3 of 3: now we FLY

If you haven't noticed or haven't had a chance to see one, my business cards say my job title is a “FLYght Engineer.” I figured, I'm an artist. I'm out the box. Let me be true to my lifestyle. Recently, I was speaking with a guy and when I told him about it he just did not get it. Well, hopefully with my next move many of you will if you don't already.

Between a few items I've done previously, and trying to explain to that guy what it means to engineer FLYght, I was inspired to do an entire collection of items. Something I've never done before. It was supposed to be a series of pieces with designs centering around things that fly. Around this time, my soror @runmoonrun, offered to design an entire ad campaign for me. This made for an awesome time to flesh out my ideas and my feelings as I created these pieces around this campaign...and this collection.

The original concept was based on the hoodie I did for baby Ethan. If you missed it, chekk it out here

However, everybody isn't as fortunate as baby Ethan. Some people don't get their first bit of SYM1 heaven until they're well into their 20s. Not going to work for a whole campaign. Then it comes to me...like an epiphany (thanks Chrisette)...Take FLYght! Everybody isn't given wings at birth, but with just a little effort and the will to make it so, we all have a chance to (be) FLY. Opportunities aren't always given, sometimes you have to take them. You just have to go for it. I'm working on my wings right now...a month long hiatus. So this new direction for SYM1 means a lot to me. Now, I can admit that this wasn't the original intention of my genius. Take FLYght was definitely on some I look good tip. On some you'd look better if you were rokkin' SYM1 tip. Don't get me wrong, it's still true, but I must admit, my genius even surprises me at times. This was a great concept that was made greater by the timing and will now be the move for the next era in SYM1. First we rokked, now we FLY.


Take FLYght: Wings Courtesy of SYM1

2 of 3: First we rokked...

In the beginning...God had everything to do with it. Lol. Ok, but in the beginning SYM1 Did It came about in a VERY organic way. I made shirts. I got paid. Then one of my sorors says, “Why don't you join facebook? Post some shirts there.” I did that. I got more exposure. I made more shirts. I got paid. Then there were SO many shirts, one of my sorors says “when are you going to make a facebook group?” And that's when I had to be a little more conscious with my efforts. I had yet to choose an official name, I wanted to call the group “stuff I made” until I made a definitive decision about what to title my greatness. I'm the type of person that REALLY hates to move forward with anything until I'm absolutely sure. However, I wasn't completely comfortable with “stuff I made,” so I chose something a little more catchy. I thought “tell em SYM1 did it” was catchy enough so that's where the name came from. By the time I had other great ideas and considered changing it, it had been well over a year and I had a large following. I don't believe in confusing the customers, plus, “tell em SYM1 Did It” is still very simple and catchy. Later came the iRokk movement. I can't even tell you where that began. Words I use regularly that managed to stikk. Hey, I don't argue with what works. It's been 5 years since I painted my first (official) shirt, and I think it's time to begin a new movement...

1 of 3: Must do better

I only post once a week. Mostly so, it won't be 4 weeks when I don't post anything and the blog gets lonely. However, sometimes more than one thing happens in any given week and then I'm not current. That's hardly sexy. I want to try to give you not only NEW stuff but a deeper look into what's going on 'round these parts. We'll see how this works out. I'm going to leave it as scheduled, one per week and just try to make sure I add stuff as they happen. We shall see!

The logo...

Over the years, the signature hasn't changed much. It's actually still very close to the original, and after much scribbling and doodling, I still decided not to change it. The SHAPE of the letters has changed and I eventually added the bars to the tops and bottoms to anchor them (much like the one in the blog header). They looked so lost and frail without them. Then, I decided I wanted a change. There was a short period of time where I actually had the signature inside a rectangle, but it wasn't closed. Symbolically speaking, it represented not being confined by “the box.” However, I thought it was too close to the box, so I literally said “FUKK THE BOX” and decided to change it to a circular design. Much more artsy choice in my opinion. Plus, I wanted it to look like a stamp...the official SYM1 seal of approval. I don't intend to make any more changes any time soon.

