Mr. Postman, do you have a letter for me?

Last night the first two envelopes of business cards arrived, as promised. Yippee!!!

I expect more to be rolling in all week. I think I might be getting a little too excited about the prospect...but, c'mon! I opened my mailbox yesterday, and for once it's not stuffed with bills or misdirected pieces of mail. (I'm still getting mail for the previous owners of our place. We've been here for 3 years. And we also still get mail for my MIL. She stayed with us for only 6 months and I swear she gets more mail than we do!) Anyway, it's doubly nice to be getting something that will be an aid to this ginormous typography project that I have looming in front of me. You guys rock.

This is not to say that I don't need any more cards. I do. In fact, I need A LOT of cards. Nothing would make me happier than to be up to my eyeballs in business cards. (o; Like I've been saying all week, if you are an artist/crafter/designer I still need you to send your business cards into me! E-mail me here: honeydewstudio@gmail.com

Moo cards are great. Digital files are perfect. I'll print them up myself. Anything and everything would be great as long as it's a) from a creative person and b) in business card format.

Now, to discuss a different kind of card...As I've previously mentioned in other blogs, lately I've been very interested in ATCs (artist trading cards). I have a book about it and have been doing a little research. From what I can gather, ATC trading was created in 1997 by Zurich artist M.Vänçi Stirnemann. He came up with the idea as a way for artists to get share and socialize with each other.
For those of you who don't know, an ATC is a 2.5" x 3.5" sized original piece of art. Artists trade and collect them. There are a couple general rules about ATCs -first is the aforementioned size restriction. Second, they have to be original works of art. And lastly, they're not sold. You trade one of your cards for one card from another artist. (Generally, you aren't allowed to trade other artists' cards.)
The idea of collecting small works of art became so popular, that many people do sell them, but as ACEOs (art cards, editions and originals). I know ACEOs are available on Etsy.
I'm not looking to sell. I'm interested in the original concept, which is artist-to-artist trading. I'm dying to find out more about them, and to try my hand at making my own when I have some free time. Does anyone out there belong to a good online ATC trading group? I'm interested in joining one and getting more info from someone involved with the process. Leave me a comment if you're an ATC artist. I'd love to hear from you!

I need YOUR help!!!

I'm looking for artists, illustrators, designers, and craftspeople who are willing to mail me their business cards! E-mail me at honeydewstudio@gmail.com for info on where to send them. Please title your e-mail "Business Card" so I can respond asap.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm on a quest for artist's business cards. As most of you know, I'm taking night classes right now to get certified in graphic design. I'm currently enrolled in a typography class. We have a BIG semester-long project where we have to collect tons of different examples of type and arrange them in a book format. We also have to have some sort of theme. I thought - what would be more interesting than a book full of business cards from creative people? They're like mini representations of who you are - the variations would range far and wide. I would love to create a book full of sooo many different approaches to design.

There's an added incentive to helping me out. For those of you who send me your business card on or by March 17, you will be entered to win a print of my illustration Ben's Dragon. The drawing will be random, and the winner will be announced on this blog no later than March 18th. (Please make sure your address is included on your business card so I can mail the print out!!!)

If you know any artists or designers, send 'em on over to this blog. Or at least send their card for them. Everyone is invited! Please help me out.

I promise to post pics of my project on this blog at the end of the semester too. I'm sure it will be fabulous. (o;

Thanks everyone!!!

Flash-in-the-pan Saturday

I always have such lofty goals for my weekends. I have visions of somehow completing 100 errands, producing an immaculate house and oodles of creative work. To accomplish this, you need to be one of those insane Type A personalities. Those are the people who are up at 6 a.m., spend the day being a whirlwind of productivity, and have conquered all their goals before lunch. The only problem is that's not me.

On Saturdays I am one of those people who get up, lazily eat a bowl of Cheerios while staring at the crossword (I have no idea why I bother. I can never remember any words, and even when I do I'm an atrocious speller.) After that, I usually stroll up to my studio in my pajamas to listen to "Car Talk" or "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on NPR while drinking my coffee and clicking through the Internet for a couple hours. Eventually, I remember that I had "THINGS TO DO" and will get dressed and leave the house...mid-afternoon. Doesn't leave too much time for taking over the world, does it? Though, I must admit I've been much better with getting down to business lately.

What I did accomplish today was the errand part. I paid a visit to the fabric store, which I haven't done in ages. The fabric store can be a dangerous place for artists and crafty people. Especially me. I'm not interested in boring inexpensive cotton. Oh no. I'm buying up yards of satin, sequins, and anything remotely textured. Furry? I want it. Fuzzy? It's mine! Faux leather??? Fork it over! Oh yeah. My weird stuffed animals are better dressed than I am. C'est la vie. But check out the goods:



From bottom layer to top - sheep-like fluffiness (dunno if that fabric has a name. It was in the fake fur area), flannel, fleece, felt, and velvet.
I have visions of stuffed sheep in my future. I also had this massive brainstorm for a stuffed animal where a big chunk of the proceeds will go to charity. Which charity (and the reasons why I chose it) is a sad story that deserves a post of it's own...later.

Anyway, while I was out and about today, I was heading back to my car in a MAJOR shopping plaza parking lot. Traffic was whizzing by, people were stalking shoppers in order to get a parking space, and in the middle of all this there were...ducks. Yes, ducks. There were 4 gorgeous Mallard ducks sitting behind a van, quacking away like it ain't no thang. There were probably 2-4 more walking around the busy parking lot in between cars. The males had those distinctive bright glossy green heads and the brown females had that little familiar band of blue on their wings. I wish I had a camera on me, it was a bizarre sight. I was so scared they'd get run over. I probably chased about 3 of them away from oncoming traffic. I eventually realized that I couldn't stay in this massive parking lot all day long being "The Crazy Duck Lady" so I reluctantly got into my car and drove away. I'm still obviously wondering about them. Don't ducks migrate? I mean, it's cold here! And duckies, why a parking lot? I mean, really! There are loads of duck-friendly rural spots not even 5 minutes from the shopping plaza. Puzzling.

In other news, the Main Showcase I was in yesterday on Etsy was a total and complete bust. I made zero sales from it. I did get a lot of hearts, but only a couple more than I would've gotten on a normal day. I have received just as many hearts simply from talking to people in the forums. For you non-Estians, "hearts" are a way of bookmarking the page of a seller you like. It's also your way to tell the seller, "Hey, I think your artwork is awesome!" Or, that's how I like to interpret it. Here are my hearts if you want to see what it looks like. In any event, I don't think I'll be wasting my money again any time soon. Blah. Sad. I'm not letting my sales disappointments stop me, though. I have new fabric and am going to get to work. Due to the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, I have a long weekend ahead. That's plenty of time to pick my chin up.