Andrea Bremser

Take a moment and travel with us as we explore some of the most magnificent places in the world. It's already that time again, when photographers get to show off their skills by entering the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. This year, the grand prize winner will score a once-in-a-lifetime trip, an eight-day National Geographic Expedition to Alaska for two aboard one of two of National Geographic's ships, the Sea Lion or the Sea Bird. You'll get to explore the remote wilderness and remarkable wildlife of southeastern Alaska with a team of expert naturalists. This includes kayaking into protected coves and looking for sea otters, hiking through lush forest trails to cascading waterfalls, and getting up close to where brown bears feed.

You have until June 30 to enter your best photos in any of four categories Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments.

via: http://www.mymodernmet.com

Duomo of Milan from Novecento Modern Art Museum Patrons of Milan's Novecento Modern Art Museum admiring the city's Gothic cathedral. Taken with an iPhone.

Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso - One of Inc's Top Female CEOs of 2012.

In the past two years, 100 million people have discovered the filtering joys of Instagram. (Chances are you’re one of them.) And while Instagram is beloved for allowing us to snap and share our personal photos, it’s also begun to amass a following of brands that are leveraging the visually enticing platform to reach new audiences in creative — and effective — ways.

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to get started (or how to grow your current Instagram community with a cool campaign), check out how these five brands are already leveraging the platform well.

1. Free People

The fashion brand, owned by Urban Outfitters, recently attached individualized hashtag cards to its jeans. On the cards, customers were encouraged to take a picture of themselves in the jeans, post the photo on Instagram, and tag it with a specific hashtag. The result: Photos of fabulous jeans circulating not only on Free People’s feed, but their followers’ too. From there, moderators at Free People handpicked photos to publish on its website, turning its consumers into models and engaging with its community in a fun, impactful way.

2. Comodo

A Latin American restaurant in Soho, New York, Comodo recently created an “Instagram menu” by asking patrons to snap photos of their meals through Instagram and hashtag them #comodomenu. Now, customers (and curious potential customers) are able to search the hashtag to see photos of the restaurant’s offerings, creating a more intimate and engaging dining experience. And whetting a few appetites, too.

3. Tiffany & Co

Earlier this year, Tiffany launched an Instagram campaign that offered followers three new Instagram filters: Tiffany blue, peach, and black and white. (Who doesn’t want more filters?) Followers were also encouraged to tag photos of themselves and their significant others #TrueLovePictures, which Tiffany featured a selection of on its True Love in Pictures website. The campaign was a great way for Tiffany to provide its followers with relevant, brand-related content, while also inviting them to take part in the experience.

4. Fashion’s Night Out

This year, Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out launched an Instagram campaign around its iconic event, Fashion’s Night Out LIVE, that invited people taking part to tag their photos #FNO for the chance to have them published on the event’s microsite and Tumblr. The campaign provided Fashion’s Night Out with great user-generated content, plus a unique opportunity to connect with fashionistas taking part in the event in-person and virtually.

5. Red Bull

Recently, Red Bull held an Instagram contest that gave away two tickets to this year’s Red Bull King of the Rock Finals basketball tournament in San Francisco. To enter, followers had to take a picture of themselves with a basketball in unexpected, surprising locations and tag their photos #TakeMeToTheRock. The contest not only got followers excited, but also allowed Red Bull to further its reach within the sports community in a natural, but fun, way.

As you begin to create or amplify your presence on Instagram, focus on creating compelling day-to-day content. As with all of your social media platforms, make sure you’re posting often and with content that speaks to your audience.

And if you’re looking to launch a campaign, get creative! The more inspiring it is, the more your target audience will want to engage with your brand. And don’t forget to incorporate what you’re doing on Instagram across your other social media platforms so your community knows where to find you — and the types of fun content they can expect to find once they get there.

Step into a certain alleyway in Sydney's Angel Place and you'll find a whimsical installation that's meant to be both seen and heard. Back in 2009, artist Michael Thomas Hill created Forgotten Songs, an installation of 110 empty birdcages suspended high in the air that play the songs of fifty birds that once lived in central Sydney before the colonization and urbanization of the area. The sounds of the calls change from day to night with daytime birds' songs disappearing with the sun and nocturnal birds, which inhabited the area, sounding late into the evening.

