danielincandela.com

….could you read us a bedtime story?
Please, huh, please?
Alright, you kids get to bed, I’ll get the storybook
Y’all tucked in? Yeah, here we go

- Slick Rick, from Children’s Story

Want to hear a story? It’s about a man (me), that get’s a creative idea (this) and all his dreams come true (pic below).

A proud Roomba owner

On a whim and for fun, I wrote to iRobot the company, declaring my love of the Roomba. Unexpectedly, not only did they love my post, but they also sent me one. As a massive THANK YOU and follow up to this very kid & fairy tale-esque story, here is me on camera.

Awkward, lacking personality, monotone and very me, it comes straight from the heart. It’s a miracle I come off even displaying any life and for that, we should all thank Dan Dark for his shooting, editing and miraculous skills.

Do yourself a favor. Buy a Roomba. And like them on Facebook. They’re a company that not only produces an incredible product, but they get the power of the digital social community.

Filed under: Robots, Video by Daniel
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I’ve become that person, or reached that age where I find writing about luggage creatively rewarding. Judge me if you wish, I understand. Like a handkerchief, a cane, a well crafted flask, money clip, pocket watch or monocle – luggage is something I’ve come to admire and value as my hair turns grayer and my perspective on life changes. It’s time I owned some quality luggage.

Back in October of last year, I wrote about luggage, but with a little too much swagger in my opinion. It focused on an old fashioned throw down between Rimowa and Tumi, two high end luggage companies. It was an offer for me to demo, test drive and travel with their brand – providing honest feedback via this site. Neither bit. And I moved on, not convinced I had found my next luggage maker.

In December I found myself in New York City for work, and as luck would have it, staying just blocks from the Muji store.  I have a strong infatuation with everything Japan – food, vending machines, robots, culture, the country, soap balls, the people, technology, and fashion. Muji is the manifestation of all this, and as a result, I spent a lot of time and money in their store. During this in-store experience, I caught a glimpse of their luggage. Boring story, I know. But it sets the tone, or more specifically, foreshadowing.

Fast forward a couple of months, and I’m at my laptop searching for Muji luggage and after a while, Japanese luggage. It didn’t take long to stumble upon Hideo Wakamatsu.

The Muscular 28" in Silver

This is man of many layers and talents. He not only studied art,  but also literature. And it wasn’t just Japanese, but also French. He spent a decade working in Europe, earning his design stripes – then brought this all back to Tokyo. Imagine that design aesthetic – Paris combined with Tokyo. I love it.

Mr. Wakamatsu is an artist, a scholar, an Asian and European creative, and most importantly out of all this, a brilliant designer.

His work is primarily Japanese in design, but you’ll notice elements of Parisian subtleties. Some of it’s a detailed focus on modernism, some of it’s unexpected, some of it’s quirky and some of it’s just simply, perfectly French and Japanese. Browse his entire body of work and you’ll see – it’s all evident from the his luggage, to briefcases, to backpacks, and even wallets.

His work isn’t mass produced because he plays a part in the process. It’s a finished product with a story and a real designer behind it. It’s got a soul, a personality of sorts. It has French confidence with Japanese coolness. That’s where it becomes a connection to me. It’s different from all other luggage brands.

Now I can finally say, I’ve found my future luggage. Phew.

Now I wonder if Mr. Hideo Wakamatsu will be on one of my flights? That’s actually one person I’d like to talk to while flying.

Filed under: Japan, Travel by Daniel
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In 1997, I walked into a painting class in Cavanaugh Hall on IUPUI’s campus. I took my seat and looked to my right. I met Dan Wonderly.

First of all, his last name is Wonderly. Not Superbly, or Greatly or Ironically. Wonderly – possibly the greatest surname in the history of our species.

