Get Inspired: How Atomicdust Is Spending Winter Break
Each year, Atomicdust closes for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. But that doesn’t mean we stop working.
The week away from work gives us time to read. To write. To step away from our computer screens. It gives us time to recharge – and get inspired for the year ahead.
Here’s a list of what we’re reading, watching, listening to and doing over our holiday break:
I’m nerding out about finishing Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel by Sherill Tippins. In addition to relaying stories of key cultural players who stayed at the hotel (Jack Kerouac, Arthur C. Miller and Bob Dylan to name a few), the author explores the hotel’s original intent of designing an environment to attract a diverse group of artists and progressive thinkers in an effort to inspire creativity and tolerance – and what it takes to maintain that kind of creative community throughout the changing decades. – Danielle Howard, Account Manager
I’ll be finishing up Bill Bryson’s The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. Bryson’s musings on American culture, history and politics are fascinating. He’s like a modern Alexis de Tocqueville. I’m embarrassed to admit I find myself highlighting and underlining passages as I read them – something I haven’t done since college. – Danielle Hohmeier, Online Marketing Manager
Are you too embarrassed to read Harry Potter because it’s a “kid’s book”? Then The Dresden Files are for you. Harry Dresden is a professional wizard in modern-day Chicago who’s good at taking down bad guys and running his mouth. Author Jim Butcher does a fantastic job creating a world of characters that you can’t help but love. – Bill Bubenik, Freelance Designer
For me, recharging always starts with perspective. So I try to do as much as possible to get out of my everyday routine. Over the holidays, I’ll get to spend some extended quality time with my loved ones. That includes taking a trip up to Milwaukee with my girlfriend to celebrate the new year with some friends. I also plan on cracking open Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I’ve never read it before, but it’s a collection of thoughts and personal writings from Aurelius’s reign as the Emperor of Rome. So it’s sure to provide some fresh perspective. – Ken Earley, Copywriter
I’ll be finishing Yes Please, Amy Poehler’s autobiography. The story of how she apologized to a young disabled girl that she accidentally made fun of in an SNL skit was very inspiring. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
An employee at Left Bank Books recommended Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It shines light on the significance of keeping art and music alive in a dark, post-apocalyptic world. (No zombies included, so sorry if that’s your thing.) – Danielle Howard, Account Manager
I’m a longtime fan of Marty Neumeier, and I’m about halfway through his latest book, The 46 Rules of Genius: An Innovator’s Guide to Creativity. One particular theme he talks about is that “talent is not something you have, it is something you do.” That aligns well with the idea that success is largely based on discipline, which drives me to spend more time writing. – Mike Spakowski, Partner/Creative Director
I’m excited to use my time off to get caught up on some Netflix movies that I have read about. Top in my queue are two emotional dramas, Short Term 12 and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. Haven’t read any spoilers, but I know to have my tissues ready. – Katie Werges, Designer
Peaky Blinders is a BBC period drama just added to Netflix. It’s the story of a crime family in Birmingham, England between the two World Wars. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
I’ve been writing a ton lately. Between Atomicdust, blogging and wedding ceremonies, I feel like I’ve got so much creativity going out and not nearly enough coming in. I’m going to spend the break watching Death Note, an anime show on Netflix, and then reading The Book Thief and Love in the Time of Cholera. I’m basically trying to fill my brain with as much different media as I can find to fuel the creative fire before the new year. – Travis Randolph, Copywriter
I’m embarrassed to say how many times a year I watch the Frank Lloyd Wright – Johnson Wax Administrative Building Video, and just as embarrassed to keep bringing up architect Frank Lloyd Wright in my blog posts. But I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t most likely end up watching this video over the break. Wright is just on his own planet of design thinking. Watching this video every now and then reminds me how important it is to challenge convention, and to have confidence in big ideas. – Mike Spakowski, Partner/Creative Director
Selma, the new movie from Oprah, comes out Christmas Day. I once met FSM Sister Antona Ebo, who marched in Selma, so it will be interesting to see how they display the events. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
