shalishah17 - Tumblr blog

[shalishah17]

"Dancing is an expression of the happiness of life." Alicia Alonso, Cuban prima ballerina #clients #marketing #ballet #balletquotes #quotes #inspiration #flashbackfriday #fbf #balletdancers #ballerinasofig #browngirlsdoballet #brownballerina #pointe #enpointe #cuba #ballerina #danceislife

[shalishah17]

The bridge is over.

I used to believe in love, playful love. The kind of love that etched my first name and his last using a Dymo label embosser and stuck those things everywhere. The kind of love that connected us socially in arguably superficial ways. It’s complicated. And the kind of love that intended to fly hours to Paris, lock and lover in tow, to make it last forever on the Pont des Arts bridge. Intended is the key word here. I mean in the last 7 years, thousands of lovers (some past, hopefully some still present) did this very thing. Even Kourtney Kardashian added a few ounces, or two locks, (yea I watched that episode) to the reported 45 tons of hardware...currently making the bridge a safety concern.

But here’s my concern. As a passionate marketer, I am always in search of super creative ways to deepen the relationships between products and consumers, fans and brands, cities and travelers. Those “super creative ways” (or at least I think they are) are wholeheartedly inspired by experiences created organically, authentically and gradually. User experience, or UX for the cool, invites marketers/designers/visionaries (those are not synonymous) to understand and design based in large part on the behaviors, feelings, expectations and motivations for actions around things. The thing in this case being the Pont des Arts bridge and the widespread, near feverish desire, to lock in love. 

What could Paris have done differently?

Crowdsource ideas for a new place/way to celebrate lovers from around the world? Create a symbolic and ceremonious experience for the occasion beyond construction workers on a deadline? Establish a proactive communications blitz to promote the news and exciting new plans (instead of the reactive “the bridge is gone” article that has me in a tizzy)? Create a traveling art exhibition that bridges love internationally? Commission an art piece or two? A photo contest with iPhone 6 or Instagram? Create a virtual interface that enables people to geotag their own lock, share their story and bridge Paris to the rest of the world? Or my personal favorite, reinforce the structure, maybe through crowdfunding, and invite the consumer behavior to continue, like love, forever?

What ideas do you have to help the “love locks bridge” live on in new and different ways?

Oh, and if you’re worried about me...I still believe in a Rumi kind o’ love.

Nothing lasts forever No one lives forever Keep that in mind… And love.

Shalishah & Franklin

[shalishah17]

What is Creativity to you?

[shalishah17]

TWITTER is...an Ant Farm.

Dig Tunnels | Build Bridges | Move Mountains

[shalishah17]

We all have specific purposes and passions that inspire our journeys both personally and professionally. I really dig humans; watching, understanding, sharing with and embracing people...can you tell? An interview, not too long ago, helped me to realize this and clarify my uniqueness. And after watching this video, I invite you to do the same!

[shalishah17]

Shalishah is a Handwriting Preservationist.

On Valentine’s Day I was given the best gift ever! An idea for a short film that came through me from Him....while in the shower of all places! I spent the next month handwriting my script in a journal with the words “MAKE THINGS HAPPEN” emblazoned on the cover. How’s that for daily motivation? (Thanks to my sister Danni for the gift!)

I did a ton of research for character development, authenticity for some of the scenes and the appropriate terminology. I also did some goal-planning and researched what the heck to do with this labor of love once it’s shot, edited and ready to be shared with the world. All of this, 100+ pages, was handwritten first in the journal.

Now, the script is done, edited and typed into a scriptwriting program. The cast is being assembled and 4 of 6 locations have been confirmed!

Creatively, I’m continuing to find and finesse what works for me. I know that I have a very personal and emotional connection to my handwriting, albeit chicken scratch. A connection that I have been very hard-pressed to create with fonts. Also, because it’s nearly impossible to read my handwriting, I don’t spend my time re-reading or editing what I’ve recently written. I just keep going and allow the ideas to keep flowing.

Find what works for you and create from that place.

More details to come on the film!

[shalishah17]

Current Reading: Think And Grow Rich: A Black Choice by masterful Napoleon Hill and thought-provoking Dennis Kimbro. It’s More than 20 years old but incredibly poignant even today.

