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1:40 PMon Wednesday, February 12, 2014
This week we are totally thrilled to have been featured on Storenvy's front page as one of their 'Brands We Believe In' as well as being featured in their emails. We're particularly proud to have a Scottish shop getting attention on the site because it's mainly American. The competition is seriously stiff!
Sending a big thank you to Storenvy and their ongoing support :D
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1:01 PMon Wednesday, January 1, 2014
HAPPY GROGMANAY EVERYONE! For those of you who are unaware of the Scottish term 'hogmanay', we're wishing you all a very Happy New Year! As you can see from our latest short film, we've been ringing in 2014 in style by creating a new sailor themed window display for Sofi's bar. What do you think?
Vivid Please Mini Film: Creating Our Grogmanay Window Display
It's been so lovely to be asked to create another artwork for the bar - it seems our Christmas pug window went down super well even though it was our first ever attempt illustrating on glass. We're absolutely thrilled to bits!
Now we've got the hang of this working backwards on a massive scale malarky, we were able to create a more complex artwork to cover the 3 windows as we knew just how much we had to prepare for. Even though there is a lot more work in this window, it probably took just about the same amount of time as the first. It's totally amazing how much you learn after your first attempt - this time things went much more smoothly!
Sofi's Bar hosted a fancy dress theme night on New Years Eve called 'Hello Sailor'. When they told us the theme and asked if we could come up with something to fit in with the celebration our minds went into overdrive - who doesn't want to be a pirate for the day?! With that in mind I put on my favourite Elvis Hawaiian shirt and sailor slacks to get in the spirit of things. I would have worn an eye patch too, but I didn't want to mess up my drawing ;)
Shiver Me Timbers!
David's steady hands worked wonders on our boat illustration (which you might recognise it from our notebook and ship in a bottle brooch!), whilst I outlined a lot of the fiddly text and crashing waves. I actually illustrated the bottle of grog for a personal project - it's funny how all these things can come together like it was meant to be! It fits in so perfectly :)
We lucked in once again with the weather too - both times we've worked on these windows Scotland managed to bring us some sunshine meaning we managed to get the job done a little faster and bagged ourselves some beautiful photographs thanks to the wonderful light.
Ahoy!
The waves pattern is a first for us and definately something I'd like to use in the future. There is something quite therapeutic about the receptiveness, which is not something I ever thought I would hear myself say!
Our exhibition is still hanging up inside, but we'll be taking it down in the next two weeks. It's been such an amazing run and we've been very fortunate in selling a lot of our prints from the show! It'll be sad to take it all down, but I can't wait to see what Sofi's will be getting in next :)
We're so pleased to be able to start this year with such a fun blog post! Fingers crossed it's a sign for good things to come... A big thank you to everyone for all you incredible support; I know I say it often, but we really couldn't do it without you!
We wish you all a smooth sea and treasure filled New Year matey's! . ..And remember, dead men tell no tales... xox
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11:00 PMon Thursday, December 12, 2013
Today we have a really special feature for you. We're super proud to present Goodie Goodness a spectacular monthly subscription company who sends you incredible surprises through the post instead of dull bills and junk mail. Hooray! What makes this post so special? We're proud to share that we helped launch the company with their *first box* back in April!
Here is a video created by the lovely Sabine De Witt, who blogged about her experience of getting our Goodie Goodness box through the post :D
Each month the Goodness team create a box jam packed full of fun items from some absolutely stunning (ahem) makers and designers. If you love a surprise and like the same things we do, you're going to love what they have in store for you. Going by their previous boxes you'll want to sign up forever! As most of you will know, we adore snail mail (may it live forever!) coupled with a passion for upcoming designers and unique makers this is pretty much the best thing we've seen all year!
Flair Magazine
Being their first box, we're totally thrilled that we got our products shared in so many magazines and blog posts thanks to the Goodie Goodness team. They've certainly come into the subscription world with a real bang - check out all these wonderful magazine clippings!
