What I'm working on: LOTS of things

Chekk out the first few pieces of the Take FLYght collection. Purely coincidence that all the first pieces are bugs. Subline..."If you not rokkin SYM1, you buggin!" Lol. Ok, so what if it was corny? I'm SYM1 and I do what I want.

Oh and I have tried many (the equivalent of about 4) times to make a hat, well this time it worked.

I loved it so much I kept it. Then I made another just like it. Well...sort of.

I sent some of these new pieces and a few others to be featured in a fashion show in St. Louis. One of my dear fb friends put me on and I'm so excited to see the outcome. And...since it's like 3 weeks since I wrote this, it's safe to say it went well. I've even gotten pics and an invitation to participate in the Fall show.

I'm also in the process of designing an entire table/booth design for SYM1 and a few items for fashion shows. I promise every time I get ready to do something, I feel like I have to start over making new pieces for each event. That is in NO way conducive to saving time and preserving what's left of my mind. The goal is to have this done or at least most of it done by the time my hiatus is over. << Yeah, so I didn't get this far. However, if there is a tote show anywhere, I can gladly make a hefty contribution. I decided to focus on my inventory. Totes first. When I'm done painting them all...I'll move onto shirts and stuff. It's been fun. Still have a long way to go. I was hoping to paint EVERY blank piece I have here. Over 200 pieces. Not in a month...but in general. I'm still going! Can't stop won't stop... *straps on wings*

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!