Come what may, we will forever remember George Floyd and honor the life he sacrificed to move justice forward. We will not grow tired, apathetic, or passive in our duty to realize liberty and justice for all in America.

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Or like, “Come What? May!!”

Magnificent, beautiful May. That time of life-giving warm sun and fragrant fresh air that too quickly turns to 100 degrees of hot terror, humidity, and damp-clinging clothing. May was always a month to love, but did you, by chance, see the film Midsommar? May has never been the same.

The picture in my mind of sweet little kids in white linen tripping around the pretty Maypole [hold up, did anybody really do this? not in my hometown] ran away screaming with my unresolved and dashed dreams of never being crowned May Queen. You can have that shiz.

So besides making May scary, the Midsommar May Queen inspired some GLORIOUS ART. People really took to this genre. Just Google “midsommar may queen” and see what comes up. So much art there you can buy a costume or get it on a t-shirt. Just watch your allergies. Here’s a quick peek (art is hyperlinked to credits). We just ordered the color by number coloring book on Amazon.

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

Fayetteville, AR, that’s who. They’ve got TheatreSquared. DRMTM fell in love with this bold brand and cultural landmark of a building, which invites the community to be inspired by the art of every angle and aspect in its architecture. Your heart beats heavy just watching this video. Besides sheer beauty, inspiration is derived from a brand that encourages its patrons to “give through, not to” the mission by intimate involvement in the dreams and destiny of a true community art resource. This, we’ve got to see. CAN’T WAIT TO VISIT.

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

Is your brand ready for the reformation? We’re right here at hello@thedrmtm.com. Fully vaccinated, serious fun, and best of all, the best in the business.

Clear skies ahead,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com

Another month dedicated to a great cause! April was Earth Month. We hope you got some time to commune with nature this spring sans-mask. Did it seem like more people were in tune with Earth Day this year? Feels like it. Our appreciation levels over the past year seem to be increasing in the right direction.

Ahem. Not to brag, but we’re going to brag. We can’t help sharing a stellar, bold arts brand DRMTM is privileged to work with. Meet Resource Depot, South Florida’s creative reuse and environmental education center. Our Love Your Mama Earth Day campaign incorporated sassy admonitions from our original mother and directed cause converts to live ENF and adopt green ways by following the ENF Playbook. Check out all the moving parts. This was an all-out Earth Day attack from the website to carefully-calculated email messages.

YOU, TOO, can build a bold, BadA** brand like this!

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

Continuing the Earth theme, how many more ways can we feel suffocated by plastic? If you need help realizing the extent of the plastic crisis, award-winning Brooklyn-based artist Robin Frohardt created The Plastic Bag Store as an immersive installation designed to take place in a storefront retail space made up of hand sculpted items — all made from discarded plastic bags. A premiere film was created as a reimagination of a visit to The Plastic Bag Store. It’s available on demand through May 2nd, so see it now! Thank you CAP UCLA.

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

Is your brand what it should be? Is it built on information, strategy, and bold vision? When you’re ready to punch through, reach out to DRMTM. We’re right here at hello@thedrmtm.com. Fully vaccinated, serious fun, and best of all, the best in the business.

Clear skies ahead,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com

Step back, everybody. This was Women’s History Month, and guess what. Despite our off-the-chart-smarts, abundant appeal, and stellar contributions to society across the ages, women are still getting kicked to the sidelines. We’re pissed off and have been for a long time. Nothing new about that. We hear all the time how pissed off we are in every corner of the globe. We actually birthed and raised the very people who are sure to remind us how pissed off they think we are.

We like to think us gals are historically fed up and ornery for all the right reasons and that it makes us better fighters for a better world. Better workers. Better moms and friends. Better artists. Better everything. Because we love calling out the stuff that’s plain wrong and doing something about it. We’re good at fixing what doesn’t work. We don’t mind being happily and effectively PO’d. It’s a pretty righteous position to be in while we plan the take-over.

So to wrap up Women’s History Month, here are links to a 2018 article that will never grow old: A Brief History of Rage in Female Art from our friends over at CNN Style (for the censored version) and Artsy (for the uncensored version). Keep it up, ladies.

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

We are BIG advocates for arts and culture improving mental health. The National Institutes of Health has a partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts called Sound Health: Music and the Mind, to expand on the links between music and mental health. It explores how listening to, performing, or creating music involves brain circuitry that can be harnessed to improve health and well-being. Here’s the NYTimes article.

And a BONUS. There’s nothing like getting bold about our fundraising brand, ‘cause bucks mean business and we need them to run. But what’s the real cost? Click the quote to read a powerful piece, including an intro standing up for our Asian American sisters:

“We need to acknowledge that the things that most donors care about, the things that make them feel good, are often the things that will LEAST LIKELY change the systems of oppression and exploitation that make philanthropy necessary.”

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. Will the real Slim Shady  — So it’s been brought to OUR attention that Friday afternoon is not everybody’s favorite time to join the DRMTM live Bad A** Brand Chat. We thought it would be a great way to end the week, but too many of you are working like crazy before the weekend whistle blows or you’re knocking off early at noon.

Take this fun survey to tell us if you’d likely join us on another day and time or like, never.

Until then, we’ll show up on FRIDAY from 3 to 3:30pm EST HERE. Zoom Passcode: DRMTM

Don’t leave us lonely AND pissed off, please.

