Pockets is a menswear boutique located in Dallas, TX at the Plaza at Preston Center specializing in Made-to-Measure clothing and high-end sportswear. During my time at Black Book Ink, I was part of a team responsible for creating a responsive website as well as promoting the company by means of email marketing, social media, and a bi-yearly magalog.
Service
Pockets’ unique Made-to-Measure service is not only about looking great, but also feeling great. Taking service to the next level, Made to Measure is a way for gentlemen to buy beyond the rack—perfectly tailors shirts, jackets and pants to fit any sartorial need.
Choices
Each Made-to-Measure garment can be created from a varied selection of domestic and international brands such as Oxxford, Canali and Belvest. Customers will choose swatches of the world’s finest fabrics and materials to create a one-of-a-kind piece that conveys a confident and supreme style.
Style
It’s important for every many to have his own personal style, and there’s no better way to achieve it than with Made to Measure. There’s also no better way to wear the garment—as opposed to the garment wearing you. Look better and feel better than every with Pockets’ Made-to-Measure services.
The Consultation
Pockets’ Made-to-Measure process begins with an initial consultation in the store to better understand a customer’s sartorial preferences. Once we understand the wants and needs, we’re able to put our attention to detail into effect—measuring each client’s precise size by attaining chest circumference, waist circumference and stature. Having a Made-to-Measure suit is customizable from beginning to end.
Posture Assessment
Made to Measure factors in the day-to-day lifestyle of every client, including a man’s physique. A full posture assessment helps us take into account the way a man’s clothes fit him. If a client tends to stoop forward, a jacket will hang lower in the front. Likewise, if his hips thrust forward his pants hem will have to be longer in the front than in the back. Off-kiltered shoulders will leave a sleeve shorter on one side than on the other. These factors play a large role in creating garments that are unique and adequate for each client.
Personality
After measurements and a full posture assessment, our customer is guided through an extensive block of fabrics, ranging in colors, textures and weight—ensuring that each suit exemplifies the individual’s personality. Whether it’s straight and narrow with subtle hues, or bold and colorful statements, the Made-to-Measure world is your oyster.
Some Like It Hot
Polished Looks For Warm Weather
Keep It Casual
Confident and Carefree Looks for Everyday Wear
Vetted Well is a restaurant and bar located inside the Alamo Draft House in south Dallas' Cedars neighborhood.
Black Book Ink was enlisted to brand the establishment and create a number of deliverables including a brand suite, logos, menus, signage, and a website.
Vetted Well came with an established name and attitude, we were simply asked to fully vet and explore their desired theme and turn it into a brand suite that they could use to make their already legit restaurant concept even more legit.
I was lucky enough to be able to work on every aspect of creating this brand, from the initial presentations and the menu designs, to production work including photoshoots for image assets and writing the copy for the website.
If you ever find yourself in south Dallas, you should give this place a try. The views are great, the patio is huge, the drinks are strong, and the food is downright delicious. What else could you ask for?
This strong logo takes classic serifs and alters them to create a subtle yet unique presence that is instantly memorable without being off-putting. The logo features a stamped/screen printed texture, suggesting it is handmade and physical. This rugged feature also makes this logo easily usable on a variety of media, both physical and digital.
Inspired by 1980's skate culture and classic sports, Vetted Well's branding is lively and engaging, encouraging excitement and alluding to the casual and fun atmosphere. It's relaxed, bold, and lacking any sense of exclusivity.
Utilizing raw materials and textured objects, the interior will feel warm and approachable while maintaining a rough and refined appearance.
The signage will incorporate rugged materials and textures to continue the brand essence in physical form.
Vetted Well is a neighborhood bar born out of a desire to provide customers with a unique and friendly experience. From the food and drinks to the karaoke rooms, everything was conceived and selected as a result of the careful and critical examination of quality. So kick back and relax, maybe take in the downtown views while sipping your favorite cocktail. Whatever you do here, we’re sure you’ll see Vetted Well was created with your good time in mind.
Sing your heart out in the privacy of our themed karaoke rooms.
Space Invader Room
Set phasers for fun in this 25th century nostalgic-futuristic spaceship deck. You'll be rocketing the karaokeverse at light speed as you perform the top music hits from planet Earth and elsewhere in the galaxy.
