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Thank you Chicago!

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Chicago & The Renegade Craft Fair Gang? You are fantastic. Thanks to everyone who came out to shop and check out the 350+ artists and crafters at the 2010 Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park, Chicago. It was great getting to meet so many new people and to talk with old friends too.

After doing our usual fun convoy caravan with my friends Mark & Beth from Hero Design, I set off on my own to find my way into Roscoe Village in Chicago.

Forgoing the hotel route, this time I took the advice of a friend and tried out the website Homeaway.com to see if I could find a short term condo / apt. rental for our friends Beth & Joel from Rag Trader Vintage & myself to crash in while working Renegade. It took a little work and a lot of back & forth communication between a few different owners, but in the end it worked out beautifully. We found the Roscoe Village Guest House units, with a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom place in the super pretty Roscoe Village neighborhood for less than a hotel, and, shoot. We had a kitchen & livingroom to relax in at the end of a long hard workday. I highly recommend them. And Rag Trader Vintage were my lifesaving booth neighbors, helping me set up & break down this time since I was working this show solo. Thank you so much guys!

Despite the potential for trouble with rain on Saturday morning, everything turned out tip top. The early morning rains on Saturday went from this:

Rainy Saturday set up.

To this within just a couple of hours and all was perfect for the rest of the weekend 🙂

All set up and in the sun. Yay!

And, holy cow geekery, we got a mention on the amazing design & lifestyle blog Apartment Therapy today in a post about first-time art buying, where our Beach House poster was the recommended print buy from the Renegade Handmade Store in Wicker Park. Thank you Apartment Therapy, you make me blush.

Click to read the full Apartment Therapy article.

And last but never least, thanks so much to a customer who left me this sweet note, you ROCK and made my day:

Dawww, thank you kind sir!

Hope to see you all again in December & next year!

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Summer break…

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photo courtesy of Mark, Hero Design Studio.

Everybody needs one.

We’re here, we’re working, but in a summery kind of way for a week. Taking some time to relax, (finally), for a minute before summer is all gone.

You should too. Happy summer!

Love,

– the strawberrylunas.

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FS 26: Thank you Chicago!

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On the road to Chicago!

Thank you so much awesome people of Chicago, Pitchfork Festival & Flatstock Poster Show!

We had a fun & pretty crazy & event filled time this past long weekend in your city. Thanks to everyone we met & talked to at Flatstock, and moreover, thanks for buying some of our work. We’re always mega appreciative and blown away by the awesome people we get to meet on these roadtrips.

Highlight bands we got to take turns to see and loved: LCD Soundsystem (!), Sleigh Bells, Pavement, and Kurt Vile. Super great sets by all, and we heard the lovely St. Vincent & Beach House & Local Natives all kick ass from afar.

The below is just a few parts of our trip, in photos. From Pittsburgh, to the Renegade Handmade store for the Rock Paper Show book release party, to the Post Family gallery for The Cantankerous Hellfighter show featuring collaborative work by our friends Delicious Design League & Aesthetic Apparatus, to Humboldt Park, The Congress Plaza Hotel, Flatstock, & everywhere in between.

See you next year!

A super neat guy from the Delicious Design / Aesthetic Apparatus show at Post Family

Yep, it was that hot.

Craig & Jason Delicious hanging out in our booth at night, at Pitchfork & Flatstock 26. Oh look, Huggies on ice! (photo courtesy of Doublenaut)

One Crazy Cop, Mark from Hero Design Studio.

A shoot of the aisle at Flatstock 26, Chicago Pitchfork Fest.

I have a major thing for manhole covers. Taken in Humboldt Park.

That Which Would Not Scrape Off: EPIC bird doo strike classes up a beautiful day.

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Flatstock Chicago & Pitchfork Music Fest: July 16-18, come say hi!

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Artwork by Flatstock artists Landland.

For us, summer time means a lot of things, and one of them is what we like to call “carny season”. Yep. That’s right, I just called us carnies. We do a lot of craft shows and poster shows, aka Flatstocks all through the spring & summer and travel around the country to participate in them. And? We love it.

