J460. The Nike+ FuelBand Launch. Well Played.

Over winter break I met up with Stefan Olander, the VP of Nike Digital Sport, and he told me he was working on something big. That's all he said. As I've watched the launch of the Nike+ FuelBand unfold, all I can think is, "No shit!" Nike's unveiling of the FuelBand has been exceptional in reaching mass audiences and selling a product that turns working out into a game that can be shared across platforms. The band works to gauge how many calories you've burned and allows you to set a goal of how many you want to burn by the end of the day. You can watch your progress on your wrist or on your iPhone.

I want one. 


Its capabilities are fascinating. Mashable reported that at SXSW, "Nike will unleash the application programming interface (API) for NikeFuel... [which] will allow third-party music developers to infuse NikeFuel features into their apps or platforms."


Here's an idea of how the launch went down at SXSW:

And in NYC:

Here's how Stefan Olander explains the capabilities of the FuelBand:

If you still don't quite understand what the FuelBand does, Nike invited Casey Neistat, an artist and film maker from NYC, to attend the launch and make a movie about the experience. Basically, Nike told him about the band and strapped one on him for six hours of awesome:

Here's another one by Casey about the band. This one's my favorite. I like the Skittles. Nice touch.

As a side note, I'm kind of in love with Casey Neistat. My goal is that he will read tid bits of my blog and will one day want to collaborate on a short film with me. Lofty goals, I know. He also dresses pretty cool.


To sum up, I love the FuelBand. I love Casey Neistat. I love Nike. I love Stefan Olander. 

17. The People and Stuff of Alex Stoltze

My recent trip to Wieden and Kennedy and North inspired me to share a bit about what inspires me. My group and I spent hours asking people we barely knew about what inspires them and how those things inspire their work. This question was usually met with, "Wow. Let's see. That's a loaded question," a deep sigh, and finally an answer. I have about a million things that inspire me that are and aren't related to advertising, so I can understand their initial reaction. 


Most of the things that inspire me and explain what makes me are found around my creative work space, my desk.

To some, the space may appear cluttered,  but I'd prefer to call it ordered chaos. Everything has a place, even if it's on top of something else. I like to be completely surrounded by creative energy.

I'm inspired by photography, especially analogue (the stuff of film), and study photography, which should be evident looking around my space. 

A few business cards I've collected + beautiful teeth bookmarks that David Sedaris (amazing author, please read him, it will make us both happy) gave me.

I collect piggy banks (I have more) when I travel, the one on the right is from a trip to Costa Rica. The rocks and shell are from a trip with my lover to Wisconsin. And by lover I mean boyfriend.

A mask that I purchased for my grandma while traveling in Spain. I later reclaimed it.

Grace Coddington, the Creative Director for Vogue Magazine, signed the September issue when I briefly met her in NYC during Fashion's Night Out. I like to consider us close friends. As for the dog: who doesn't love Andy Warhol?

I took this photo of an old woman on a deserted street of Mexico.

I wish I could steal every old photo of my parents when they were my age.

Creepy children, cool frame?

A collection of photos from the 60s and 70s that I purchased from a thrift store. The photo below is one of my favorites. The third photo in from the left was taken in Vietnam during the war.

Yet again, something I took from my grandma's house but the cow hide rug is old and beautiful and represents their California-Ranch-meets-Nordstrom's style.

The take-away: everything has a story. When you surround yourself with them, they will inspire you. Also, Grandma's are a great source of stories, love, and cool old things.

New Yorkers: Time of my life. Food. Beauty. Art.

I took my first trip to NYC this past summer during Fashion Week.  I spent a week admiring fabulous art, eating food, drinking wine, talking to famous chefs, taking in the people, shopping, and patrolling the street trying to catch a glimpse of fame, we ended up spotting Cindy Crawford, Julianna Margulies, Tony Blair, Grace Coddington (the creative director at Vogue, stars in The September Issue), and Andre Leon Talley (Vogue's editor-at-large, also stars in The September Issue).  Everything was over-the-top amazing, including our hotel in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, just blocks from the MET, the Guggenheim, and Central Park.  We were there during the West Indian Day parade, which explains my pictures of half naked people dancing down the street.  More then a million people showed up to eat the food and watch the festival roll by.

My mom with famed chef, Philippe Roussel, who cooked us fabulous dinner at his French restaurant in the Upper East Side, Cafe d'Alsace.  He continued to make us the fabulous desserts below.

Above: the newest, hottest and trendiest thing in NYC.  The High Line.  Old raised train tracks have been turned into a city goers paradise of raised walkways through Chelsea.  Complete with rolling benches, trees, flowers,  and clubs that close in around The High Line.  You can exit the walkway at multiple points to walk through Chelsea and 10th Avenue.  

Below: Mom and I eating at ChikaLicious Dessert Bar on E. 10th.  A boutique sit-down dessert bar where you can watch the chefs make your desserts in front of you.  You order from a prefixed three course dessert 'meal,' the first and last plates are chosen and change per customer to compliment your personally chosen middle course.

Above: We were able to join a special 'members only' pre-viewing of Monet's collection at MOMA.

Above: Unknown person saw that I was taking a picture of Mom and put a Yegermeister poster above her head.

Bostonians: 2009.

This summer I traveled to Boston and NYC with my mom on our annual Mother Daughter Trip.  Our trip was prompted by my mom's new found sister who lives just outside of Boston.  Nobody in my mom's large 'his, hers, and ours' family knew they had another sister, making her the seventh sister in an all girl family.  She was adopted at a young age and never knew who her real family was until recently when she decided hire a genealogist to uncover her roots.  Months later my grandparents in Palo Alto, California received a call from a woman living in Massachusetts who identified herself as my Grandmother's step daughter from an affair my real Grandfather had before he died.  My whole family was very excited about our new addition, so she flew out from the east coast to visit my mom, her new step sister.  They spent three days talking, almost without pause, and reviewing old family pictures and sharing stories.  Long story short, we loved her so much, and wanted to meet her family and friends, that we flew to Boston to learn more about her life.  These our some picture I took from our trip.