Last week we gave you a teaser of CawfeeGuy Knits products at the diner. And Monday Rufus and Chewbacca showed off their hand made CawfeeGuy sweaters.
Today, I am really very excited to present to you some of a branding and product shoot for CawfeeGuy Knits’ Etsy Store. Now, I generally spend my time shooting architecture and interiors photos for clients, so getting up so close and personal was a different and refreshing way for me to look through the lens.
I took on this project because I really have a tremendous love and respect for all things hand made. And as a knitter myself I appreciate the time and painstaking effort that goes into the creation of every hand knit piece.
CawfeeGuy Knits is a solo custom knitting venture started earlier this year by my good friend David. He does some other job by day that doesn’t necessarily fuel his creative side, so it was completely natural he ended up here. David make intricate and beautiful accessories, often using cabling techniques and color-work. And it all started with his Cawfee Cozies, the ones you see above, which are available in his Etsy shop. Not only does he love diners, but he probably owns shares in Starbucks at this point. And instead of those annoying cardboard sleeves, he’s a proponent of a re-usable knit cozy.
Honestly, I didn’t get it. I’ve never used a cardboard sleeve in my meager attempt to save waste, and my hand never suffered a burn as a result. Then one day I saw a cozy he’d made that I had to have. In fact, I demanded it. And as friends of divas often do, he gave in to me and passed along his favorite cozy. Now, I am not a morning person. People don’t even like to talk to me before I’ve had my coffee. Well, this ‘silly’ little knit sleeve puts a big grin on my face every time I use it. Who knew? So now I ‘get it.’
This is an awesome Noro scarf. I’m pretty sure it’s some fancy silk blend.
And this is CawfeeGuy’s scrap scarf, which he hemmed and hawed about, but it turned out a truly fun, soft, stoke of genius and whimsy.
Those are my most favorite fingerless gloves he made me last winter. You cannot have them. Well, maybe you can, but you certainly can’t have mine. I shot this with CawfeeGuy’s Facebook banner in mind. And the shot below may end up in some logo treatment or on a MOO Card. Gosh, I love MOO Cards. I guess any of these photos could go on the back of MOO Cards since you really can choose an unlimited number of images.

Go visit CawfeeGuy Knits and pick up a Cawfee Cozy at Etsy. It may be too warm today for you to be wearing your hand knit fingerless gloves or a fabulous scrap scarf, but you can admire as well as enjoy your coffee while you decide what to commission for the fall.
For this week’s Which One? we are back with the talented design duo at Shelter Interiors LLC. This is a shoot from last year that was published in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens magazine, but for whatever ridiculous reason, never made it on to the blog.
I’m pretty sure I’ve narrowed it down to these 2 options, 1 or the group 2. But I’ve been ‘pretty sure’ before getting some of your prior feedback and I end up more confused! Hearing what you have to say is always exciting for me, so get to it. You know the drill. Let me know in the comments which you prefer, and we are still evaluating these for my in-progress web site revamp.
Here are the previous Sequined Asphault Studio Which One? posts if you are interested in taking a look see back in time.
And if you are just joining us this week, these are all scheduled posts and I may not be able to respond to your comments in a timely fashion, since I am on some fabulous island, jet skiing, swimming with dolphins, and dancing the night away. My apologies. *cough* *cough* Actually, I am way more likely to be floating around a lazy river with a cocktail, but totally glamorous nonetheless. Feel free to bitch about that in the comments too.
In their custom CawfeeGuy Knits sweaters.

TWO PUPPIES!!! In sweaters! Could they be any cuter? Or more nauseating?
My baby, Chewie, looking grumpy, as per usual. Though CawfeeGuy says this is nothing. He gets way grumpier.
And my teeny Nephew Rufie, in a rare moment of serious and still. I think he’s still feeling a tad guilty since moments before this photo he was crapping on the bottom shelf of the tv stand. I still don’t know how he managed that.
They were totally exhausted after this shoot and required treats, incessant petting and an afternoon of napping. The Talent is so demanding.
UPDATE | After CawfeeGuy posted his comment I was reminded of several fun facts about this particular shoot that I totally should have shared. I’m already in vacation mode so apparently I’m forgetting crap right and left. Also, I totally take the boys’ regular comedy routine for granted.
