The past couple of years brought us the emerging trend of "handmade." In the last decade, the craft movement made sense. It was reactionary, a move away from low quality, big brand goods and services of the 90s. Our lives were getting too technological, too automated. The consumer sought to get their hands dirty again. Thus in the last decade, the artisan was reborn.

Fast forward several years, and the trend is still going strong. "Farm-to-table" is now the bare minimum, cars are built with pride (and by humans) again, and once ordinary items get designery treatments and are sold at a premium.

What's a big, mainstream company to do in the new artisan age? Play along, of course.

In the past several months I've come across three of the big guys touting dedicated bakers, legendary beginnings, and hand-signed delivery pizza. 2010 may have been the peak of the artisan, but with Burger King now selling "chef-driven, artisan-style" burgers, we've hit bottom, unable to do anything but  laugh at ourselves on the way.

New York Magazine has a more in-depth report.

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• You're extremely shy (hermit-like really) & don't like meeting other Atlanta area Creative Professionals.

• You already know everything there is to know about being Creative and could careless about what distinguished industry professionals have to say (if so email me, we probably would want you to present and teach us).

• You (being part vampire) are a nocturnal only creature and sleep all day.

• You get violently ill at the slightest smell of hand-crafted coffee.

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If you can't claim any of these three then you should attend. Still need more convincing? Check out our event photos or watch December's lecture with Ben Chestnut below:

Watch all of the Atlanta Creative Mornings lectures here.

Registration opens @ 11am the Monday before each event and tickets go fast (first three events sold out in less than 10 minutes).  Be sure to follow @Atlanta_CM for updates on the Atlanta Creative Mornings chapter.

Our Upcoming Lectures:

January 27th- Presenter: Matt Rollins

February 24th- Presenter: Zack Arias

March 30th- Presenter: Doug Grimmett

April 20th- Presenter: TBD

May 25th- Presenter: TBD

June 29th- Presenter: TBD

1. A physical office environment matters. It can help or hinder a brand's perceptions and a team's morale.
2. Selling an idea doesn't happen at the first presentation, but at the first handshake. Great ideas are sold through relationships & trust.
3. Spontaneous creativity needs to be scheduled on the calendar or it won't happen.
4. Fields tests & focus groups results are contingent on asking the right questions.
5. A company is smarter & overall much better when it hires females.
6. When great things happen celebrate and open your doors for others to enjoy.
7. If you want to start something new, jump in and just do it.
8. Set goals and go after what you believe in, even if it leads to uncomfortable situations.
9. If you are doing great things find a way to tell an equally great story.
10. Take time to think about what you believe in and write it down.
11. Put super talented and fun people around you.

As the internet evolves, a funny thing is happening. In some ways, it seems to be going in reverse. During the early part of the 2000s, the online world had a huge growth spurt. Bored with the limited nature of HTML, developers sought new ways to push the boundaries of the web. Sites got more cumbersome as interactive features and special effects piled on (often via Flash).

Then, the weight of the internet got tiring. Huge Flash websites were bulky and tough to update. People started using mobile devices more and more. Social media took over. All of a sudden, instead of using the World Wide Web for entertainment, we started to use it for information aggregating and social networking. People just wanted content.

And so the internet that has emerged seems to be one that is clean cut and light weight. There have been many developments, but one that I find interesting is the embrace for nostalgia. The animated GIF has proliferated as a trendy "new-old" way to add visual interest to websites and emails. This heritage file format finds new life in many places, from low-brow memes to high-brow fashion email blasts to cinemagraphs to stereoscopic animations.

This phenomenon also seems to be coinciding with similar return-to-form movements offline, such as our current obsessions with analog mediums, artisan methods, and pre-industrial production.

Image Credits: Jack Spade, J. Crew, Field Study, Need Supply, Flipboard, Battle Axe, Twin Sister

We all had about three weeks to ideate, plan, and build our very own handmade creation. The literal instructions communicated from Alana via email were:

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listen up.

i have decided to make a contest in preparation for christmas.

each person has to make ONE christmas ornament related in any way to design / matchstic / team members by December 19th (monday 8am meeting).
we will put these up on our christmas tree.
winner gets an artisanal, hand-made "Christmas Champion 2011″ award and bragging rights!

this is serious. i will remind you guys each week.

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The final entries were judged by our neighbors Octane and based on three categories:

1. Craftsmanship
(was the ornament created with craft in mind, are die-lines, fingerprints, and/or glue visible)

2. Creativity
(is the subject matter cleverly represented, is the ornament unique from its counterparts)

3. Experience / interactivity
(does it have special effects, does the matchstic team understand what the ornament conveys, is it humorous to all)

Below are all of our entries. Tell us your favorite!

"The Fire Ball" by Me – 250+ All-Purpose weather proof wooden matches (later ignited, as seen below, for dramatic presentation).

"Sneaky Creek" by Alana Dy – A replica of a miss-kerned cabin sign at our previous retreat. See the original sign here.

"Flame Soap" by Becky O'Mara – Inspired by Becky's home-made soap (featured on etsy) and held close by in case someone needs a good ole' fashioned mouth cleansing

"Da Bomb" by Jason Orme – Octane & Matchstic are an explosive combination… quite literally.

"S.S. Alina" by Staci Janik – A handmade creation dedicated to our advisory board member & team mentor Alina Wheeler, who's father was a polish sea captain. Complete with quote from our last session with Alina.

