MEMBER PROFILE // Design Team We Less Than Three Balances Big-Name Clients and a Small-Company Ethos

We Less Than Three's cleverness is apparent right off the bat: Their logo condenses to "We <3," lending itself to a myriad of creative uses. The Brooklyn-based, two-person firm is indeed a labor of love for 3rd Ward members, Andy Gillette and Ashley Quinn.

The pair had been living in Los Angeles, where Andy worked as an art director for HBO while Ashley worked for an architecture firm. Both grew tired of being lost inside big corporations (along with Andy loathing L.A.) so they packed up and moved cross country.

According to Ashley, they attended one of 3rd Ward's Movie Nights shortly after moving here and fell in love with the space almost instantly. The timing was right as their business was already underway.

Part of what distinguishes them from other design firms is a heavier focus on technology. Andy manages the programming for both the sites and apps they build, making We Less Than Three a full-service shop.

"We're really friendly and personable. We communicate a lot with our clients. We'll take on projects with a lower budget if we think it's a really cool project," Andy tells us. Their clients include producer Tom Schick, digital collage "Une Semaine du Google" and Social Bicycles, whose bike-finding GPS app the pair's especially excited about. 

"They're a bike-share program that was actually one of the two finalists for the citywide contract," says Andy. "The app is really cool: You can locate bikes and lock and unlock them."

Screenshots of Sobi; the bike-locating/unlocking app

One of We Less Than Three's underlying threads? "We've been thinking a lot about how the internet can interact with the physical world," says Andy. So far, the public response to the pair's work has been so postive, the firm's had to turn down a number of potential clients. "People have an idea that you're auditioning for the client, but that's not always the case. The client has to be a fit for us."

Some may find it crazy to turn down work in this econonmy, but to Ashley and Andy, it's vital that they remain relatively small. And if you ask us, these two are going to do just fine.

--Layla Schlack

GROW HERE // Hallowed Composer John Moran on 3rd Ward as Incubator

John Moran and Saori Tsukada

John Moran, protégé and longtime collaborator of composer Philip Glass and world-renowned art-theater-performance artist, has created work featuring Uma Thurman, Allen Ginsberg, and Iggy Pop at international venues including Lincoln Center. Since 2005, he has partnered with avant dancer-gymnast Saori Tsukada on a dance collaboration cited by the New York Times as "one of the most important and innovative…of the year."

Just five years ago, Moran was living on the streets--and then he found a home at 3rd Ward. Hit the jump to hear the story he shared with us.

“Back in 2007, when 3rd Ward was just getting on its feet, I decided to make a huge movie, with performers composited into 3D animation.  I had never done a project like that before, so the first step was to really learn the processes: animation, 3D modeling, and compositing, which I did over a year of really hard study. 

I had just been homeless and was barely surviving. So the constraint on this project was that it had to be almost free. Good luck, right?

I needed an ideal studio set-up, with massive amounts of equipment, computer power, and space, along with plenty of time. 

That was when I met [3rd Ward cofounder] Jason Goodman, whom I came to learn embodied his name.  I showed him what I was doing, right off the street, and explained to him that I had nothing—and needed a lot.

Jason made me an ‘unofficial’ artist-in-residence at 3rd Ward for the year of 2007.  He donated the top floor of the space, and I managed to move a huge, professional film crew into there and set up a green screen environment.  What I remember most about that time is that the camera was a big as a motorcycle!  Jason and the staff were my saviors at the time, and asked for nothing in return.

After the shooting was completed, there was the arduous task of animating, compositing and editing.  Jason offered use of the computer lab and its powerful computers.  So, there I lived for months, from early in the morning until I was (gently) kicked out at closing time.  I wasn't always easy to know, as my ‘purpose’ there sometimes (hopefully not too often) conflicted with the desires of others.  Why is that stack of computers always in use?  Well, because that near-homeless crazy guy feels that his life depends on it.