One of our favorite shows is coming up this weekend, hooray! It’s the Chicago Flatstock 26, which happens during the super dupes Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park, smack in the middle of Chicago. We’ll be there showing a giant new crop of posters and Test Prints as well as art prints and more. So please say hello when you drop by Flatstock! We love meeting new folks at shows, big time.

Pitchfork Fest’s line up is seriously kickass this year, and even cooler, Flatstock 26 Chicago is 3 days long now too running from Friday July 16th through Sunday July 18th. While the Flatstock Poster Show is free and wide open to the tens of thousands of Pitchfork Festival attendees, you do need a ticket to attend Pitchfork Fest.

AND! If you are going to be at Pitchfork, don’t forget to enter this FREE CONTEST to win a huge stack of posters from your favorite poster artists! For more info & to enter to win, simply click here! *Winner must be present to claim their prize.*

The Flatstock Poster Show series is presented by the American Poster Institute (API), of which all Flatstock artists are members. Flatstock is an ongoing series of exhibitions featuring the work of many of the most popular concert poster artists working today. Most posters and the rock poster artists who show at Flatstocks are working in the silkscreen mediums, often using hand printed techniques and are working for current bands and musical artists.

To learn more about Flatstock Poster Shows, click here!

Here are the rest of the main details for Flatstock 26 Chicago & Pitchfork Music Fest, 2010:

Dates: Friday, July 16 – Sunday, July 18, 2010
Times: Friday: 3pm- 10pm / Saturday + Sunday: 12pm – 10pm
Location: Union Park, 1501 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
(Corner of Lake St. and Ashland Ave.) Get map

Flatstock 26 Chicago Participating Poster Artists (subject to change):
  • Aesthetic Apparatus
  • Casey Burns
  • Clinton Reno
  • Crash Design (Mike King)
  • Cricket Press
  • Crosshair
  • David V. D’Andrea Illustration/Andrew Crawshaw-Broken Press (split)
  • Delicious Design League
  • Diana Sudyka
  • DKNG
  • Doublenaut
  • Furturtle Showprints
  • GIGART
  • Gigposters.com
  • Ground-Up
  • Hero Design Studio
  • Johnny Sampson/Ryan Duggan (split)
  • Josh Rickun/Kyle Baker (split)
  • Kevin Tong Illustration
  • Kill Hatsumomo Designs/Dead Meat Design (split)
  • Kollective Fusion
  • Landland
  • Lil’ Tuffy
  • Madpixel
  • Michael Michael Motorcycle
  • Mike Budai
  • Mile 44
  • Miss Amy Jo
  • My Associate Cornelius
  • Pink Slip Press
  • Popfuel
  • Sandusky Bay Poster Works
  • Screwball Press
  • Sonnenzimmer
  • strawberryluna
  • The Bird Machine
  • The Bubble Process
  • The Bungaloo
  • The Decoder Ring Design Concern
  • The Silent Giants
  • The Small Stakes
  • Tiny Media Empire
  • Vahalla Studios
  • Will Ruocco Art & Design

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Our Rock For Kids live webcast Poster Artist Interview rescheduled for 6/17, hooray!

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Tune in on Thursday June 17th at 3pm EST (2pm CST & 12 noon PST)! Click this link to watch & get more info about our live strawberryluna / Hero Design Studio webcast interview!

Phew!

So, it’s back on and it’s going to be a blast.  Myself (hellooooo strawberryluna, silly) and our friends at Hero Design Studio have teamed up with the fine folks at Rock For Kids & Clay Hayes from Gigposters.com as a part of the Rock For Kids live webcast Poster Artist Interview Series.

Our two studios, strawberryluna and  Hero Design Studio, are going to interview each other and also take any and all questions from the public during our live webcast interview. The fun starts on:

Thursday, June 17th at 3pm EST (2pm CST and 12 noon PST )


Click this link here to watch the interview live at Vokle.com.

Also! In support of the fantastic work that Rock For Kids does, we are proud to announce we’ll be donating 20% of our online sales to Rock For Kids from Thursday June 17th to Friday June 25th. Help us help Rock For Kids!

We will be taking questions from anyone & everyone who is participating in the webcast, so log into Vokle.com to be able to ask away. Or, if you just want to watch the interview live, there’s no need to log in, just watch the stream. Though let’s be honest, interacting is more fun than just watching. Right?

