Do you love books?

How about an action-packed crime story about books? In comic format? What could possibly be better?

My friend, Liana, shared Shiga's first webcomic with me a long time ago, which I highly recommend for it's pure comics genius: FLEEP.

I don't really do the whole New Year's Resolution Thing, but I do always wish I had more time to read. I read all kinds of things, even cookbooks (the Best Recipes books have entire chapters on each recipe, so it's easy to get lost in there).

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Since I'm still in business mode right now, (Sean and I have been making our 2010 projections and analyzing our sales and things today,) I thought I'd share some of our top sellers from the last year with you (my data is based on the last quarter, but it should be pretty accurate for the whole year):

Top Selling Pint Glass Designs:
1. Mustache
2. Bicycle
3. Robot
4. Guitar
5. Yarn

Top Selling Products That Aren't Pint Glasses:
1. Mustache Mugs & Teacups (assorted styles and colors)
2. Mustache Rocks Glasses
3. Mustache Double-Old-Fashioned Glasses
4. Robot Double-Old-Fashioned Glasses
5. Shot Glasses (the Robot is the top seller here, but we sold a good assortment)

So, Mustaches are still in vogue, as it were. And we will continue to put them on glassware. I think we may have sold about 1,000 mustache pint glasses this year. That's pretty crazy to think about. As far as our income goes, Sean and I earned a little more than we would have at minimum wage jobs. Which is sad, but we were still able to buy a house this year, and we didn't have to do any work on the side. We're still going strong, so this year should be even better.

Our more masculine designs seem to do well on all our products, so we'll be sticking with that theme for the future. If a guy would like it, and it's funny, or geeky, or kinda cute, then we'll be putting it on drinkware for you.

If you've got a great idea for the next big design, send it our way! We're in the exciting brainstorming and development stages right now, and we love hearing what you think. Thanks for reading the boring stuff I have to say, and above all, have a safe and joyful new year!

[http://shigabooks.com/indeces/bookhunter.html]

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BOGO Clearance Sale!

Buy One, Get One 1/2 Off!

All Pint Glasses & Soap Dispensers on Sale!

Get the best deals of the year during our BOGO Sale through Jan. 1st, New Year's Day. Every pint glass and soap dispenser is Buy One, Get One Half Off on our website and Etsy shop (prices are already reduced for you)--including our top-sellers like the Mustache, Bicycle and Robot!

Stock up on gifts for the rest of the year, or treat yourself to a full set of drinking glasses for under $100! Mix-and-match designs to get all your favorites, and snag the last of our retired designs before they're gone (more details below).

1 Pint Glass: $15.00

2 Pint Glasses: $22.50

4 Pint Glasses: $45.00

6 Pint Glasses: $67.50

8 Pint Glasses: $90.00

1 Recycled Glass Soap Dispenser: $25.00

2 Recycled Glass Soap Dispensers: $37.50

4 Recycled Glass Soap Dispensers: $75.00

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Out With the Old - In With the New
We hope you had a joyful and relaxing holiday! We spent the day eating, playing video games, and putting tons of items on sale in our shop. We need to make room for new designs (we're in the process of collaborating with other artists to create some really exciting art!), so a bunch of current designs are being retired and replaced.

Please say good-bye to the Dogwood Flowers, Dragonfly, Koi Fish, Seahorse, Pirate Skull, Steady Snail, Tree and Winged Heart. All these designs will be on sale until they're gone. Get yours now, before it's too late!

We plan on releasing a new series of designs (including a staggering ZOMBIE) in January, as well as starting to accept wholesale and custom orders again. We just need a little time to clear our heads and our workspace from the holiday chaos. :)

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Holiday Cheer

Today, I'm relaxing with the husband and the kitties, planning to eat a massive homecooked meal (based on the brunch at East Coast Grill). There will be video games, and a video chat with my family. It will be cozy, and we may even find some holiday music that we don't hate.

I want to wish all the best comforts to you and yours. I'm endlessly thankful to every single customer we've had over the past year, and every single person who's given me feedback or encouragement about what I'm doing. I feel like I'm connected to a much larger family with all of you.

Now, let's eat!

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Zombie Apocalypse on the Horizon

As the countdown to Christmas draws near, we here in Badgerland are finally able to take a breath, collect our thoughts, and start cleaning up the chaos around our house. I'm not much for long breaks, so I've already got a huge post-holiday sale ready to start on Dec. 26th. Select items (including pint glasses!) will be Buy One Get One 1/2 Off until New Year's Day.

We're going to retire about 6 different designs, so we can make room for lots of new things for 2010! Discontinued glassware is in limited quantities, so don't hesitate to snatch up your favorites now!

Not only are we working on our own meme-themed art for the spring, but we're also collaborating with a number of local artists to bring you brand-spanking new barware and homegoods you've never seen before. Stay tuned for more details.

I wanted our newest design to be a surprise, but I just had to share it with you! We all know that the Zombie Apocalypse is just around the corner, so do yourself a favor by stocking your stronghold with shotgun shells, baseball bats, and lots of your favorite beverages. You wouldn't want to be thirsty during your final hours, would you? (This zombie design will be available in January!)

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Gift Guide Thingy (a little late)

I started this post before Thanksgiving, thinking I'd add a ton of fantastic gift ideas to it. Well, it didn't exactly work out that way. We've been shipping record-breaking numbers of orders, every two or three days, and it's kind of insane. Plus, we traveled to Seattle for 3 days (which was awesome!) for Urban Craft Uprising, and we're preparing for Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Holiday Sale this Sunday.

If you're still shopping online for holiday gifts, then maybe you should check out a few of my recommendations:

T-Shirts
Because I need to wear something, and I'm not really a fancy dresser.

Robot Juice T-shirt
This has been one of my favorite Diesel Sweeties shirts, right alongside the CSS { Rules Everything Around Me } one.

Bone Earrings
I like my slightly stretched piercings, but the steel jewelry I have is pretty boring. I found out last year that natural materials are much better for your body (bone, wood, horn), so I got some really beautiful hand-carved bone earrings, and promptly broke one of them. I'm hoping to get a new pair that are less fragile.

White Bone Earrings

 

Black Horn Earrings
These are especially cool because they have little posts so that anyone can wear them, even if you're piercings aren't stretched!

Brass Filligree

Yarn
As someone who has too much yarn, I can say that fiber whores like myself can never, truly, have too much yarn. 
 

Monarch Light - Traveling Rhinos

I've used a bunch of different hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns from Eling at Traveling Rhinos, and I've loved each one. Her color combinations always seem perfect to me.

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