It can be difficult to balance an association’s desire to make a national impact and its need to recognize and celebrate the efforts of its grassroots membership. We walk this delicate balance with many of our clients—including the National Federation of Independent Business and the Daughters of the American Revolution—and we’re challenged to find creative ways to present local chapter content so that it’s still compelling to a national audience.

Here at Hammock we’re always looking for ways to improve a magazine’s workflow, and we’re keen to use the latest technologies toward that goal. As part of that emphasis, we’ve moved most of our clients to virtual proofing of design and ad pages, an approval process that’s a big improvement over the traditional proof approval process. It’s not only a faster, more convenient and money-saving practice to look at pages on a screen, but the quality of digital proofs has become just as good as that of hard, analog proofs.

Any morning that starts with a delicious brunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, especially when it’s bedecked with lots of bunting and flags and patriotic people, has got to be a good one. Established in 1856, the restaurant was a hangout for Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding and Theodore Roosevelt and is still a fave with D.C. politicos. No celebrity sighting for me here, but just you wait.

Since the restaurant is just on 15th Street, steps from the White House, we took a short walk to join the throngs of people snapping photos right in front of the gates, then ventured down to 17th street on our way to the mall. Since the Daughters of the American Revolution‘s gorgeous Memorial Continental Hall is right along the way–1776 D Street, natch–my friends insisted on snapping a photo of me, fan that I am of the organization. Not two minutes after the photo–as we’re browsing all the vendors selling Obama hats, pins, shirts and all manner of photoshopped paraphernalia–a convoy of SUVs races by. I glance in one of the windows and see President H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, then watch as the swift moving line of cars turns into the secured drive of the White House. I wondered if No. 41 was going to help No. 43 pack?

The rest of the day we spent wandering a few awe-inspiring (even in 18-degree windchill) monuments like the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, catching the chilly little animals at the National Zoo, and enjoying some people-watching and yummy Indian food in the Adams Morgan area.

What’s hard to describe is the palpable feeling that we’re all together at this amazing party. A bunch of “shiny, happy people,” as someone today described. It’s normal to strike up conversations and laugh with perfect strangers. There’s spontaneous dancing and singing breaking out everywhere. People are willing to help each other navigate the stressful reality of a city bursting at the seams. (Tonight we were the last five passengers on a shuttle bus whose driver was going to turn us away … until the onboard passengers squeezed in and sat on laps so that we didn’t have to wait in the cold.)

It’s an early start tomorrow for this non-early bird, and I’ve got some planning to do before I brave tomorrow’s Inauguration Day crowd. It’s a good thing that Rex has done some of the heavy lifting for me here. Hope you stay cozy for the festivities–I’m going to be the dork in front of a JumboTron with hand warmers, 19 layers and hat hair.

P.S. Hope everyone has had a terrific MLK Jr. Day. There have been so many wonderful stories written about what this inauguration means to families across the nation, but I thought today’s Washington Post article about the Caldwell family’s civil rights journey was especially meaningful.

I might be a little insane, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now than here in Washington, D.C., for Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities. Yes, it’s bone cold, terrifically crowded, expensive and a little crazy, but I needed to experience this piece of history in the flesh, not just on CNN. As my new friend (we spent two hours together on the shuttle yesterday) “Fur Coat Lady” says, “I wanted to be a part of the mix.”

My goddaughter and her parents have joined me from the UK for the events. (When I figure out how to load video, I’ll show you their video explaining why they made the long trek.) We’ve succumbed to the rampant consumerism and bought several commemorative items (my dad NEEDS that plate) and even paid $5 to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Obama (capitalism is still alive and well). We also toured the newly renovated American History Museum and saw the Star-Spangled Banner and Dorothy’s ruby slippers. The Smithsonian museums all have extended hours…and clean bathrooms.

The highlight of the day was the “We Are One” inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar, Garth Brooks, James Taylor and John Legend among others. Stevie Wonder did a fun number, and Beyonce did a nice job with “America the Beautiful,” but why Jack Black was a speaker, I have no idea. U2’s rousing “City of Blinding Lights” and Obama’s speech brought the biggest cheers. Ok, so maybe I wasn’t that close and had to see the whole thing on the JumboTron, but there was something electric about being there among the diverse, shivering, hopeful crowd.