Me, aka strawberryluna will be interviewing Hero Design, and vice versa, as well as answering your questions too. It’s gonna be fun.

So, set your watches, calendars, egg timers and sun dials and tune in for our turn in the Rock For Kids & Gigposters.com organized Poster Artist Interview Series. All of the interviews are being webcast live, via Vokle.com.

The Rock For Kids Poster Artist Interview Series:

Jay Ryan –  on Wednesday, June 2 @ 1PM CST  –  you missed it!

Geoff Peveto / Decoder Ring Design Concern – on Monday June 14 @ 7PM CST  – you missed it!

strawberryluna and Hero Design Studio – Thursday June 17th at 3pm EST & 2PM CST  – tune in

____________________________________________________________________

More about the awesome Gigposters.com:

GigPosters.com was created and is maintained by Clay Hayes who resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The website launched in January, 2001. Showcasing the worlds largest historical gig poster archive, this massive online art gallery is home to thousands of designers from around the world. Visitors can browse and comment on gig posters, join the large community in the forums, chat, and purchase posters in the classified ads section. In 2009, GigPosters.com founder Clay Hayes also authored a groundbreaking book, Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century (<— availble at this link) published by Chronicle Books. Since 2001, Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90,000 posters from 7,000 different designers, including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection, including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead, Wilco, the Decemberists, the Shins, Arcade Fire, Sleater-Kinney, and more. Among the many designers contributing to this collection are Rob Jones (of White Stripes fame), The Decoder Ring (house artists for Modest Mouse), Patent Pending, Tara McPherson, strawberryluna, Hero Design, and more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment).

More about the very rad Rock for Kids:

Rock For Kids is a non-profit organization that provides support, hope, inspiration and assistance to underserved children and teens. Realizing that music can be a positive motivator in a young person’s life, Rock For Kids provides free year-round music education for children in need. Rock For Kids positively impacts and celebrates young lives by offering access to safe and constructive learning experiences through which children may challenge themselves, build self-esteem and explore their own creative potential. Realizing that music has the power to transcend challenging situations and transform lives, we envision a community inspired by its youth as they develop self-esteem and confidence through access to music education. We believe children can inspire their own families, become leaders among their peers and take on the world as well-rounded and motivated individuals.

The Rock Poster Artist Interview Series is brought to you by:

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POSTPONED! :( Set your watches! Rock For Kids live strawberryluna interview (date now TBA)

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(click for more info)

POSTPONED!!!!! 🙁 Due to technical difficulties 🙁

We are so sorry to announce that this interview has been postponed due to multiple technical difficulties. We’re super sad, at the same time, we all know that the rescheduled event will be amazing and totally worth the wait.

We promise.

Stayed tuned for the rescheduled date, which will most likely be next week June 10th or 11th.

This is a super fun thing to announce. Ready? OK! We will be teaming up with the fine folks at Rock For Kids & Clay Hayes from Gigposters.com as a part of the Rock For Kids live webcast Poster Artist Interview Series. Our interview will be on Friday, June 4th at 1pm CST (2pm EST)

Here’s the situation: Rock For Kids & Clay Hayes are doing a live interview with us here at strawberryluna and our friends Hero Design Studio, and since we are both going to be in NYC on the 4th for Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn, we’re going to do this interview Bill O’Reilly-style ( “____ it! We’ll do it live!”)

That’s right! We will be live wifi-broadcasting from our laptops on the fly from a TBA sweet spot in New York City. A hint: it’ll probably be in Manhattan. But we don’t even know where we will be broadcasting our interview from yet. Got any favorite free and awesome wifi-spots in NYC that you love? Give me a holler, we’re on the hunt for one! (No, really…we are…seriously. Send your wifi suggestions.)

Also! In support of the fantastic work that Rock For Kids does, we are proud to announce we’ll be donating 20% of our online sales toRock For Kids from Thursday June 10th to Friday June 18h. Help us help Rock For Kids!

We will be taking questions from anyone & everyone who is participating in the webcast, so log into Vokle.com or watch the interview live via the viewer below, and ask away! strawberryluna will be interviewing Hero Design, and vice versa, as well as answering your questions too. It’s gonna be fun.