Though first commissioned as part of the City's 2009 temporary laneway art program, the artwork proved to be so popular that visitors and city dwellers requested for it to remain as a permanent public installation. The public outcry led to 180 new rustproof cages to be re-installed with 10 speakers that play the sweet songs of 50 bird species. As a nice touch, the names of the birds that once populated the area are engraved on the paved stones beneath the cages.

Visitor Kate Andrews recently left this note about her first-hand experience of Forgotten Songs on the website Findery, "It was magical to stand in the alleyway and listen to the birdsong echoing off the walls."

Saint Laurent. Paris.

The entire collection is sooo my vibe.

1. Time doesn't fill me. I fill time.

2. The people around me are the people I chose.

3. I have never paid my dues.

4. Experience is irrelevant. Accomplishments are everything.

5. Failure is something I accomplish; it doesn't just happen to me.

6. Volunteers always win.

7. As long as I'm paid well, it's all good.

8. People who pay me always have the right to tell me what to do.

Look of the Day - Celebrity

More Diane Kruger!

Look of the Day - Celebrity

Look of the Day - Trending

Girls on Bikes

A couple weeks ago I got myself a little road bike. In this short time, I have totally become a bike person! I love it! It's great being able to ride around with my boyfriend and enjoy some quality time together. Not only this, it's an excellent way to commute (especially since I am in Denver at the moment, sans my car). 

Now, I get the fuss. Is this what happens once you hit your late twenties, early thirties? Everyone starts to get into biking? Seems as though in my circle of friends - this seems to be the case. 

Well, one of the things I love about biking is the affiliation it has with drinking beer! There's so many little bike companies with cool, quality bikes - just like great little micro-brews! Nothing like riding for awhile, locking up your bike and hanging out on a patio someplace to have a beer!

Mix Well. Madewell.

Featuring the new face of Madewell: Solange Knowles - by MadewellMusings

It's easy to get pumped to stash summer dresses and replace them with wooly sweaters and long-sleeved tops, watching Solange Knowles model Madewell's hip threads. The singer and fashion star is the new face of J.Crew's more contemporary sister brand, and in this behind-the-scenes campaign video posted on The Cut, she can be seen sporting her signature big hair, bright lipstick, and Madewell's classic denim, collegiate, and patterned duds.

The slogan for the campaign is "Mix Well. Madewell," and she will star in the brand's fall ads and on the cover of its catalogue. She explains her style choices to People, "I know that because I wear so much color and print, I might not want to mix so many textures. I am also attentive to my body. I love the way some of the oversized, extremely exaggerated, boxy proportions look on some girls...but it just doesn’t work for me." Knowles has also been the front woman for Rimmel London, Armani, and Carol's Daughter.

Just recently I read a post on a small business start-up blog by an entrepreneur who was selected to deliver a TED talk. Despite knowing what an amazing opportunity this was, she experienced intense fear leading up to the event and even considered some crazy excuses to get out of her commitment.

She’s certainly not alone.

As a coach and mentor who works with thousands of entrepreneurs, I often witness how people stop themselves by allowing fear and self-doubt to keep themselves ‘playing small’ in their business and their lives. The thing is, they’re often not even aware of it. Here’s what I mean… People SAY they want something very badly, that they want a change, and theoretically, that they’d do anything to get it.

Look of the Day: Editorial

Elle Magazine, September 2012

with Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan & Isla Fischer

"When wickedly funny Los Angeles playwright Leslye Headland first began taking meetings with Hollywood executives, she heard the same question on repeat: "They’d ask,‘What’s the female version of an Apatow movie?’ I would always say, 'Depressing.'" Audiences love a man-child, but would they find "a woman struggling with her femininity" just as funny? Turns out they do.Bachelorette, Headland’s raucous Sundance hit, in theaters this month, is hilarious, twisted, and startlingly incisive."

One of my girl crushes at the moment is Sophia Amoruso - the founder of nastygal.com. And, apparently I'm not alone. Unless you are a cutting-edge, savvy gal between the ages of 18-35, you may not know her. Well the proof is in the pudding. In 2010, revenue reached $10 million, while in 2011, revenue hit $28 million and numbers are expected to triple this year!

