*Deadline Approaching EOD Tomorrow – Friday, July 16*

Internship Program Description

AOI’s Intern Program gives students the opportunity to gain experience in the fashion industry through challenging and meaningful work assignments. Internship opportunities are available in Marketing, Purchasing, Logistics, Legal, and Graphic Design. Your interests, course of study, and availability of openings determine the possibilities to contribute to the growth of a young and dynamic company.

We are accepting applications from all majors but we are actively recruiting the following:

Fashion
Graphic Design
Business
Marketing
Public Relations
Pre-law
Political Science

Benefits of the Internship Program Include:

• Event coordination experience
• Logistics and planning experience
• Networking opportunities
• Insight into the fashion industry
• College credit

Eligibility Requirements:

• Enthusiastic Personality
• Excellent communication skills
• Self starter
• Innovative and eager to learn
• Willing to take direction

Compensation:

Valuable experience! Unfortunately, all positions are currently non-paid but we do offer the opportunity to become a permanent member of the AOI team given a successful internship.

Commitment:

Each internship assignment can be catered to your needs. We are looking for individuals who will be located in the DC metro area from July 26, to December 2010. This allows and adequate amount of time for you to gain reasonable experience within the company and make a reasonable contribution.

How to Apply

Return the downloadable application and , resume, and cover letter to info@artofficialshop.com

Application and Information packet are available below…use either link

http://rapidshare.com/files/404493341/AOI__Intern_Packet_and_Application.zip.html
OR
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J37HAXPZ

“We want . . . people who can support the commercial businesses . . . . But . . . We don’t want to be smothered by them, and we want to make sure the working women and men . . . are not run out of the neighborhood that they stuck with and fought for and even died for.” –Rev. Calvin O. Butts III on gentrification in New York

Common Conceptualization of Gentrification

It all started with a ride down Paris Avenue in New Orleans, near the neighborhood where my mother grew up. Large families inside the St. Bernard Housing Project. They were poor and life could be harsh—some fighting but it wasn’t “life-threatening” to live there. Bad things happened, as they do in any neighborhood. Times were good.

At least that’s how I saw it as a child. I spent many hours after school and weekends playing there with my cousins or visiting my grandmother as she sold candies, nachos, E-Z Wider from a small truck on the corner of her drive (she eventually moved out).

It wasn’t until we lived there one summer before we moved into our own house that I felt it could be an unsafe place for a young girl, walking three blocks even, alone on a rainy night. At nine, I could’ve felt that way about any neighborhood. Still, it was the familiar—it had its dangers, its crazies, but I was connected to folks there.

It was not a place, I imagined, with which white people would feel the same comfort. In part because white faces would be out of place (notwithstanding demeanor and swagger, a black person can ease into a “black” neighborhood as “kin,” at least to ask directions).

Imagine my surprise, then, to ride down Paris Avenue and look to the left and see the relics of my mother’s childhood razed and on the right a white man and woman walking a dog—at 8 o’clock at night. In the Seventh Ward of New Orleans. Up is down. Cat is dog. Where am I?

The American Dream...

I think about the neighborhood before Hurricane Katrina, how this scene would never have been. I say as much to my sister with a mix of amusement, disbelief, and a twinge of stolen ownership. I think about scenes of the HBO series Treme, where white folks “salten” the crowds at a second line (I’ve seen the same on recent visits to N.O.—white people sprinkled in the stream of dancing revelers)—wondering if the writers explain that this was not a regular occurrence before the storm.

Releasing these thoughts and emotions, I realize they aren’t rational. What am I saying when I say the scene on Paris Avenue could never be? With pride almost? Am I saying I like the fact that white folks couldn’t walk their dogs without (possibly perceived) threat of violence? And that I’m content with the fact that that same level of violence might keep my own people—the elderly, the parents, their kids—from enjoying a night stroll as well? Am I proud of intolerance toward others via the same methods of intimidation that might have caused members of my race to forego bathroom stops traveling the highways in the 1950s?

My thoughts shift to the larger idea of America. The Melting Pot. Possession is so transient—and that is such a hard idea to consider when Donald Trump is buying the houses around you and making your property taxes rise (on the house your great-grandmother sacrificed so hard to buy). Just as the projects in New Orleans were once occupied by a majority white population, the ghettos of New York occupied by Italian and Jewish immigrants, neighborhoods change. The country changes. Sometimes it’s downright ugly. Sometimes we’re just having the fire lit under us to create a new narrative. Which is the case here?*

“Change is constant in modern city life. So what do we mean by ‘gentrification’? How does it happen? Who wins and who loses? What comes next?”

*I fully acknowledge that I can talk about gentrification in the abstract because I am far enough removed from it. Let me know your thoughts.