So, set your watches, calendars, egg timers and sun dials and tune in for our turn in the Rock For Kids & Gigposters.com organized Poster Artist Interview Series. All of the interviews are being webcast live, via Vokle.com.

The Rock For Kids Poster Artist Interview Series:

Jay Ryan –  on Wednesday, June 2 @ 1PM CST  –  tune in

strawberryluna and Hero Design Studio – date & Time TBA likely 6/10 or 6/11  – tune in

Geoff Peveto / Decoder Ring Design Concern – on Wednesday June 9 @ 1PM CST  – tune in

More about the very rad Rock for Kids: Rock For Kids is a non-profit organization that provides support, hope, inspiration and assistance to underserved children and teens. Realizing that music can be a positive motivator in a young person’s life, Rock For Kids provides free year-round music education for children in need. Rock For Kids positively impacts and celebrates young lives by offering access to safe and constructive learning experiences through which children may challenge themselves, build self-esteem and explore their own creative potential. Realizing that music has the power to transcend challenging situations and transform lives, we envision a community inspired by its youth as they develop self-esteem and confidence through access to music education. We believe children can inspire their own families, become leaders among their peers and take on the world as well-rounded and motivated individuals.

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Etsy’s new Treasury East rocks!

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Click to see this Treasury.

Hey, are you like me and you love the Treasuries at Etsy.com, but are frustrated with the stampede of trying to snag one? Be frustrated no more. Etsy has launched a new Treasury system that they are now Beta-testing, called Treasury East.

Gotta say, it ROCKS.

What’s a Treasury? Great question. In Etsy’s own words: “The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items.” So, it’s sort of like a favorites list, or a collection put together by users based on themes, colors, craft type, a play on words, whatever the Treasury curator wishes. They’re often very lively and a great way to find new things and previously undiscovered shops on Etsy. And, there is always one treasury featured on the front page of Etsy, showing just a peek of the many hundreds of thousands

However, the last time that I tried to make a Treasury was probably in 2006, it was just too bothersome and hard to be at the very right place at the very right time with all of my selected ducks in a row. So, I didn’t even try for the past 4 years.

The way that the current / soon to be old Treasury system worked, there was a finite number of Treasuries and once one expired it was chaos with hundreds to thousands of Etsy users trying to get that next open spot at any given time.

Now, with Treasury East in Beta-testing, it’s wide open, and pretty awesome. So rad in fact, that I spent my Tuesday morning over coffee and making my very first Treasury featuring some of my favorite screenprinters, called “Inky Fingers: Screenprinted and Silk Screened Beauties” <— Click there to see ’em all.

There are some new features, such as no longer being Flash-based (hey! I can see Treasuries on my iPhone now, thanks),  and best (!) lists in Treasury East are not limited to a finite number nor do they currently have expiration dates. This means that anyone, at any time can curate and create a Treasury. Hooraay!

So go play with a Treasury East jimmy-jawn today. For all of the new features, rules, and most importantly, add your own suggestions & experiences, read over this thread on Etsy all about the new Treasury East. And, to find out if your shop is currently featured in a Treasury East list, check out this nifty tool from Craftopolis that will show you, Etsy East Hunt. (Note, you will need to have an active Google Analyitcs account linked to your Etsy shop to pull the info. Currently there isn’t a tool to see if your shop is featured on Treasury East yet via Etsy itself.)

Have you played around with making a new Treasury using Treasury East yet? I’d love to read any comments and see what other Etsy users think too.

To see my Treasury of Inky Fingers: Screenprinted Beauties, click either HERE or any of the images above. And don’t forget to comment on Treasuries that you like 🙂

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Shops & prints featured above in my “Inky Fingers: Screenprinted and Silk Screened Beauties” Treasury:

1. beethings – limited edition screenprint: “frog dog hog log bog”

2. standard – limited edition screenprint: “Hello Darkness, My Old Friend”

3. strawberryluna – limited edition screenprint “Let Love Grow”

4. Little Friends Of Printmaking – limited edition screenprint: “I Am Number One”

5. girlscantell – industrial felt, set of four coasters: “turntable diagram”

6. youngmonster – screenprinted gig poster:  “Why?”