She's cool, she's smart, she's savvy and she tapped into the right market at the right time. I'd give my left arm to get a job with Nasty Gal. I check the careers page everyday, hoping today will be the day they post something I am qualified for. Sophia was featured in Forbes July issue and the article was posted online. Below is a comment I made about the article. Read it!!

"I think Nasty Gal is successful and continues to grow because they connect with their customers in a much more intimate level versus a company like Urban Outfitters. Nasty Gal does what every other company wishes they could do. Though the company is growing exponentially, the site still carries the vibe that they are still that small, non corporate company run by your best friend. The tone of their content leads you to believe you are a part of their (rather large) circle of sexy, fabulous friends.

Sophia knows her customer, because she and her team is their customer. They continue to maximize social media outlets like Myspace, Facebook and Instagram because that’s their audience. Their audience is young, social media savvy and they find their inspiration through blogs, Pinterest and whatever the new thing in social media is – and the team at Nasty Gal knows that.

I love Nasty Gal, totally admire Sophia and am really excited to see the company continue to grow. Sophia represents a new wave of entrepreneurs that is relatable and immersed in “my” scene. Not the ones that got MBAs at Harvard working for their uncle’s Fortune 500 company. It’s the smart, savvy women in Jeffrey Campbell shoes and leather jackets. The ones who know their niche, stays relevant with today’s culture and trends in technology that find long-term success, all with a wink & a smile.

Speaking of Rag & Bone, the fashion label has released their new advertisment just in time for all the September mags. (Which of course we know are the most important!)

"When creating his artwork, American artist Christian Faur does not utilize pure dabs of paint to create these Pointillist-style images. He uses simple crayons as the medium for his artwork, but not in the way that one might typically expect. Working with thousands of colorful wax sticks, Faur stands the crayons up and arranges the tips into pixelated patterns that form stunning portraits.

Some have equated Faur's work to an interpretation of digital photography. The Kim Foster Gallery says that Faur replaces digital pixels with more than 145,000 crayons and that, "This expansion of the pixel allows us to see the structure and scaffolding behind the surface of an image, opening the viewer’s eyes to the hidden patterns and complex arrangements of points that make up a photograph."

As viewers move around the space and adjust their perspective, the visual experience of Faur's work changes with the movement. The full image is best viewed from a distance, but up close is where the best understanding of the three dimensional piece can be most fully appreciated."

Interviewing for jobs would be much more enjoyable if someone offered me a cocktail.  You know, kind of like a date. Everyone could use a little something to gain some liquid courage and take away the inevitable first date/interview jitters. With warm cheeks and one of those carefree smiles that let you know I’m buzzed, it’d be much easier to talk about myself if I had a Maker’s in hand.

Unfortunately, unless I had planned on interviewing with Don Draper 50 years ago, I won’t be offered anything more than water this day in age. However, despite the lack of booze, being unemployed and looking for work is strikingly similar to dating.

In essence, my ex-employer dumped me in July 2011. We had been “dating” for nearly 2 years and I thought this was finally the company I could have a lasting, committed relationship with for many years to come.

Well, business is business and I got burned. Of course my employer said “It’s not you, it’s me” but I was still confused. I took a closer look at our relationship to see where I went wrong.  I was hard working, fun to be with, honest, always made cupcakes and even taught co-workers and VPs how to use programs no one else could. So, why did I get dumped?

Like any disgruntled ex-girlfriend/employee, I Facebook stalked my old co-workers. I found every opportunity to meet for drinks and discuss the latest gossip or e-mail to ask how things were going.

Initially, it was daunting to even think about sending out resumes and “dating” again. I knew no employer could live up to how amazing my ex was; even if he dumped me. But as time wore on, I was dating again and playing the field. Of course by dating, I mean interviewing. And just like any date (without the cocktails): you dress to impress, smile like you mean it and do your best to talk yourself up, all while being confident and clever.

I had friends “set me up” with employers they thought would be a good match. After we met, I would e-mail letting him/her know what a great time I had. In my eyes many of these dates/interviews went well. So, in the hopes of hearing back, I would proceed to sit by the phone and wait for the call that would never come.

Always trying to grab the attention of the Jake Gyllenhals’ or Brad Pitts’ of the job world when I can’t even get the Taco Bell dude’s number.