Me and Wonderly in Times Square

Dan and I connected instantly – films, creativity, photography, humor, thrift store clothes, robots, surrealism, odd haircuts and great conversation. We collaborated on lots of things together. We worked like comrades in arms on an exhibition for Indy’s 1st Jazz Fest. He was the recipient of my first ever sculpture. He photographed my wedding. And along the way, despite not being a follower, I have landed in Dan’s many worlds in some form, including Portland, Oregon, Santa Barbara, CA and New York City.

Dan is a wonderful friend that not only taught me how to bush dive, but showed me that leading a creative life is okay. He has embraced creativity fully, allowing the path to unfold as he experiments, innovates and takes the leap that comes with creative expression. In that regard, I have always looked up to him.

As I got older, I looked to Dan’s world for inspiration. Without knowing it, Dan has shown me a creative path. I’m incredibly thankful for that.

He is prolific. He is ever changing. He is a caterpillar that became a butterfly that became a sauropod that became a robot. That might be jibberish to you, but Dan speaks this language. His work speaks this language too – paintings, photography, video, sculpture, drawing and in his thought. Besides being an artist, he’s also a philosopher.

Mr. Dan Wonderly

He paints. He writes. And he shoots. I urge you to explore. He’s been an explorer his entire life.

I’m forever thankful I took a painting class. Everyone needs a Wonderly in their life.

Get to know this Biscuithead a little more – some of my questions and his answers below. ENJOY!

BTW, you can read more in this Series, here.

May I present to you, Dan Wonderly.

What drives you?
I’m driven by a slightly hyper-active, imagination.  It’s just always been that way.  Somewhat of a running dialogue of thought (not always that intelligent) streaming in combination with normal conversation and visual interpretation.  Kind of like having a moving filmstrip in a type of overlay-heads-up-display…

Window or aisle seat?
I would say 75% window.  Unfortunately, I’ve started to feel trapped by the window seat recently.  I love my clouds though, so the window seat always draws me back in.  I also have a fascination with aerial/overhead patterns and how they relate to macro photography.  So it’s always fascinating to be so high above and imagine how a system of fields or rivers looks fairly similar to sidewalk cracks, and gutter streams from an alternate, close-up vantage.  I think if there was a window seat that had an attachment to a high end digital-capture back/camera I would leave the aisle seat in the dust.

What has the internet done for you?
The internet has made me think long and hard about the branding/marketing/publicity strategies of my past, present, and future work.  I’ve designed, built and deleted about 10 websites that have ranged from visual diarrhea to very sparse image based interaction.  It was necessary to go through that breadth of basic design to narrow down my focus.  Mainly for me, it boiled down to personal, professional, and then random.  I have about 4 different URLs that encompass those themes.  So, in a way the internet has made me think about my career/work trajectory more than anything  else.  I try and do the google search about once a month to see how my buck-shot approach to threading my name and art is working.  So far it is pretty interesting and the immediate interactive quality of the “web” never ceases to amaze me.

Are you an artist? Why, why not? What are you?
Yes.  It’s always been in the cards, and I’ve fought it for a long time.  In fighting it, I think I became more of the stereo-typical artist that I hated.  The whole tortured part is actually real and rather narcissistic.  All that aside, at 33, it’s what I do and will always do.  Create images and objects because it is more out of function and daily habit rather than a forced effort.  I’ve just really not had any choice-which is good and bad, but coming to grips with this has been pretty liberating.  Art can be really therapeutic and it can also be really silly and selfish.  I try and keep it silly in my mind

What influences your work?
Open spaces with clouds-thanks to Indiana.  Alternate Dimensions.  Science Fiction.  Machines and our relationship as a race with them.  The calculated random quality of chaos. Macro/Aerial photography.  My daily environments…NYC has had an interesting affect on my sense of space over the last five years.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow – where and why?
Giant’s Causeway.   It’s in Ireland and it is named, “The Giant’s Causeway”  I’m pretty sure that I belong somewhere in those highlands between N. Ireland and Scotland.