7. Miss Amy Jo – screenprinted art print: “Kitty Cat”

8. Who Made Who TOOTH – screenprinted art print: “New Wave To The Grave”

9. DWITT – limited edition screenprint: “Magic”

10. Jetsah – limitee edition screenprint: “Arrival”

11. Hero Design Studio – limited edition screenprint: “I Heart My Bike”

12. Anne Benjamin Mok Duk – limited edition screenprint: “Bird In Hand”

13. cricket press – limited edition screenprint set: “Scorcher and Stingray Bike Set”

14. doctor pizzoli – limited edition screenprint: “Awooooga Elephant”

15. darling clementine – screenprinted canvas bag: “Monsieur Cabaret”

16. Jen Skelley – limited edition screenprint: “Beemazed”

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Our Iron & Wine poster in Ready Made, home decor by Bee Things.

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Some of the gorgeous walls chez Bee Things, including my Iron & Wine poster from 2005.

While spring cleaning away this past Saturday, I’d left a small pile of fun mail as yet un-opened and un-perused. So, when I took a little sit-down break and read a tweet from my friend Beth from Hero Design that she saw our Iron & Wine poster (sold out, sorry!) in a spread the new April/May issue of Ready Made magazine, I kinda freaked out. Funny enough, my own issue had just arrived the day before but I hadn’t had a chance to open it and read it yet.

So, of course I tore in immediately 🙂

The feature is on the absolutely amazing and beautiful home of Texas design and screenprinting, husband & wife duo studio, Bee Things, (Jeff Barfoot & Shay Ometz) whose work I have admired from afar for a while now. So, seeing their superbly decorated home, so fantastically well curated and without being fussy or overly intentionally showy (you know what I mean!) featured prominently in a 10 page spread was a complete inspiration and a big blushing moment. I think it’s fantstic how you can see their love of printmaking in all forms by the incredible collection of prints that they have hanging everywhere in their home.

A room full of awesome. The Been Things livingroom and book collection.

Bee Things run a screenprinting studio from their home, from design to printmaking, which we of course relate to and love. And the sunlight that they get in their East Dallas space is completely lovely. They also did a great little tutorial on the screenprinting process for Ready Made that you can see in the April/May issue, and it’s also available online here as well at ReadyMade.com. I love the quote from Note the great IKEA flat file ALEX (the while drawer file in the lower left), a screenprinter’s pal. We have one too in our office! It’s a great way to store films, paper, and ink jet printer inks, among other tools of the trade. Good show Bee Things 😉

Bee Things studio.

We’re just beyond flattered and tickled to the gills to have a design & screenprinting couple, like us, like our work enough to hang it in their home and among their other quite formidable print treasures. And, just so you can see more awesome, this is the entire last page of the feature on Bee Things adorable home below.

Full page scan view.

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Paper Cuts, The Art & Science of Rock Posters show

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Paper Cuts gallery show at Athenaeum (including my Dashboard Confessional poster, lower right side.)

I’m proud to be a part of a new poster  show called Paper Cuts: The Art and Science of Rock Posters that features Washington, DC area artists and venues posters. Paper Cuts will run from March 24 through April 25 at the Athenaeum in Old Town, Alexandria. Featuring a wide range of styles from a number of contemporary artists, the collection reflects the breadth and vitality of the DC Metropolitan area music scene.

My Dashboard Confessional poster (below) is among the posters featured in this DC-area posters art show.

My Dashboard Confessional poster, screenprinted, 4-colors, is in the Paper Cuts show. (clock for more info or to purchase)

To provide context to the art of these music posters, Paper Cuts will explore the science of the works by exhibiting artifacts from the process, including original drawings, sketches, studies, and printmaking ephemera. Additionally, the opening will feature live printmaking with Kristina Bilonick, where visitors can try their own hand at screenprinting!

Paper Cuts is organized by designer and printmaker Anthony Dihle, who also organized last year’s poster show Paper Jam at Civilian Art Projects, which surveyed the work of two dozen East Coast based poster artists.

