Christina and I had scheduled a photo shoot in the Brandywine River Valley on what turned out to be a sweltering, sticky day in late June. Christina, who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado—one of my favorite towns with a much more penguin-friendly climate—happened to be traveling from New York to Washington D.C. via rail that week.

She had time enough to hop off the train in Wilmington, hoist and haul her camera equipment from Brandywine State Park on the Pennsylvania side to Brandywine Park on the Delaware side, and take 365 beautiful shots. These are some of my favorites.

This photo shoot is step two in my own big little marketing makeover. Step one included a professionally scribed biography, coming soon. There’s an abbreviated preview on my About page right now.

My goal is to more effectively package myself, accurately render my capabilities, effectively exhibit my past work and illustrate how blissful my potential clients’ lives can be should they choose to work with me.

Eh, or something like that.

James Medd of Word interviewed SMTS co-producer and art director Kate Garchinsky and attended the show on May 15 with his two sons. Read his account of the festivities, and learn more about the Kindie movement in children’s music.

PDF: SingMeToSleep_Word0710

You would think from the lack of activity on my own website that I’ve been lying around in my pajamas, daydreaming to sweet tunes, doodling and enjoying tea and crimpets.

That, my friends, is precisely what I’ve been doing.

(Ok well, sort of.)

My big fat project of 2009-2010 has been a CD of lullabies for children and music-appreciating not-so-grown-ups. Once a figment of an idea itching my brain, now full-blown reality, for the past 16 months “indie lullabies” have been my life. On May 15 The Line of Best Fit, Arctic Circle and American Laundromat Records celebrated the album’s release in London at a hugely successful Daylight Pyjama Party at Union Chapel with The Leisure Society and The Real Tuesday Weld performing. The event was covered in Word mag, and scores of blogs have made favorable mention of the album over the past 3 months.

Video Footage:

The Leisure Society: Inchworm at Union Chapel

Nine songs from the CD are now being played on rotation on Starbucks radio in locations spanning the globe. Kind of mind-boggling—when in London one cannot turn a corner without spotting a Starbucks. Scary, really. But anyway… I’m pretty proud of it. Can you tell?

The fantastic part about all this is that the CD is a charity album, and all sales go to a great cause. The Valerie Fund has been supporting the comprehensive treatment of children with cancer and blood disorders for over 30 years. But as a small, independent non-profit, the fund operates on a skeleton staff with fully tapped, limited resources. Non-profits such as these struggle in the same way small businesses do during times of recession, and their work is insurmountably important. The last charity compilation American Laundromat Records produced has raised over $30,000 for Casting for Recovery, and I hope that we will, at the very least, quadruple that success with “Sing Me to Sleep” and help The Valerie Fund thrive rather than survive. Each year thousands of children and their families rely on their support and care in specialty centers in hospitals across densely populated New York and New Jersey.

There’s tons more info I would love to share with you now, but I have to go return some shoes, deposit a check, and pack my bags for the weekend because Sunday is the BIG DAY, Release Party the Second, at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Come, bring your kids. Yes, even the screaming runny little ones. The event is designed specifically to delight and engage ornery minds with beauty, art and music. Plus the face-painter is one of the best in the city, and you know I am all over that.

Once this event is through, it’s back to the creative board—I have plenty of new ideas itching my brains. More on that later.

Happy weekend.
xo!