September 15, 2009, Drake drops “So Far Gone” and the world crowns it as the greatest mixtape ever. Yet when his same fans get a glimpse of the leaked version of Thank Me Later, it’s met with fierce criticism and harsh feedback. But this isn’t the first time this has happen. Wale’s freshman LP (does anybody know what that stands for?) Attention Deficit suffered the same fate, and naturally, everyone is beginning to fear that J. Cole (on a side note, I wonder why BET cut his performance short last night??) might not be able to top The Warm Up. But why? As of late it seems to be a reoccurring them of artists who release great mixtapes, but can’t seem to follow up that performance with the album. Well, I’ve got a couple of theories of my own.

Theory 1: Mixtape = No Expectations

When a rapper releases a mixtape, it’s 100% free. Free from the influences of the record label (which I’ll get to in Theory 2). Relatively free from critics. And most importantly, free from expectations. In most cases, an artists simply releases a mixtape to create pub for the actual album andto gain new followers. As more people catch on, the more others like to take claim for “the discovery”, or “the put on”. Every music junkie loves to be the reason a fellow music lover fell in love with the next best thing to make it. So this almost creates a sense of ownership for the music, thus a reluctance to be over critical of the artist. Also, in general, you can’t fail if you under promise and over deliver and the mixtape is the perfect example.

The Warm Up

Theory 2: Record Labels are Album Killers

As if you didn’t already know, record labels are usually only good for two things. Forcing an artist to release a “radio” single to widen their fan base, and squeezing the creativity out of an artists with limits on content, a forced number of album releases under a contract, or completely screwing an artist over money with a contract. Both scenarios effectively suck the life out of every artist. Just ask Jadakiss and The Lox who constantly make it a point to tell you how happy they are to be free from Puffy and his shiny suits. On the mixtape you’ll find dream collaborations (Like Talib’s Just Begun featuring Mos Def, Jay Electronica, and Jay Cole) from artists that you may never see on an album because of the money issue and other rights that I don’t completely understand. Also, it appears that labels haven’t quite caught on with the internet era and all of the new technology at bay. There was once a point in time when to get a new single we had to press the play and record butten simultaneously on our tape deck. Now, it takes us 30 seconds to pull it from YouTube or download it from DatPiff. When labels find a way to profit from this, just maybe we’ll find peace in the music industry again.

But my point is this, be mindful of the hurdles that one has to face when releasing a study album. It’s hard work. Jay-Z has mastered art and has still managed to dodge making a mixtape. But everyone isn’t Jay-Z. Many artists have to conform to the “system” thus putting a ceiling on their creativity. Not to say that we shouldn’t lower our expectations, I just ask that we don’t raise the bar too high either.

Filmed in 1982, Thriller changed the music industry forever. Michael Jackson made a 11 minute film that still gets play today. Forever a classic, this video goes down in history as arguably his greatest productions of all time. (Many will argue Remember the Times was better) No matter which video you stakes the claim at the top of your all time list, MJ influenced everyones life in some way. So on this day, lay the scandals aside, and celebrate the life of a legend.

Yesterday, we got a chance to attend “The Logical Path”, hosted by Pathological Designers at Indulj Lounge. It was a great event all in all…good people, good music, good food, and a great atmosphere. What more can you ask for? Of course, we had to come out and support because…one..they are A&T alum….two..they shot our first clothing photoshoot…and three…they are an extremely talented group of individuals.

Pathological showcased their work on the screens at Indulj featuring models and artists from all over the east coast, including yours truly ArtOfficial. They also developed their first print publication showcasing their skills in design and photography, which they distributed at the end of their event (definitely well put together).

In addition to Pathological, Dream Out Loud artist, Locke Kaushal performed as well as the Beautiful Xperience band.Two great acts that are definitely on the rise. Below are the pics from the event.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”  –Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I still haven’t found the secret to executing this advice when it comes to environmental issues. Sometimes the benefits aren’t tangible, the “goodness” of it too abstract. What the saint here is suggesting has a proactive nature. Much of what we do regarding the environment is reactionary. So it is with this latest, unprecedented disaster: the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

I’m from New Orleans, and even though I’m a city girl, I know how important—in myth, in economic and cultural reality, in marketing—the Gulf, the marsh, the swamp is to Louisianans. The latest estimates show the collapsed BP oil well dispersing 25,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil a day, 1.3 million gallons.

Between the two “I Hate BP” groups on Facebook, there are almost 9,000 fans. But what does it mean to hate BP in 2010? (And for that matter, do we also hate Exxon, Shell, and Chevron, who also have deep-water rigs with equally shady oil-spill contingency plans?) Does this mean we are willing to change our behavior to put BP out of business? Is that the focus, the recompense for their (our) greed?