Funhouse Room
Contorting mirrors! Laughing clowns! All the colors of carnival craziness! Lose yourself in the wayward wildness of the manic midway.
Blockhead
Step into this multi-colored funsplosion based on the rectangular blocks of kids' imaginations and enjoy complete karaoke creativity in a zone of infinite possibility.
Lombardi Family Concepts is a family of restaurant concepts owned and operated by serial restauranteur Alberto Lombardi.
Black Book Ink serves as their agency of record, and is responsible for creating and managing every aspect of the business' marketing and advertising presence, from social media content creation and community management, to website design and new concept branding.
From Italian trattorias to French bistros, our friendly neighborhood restaurants offer a lot more than just a delicious menu; they offer a special place where customers feel at home.
For decades Lombardi Family Concepts has welcomed new guests and old friends from local neighborhoods and around the world in our European restaurants.
From Italian trattorias to French bistros, the many different cuisines of the coastal Mediterranean serve as our daily inspiration. Like many family-run establishments in Europe, our restaurants make their own pastas, gelatos and desserts. We constantly strive to craft menus that combine the creativity of contemporary cuisine with the powerful draw of classic recipes.
Located in the center of Highland Park Village and named in honor of the date that the original structure was built, Bistro 31 is a culinary treasure that will make you swoon with its international dishes and European decor.
The interior of Bistro 31 captures a sense of the past with great enthusiasm for what’s modern. Think French-buff, low-luster Venetian plaster walls, white oak herringbone flooring, steel windows and doors, and an exposed beam ceiling.
The menu specializes in cuisine with French, Italian, and Spanish influences, featuring items such as Escargot Bourguignonne, Spaghetti Chitarra with Lobster Bolognese, and Chicken Paillard.
Bistro 31 serves brunch, lunch, and dinner.
The Plaza at Preston Center is a retail shopping center located in Dallas, Texas. They have a diverse mix of stores ranging from high-end jewelry to sportswear and florist shops. The Plaza is also home to several restaurants, day spas, and salons.
Black Book Ink was tasked with creating custom content and managing their social media presence to promote all the of the businesses, shops, and restaurants in the shopping center.
Reed Aviation is an aircraft brokerage firm specializing in the buying and selling of aircraft. Black Book Ink was commissioned to create a website to promote the brand and instill a sense of trust and dependability in potential customers. I was personally responsible for writing, editing, and organizing the copy for the website.
Reed Aviation is an aircraft brokerage venture founded by the Randall Reed family and an accomplished team of professionals that specialize in the buying and selling of aircraft.
Whether you’re a first time buyer or in the market to sell an existing aircraft, Reed Aviation is with you every step of the way. In the complex, fast-paced and ever-evolving world of aircraft transactions our accomplished team of aviation experts leverage our knowledge and relationships to deliver the most reliable information to you. At Reed Aviation we have one simple philosophy: make selling or acquiring an aircraft simple, successful and enjoyable.
The CJ2+ is a dependable jet designed to be both economical and high performing. The Citation series of jets bypass many of the complexities of their competitors with increased performance and economy by using some of the most economic engines available. The CJ2 was arguably the most popular member of the Citation series, and the CJ2+ is the new, improved version, offering lower fuel burn, longer range and a larger cabin.
PRE-MARKET AIRCRAFT SOURCING
We utilize our exclusive global network of relationships, built up over decades, to provide you with access to the best aircraft available before they come onto the market.
FINANCE STRUCTURE ADVISING
There are various tax implications and finance structures associated with aircraft ownership. Our team will work closely with you and your tax and legal advisors to maximize the benefits that are available for your specific ownership and operational situation.
The Screamer Company is a full-service, boutique advertising agency based in Austin, Texas. As a full-time intern, I was responsible for writing a bimonthly blog, monitoring and posting to their Facebook page, creative conceptualizing, proofreading, and writing any and all marketing and advertising material for clients.
The greatest benefit of working at a small agency is the ability to learn not only more about the art of copywriting, but more about every aspect of what makes an advertising agency function, from account management to creative direction.
I was blessed to work with an amazing group of individuals, and I learned so many valuable lessons that I will no doubt carry with me throughout the rest of my career.