Robots. Go.
Let’s just say one of the first memorable drawings I made was probably in Kindergarten.  It was a profile of a motorcycle with a front fork and wheel, and then a rider, but instead of a rear assembly to the bike, the rider had four legs and was this weird minotaur man-motorcycle.  So, I’m a big fan of robots and cybernetics in general.  From personal mythologies that I’ve been developing for years and even more out of escapism, I love the mechanical and efficient quality of robots.  Friends will refer to me as Danbot-partly out of dancing styles and partly because my voice and expression are sometimes rather robotic.  I’m screaming with emotion and vigor on the inside, but it just never registers in a physical, outward way.  I just attribute that to years of admiring robots. 

How do you make it living in the Big Apple?
In 2003 I took out an expensive gamble on myself and went back to school.  That has afforded me entrance into a world where I get to work in the commercial-photo industry.  In a given week I’ll retouch, assist, shoot, video-edit, web-design/maintain, archive, or tech-support for myself or other clients and photographers.  Most of the last 5 years has been working for other people and making a living in more of a secondary position.  It is slowly transitioning into a more primary role, where my work is from projects that I create and finish for a client.  That is the goal with the freelance dance.  It has been a rough and challenging road, but I can say that I’m working in a creative field and am setting the future up for continuing that work in the years to come.  That was the idea in the long gamble of going back to school and student loans.  As far as living in the Big Apple-it is a literal grind.  I can say that I’ve never dreamt-and remembered-as vividly and crazily as I have since living in NYC.  It’s a fairly good companion to my overactive imagination.

Choose (3) people, dead or alive, to eat dinner with.
Nina Simone, Clint Eastwood, Egon Schiele

Describe your creative process.
It can be extreme in terms of pace.  I’ll either process information, contemplate, gestate, and then execute a project over a period of years or speed that process up into a couple of months.  Much of that depends on deadlines, or upcoming shows.  It is a great work-lesson in how setting completion dates can greatly effect one’s process.  I tend to procrastinate, but can also turn out high quality and volume in tight time allowances.  Not the greatest motivator, but sometimes that push will open my creative flow into the “zone.”  When I’m in the zone it is fairly fluid and it marries into the whole explanation of natural vs. forced art or creation.  When you don’t have to think too hard about what is happening on canvas or screen or in the darkroom, then you know it is good.  Also, usually when projects or ideas scare the shit out of me, I usually know it will be a beautiful end result.  The trick is to just keep barreling into that fear.  It can be crushing if I let it.  I think in the end you have to have vision as well.  There are decade-benchmarks I want to hit into my 60′s or 70′s if I’m still around.  Knowing that this one project or moment isn’t the end of the entire body of my  work definitely helps my process.

Filed under: May I present to you by Daniel
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Although I no longer work in racing, I still think of it often. And I have plans to remain involved in some way – more on that another time.

It doesn’t mean I’m going to become a racing blogger (I prefer to keep my racing opinions to myself)- and besides, there’s already a good group of bloggers covering that spectrum for all of us.

What do I know? I know style, gadgets, fashion, and cool stuff. So that’s what you get from me today (and possibly subsequent posts).

Whether you’re a driver, mechanic, photographer, blogger or dedicated race fan – you’ll find the following items, ideal additions to your racing season.

Add a little style into your life, while giving a nod to the sport you love.

First up – I’m going with an easy win. And it involves Steve McQueen. Grab a pair of these Persol Steve McQueen Special Edition sunglasses. They may cost you around $250.00, but how cool will you look walking around the Milwaukee Mile? Answer: exceedingly.

Steve McQueen™ Special Edition Collection

After you’ve eaten 6 brats and arrived home from the Milwaukee Mile, you’re probably going to want to sit on the couch and relax. If you’re tired of watching Driven over and over (I know I am), go ahead and treat yourself to Senna on Blu-ray. I’m a big fan of this film, despite no interviews with Gerhard Berger. Regardless, sit in your man cave and watch Senna drive the sh*t out of these machines.

