Hopeless Savages

True Story: I used to draw a webcomic, and I had big dreams of one day moving to Portland and getting into the comic book industry. Oni Press was my favorite comic publisher, and I even sent them samples of my work for one of their talent searches (they told me to keep practicing and send more work along in the future, which was hugely encouraging to me, even though I never did it).

One of the first comics I bought for myself was Hopeless Savages by Jen Van Meter. The story was about a misfit family of musicians and artists, with lots of musical and anglophilic references thrown in for me to relate to. I was immediately hooked.

Fast forward. Not only did my comic heroine, Jen Van Meter, run into me at a recent craft fair, but I also discovered that she's a fan of my glass etching work, as well as a knitter! I was majorly starstruck, and couldn't even believe my awesome luck. She was even nice enough to send me one of these exclusive art cards that she made for comic book conventions this summer, featuring my favorite of her characters, Zero (full name: Skank Zero Hopeless Savage--which is pretty much the best name ever!).

So, I HIGHLY recommend that you read the Hopeless Savages comics, and that you say hi to Jen at a con if you see her. She's absolutely swerval.

Follow Jen on Twitter.

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Recap of Awesomeness

Super Quick Recap of the past few weeks:

1. I taught a class and a workshop at the Summit of Awesome, and attended lots of super-awesome classes and workshops in turn. I got really inspired! Susan Beal is doing a bang up job detailing the Summit week on the Craftzine blog here, here and here (I was quoted a lot in the second link). There are hundreds of photos from the event on Flickr too.
2. I've been creating a whole new ecommerce site using Wordpress, but it's kind of tedious and there's a lot for me to learn. The good news is that it should go live within the next week. Yay!
3. Sean and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with some fabulous baked brie (and more!) at The Farm Cafe. It's amazing to look back and reflect on all the great things we've done together in the past 7 years.
4. We've been clearing out old wood piles, killing blackberries and English ivy, and re-roofing our shed on sunny days. We also planned out our bathroom remodel when the medicine cabinet started dismantling itself, and we've been to every furniture store 3 times since then. We've already started re-planning our kitchen remodel, which won't happen until next spring.
5. Custom orders! We've had tons of custom designs to work on recently, from wedding favors, to baptism candles, and some collaborative work with other artists thrown in.
6. I finally got my badger tattoo! The blurry photo above doesn't really do it justice, but that's the best I could do while trying to click the shutter button with my left hand.
7. A new webcomic is in the works! We're still in the planning stages, but the amazing Kim Werker and I are putting together a fun crafty webcomic based on a concept that she's been carrying around for awhile. Despite being so busy with everything else, this is one of the most exciting things for me right now, and I can't wait to get it together.

[Tattoo by Lew Hess at Atlas Tattoo in Portland, OR

I love this so much, I can't even describe it. Just for reference, I asked Lew to base his design on this old Sailor Jerry tattoo of a panther with a snake.

I shouldn't have to say this, and I know it's weird, but I'd really appreciate it if you're considering getting a badger tattoo like this to have your tattoo artist redraw the design themselves and not just duplicate mine. Someone else found one of my original tattoos on the internet and got the exact same thing (same colors and everything) and it kinda weirds me out. Thanks.]

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Super Secret Scott Pilgrim Party!

Sometimes, I have the opportunity to work on super secret projects that I'm not allowed to talk about. My friends at New England Comics in Allston, MA (which, incidentally, is the home of The Tick, and where I used to sell my original little comic book series) have been organizing a big launch party for the release of the final volume of the Scott Pilgrim comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Volume 6, "Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour" comes out July 20th, and the film based on the comics (starring Michael Cera--which will be awesome) comes out August 13th, so there's quite a bit to celebrate. Watch the trailer for the movie here. Oh, and there's also going to be an 8-bit style video game.

You can't tell, but I've been essentially bouncing with excitement over all this magical SP-goodness since I got asked to work on this project! The event seems to be getting bigger and bigger as things come together and the ever-amazing Michelle wrangles it all together.

