TOKY’s begun 2012 with a brand new conference table, around which new ideas are daily hatched or sharpened. Who’s responsible for the design and build? Our Midtown neighbor, Mirato, a client we teamed up with last fall for a rebrand (including name change) and fresh new website. We’re fans of their work — beautiful designs, eco-friendly materials and process — and love what they’ve made.

Mirato’s Rob Grimm told me yesterday that their team’s goal was to create a piece with “clean, simple style — something that felt very TOKY and was unique to TOKY.” The “vertebra” that runs through the center is an element used in some of Mirato’s other work, but its implementation here is totally new. Rob admitted that getting each of the various pieces lined up perfectly and the surfaces level “took an enormous amount of tweaking,” but the finished product is worth it.

“We stayed true to our core materials for this project,” Rob added, “using only bamboo, steel, and glass” — materials that are rapid-renewable, recycled, or recyclable. He added that the bamboo is in its natural color — it’s been clear-coated but not stained, which means no off-gassing.

Like most creative projects, this one began with a series of sketches. We asked Rob if we could post a few related to this project, and he obliged.

Cheers to the team at Mirato on this project. We’ve have a great time hosting clients around the new table, and look forward to many beautifully productive meetings to come!

World Champions of Chili, pictured left to right: Liz, Geoff, Maddie, and Jamie. Parade to follow.

Jamie pretending to enjoy everyone else’s chili except his own. I mean his wife’s chili, because apparently your wife can make your chili for you in a company chili cook-off.

Maddie organized the event, and guess what … she won! Surprise, surprise.

Geoff stood by his crockpot throughout the event coaching people to vote for his chili. He also is the only winner neglecting to share his recipe online.

The recipies:

Maddie’s

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, chopped (use tomato juice as well)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 small can of diced carrots
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup bottled steak sauce
5 slices bacon
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package chili seasoning mix
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Cook the bacon until crunchy, then remove and let cool. Cook the ground beef in the bacon grease. Once browned, drain grease and add the chili seasoning mix and 1/3 cup water and simmer. While beef is simmering, crumble bacon and chop all veggies. Mix all other ingredients and cook in crock pot over low heat 6-8 hours or on the stove top.

Liz’s:

2 red bell peppers
2 jalapenos
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled
2 banana peppers, roasted, peeled
(substitute anaheim or serrano chilis for more spice!)
2 yellow onions, large
2 heads garlic
2 lbs. ground beef, lean
1 lb. ground turkey, lean
1 lb. chorizo
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
3 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. coriander
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2-3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
12 ounces beer
1 cup chicken stock
2 cans black beans
2 cans dark red kidney beans
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter

Directions
Saute onion, red pepper and jalapeno in olive oil and butter, 5-10 minutes.
Add garlic, saute another 2-3 minutes.
Add beef, turkey and chorizo to brown.
Add all seasoning, tomato sauce, paste, beer and chicken stock, bring to boil.
Add beans and brown sugar, simmer for 2 hours.

Jamie’s (Betsy’s):

1 T olive oil
1 1/2 T dried oregano
1 small onion, chopped
1 t basil
1 t cumin
2 t salt
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 t paprika
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground black pepper
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
2 bay leaves
2 pkgs vegetarian burger crumbles
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes, crushed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
2 t sugar

Directions:
Heat olive oil in large pot on medium heat.  Add onion, cumin, oregano, basil, and salt.
Cook, stirring until onion is soft.  Add celery, green pepper, garlic, and green chile
peppers.  When mixture is heated through, mix in burger crumbles.  Reduce heat to
low and cook 5 minutes.

Mix in the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Add in remaining ingredients
of sugar, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, bay leaves, kidney, garbanzo and
black beans. Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

19th century bootjacks stand in as trophy heads.

In the 1970’s film Paper Moon, young Tatum O’Neill as Addie Loggins was usually seen tightly clutching her “Cremo” cigar box, the perfect container for her collection of all she owned in the world — a twenty dollar bill, mementos, penny candy and dreams. In some ways, this boxed collection was her safe — they were the things she held precious and the box never left her sight.

