Category: teal

#55 Returns & Exchanges

Chaz DeSimone Leave a comment

AmperArt-55-Returns-Exchanges

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The day after Christ­mas must be as dread­ed to retail­ers as the day after Thanks­giv­ing is wel­come — you know, Black Fri­day, the biggest shop­ping day of the year.

Used to be, before online shop­ping & big box stores, all the depart­ment stores from Sears & Pen­neys (as it used to be called), to Saks & Nord­stroms, had a spe­cial win­dow or room all its own (with a classy, dis­creet sign) that han­dled returns, exchanges & com­plaints. Next to that was the gift wrap­ping ser­vice & lay­away department.

Remem­ber the smell of fresh pop­corn & can­dy when enter­ing your neigh­bor­hood Sears?

Today a cou­ple stores still offer a com­fort­able set­ting for such returns & exchanges (no can­dy or pop­corn, though), but the big box & deep dis­count chains most­ly just have a return counter (with a tacky “Line Starts Here” arrow hang­ing from the ceil­ing) and a  trail of cus­tomers (all “dressed up” in the lat­est Big Box fash­ion) that extends out the door.

So Decem­ber’s Amper­Art #55, Returns & Exchanges, repeats the trip to the same brick-&-mortar store (or the online equiv­a­lent) that Novem­ber’s Amper­Art #54 por­trayed: Stop & Shop (in case you missed it, get tram­pled here). Read More

#40 Look & See

Chaz DeSimone 9 Comments

I love the quote by Jill Pet­ty, which was per­fect for the image of the swans, and so very pro­found (besides offer­ing an amper­sand opportunity):

Love is when you look into someone’s eyes and see their heart.

I also like this say­ing by Will Moss that ties love to sight (also with an amp op):

Love is not blind — it sees more and not less, but because it sees more it is willing to see less.

And I love my friends, for they are always teach­ing me some­thing amaz­ing. My friend Melody says:

“Swans are known for their fideli­ty. They are loy­al to each oth­er as a cou­ple once they come togeth­er, they are a cou­ple for life. They are also a great sym­bol of beau­ty and grace.

“And how about the extra­or­di­nary tale of the ugly duck­ling who becomes a swan! The meta­mor­pho­sis of tran­scend­ing one’s own being in such an extra­or­di­nary way is awe inspiring.”

Swans are white
Lakes are blue
Here’s some AmperLove
From me to you

No mat­ter what col­or your loved one’s eyes are, the pupils are black. And that’s the part that sees.

Black is a gor­geous col­or to rep­re­sent true love. It’s deep, for­ev­er, classy and hon­est like the print­ed word. Love is also mys­te­ri­ous, anoth­er good rea­son for black.

I received a black rose on Valen­tines Day in high school once, which meant “unpop­u­lar.” Well, if being a nerd is what it took to get my favorite col­or in a flower, so be it. I loved that rose, even though my favorite flower is a carnation.

My friends think that’s mor­bid, as car­na­tions remind them of funer­als. Well, car­na­tions — espe­cial­ly the white ones with the red rims — remind me of going to the Car­na­tion Ice Cream counter with Dad­dy every week­end for our 5‑cent ice cream cones. And that, my friends, was love.

A black carnation…ah, that’s my idea of the per­fect Valen­tines Day flower.

Hap­py Valen­tines Day, what­ev­er col­or you love the most.

Production Notes:
Original size: 20x30”
Program: Photoshop
Fonts: Poppl-​Residenz, Palace Script (ampersand, modified)
Photography: Zurijeta, 123rf​.com