I still can't talk details, but I can say that I'll be designing something rad based on the Scott Pilgrim comics (which you should totally read), and that I'll be wanting very badly to be in Boston this summer when the party happens. I'll post more info when I'm allowed to release it, and the NEC website will also share news when it gets closer to the date. Read some comics!

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Lulu Bonanza

My friend, Michelle (a.k.a. Lulu Bonanza), works at New England Comics in Allston, MA. We used to frequent the comic shop as much to buy comics as to hang out with the super friendly employees. Michelle's enthusiasm is completely infectious, and she always has lots of recommendations for every genre, age and interest. She's never steared me wrong!

I'm thrilled that Michelle has started her own blog to publish her videos about comics: lulubonanza.blogspot.com They're silly and she admits that they're "a little odd", but that's why I love them! She's not doing this because she's getting paid for it, or anything like that. She's just sharing her love of comics, which shines through beautifully.

Go, Lulu Bonanza! <3

Also, she's totally right about Bone, by Jeff Smith. Read it! Get it from your local comic book purveyor, or www.boneville.com.

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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).

*    *    *

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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Motivation

My favorite way to get inspired is to talk to new people. I have a lot of friends who run small crafty businesses, but it's nice to get a new perspective by bouncing ideas around with people in a different field.

Today, we had lunch with Rich Stevens and Meredith Gran, who are both self-employed webcomic artists. (If you're not reading their comics--Diesel Sweeties and Octopus Pie, respectively--then you should be. Also, buy some of their stuff while you're at it.)

It was really refreshing to hear what other artists are doing to expand their businesses. There are a lot of opportunities for merchandising, cross-promoting and collaborating. Rich is a fountain of ideas, and I came away feeling excited about creating new products (as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and stupified by my options, as I have been).

I feel guilty that I haven't released new designs this fall, like I'd wanted to, but too many things came up this year that effected my plans. I'm storing up energy this winter like a fat, hibernating bear, only without the restful part. The holidays are going to kick ass, and I'm hoping to be revitalized come springtime.

I've been focused on keeping my business really specialized, and I'd like to expand into some new projects. Exciting new projects. Projects that involve other people, new art and whole new product lines. I hope next year can live up to my expectations.

[I mentioned recently that I was working on a secret art project, and this robot pint glass was it. I stole Rich's Clango artwork from his website, and turned it into a sandblasting stencil to make this gift for him. I plan to make more gifts like this for other people that I admire. All in due time.]

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I Am Carpet Destroyer. Also: SOCKS!!

Guess what I got in the mail today!! It's an amazing pair of pixellated knee-sock-y perfection, courtesy of webcomic guru Rich Stevens! Not only is Diesel Sweeties one of my favorite all-time comics, but this dude also designs wearables. Srsly, who doesn't need a pair of these??


Rich generously included this pair of stickers in my housewarming package as well. I've been coveting these guys since I first saw them, so I was completely overjoyed to have them in my (grimey, paint-spattered) hands! Sean and I are trying to decide if we can put the transformer sticker on our leased car, and if the penalties will be worth it. (They totally will be.)


Since you may (or may not) care about what I've been doing all week (I'm curious too, since this week has flown by!), I can assure you it's been time well-spent. It took us a whole week to paint the house, and I'm disappointed that there are still areas that need touching up. (See the "Fresh Water" color my new office/craft room is? I LOVE IT! Most of the rest of the house is "Gentle Rain", which is a light gray.) We've decided to move onto carpet removal, however, since we'd like to actually get some of our belongings moved in some time this month.

Remember this room? It had spectacular hardwood floors underneath all that moldy shag carpet! We discovered that it's not the removal of the carpet that's the hard part (although, that's some heavy crap to haul around), but it's the wood staples and nailed-down spikey edging that are the most work.


The pry-bar (this one is named "Wonderbar") has become my best friend. We're going to get to know each other better for half of tomorrow, too. This tool (which Sean found in a gutter at a house he was roofing awhile back) can remove nails, staples, molding and most other things that are securely attached to a floor or wall. It doesn't get much better than that, folks.

We'll be living on the sub-flooring until we can afford to replace some of the carpet, but it's still a huge improvement over the mustard and lime infestation that this house had before. If the kitchen carpet weren't glued down, we'd tackle that tomorrow too. Right now, we're just trying to make this house habitable, so we can move our furniture and our sick kitty over here as soon as possible.

