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Men Begin Buying Suits as Economy Rebounds

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, “Some usually well-heeled men are finding themselves buying new clothes for an unusual reason—they actually need them. Chicago-based retail researcher ShopperTrak reports that men's apparel sales jumped 8.4% this holiday season . . . and local haberdashers say that even high-end buyers are driven by the need to replace shabby garments.”

After several years of putting off purchases due to the slumping economy, men are beginning to buy suits again. If you find that your suits are beginning to look a bit worn, you may be wondering what to buy now.

Every man should own at least one black suit, which is popular for all occasions. Select a suit that has a two-button jacket with side vents and flat-front pants without cuffs. When it comes to fabrics, your best bet is year-round wool. I like Hugo Boss suits on the high end and Kenneth Cole suits at a very reasonable price point. 

Historic Chicago Re-Imagined

Get ready to re-imagine Chicago’s architectural structures built during the Victorian Era. See how artist Ruth Sackheim uses bold color, traditional media, and digital media to transform, yet pay homage to, well-known and lesser-known sights in and near the heart of the city. Experience a modern take on Alta Vista Terrace, nicknamed the “Street of Forty Doors,” and the El, which has been called both “Chicago’s Eiffel Tower” and “Chicago’s Railroad in the Sky.” Consider how the places that transformed Chicago over one hundred years ago impact our dreams and emotions today.

The El Images

Artist Ruth Sackheim began her most recent series of El images on a cold, cloudy day in May of 2011. The temperature was only thirty-nine degrees when she took her new digital camera out for a test drive and photographed the El tracks on Wabash Avenue  in downtown Chicago. 

Then on a much warmer, glorious May day only two weeks later, she walked to the El tracks at her favorite intersection near Wrigley Field and began photographing the underside of the El structure. She downloaded the images to her computer and began manipulating them. Eventually, she decided to use each image as a jumping off point, creating an entirely new digital drawing. Each section of the resulting images is drawn or "painted" with a mouse. 

The Alta Vista Terrace Images

Alta Vista Terrace is a quaint street of townhomes located northeast of Wrigley Field and next to Graceland Cemetery. Designed by architect J.C. Brompton between 1900 and 1904, the tiny street was built after developer Samuel Eberly Gross visited London and took a liking to the row houses he saw there. Sometimes called the "Street of Forty Doors," Alta Vista Terrace is comprised of forty townhouses. There are twenty different exterior styles. Each townhouse on one side of the street is duplicated with only minor variations at the diagonally opposite end of the block. 

Sackheim's images begin as original photographs. Each photograph is posterized (translated into simplified black and white shapes) and applied as a photo stencil positive to a sensitized silkscreen. When the silkscreen is exposed to a light, a negative of the image appears on the screen. The image is printed with midnight blue ink and then painted with vibrant acrylic glazes to suggest the effects of daylight at high noon. Based on the graceful architectural structures built in the city near the turn of the twentieth century, these images bring to life the uniqueness that is Chicago.

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“Historic Chicago Re-Imagined” is inspired by the people I interact with both face-to-face and online. My real-life social communities and online social networks strongly impact the direction and subject matter of my work, the way I create art, and the media I use. The places in my city and my social environments become part of my dreams. I see them at night when I sleep and they become the symbols I depict. During waking hours, my peers and broader social networks encourage me to explore new themes and techniques, push the limits of color, and add abstract elements to my depiction of Chicago architecture. Every time I dialog with a fellow artist, read a note of encouragement, or witness the delight of someone viewing my work, my drive to create grows.

It is my belief that we as artists make our communities stronger and more beautiful, that we provide a means for people to come together and interact, that we encourage people to dream and fashion a vision for their life. We create our social environments and they, in turn, create and nurture us.

                                                  

The Newly-Minted Collector

Are you looking for art for your home or office? Maybe you’re moving or redecorating. Or maybe you just want to freshen up your walls. Where should you start? Some people go to big box retailers, where they can buy affordable mass reproductions. But here’s the rub. These reproductions are often as expensive or nearly as expensive as original art. Wouldn’t you rather own a handmade piece? That’s the question I ask myself every time I go into some of the stores in my area and look at their art section.

When purchasing original art, don’t worry about whether it will increase in value. Consider buying it the same way you would buy a mass reproduction. Ask yourself, do I like it? Is it within my budget? If the answer to both questions is yes, take the plunge. Think of yourself as a newly-minted art collector. Enjoy your new world and don’t look back.

Marketing Communications

Sackheim Group can assist you in building a corporate identity and brands that are consistent, compelling, and unique. We begin with a thorough review of how you currently see your company and brands. Then we look at how to best reshape, refine, or reposition your key messages. Here are some of the kinds of materials we can craft for you: brochures, newsletters, web copy, sales literature, direct mail pieces, promotional pieces, advertising copy, articles, white papers, speeches, executive biographies, annual reports, business proposals, training materials, posters, and flyers.

Public Relations

Positive publicity is essential to your success. At Sackheim Group, we know how to generate the kind of positive PR that gives you a competitive edge.

Do you know that are countless opportunities for publicity? Are you introducing a new product or service? Are you sponsoring a program or an event? Have you received an award? Are you expanding or relocating? All these are opportunities for media coverage that makes your company or organization look good.

Sackheim Group can help you tell your story. We can craft targeted public relations messages that consistently garner favorable media attention and promote your best asset--your good name. The following are some of the kinds of materials we can create for your public relations campaigns: press kits, press releases, feature stories, newsletters, web copy, speeches, and executive biographies.