Plaza Presby Fundraiser Invite

I designed this invitation (and logo) several years ago for a fundraising party hosted by Plaza Presbyterian Weekday School.  It's a great party and a fantastic money-maker for the school.  We opted to use the same design again this year.

5x7 Flat Invitation, front and back

Plaza Family Band Releases New Album

I was proud to again assist the Plaza Family Band with the design of their newest CD, "Wee Jamboree".  This project, like last year's "Playground Hootenanny" release, is a fundraiser for Plaza Presbyterian Weekday School, the wonderful preschool attended by the children of these outstanding professional musicians.  Individually, they have impressive careers, and together as the Plaza Family Band, they have created another wonderful collection of well composed, well crafted and well performed traditional tunes.

For this second CD, I adapted the illustration created for "Playground Hootenanny" by artist (and parent) Raed Al-Rawi. 

The album was dedicated to my late sister, Cindy Sutton McInnes, a beloved teacher at the school who lost her young life to brain cancer this summer.  We were honored to have five of these generous and talented musicians perform breathtakingly beautiful music at her memorial service in August. [article about Cindy]

Plaza Family Band

As I might have mentioned before, our preschool rocks!  But really, it does.

There is an amazingly talented bunch of parents congregated there, including a number of professional musicians.  Pushing swings on the playground together this fall, they concocted the notion of recording a childrens music CD together as a fundraiser for the preschool.  Within a few short months, the Plaza Family Band was formed and "Playground Hootenanny" was released.

Not being the slightest bit musical myself, my contribution to the all-volunteer effort included CD design (using a beautiful illustration by Plaza Dad Raed Al-Rawi) and promotion --  band website with blog feature, social media (customized twitter profile, facebook fan page), and public relations.

The Plaza Family Band has been getting a great response -- a jam-packed release party at the Pizza Peel last month, several write-ups in local papers and a performance scheduled for a new live local TV program, "Charlotte Today".   But, of course! The music is terrific and the story is even better.

Plaza Family Band Website  ::  Press  ::  Twitter  ::  Facebook



Old School, New Cards

There is a wonderful, old sign outside the wonderful, old school - carved in wood, likely by hand, featuring this lovely illustration.  The colors, paper choices and rest of the design attempts to reflect the hip, progressive personality of this preschool community, but the sweet, old artwork is the star here.  So the credit belongs with the generations of cool, artistic families that have hung out on this playground before me.

Plaza Presbyterian Weekday School Business Cards

For The Love Of Plaza: Partying for the Preschool

Plaza Presbyterian Weekday School, in Charlotte's historic Plaza-Midwood neighborhood, is a gem of a preschool and a wonderful community of some of the city's most creative characters.  Every two years, the school has hosted a silent auction fundraiser with all of the trappings of a good time: superb live music from local artists, great food and drink, and the opportunity to win art, services and gift certificates donated by Plaza families and neighborhood merchants.

Having a few marketeers on the playground meant we needed some quality branding for the biennial event.  Colleen Taylor and I, with the help of other Plaza talent, created a logo, invitation, signage, website, merchandise and even a rubber stamp to create custom thank you notes.

Non-Profit: For The Love Of Plaza Logo

Non-Profit: Event Marketing: Plaza Auction Invite: Front

Non-Profit: Event Marketing: Plaza Auction Invite: Back

Non-Profit: Event Marketing: Plaza TShirt