play, despite the monochrome scheme. The pictures are wonderful.

A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE for these vintage milk bottle caps. I know what you're thinking. You're going that small? Yes, yes I am. Design Sponge, another favorite of ours, has a really neat entry on how to take vintage milk bottle caps and turn them into magnets for your refrigerator. It's easy to think about things in really big pieces and sometimes small pieces, but a lot of the times, those cool details get lost in the bigger picture. So check this out!

DESIGN FOR MANKIND. One of the telling signs of a great blog is when you're able to get such a wonderful mix of inspirations whether it's photography or art and a day-to-day peek into what it is that the blogger does. Design For Mankind is such a favorite of mine - it's clean, the photos are gorgeous, and the content is cool and pulls from really great aspects of design, and is always such a joy to read.

LENS. In honor of our photo show on Tuesday, it's only appropriate to have a great photo blog. There's a lot of the New York Times that is easy to like and a lot of it not to like. But one of the great things that they do have going on for them is Lens, their photography blog where they feature a variety of photographers that are inspired and shoots all different walks of life. It's easy to spend a ton of time exploring!

And speaking of favorites and photos -

Our show. Tuesday, June 22nd. It's from 6:00-9:00pm at 1409 Washington Street, in the South End. Look for great work, great company, and fabulous food and rink. Let us know if you're coming here!

TWO HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE.

Some more excellent links!

Our favorite, The Urban Hound, is being featured over at another one of our favorites, by the wonderful ladies at New Brahmin. Read here.

Be sure to head over to The Urban Hound's website as well where you check out their great membership package deals, running for a limited time. And of course, there's the blog where every Monday, UH will feature a weekly steal with great coupons.

You can see The Urban Hound at the SOWA Open Markets on July 11th as well. Make sure you stop and say hello! You'll get some great information about the hotel and daycare. You'll also be able to see some training demonstrations and of course, be able to win some great prizes from a raffle they'll be having. Check their blog out!

TWO HUNDRED FORTY-SEVEN.

The Urban Hound is featured in today's South End News! Read here about the hotel and daycare, how Rebecca got her start, and just the wonderful community response that the Urban Hound has. Check it out!

TWO HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR.

So the verdict is in. There were lots of emails. There were a string of late night texts. But this is the final pick from our gorgeous photo shoot on Monday morning. Tell us - what do you think?

TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE.

They say all great super heroes have a great car too and not that we're going to go around, in capes - bedazzled capes at that - fighting crime in the city, but having our car is quite the exciting step. Traveling around the city, or the highway, is going to be a whole new world and new world that's just been made even more official by this. I don't think we'll name it - should we name it? Do we go that route? Regardless, if you do see us around the city, in our new set of wheels, make sure you stop and say hi. New things are abound!

TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT.

We had a really wonderful morning shooting our photos for CRAVE Boston with photographer Renee Trichilo, down at the waterfront and by the ICA. The weather was really fantastic - sun, skies, and a beautiful day. And speaking of photography, don't forget to RSVP to our photo show as well! We'd love to see you there.

TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN.

Pssst! Pass it along! Please remember to RSVP to our photo show! We're so excited and would really love to see everybody there.

TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO.

Mark your calendars! Join us at our first photo show on Tuesday, June 22nd - which will feature the photography of some of our local favorites: Michael Lynch, Mark Bryand, Matthew Londraville, and our very own Michelle Gubitosa. The show will take place in the South End, on Washington Street, from 6:00-9:00PM.

Please RSVP no later than June 15th, if you're definitely going to come and join us. We'll keep you update with the latest information, here on the blog, on Twitter, and of course, Facebook. We hope to see you there!

TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE.

As you know, we're really excited about the opening of the Urban Hound's luxury hotel! For more, visit their website. You'll great information on staff, photos of their clients, and endless information on the progress of what's new, the buildout, and membership. Also check them out on Facebook, where you can follow them as well.

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN.

Some really great news today, PHI readers! Madison Skin & Laser Center's brand new website has just gone live and it's a great space designed by PHI DESIGN and Jessica Sutton Graphic Design; clean lines, great photos, and all around excellent space. Be sure to stop by and take a look!

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY.

If someone asked me to describe The Donkey Show in a hundred words or less, I would simply say, "just go buy a ticket!" or somehow try to form a mathematical equation involving disco classics, Shakespeare, dancing and glitter - which, by the way, former college professors? You've been put on notice. This is how Shakespeare should be.

