Defined Enterprises redefines the creative workspace.

Posted on by Thor

On January 13th I went to meet Brill Adium at Defined Enterprises Gallery. Brill had contacted me on Facebook. He said he like my work and he wanted me to see a new gallery-creative hub that he is planning to open on February 21st. Defined is located in a business park right next to I-4. A Cracker Barrel is right next door. As I approached the entry, I noticed that all the windows were blacked out. “How could a gallery survive this far north of Downtown Orlando?” I thought. I tried the door and it was locked. Maybe Brill hadn’t arrived yet. I was maybe 10 minutes early. As I was pulling out my phone to text, the front door opened and Brill welcomed me.

The second I walked in, I felt excited about the place. The space is in the final stages of a build out. Brill gave me a tour of the place. The walls were a cheerful bright yellow.  A bar was halfway constructed with bright pink counter tops. Red
shelving looked a bit like a skull. Wire fencing separated an elevated
platform with 60’s styled red lounge chairs and comfy couches. TV monitors were stacked
vertically in a row. A huge mural by Dolla Short featured a hip hop singer and a twitter bird decorated the room. A mural by Dolla on the outside wall of Will’s Pub, has created a bit of a stir. The mural depicts a drunk satyr farting a green venomous cloud along with a black skull. Some neighbors complained to code enforcement claiming it was crude and offensive. The city in response has created a Public Art Advisory Board that will “curate” or rather censor murals. As works of art murals are covered by first amendments freedom of speech. To get around this, the city plans to label all murals as signs which can be controlled by city ordinances.

The fact that Dolla’s mural dominates the front room gives a taste of the mission of Defined Enterprises. As Honey Park said, “People will tell you DON’T, and we recommend that you DO”. Defined Enterprises wants to make YOUR ideas come to life! They
are one of Central Florida’s top creative production teams. Established
in late 2012 they have grown from just a “one man show”of independent
videography to a full functioning multi-media design company. Defined
Enterprises takes pride in its creative processes and final products
with more than exceptional visuals. Their experience exceeds 5 plus years,
and their work speaks for itself. No job is ever too small or too big!
With a creative and innovate staff, they can assure you that
each and every project will be executed to your liking.

Smaller rooms will become editing bays and sound studios.  The back room houses a large seamless photo stage which might become a green room. The men’s and women’s rooms had old colorized photos to mark the doors. Brill’s enthusiasm for the space is contagious. The place has an exciting creative vibe. It reminds me of Miami’s Wynwood District which welcomes international muralists to showcase their work. While Orlando tries to control and censor creativity, this place offers a vibrant creative outlet. On First Fridays, the studio will be open for adults to do their creative work. On second Fridays, kids aged 10-17 will be able to use the studio space. There are many plans in the works to make Defined a creative hub.

Mark your calendars. Defined Enterprises (279 Douglas Ave, Simon Medical Center Plaza, suite 1106 Altamonte Springs FL) will have its Grand Opening on February 21st 8pm to 11pm.

A Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving

Posted on by Thor

For Thanksgiving, Terry and I drove to Port Charlotte to visit my sister Pat Boehme. Pat has been on a diet and ultimately lost an incredible amount of weight. I had to take a health assessment for my insurance company and the results came back with big red X’s for each result right before the holidays. My body mass index showed that I am overweight. I need to reduce my waist circumference by two inches. My blood pressure showed that I am prehypertensive which puts me at risk for a heart attack or a stroke. Oddly my total cholesterol is too low, indicating I am malnourished or anemic. Put simply I am a  train wreck waiting to happen.

I asked my sister for advice on how I should change my diet and she gave me tons of pointers. She had a medical condition that actually kept her from exercising, so all the weight she lost was from carefully watching her calorie intake. The rules are pretty simple, less sugar and no breads with tons of vegetables.  Right now however the house is full of leftover food from a New Year’s Day party. That means we have tons of beers, sodas, potato chips, pastries and other assorted junk food. Dieting will have to wait until the fridge is purged.

Rather than cook a large Thanksgiving dinner, we all decided to go out to Cracker Barrel on Thanksgiving day. It is amazing how many people had the same ides. The parking lot was jammed and there was a long wait to get a table. The long front porch of the restaurant is lined with rocking chairs and most were full. Towards the end of the porch, we sat across from these teens sitting in baby sized rocking chairs playing a game of checkers. When we ultimately got to our table, Terry and I took turns playing with a game that was like checkers using golf tees inserted into holes drilled into a triangle shaped piece of wood. With only one tee missing the goal was to try and eliminate all but one tee by jumping over other tees thus eliminating them. I’m convinced the game is impossible to win. Terry and I always had three or more tees left over.

The Thanksgiving dinner had all the fixings and was quite delicious. I had to admire the efficiency with which all the comfort food was served. Pat ordered a light fish dish, keeping to her diet.  I wish I had the ability to turn away from the trimmings. No more stuffing!