In a world where Google is both a verb and a noun, a basic knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) is imperative to any business’ success. At its most basic, SEO is the process of increasing a website’s presence in organic search results with the end goal of driving more traffic to that website. SEO should create a smooth user experience by communicating to search engines your online objectives so they can recommend your website for related searches.
Web pages, videos, images, etc. are displayed based on what the search engine considers to be most relevant to the user. In an attempt to create a stronger, safer, more legitimate user experience, all search engines are open about what will help or hurt search display rankings. Below you will find six simple tips to help your business optimize its search engine ranking and, therefore, increase website traffic and business.
1. Monitor Where You Stand
If you are just getting started, you need to run some basic analytics on your website to determine not only where you stand, but also the adjustments you need to make to be in better standings. Alexa and Google Toolbar are two tools that help you keep an eye on your page’s rank. You should also check your referrer log to determine where your visitors are coming from and the search terms they are using to find your site. While these steps are imperative for getting started, they are also invaluable to businesses that already have an SEO strategy in place. With the regular monitoring and tweaking of your strategy, your website can be optimized to be easily found by anyone seeking a business of your kind, which will ultimately increase awareness, drive website traffic, and fuel new business and sales.
2. Link Back To Yourself
One of the most basic strategies for SEO is integrating links into your site and others; it’s one of the easiest ways to boost traffic to a page. It should be standard practice to link back to your page frequently when creating new content or posting on other sites. MarketingVox, a resource offering the latest news and developments in the field of online marketing, advises that you also make the anchor text (clickable text in a hyperlink) search engine friendly: “The more relevant words point to a page, the more likely that page is to appear in search results when users run a query with those terms.” It is important to make sure that your links are appropriate and pose some value to the viewer. Also, be careful to not utilize links excessively as you don’t want your visitors to get irritated.
You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice, and you’re about to hear it again: location, location, location. As trite as it may seem, location really is everything. How else can you explain why one million dollars can buy you 1,000 square feet in San Francisco and over 80,000 square feet in Detroit? Location! That being said, it should come as no surprise that selecting a location for your business is important. There are a number of factors that need to be assessed when investigating where to set up shop. Below are four simple questions to ask yourself when selecting a location for your business.
1. What kind of business are you, and what location would work best for your needs?
The type of industry you are in can have a profound impact on choosing the right location for your business. Some ventures rely heavily on traveling to their clients. In these instances, the location of your business is not as important, because clients are not actively visiting your store. However, if the location of your business will be the forefront for selling your product or service, you have to make careful considerations as to what type of facility to select. Below is a brief description of the five types of business locations. Selecting the right one for your business is crucial to success.
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RideScout is a transportation technology company that aggregates public, private, and social rideshare options in one convenient application, allowing people to search and compare transportation options in real time based on type, cost, and trip duration. While they are based in Austin, RideScout provides transportation options in over 70 major North American cities.
RideScout came to Screamer Co. in early February looking for a partner to help launch a brand activation during SXSW 2015. With a little less than six weeks before the start of SXSW, and long after permit availability and consideration had closed, we were faced with creating an instillation that adhered to the festival’s strict promotional policies while still accomplishing RideScout’s goals of increasing brand awareness and encouraging social engagement.
At Screamer Co., we started by fully submerging ourselves into the application that is RideScout. We wanted to develop an intimate understanding of the interface of the application and how users interact with it. Once we understood how the app worked, we sought an interactive solution that would allow people to engage with the brand and encourage them to share their experience on social media. We wanted something that expressed the hometown-like familiarity with local transportation options that Ridescout provides, giving its users the ability to “Ride Like a Local,” or someone who has a well-established knowledge of a city and its public transportation options. What we came up with was an anamorphic art instillation of a jackalope that made it appear as though that those interacting with it were riding it. We incentivized people to interact with and share the instillation by offering free funnel cakes, t-shits, and a chance to win a SXSW badge for 2016 to anyone who posted a picture of them riding the jackalope with the hashtag #ridelikealocalsxsw.
The Dolan Law firm is a premier law office based in Chicago specializing in personal injury, civil rights, and wrongful death. Despite being well established and well known, Dolan is always looking for new clients to represent. Dolan came to Screamer asking for a direct mailer that would break through the clutter and incentivise people to refer and use Dolan Law’s services.