There's no real way to explain what the show is without just telling someone to go and see it. The Donkey Show, directed by Diane Paulus, tells the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream through the great 70s anthems. Some of these classics include “We are Family,” “I Love the Nightlife,” “Car Wash,” “Ring My Bell,” and “Last Dance.” It's the enchanted forest of Shakespeare’s classic comedy and it comes to life the glittered world of retro disco as the lovers escape from their real lives to experience a night of fantasy. From the moment of your arrival to the very last song, you and the rest of the crowd-goers are dancing, dancing, dancing. And I know what you're thinking - an interactive show means some sort of dinner theatre which is so not the case. If you're inclined to just watch, you can do just that. But the energy of the Donkey Show is both riveting and so visceral there's just no way you can stand still.

So every Friday and Saturday night, at the Oberon, you can head out and see the show. The pre-show (pre-dancing!) starts at 7:30 while the show itself starts at 8. The best news? The tour has been extended through the summer - you now have no excuse to not go and see it.

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN.

It's important to set rules. It's important to have goals and places to strive to. Today, we wanted to share a few things that we try and live by. Here's a great list by the ever so fantastic Frank Chimero (and do check out his blog):

1. Do something compelling. People are hungry for better. Make something better and people will notice. This is the best promotion.

2. Message dictates the proper aesthetic. Figure out what you want to say and what is important to you, then let the style follow.

3. Make hard decisions about what is important. Be ruthless. Most things aren’t important, just by the very nature of what “important” means. From this:
• Give emphasis to the important stuff.
• De-emphasize the unimportant.
• Put up barriers between you and the distracting.

4. Be picky in work relationships. Realize that agreeing to unfair circumstances not only hurts you, but your peers as well, because it pushes what is acceptable behavior in the wrong direction.

5. Talk and think about process. It’s important. Don’t worry, no one is going to steal your “secret sauce.” That only happens with recipes. And creativity isn’t a recipe.

6. Simplicity in form. Clarity in concept. Conciseness in message. Now, more than ever.

7. Learn to operate in a world of choices. Don’t paralyze yourself with analyzing opportunity costs. Think, move, assess.

8. Two things can be incongruent, yet both partially true. Making two opposing elements play nice is the germ that fuels a lot of wonderful things.

9. If you curate, add context and value. Add a perspective.

10. Feedback loops: small and tight. Inspiration sources: wide and varied.

11. Bonus idea! And, probably, the most important: substance, please.

(Photo.)

FIFTY.

FYI. It's still coming, this week's write up of our New Year's Eve party setup. If you follow our Twitter, you know that it was an eventful process.

And what an adventure it was. There were boo boos and band aids. Everybody's favorite, of course of course, the feather boas. There was double stick tape and little, tiny tricks - of course, most little tiny tricks seem like a good idea at the time. However, in the coming days after, pulling said little trick off made each little sticky trick not so much a good idea.

Of course, there was the weather. And the weather never likes to cooperate, of course. Because if the weather did cooperate, it would be sunny skies and seventy degrees in the middle of January. Nonetheless it was a success and as soon as the pictures are sorted through, you'll get to see a little bit of everything! Boo boos not included.

THIRTY.

'twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ... except, well, maybe, the present wrappers.

The art of present wrapping is the single most important craft you might learn in your life time. It's quite an accomplishment, for sure, as it tests the limitations of your patience and your desire to express how much you really love that special someone.

Of course, this is why there are people in the mall who do it.

But there's definitely something to present wrapping, and the most perfectly wrapped gift - that's the gift that you wake up on Christmas morning, walk down the stairs, and stare at it with growing anticipation. It's the present that you shift from foot to foot, that makes you start to pace (much to the dismay of the rest of your family, who worry whether or not it's a good idea to give you coffee); without a doubt, that's the present that your present wrapper, your Santa's elf, spent what felt like an eternity wrapping the night before.

Listen, nothing comes easy. You have to deal with an army of paper cuts, tape dispensers that disappear in fear or run out because they just can't hack it. A personal favorite is the long, long journey through out the house to look for a pair of scissors that your own mother swears exists, but it turns out they don't and you have to make an emergency drugstore run.

We do this because we love our family.

We do this because we love them very, very much.

So then the question is simply this: what do you do with a present, say well, you know, a suitcase and make it something spectacular?

Easy. You get creative.

The greats of the present wrappers, a small and foreign community, will often stare a suitcase with weariness and anxiety - especially when said suitcase does not come with a box. So they too will be surprised when we say that we accomplished this feat, this incredible feat of making a suitcase nothing less than amazing, with little paper to spare ... and two bags of two hundred small bows.

So we here at PHI Design would not only like to wish you and yours a happy, happy holiday, but would also like to extend several gold stars to those of you a part of the present wrapping community. Without a doubt, we salute you.