Paper Cuts will feature the work of 16 poster artists including Hero Design Studio, Jay Ryan, John Foster, Marc Harkness, Zach Bryan, strawberryluna (that’s me!), Anthony Dihle, Todd Slater, Marq Spusta, Hatch Show Print, Dan Grzeca, Guy Burwell, Chris Cernoch, John Whitlock, Adam Saul, and Criminal Design

Show details:

Exhibition Dates: March 25–April 25, 2010.
Opening Reception: Sunday, March 28, 4–6 pm
Location: Athenaeum, 201 Prince Street, Alexandria, Va 22314

Hours: Regular gallery viewing hours are Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 12–4 pm and on  Saturdays from 1–4 pm.

If you are in the DC / Alexandria, VA area do check out the show!

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Thank you Chicago & Renegade!

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Just wanted to give a bustass shout out to everyone in Chicago who came out and made this year’s Chicago Renegade Craft Fair so fun and so amazing. It’s always so great doing a busy show and getting to meet so many awesome people. I was a little overwhelmed with the idea of working this 2-day, outdoor festival solo, but man oh man, things could not have gone more smoothly. Perfect weather, lovely neighbors, and awesome shoppers. The crowd was really big, and everyone was super friendly and nice. What else could a craft show boother ask for?

I got a quick chance to step out into the crowds on Saturday & take this one. Busy all of the time!

I got a quick chance to step out into the crowds on Saturday & take this one. Busy all of the time!

A typical view of the weekend from booth #135, strawberrylunaville.

A typical view of the weekend from booth #135, strawberrylunaville.

A special thanks to Sue Daly & everyone else of Renegade for all of your hard work, I can’t imagine the monumental kitten herding feat it must be to bring this fair to order. You guys did a phenomenal job! And a double extra special thanks to my homies in Pittsburghtown, the little area of Renegade where fellow Pittsburgh Craft Collective crafters Rag Trader, garbella and Cosy Knits and myself were. Thanks for looking out for me, and most huge thanks to Rag Trader Beth &  her brother Joel, I could not have done it without you cats.

This trip was super special as it was the 2nd part of a 2 week show tour that I did with friends and fellow print and poster artists Hero Design & Delicious Design League too. Thanks for your hospitality Delicious! We love hanging around Chicago, as the photos while working and playing below can attest to. And there are more boring photos on my Flickr page here!

Lamps

Lamps by neighbors Bright Lights Little City made from vintage ribbon. Click for more info!

And below, some photos from our day off in Chicago on Monday. It’s always so nice when we can build in a little time to walk around and do quintessential things in other cities.

A bag by Pink Corporation that I wish I'd bought. Can't find it anywhere online now, Darn!

A bag by Pink Corporation that I wish I'd bought. Can't find it anywhere online now, Darn!

Heading into Wrigley Field, go Cubs!

Heading into Wrigley Field, go Cubs!

The awesomely pretty field before the game got started.

The awesomely pretty field before the game got started. PS-those are bleachers on the buildings across the street...yowza!

Instant Cubs fan. The whole field smells like popcorn, cotton candy happiness.

Instant Cubs fan. The whole field smells like popcorn, cotton candy happiness.

Wizard Car!!!! Found in Indiana, with Mark Hero feelin' the magic.

Wizard Car!!!! Found in Sandusky County, Ohio on the way home, with Mark Hero feelin' the magic.

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Flatstock 21, Chicago & Pitchfork Music Fest thanks!

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Halloo! Thank you so much Chicago! We had a blast both coming and going this year at Flatstock Poster Show and Pitchfork Music Festival last weekend. We loved getting to hang out with our poster friends from all over the country (and even Canada, yes way.) But even more, it’s so fun and awesome when we get to talk to folks who love design and posters and printmaking like we do.

So, thanks so much everyone, hope to see you next year!

Here are a few silly photos of this year’s adventures in poster carny-ing. This was one good road trip full of delicious old fashioned road side stops, fireworks, laughs, overpriced bloody marys and too many anchovies. All in all, great times. Feel free to check out more photos at Flickr too.

Root beer pit stop at Simonton Lake Drive In, in IN. In in in!

Root beer pit stop with Hero Design on the way to Chicago at Simonton Lake Drive In, in IN. In in in! (Photo courtesy of Hero Design.)

Talking with folks and working the booth.