I always love a good folky album. Check out The Head and The Heart’s newest release, Let’s Be Still. – Bill Bubenik, Freelance Designer
Serial, duh! Well, it’ll be over, but the subreddit will live on. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
Yes – I, too, have jumped on the Serial bandwagon, and can’t wait to finish my binge-listen over the holidays. Sure, the story of Hae’s murder and Adnan’s conviction is gripping in and of itself, but I’m also mesmerized by the structure, depth and transparency of the storytelling. – Danielle Hohmeier, Online Marketing Manager
Tired of the same old and tired Christmas carols? Check out That’s Christmas To Me, a fantastic album by Pentatonix, to recharge for Christmas! I get a huge kick out of their song “White Winter Hymnal,” a cheery take on a morbid christmas single released by Fleet Foxes a few years ago. – Bill Bubenik, Freelance Designer
Gimlet Media is the other offshoot of This American Life. Former producer Alex Blumberg created the StartUp podcast to document his attempts at trying to begin a startup. From his initial idea, to naming the startup, to finding a business partner, to juggling time with family, to all of the other little things that need to happen to start a business. His episode with Chris Sacca (an investor in Twitter) was particularly funny. Spoiler alert: He raised $1.5 million and has already started a second podcast, Reply All, under his business. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to attend Owner Camp, a Portland conference for digital agency owners. One of the owners I met, Carl Smith, founder of nGen Works, started the Bizcraft podcast, a live podcast about the business of web design that I’m really looking forward to checking out. – Mike Spakowski, Partner/Creative Director
Jon Hardy and the Public concerts are always a party, but now sprinkle on the NYE fun with champagne. The Off Broadway crew are great people to be around for the beginning of a new year. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
I gave myself a royal blue hardcover Leuchtturm1917 notebook as an early holiday gift. In marketing, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the assumption that everything you write has to be for an audience. Over break, I’m committing to writing at least one thing in my notebook (for my eyes only) every night, whether it’s a recap of the day’s events, a memory, a rant or new idea. – Jazzy Loyal, Copywriter
I’ll be tinkering around with a new (at least, to me) design app called Sketch. So far it’s been a really great tool for building for the web, and I have a hunch that it’ll be more reflective than Photoshop of what a final developed website will look like. – Beth Porter, Designer
I also want to spend some more time on Sketch. Check out the tutorial videos. Sketch is really focused on web and UX design, and has a ton of features that allow designers to make updates across multiple layouts within a project. It also has built-in UX elements for iOS and Android, so it can save a lot of time on mobile designs and prototypes. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it to see if Atomicdust can adopt it as a team, and if it can impact our 2015 workflow. – Mike Spakowski, Partner/Creative Director
I would love to catch up on the stack of books by my bed, but this winter I’m DIY-ing everything for my wedding in January. In my search for inspiration I’ve found some great creative blogs – Poppytalk and Inspired By This – that I’ll be checking back in with. – Beth Porter, Designer
I like to get away from the electronics and coding in general over break to allow my brain to relax and recharge from day-to-day web development. I really enjoy hockey and the winter time in general, so I’m planning to spend a lot of time at Steinberg, St. Peters Rec-Plex and Hardee’s Iceplex. All three have public skates as well as drop in games for adults looking to learn. In addition, I plan on spending a lot of time at Hidden Valley taking in the snow and slopes, along with some hot chocolate. – Drew Douglass, Web Developer
This past year I had the pleasure of working on St. Louis Design Week, but when it was over I was left with this empty feeling of “what’s next?” I was left searching for something bigger and better to tackle within the local creative community. Over our break, I plan to take time to finish outlining a creative conference that I am hoping to put on in the late spring in St. Louis. Stay tuned. – Tara Nesbitt, Online Marketing Coordinator
1 Page at a Time is a daily journal that I might actually write in during the break. – Annie McCance, Web Developer
I’ve heard nothing but praise for the Missouri History Museum’s STL 250 exhibit. It ends in February, and I have a feeling I’ll regret having waited so long to check it out. – Danielle Hohmeier, Online Marketing Manager
