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Saturday, October 3

Grant Lyons - October 2009



Grant Lyons ~ do good. do well.™
designer, budding publisher.

**co-founder of greenermags.
**founder firstride cars

**twitter /@greenermags
**grant@greenermags.com

==

1975

The dry pine needles only hurt your feet when you get older. They’re everywhere in the forest. We didn’t need shoes. We didn’t need an iPhone. There are days where I can’t ever imagine not having my phone and there are days like today when I remember what those days were like. It was all about family and friends and thinking about creating something out of nothing.

1979

I was nine the first time we went on an international family trip. My dad’s from Scotland and the family lived there before I was born. My brother was born in their house under the Fourth Bridge in Perthshire when my Dad was stationed their with the Royal Navy.
The bridge is featured in a great scene Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. We did everything from London to Scotland.

1973

Playing with lion cubs
Cape Town

2007

You’ll still find me walking through the streets anywhere in the world, but especially Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn with my disposable camera. The first time I walked through the Burg was in March 2007. I love magazines, but only subscribe to GOOD, Tokion and Communication Arts because of the paper. I do pop in to Spoonbill on Bedford from time-to-time for some zine eye-candy though.

I still have that Chloë Sevigny issue of Tokion. It’s a great magazine. I was actually reading an interesting post on MagCulture.com asking readers which magazines should be saved. I went through the comments and these titles were the most recommended – I love Lula - girl of my dreams.

A Magazine, Fantastic Man, 032c, Monocle and S Magazine. Pop, TANK, Wired, Intelligent Life, Wallpaper. The magazine is a beautiful object, something to be treasured and these publications confirm that. I would like to see Raygun (art directed by David Carson) return.

2004

Those first few years before the dotcom bubble burst were really fun. Nothing was impossible and everyone wanted to be a part of it. The restaurants were full and the cellars were emptying fast. $2,500 dollar bottles on the menu and people were ordering them, often. Then dotcom became a dirty word.

Suzi worked at Mackenzie Cutler right near the Flatiron. I learned a lot from her eight years there. Such a creative, hard working group of editors who always made me feel part of the family. Well, they were part of our family too.

2005

When we opened the design studio in Williamsburg, we didn’t know what to expect. We were moving out the studio in the City to go underground and get a pulse of what was really happening. We met and became friends with our neighbors - mag editors, indie publishers, musicians, restauranteurs, photographers and record collectors.

There was no better place than Brooklyn to help unleash some radical ideas and concepts. Many of them are still emerging ideas almost five years later.

FirstRide Cars was my first Green inspired idea. People could order pre-packaged, flat priced hybrid cars online. FirstRide was all about safer, cooler, greener cars and trying to bring dealers and customers together in a new way.

We finally packaging the idea up to present to the auto industry as a new program for the first time car buyer.

1998

Arnold Wechsler brought me to New York City. At one point, I know we were the best team in the world.

2006

There was a day when things started to come together in a very clear way. To build a widget to help design-centric people publish and share their layouts in a simple and beautiful way.

1996

Living in London working for Nicole Farhi at Nicole’s on New Bond Street was a blast. Friends would arrive and stay with us. We did nothing but party like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes we made a special trip to Shepherd’s Bush to visit the Castle Bar and rehash old stories from our fun days in the
Cape Town sun.

We were a great unit at Greencroft Gardens. We all became friends for life. Years later we still reflect on these golden moments. And still more to come...

2009

I do this because I love to. It’s never been about the fame or the money, it’s always been about the journey. The GreenerMags project is what we’re working hard on right now. Will and I have just been invited to be start up in residence at The Wonder Factory in Chelsea. We start on Monday.
It’s a great opportunity to be around like-minded creative people and build this exciting digital platform for layout and design.

Call me if you need anything related to design, sustainability and the Internet.