Keep on DRMing,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com

Happy 45th Anniversary, Black History Month! It used to be just a week. But when something is awesome, you want to have it around longer to celebrate. Black history is American history, so let’s be sure we’re learning and celebrating all year long! We want to throw some love at Netflix, HBO, and others for providing curated collections of the Black experience on film, a favorite (and IMHO, under-appreciated) artform.

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

We love Nina Simone. Her legend is a bold, beautiful portrait in truth-telling and change. We can only imagine what her artful song and activist voice would have to say about our present world.

Now meet Nina Simon. Not related by family or name, but Simon is to museums what Simone is to civil rights. Nina Simon is an arts and culture thought-leader and doer helping museums check their egos and motives at the front door – then knock it down and invite the community in. Read about this real-time revolution at OF/BY/FOR ALL and YouTube her TEDx Talks. Your job just got woke.

CLEVER, AREN’T WE?

Missing date night? Or you might feel like you’ve been on one looonnng nightmarish date and need to mix it up? Either way, Chandler Museum AZ has you covered with their Museum in a Box: Date Night Edition. Check this out:

Sweat and Spar: Boxing Fun for Two

Ready for a date night that packs a punch? DRMTM: Yes, we’re definitely ready to punch someone. Don’t worry about your fitness level, grab your partner and step in the ring. Fitness?

Round 1: Duke it out with your partner in a series of jump rope challenges. Whaaaat?
Round 2: Find out who can talk the talk. No question.
Round 3: Weigh in on issues that matter with conversation cards centered on the exhibition Bigger than Boxing: Zora Folley and the 1967 Heavyweight Title. Something older than we are.
Round 4: Take a breather by expressing your artistic side, boxing style. This box also includes movie suggestions, drink recipes, and a sweet treat. Now you’re talkin’!

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

AHEM. INTRODUCING DRMTM LIVE: the BAD A** BRAND CHAT

Wanna own your brand like a bad a**? Get bold with your message? We LOVE talking shop. This is the ultimate brand-building hang out. No sales allowed. EVERY FRIDAY 3 to 3:30 PM EST.

Join us on Zoom by clicking HERE. Passcode: DRMTM

FREE SWAG tossed out in random fashion! See you there.

Keep on DRMing,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com

CHEERS, doggonit! Take a moment to celebrate. We broke on through to the other side. We crossed over into the light. Goodbye dumpster fire days of 2020. Although we still see challenges ahead, 2021 is shaping up into quite a year so far. With the streaming video renaissance showing no signs of slowing and vaccines rolling out, why, we’re gonna make it after all. (That’s your cue to throw your cute corona-craft crochet hat into the air. If you don’t get the reference, you’re in the age bracket of “young professional.”)

The DRMTM just got together for goal setting. It boils down basically to “get more done, have more fun.” Now, this seems like a tall order, because we had a lot of fun doing our work last year. But we know we can make it happen, and you can, too. How, pray tell?

1. Look for breakthrough in all that you do. We’ll stay in touch on this one. It is our 2021 word, after all. Do you have your word of the year?
2. Stay inspired. Don’t OD on Tik Tok and Bernie memes, rather, keep it balanced. Yours truly will keep it going with great stuff like this from the Dance Theatre of Harlem:

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

Oh beauty, thou name is Black. We were awestruck by these captivating renderings of beautiful children, Black hair adorned and splendid, captured in the Klimt portrait style by Tawny Chatmon. She states, “Visually, Klimt’s use of gold and decorative elements brought about strong feelings of grace, magnificence, and beauty within me upon my first discovery of his work.” We agree with The Redemption’s ultimate statement: society needs to stop saying Black hair styles are “unacceptable.” We think some folks are just jealous.

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

Look for us again on 2nd Fridays each month! Coming at you with a new email containing incredible fun and cool offers that won’t waste your time or make you mad like most emails inevitably do (except for Duke Cannon emails – we love them). We have an exciting program announcement to share on February 12th, so open that email, okay? Until then, can you do us a solid and click to answer the question below?

Keep on DRMing,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com

Congratulations for making it another month. We’ve come through a lot again. It’s the holidays, and we here at DRMTM are taking a moment to grieve losses for ourselves and humanity, light candles in the name of hope and healing, and turn toward grace and gratitude.

We started The Silver Lining as a way to stay connected when we realized the pandemic would separate us from each other for no-telling-how-long. By sharing a little humor and highlighting the generous creativity of arts and culture in healing communities over these difficult months, we hope you’ve breathed a little lighter now and then.

Hope is always on the horizon. Soon we will look back at this dark time and see how much light we made – how blazing, and brilliant, and true it was – how deeply it shined in all of us.

In the spirit of unity and a voice for all, we share this soul-stirring rendition of Broadway for Georgia’s performance of Georgia On My Mind. You’ll see some familiar faces, and you’ll wonder how anyone can sing and smile like that at the same time.

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

Well, it’s no surprise to us ‘cause we’ve been talking about it all year, but it’s nice when things get official. Artists Are 2nd Responders is the campaign from Californians for the Arts, the state’s advocates for the arts and culture sector. “A first responder comes in and saves a life, a second responder comes in and helps to rebuild a life.” Read about it and champion this cause in your own community.

READY. SET. REIMAGINE.

We’ll be back to business in January 2021. For now we wish you peace, prosperity, and great health.

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men,

Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.

thedrmtm.com