The Profiler - Eric Woods

Each issue we will be profiling a local person whom has achieved a level of personal and or professional success in his/her chosen field of endeavor. This first issue we will be talking to Eric Woods, the designer who is responsible for the look and feel of OFF.

We begin with: THE STATS. Age: 25 Status: unmarried

Eric was born here in Cape, right at Southeast Hospital. He spent his wonder years in Piedmont, and at the age of ten moved to Jackson, where he finished up junior high and high school.

Eric dusted off his Picasso lunchbox and headed for art school in Kansas City, MO and stuck around there for five years; but the lure of the big city and the potential for big dollars propelled him to NYC, working for a book publisher designing covers.

Eric spent six months in New York, gleaning everything he could about his chosen field. After sucking out every bit of information and ideas he could extract from the Big Apple, he returned to Cape; armed with all he learned from the big city on ways to use his not inconsiderable talent.

He settled in and began working for the Southeast Missourian two and a half years ago as a graphic designer. Since he came home he has been very active in the Arts Council and is now their staff designer.

He told OFF that "of all the ghetto apartments I've lived in, I've never had more trouble or lived in more fear than the apartment I am currently moving out of."

OFF: Sounds like you need to find a new place. I figured you had some cool trendy artist loft somewhere. Guess that isn't true. What happened at your current place to make you go apartment hunting?

Eric: A Long string of things. I suppose it started last summer. I woke up in the middle of the night to find a bat flying around my apartment. This happened three times!

OFF: Well, a couple bats in the belfry aren't so bad. Must have been something more. Sooooooo what else happened?

Eric: Well, the upstairs neighbor was rushed to the hospital three weeks ago because he had been bitten by his rattlesnake. Found out he had three venomous snakes AND a python. I'm not crazy about the idea of having to call 911 because a snake found its way to my toilet and bit me. Another neighbor tried to commit suicide. There was a fight with like 6 guys right out on the front lawn. I came home one night and another neighbor had kicked out his girlfriend. He had tossed all her stuff out on the stairs-just like in some movie-and I had to step over everything just to get to my apartment. My next door neighbor has a Mr. Microphone and sings RAP into it. That is all in addition to the loud music, parties and general mayhem that go with apartment living.

OFF: Sounds like an interesting bunch of neighbors you have there.

Eric: Don't get me wrong, my neighbors are pretty decent. They are always nice to me and include me when something is going on. They will even offer to share when they are burning one out on the stoop. But my parents are afraid to come visit me, my girlfriend is afraid to come over. So now it's time to find somewhere else to live.

OFF: Good luck with the hunt then. On a different subject, you are home now after getting a taste of big city life. How about giving me three things Pro and then Con on big city/little town?

Eric: On NY; good food, plenty of entertainment and you don't have to drive. Cons - hard to find an apartment. You're stuck with whatever you can find first. Very expensive there. People selling drugs on the stoops.

OFF: What about Cape?

Eric: Pros: The downtown, cheap cost of living, that's about it for CapeÉ Cons: I'm not really at liberty to say.

OFF: What would you like to see come here to Cape?

Eric: I think what I would most like to see is some of these old buildings downtown bought and redeveloped.

OFF: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Eric: Somewhere in an urban environment, working with a design firm that has connection to the arts or living in the countryside working at home.

OFF: Here is a wrap up question, what is the coolest thing you ever saw?

Eric: A rainbow that formed a complete circle from outside an airplane window.