Talking with folks and working the booth.

Flatstock 21 at Pitchfork Music Fest 2009 by night. (Photo courtesy of Doublenaut.)

Flatstock 21 at Pitchfork Music Fest 2009 by night. (Photo courtesy of Doublenaut.)

The fruitiest poster fan ever.

Dan Grzeca & the fruitiest poster fan ever.

If you see this guy while driving the Interstate…hit the gas. I mean it.

Chuckie, gettin' his eat on. (Photo courtesy of Hero Design.)

Chuckie, gettin' his eat on. (Photo courtesy of Hero Design.)

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Pitchfork Music Festival & Flatstock Poster show

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Picture 3

Heeeeyyyy! It’s tour season, not just for bands but for poster artists too. And that means a new Flatstock Poster show! This next Flatstock is at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL inside Union Park.

Flatstock is a series of rock poster shows & conventions that happen currently 4 times a year in Austin, TX  (during SXSW), Chicago, IL (during Pitchfork Music Festival), Seattle, WA (during Bumbershoot Music Festival) and Hamburg, Germany (during the Reeperbahn Festival). The Flatstock shows provide the public with opportunities to see fine poster art in person and to meet the artists who’ve created it, while showcasing the breadth of individual styles they represent. Since beginning in 2003, Flatstock has presented 20 events in the U.S. and Europe and has become the epicenter of the current phenomenon in handmade poster art.

Myself and over 40 other national poster artists will be there at Flatstock selling prints, posters and more and talking with thousands of music and art fans. Come see us, say hi, and chat. We’re mostly super nice, and definitely geeky about art.

And, check out the map of Union Park, Pitchfork’s stages and Flatstock’s location in Union Park.

Meet your 2009 Flatstock Chicago exhibitors! The below is the official FS 21 lineup.

Gigposters.com
The Bird Machine
Decoder Ring
Matt Terich-Design Medicine
Hero Design Studio
Furturtle Printworks
Johnny Sampson
Kollective Fusion
Kevin Tong Illustration
Clinton Reno
Mile 44
Landland
Madpixel
Strawberry Luna
Daniel Danger
The Bubble Process
The Silent Giants
Justin Santora-Pink Slip Press
Lil’ Tuffy
The Small Stakes
Weathermaker Press
Mike Budai
Pedal Printing
Crosshair
Cricket Press
Aesthetic Apparatus
Crash Design
Josh Rickun
Alana Bailey
Gigart
DKNG
The Bungaloo
Delicious Design League
Spike Press
Mat Daly
Richie Bearden
Miss Amy Jo
Will Ruocco
Tom Stack-Stackmatic
Dan Grzeca-Ground Up
Diana Sudyka
Keith G. Herzik
Octophant
Doublenaut

FS-Map

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Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, this weekend!

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So go darn it!! RCF is in McCarren Park (but not in the pool this year) in lovely Brooklyn, NY.

Sadly, I won’t be attending or vending this year 🙁 due to other travel plans in June. And I’m so bummed because this year’s Renegade Craft Fair is the biggest and best looking offering of amazing handmade crafts, art to date. The offering of incredible work from the DIY and Handmade culture is just fantastic, and the Renegade Craft Fairs are the premiere shows loaded with international talent.

Seriously. I feel like a ghost and watching all of my crafty, arty friends are hanging out together. BooooOOOOoooo :rattleschanins:

So, since I can’t go, you go for me! Say hello to my friends below and spread the word. See you next year Brooklyn!

Some of my favorite artists and crafters whom you should check out & totally say HI! to for me:

Berkely Illustration – amazing animal and other illustrations.

Bossa Nova Baby – super fun hand screenprinted skirts, sewn embellishment and retro-cool accessories. (And one of the funniest people I know.)

Giant Dwarf – beautiful embellishments for your head, hair and heart.

Hero Design Studio – these guys are my stone cold BFFs. Amazing every which way, including loose.

Isle of Printing – quite possibly the best that there is out there. Ever.

Mat Daly – amazing printmaker and poster artist

Mogo – modern goods from scratch, and two of the coolest chicks ever.

Nina Dinoff – fantastic fresh modern jewelry

Orangyporangy – maker of the cutest skirts EVER.

