About Sheryl Checkman

Sheryl Checkman is an award-winning designer with more than 25 years' experience in applying innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the full range of communications and design challenges. Before opening Checkman Design, Sheryl was Vice President & Manager, Design Services, for the public relations agency Burson-Marsteller from 1981-1992. Prior to that she was an Art Director at the The Barton Gillet Company, a marketing communications firm. Sheryl graduated from Cornell University and attended a Masters program in Communications Design at Pratt Institute as well as a three-month design program at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She graduated from the High School of Music & Art in New York City. Sheryl is an avid skier and scuba diver. She swims, plays tennis, practices yoga and enjoys taking pictures, both above and below the water. She adds her creative signature to her photographs by creating Digital Fine Art which she currently exhibits in her online gallery. She recently launched a line of inspirational sports-themed T-shirts under the name Life is Balance®. In addition to her design work, Sheryl also creates custom photomontages for a variety of corporate and consumer clients.

Finishing Touches

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black & blum's Flower Loop flower vase.

black & blum's Flower Loop flower vase.

I recently went to the Gift Show at the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City. I like to go and get inspired by some of the innovative designs that I come across. Having recently finished re-doing my apartment, I walked the show looking, not only for designs to inspire my own business, but also for ideas for those small finishing touches that might add that finish to my apartment. I found one such finishing touch from a team of two London-based designers, black & blum. Their simple philosophy is that ‘designed’ products can be made affordable without compromising quality. The products that I saw showcased were original, sometimes humorous and really beautifully designed. I bought a flower vase (see photo) that looks terrific on top of my wall unit. A perfect finishing touch to my newly designed space!

An elegant yet minimal flower vase made from free flowing steel wire. The form looks appealingly simple and unique from every angle. It can be used individually or interlinked to create a cluster. Flower Loop is inspired by the Fibonacci curve that is seen throughout nature and looks correct and balanced to the human eye.

Salad Plant

Salad Plant

A removable water tube for easy refilling and a very high quality artificial cala lily which complements the design are included.

Another whimsical, yet functional product design of theirs that I loved is their “salad plant.” This is a pair of salad serving spoon and fork, designed to look like large blades of grass which sit in a salad dressing mixing bowl that looks like a flower pot! What fun!

These leafy salad servers stand upright in their own pot and will give life to any table setting. The pot can also be used for mixing (and serving) your salad dressing. They are also the ultimate salad decoration when stuck into the salad upright!

– melamine salad servers and pot

– 44 x 11 x 6.5cm

Why did the swan cross the road?

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Why did the swans cross the road?

Why did the swans cross the road?

This past Monday I took the day off and stayed out in Quogue on Eastern Long Island. My friend Judy and I went for a nice bike ride along the beach on Dune Road. We were riding along when Judy stopped to make a phone call and while waiting for her I happened to notice a very strange site: a whole family of swans were crossing the road from the bayside to the ocean side! They really didn’t care about the oncoming traffic – it stopped for them of course! What a sight to see: two grown parents, all white and regal looking, with 6 youngsters following behind!
Two adult swans and their brood

Two adult swans and their brood


They made it all the way to the dunes were trying to figure out how to get over them to the ocean when Judy and I decided to continue our bike ride. Later that day we came back out that way to go kayaking in the bay. On our way out we remarked that there were a few swans in the bay. Probably not the same ones we thought. When we came back to land our kayak on the beach where Judy keeps it, believe it or not the entire swan family from that morning was sitting on the beach waiting for us! What are the odds of that?
"I'd rather be biking" women's organic t-shirt

I want this camera!

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Canon G-11

Canon G-11I have been waiting to upgrade my current point and shoot camera for quite a while. I have a Canon SD700 Digital Elph camera which I have been very happy with -- up to a point. In addition to using it for snapshots I also put it into an underwater housing and take it diving with me. Here's where it falls short of my expectations. While I can get some pretty good photos and color using the custom white balance feature I find that when shooting either up from below or towards white sand or coral, I tend to get a pink fringe. I also get some pink noise. I'd love to shoot underwater and get pictures that would be photo magazine worthy! I'm not ready to spring for an SLT with alls the bells and whistles and expensive housings required to shoot like a pro but I do think there is a happy compromise. I have always loved Canon's cameras. Their optics as well as their design have always been superb.

I’ve been waiting for Canon to introduce the next version of their G Series and it seems that come September the G11 will be available. I read about this new camera on Dive Photo Guide. Here is a link to the article by Matt J. Weiss.

This camera sounds like just what I’ve been looking for, now all I need is the green stuff to buy it. I want it! I was hoping that I would have won the Mega Millions Lottery last night in which case I wouldn’t think twice about ordering it as well as the underwater housing for it as soon as it comes out. Now I guess I will start saving my dollars for a few months and hopefully can pick one up soon. Of course, if anyone wants to send me a gift (LOL) I wouldn’t turn it down!

If you’d like to see some of my underwater photography go to my Imagekind Online Gallery