If you’re curious, the Metro has been running efficiently so far. The workers have been infinitely patient with all the out-of-towners, helping us buy tickets and steering us the right way. Still, Sunday’s crowd–while mind-boggling–is apparently nothing compared to Tuesday’s test.

So, I’m off to conquer the city for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. President-elect Obama, in his Renew America initiative, is urging everyone to join a service project today. Find an event in your area here.

I survived—and loved every minute of it! (Sometimes I exaggerate, but maybe you can forgive me today.)

Despite the staggering crowds and frostbitten toes and fingers, I feel incredibly lucky that I could be an eyewitness to President Obama’s inauguration, such an amazing day in our nation’s capitol. It won’t be long before I’ve completely forgotten the travel hiccups and stressful moments when walls of people pushed against barricades; instead, I know I’ll more likely remember my mental slideshow of streets and ledges and walls and grass packed with excited, expectant faces.

Because of the numbers expected, media were cautioning that we should probably choose between watching the inauguration or the parade. We decided to head to the official inauguration festivities, hoping that an early start would at least get us in a decent view of the Capitol. We didn’t have tickets to the reserved sections, but we did make it as close as we could, snapped a few pictures, then turned back to camp out at a space on the mall near the Museum of American History. As the time ticked down to the oath of office and Obama’s speech, personal space went out the window and we all got a bit more neighborly. I’ve lived in NYC, but I’ve never seen that many people in such a concentrated space. (New Year’s Eve in Times Square is the only thing I’ve ever witnessed that might be comparable, and that’s only several hundred thousand people.) But no one seemed to mind the lack of elbow room as we waved our flags (provided by the cute lil’ Boy Scouts) and laughed and huddled and chanted and cheered.

Since my invitation to the ball was apparently lost in the mail, I’m headed for an early light’s out. This entire journey has been an amazing, festive party, but I—and all of us, so says our new president—have a lot of work to do!

In just a few days, we’ll celebrate Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration, an event that has always ushered in new leadership with great pomp and circumstance. We thought it fitting that American Spirit‘s January/February cover story chart the history of this event that is one part solemn occasion and one part big, festive party.
It’s interesting to note that President-elect Obama will be sworn in on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used. This issue also celebrates Honest Abe’s upcoming 200th birthday as we check in on the numerous historic sites planning commemorative events and look back on his legacy as a leader.
Furniture lovers–and wannabe craftsmen–will also enjoy this issue’s story on crafting a Colonial-era Windsor chair. Our very own Rex Hammock spent more than 60 hours building one during his week at the John C. Campbell Folk School in southwest North Carolina. Although the experience didn’t make for the most relaxing vacation, the process of creating something beautiful from raw wood proved to be an inspiring journey. Take a look at Rex’s full story, or view a slide show and some video of him building the chair.

On New Year’s Eve I crawled around an elaborate tunnel system, climbed through dark caves, barreled down a 7-story slide, dangled from 4-feet-wide wrought-iron slinkies and generally acted like a kid in a candy store. All this excitement came courtesy of St. Louis’ City Museum, a historic shoe factory turned bizarre and very fun playground. The creative folks at the museum have used random, found objects from all around the city to construct their own version of a funhouse. Stainless steel bread pans become wall decor, salvaged tile becomes a walkway, rebar linking abandoned planes become monkey bars, a fire engine and trolley car turn into super-secret hiding places. My knees are bruised up, I have a cut on my nose and a bump on my noggin, but neither I nor my friends wanted to leave this crazy place, where adults are actually encouraged to act like kids. Seriously, Charles, the friendly guy who kept everyone from knocking their heads on the umpteen slides, told us we were supposed to be laughing a lot and acting a little wired and demented and childish. So we obeyed.

It was the City Museum that inspired this year’s work resolution: SpArK My CrEaTiviTY. Like many of us, I have a tendency to get caught up in most pressing demands of my day and get sucked out of a creative mindset. This not only makes me grouchy, but a work mentality that stays head-down and inwardly focused detracts from newer, better, bolder ideas.