Ragtrader Vintage – retro-awesome jewelry, and a Pittsburgher! This is her 2nd show ever, so be NICE damnit. 🙂

Seattle Show Posters – great prints and posters

Seibei – super fun shirts and a hoot of fella.

Tugboat – Huzzaah! Another fantastic Pittsburgh printshop. We’re loaded with ’em.

Twigs & Heather – incredible solid silver cast natural work. Unreal.

We Are Campfire – great dudes who make great threads.

The Who, What, Wheres:

This year’s event is taking place June 6 + 7 from 11am – 7pm, at McCarren Park. The full Artist list is up, so check it out and get a sneak peak at who will be there!

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Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, new book!

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It has finally arrived!

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Freshly published and totally incredible. I’m so proud to be a part of this rad book, as is taken from the imaginations of, and containing the work and words of 101 working, contemporary and kickass rock poster artists from around the globe. All compiled into a nifty book format. Just for you! Each poster artist talks about their work, influences and process as well as providing a full page format, perforated page tear-out poster. It’s a lot of awesome, and not just because I’m in it. In fact, I would venture to say despite the fact that I’m in this book.

Published just this May, you can now find this fantastic book at booksellers everywhere. Or, you can order a copy from the following websites:

Directly from me, at my website here, NOTE: personalized and autographed by me, just for you, with a bonus set of stickers, over 15 designs in all.

Directly from the author at Gigposters.com here. NOTE: BONUS ART PRINTS (While Supplies Last!!):
Order now from GigPosters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay has created 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 900 orders get free art prints! (300 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*

Directly from the publisher, at Quirk Books here.

Directly from the publisher, at Chronicle Books here.

Publisher’s description: 11×14 inches, paperback, 208 pages.

Since 2001 Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90 000 posters from 7 000 different designers including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead Wilco the Decemberists the Shins Arcade Fire Sleater-Kinney and TONS more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). Author Clay Hayes is the founder and proprietor of Gigposters.com. He lives in Alberta, Canada.

Designers included in Volume I:

3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

Thoughful oversized, yet lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book.

Thoughful oversized, yet conveniently lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book by Clay Hayes.

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Thank you Austin Texas!

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Man, whew! I’m beyond tired. We had such a great time at this year’s SXSW Music Festival and Flatstock Poster Convention in good ol’ Austin, Texas.

Lots and lots to tell, but overall the show was really successful. I feel like we all got to talk to a lot of new folks, see some happily familiar faces and once again get people jazzed about posters and music and the art in between them. Such a great feeling. Especially since the Flatstock show was 4 days long this year, up from the former 3-day event.

Dan, from Crosshair Press, photo by Mary Sledd

Dan, cool cat from Crosshair, photo by Mary Sledd

The Austin Chronicle’s Audra Schroeder wrote up a very nice piece about Flatstock and it’s tradition with SXSW here with some super photographs accompanying the article by Mary Sledd, above and below.

Me, strawberryluna, doin my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Me, strawberryluna, doin' my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Flatstock is a really crazy mix of super hard work and high-energy talking, particularly the SXSW version and then…so much fun. We bunked up with our best pals from Hero Design Studio, as per usual, and the laughs seriously never stop. Just when you think it’s bedtime and you can’t take any more? BOOM. The North American Free Trade Agreement becomes the funniest thing to happen all week.

Studios we adored hanging out with afterhours and that you should check out: Mike Budai, Delicious Design League, Design Medicine, Doublenaut, DWITT, Hero Design Studio, Largemammal, Brian Mercer,  Miss Amy Jo, Popfuel, and good ol’ Dan Stiles,

Places we ate, and so should you when in the Austin area: Juan in A Million, The Salt Lick, Rudy’s BBQ, Mama Fu’s (they delivered to us in the Convention Center, thank you forever!)

We loved Austin so much that we made a very special stop at Cavender’s Boot City in Austin (with the world’s loudest women’s rest room EVER) on the way to taking our good friends, the Doublenauts to the airport on our last full day in town. Check out the boots that I could not pass up.

Takin a little bit of Texas home with me.

Takin' a little bit of Texas home with me.

Hope to see you all next year!

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