For those of you who don’t know, Rufus is Chewie’s brother and whenever I get to puppy sit for my nephew, we do photo shoots. You can see them here if you search my ‘little guys’ category on the side bar. I’m not linking for you (vacation mode). In order to get Rufus to stand still, because he doesn’t. Ever. I ply him with string cheese. String cheese and poached chicken are pretty much reserved for photo shoots. Rufus is going to be 5 years old this summer so at this point, let’s just say he gets me. Also, for dog shoots, I generally have a helpful and enthusiastic puppy wrangler, Dug.
This day, though, everything was different. I was alone with the boys when I put on their sweaters and groomed them. Then, I set up the equipment in front of the boys so they immediately understood what was coming next. From that point on, Rufus pretty much called the shots. I started with him because Chewie gets tons of camera play. I placed him on the floor by himself on set. He quickly decided he wanted to be standing on the pebble stool where I was going to park myself to shoot. After he hopped on it twice I moved it into frame for him and he posed patiently through about 15 minutes of commands. I discovered that if I made a particular, totally embarrassing sound, I could get him to place his ears exactly the way I wanted them. Eventually Chewie, who had been watching disinterestedly from the couch, decided Rufus was getting too much attention and he hopped from his perch and sauntered into the frame. As for getting the two of them on the ottoman together, well, I just plopped Chewie on top and told them both to deal with themselves. Chewie was pretty much stuck because he does’t like to walk on the uneven ground under his paws. After I checked the shots for focus on the computer I dragged Rufie’s bed over and told him to make love to the camera (while making that super odd noise again). And that’s it. No treats. Not a single one. No begging, pleading, or empty promises of bitches. No divas storming off set. Just 2 consummate professionals modeling.
The calendar and coffee table book are in the works.
Shameless Self-Promotion Friday
AWARDS!!! This week we found out that 4 recent Sequined Asphault Studio client shoots have earned their respective designers the position of finalist in the Connecticut Cottages and Gardens Magazine Innovation in Design Awards! Wow, that was a mouthful. Awesome. The big winners are announced later this month at a fancy schmansy shindig. Fingers crossed.
I’d love to show you the photos here, but you’re just going to have to wait to enjoy your cup of tea and the magazine when the July/August issue hits the stands.
My most favoritest fabulous eatery opened across the street from my home today, and I am practically gagging with excitement! Le Pain Quotidien!! It’s ridiculous, but every time we walked by and I saw progress on the construction I was bouncing up and down. I’ve been told the name means something like ‘the daily bread’, but really it should just mean ‘the most awesome everymeal.’
I just love sitting and relaxing there, surrounded by beautiful, awesome smelling bread. Drinking my laté from a bowl. Ordering perfectly prepared soft boiled eggs with crusty fresh bread. I love the assortments of fruit and nut spreads. I love that they use slits in stale bread to hold their menus. I love that for any meal of the day I can order something totally healthy or totally bad for me and have it feel decadent wither way. We have a brunch place! I love sitting and chatting for hours in a place that feel transcendent of time and place.
Let’s go back to that last one: talking for hours somewhere transcendent of time and place, with coffee of course. See, I’m a Brooklyn girl born and raised. And before I ever swooned at the idea of anything like Le Pain, I logged countless hours and meals and disco fries and cups of coffee at THE DINER.
I love a good diner. And that is one of the many wonderful things I have in common with my great friend and newest client, CawfeeGuy. Another thing we have in common is our love of knitting. Knitting and diners. The inspiration for a quick little photo shoot we did to show off a couple of his custom knit design. This was sort of a test shoot but I like the idea, so hopefully we’ll get in a few more diner sessions as he continues to build his brand.
Just so you know, CawfeeGuy did not promote the placement of the Cawfee Cozy on the sugar, but I think it’s darling and I get artistic license on my own blog. If he has a problem he direct it to the complaint department.
You can follow him on Facebook at CawfeeGuy Knits. Next week I’ll have more product shots and a link to his Etsy site. He takes custom orders for fabulous hand-knit accessories and he has a mean set of coffee cozies so you can aid the environment by ditching those paper cup wraps while looking stylish and cute at the same time.
On the Nightstand






