#shoutout to my intimate photograph...it's just not right, lol, but you get the idea.

The name...

Who wants to know where the name SYM1 comes from? Great...I see lots of hands. I won't fault you for not getting it sooner. Here's what happened:

ME: Hi, I'm Symone. With a Y.
HIM: Ummm..yeah, so where does the Y go?
ME: S-Y-M-one. SYM1.
HIM: SYM1!

and it stuck. Going on 10yrs...

Celebration Post: 3K

I just want to congratulate MYSELF on reaching my goal of 3,000 members. I originally wanted to reach this goal by Christmas...I was being extra hopeful, but the fan page has consistently grown at about 100 members a week. My desire for 1500 in 4 weeks was a bit, EXTRA, though not impossible. I'm actually right on time based on the way it's been going. I'm low key wanting to grow another 1,000 members in the next month though. I'm going to try my hardest. Oh wait, I think you're supposed to take a minute to enjoy your victory. Here I am planning for the next one. My bad. Let me go paint something. Shoot tomorrow...guess who...nvm. Let me go. Thanks everybody for all your help and support!

My SYMspiration: Sankofa

It's RARE that I get completely original requests that say..."I trust you, do whatever you like." So, this was the start of something wonderful. My dear SYM1 supporter, frequent commenter and soror, Tanaya, sent me an order requesting a Sankofa bird on the front and the continent of Africa, a woman w/ locs, and the words "know thyself" on the bakk. That's it.

Essentially, the Sankofa bird symbolizes a need to know where you came from in order to know where you are going. To read (a little) more, go here:   http://www.duboislc.net/SankofaMeaning.html. Many of you don't know, but I was an African American Studies major, so I was feeling in touch with my studies. Of course, I was happy to do it, but really had no idea where I would go with the design. It was a simple request, but I wanted it to be grand. So, I had a meeting with one of my business partners, Google, and he gave me a few pictures to work with. Here's the one I liked most.

However, I remember Tanaya having this same bird on her graduation cap (that I didn't do), so I decided not to copy the colors. (Nor do I understand why this Sankofa has left her egg unattended. I was a little disturbed.) She also requested to have the letters from each of the Greek organizations she is a member of on each of the wrists. The dominant colors are red and blue, so I started there. Then I sat in front of my paint shelf and laid the colors all side by side to see which ones worked. I don't know why or how, but I ended up with a indigo and violet-less rainbow. I REALLY wish I had taken step by step photos for this one, but I didn't know I was going to fall in love with it. My bad.

1st things first. I sketch the bird. I fill it in with the rainbow colors. Then I do the black outline. I don't like it. It looks flat. UGH! So I decide to add some details to the colors, but I wasn't sure which kind of pattern to use. I wanted it to keep that "African" feel. So bakk to my partner Google. Here's what I came up with...

At the time, I didn't really pay attention to the masks, but I like those too. Maybe a future piece. Anyway, the designs within the bird come from this piece. Yay! It looks so much better now, but I still don't like it. Lol. So, I decided  to wrap the spiraled squares around the entire design. :D Great idea! *cabbage patch* I'm the man.

I added a similar detail to the strings on the hood, put the letters on the sleeves. Signed my name...then flipped it over to do the bakk.

I chose to do Africa in red, and filled it with the same pattern I used on the bird. The woman was the main thing that I was really concerned with. I got the idea that she should be dancing. That has nothing to do with Sankofa, but I personally feel like there is a freedom in knowing. Dancing is the ultimate expression of that freedom. Google and I linked up one more time and he showed me a picture of a woman dancing.

She doesn't have locs. *shrugs* But, I'm SYM1...now she does. lol. I added the Sankofa symbol in yellow, simply because it felt naked. Now, I'm all done.

I love it. I want to do it again. It's getting a great response on Facebook. YAY! I want to make another one. (Said that already, huh?) Maybe on this green track jacket I have...hmmm...

#random: I want to do a shower curtain. I'm tired of looking at mine. I might be feeling colorful!