Toothsome

And now, I rest. Sort of. The show went really well. Crock was kind enough to give Dillon and I a ride, which greatly expedited the whole process. I managed to put everything for the fair into 3 boxes and one shopping bag. Set up was a little slow, but I didn’t feel too rushed, especially considering that the booth next to me didn’t set up until after the show had even started. This is what the display looked like. I'm set to be in the same room, but on the opposite side for Renegade. I'm also going to take my lovely, vintage orange suitcase to add some height and color to the set up. Dillon likes how it's color coordinated, but I think it needs a little something.

Within an hour of opening, Dillon had gone walking around and came back to the table asking me for nine dollars so he could buy me something. I originally asked him to wait until I sold nine dollars worth of product, but then I remembered I had a ten in my wallet. He came back with a sweet little double-sided necklace from Melty. I’ve had many compliments on it.
 
I bought a lot of Christmas presents, which for obvious reasons, can’t be displayed here, but I did make a trade for these awesome magnets for myself fromSweet Jessie. I love the little tin they come in. She had a great display too, with old suitcases and pink fuzzy trees. Trust me, it was great in execution. The most exciting thing about the fair is that a girl from 826, a writing/tutoring group in Chicago and elsewhere, wants 16 Sparrows and my products for their upcoming Private Eye store. I’ll be making “top secret” and “confidential” mini-folders for them.

To celebrate my completion of the DIY, I went shopping on Sunday, visiting my favorite book stores in walking distance: Myopic, Quimby's and Brainstorm. It's wonderful that I live in the same sphere as an amazing used bookstore, a deviant zine shop, and a comic shop/video rental store. I, again, bought gifts and I picked up a $2 grab bag at Quimby's. It was full of magazines I wanted [ReadyMade, Wallpaper] and magazines I didn't want [Girls of Lowrider], but the jewel in the bunch was that there was a copy of Jill Dorothy Summers Cohabitation. I first heard one of the stories from Cohabitation on public radio and I was thoroughly impressed by this writer/performer/composer, Jill Summers. I'm currently listening to all 5 stories and I'm really entertained. At Myopic, I finally purchased a book that I had habitually checked on to make sure that it hadn't been sold yet. And now it has, and to me! I have added it to my collection of books on lettering.

New products

Okay, I’ve been busy. I’ve got a bit of a respite from the FDHS project while the client makes decisions on the way they want to move forward. All of my energies are now being focused on the DIY Trunk Show on Saturday and the Renegade Holiday Show on December 9th and 10th. In preparation I have been a factory of production! I have a paper case box full of 16 Sparrows products. Those of you who are long-time lovers of 16 Sparrows should know that at the fairs, I’ll be selling some exclusive products which can’t be purchased online and also selling some out-of-print items. I also have two envelope boxes full of my own products of which I have some new ones to tell you about.
 
First there are the Fancy Tags! My favorite thing about the tags is the little illustration I did on the label, but I also really love the tags themselves. It’s hard to sell them. I want to keep them all, especially the stamp ones. Each pack has 5 tags and they sell for $2.50 a pack, or 3 packs for $6.00. If I can figure it out, I’ll put them up for sale online, but right now, they are only available at fairs or as a free gift with a $50.00 purchase at 16 Sparrows.
 
I’ve also made some Mini-File Folders. I love mini-things. These are the perfect size for the bits of paper I’m always cutting out or for filing index cards or recipes. I’ve covered them with maps or with vintage wallpaper scraps. I have these amazing old wallpaper sample books and I’m so excited that I’m finally getting to use them. These also aren’t up online yet.
 
Some new packaging I’m using involves the new folders. In the new Travelogue Set, you get one small map journal and two of the mini-folders. I really like this concept of packaging the items together as evidenced by the other new package: the Deluxe Paper set which is a set of envelopes, mini-folders, small journals and fancy tags; all in matching, reversible papers that I got at Paper Doll’s grand opening/anniversary party 2 weeks ago. I put them all together in a swanky chocolate brown box with a band of the reversible paper making part of the packaging. I think the effect is rather striking.


 
So if you’re interested in any of this, please come on out to the fair on Saturday at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, 1419 W. Blackhawk in Chicago. Doors open at 10AM and if you stop buy and say you either got my newsletter or read my journal, I’ll give you a free gift!

The DIY Trunk Show

Ah, perspective, how you mock me

Work on the Frederick Douglas Historic Site is progressing a little slower than I had hoped. There were funds issues and redo issues, but, as of yesterday, I have submitted the 3 promised design sketches to Elizabeth. From there, she and her colleagues will make some decisions and then I'll really have to get down to work. Here's what I sent out.






They are picking what layout they want for a walking tour map and what layout they want for a "historic" map. The History Map will take the property back to how it was when Frederick Douglass was alive. There will be a croquet court and a grape arbor and fields of corn and beans. There will also be a barn. There will not be a visitors center. That visitors center is hell to draw in perspective. It's built into the hill behind it and contains some funky angles. I really had to wrack my brain regarding trees. There are trees in the way of everything on the site. I also had to resort to plain making up a lot of the roofing. It's not like I could afford a helicopter or crane to take a photoshoot at the site. Thank goodness for satellite veiw on Google maps.

Coming soon: New products for sale at the craft shows!

The DIY Trunk Show