Most designers and artists I know are, by nature, collectors. They collect things because they are visual people, and because they seek inspiration. Finding something and placing it on a shelf means that you have, in a way, given new life to that object. This selection process has its roots in childhood. Picking up a shiny piece of tumbled glass or a shell on a beach — the spying of your first “sidewalk penny” — these are moments of discovery that most of us can share. The very act of choosing one thing over another means you have given the selected object a chance for a new life, a chance to be recognized or perhaps even shown to others.

Like young Addie Loggins, my new exhibition at Missouri State University contains things I hold close and dear, objects culled from a lifetime of collecting. This art exhibition at the Brick City Gallery reveals my wonder of everyday, authentic things — my love of art by self-taught makers — a fresh look at things we may have lost touch with in our new century. What I hope to achieve in Self-Taught Art: Pop Culture & Objects of Curiosity is to bring awareness to the idea of interpretation. This is an exhibition where I made nothing and I made everything.

Here, one will see “found objects” as common as a handmade hiker’s backpack, made complete with a “make-do” chair back for the frame. Its front, consisting of a rolled-up red and black checked wool shirt, sleeping bag and ax, were tied and bundled just as the hiker left it some 40-plus years earlier. To me, this  object is storytelling at its best. Though I know “what” this is, I interpret it quite differently. I see it as a found, “accidental assemblage” — something the artist Robert Rauschenberg could have certainly identified with.

To that point, what would a collection of primitive bootjacks have in common with an old, round Coca-Cola sign, or “button” as it was called? The answer would be two things: both just happen to be about 50 years of age, and both have now lost their original, intended purpose. With the bootjacks, I am forcing the issue of their accidental anthropomorphic shapes by the simple act of hanging them on a wall, by denying their original use. Bootjacks were originally made for one purpose only: helping a person remove their boots. Look at them as I have them displayed, and suddenly we have a group of horned animals, trophy heads. As for the Coke sign, with its white, paint-crackled surface, perfect rust and patina, this sign is no longer doing its job as an outdoor advertising sign. Today, it hangs as an object about advertising. We look at it now, up close and personal, and we examine it as something authentic. Made of substantial steel and paint that has transformed with age, we see this now as an example of iconic typography married with cracks and rust. It has its lost former life, like a dead butterfly displayed on white cotton.

This is an installation that exhibits important paintings and sculpture by self-taught artists along with found rocks, pig cutting boards, a hand-painted African-American barber sign, police mugshots of smiling prostitutes, shooting gallery targets, paint-by-number paintings, vintage game boards, odd press photos, terra cotta garden planters, carnival knock-downs, Vietnam protest signs, and numerous “things” bound together by a common vision. To put it simply, by taking a new look at common — and some not so common — objects, you just might find art.

A 1940s police target becomes a "pop art" find.

These two rusty signs come from a religious art environment in Alabama created by the self-professed Reverend W.C. Rice.

Two visitors inspect the rants of visionary self-taught artists Howard Finster.

The archetypal "pig cutting board," once the projects of 8th grade industrial arts students, reveal similarities and differences in this collection.

This sawfish blade, pristine and upright, has outstanding sculptural qualities that pushes it into the realm of Modernist art.

A pair of matching paint-by-number paintings are displayed in the original frames.

A 1940's steel and enamel Coca-Cola sign, transformed by time and weather, becomes an object of curiosity.

Recently Eric and Mary were featured in the special ALIVE Magazine Work Issue (August 2011). The article was part of “My Work, My Story,” which asked seven local entrepreneurs about how they started and what keeps them going.

View the article here, or view using the player below:

We wanted to take this opportunity to announce the recent addition of three new people to the TOKY team!

Daniel Korte joins the growing interactive team as developer. Daniel, a fairly recent graduate from the University of Illinois, will add to the team’s capabilities by providing back-end development expertise on a number of complex web projects coming up. Jane Nagle, a recent graduate of University of Missouri – St. Louis, is with us through the Summer as a design intern. Last but not least, Dustin Fadler brings additional expertise as a front-end developer to TOKY’s interactive development capabilities.