I gave a performance at 3rd Ward before moving to Europe in 2007, but there was no way to adequately thank Jason and the staff for all they had done for me.  While I only finished ten minutes of that particular project, which was devastating to me at the time, I realize now that this period allowed me to learn what I was doing in a new chapter in my career as an artist. As I then traveled all over Europe and Asia for the next four years (eleven different countries, working everywhere), I thought of them, and that place, every day.  What they do there is a true inspiration to me, and to many others, as well.”

-- as told to Cara Cannella

MEMBER FOLLOW-UP // David Yepez Featured In American Craft Magazine

You may have met woodworker and 3rd Ward member David Yepez in our PLAY NOW video back in June.  Yepez quit his job to join 3rd Ward and pursue his passion.  His Mingei Table -- made entirely from local wood -- was featured in the Aug/Sept 2011 issue of American Craft Magazine.  As were his words:

"As a furniture maker, I find the most important current events are the local movements in the New York City area.  My colleagues and I have made a conscious effort to only use locally available hardwood, lowering our carbon footprint by eliminating countless gallons of gas used by getting wood to our door."

You can read the entire article here and be sure to visit the website for his new furniture collective Re-Co Bklyn.  By partnering with local arborists, the three craftsmen involved can find out when a tree must be removed.  Rather than letting it be chipped and thrown in a landfill, they mill it for their unique and eclectic pieces.

-- Margaux Weisman

MAKERBOT SPACE PROGRAM // 3rd Ward's Luke Schantz Helps Launch Colbert's Head Into Space

Luke Shantz (right) preparing to send Stephen Colbert's head into space.

As if the folks at MakerBot haven't already proven that they are on the bleeding edge of technological innovation, the Brooklyn-based 3D printer company has now extended its presence to the final frontier.

Yep, outer space.

Not suprisingly, they turned to 3rd Ward member, instructor and all-around media/technology expert Luke Schantz (read our interview with him) to help them get there.

After MakerBot founder Bre Pettis appeared on The Colbert Report and presented the host with a 3D-printed bust of his own head, he decided to launch Stephen Colbert's head into space. Armed with a weather balloon, Flipcam and GPS-enabled cell phone, they did just that.

Naturally, such an amazing feat has been attracting attention far and wide, from BoingBoing, Mashable and TechCrunch to MAKE Magazine, Huffington Post and CBS News.

Watch Colbert's ascent below. (Honestly, the footage post-launch is sublime.) Or, if you want to full experience, check out the unedited 84-minute video.

ALUMNI UPDATE // Gina Pollack joins team of internationally-renowned photographer JR

Gina Pollack (second from left) in the South Bronx working on a group action for JR's Inside Out project.

Today we check in 3rd Ward member with 3rd Ward alum Gina Pollack, who got her current job, working in the studio of renowned French photographer JR, through 3rd Ward's exclusive Membership Newsletter.

After graduating from NYU, where she studied Photography and Journalism, Pollack worked for a while as a photo re-toucher in a commercial studio, doing mostly cosmetic product photography. "Not surprisingly, I hated it," she says. And then one day the Member Newsletter arrived in her inbox. "I immediately noticed JR's name and the opening to work in his studio on the Inside Out project," she says. "I applied immediately and was called into the studio the next day."

Now Pollack works full-time on Inside Out, a large-scale participatory project. "JR won the TED Prize for 2011 and his wish was to get everyone involved in street art to tell their own stories," she says. "People everywhere from Tunisia to Abu Dhabi upload portraits with personal statements everyday. We approve their submissions at the studio, print their photos into posters and mail them with pasting instructions. Donations are accepted but not required. It's important that anyone can participate."

In addition to being inspired by creativity and diversity that the project has attracted, from group projects on child monks in Thailand to gay rights in Russia to the homeless community in San Francisco, Pollack has learned the unique skill of pasting. "I worked on the wall at Bowery/Houston and Grand/ Wooster, mounting images of Native Americans from a reservation in North Dakota, as well as a project celebrating women in the South Bronx, where we pasted faces from the community holding the eyes of women over their own," she says.

Right now Pollack is working a group action for the anniversary of September 11th, as well as upcoming large-scale actions around the world in places like the Middle East, Detroit and Philadelphia.