The U.S. uses almost 20 million barrels of oil a day: 60% on transportation, 25% industrially, 4% residentially, 2% commercially. We all have to heat and light our homes, (and surely we use oil for other positive purposes—e.g., medical supplies) but oil is used in so many other ways. If we all agree that the oil plumes we’re seeing on the news are sizeable, then doing the following could drastically change the amount of oil we consume.

Peace out to Petroleum

· 12 million barrels of oil are used to make the 100 billion checkout bags we use every year. We bring our own cloth bag to the store, it’s like cutting the equivalent of 9 or so days of the spill from our oil consumption.

· 12 million barrels of oil a day are used in transportation across the U.S. Carpool, walk, bike, train, bus it to where you gotta go—at least a couple days a week. Close to another 9 or so days’ worth of oil deducted from our numbers—daily.

· Little stuff: shea butter instead of petroleum jelly, glass or ceramic containers instead of plastic Gladware, no Styrofoam, cut down on plastics (go for high “post-consumer material” content).

I’m making comparisons with the number of barrels spilled, because if anything, the spill gives us an idea of what these barrels/gallons look like and how fragile the ecosystems are around them. We begin to change our behavior by being conscious consumers. But don’t think I’m so naïve in my idealism to think it’s only up to the people. The new “I hate BP” also means cities have to up their public transportation games, making them attractive, clean, and reliable alternatives. Workforce development is another factor in shifting jobs that will be lost if we take seriously our need to scale back. Hard tasks and truths.

It would change the kind of country we are. Transitions are scary, but they shouldn’t stop us from taking steps that will help us, the animals around us, and our environment in the long and short run.

“The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun.” –Ralph Nader

If only there was a way to have every Monday off… Oh wait, you could always work for the government. Not sure if it’s possible, but when there’s a will, there’s a way; and Uncle Sam will make it happen for you. Now for the rest of us that have to work, Monday mornings stink. You get in, tweet how much you hate Mondays, check scores on ESPN, catch up on a few of your favorite blogs, and check some email. You take a glance up at the clock and it’s only been 3o minutes. Shoot! Looks like this day is going to be tougher than you think. No worries, we’ve got a few things to try and knock another 30 minutes off of the clock. That will get you to 9 o’clock, you might actually have to do some work to get through the rest of the day.

Video: “Mayer Hawthorne (born Andrew Mayer Cohen) is a singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist.” Helluva wikipedia intro right? I thought so too. I first heard of this guy and his band opening up at The Roots Picnic. The fact that they were opening up for The Roots should tell you a lot.

Song: You may recognize the voice of Locke Kaushal from our release event. A few events and a mixtape later, Locke is still busy in the studio. Check out his latest work over Hello Good Morning.

Album: After hitting the stage with Jimmy Falon on a nightly basis, many thought The Roots studio album days were over. Well after lighting the stage up at The Roots Picnic and later announcing a compilation album with John Legend due to drop in September, they’re looking and sounding better than ever. There latest work, “How I Got Over” hits the shelves this Tuesday, June 22nd.

How I Got Over

Concert: Lauren Hill (yes, Lauren Hill), Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, 9th Wonder, Wiz Khalifa, Clipse, DJ Premier, Slick Rick, and with more artist to come. All of this and you don’t even have to leave DC. It all goes down at the Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 29th. Tickets went on sale on Saturday at ticketfly.com for $65 (the lawn seats). If you have a radio in your car, you should be there.

You’ve seen it, time and time again. The basketball/football/movie star walks up to the podium, accepts their award, and usually second on the list of “Thank You’s”, right behind God is good ol’ Mom (unless you’re Ron Artest of course who in this video decided to thank “the hood” and then “The World Wide Warriors”. Yes. In that order) The award winner then continues on to thank his team, producers, or anyone else who might have been influential in there run to success.

Where’s Dad you ask? Well, not home according to the US Department of Census. According to the Census, 43% of children in the US live without their father. Even more startling are the statistics found at fathersunite.org. According to the site, 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes and 85% of all youths in prison came from a fatherless home. This effectively makes a fatherless child, 20 times more likely to go to jail.

So in this whirlwind of worthless fathers, I think that the great fathers out there are often overlooked. One can argue that the father usually plays the more difficult, and less popular role of “rule enforcer” in the house. Dad punishes the child. Mom tells them it will be alright.

So on this Father’s Day, appreciate the good fathers that we do have. Because if we are to ever bring an end to statistics like the ones seen above, it will start with them; and with a little help from Mom of course.

Happy Father’s Day.

“Ok, um, look. If you want to just keep doing the same ol’ thing then maybe this idea is not for you. I for one, am NOT going to compromise my artistic integrity. And I’ll tell you something else, this is the show. And we’re NOT gonna change it… right?” – George Costanza

Many times, especially in those such as these when my thoughts seem to run rampant; I find it easier to express my thoughts in the form of songs. It’s almost like when you’re head over heels for someone, and every song that comes on the radio seems to remind you of your feelings for them. Almost as if the artist wrote the song just for you and the moment you were in.

