This is even better

I just made this one the site Animoto. I think I just found a new hobby.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Slide show

OK gang, I've been horsing around on Flickr and I made a slide show of my recent trip to Spain. Do any of you guys use Flickr?



This was brought on by a photo of me having a moment of Ecstasy in Teruel. That photo arrived yesterday from Tile of Spain itself and it took me right back to that medieval balcony. I wanna go back to Spain. Or Canada. Or Germany. have I mentioned that I've been on the road a lot lately?

Time may change me but I can't trace time

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes.

OK kids, it's big announcement time. I've spent the last year setting myself up to be a writer and social media guy full time and to leave behind my career as a designer. Well, while I was in Spain, one of the pitches I'd been working on with an ad agency got an approval from our client. I've been doing social media project work for a while now, but this new one is a different animal all together.

I've been looking for an opportunity like this one for months and I couldn't ask for a better one. For that matter, I couldn't ask for a better agency affiliation than the one I have with Godfrey Design and Advertising.

I'm still involved in the design industry, just in a different capacity. I found a place where I belong in kitchen and bath and I have no intention to leave it.

Moving forward from here, a lot of what I have been doing will remain the same. I'm still writing for a couple of design sites,I'm still teaching SketchUp classes, I'm still teaching social media seminars with a design/ renovation industry slant, and I'm still a kitchen design blogger.

What's different now though is that I'm devoting myself full-time to disseminating new product news and building communities around brands, something I do better than anyone else I know.

I owe all of this to this blog and your support, interest and enthusiasm these last three years. When I started this site, the last thing in the world I was looking for was a mid-life career change. Now that it's here though, I couldn't be happier. Thank you.

Exploring Moorish and Mudéjar influences in Aragon and Teruel

In the year 711, a loose confederacy of Berber, Black African and Arab tribes invaded and conquered most of what is now Spain. In English, we call these people Moors though that's not a term they used for themselves. They called their conquered territory Al-Andalus and they remained on the Iberian peninsula for nearly 800 years. The Islamic impact of the Moors was profound and it can still be felt and seen in modern Spain today. Here are some details of the Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza. This is true Moorish architecture.

Starting in the 1200s, a coalition of Christian kings started to drive the Moors from Spain in a three century long campaign called the Reconquista. As Moorish territory fell to the Christian kings of Spain, the Moors who stayed behind were allowed to continue to practice their religion. At least until the 15th century that is.

The Spanish called the Moors who remained in these newly conquered territories Mudéjar. The word itself is a Medieval Spanish reworking of an Arabic term for "the ones who stayed." Mudéjar is also the name of the architectural style from this period. Mudéjar is a hybrid of Moorish, Gothic and Romanesque styles.

It is this Mudéjar architecture that most non-Spaniards think of when they think of Moorish architecture. Mudéjar reached its highest degree of sophistication in the Spanish provinces of Aragon and Teruel. Thanks to the generosity of The Spanish Tile Manufacturer's Association (ASCER) and Tile of Spain, I had the chance to be in both of those places last week and to see for myself what Mudéjar looks like in person.

Here's a collection of architectural details and all of it is in the Mudéjar style. I took these photos in Zaragoza and Teruel and they're not in any particular order.

So the next time someone starts talking about Moorish or Moorish Revival architecture, ask that person to clarify whether he's talking about true Moorish or Mudéjar. It will make you sound smart.

Bath trends from Spain

As I've been saying all week, Tile of Spain had me in Spain for eight days to learn about the culture and people of Spain and to attend Cevisama. Cevisama is a massive trade show that celebrates the Spanish tile, natural stone and bath industries.

I'm a trade show veteran and have been to more kitchen, bath, tile and stone trade shows than I can count. But this last month has had me in three major trade shows outside of the US and it's been an eye-opening experience to say the least. I have volumes to say on that topic but I'll save that for later.

Here are some of the highlights of the bath designs I saw at Cevisama. As you look through these designs, pay attention to the shapes, colors and ideas. Most of this stuff will never make it to North America but the ideas behind the designs will. Eventually.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

So there you have it, my highlights from Cevisama. Is there anything in those photos that moves you for better or worse? What do you think of the idea of suspended vanities? How about the idea of giving yourself less storage on purpose? Think about it, if you can store less stuff that means you have to have less stuff. I find that appealing but I have a feeling that I'm a minority in that opinion. I've numbered all of my photos here so let me know which one's your favorite and which one's your least favorite.

Again, a thousand thank yous to Tile of Spain for the opportunity to explore the Spanish design scene.