Outside of her work with JR, Pollack freelances for the Village Voice, shooting restaurants and concerts, and works on her own travel and documentary projects. "I've self-published a book called 'Sorority Girls,' which documents sorority life in Southern California, and I hope to gain more access to sorority houses to continue the project in the near future," she says. "Last Fall, I photographed an outsider's view of israel, highlighting the many groups (Jews, Muslims, Christians, Yeminites, and Palestinians) and the way they all co-exist in such a beautiful, war-torn country. I am currently working on a new project to document graffiti on ads in the New York subways."

Hit the jump to check out some of Gina Pollack's photography below and swing by her website.

Also, Pollack tells us that JR and his crew are always looking for participants, so if you are interested in leading a group action or submitting a portrait, visit his website and get in touch.

PLAY NOW // An Evolutionary Process // Meet Launa Eddy

At 3rd Ward, Launa Eddy creates everything from jewelry to inflatable sculptures to a crazy surrealist chair (you may have spotted its fangs in our lobby).

“I don’t know where I’m going...[but] the more I learn and the more time I put into the things I do, the more all-encompassing it becomes. It becomes a lifestyle. It becomes creating the world that you know.“



An Evolutionary Process // Meet Launa Eddy, 3rd Ward Member from 3rd Ward on Vimeo.

Launa has been a 3rd Ward Member for a little over a year and just finished teaching her first class, Extreme Paper Mache Sculpture. She even did the animation in this video.

Learn which Membership is right for you on the 3rd Ward Membership Page.

EQUIPMENT UPDATE // Major Metal Shop Upgrade

Jake Antonelli, who arrived here last spring from Philadelphia to manage the metal and wood shops, explains the draw to 3rd Ward: “You can get practical real-life application in a cool setting and be surrounded by plenty of high-end customized work. There's so much potential here, and it’s a perfect place for that to flourish.”

So on a recent afternoon, we toured the evolving space with him and learned about some new game-changing assets, including a Clausing Colchester 15" Metal Lathe, Bridgeport series 1 automatic and manual metal mills and a Kuhlmann engraver (Check out the photos after the jump.)

“Until now, our metal shop has been equipped for welding and grinding. Now with the addition of the Bridgeports and metal lathes, we’ll be able to mill metal, which allows for more precision types of applications,” Jake says. The equipment was purchased over the past few months from a neighborhood machinist who used to manufacture for the Navy and went out of business.

“All of these machines are 1950s technology. Students here are learning the basics from scratch; there’s no better way to learn. The timeless approach is being challenged by digital technology—meaning your hands are removed from the process—but what we’re trying to do is spark a renaissance to bring back old and forgotten methods,” he says. “This is an opportunity to really explore materials in depth and understand them from the inside out. We want to be current [and the shops’ digital components are growing], but also want people to understand things from the ground up.”

Along our tour of the currently intersecting metal and wood shops (within a few months, the wood shop is moving upstairs, to a gorgeous light filled loft space outfitted with a separate classroom), we pass a guy building a guitar, surrounded by a collection of other musical instruments he has made, and a stack of wood from an old water tank that will be turned into reclaimed restaurant tabletops. Miles Davis plays in the background, and Jake points to other pockets of activity: a guy using materials from an old bowling alley to build his own kitchen; another working on a residential cabinet job for a designer.

“We have a lot of professionals working out of here. They’re here all day long running a business, often working for architects or designers on fabrication projects. They’re really up on the latest equipment and tools, always pushing, ‘Hey, we need one of these.’ They’re a great research group. We’re trying to build a model of education, and I’ve been treating it like a university [in terms of acquiring equipment]. We have all the basic machinery, simple and accessible enough for everybody,” Jake says.   

While some equipment can be reserved, it’s mostly available on a first-come first-serve basis. The off-peak (i.e. less busy) time tends to be between 8 and 11am. “The shop community works together to share equipment, and people figure out a rhythm,” Jake says. Come on in for your own tour, and see how it all comes together. 

Clausing Colchester 15" Metal Lathe

Kuhlmann engraver

Bridgeport metal mill

-- Cara Cannella

MEMBER PROFILE // It's Jello Shot Girl!

