Toolbox Studios Blog

re:form for sparkhouse

In 2009 Augsburg Fortress Publishers launched sparkhouse. This new Minneapolis-based resource design group was formed to “reimagine resources like VBS or Bible study in a way that creates new vitality, change, and relevance in Christian communities.”

This month, sparkhouse launched a new curriculum called re:form – the only confirmation program that offers innovative resources for pastors, youth pastors, volunteer teachers and parents who want to radically empower youth to tackle the powerful ideas of faith and theology. re:form makes confirmation an interactive experience through creative, culturally relevant and provocative videos, illustration, humor, and activities that speak to kids on their level and encourage them to explore and make their own personal discoveries about their faith journey.

Its first edition recently rolled off the presses and into our hot little hands. It features books and videos chock-full of thousands of intricate, hand-drawn illustrations, each rendered in the quirky style of our creative director Paul Soupiset. Those pen and ink illustrations were watercolor painted, scanned, color-adjusted, and fed into a production workflow that simplified our client’s video and print production processes. Several main pieces work together to create the re:form curriculum:

• re:form two-DVD Set — We hand-illustrated forty hilarious animated short videos which frame and begin each lesson, framing the tough theological questions that kids are really asking, like “Who wrote the Bible?” and “Why does God let bad things happen?” The Two-DVD set is rooted in historic Christianity yet speaks to kids in their own voice. 
•  re:form Anti-Workbook—A hands-on 192-page Anti-Workbook is the centerpiece of each kid’s confirmation experience. It’s a sturdy, full-color, wire-O bound journal chock-full of activities and ideas for groups and individuals, with space to journal and doodle, and extras like pullout cards and cool stickers. re:form Leader Guide quickly preps teachers for each lesson and activity. 
• re:form Gallery—re:form prompts kids to make videos, take pictures, interview people, and create stuff. Then they can upload all of their artifacts to an online portfolio at the re:form gallery, where they can share with their local congregation what they’ve been learning. re:form empowers youth to discover for themselves what they believe. 

Here's one of 40 videos produced for the first edition:

Toolbox tours Dallas Cowboys stadium

While calling on clients and prospects in Dallas, Toolbox was treated to a private tour of the new Dallas Cowboys mega stadium courtesy of our friends at the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association (CBAA). Toolbox president Rob Simons and marcomm director John Navarrete got a behind-the-scenes preview of the Cowboys locker rooms, posh VIP lounges, the CBAA offices, and the mighty flat screen “Jerrytron”—the largest high-def screen in the world, which hangs 90 feet off the ground and is named after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. No question that everything is bigger in Texas.

The 74th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic will be played at the Cowboys’ new stadium on January 2, 2010.

Behind the Bowl games

Each year, Toolbox designs and manages the Valero Alamo Bowl site (www.valeroalamobowl.com) and the AT&T Cotton Bowl site (www.attcottonbowl.com). And each year we send a cadre of Toolboxers to the games to help the event staff manage game stats, upload content and track user activity. 

Above: The Valero Alamo Bowl staff sent us this memento as a token of their appreciation.

Below: Mark Broderick (our food & beverage account director) scored extra tickets for his family to see his alma mater, Texas Tech, take on Ole Miss in the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Redesigned, Refreshed, Relaunched

We've been busy designing and launching several new Web sites for our clients:

	ARCE: The new site for the American Research Center in Egypt -- the only American non-profit organization dedicated to preserving historical and cultural treasures of ancient Egypt -- features e-commerce solutions for donations and membership, as well as event registration.www.arce.org.
	Verbal Ink: International electronic transcription company Verbal Ink unveils its new brand and online presence at www.verbalink.com.
	CCN: Cacheaux Cavazos & Newton, an international law firm, debuts its new bilingual site that includes a live U.S. Dollar/Peso rate, RSS feeds, and cross-referenced attorney bios and practice areas with downloadable vCards. www.ccn-law.com

Mission Road Ministries.

Here's a great story about one of our clients, Mission Road Ministries.