How will I add more creativity to my work life? For starters, I’m going to turn off my e-mail for extended periods to devote more time to writing. I’m going to research a little less predictably. I’m going to talk to my freelance writers on the phone more frequently. I’m going to take actual lunch breaks. In my out-of-work life, I’m going to devote more time to reading fiction, something I’ve always loved to do but which has taken a backseat as of late. I’m going to explore taking piano lessons again. I’m going to say yes to many different kinds of cultural events, especially the mind-bending ones. In short, I’m going to be more of an explorer and reflector so that creativity becomes more a part of my daily life, not something that I have to concentrate on and wish for at crunch times. And I’m open to other ideas if you have them!

P.S. Don’t you love these vague and unmeasurable kinds of resolutions? I can definitely see myself succeeding with this one.

As we prepare for the busy holiday season, many of you are probably compiling your annual greeting card list. Sending out handmade cards would be ideal, but the thought of actually making one might be intimidating. American Spirit‘s November/December issue makes the process a lot more manageable (and fun) with a how-to story from our own crafter-in-residence Summer Huggins. In the following step-by-step video, Summer offers quick and easy tips for making your own holiday cards to share with family and friends this year.

And in honor of Veterans Day, the issue expands the regular Today’s Daughters department to salute four special members of the Daughters of the American Revolution who contributed to the WWII cause: Doris Alberts, Evelyn Parker Clark, Florrideen Wakenight Lyle and Katharine Phillips Singer. Thanks to them and to all veterans who made sacrifices for our freedom.

Hammock is proud to be playing a role in the world’s largest quilting event, the International Quilt Festival, going on today and this weekend in Houston. More than 30,000 attendees to the prestigious festival will be receiving a copy of the September/October issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution. The issue features a preview of the DAR Museum‘s festival exhibit, “DAR Presents: Quilts of a Young Country.”
In addition to the cover story of the issue celebrating quilt art and spotlighting the 20 DAR quilts on display at the festival, Hammock also designed several ads for The Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution (TSDAR) to run in the festival’s program.
“I’m excited because the DAR quilt exhibit promotes the preservation of a part of our American heritage that is very connected to our families and is connected generationally,” says Jill Brooks, exhibit co-chair for the TSDAR. “Perhaps because it’s tactile, there seems to be something special about quilting and the fact that it’s passed down through generations. There’s a comfort factor involved.”
Congrats to the TSDAR for its part in a “show that even Hurricane Ike couldn’t stop!” Here’s to a great festival!

Many of us at Hammock are amateur film buffs, and our staff meetings often end with a thumbs up/thumbs down of the weekend’s top movies. At the risk of nominating myself for the ultimate film geek award, I have to admit that, for the past two or three years, I have been on a pursuit to watch all the movies in the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. Now, I realize that all lists are arbitrary and subjective, but I figured the AFI list was probably better than most, as it was voted on by an army of film experts. I was this close to finishing when, last year, AFI did the unthinkable: They REVISED the list.

After calming down my Taxi Driver-like rage, I started comparing the lists (bemoaning the exclusion of epics like “Doctor Zhivago”) and added the new films to my queue. A few nights ago, I viewed the final movie on my list, “Sunrise,” a 1927 silent film by F.W. Murnau, that tells a beautiful story of forgiveness and redemption.

As a result of my self-imposed cinema class, I’ve created somewhat of a monster. I continue to add new films to my watch list and annoy friends as I pontificate on the finest work of Orson Welles, John Huston and Billy Wilder. If you don’t have time for your own reel-to-reel movie festival (i.e. have more of a life), take a look at a few of the AFI films by genre that earned my critical nod—and beware of a few I wouldn’t rewind:

Western: Most unexpectedly complicated: My dad loves Westerns (he watched double features every Saturday growing up), but I’d rarely agree to watch with him, assuming all were too predictable and cookie-cutter for my taste. But after connecting with Gary Cooper in “High Noon” (1952), Humphrey Bogart in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) and John Wayne in “The Searchers” (1956), it’s possible that I’m a new convert to the genre. And who doesn’t enjoy the ironic humor and undeniable charisma of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”?

War: Most surprisingly touching: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a WWI film from 1930, still has relevance in its depiction of the horrors of war (though it fell out of the list in the revised version). It was just as moving to me as 1978’s “The Deer Hunter,” another devastating look at the sacrifices that war demands. And I’m not sure if this fits in the genre since there are no scenes on a battlefield, but I cried like a baby at 1946’s “The Best Years of Our Lives”—a story of three WWII veterans adjusting to very different lives when they return home.