There is a superhero in our midst. She swoops into parties, bars and other events around the city to save you from the same old beer and liquor drinks, replacing them with tasty gourmet jello shots. Meet Jello Shot Girl.

Jello Shot Girl daylights as Abby, a fine artist, textile designer and 3rd Ward member. "My paintings tend to be conceptual, emotional and personal," she says. "When designing my textiles, I strive to acheive pieces that are timeless, inventive and beautiful."

After a few years working in the fashion industry, Abby felt burnt out and starting looking for another outlet for her creativity. "This just sort of started by accident," she says. "One day I made a few batches of shots, and next thing I know I'm running a pretty full-fledged operation and working with people like Jelly NYC, Matchless and Pete's Candy Store."

"The Jello shots are an entirely different animal because of the added dimension of taste," she says. "I like to start with an indredient I'm inspired by, such as lavander, and work from there to figure out what other flavors and what liquor would pair well with it.

When not concocting her shots, Jello Shot Girl also regularly attends Drink N' Draw on Wednesday nights. "It helps keep my juices flowing," she says. "It's also wonderful when I'm not in a creative place, as I feel like it helps keep me in check."

See Jello Shot Girl in action (and sample some of her delicious shots) this  Saturday, July 23 at the Bushwick Block Party and at 3rd Ward's monthly Wind-up on July 28! And like her on Facebook to stay up to date on her future events.

MEMBER PROFILE // Johnny Sandaire Complements Technical Research with Vibrant Photography

3rd Ward member Johnny Sandaire daylights as a Technical Researcher for Hewlett-Packard, where he develops applications for data mining. "I also manage large technical projects, dealing with encryption and intellectual property protection. My research involves the implementation of Fuzzy Logic to enhance Likert Scale data analysis."

In his spare time, though, he uses 3rd Ward's studios to shoot vivid and creative photography. Investigating light and shadows in his work, he's produced some amazing portraits. "I am looking for Body Art in all its aspects that I can photograph with my experimental lighting techniques," he says.

Sandaire also recently published a book featuring 111 photos that he took in his native Haiti prior to the recent earthquake. He's also captured images in places like Bulgaria and Poland.

Sandaire's work shows that, even if you have a full-time job doing something completely different, there's always room to innovate. 

Check out more of Sandaire's photography after the jump.

MEMBER PROFILE // Ellen Espelund, 3rd Ward's Transatlantic Member

Ellen Espelund3rd Ward attracts all sorts of amazing folks, but it's somethin' else when a member signs up from across the Atlantic.

That's what Ellen Espelund did, becoming a 3rd Ward member while living 3,640 miles in Lillehammer, Norway. Knowing that she would need a place to work during future stays in New York, Espelund joined without ever having seen our space. "When you come from abroad it’s good to find the right artistic environment where you can feel at home in a way, so you can concentrate on your projects, because New York is such a big city," she says. "I simply felt 3rd Ward was the right place for me."

Espelund is a fine artist working with photography, painting and poetry. "My paintings are usually mixed media, the newest containing gold, silver and bronze," she says. "My photographs are built up in a special way regarding lighting and more. I'm inspired by how photographers worked in a time gone by."

Espelund visited 3rd Ward for the first time to take part in our Member Show and had a blast (check out more about her visit on Norway.org). " I had long planned to go to New York and do some projects, but suddenly I was there to exhibit," she says. "As with many artists, I’m more shy than people are aware of because I can seem outgoing, and it was an enormous amount of new people at once, but they were all so welcoming and nice, so it went fine. I loved it!"

Right now Espelund is working on multiple things. "One of these projects, the one I’m working most intensely on right now, is about death, but not in the way most people would associate when they hear that word," she says. "Like in my other projects this one is also connected to the authenticity in how we live our lives, and the way we dare or not to go our own way, to realize our dreams. It's connected to the joy of living."

Check out some examples of Espelund's work after the jump and look for way more from her in the future. "There might be some cool happenings later this year if things go according to plan," she says. "If not, look out for 2012..."

"I dreamed a dream"

"I want my freedom"

"Life...LOVE...Dreams" (detail)