After such an amazing launch we're really pleased to share that Goodie Goodness have gone from strength to strength with an ever growing fan base of subscribers. We're super lucky that we also got the chance to work with them to put together an extra special Christmas box... but we wont be telling you whats in it as we would ruin the surprise!
So, if you're looking for a gift that keeps giving or, like us, you would like to treat yourself to a beautiful surprise sent to you in the post once a month Goodie Goodness is definitely worth the money. You can sign up to try just 1 month or splash out and get several - the beauty of it is that it's totally up to you. I can see it being a really popular gift for Christmas so if you want in for January's box you'd better sign up quick! Some totally wonderful makers have already been featured so we can't wait to see what's in store in the future :D
In three words?
Best. Post. Ever.
We'd like to say a big thank you to Goodie Goodness for supporting us by featuring us as their first box. It's been such an honour! We've also been absolutely mind blown by all the lovely press and posts shared by all you fantastic bloggers out there too; thank you so much! If we've missed you out please share your links in the comments below - we'd love to see what you think :D Whilst you can't order previous boxes from the team, you can still purchase most of our featured goodies in etsy.
Here is to a phenomenal 2014 : may the surprises be with you monthly!
Today we're hanging out with one of my absolute favourite illustrators, Debby Greenaway aka The Imagination Of The Ladysnail. I first discovered her work in Ginger Pickles online shop (where we're both stocking products), and couldn't resist picking up a couple of her brooches to add to my collection. Recently I was really lucky to have met her at Renegade Craft Fair earlier in the year - as fate had it, we were actually opposite her :D Needless to say, her lions and robots and hedgehogs were great company! I'm really excited because I find her work super inspiring and I can't wait to ask her what inspires her to create such beautiful characters...
Give us the low down! Tell us a little about who you are and what you make:
Helloooo! My name is Debbie – also known as Deb or Debs. I am an illustrator and printmaker, currently living in Coventry. I work part time in a library. I draw, doodle, paint, crayon and screenprint a lot – making illustrations. prints, cards and badges. I can sometimes be found sewing one off makes. I am trying to sort out my to-do lists and get stuck in to creating little illustrated stories – hopefully making zines, books and series of narrative prints.
How do you stay inspired?
I try to stay inspired by picking up a pencil and drawing every day if I can. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Some days it comes naturally and sometimes i have to force it a little to get going. I find having a the part time day job has helped me stay inspired – it gives me time out and time out from thinking about all things ‘art’. It also lifts the financial stress which is very important. I stay inspired by creating work that keeps me interested – also in the hope that others like my work too.
I have to be honest and say that my blog reading has gone down these last few months from what it used to be. I use my twitter or facebook feed as a link to reading people’s blogs! I read ones that are mainly art, craft or illustration based – some with business tips in and some with cats in! I am currently trying to restart my own blog.
Why do you like being a maker in 10 words or less?
Tough question – I have spent a while rewriting this one and its difficult to put it in to words – especially ten or less! I managed 11 words but it sounded wrong so keeping it simple is the key i reckon - I enjoy the fun you can have with a pencil.
Have fun and enjoy it – keep it simple and work through an idea best you can. Ask for help or advice if you get stuck and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – if you draw something you don’t like – don’t rub it out or rip the page out – leave it there and continue drawing/creating. As one day you will look back and be able to see your progress. Please don’t get too precious over keeping your sketchbook precious.
Thanks so much for hanging out with us today Deb! I'm terrible for erasing drawings I don't like - and worse so, ripping pages out when I'm really unhappy, but I have to admit you have a really good point. I'm going to try going without my eraser for a bit and see how I get on :) I can't wait till I buy your first picture book - it's going to be sublime! Until then I'm going to write up my wish list from your online shop. It's going to be a good Christmas this year!
We hope you all enjoyed our little feature today - we'd love to hear what you think of Debs words of wisdom :)
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10:00 PMon Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Wooohooo! Check out our festive Christmas pug! That's right, he's just made his debut as our first ever window illustration for Sofi's in Edinburgh. Doesn't he look fabulous?