Epic: Most disappointing: For all the films that connected with me, there were many that I just couldn’t recommend, even if I knew I was supposed to like them. David Lean’s 1962 “Lawrence of Arabia” is famous for its lovely cinematography, and the iconic desert scene is definitely a stunner, but it often bored me. Blasphemous, I know.

Probably the worst thing about AFI updating its list is that it forced me to watch two movies by D.W. Griffith. After suffering through three-plus hours of the 1915 “Birth of a Nation,” the AFI gurus of 2007 then said, no, his 1916 “Intolerance” is the superior masterpiece of the silent film era. Another three hours I will never get back.

Though not an epic, the Marx Brothers’ 1933 movie, “Duck Soup,” was just as difficult of a slog. It’s safe to say that the humor of Chico, Harpo, Groucho and Zeppo is lost on me. I did, however, get the unintentional humor of the interminably long “Spartacus” (1960), but I doubt my laughter at the famous “I am Spartacus” scene is the takeaway Stanley Kubrick had in mind.

Romance: Most joyful: I was completely charmed by the 1934 Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert romantic comedy “It Happened One Night.” Its elements—the meet-cute device, the fiery chemistry between the stars and screwball humor—are mimicked in a lot of romantic comedies today, but it did it first and best. All others should bow before this delightful movie’s throne.

This genre is all about the right mix of chemistry: I wasn’t expecting Katharine Hepburn and Bogart to give off quite as much spark as they do in the fun 1951 adventure “The African Queen.” The clever ways that director John Huston shows their affection growing is sweet to watch.

And I better understood Charlie Chaplin’s charm after the bittersweet romance “City Lights” (1931), a story of the Little Tramp’s love for a blind flower girl. You’d have to be made of stone not to tear up at the final scene.

Thriller: Most deliciously creepy: I’ve long been a Hitchcock fan, but I found new things to appreciate in re-watching “Vertigo” (1958), “Psycho” (1960), “North by Northwest” (1959) and “Rear Window” (1954).

The 1950 psychological drama “All About Eve” features a fun twist; the turn Anne Baxter makes from innocent to manipulator, one-upping the great Bette Davis, is chilling to watch.

And I loved the distinctive styles exhibited by Kubrick in the satiric “Dr. Strangelove” (1964) and by Arthur Penn in the taboo-breaking “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967).

That’s (Almost) a Wrap: Finally, here are the AFI films that made it into my top 10:

1. “Casablanca” (1942)—The beautiful cinematography, the unforgettable characters, the spot-on acting, the can’t-it-be-different ending, the memorable dialogue: Not sure what could knock this out of my all-time No. 1 spot.
2. “Citizen Kane” (1941)—You know how some movies get so hyped there’s no way you could ever appreciate them? Orson Welles’ mysterious, spooky, flawlessly constructed masterpiece is not one of them.

3. “The Graduate” (1967)—Benjamin Braddock perfectly embodies the disillusionment of youth. It’s made me a life-long Dustin Hoffman fan, and 1982’s “Tootsie” is another gem. (We’ll forget about the Ishtars.)
4. “On the Waterfront” (1954)—I loved Marlon Brando’s “coulda been a contender” scene, a touching illustration of longing and regret, and it made me better appreciate the actor’s status as the greatest actor of his generation.

5. “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)—Has there ever been a more heroic character than Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch?
6. “Chinatown” (1974)—The film’s eerie tension and shocking violence bowled me over. Faye Dunaway is amazing in her freakout scene, and Jack Nicolson’s gritty detective made for just the right anchor for this cool, creepy film noir.
7. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)— Jimmy Stewart has never been more appealing than in this Frank Capra classic. (I won’t even try to count how many times I’ve seen it.)
8. “Vertigo” (1958) or “Psycho” (1960)—Don’t make me choose!
9. “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946)—In the taxicab scene with the three war heroes, watch how well the actors play their characters’ ambivalence about returning home.

10. “It Happened One Night” (1934)—Wonder who wins in the Clark vs. Colbert hitchhiking contest?