This just popped up on our radar. URB Magazine has been named #15 out of “The 35 Best Wordpress Design Websites” by Blog Design Studio. We don’t know who Blog Design Studio is, but hey, thanks guys! More fun coming from URB in the near future actually. Don’t touch that dial…

Today is our latest intern’s last day. Brian Okarski came to us from Ringling College of Art and Design a couple months ago and we were stoked when he showed up and wasn’t a serial killer. He’s actually a good dude and has a bright design future ahead of him.

But as much as we hate to see him go, this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of “Little Brian.” Sometime in the not-too-distant future Mr. Okarski should be making his way back out to LA to join The Uprising Creative’s team, once he finishes school.. if he doesn’t get poached by some big bully design firm with butt loads of money first. BACK OFF, HE’S OURS DAMNIT.

And with one intern leaving, that means only one thing. We have some new Fall Internship openings here at The Uprising. So, if you’re a designer or web developer who needs some internship credits - or your not in school but want to get some real-world experience for a couple of months - hit us up. We’re actually pretty nice, most of the time.

Horiyoshi III is being featured today over on NOWNESS.com, a site focusing on a daily showcase of fashion, art, culture and travel.

One of the things that really blew us away when we went to visit Horiyoshi III earlier this year - and we haven’t really been able to explain in words - was the speed at which Sensei tattoos and the fact that he does it completely freehand. This video gives a bit beter glimpse of that skill. You can hear how fast the machine is running and see Sensei almost paint on the outlines. It’s amazing and we are truly honored to be working with Horiyoshi III and to have been tattooed by him.

Check out the links below to view the features:
Horiyoshi III - “The Skin Carver”
Horiyoshi The Third - The Fashion Line

“NOWNESS.com proudly presents an exclusive film, Horiyoshi The Third: The Skin Carver, featuring the legendary tattoo master and his workshop. Photographer and director Johnnie Shand Kydd’s visually stunning work illuminates the artistry of full-body suit tattoos and Horiyoshi’s master craftsmanship. We also examine the recent influence of tattoos in fashion while taking a look at the tattoo legend’s latest clothing and accessories line.”

So a couple of weeks ago we posted about URB.com and margaretcho.com getting featured in Wordpress.org’s Showcase section.

Well, this week we have some more love coming our way from the developer world it seems.

First, Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasant’s site, chrisshiflettmusic.com, was just added to Wordpress.org’s Showcase Section.

Secondly, Derek over at GigPress has added our implimentations of GigPress for Jenny and Johnny and UNKLE to the GigPress Featured / Live Examples (Along with a nice little blip at the top of his site featuring the sites). GigPress is awesome - crazy powerful and crazy customizable. We recommend.

Awesome!

A couple of our recent Wordpress-based sites have been picked up by Wordpress.org as showcase sites! Both Margaret Cho and URB Magazine! Go vote on them!

So this here blog has been up for about 2 years now and we’ve just been too busy with client work to focus on updating it. Hell, we have a hard enough time breaking away to post these entries. But, as many of you know, we’ve set out to make 2010 a year of growth. And part of that growth is going to be overhauling our site in an effort to better showcase the work that we do, our clients’ projects, and the community we’re building around us.

The first step in this overhaul is the launch of our new splash page. We’ll be adding to this and developing out the new site in the background. We’ll also be documenting the process of our rebrand and the steps involved to give a little bit more insight into our process, the thought and work that goes into a project like this, and who we really are.

Back to work…

Today Darren and I visited Horiyoshi III out at his original studio in Yokohama. Amazing experience with Sensei. Here’s a little teaser from that visit.

Much more to come from our visit (and our partnership) later.

Here’s an ecard we did based on our recent AP Magazine ad for Twin Atlantic. Head out to one of these shows if you’re in the neighborhood.

We have once again had the pleasure of working with our pals, Twin Atlantic, on artwork for their new single, “Lightspeed,” set to be released on March 1st. If you stare at this too long you will actually travel back in time so view with caution.

A few months back we launched the new site for Bodega. Bodega brings large scale, eco-friendly, indoor art by ground breaking artists to the masses. Yesterday, we got a visit from the Bodega crew bearing a sweet Cleon Peterson piece for our studio. We like… a lot…

Introducing the newest member of The Uprising, Mr. Chris Donohue. While Chris will be wearing multiple hats, his main focus will be Business Development and Client Services. Chris has been involved in the creative/music industry for over 12 years and comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and professional experience. We have been searching for the best way to get Chris involved for a while now and the day has finally come… Our own Darren Craig has personally known Chris for over 15 years so needless to say, there is a bit of history there.

Now, to answer the question you are all dying to ask. Yes, he is married! Sorry ladies.
Welcome to the carnival Chris.

Here’s an ad we just wrapped up for AP Magazine. Our friends, Twin Atlantic are hitting the road with The Fall Of Troy and Envy On The Coast. Should be a good time.

This year Neil Young was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year. Jason Mraz and Bill Silva Entertainment asked us to come up with an tribute piece which was to be included in the program for the MusiCares event, held 2 days before the Grammys. We were stoked. I mean, who doesn’t like Neil Young… Congrats to Mr. Young and keep up the good work.

Our man, and long time client, Jason Mraz, snagged TWO Grammy’s last night! One for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song “Make It Mine”, and another for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for “Lucky,” featuring Colby Caillat. Jason has been kicking ass and shows no signs of slowing down in 2010. Congratulations to the entire Mraz camp!