A short film we created on the making of our window... it's the best film you'll see this year!
Our exhibition has been going down exceptionally well and has gone far beyond our expectations for selling our work and getting kudos from lovely visitors. The staff at Sofi's have particularly been enjoying it all - so much so they asked us to come in and illustrate their windows for Christmas!
We only had a few days to get things together - we were initially going to do a sausage dog accross all the windows but as time flew by it seemed just a tad out of reach. We decided to use our Christmas pug instead as he's been so popular this year. Looking this dapper, it's easy to see why ;)
Having never done this before we were a little anxious as to what we got ourselves into! I figured the best way to draw our wee pal so large was to blow him up on a photocopier first. It's really tricky to scale up images this big without a graph and scale to work do, so this was a great way to get him up and perfect in snap. Once we got him to a decent size, we pieced all the paper together and stuck it up on the outside of the window...
And started going round all the outlines inside! Obviously the ink is inside the building as it's wipe clean and it would have come off in the rain otherwise. As we're working on the inside we need to do everything backwards too - hardcore!
As I was outlining all the windows, David was the ultimate colouring in machine. It took us about a couple of hours to do it all and we needed to run in and out a lot to start with to check it was all looking right on before we filled it in. I have a new found respect for the people who do these all the time! It's a lot of work and problem solving, but what's totally amazing about it as you can see how wonderful it all looks as you're working which is nice :)
Supplies needed for creating your own window display: Posca pens, cameras, bananas and diet coke!
How handsome!
I actually started writing the 'Merry Puggin' Christmas' window free-hand but it was just looking a little pathetic because I couldn't get the scale large enough by eye. That may sound silly, but when you're working around 5 times larger than you're used to -- and BACKWARDS -- you'll quickly realise it's a different kettle of fish entirely. After deciding it wasn't good enough I illustrated the replacement text on sheets of A3 paper as before and re did it all. It meant spending longer working, but I'm so much happier with the results!
Sofi's at night... there's homemade mulled wine inside and dogs are allowed in the pub; you can imagine this place is the perfect setting for a festive evening!
I think this is one of the projects I'm most proud of this year. Being dyslexic I have a lot of problems with spelling so writing everything backwards on a window was a big task for me. You have to concentrate really hard on spelling the word backwards (I wrote it on the window first to keep me right), then writing the letters backwards (SUPER HARD! I've been training myself all my life not to do that!), and on top of all that, write it straight, spaced well and legible. It took a little while to write these simple lines, but my god am I proud of them!
Our window will be up till January at Sofi's Bar in Edinburgh, as will our exhibition 'You Want Fries With That' which is conveniently hanging up inside. We're really proud to be donating 10% of every pack of pug cards sold to Teenage Cancer Trust this year too. Visit our Etsy shop to purchase a set and make someone smile :)
A big thank you to everyone at Sofi's for your support and giving us such an awesome opportunity!
We'd love to hear what you lovely readers think :)
We've been chosen as a Featured Brand on Storenvy! Out of hundreds and thousands of sellers on their online market place, we couldn't believe our eyes when we got asked by their team to become one of their featured brands. How incredible is that?
Much like Etsy, Storenvy is a market place where you can set up a shop amongst other makers. There's much more clothing on Storenvy, but there is still a huge amount of incredible designers and inspirational shops to discover.
With so much tough competition on the site, we never expected to make such an impact with their team! The Featured Brand section is brand new to the site, so we're totally thrilled to get the opportunity to participate during the launch. It's part of their first ever exclusive Black Friday - Cyber Monday market place sale where you can get 30% off trendy gifts picked out by the team. Whilst we're running our own sale in our Etsy shop with the same discount, this is the only place you can get goodies like our iPhone cases for a fraction of the price! Woop woop!
What an amazing weekend we've had with them too - it's been such an honour to have our work shared through the site and we've gained so many lovely new fans and followers from it :D Thanks team!