Grant Lyons
917-623-9226
grant@greenermags.com

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Tuesday, August 25

Mashup by GreenerMags

We took a few pages from out mags and some really nice ones from Lula, V and a branded mag by Nike (Nike be True). Great to see a bunch of different sizes next to each other for a change. I may explore this further down the line with a new magazine on GreenerMags.

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Bare Magazine on GreenerMags

Bare Magazine - a great magazine out of Berkeley. Good seeing this stuff come out of Schools. Hey BARE if you need more issues on GreenerMags, you know how to get in touch. Always a pleasure. Hope you're all enjoying the Summer.

-g

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Konecto Solids Folder

Wednesday, August 12

B-Cycle Bike Share

Great video piece on GOOD about bike-share program. Seems like Denver is getting behind it. Great to see something like this in the U.S.

B-Cycle Bike Share

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Thursday, July 30

Backstage at Pulse Music

Just listened to an amazing live set by John Forte at Pulse Music!
Here are some shots backstage ;)
g

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Friday, July 17

A week in London

I wish I had taken more photos. The memories will always remain fresh though. Thanks so much to Nok, Trev the Flossies and Roy and Rach for pulling it all together and making every second count. And then all the wonderful friends in this photo stream and in my heart. Missing you all!
-g
xxx

Thursday, July 16

GOOD: Road Map to Harmony (Prius Pull-out Ad)

Great 3rd Gen Prius ad fold-out in GOOD Magazine this month. I thought it in keeping with the illustration style of the magazine itself. Graphic, colorful, well-designed, informative. Nice piece of marketing.

More harmony at http://good.is/ecosystem


Click full screen icon to see it at 100%.

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Monday, July 13

Karen Knorr Designs: Jewelry

One of my design mentors expands into jewelry. If you have an establishment that sells beautiful things or you love amazing handmade jewelry, contact Karen Knorr immediately!! This is not a lightweight referral ;) Check out all her stuff at http://bit.ly/3d7d2

Also follow her on twitter: @kkdjewelry
Website: http://karenknorrdesigns.com/jewelry/Home.html





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Friday, June 5

Meeting nice people is fun

Thanks for an amazing night guys. What an interesting bunch you are! Hope to see you again soon.

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Wednesday, June 3

Koko Taylor ft. Little Walter - Wang Dang Doodle

Grammy Award-winning blues legend Koko Taylor, 80, died on June 3, 2009 in her hometown of Chicago.

Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

Thanks to ?uestlove for the Tweet!

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Friday, May 29

Magazine Mashup on GreenerMags

I love looking through magazines. Thanks to those who follow the journey of GreenerMags and our efforts to present designed content on the Web.

Here's a little mashup from some of my favorite magazines.

Featuring articles from:

LIFE (1970)
FRMAG (2007)
NIKE Be True (Branded Content)
Lula
V

...and a SHOUTout to DAPTONE RECORDS as always.






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Suzi Lyons on GreenerMags - Yes!!!

Country-living, composting, Billy's Cupcake-eating, style icon Suzi Lyons shares some recent moments with some of her nearest and dearest.

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Hybrid Car links for DH

Question:
dherman76@greenermags are there any go-to online destinations to learn about the hybrid car world for consumers?

Hey Darren, here are a few sites I go to for research new technology, products and consumer reaction in the hybrid/greener car space, but I generally stop and talk to someone who actually drives one for the best feedback. The issue is not the amount of information, but the respective agendas (not unlike the media business)..Who is behind the content and why? I feel like an investigative reporter instead of a consumer sometimes! Anyway, hope this helps ;)
g

more interesting:
http://www.treehugger.com/cars_transportation/?dcitc=th_nav
http://hybridcenter.org/
http://www.hybridcars.com/
http://www.greencar.com/
http://www.hybridcarblog.com/


hybrids I like (although I think the future is in plug in hybrids and EV's):

Honda Civic Hybrid (which is what I drive)






Honda Insight (very excited about this car)


Toyota Prius (beautiful and elegant)

I'm really into Ford as a company too (check out the Ford story campaign). Their management is awesome and with Jim Farley
over there (ex-Scion) something good can happen with the right products and I think they are coming soon.