Look for more in depth profiles of Daniel, Jane and Dustin to be posted on the site next week!

Front End Developer

Desired Skills & Experience:

• Must live and breathe HTML/CSS/JS
• Must have knowledge of the latest standards. And must know when they need to be broken.
• Capable of implementing complex designs across browsers (even the dreaded older ones) and platforms (desktop, mobile, tablet)
• Capable of building a design from a Photoshop document with a precise attention to detail.
• Basic knowledge of typography and design basics a plus.

Web Developer

Desired Skills & Experience

• Mid-level back end developer
• Must be capable of developing Web applications in a LAMP environment. We do not develop Microsoft ASP/.NET/ColdFusion in house
• Proficient with scripting languages, in particular PHP
• Capable of building custom database Web solutions. Ability to optimize SQL.
• Familiar with CMS solutions such as Drupal and WordPress is a plus
• Mobile app experience a plus, but not a requirement for this position
• Flash experience a plus, but not a requirement for this position

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive salary, full premium benefits package including medical & dental, insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance and 401k.
• Paid holiday, vacation time, flexible work hour days, and sick time pay.
• A great work space in the burgeoning Midtown Alley Neighborhood, at a company recently nominated as a Great Place to Work by St. Louis Magazine.
• A collaborative environment full of smart, award-winning designers and developers committed to producing quality work for great clients across the country.

ABOUT TOKY

TOKY Branding + Design offers expertise in branding, print materials, website design, social media, marketing and sales collateral, and advertising that is unique in the St. Louis area and recognized internationally. We’re dedicated to providing the smartest and most innovative interactive solutions to a wide variety of clients, and having a good time while doing it.

Working at TOKY means you won’t be pigeonholed into whatever gigantic client demands tedious development work. You’ll be directly involved in the concept and execution for heavily-used and highly-visible interactive work that has a lasting impact. We cater towards a specific array of clients – clients we believe in. These include clients in industries such as Fine Arts, Architecture and Development, Schools and Universities, Non-Profit Organizations, and Retail.

Developers at TOKY are responsible for a wide variety of tasks, from working with open source Web applications to developing and architecting innovative websites and developing HTML emails. We are looking for candidates passionate about doing world-class work.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Please provide links to at least three Web sites you developed, or a link to your personal portfolio site. Please include descriptions of your role in the project and any helpful insight. Applicants must also submit a resume with professional experience. All information should be submitted to webdev@toky.com. No phone calls please.

One of the many blogs I follow is Kate Spade’s Behind the Curtain – Things We Love. While browsing around it today, I noticed they discovered and highlighted two of TOKY’s collaborators and friends – Tim Garrett (of Photobooth STL and photobooth.net) and artist Jessica Stockholder. We, also, love them and are excited they’re getting much due recognition!

If you haven’t already seen Jessica’s incredible show at Laumeier Sculpture Park then take it from Kate that it’s a ‘must-see’ (especially the outdoor piece on a beautiful spring day). While you’re at it take some photobooth strips.

March 1 is TOKY’s birthday. 14 years ago today we started up in a scuzzy, lentil-filled loft without any windows, on the top floor of the City Museum building. Today we had the privilege of working with clients in Washington DC, and standing on the balcony of our new office here on a beautiful spring day. What a long, strange trip it’s been. Thanks to all the past and present TOKY teammates who got us here!

We’ll post their bios and photos later this week — last week was crazy busy! Which is why all of us couldn’t be happier that they have chosen to join us. Welcome to Jane and Deana!

St. Louis Magazine’s cover story this month features “The Best Places to Work” in St. Louis, and TOKY is included for our annual employee Hooky Day. It’s an issue that also features the great fellas on the other side of our western wall, Rob Grimm and Hector Caiazza of TORK Furniture, for their awesome offices. Buy a copy and check it out!