CYBER MONDAY For those of you wanting to snap up some amazing deals, visit the Storenvy Exclusive Sale here. It's also your last chance to get 30% off in our Etsy shop! All you need to do is enter the coupon code SANTA13 at the checkout to redeem your discount.
We hope you've all had an amazing Black Friday - Cyber Monday weekend - we've bought quite a few goodies ourselves this year which has been a total treat! Keep your eye out for a 'swag bag' post coming shortly. . .
Elbows at the ready ladies - lets get those last minute deals!
Today we're thrilled to be featuring the wonderful maker and blogger Claireabellamakes! We became friends with Claire a while back through Twitter and we're absolutely delighted to get the chance to meet her at the Renegade Craft Fair earlier in the month. Claire makes really simple and beautiful jewellery and has a really awesome blog which is busting at the seems with creative ideas and inspiration. Ready to meet the maker and find out more? Us too!
Give us the low down! Tell us a little about who you are and what you make:
I'm Claire, otherwise known as Claireabellemakes. I live in Cambridge, UK which is the most ace city to live in. I make quirky accessories including Scrabble Jewellery, Macrame Bicycle Bracelets and fabric covered rings and cuff links. I love to crochet and knit and will never let my glue gun get too cold.
How do you stay inspired?
I get out and about in my city! Taking a walk or chatting to local creatives keeps me inspired. I love reading craft books and magazines or getting lost in Pinterest (my favourite hobby). But I never feel more inspired that when I've been to a craft market. Seeing other makers succeed pushes me to improve my blog and business and being part of the creative world is just awesome. I went to Renegade in London a couple of weeks ago and came home SUPER excited and motivated.
I mostly read craft/creative blogs, with the odd baking, lifestyle and migraine blogs thrown in. My current favourites include Studio DIY, Little Things Blogged, Skunkboy and Miss Jojangles which is written by the best 18 year old I know.
Why do you like being a maker in 10 words or less?
Why buy when you can DIY?!
*ahem* That's the best 10 words we've heard all week!
You can so no sometimes! I used to be a 'YES' girl until someone pointed out to me it's OK to say no sometimes. You've got to cut yourself some slack when life gets busy, and juggling a full time job, migraines, blog and business can be overwhelming for little old me! I really believe in work-life balance and if you can find a job which is your passion, you will never have to work a day in your life :-)
What question would you most like to be asked?
Eek this is a tough one! I'd quite like to be asked to "describe your dream weekend". I like to fantasise as if I had endless money and time! It involves cake, cats, spa, crafts and blanket forts.
What's your guilty pleasure? (Chocolate doesn't count :P)
Ha I am not guilty about eating chocolate! I am fueled by Double Deckers most weeks. I would say my guilty pleasure (aside from Pop Tarts) is watching cat videos on You Tube. I'm a total crazy cat lady and often get stuck in cat video You Tube loops. We have the cutest persian cat which your cat card prints remind me of!
Jay Jay! That's the name of Davids persian cat. They look so grumpy but they're totally adorable! Hooray for persian cats! We are totally stocked up on Pop Tarts here too - I can go through a box in seconds. So glad to know I'm not the only one harbouring that secret! Such great advice too, we're terrible for saying yes which tends to lead on to a lot of long nights and working weekends! I'm going to try and take a page out of your book this week and start saying no. Well... maybe after the holidays are over ;)
Thanks so much for hanging out with us today Claire! It's been an absolute delight having you round for tea!
For those of you who're ready to nab yourself some awesome Christmas gifts (most of which are under £10! Hello stocking stuffers!) you can visit Claire's wonderful shop here.
Visit her epically good blog for inspiration, banter and good times here
Also, if you're in Cambridge on the 30th November you can visit Claire and spy her wonderful goodies at her stall at From Cambridge With Love! You can read all about the event and get the details here
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2:00 PMon Tuesday, November 26, 2013
We've just stumbled across the instagram magic created by cintascotch and couldn't wait to share it with you. Such simple objects totally transformed into incredible things with just a few inky lines. What a great imagination! Here are a few of our favourites, but you can discover a plethora of goodness here. Enjoy!
