lello news

Have a safe and happy holiday season! We’ll see you in 2010 with new art and fun.

Go easy on that Eggnog.

They’re on the way… hopefully we haven’t missed anyone. If you’d like one, shoot us an email and I’ll drop one in the mail.

The other day I gave my son Jackson a sketchbook and a red pen.  He’s at that age where he really likes to draw and he’s often asked me about the sketchbook I carry around, so i thought giving him is own book might be a fun gift.  I explained to him that he could draw and/or write anything in the book that he wanted… that it was his book to do with what he pleased.

Apparently this gift made quite the impression on him as he’s taken it to school with him every day.  Each night he shows me his days’ work.  When my wife went to pick him up from school yesterday, she found him drawing horses with a bunch of classmates gathered around watching.  Can’t say it doesn’t bring a smile to my face when I think about it.

From our family to yours… have a healthy and happy holiday season. Thank you for your continued support and look for new murals and t-shirt designs in 2009.

Hi to all of the Clever Commuters who found their way to our site via their mobile devices. Having done the NJ/NY commute for over six years now, Erika and I are intimately familiar with the joy of double decker cars and the agony of unexplained “signal failure.” Last year, she got hooked on the brilliant-but-simple Clever Commute service, and we’re psyched to support their business in any way we can. And if lello helps brighten the day of even one wayward traveler this holiday season at the same time, our mission is complete!

We admit it. We’ve caught the social networking bug. We’ve known about MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for a while, but our foolish selves never really dove in to any of them to figure out what all of the fuss was about. Now that we’ve seen the error of our ways, we’re all set up on Facebook.com, with a friends of lello facebook page. Come check us out, get the scoop on our latest news, and be our friend. It will be a pleasure sharing our addiction with you.

A big thanks to the bands, Elisabeth Clay, Jamie Ross and all of the organizers who rocked us at this year’s Maplewoodstock! We had a blast chatting with all of our Maplewood neighbors and chilling to good tunes. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!

Cheers.

In the dark days of winter it’s nice to have little moments that bring you sunshine. This particular moment occurred when my son showed me a drawing he had done of the family. He’s been busily cranking out works of lowbrow art for some time now. Often times the subject matter needs a little explanation in order for one to fully appreciate the art, but in this case the thoughtfully portioned round heads attached to stick arms and legs is undeniable. There is mom, dad, baby sister and Jackson in full glory. He even went to the trouble of signing this piece.

Why am I so taken with this piece you might wonder. Well, in-addition to it being a wonderfully accurate family portrait, it marks an evolution of growth in Jackson’s artistic/mental development. Up until this point, all people in his art were depicted as mere oblong heads. Sometimes these individuals had a mouth and/or an eye or 3. But in this piece, for the first time, he’s represented people in a way that we can all clearly identify and understand. He’s looking at the world around him, understanding it, and translating it to paper. Amazing!

Here’s the budding mural artist in his studio (the living room floor) working on his next masterpiece. The kid leaves me in awe every day.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us during our first year in business. Stay tuned for more custom kids murals and t-shirt designs in 2008. Have a happy, healthy and safe holiday season!

And trying to find time to post updates in-between the demands of work and family obligations has proven to be quite difficult. But busy is good right..? Sure it is and things are just chuggin’ along here at lello. We’re working on a bunch of new t-shirt designs that we hope to have ready for sale come the Fall, while we sort out and tackle all of the issues that come along with starting a new biz here in New Jersey (more on that at a later date). We’re also working on the Website and hope to start introducing new content and features soon… don’t quote me on that however.

As we sweat it out in our tiny and un-air-conditioned studio, I find that I’m always cranking the music in an attempt to take our collective minds off the heat. Tunes by The Terrible Twos seem to be in heavy rotation these days, particularly the song, “Lady Bug,” which is constantly requested by our 3 year old. I don’t mind, however, the “Twos” present original and thoughtful music geared for kids but with a subtle punk edge that adults can appreciate. I guess I should expect nothing less from composer/performer Matt Pryor, lead singer of the now defunked band, The Get Up Kids.

Anyhow, that’s my little musical plug.
Check out the The Terrible Twos on MySpace if you get a chance.
If you like them, you can buy their album, If You Ever See an Owl… from Amazon.com.

For you older kids, The Get Up Kids are definitely worth a listen.
Their album, Four Minute Mile is my personal favorite.