"Flaming Pile of Coffee" by Alvin Diec – A handmade paper cup, octane cut paper logo, and floating matchstic flame.

"God Jul" (pronounced "goo yule" which means "Merry Christmas" in Norwegian) by Craig Johnson – A common Norwegian ornament made in honor of Craig's wife & kids.

"Arctic R2D2″ by John Bowles – What do you do with all those recalled white Coke cans? Make an amazing star wars action figure, of course.

Dustin Britt was awarded the "Hat of Shame" for not entering.

And the judging:

The judges scorecard…

And the winner of the 2011 Matchstic Christmas Grand Champion (Adult division) is… (drum roll)…

Staci Janik with her "S.S. Alina" creation. The judges were quoted as saying "The craft & detail was simply hard to beat. It's a tiny boat with tiny sails for goodness sake." The other competitors were quoted as saying "This contest was over before it started. I knew Staci was entering it."

Kudos Staci. You are the official champ.

But you can still place your vote for the People's Champ below!

#9 – WE WILL MAKE OUR CITY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE

Ultimately, as a creative agency we hope that everything we do makes a difference and will inspire others to do the same. Here at Matchstic we have many unique gifts. On top of creativity, empathy and a taste for forward-thinking solutions, we also have a deep interest in using our talents to improve the human experience.

How can we improve the conditions of where we live and contribute to the cultural vitality around us? By becoming involved in solving important problems, we have the deepest impact as our creations and choices can shape peoples' habits and values.

We take pride in our city and love where we live. Through our annual pro-bono campaign,  On the House,  our continued relationships with local clients, and the recent addition of an Atlanta chapter of CreativeMornings, we are helping to build a rich, creative industry in Atlanta.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each other's feet to the fire.

• #2 – We follow through on our word.

• #3 – We rise and fall as a team.

• #4 – We know the difference between a career and a life.

• #5 – We will be profitable; this is not a social club.

• #6 – We recognize that it's their flag, not ours.

• #7 – We know our clients aren't always right, but neither are we.

• #8 – When in doubt, we will fight for relationships.

#5 – WE WILL BE PROFITABLE; THIS IS NOT A SOCIAL CLUB.

While we are all each others BFF's, we wouldn't have as much fun if we weren't making money. For our business to be profitable we must produce great work which can't be acheived if every one is there to just be friends. This statement means we don't just show up to work on our social stats. It means having to say no to some ideas that "would be so awesome if…" but don't seem to make any business sense.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each other's feet to the fire

• #2 – We follow through on our word

• #3 – We rise and fall as a team

• #4 – We know the difference between career and life

#4 – WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CAREER AND A LIFE.

Our friend and advisory board member Alina Wheeler says it best – "Be a citizen of the world".

If we are going to find true inspiration and do unexpected and memorable work – we need to be out in the world doing more than just our work. We need to be experiencing life.

More than that, our worth as individuals is not based on climbing a corporate ladder or the next accolade we receive.

If we're spending all our time working on our career, our career will overshadow our ability to do good work.

We need rest, breaths, and experiences. Our work will benefit, and so will we as humans.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each other's feet to the fire

• #2 – We follow through on our word

• #3 – We rise and fall as a team

These beliefs naturally follow our core values and put some context around how those values play out in real time and space. They are tangible guardrails we can use to self-police our culture. Today's belief is…

#1 – WE HOLD EACH OTHER’S FEET TO THE FIRE.

(No, not all of the beliefs include flammable idioms.)

This belief is ultimately built on a care for one another where we have the hard conversations up front. We critique each others work with honesty and rigor. It is in this posture where we choose the difference between being nice and being good. Consequently, we will carry out difficult confrontations for the sake of quality, truth, and harmony. We are all refined because we are held accountable to the process and to the work we do. The most precious metals in the world (gold, silver, etc) are all refined through fire. The original raw material is transformed for the better after it is forged in the fire. That's pretty dramatic, but something like that.

I wonder if Netflix, Tropicana, or The Gap would have lived this out if they would have made the same blunders as they did?

Rick is an amazing gem to have in our darling city of Atlanta. Starting out as an illustrator and eventually running his own design firm for 18 years, he has worked with some of the largest and most influential companies in the world over the last 35 years, including FedEx, Coca-cola, and working directly with Lou Gerstner, the IBM CEO credited with saving the company in the early 90s.

Here's the story for those that don't know it:

IBM had a strategy in place to disband IBM into several sub-brands tentatively called the "Baby Blues". Mr. Gerstner came in as an outsider at the helm and realized the loosing battle of the personal computer market, which was costing the companies millions each year, and saw the potential for the internet as a "business phenomenon". Lou decided to refocus the corporate strategy on keeping IBM together as one, creating a strong company culture, and setting the course for a new vision to become a world renown IT Services business. His strategy paid off with 50% of IBM's revenues coming from IT Services and stabilizing the company while it exited the personal computer category. Changing categories for a market leader is hard and Lou Gerstner did with it with perfection. His success was due to people like Rick Anwyl helping with corporate communications, crucial to vision casting internally and transitioning brand equity externally.

If you are interested in hearing how businesses transform through design practices you will not want to miss Rick Anwyl this Friday at 8:30am. Be sure to sign up on the waiting list here (the event is already sold out!) but we will be releasing some additional tickets.

For photos from the Sept. event click here. To keep up with future Creative Mornings Atlanta events follow us on twitter.