More photos on Flickr!

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Faking it ever since

While internet-stalking the winner of my lolcat book giveaway, I saw this xkcd comic strip and immediately felt a kindred spirit:


I'm really a very responsible person (just ask all my high school friends who find me to be a total bore now--although, I was pretty boring then too). It just feels really weird to be given the responsibility of owning actual property with an actual building on it. Forever and ever.

In house news, we thought we'd be getting the keys today, but it turns out that we have to wait until tomorrow. I'm so pumped and ready to go, that I've been waking up at 7:30am instead of my regular 10 or so, figuring out our painting plan. I guess that means that we'll get more work done today, which isn't so bad. I'm just ready to pwn this house!!

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No Soap, Radio #30

June 24, 2005
Sometimes music can be inspiring. Sometimes it can be annoying. Other times, it can give you a good idea that gets ruined because it lacks beer.

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No Soap, Radio #19

You guys seemed to enjoy the comic, so I thought I'd skip ahead and find one that's more appropriate for this heat wave we're having. I'm ashamed to be missing Dunkin' Donuts right now.

April 8, 2005
True story. The cream almost killed me. I passed the test though, and there was much celebrating when it was over. I'd also like to point out that I truly and deeply love coffee, but there's just something about drinking from a plastic cup the size of your head which is halfway filled with dairy products that is unappealling to me. Maybe I should switch back to espresso...

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I Can't Dance

So, I used to want to be a comic artist. Wait, let me try again: I used to be a webcomic artist.

Before I quit my job selling shoes, I drew comic strips and published them online, as an outlet for my frustrations with the daily ritual. Before that, I printed comic zines and sold them to my local comic shop (the New England Comics on Harvard Ave in Allston--go there!!) about four kids on a roadtrip, loosely based on my own cross-country journey fresh from of high school. I even talked at a workshop for comic book artists and writers, and was interviewed for the Boston Phoenix. Pretty cool.

One reason I wanted to move to Portland was because a bunch of indie comic book publishers are here. Being a comic artist was sort of my back-up career, which is hilarious, since I think it's a lot harder to break into the comic biz than to start your own online shop. It's still in the back of my mind though, and I terribly regret that my schedule hasn't permitted me to draw comics in many a year.

For the sake of reminding myself why I love art in the first place (and to give you something to look at while I get my life sorted out), I thought I'd share some of my old No Soap, Radio comic strips. You'll probably need to click on the image to view it at full size.

Here's the original text that went with the strip:

November 19, 2004
This is the first comic in the No Soap, Radio series. Thanks to the mighty Phil Collins for inspiration. I would like to take the time now to point out that the characters in my strips do not represent real people, even if they may look like me, my friends, or people that you know. Also, I don't dance like this, and I certainly wouldn't sing into a can of Pledge.

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Baby's First Internet

This short rhyming story by Kevin Fanning and Kean Soo is a cute look at explaining the internet to your young ones. I am guilty of of partaking in at least a couple of these activities, as I'm sure most of you are.

I first heard about Kean Soo in the Flight comics anthologies. He draws some very cute stories, especially his Jellaby series. You should check them both out! I'm a little behind in reading Flight (there are now five books out!), but I've enjoyed each one that I've read.

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Dr. McNinja

Look what I just made! This is a gift for Dr. McNinja comic creator and artist, Chris Hastings. I hope he likes it.

This is the first of many planned gifts for the creators of my favorite webcomics. As a self-employed artist, I wanted a way to give something back to these great creative folks who put their work out there on the internet for free. I can't afford to buy books and t-shirt from all of them (even though I'd like to!) so hopefully they'll appreciate this token of my appreciation.

I'd like to encourage everyone out there to take a peak at the awesome webcomics in my sidebar, buy something from their creators if you can, or find one nice thing to do for your favorite internet artist today. Just sending a positive fan letter makes a big difference in someone's life who offers their art publicly. You don't have to be shy!The design for this pint glass was based on this panel, where the good doctor has been possessed by an ear-ghost. The storyline is pure genius.

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