bits and bobbins

aaron lee fineman is a freelance professional photographer based in new york city. a graduate of NYU’s tisch school of the arts, aaron’s portfolio includes work for a long and impressive list of esteemed publications and major corporations, including but not limited to the new york times, forbes, newsweek, times, mother jones, coke, and IBM. aaron and his wife nicole (also a photographer and illustrator) are good friends of the husband and i…we met them during our time living in nyc in the mid-2000’s.

over the past several years, aaron was working on an environmental portrait project featuring designers in their workspaces. a few of the portraits for said project are shown above (top to bottom): kayte terry, whitney mero, and linda permann. see the rest of aaron’s designer portraits here.

a while back, i briefly interviewed aaron, asking about what inspired him to do this designer portrait series, how it came together, and so forth. some of the discussion we had about photography and this particular project is excerpted below.

me: what was the inspiration for the [designer portraits] project?

aaron: a few things…i was sick of the lack of choices for [interesting] menswear options in “regular” stores, another was going to markets like the market and the edge (in NYC) and seeing all the amazing designs there. i wanted to show people that they can get great clothes and other goods without shopping at the mega marts. they can instead support small designers and in doing that, they can look great and avoid looking like anyone else in the process.

me: how did the project get started?

aaron: i found most of the designers through you and mia kim [a fashion designer friend of aaron's who sold her work at edge NYC, a designer's market/store located on bleeker street]. i also sourced some of the designers via the internet.

me: is the project completed, or do you plan to add to it over time?

aaron: the project is mostly completed…but if i can think of some way to expand on the designers project then i would really like to. if i could find a real cohesive group of designers…and not have to pay $ out of my pocket for travel to do the photos then i would like to expand on the project. possibly with video interviews and footage of them working.

me: what do you like about photographing people and their work? what do you find fascinating or interesting about these people you have shot?

aaron: i am facinated by photogrpahing humans in their own element. i did journalistic work for many years but now i think that environmental portraits are a great way of getting a larger story [within the confines of] photograph. but again, essentially…i am just curious about people. one thing that always bothered me about a lot of portrait photos is when they put people up against a studio wall and you miss out on the environment. the environment can say so much about a person.

you can explore more of aaron lee fineman’s work on his website, www.aaronleefineman.com.

thanks aaron!

whoa, time is really getting away from me lately…sorry for the lack of postings. eek! hope to rectify that soon. simple explaination? trying to maximize my time in my studio! so it’s all for a good cause…

anyhoo, at least i manage to get your wardrobe_remix(ers) o’ the week post out semi-on-time, most of the time, right?!

on that note, here you go! enjoy!

love you,
tricia

this here is the ORIGINAL and OFFICIAL weekly wardrobe_remix recap of the latest and the greatest from the wardrobe_remix community, from yours truly, the creator of wardrobe_remix!

any wardrobe_remix photos that find themselves here showcase great style + great photography = the two meet and merrily marry to make a perfect expression of YOU and your singular personal style! and i’ve said it a million times before, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it…the ticket is the confidence and sureness you exude when you express yourself the way that makes YOU feel most comfortable. that confidence shines through and is captured on film. so whether you’re wearing couture clothes from the finest designers, mass market threads, stuff you made yourself, thrifted finds, or even a shirt you stumbled across on the side of the road…rock it! it’s ALL GOOD and it’s ALL WELCOME in wardrobe_remix!

jj@goodwiu:


whatkatiewore.com:


tina turnip:


bluesmonster:


allison the valiant:


SQvikSQvik:


Fräulein Piberger:

thanks to everyone who’s been posting about wardrobe_remix or featuring fashions and folks from the group in their own blogs or websites. thanks for getting the word out. i am glad that wardrobe_remix inspires you! remember to give credit to the people in the aforementioned photos (if you use them in your blog posts, etc.) and to wardrobe_remix itself. it’s good internet/blogging karma! (plus it actually goes with flickr’s terms of service and a little thing called copyright!)

remember: you can click on the photo of any of these terrific wardrobe_remix(ers) to learn more about their photo or outfit, explore their flickr photostream, and beyond. all of the photos are owned by the awesome people who are depicted in them, of course!

join us over at wardrobe_remix and show off your awesome EVERYDAY trendbusting and trend-SETTING personal style!

spread the word!

and see you there!

american apparel, the LA-based clothing manufacturer that everyone either loves, or loves to hate, has been a hot topic on the internets of late. seems as if i have been stumbling across articles and other bits of media concerning the infamous company at least every couple of days. you ask: why would this be? well, it seems they though they are still battling various legal woes and facing other business challenges, they are simultaneously doing well (relatively speaking) and managing to remain somewhat financially buoyant in these trying retail times.

generally, i’ve noted that folks seem have fairly strong opinions about american apparel. some favor the company for their downtown feel, modern cuts and blissfully logo-free mix-and-matchable knit basics, as well as the fact that they currently manufacture on US soil (they proudly and loudly market that aspect of their business). others revile the company in response to their anti-labor union stance, and hipster-flavored, super-sexually-charged advertising, or take issue with the alleged (mis)behavior(s) of the outfit’s CEO, dov charney.

in the interest of passing (interesting) things along (as i am wont to and enjoy doing), i thought i’d note and link to said posts/news pieces:

-who’s your daddy? dov charney serves up paternalism with a creepy smile at american apparel HQ (from clamor magazine)

-american apparel teams up with chictopia (via behind the seams: the ethical style blog): some select members of the personal style site are to serve as models for AA in the near future. jezebel, however, questions this current marketing move on the part of AA…

-this clip on current, no sweat solution, shows a slice of a documentary about american apparel and a competitor in the tee shirt manufacturing industry, no sweat. both aimed to operate a manufacturing firm that treated it’s workers fairly, but each had a different way of achieving that aim. one company found success, the other failed…if nothing else, the clip/film does a great job of vividly illustrating what a character dov is!

-the complicated world of american apparel (wwd): subscription only, sadly. but suffice to say, it’s a good, multi-page read on the ins, outs of the company and why and how they do what they do, and it sheds light on the various, sundry and many legal woes of dov and his empire, and how those marketing schemes and cases have affected the company, for the worse, or the better. one could argue that not all of their recent and past moves are bad ones, surprisingly, as evidenced by their relative recent successes in this currently down, down, down market…

-see also: american apparel’s plans for recession success: more sex, please (via jezebel) & american apparel bares all (via the wall street journal)

i ask you, as i always like to do:
american apparel: loathe? love regardless? whatever, whichever, why?

does reading more, gaining more insight into the company or it’s CEO change your mind about them at all? or does said news bolster your beliefs about them as a company?

to take this line of questioning a step further: do the business practices or personal beliefs/actions of a company and/or its management or staff color how you feel about that company? if you disagreed with said practices, would you refuse to purchase their wares, even if you really liked what they had on offer? why, or why not?