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Monday, May 18

Life Inc. by Douglas Rushkoff

From Douglas Rushkoff.

Here's a new and clean Vimeo copy of the Life Inc. movie - for your watching and sharing pleasure. Please do me the favor of spreading this message far and wide. I think we've got an opportunity to take advantage of the current financial crisis, and turn commerce into something that benefits real people.

Life Inc. The Movie from Douglas Rushkoff on Vimeo.

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Monday, May 11

New Ben's Brother Album Battling Giants Out May 11

Here are a couple of clips from the new Ben's Brother Album, Battling Giants coming out May 11. Also, check out the preview magazine where Jamie talks about the album and his special guests. New UK Tour dates and venues just announced!! London's Borderline show is already sold out. Visit www.bensbrother.com to order tickets and to find out more about Ben's Brother and the new album Battling Giants.

Album background - click and drag through the pages or view full screen.


Track sampler

Bens Brother Battling Giants Album Preview

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Saturday, May 2

FRMAG Volume 3

Continent Africa: Interview with Justin Letchert by Lindy Cohen

Lindy Cohen recently moved back to South Africa with her family to become Executive Director of Continent Africa. The approach is the idea started by Justin Letchert, CEO of Union Swiss. He talks to Lindy for FRMAG about a new approach to charity, work and his passion for Africa.



Article originally published on FRMAG a greenermag by Grant Lyons
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/continent-africa/

Threads of Peace by Julia White

Message from Julia White

To keep with the thread of deep tones for peace, my offering for
today is a feature of my threads of peace project in an online mag
called greenermags. Thank you to Will Swofford for initiating this
connection and to Grant Lyons for creating this wonderful way to view
magazines online. It is not the whole piece which is around 50 feet
long, but it shows the essence of the work in the panels that are
featured. You just scroll across the screen with your cursor to view.

Link:
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/threads-of-peace-by-julia-white/

With appreciation to you all for your presence of peace imbued in the
piece,
julia

Yogyakarta by Adam Ludwig and Kevin Effros

The best way to experience this article I think is to play the field recordings while you look at the article. Enjoy.






Featured on FRMAG a greenermag by Grant Lyons

WIGAN CASINO featuring Russ Winstanley - by Grant Lyons

Northern Soul is so much more than just the music and dancing. It's a culture. Here's a look at the most famous Northern Clubs - Wigan Casino. Find out more about the Casino and Russ Winstanley at wigan-casino.co.uk



Originally published on FRMAG a greenermag by Grant Lyons
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/wigan-casino/

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Ethiopia by Richard Wiese

Richard Wiese is an explorer. He's been everywhere. We were chatting recently about some of the places I was featuring in FRMAG because I needed something to go with a piece on Iceland. He showed me some of his photos from Ethiopia. Need I say more?



Featured in FRMAG Volume 3 - A greenermag by Grant Lyons

http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/ethiopia-by-richard-wiese/

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Visit Iceland: a photo tapestry by Melissa Silverman

Director Melissa Silverman takes us to Iceland. We just love Iceland, the people, landscape and the music. If you need to get away, visit Iceland!!



Iceland by Melissa Silverman featured on FRMAG a greenermag by Grant Lyons
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/iceland/

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FILM: The Tested by Russell Costanzo

Here's the Interview by FRMAG Contributing Editor Daniella Caplan. Daniella talks to Shoebox Pictures' Russell Costanzo and Melissa B. Miller about their new movie The Tested and what it's like to work and live together.



The Tested - featured in FRMAG Volume 3
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/the-tested/

Follow them on twitter - twitter.com/thetested

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Brand Battle: Obama V. McCain

Here's a look at a small cross-section of the campaign merchandise. It's hard to think that two brands could be so different, then again...



Seen in FRMAG a greenermag by Grant Lyons
http://greenermags.com/frmag/2009/04/brandobama/

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