Life has taken a very interesting turn for us, and it’s been brought to our attention that we haven’t done much to share it. This doesn’t tell you anything, I know, but I promise that our next step will be a post with some news about what’s going on in our world. Lots and lots and lots has changed. We’re really in a new place (literally and figuratively), doing some surprising things that I’m still pinching myself wondering if I’m dreaming. One weekend, very soon, Andy and I will discuss things in the company of some tasty apricot wheat beer and draft the story of what’s gone down in Dark Oak’s very recent history.

What is relationship marketing?

I could be here all day coming up with different ideas on the subject. Making use of visuals and writing that personally appeal to a specific demographic; using individuals, symbols, and colors that represent a segment of a certain culture; crafting messages that reach an intended audience to encourage long term, positive relationships between brands and customers. These are just a few elements that I think should go into any marketing and/or design project. Obviously, there are many others.

Andy has demonstrated some of these very components in his work with Boston-based MacTribe Magazine, where he’s doing more than just building its layout in print; he’s building relationship marketing. His involvement has been an ongoing venture for quite some time now. From his days in Cambridge, he has maintained a relationship with the owner and writers throughout his travels. For whatever reason, these pieces really stood out to me as excellent relationship marketing pieces. They speak to a young, artistic, musically oriented group, and they make use of actual people. Really, I just wanted to share this as an example of the design work Andy has done for MacTribe, and I can assure you there will be more featured once the magazine goes live. The shots I chose show some sketches he did for promoting a feature in the magazine. As I mentioned, it uses actual musicians for the piece to depict garage and indie bands who use MySpace.com as a virtual demo for their audiences, rapidly taking place of the age old “demo tape.” The article is sure to be as interesting as the design scheme. Stay tuned for more on MacTribe.

Not to brag or anything (okay, maybe just a little), but one of our clients is officially the best indie band in Pittsburgh! That’s right, Cellofourte progressed to, AND WON, the final round of competition for the Emergenza Festival “Battle of the Bands!” Tate Olsen said of the show, “[It was] quite possibly the coolest and most unforgettable show that I have ever played with Cellofourte. We had a great sounding room, a huge crowd of fans, some brand new material, and a whole lot of energy.”

Despite his bow breaking onstage, the win was all theirs for the taking. The next step of competition will take our masterful friends to Columbus, Ohio. We wish them all the best and are so happy to be able to help them share their talent with the world!

We just went live with Cellofourte’s new site. Head on over to check it out at www.cellofourte.net to see how awesome they are - and to check out the type of work we can do for bands.

It was great to meet this talented group, and we avidly became fans within minutes of hearing their CD, Usung. Since then, we’ve seen them live, and will for sure do so again on June 2nd. Do yourself a favor, and listen to the clips on their site - it’s some amazing stuff.

We made the switch! Since D.O. is now going to be building sites in Wordpress we thought it was high time to switch over our site too. We’re pretty excited about what this now enables us to offer our clients.

Not only will you be able to make updates to your own site instantly and from anywhere but you’ll also have the peace of mind knowing that you’re site will be built to the latest standards in web design. This makes it easily upgradeable so you won’t have to worry about what the future brings! You’re already ready already! On top of that you’ll still get the same Dark Oak specialization we’ve always offered; custom site design, marketing development, branding ideas… You get the idea. (And if not, get in touch with us, we can help you.) And since Wordpress is open source it means that if you ever lose our number, (Gasp! -Breath deep and slowly) you’ll have no problems with someone else picking up were we left off.

See, we’re looking out for you because that’s how we roll. *Insert Dark-Oak-hand-gesture-gang-sign here.* (Now if only I had a grip of cheddar to be flossin’.)

What a weekend! Atop hanging out in the studio with friends, Andy and I got a chance to meet up with our new clients, Tate Olsen and Nicole Myers, two of the amazingly talented celloists from Pittsburgh’s string foursome, Cellofourte. Tate gracisously gave us their latest CD, which has proven to be nothing short of electrifying. Their music blurs the line between classical music and rock, so don’t be fooled into pinning them down in any certain genre. They are, in a sense, music’s version of IMC, as they masterfully blend elements of differing muscial classifications to produce cohesively unique sounds.

Clearly, we’re excited about this. Especially after hearing the album, Unsung. Dark Oak Studios will be building their online presence, and making Unsung available for purchase online. We encourage you to treat yourself to the sounds of Cellofourte by going to an upcoming show in February (we’ll be checking them out on the 23rd at Club Cafe), or getting a sample of their unique sound. For information and sounds, visit them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/cellofourte… and don’t forget, we’re in the process of building the Cellofourte online experience, where you’ll also have access to their music for previewing and purchasing. Stay tuned for details. For now, trust in the fact that Cellofourte has the Dark Oak leaf of approval!

iPod, meet phone. Love at first site, no doubt. This latest introduction of sexy just happened. Andy’s involvement with MacTribe Magazine of Boston gave us this piece of Mac insider hottness today. The magazine’s owner, who is currently out in San Francisco attending MacWorld 2007, was IMing Andy as Steve Jobs announced the launch of the long awaited hybrid iPhone. It appears to be nothing short of awesome, as it also serves as a mean for accessing the Internet on the go, and pretty much a basic accessory for life, so it seems. Super hot — too bad for being stuck in contract for another year. Talk about marketing power. These dudes have got it down. Check out apple.com to be amazed.

Whether it’s truly “acorny” one is for you to decide. No matter what, we’ll keep you afresh on what’s going on in the fantastical world of Dark Oak Studios.What’s new in the Dark Oak neighborhood, you may wonder? A lot, actually. We’re in the midst of working with Pittsburgh musician, Jack Knight, on his mission to raise money for cancer research. With the “Mission for Remission,” as we’ve named it on Jack’s “in development” site, he is using the Web to sell everyday products for 100% of profits to be donated. It’s a great cause that Jack has personally dedicated himself to, so if you have any shopping to do, visit his site often to see the final version!