I’ve owned this book for years, never once opened it. Until my soul needed it.

Timing is everything.

[shalishah17]

What are you passionate about? What's the thing that brings you joy and secretly you'd like to be your job? You might be surprised to know that many experiences in your life have piqued your interest and prepared you! To spot my signs and visualize my success, I talk to Oprah....if only in my mind! Check out my process hereI

[shalishah17]

|| Baby, pass me the Buddha || "In The End, Only Three Things Matter: How Much You Loved, How Gently You Lived, and How Gracefully you Let Go Of Things Not Meant For You." #quotes #lyrics #spirituality #growth #BnW (at Bon Wei)

[shalishah17]

Firenze. All roads lead to the center, of a town, and an artistic adventure of the soul. Allow the monuments that you're building, physically and symbolically, be what grounds you, centers you in gratitude, and guides you to continue creating. This, and more, is what Florence has taught me. #AThousandThanks #GrazieMille #LeonardoDaVinci #MichelangeloBuonarotti #NiccoloMachiavelli #SalvatoreFerragamo #Pasqua2014

[shalishah17]

"A place to call home" - Venice, Italy, 2013

25 postcards finished! Italy through my eyes...

-SPF

[shalishah17]

Hand-painted, one-of-a-kind, signed Italian postcards, as seen through my eyes, are being mailed to more than 40+ GoFundMe.com/PiccoloPetey contributors.  You'll have to come visit me to see if I've illustrated the wonder of Italy accurately. =)

Send me notes and comment here as you receive yours! Pazienza...the Italian mail system can be is quite slow.

Grazie mille for your support, love and encouragement.<3

Petey

[shalishah17]

Familiar Faces in Unfamiliar Places

A year ago, nearly to the date (of the above picture), I met Marcia in a beginners Italian class in Beverly Hills, California.

We had lots in common; social media managers, photographers (she better than I), travel junkies, Italy fiends and Italian-language novices (me more than her).

We grew together as we stumbled over "Soft Cs" and "Hard Gs," "rolling Rs "and attention-craving "double Ts," i.e. spa-ghet-ti. Through trial and lots of error, we began to fear the language a little bit less, and plan our European journeys a little bit more.

As you know, my journey includes a yearlong Masters program in Milan. Brace yourselves...Marcia's journey includes 21 European cities photographing homes of emerging artists in just three months. For more information on her whirlwind experience click here. In bocca al lupo mia amica!

P.S. Marcia has a thing for flipflops...even in Iceland!

[shalishah17]

Maison Martin Margiela. The art of organized chaos.

Check out the website. Mindblowing. http://www.maisonmartinmargiela.com

[shalishah17]

Business Not As Usual

I'm in a whole new world, kind of like Princess Jasmine, but without the carpet ride and that one guy...

And the most fantastic thing about this experience is the Art of Observation. I mean, while this experience is new and different and unique and exhilarating for me...it's completely normal for the Milanese.

So, I like to watch people. Nothing new there. But particularly, I like to watch people before I do something new and for the first time, you know, to avoid costly mistakes! (I'm no longer concerned with wasting time...time does not matter one minute here! But by American standards, I've wasted about 74.5 hours in three weeks)

OBSERVATIONS:

Keep your train ticket handy, you can not exit the turnstyle or depart to your final destination without it.

Stand on the right side, walk on the left side, of the escalator. Do not disrupt this order.

Our phone conversation is not over until we each say "Ciao" five times.

To exit most businesses and apartments, you must push the white button to release/unlock the door. The mystery is always in finding where they've hidden this button.

And my current favorite: Keep the really ugly doily curtain thing hanging on the window in your bathroom OR your neighbors will take pictures of you silhouettes of you showering.

In conclusion, observe your surroundings, because it's interesting, safer, and you're bound to learn something.

Love Petey.

[shalishah17]

"It's been like that for a minute Hedi Slimane!!"

[shalishah17]

"I DON'T want any tourists!" - Professoressa

If you're looking for me, I'm somewhere in these books. Don't worry, I'm not alone, I have company and I'm pretty sure we will share everything in due time, including tears.

Travel for me...