Well, as I sat listening on our AOI conference call last week, the parallels to Wale’s “The Artistic Integrity” seemed more prevalent than ever. Here we were, laboring over decisions on our proposed summer release that had already been slightly delayed… but for what? It wasn’t until we took a collective step back and asked ourselves why AOI came together in the first place, did we really realize how much of a mistake we were making.

It wasn’t as if others didn’t like the ideas we had, or that we hadn’t put in hours of phone calls and lost sleep putting together what we thought was our next best thing. But as we glanced over our designs before sending them off to print, something didn’t bode well with us. We found ourselves making a decision based on economics rather than our core values. When we first set out, we aimed to change the clothing industry by offering something for the forward thinking individual. For those who thought like us.

As Beasley put it (in a hip hop context of course), we’re almost like a Little Brother in a clothing sense. We make clothing for people who think differently. And thinking different isn’t ever the most popular choice. So we may have a following but it’s possible we could never blow up and make millions. The phone fell silent as everyone let his words sink in… And before Beasley made a “Beasley comment” that broke the phone out in laughter, it hit us. We’re perfectly fine with that. We’ll never compromise our product, our art, or our integrity, even it means postponing a release.

So this fall, we’re putting together what we think is our best outing yet. And as Wale put it, “class is in session”. See you in August!

“Women . . . Who made ‘em?  God must have been a . . . genius.  Their hair.  They say that the hair is everything, you know?  Have you ever buried your nose in a mountain of curls, and just wanted to go to sleep forever?  –Bo Goldman, “The Start of an Education” (made popular by the movie Scent of a Woman)

I’m always a bit tickled when a woman gives me a compliment on my hair and she’s with her man. If she uses a relaxer, she might ask for tips on the transition process to going natural—and her man looks scared as hell. Sweating bullets all of a sudden and giving me a side-eye, his face reads: I hope you’re not thinking of coming home with that s&*t on your head. My afro and I may have just started construction on the yellow brick road of his relationship.

Hands On

But seriously, when black women turn away from relaxers to go natural, for fashion, for mental liberation, just to see how it feels—whatever the reason—we may go through a cluster of emotions as we get accustomed to looking at, feeling, and caring for our new coifs—and dudes are just to accept it and go along for the ride with not one (not one!) word.

We are mindful, however, that this is a time of transition for you as well. You, too, have to familiarize your eyes, hands, and minds with our “new” textures and hair rituals. Hopefully, some of the tips below can help you through the process.

Remember, it’s temporary / always changing. And process is first on the list, because that’s what transition is. Every time that voice in your head whispers you don’t like the way she looks or She just doesn’t look the same, tell yourself that in three months, you’ll feel different—because you will. And in three months, especially if she’s looking at blogs and scouring websites as most of us do—she’ll probably look different as she gets a handle on what works for her.

Be hands on—literally. Feel it. Grease or massage her scalp if that’s what she’s into. Express interest—don’t give the silent approval (thinking you’re being supportive by not saying anything ugly, but not actually saying anything positive). When you become invested in her crowning glory (damn, I promised myself I wouldn’t use “Nubian” terminology on this post), you just might fall in love with it yourself, and laying hands on your lover’s scalp during such a (possibly) vulnerable time can add another level of intimacy to your relationship.

Butters

Explore your own feelings, even the history of them. I know, I know. Stereotypical dudes don’t do feeling exploration. But you’re not those dudes. You’re here, at AOI’s Power Your Imagination, so I assume you’ve got something extra (wink). So do that and communicate with your lady.*

Tell her she’s pretty. Kiss her. Make whoopee. The point is, no one likes rocking a TWA (teenie weenie afro) and a frown. It’s much easier if they feel appealing and appreciated. Makes life better for the both of ya.

Be overall supportive. Remember, guys can be cheerleaders too! If you’re going through such emotions watching from the sidelines, imagine how she’s feeling in her new hair digs—she’s in the game.**

Obviously this list includes many tips outside of you—that’s because it really (really) ain’t about you. Directly, that is. That said, we realize that your feelings and well-being are mixed up in this too, and we want to grow with you. (We wanna look hot for you too, of course.) Sure it can be a big change, but wouldn’t you agree that couples need to shake things up?

* Ladies—I know you won’t but—try not to bark when your man expresses misgivings. Surely, though, because these guys have that something extra, they’ll come at you with the most delicate approach.

** I’m tempted to compare this with such a life change as men balding—it’s largely a man’s issue; women experience it from the outside (but it’s not exactly the same…)