The target audience consisted of other lawyers and previous clients. Dolan didn’t just want standard law collateral boasting how much money they have made for their clients. They wanted something that would demonstrate the true value of their law firm: their ability to make real changes in the justice system to better protect not only the people of Chicago, but the people of Illinois in general. What we came up with was a lenticular boasting the message that while the money is important, making a change for the better is more important. We linked the mailer with a landing page to further illustrate Dolan’s dedication to making change for the better, and to allow us to measure the mailer’s engagement performance.
The Dolan Difference
When Dolan Law takes a case, we don’t just see an opportunity for a monetary award; we see an opportunity to make a change. A change to not only protect our clients, but anyone who falls victim to similar injustices.
In case after case, Dolan Law has proven its ability to successfully advocate for its clients forcefully while making real changes in the justice system to better protect future plaintiffs. This is the Dolan difference.
Whether in the practice area of personal injury, civil rights, or wrongful death, Dolan Law fights to protect victims’ rights. We have an extensive record of successful outcomes from trials relating to medical malpractice, trucking and auto crashes, dangerous products, civil rights, and wrongful termination. Dolan Law also does not shy away from the difficult cases on behalf of crime victims. Because of this reputation, Dolan Law consistently receives referrals from retired judges, public officials, lawyers, and even former opponents. But the most treasured referrals consistently come from former or current clients who are pleased with how they have been represented.
See the change at dolanlaw.com/change
The Kelsey Little Law
Overview: 13-year-old Kelsey Little was walking home from buying ice cream with two friends when she was hit and nearly killed by a pickup truck driven by a 15-year-old boy on a driving permit. The impact broke every bone in her face and left part of her skull exposed. Kelsey truly believed that she was going to die. In the hospital, she turned to her mother and said: “Mom, I love you. I love you. I know I’m going to die, but don’t be sad.” Three days later, the underage driver of the truck got his license from the Secretary of State’s office with no questions asked. Kelsey survived, but to this day still suffers from headaches and embarrassment from her scars as a result of this horrific collision.
Change: Illinois House Bill 1009, also known as “Kelsey’s Law” was passed, which forbids drivers age 18 or younger from getting their licenses if they have an outstanding traffic citation. It also allows prosecutors to request a court to invalidate a driver’s license if he or she causes death or serious injury while breaking traffic rules.
Estate of Mersaides McCauley vs. IDOC Parole Agent Winfield, et al.
Overview: On April 6, 2008, 22-year-old Mersaides McCauley was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Glenford Martinez, as she left the parking lot of her church in Chicago. Martinez then turned the gun on himself. At the time of the murder-suicide, Martinez was on parole after serving a 13-year sentence for an earlier homicide. Martinez had a history of harassing and assaulting McCauley, which was in violation of both his parole and a court order of protection issued on McCauley’s behalf. Chicago law-enforcement and Illinois corrections officials were aware of these violations and could have ensured that Martinez was detained without bail, but they neglected to issue a parole-violation warrant or arrest him for violating the order of protection.
Change: A new Illinois state law named after Mersaides was passed, requiring parolees accused of domestic violence to be automatically arrested for violating their parole.
Blount vs. Jovon Broadcasting et al.
Overview: Jerri Blount, a former sales manager at a Chicago television station, was fired after she expressed a willingness to testify against her superior, Joseph Stroud, in a federal discrimination suit involving a coworker. Blount claimed that her discharge was unjust and done in retaliation for telling Stroud she would refuse to testify as he was demanding.
Change: This case was one of great significance, traveling to the Illinois Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court, changing the face of employment discrimination in Illinois through amendments to the Human Rights Act. After a jury trial, Dolan Law secured a jury award of more than $3 million, including $2.8 million in punitive damages.
Harry’s is a razor provider that embodies the notion that shaving shouldn’t be so dreadfully expensive. They provide stylish, quality razors at a fraction of the cost of big-name providers like Gillette and Schick. Their primary competition is Dollar Shave Club, but unlike DSC, Harry’s is targeted more at men who are concerned with style and quality. I wanted to create a campaign that showcased their beautiful products in a minimalistic way that would appeal to style-conscious, savvy men who want quality razors at fair prices.
I was responsible for producing all the copy and executing the graphic design for this campaign, which was done as a final project for my intro to copywriting class at UNT.