I am in love with these Autodromo watches at the moment. They’re a bargain at $425 and combine a vintage race feel with a classic, contemporary look. Buy one and you’ll feel like Sir Stirling Moss or Juan Manuel Fangio. You will, trust me.

Beautiful watches from Autodromo

A comfy IMS t-shirt

May is just around the corner and you’ll need a hip racing related t-shirt. This might be the most comfortable t-shirt I’ve ever worn (aside from anything produced by RobotoWear). So grab this from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gift shop or online, for just $28. When you call in ‘sick’ on carb day, this shirt will make you feel better. Maybe you can get ZZ Top to sign it, too. Seriously, buy it.

This is slightly old news, but still decently cool. If you’re like me when you travel, you get lost constantly. I’ve learned to drive with an iPad in my lap using Google Maps and invariably missing exits, turns or a donut shop. If you like gadgets, driving and not getting lost, invest in a GPS device. Or even better, a TomTom device with voice instructions from Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti or Scott Dixon. Here’s a quote from Franchitti, most likely written by a PR person or intern:

I’m lost without my TomTom, and use it daily whether I’m in the US or back home in Scotland. It’s impressive to see a company like TomTom leveraging their relationship with the race team and doing some real activation by getting all three Target drivers’ voices online for race fans. I hope a lot of people will get a kick out of this.

Who am I to judge? It’s a cool device and brilliant idea, so well done TomTom. Now how do I get a version with Tomas Scheckter giving directions and advice?

Spitfire tie

People don’t wear enough ties. So whether you’re going on a job interview, a date, an awards dinner or prepping for a court appearance, you always need a good tie at your fingertips. What says “I’m an affluent race fan” better than this Spitfire inspired tie from The Goodwood, Festival of Speed online shop? For one, it’s INSPIRED BY A SPITFIRE. That’s enough by itself. But it’s also got strong ties (see what I did there?) to Goodwood – one of racing’s holy lands. And let’s face it, it’s a rather dapper tie – I’m wearing three right now.

I used to want to be Nelson Piquet when I grew up – so I hung up posters and got stickers and so on. Nowadays, technology lets us get even closer. Now you can pretend to be Nelson Piquet, Jr., with this incredibly well (and beautifully) designed SimRacingWorld Steering Wheel. It’s compatible with a slew of video games/platforms, including the incomparable iRacing. Boot up your Commodore 64, don your Piquet Jr. sweatpants and start racing with this geekalicious steering wheel. Oh to be a kid again…

One amazing steering wheel

That’s it for now, but I plan on adding in some more ideas as the race season progresses. Start shopping – it’s not a bad way to spend a $1000.

If you’ve got suggestions or ideas, I’d love to hear them. Zoom Zoom.

Filed under: Motorsports by Daniel
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Two years ago (23 months to be exact) I walked into the main offices of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and into the new media department.

This Friday, I’ll be departing 16th and Georgetown to begin the next step in my career with ExactTarget and their interactive marketing department.

I’m both sad and excited.

I’m proud of the work I accomplished in two years.  I’ve met colleagues that will be friends for years to come. I spent hours on planes. I took hundreds of photos. I was part of some very special events and exceptional digital projects. I saw web analytics sky rocket and dealt with more content than I could ever imagine. I was challenged. I made mistakes. I got stronger. I grew. I learned a great deal about myself. And I got better professionally.

Me and dad

I’m especially proud that I worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while my father was still alive. I know he was proud of me. And it offered me a new opportunity to become more connected to him. What a gift.

There is a lot I’ll miss about IMS. It’s especially difficult to walk away from such a sacred institution. It’s given me something indescribable. It will always be a part of me.

The Pagoda at sunrise

I’m thankful for the unconventional path my career has taken.

I went from an art museum to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And now I’m headed to ExactTarget with a lot of energy, excitement and at least one million ideas.

I’m so thankful for my opportunities.

Here’s to the next adventure.

Filed under: Motorsports by Daniel
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